[Footnote 2: It has been contended that Wace misunderstood Taillefer's song, which the Latin historians call 'Cantilena Rollandi;' and it has been further conjectured that what was meant was a song of Rollo, or possibly of Rognavald his father; that out of this latter name the French minstrels formed Rolland; and that Wace confounded him with Charlemagne's Paladin. See Sharon Turner's _History of England_; the Abbé de la Rue's late work, vol. i. 143; and M. Michel's _Examen critique du roman de Berte aux grans piés_, Paris, 1832. We must refer the reader to these authorities on the controversy. The probability we must say, however, appears to us to be, that the minstrelsy selected by a French jugleor, to stimulate the army, (great part of which was, in fact, strictly French,) would be French, both in subject and language. Wace perfectly well knew the race of jogleors and their themes, which he quotes; as in the case of William Longue-espée, of whose deeds he says, 'a jogleors oï en m'effance chanter.'] [Footnote 3: It has been remarked, as somewhat singular, that Wace should omit a circumstance calculated to add to the poetic effect of his story; namely, Taillefer's slight of hand exhibition, related by other historians as having been played off by him in front of the two armies. Perhaps Wace's abstinence, in this and other cases which might be noticed, (after his history reaches the boundary of more authentic evidence than his earlier chronicle had had to deal with), is in favour of his credibility, under circumstances where he had the means of obtaining accurate information.] [Footnote 4: What _Benoit de Sainte-More_ says on the subject of Taillefer's exploit will be found in our appendix, _Gaimar's_ account, which will be found there also, is blended in the English paraphrase given in the _Archæiologia,_ vol. xii. which is a compound of the two chroniclers.] [Footnote 5: OUT, In the MS. of the British Museum, a letter has evidently been erased before 'ut,' the present reading. An addition to the text, which is found in the MS. 6987 of the Bib. Royale at Paris, seems to determine what word is meant: Cou est l'ensegne que jou di Quant Engles saient _hors_ a cri.] [Footnote 6: Though the details vary much, all the historians attribute great loss to circumstances of this sort. _William of Poitiers_ distinguishes,--and perhaps Wace also meant to do so,--between the fosse which guarded the English camp, and other fosses into which the Normans fell in the pursuit. The _Chronicle_ of Battle Abbey (MS. Cott. Dom. ii.), speaking of the principal fosse, says 'quod quidem baratrum, sortito ex accidenti vocabulo, _Malfossed_ hodieque nuncupatur.' _Benoit_ attributes great loss to a report of William's fall, whereupon he, Son chef desarme en la bataille E del heaume e de la ventaille.