took part in the expedition, the minstrel Taillefer
rode before the soldiers, singing "of Charlemagne, and of Roland, and
Oliver, and the vassals who fell at Roncevaux."[131]

The army, moreover, was not exclusively composed of men from
Normandy.[132] It was divided into three parts; to the left the Bretons
and Poictevins; the Normans in the centre; and to the right the French,
properly so called. No doubt was possible; William's army was a French
army; all contemporary writers describe it as such, and both parties
give it that name. In the "Domesday Book," written by order of William,
his people are termed "Franci"; on the Bayeux tapestry, embroidered soon
after the Conquest, at the place where the battle is represented, the
inscription runs: "Hic Franci pugnant" (Here fight the French). Crowned
king of England, William continues to call his followers
"Frenchmen."[133] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, on the other side,
describe the invaders sometimes as Normans and sometimes as Frenchmen,
"Frenciscan." "And the French had possession of the place of carnage,"
says the Worcester annalist, after giving an account of the battle of
Hastings; and he bestows the appellation of Normans upon the men of
Harold Hardrada. A similar view is taken farther north. Formerly, we
read in a saga, the same tongue was spoken in England and Norway, but
not after the coming of William of Normandy, "because he was
French."[134]

As to Duke William, he led his army of Frenchmen in French fashion, that
is to say gaily. His state of mind is characterised not by any overflow
of warlike joy or fury, but by good humour. Like the heroes of the
Celtic poems, like the inhabitants of Gaul in all ages, he is prompt at
repartee (_argute loqui_). He stumbles in stepping off the ship, which
is considered by all as a bad omen: "It is a most fatal omen," we read
in an ancient Scandinavian poem, "if thou stumble on thy feet when
marching to battle, for evil fairies stand on either side of thee,
wishing to see thee wounded."[135] It means nothing, said the duke to
his followers, save that I take possession of the land. At the moment of
battle he puts his hauberk on the wrong way: another bad omen. Not at
all, he declares, it is a sign I shall turn out different; "King I shall
be, who duke was":

Le nom qui ert de duchee
Verreiz de due en rei torne;
Reis serai qui duc ai este.[136]

He challenges Harold to single combat, as the Gauls did their
adv