Part 9 of 9
NOTE PP. p. 544. The Submission at Berkhampstead
1471. Will. Pict. 139. “Par fuisset Anglorum, qui sese per injuriam tantam pessumdederunt in mortem, carnes gulâ vulturis lupique devorari, ossibus insepultis campos fore sepultos. Cæterum illi crudele visu est tale supplicium. Volentibus ad humandum eos colligere liberam concessit potestatem.” So more at length, Roman de Rou, 14083–14092. Guy however (571) says,
The easiest way to reconcile the statements is that William did not order the burial of the English; he allowed the bodies which were claimed to be carried away, but those which were unclaimed remained unburied.
1472. Of William’s dealings with the New Minster I shall have to speak in my next volume.
1473. William of Poitiers (138) simply says, “Propiùs Regem fratres ejus duo reperti sunt.”
1474. Roman de Rou, 14083;
1475. See Appendix K.
1477. Ulf the son of Harold (see Flor. Wig. 1087) can hardly fail to have been a child of Ealdgyth. See Lappenberg, p. 557 (vol. ii. p. 304, Thorpe). If Harold’s marriage with Ealdgyth took place after his election (see Appendix F), Ulf must have been a posthumous child.
1478. Flor. Wig. 1066. “Cujus [Haroldi] morte auditâ, Comites Edwinus et Morkarus ... Lundoniam venere, et sororem suam Aldgitham Reginam sumptam ad Civitatem Legionum misere.”
1479. De Inv. c. 20. “Viso hoc infausto auspicio, multo dolore correpti, duos fratres de ecclesiâ præcipuos et majores natu, Osegodum Cnoppe et Ailricum Childemaister, in comitatu Regis miserunt ad prœlium, ut, cognitis rei eventibus, de corpore Regis et suorum ecclesiæ devotorum curam agerent, et, si fortuna sic daret, cadavera reportarent.” Was Æthelric “Magister Scholarum” between Adelard and his son? See vol. ii. p. 444.
1480. Ib. c. 21. “Fatales hos Regis eventus sequuti fuerant a longè ut viderent finem.”
1481. Wid. Amb. 577;
Will. Malms. iii. 247. “Corpus Haroldi matri repetenti sine pretio misit, licet illa multum per legatos obtulisset.” (On the difference between these two accounts, see Appendix MM.) Both these versions make Gytha simply send; but the words of William of Poitiers (138) seem to me rather to imply that she came personally; “Tumulandum eum Willelmo agnomine Maletto concessit, non matri pro corpore dilectæ prolis auri par pondus offerenti.” So Orderic (502 C); “Mœsta igitur mater Guillelmo Duci pro corpore Heraldi par auri pondus obtulit.”
1482. Il. xxii. 351:
He afterwards (Il. xxiv. 578) receives the gifts of Priam; that is, he does not refuse them; but they seem to have no share in bringing about his change of purpose.
1483. Will. Pict. 138. “Scivit non decere tali commercio aurum accipi. Æstimavit indignum fore ad matris libitum sepeliri, cujus ob nimiam cupiditatem insepulti remanerent innumerabiles. Dictum est illudendo, oportere situm esse custodem littoris et pelagi, quæ cum armis ante vesanus insedit.” So directly after “in littoreo tumulo jaces.”
1484. Wid. Amb. 582;
Cf. Il. vii. 86;
1485. De Inv. 21. “Fratres ... currunt ad cadavera, et vertentes ea huc et illuc, Domini Regis corpus agnoscere non valentes.” It will be easily seen that I am blending two stories. See Appendix MM.
1486. See Appendix NN.
1487. De Inv. c. 21. “Secretiora in eo signa noverat ceteris ampliùs, ad ulteriora intima secretorum admissa, quatinus ipsius notitiâ certificarentur secretis indiciis qui exterioribus non poterant.” So Will. Pict. 138. “Ipse, carens omni decore, quibusdam signis, nequaquam facie, recognitus est.” Compare the finding of Tostig, p. 373. A story of the same sort is told by Rudolf Glaber (lib. iii. c. 9; Duchèsne, iv. 38) of Odo of Champagne.
1488. See Hist. Fed. Gov. vol. i. p. 451.
1489. Wid. Amb. 573;
1490. Ib. 587;
See the quotation from William of Poitiers, p. 512. So Ord. Vit. 502 B.
1491. See Appendix MM.
1492. This tale is the main subject of the Vita Haroldi in the Chroniques Anglo-Normandes, vol. ii. See especially pp. 173–184, 194–222.
1493. Vit. Har. 173. “A duobus, ut fertur, mediocribus viris, quos francalanos sive agricolas vocant, agnitus et callidè occultatus.”
1494. Ib. 174. “Transfretavit igitur in Germaniam, generis sui genitricem aditurus Saxoniam ... cognatos ad ferenda propriæ stirpi suffragia instanter sollicitat.” He goes to Denmark in p. 175.
1496. A false—Matthew Paris thinks a true—Baldwin, was hanged in Flanders in 1224. See Mat. Par. 322 Wats. On the false Sebastians, see the work of M. d’Antas, “Les Faux Don Sébastien,” Paris, 1866.
1497. Fuller, History of Waltham Abbey, p. 259. Cf. Knighton, 2343.
1498. There was a twofold translation of Waltheof (see Ord. Vit. 537 A, 543 A), and seemingly of Harold also.
1499. De Inv. c. 21. “Cujus corporis translationi, quum sic se habebat status ecclesiæ fabricandi, vel devotio fratrum reverentiam corpori exhibentium, nunc extremè memini me tertiò adfuisse, et sicut vulgò celebre est, et attestationes antiquorum audivimus, plagas ipsis ossibus impressas oculis corporeis et vidisse et manibus contrectâsse.” He could probably just remember the translation in the dim way that a child remembers things, but his recollection was strengthened by hearing the story from older members of the house.
1500. Il. xxiv. 804.
1501. Walt. Hem. ii. 266–267. “Ordinaverunt de corpore Regis quod ... maneret in ecclesiâ religiosorum de Waltham, donec ... vacaret eis intendere sepulturæ; factumque est ita.”
1502. The wonderful analogy between the two great Edwards, the son of Ælfred and the son of Henry the Third, strikes us at every stage of the history of the two. See above, p. 38.
1503. The authorities for this Chapter are the same as for the last, except that the Bayeux Tapestry now fails us.
1504. Guy of Amiens (595) says, after mentioning Harold’s burial,
1505. Will. Malms. ii. 228. “Quasi cum Haroldo omne robur deciderit Angliæ.”
1506. Chron. Wig. 1066. “And Wyllelm eorl for eft ongean to Hæstingan, and geanbidode þær hwæðer man him to bugan wolde.”
1507. Ib. “Ac þa he ongeat þæt man him to cuman nolde.”
1508. Will. Pict. 141. “Erat videlicet eorum voti summa non habere dominum quem non habuere compatriotam.”
Transcriber’s Note: This footnote was cut short in the original printing, at “Will. Pict. 141. “Erat videlicet eorum voti summa non habere domi-”; the rest of the sentence has been completed by comparison with another edition of the book.
1509. Roman de Rou, 13986;
He goes on to say that many were drowned through their eagerness to cross the bridge into the city.
1510. See above, p. 501.
1511. Flor. Wig. 1066. “Cujus [Haroldi] morte auditâ, Comites Edwinus et Morkarus ... Londoniam venere.” William of Malmesbury, less probably (iii. 247), makes them hear the news in London, “apud Londoniam audito interitûs Haroldi nuntio.”
1512. See above, p. 511.
1513. Will. Pict. 141. “Tum verò confluxerat ad ipsam hospes turba propugnatorum, quam, licet ambitu nimis ampla, non facilè capiebat.” So Guy of Amiens, 641;
1514. Flor. Wig. “Aldredus autem Eboracensis Archiepiscopus, et iidem Comites [Edwinus et Morkarus], cum civibus Lundoniensibus et butsecarlis, Clitonem Eadgarum, Eadmundi Ferrei Lateris nepotem, in Regem levare voluere.”
1515. See Appendix NN.
1516. Guy of Amiens (645) has here a very singular statement;
“Tradux Regis” must mean either Godwine or Harold. In an earlier passage (472) it means Godwine. The passage then implies that either a brother or a son of Harold was chosen. I do not however take this as showing that there really was any movement in favour of one of Harold’s sons, but rather that Guy fancied that Eadgar was a son or brother of Harold.
1517. As I before said, there is no trustworthy evidence as to Waltheof’s presence or absence at Senlac. A priori, it is about equally strange if he stayed away and if, being there, he came back alive. Snorro, who still calls Waltheof Harold’s brother, unhesitatingly takes him to the battle; “Þar voró þá med Haralldi brædor hans Sveinn (!) oc Gyrdir oc Valþiófr Jarl.” (Johnstone, p. 218; Laing, iii. 95.) But he goes on to give an account of an exploit of Waltheof after the battle, the burning of a hundred Normans who had taken shelter in a wood, which seems to be transferred from Waltheof’s doings at York in 1068. See above, p. 372.
1518. Will. Malms, iii. 247. “Edwinus et Morcardus, amplæ spei fratres, ... urbanos sollicitaverant ut alterutrum in regnum sublevarent.”
1519. See the quotation from Florence in p. 526. So Will. Pict. 140. “Regem statuerant Edgarum Athelinum, ex Edwardi Regis nobilitate, annis puerum.” Ord. Vit. 502 D. “Interemto Heraldo, Stigandus Cantuariensis Archiepiscopus, et præclari Comites Eduinus et Morcarus, aliique primates Anglorum qui Senlacio bello non interfuerunt, Edgarum Clitonem filium Eduardi Regis Hunorum [see vol. ii. p. 622], filii Edmundi Irnesidæ, id est Ferrei-Lateris, Regem statuerunt.” Benoît (37742), translating William of Poitiers (see above, p. 525), says;
Yet young Eadgar was hardly more than an Englishman by courtesy.
1520. This is implied in the quotation from Florence in p. 526.
1521. Will. Malms. iii. 247. “Cæteri proceres Edgarum eligerent, si Episcopos assertores haberent.” The “cæteri proceres” are opposed to Eadwine and Morkere. “Sed proximo urgente periculo et domesticæ litis dissidio, nec illud quidem effectum.” The apparent discrepancies in the several accounts may, I think, be reconciled by assuming the course of events to have been as I have given it in the text. Men hardly knew how to describe an election which was followed by an abdication of the King-elect before the day of coronation came.
1522. Ealdred, as we have seen, is mentioned by Florence, who, as a Worcester man, traces his career with special interest; the Norman writers mention Stigand, naturally the more prominent of the two Primates in their eyes. So Will. Pict. 140 (followed by Benoît, 37731); “Interea Stigandus Cantuariensis Archipræsul, qui, sicut excellebat opibus atque dignitate, ita consultis plurimùm apud Anglos poterat, cum filiis Algardi aliisque præpotentibus, prœlium minantur.”
1523. They are mentioned a little later by Florence among the Bishops and others who submitted to William at Berkhampstead.
1524. The Worcester Chronicler, after describing the submission of Berkhampstead, adds; “And þæt wæs micel unræd þæt man æror swa ne dyde, þa hit God betan nolde for urum synnum.”
1525. See above, p. 501.
1526. Chron. Petrib. 1066. “Da cusan þa, munecas to abbot Brand prouost, forðan þæt he wæs swiðe god man, and swiðe wis; and senden him þa to Ædgar Aðeling, forðan þet þe landfolc wendon þœt he sceolde cyng wurðen.” These words certainly seem to me to imply that Eadgar was not “full King,” that he was not crowned. Thierry places the story of Brand later, after William’s coronation, perhaps because the Chronicler goes on to speak of “cyng Willelm.” But that entry was evidently made later than 1066, perhaps after the sad events of 1070.
1527. Ib. “And se Æðeling hit him geatte þa bliþolice.”
1528. Flor. Wig. 1066. “Ad pugnam descendere multi se paravere.” He had just before spoken of the citizens and the “butsecarls.” Cf. Guy of Amiens, 653;
1529. On the age of Eadgar see Appendix OO.
1530. Flor. Wig. 1066. “Iidem Comites ... cum eo se pugnam inituros promisere, sed ... suum auxilium ab eis retraxere et cum suo exercitu domum redierunt.” So William of Malmesbury, iii. 247; “Quod [their own election] frustra conati, Northanhimbriam discesserant, ex suo conjectantes ingenio numquam illuc Willelmum esse venturum.” The two accounts fill up gaps in each other, but there is no essential contradiction.
1531. Will. Malms. u. s. “Ita Angli, qui, in unum coëuntes sententiam, potuissent patriæ reformare ruinam, dum nullum ex suis volunt, alienum induxerunt.” This distinct assertion of the possibility of successful resistance after Senlac should be noted.
1532. See above, p. 525.
1533. Wid. Amb. 597;
The affair of Romney is passed by.
1534. Chron. Wig. 1066. “He fór upp mid eallon his here þe him to lafe wæs, and him syððan fram ofer sǽ cóm.” See above, p. 433. The words in Italics mark William’s loss as more serious than might have been gathered from the run of the story.
1535. Domesday, 4 b. “Rex habet omne servitium ab eis, et ipsi habent omnes consuetudines et alias forisfactas pro servitio maris, et sunt in manu regis.”
1536. See above, p. 411.
1537. Chron. Wig. 1066. “He fór upp mid eallon his here ... and hergode ealne þone ende þe he oferferde.” So Florence; “Interea Comes Willelmus Suth-Saxoniam, Cantiam, Suthamtunensem provinciam, Suthregiam, Middel-Saxoniam, Heortfordensem provinciam devastabat, et villas cremare hominesque interficere non cessabat.” This quite upsets the contrary description in William of Malmesbury (iii. 247); “Sensim ergo Willelmus, ut triumphatorem decebat, cum exercitu, non hostili sed regali modo progrediens, urbem regni maximam Londoniam petit.” The notion of a peaceful progress was probably suggested by the quiet surrender of so many towns; but then it was simply through the terror of William’s ravages that they surrendered. Compare the surrender of London to Swend in 1013. See vol. i. p. 397.
1538. See above, p. 410.
1539. Will. Pict. 139. “Humatis autem suis, dispositâque custodiâ Hastingas eum strenuo præfecto, Romanærium accedens, quam placuit pœnam exegit pro clade suorum,” The affair of Romney seems to be mentioned by no other writer, except Benoît, who follows William of Poitiers, and thus (37686) translates the last words;
1540. See vol. ii. p. 140. The same remark on the absence of castles in England is made by Wace (6454) when describing the conquest of England by Swend;
1541. The history of the church in Dover Castle is discussed at length by Mr. Puckle in his work on the Church and Castle of Dover (Oxford, 1864), but his argument is somewhat obscured by dreams about the ancient British Church. I have little doubt that the existing building dates from the time of Eadbald, an opinion in which I am confirmed by Mr. G. G. Scott.
1542. Wid. Amb. 603;
William of Poitiers also (140) enlarges on the strength of the position; “Situm est id castellum in rupe mari contiguâ, quæ naturaliter acuta undique ad hoc ferramentis elaborata incisa, in speciem muri directissimâ altitudine, quantum sagittæ jactus permetiri potest, consurgit, quo in latere undâ marinâ alluitur.”
1543. That the castle which William found was the work of Harold seems implied in the demand of William as described by William of Poitiers (108) that Harold should give up to him “Castrum Doveram, studio atque sumptu suo communitum.” The castle already fortified by Harold seems to be opposed to the other castles which were to be built “ubi voluntas Ducis ea firmari juberet.”
1544. See above, pp. 241, 245.
1545. Will. Pict. 139. “Hinc Doveram contendit, ubi populum innumerabilem congregatum acceperat, quod locus ille inexpugnabilis videbatur.”
1546. Will. Pict. 139. “Ejus propinquitate Angli perculsi, neque naturæ vel operis munimento neque multitudini virorum confidunt.”
1547. See Lappenberg, Anglo-Norman Kings, 103, ed. Thorpe.
1548. Guy of Amiens (599) makes the men of Dover meet William while still on his march from Romney;
But William of Poitiers (140) merely says that the fire took place “quum castellani supplices deditionem pararent.” It is possible that a distinction may be drawn between the town and the castle, and that the castle did not surrender till William entered the town. “Simulans,” in Guy, must simply mean that the submission was forced, and contrary to the real wishes of those who made it; he clearly does not mean to imply any treachery.
1550. Will. Pict. 140. “Armigeri exercitûs nostri prædæ cupidine ignem injecerunt. Flamma levitate suâ volitans pleraque corripuit.” Guy does not mention the fire, but William’s account is confirmed by Domesday, 1; “In ipso primo adventu ejus [Regis Willelmi] in Angliam fuit ipsa villa combusta.”
1551. Will. Pict. u. s. “Dux, nolens incommoda eorum qui secum deditionaliter agere cœperant, pretium dedit restituendarum ædium, aliaque amissa recompensavit.” Guy, on the other hand (607), uses words which might be understood as meaning that William expelled the English inhabitants and planted a Norman colony;
Certainly Domesday shows singularly few English owners at Dover, but this is more likely to be owing to the severe administration of Odo than to any acts of William at this time. And Guy perhaps only meant that William quartered his sick soldiers on the inhabitants.
1552. Will. Pict. u. s. “Severiùs animadverti præcepisset in auctores incendii, ni vilitas et numerositas ipsorum occultavisset eos.”
1553. Ib. “Recepto castro, quæ minùs erant per dies octo addidit firmamenta.”
1554. Ib. “Custodiam inibi relinquens et dysenteriâ languentes.” He had just before said, “Milites illic recentibus carnibus et aquâ utentes, multi proluvio ventris exstincti sunt, plurimi in extremum vitæ debilitati discrimen.” Then William “ad perdomandum quos devicit proficiscitur.”
1555. Wid. Amb. 611;
Every one knows the legend, followed by Thierry and, hesitatingly, also by Lappenberg (105), about the Kentish men coming with boughs in their hands and extorting from William a confirmation of their rights. It comes from William Thorn, X Scriptt. 1786, and it has, as far as I know, no better authority. The tale describes the Kentishmen as led by Stigand, who was then undoubtedly in London. There is nothing to show that Kent was better treated than the rest of England; as it was put under Odo, it was perhaps treated a little worse. William no doubt promised to the Kentishmen the preservation of their ancient laws, but this he did to Englishmen everywhere.
1556. Will. Pict. 140. “Contremuit etiam potens metropolis metu, et ne funditus caderet ullatenus resistendo, maturavit impetrare statum obediendo.”
1557. Ib. “Occurrunt ultro Cantuarii hand procul à Doverâ, jurant fidelitatem, dant obsides.” So Guy, 613;
1558. Wid. Amb. 615;
He likens them to flies settling on a wound.
1559. See above, p. 358.
1560. Will. Pict. 140. “Veniens postero die ad Fractam Turrim castra metatus est, quo in loco gravissimâ sui corporis valetudine animos familiarium pari contulerit ægritudine.”
1561. William of Poitiers goes on, “Volens autem publicum bonum, ne exercitus egestate rerum necessariarum laboraret, noluit indulgere sibi moras ibi agendo.” But that he did not go far from Canterbury is plain from Guy, 623;
Guy does not mention William’s illness, but his mention of the month’s delay quite agrees with it.
1562. See Appendix K.
1563. Wid. Amb. 625;
The embassy to Winchester is not mentioned by William of Poitiers.
1564. Wid. Amb. 631;
1565. Ib. 639;
1566. Wid. Amb. 635;
1567. See the quotation from Florence in p. 534.
1568. The expressions of Guy (663 et seqq.) seem distinctly to assert a siege. We read, for instance,
And again,
Yet it is impossible to reconcile this with the account in William of Poitiers. Guy’s description of Westminster (665) is worth notice;
Guy has a little exaggerated the antiquity of Westminster as a royal dwelling-place.
1569. Will. Pict. 141. “Præmissi illo equites Normanni quingenti egressam contra se aciem refugere intra mœnia impigrè compellunt, terga cædentes. Multæ stragi addunt incendium, cremantes quidquid ædificiorum citra flumen invenere.” On Southwark as a dwelling-place of Godwine, see vol. ii. pp. 147, 329, 579.
1570. Will. Pict. 141. “Ut malo duplici superba ferocia contundatur.”
1571. Ib. “Dux, progrediens dein quoquoversùm placuit, transmeato flumine Tamesi, vado simul atque ponte ad oppidum Warengefort pervenit.” Yet Wallingford is on the West-Saxon side of the river.
1572. Domesday, 56. “In Burgo de Walingeford ... Rex Edwardus habuit xv. acras in quibus manebant huscarles.” The customs of Wallingford are given at great length. On Wigod of Wallingford, see Appendix PP.
1574. See vol. ii. pp. 113, 117, 330.
1575. See above, p. 485.
1576. Chron. Wig. 1066. “He hergode ... [see above, p. 534, note 3] oð þæt he com to Beorhhamstede.” So Florence; “Devastabat ... donec ad villam quæ Beorcham nominatur veniret.”
1577. On the submission of Berkhampstead, see Appendix PP.
1578. Wid. Amb. 681. See above, p. 502.
1579. Ib. 685.
1580. The story is told at length by Guy of Amiens, 687 et seqq. I confess that these stories of secret messages always strike me as somewhat suspicious, to say nothing of the misconception of the state of things involved in the description of London as a besieged town. But it is not likely that Guy should have invented the name and the whole story of his “Ansgardus,” and, as I before said (see above, p. 424), I do not see who he can be except the Staller and Sheriff Esegar. About the siege, Guy, as before (see above, p. 542), is explicit. Esegar is made to say (699),
1581. Wid. Amb. 689;
1582. Ib. 693;
The “natu majores” may of course be simply the “yldestan þegnas” (see vol. i. p. 78), but here in London we cannot help thinking of Aldermen in the later sense.
1583. Wid. Amb. 715;
1584. Wid. Amb. 723;
Cf. above, pp. 161, 488, but one is a little surprised at the comparison being made by William’s own laureate.
1585. Ib. 725;
1586. Ib. 727;
1587. Ib. 735;
I doubted for some time whether the Bishop of Amiens had not severed “Carolus Magnus” into two distinct heroes; but by “Magnus” we are most likely to understand Cnæus Pompeius Magnus. He then goes on to state William’s claim to the Crown (737);
This is of course the Norman tale of the consent of the Witan being given to Eadward’s devise of the Crown. See Appendix R. and vol. ii. p. 302.
1588. Ib. 731;
1589. Wid. Amb. 741;
This passage is worthy of notice by any one who is studying the municipal antiquities of London. At the same time we must remember that it is not merely London which is concerned. So far as the passage proves anything, I should rather take it as a witness to the popular character of the Witenagemót. See vol. i. p. 112.
1590. Chron. Wig. 1066. “And þær [at Berkhampstead] him com ongean Ealdred arcebisceop and Eadgar cild and Eadwine eorl and Morkere eorl and ealle þa betstan men of Lundene.” Florence’s list is, “Aldredus Archiepiscopus, Wulstanus Wigornensis Episcopus, Walterus Herefordensis Episcopus, Clito Eadgarus, Comites Edwinus et Morkarus, et de Lundoniâ quique nobiliores, cum multis aliis.” It is clear from this passage that Florence understood the doubtful word cild as, sometimes at least, equivalent to Æðeling.
As to the list itself, and the presence of Stigand, Eadwine, and Morkere, see Appendix PP.
1591. Chron. Wig. 1066. “And bugon þa for neode, þa mæst wæs to harme gedón.”
1592. See above, p. 529.
1593. Chron. Wig. 1066. “And gysledan and sworon him aðas.” So Florence; “Datis obsidibus, illi deditionem fecerunt, fidelitatemque juraverunt.”
1594. Wid. Amb. 747;
So Ord. Vit. 503 A. “Ipsi ab eo benigniter suscepti, pristinas dignitates et honores receperunt.... Edgarus Adelinus, qui Rex fuerat constitutus ab Anglis, resistere diffidens humiliter Guillelmo se regnumque contulit. Ille verò, quia idem puer mitis et sincerus erat, et consobrinus Eduardi Magni[!] Regis, filius scilicet nepotis ejus, erat, amicabiliter eum amplexatus est, et omni vitâ suâ inter filios suos honorabiliter veneratus est.”
1595. Chron. Wig. 1066. “And he heom behet þæt he wolde heom hold hlaford beon.” Flor. Wig. “Cum quibus et ipse fœdus pepigit.”
1596. See Appendix PP.
1597. Will. Pict. 141. “Orant post hæc ut coronam sumat unà, Pontifices atque cæteri summates; ‘Se quidem solitos esse Regi servire, Regem dominum habere velle.’” Ord. Vit. 503 B. “Cuncti Præsules regnique proceres cum Guillelmo concordiam fecerunt, ac ut diadema regium sumeret, sicut mos Anglici principatûs exigit, oraverunt.... Hoc divino nutu subacti optabant indigenæ regni, qui [non] nisi coronato Regi servire hactenus erant soliti.”
1598. See above, p. 449.
1599. Will. Pict. 141. “Consulens ille comitatos e Normanniâ, quorum non minùs prudentiam quam fidem spectatam habebat.”
1600. Ib. “Patefecit eis quid maximè sibi dissuaderet quod Angli orabant; res adhuc turbidas esse, rebellare nonnullos, se potiùs regni quietem quam coronam cupere.... Denique non oportere nimium properare, dum in altum culmen ascenditur.” The Archdeacon adds, “Profectò non illi dominabatur regnandi libido.” Cæsar, we know, was not ambitious; neither, it seems, was William.
1601. Will. Pict. 141. “Præterea, si Deus ipsi hunc concedit honorem, secum velle conjugem suam coronari.” The panegyrist again comments—this time with truth—“Sanctum esse intellexerat, sanctèque diligebat conjugii pignus.”
1602. Ib. 142. “Haimerius Aquitanus, Præses Toarcensis, linguâ non ignobilior quam dextrâ.” Mark the wide sense of “Aquitanus.” The name still stretches to the Loire.
1603. See above, p. 456.
1604. Will. Pict. 142. “Non est diu trahendum nostrâ deliberatione quod desideramus fieri quam ocissimè.” The Archdeacon had just before said, “Familiares suasere ut totius exercitûs unanimi desiderio optari sciebant.”
1605. Ord. Vit. 503 B. “Hoc summopere flagitabant Normanni, qui pro fasce regali nanciscendo suo Principi subierunt ingens discrimen maris ac prœlii.”
1606. Will. Pict. u. s. “At prudentissimi et optimi viri nequaquam ita cuperent in alto hujus monarchiæ illum locari, nisi præcipuè idoneum perviderent, licet ipsorum commoda et honores per exaltationem ejus augeri volentes.”
1607. Ib. “Præsertim sperans, ubi regnare cœperit, rebellem quemque minus ausurum in se, faciliùs conterendum esse.”
1608. Will. Pict. 142. “Præmisit ergo Lundoniam, qui munitionem in ipsâ construerent urbe, et pleraque competentia regiæ magnificentiæ præpararent.”
1610. See above, p. 130.
1611. Will. Pict. 142. “Adversitas omnis procul fuit adeò ut venatui et avium ludo, si fortè libuit, securè vacaret.” Cf. vol. ii. p. 284.
1612. Chron. Wig. 1066. “And þeah onmang þisan hi hergedan eall þæt hi oferforon.” So Florence; “Nihilominus exercitui suo villas cremare et rapinas agere permisit.”
1613. See above, p. 534.
1614. See above, p. 537.
1615. Thierry has a story how Frithric, Abbot of Saint Alban’s, cut down trees and put them in the way to block William’s march. For this tale he refers to no ancient authority whatever, but only to Speed! It is not even found in the sufficiently legendary life of Frithric in the Lives of the Abbots of Saint Alban’s.
1616. Will. Malms. Gest. Pont. Scriptt. p. Bed. 134. “Nec minùs sed multò etiam magis Rex Willelmus extulit locum magnis reditibus prædiorum, quod ibi regni susceperit insignia. Consuetudo igitur apud posteros evaluit ut, propter Edwardi inibi sepulti memoriam, regiam regnaturi accipiant coronam.” How closely these ideas were connected in William’s mind appears from a letter of his to John Abbot of Fécamp (see above, p. 100), in which he says, “Abbatiam Sancti Petri de Westmonasterio ... in maximâ veneratione et habeo, et ex debito habere debeo. Ibi enim jacet vir beatæ memoriæ dominus meus [see above, p. 249] Rex Ethwardus, ibi etiam tumulata est Regina Etgith uxor ejus inclita; ego etiam ibidem, Dei clementiâ providente, sceptrum et coronam totius regni Anglici suscepi.” Mabillon, Vet. An. i. 219.
1617. Will. Neubrig. i. 1. “Quum, peractâ victoriâ, tyranni nomen exhorrescens et legitimi principis personam induere gestiens, a Stigando, tunc temporis Cantuariensi archiepiscopo, in regem solemniter consecrari deposceret; ille, viro, ut aiebat, cruento et alieni juris invasori, manus imponere nullatenus acquievit.” He is followed by Walter of Hemingburgh (vol. i. p. 9).
1618. See above, p. 284.
1619. See above, p. 282.
1620. Will. Pict. 143. “Repudiavit consecrari a Stigando Cantuariensi, quem per Apostolici justum zelum anathemate reprobatum didicerat.” Ord. Vit. 503 B. “Stigandus Cantuariensis sæcularibus curis et actibus nimis intentus erat, et pro quibusdam reatibus ab Alexandro Papâ interdictus fuerat.” Eadmer, 6. “Quam consecrationem licet ipse Rex et omnes alii optimè nôssent deberi specialiter fieri et propriè a Pontifice Cantuariensi, tamen quia multa mala et horrenda crimina prædicabantur de Stigando qui eo tempore ibi Pontifex erat, voluit [noluit?] eam ab ipso suscipere, ne maledictionem videretur induere pro benedictione.” On the ecclesiastical position of Stigand see above, pp. 16, 29, 42, and vol. ii. pp. 342, 605.
1621. William of Newburgh, i. 2, remarks, “Aldredus verò Eboracensis Archiepiscopus, vir bonus et prudens, hoc munus implevit, acutiùs intelligens, cedendum esse tempori, et divinæ nequaquam resistendum ordinationi.” He is again followed by Walter of Hemingburgh. William of Poitiers (142) takes this opportunity to praise Ealdred as “æquitatem valdè amans, ævo maturus, sapiens, bonus, eloquens.” In Guy of Amiens too (791), though his name is not mentioned, he appears as
“Probitas” generally refers to warlike prowess; but Ealdred’s Welsh campaign (see vol. ii. p. 110) was not specially glorious.
1622. William of Poitiers (142) speaks casually of those “qui circa monasterium in armis et equis præsidio dispositi fuerunt.” Orderic (503 C) is more explicit; “Normannorum turmæ circa monasterium in armis et equis, ne quid doli et seditionis oriretur, præsidio dispositæ fuerunt.” Presently after he speaks of “armati milites qui extrinsecus erant pro suorum tuitione.”
1623. That it was a new crown appears from Guy of Amiens (757);
He then goes on to devote twenty-four lines to a description of the jewels which adorned it.
1624. The procession is described at length by Guy, 787 et seqq.;
1625. This is clear from Guy (801);
There can therefore be no doubt as to the share taken by Stigand in William’s coronation. He acted as a Bishop, but not as an Archbishop. It is however somewhat strange that Guy should put him so completely on a level with Ealdred, without any hint as to his uncanonical position. On the two Bishops who led the King, see Appendix E.
1626. See above, p. 451.
1627. Will. Pict. 142. “Eloquutus ad Anglos ... Eboracensis Archiepiscopus ... an consentirent eum sibi Dominum coronari inquisivit. Protestati sunt hilarem consensum universi minimè hæsitantes, ac si cœlitùs unâ mente datâ unâque voce. Anglorum voluntati quam facillimè Normanni consonuerunt, sermocinato ad eos ac sententiam percunctato Constantini Præsule.” Ord. Vit. 503 C. “Dum Adelredus Præsul alloqueretur Anglos, et Goisfredus Constantiniensis Normannos, an concederent Guillermum regnare super se, et universi consensum hilarem protestarentur, unâ voce, non unius linguæ loquutione.” Guy of Amiens (811) is very emphatic;
William of Poitiers distinctly counts this as an election; “Sic electum consecravit idem Archiepiscopus,” &c. And he presently (143) makes William’s right threefold, by bequest or hereditary succession, by conquest, and by election; “Quam [Anglicam terram] et hæreditariâ delegatione sacramentis Anglorum firmatâ, et jure belli ipse possedit, coronatus tali eorumdem consensu vel potiùs appetitu ejusdem gentis primatum.”
1628. William of Poitiers (142, 143) tells us how the horsemen who surrounded the church (see above, p. 557) “ignotæ [linguæ?] nimio strepitu accepto, rem sinistram arbitrati, prope civitati imprudentiâ flammam injecerunt.” Orderic (503 C) is clearer, “flammam ædibus imprudenter injecerunt.” Guy does not mention the fire.
1629. Ord. Vit. u. s. “Currente festinanter per domos incendio, plebs quæ in ecclesiâ lætabatur perturbata, et multitudo virorum ac mulierum diversæ dignitatis et qualitatis, infortunio perurgente, celeriter basilicam egressa est.... Penè omnes ad ignem nimis furentem cucurrerunt, quidam ut vim foci viriliter occarent, et plures ut in tantâ perturbatione sibi prædas diriperent.” Mark the use of “focus” retained in the Romance languages.
1630. Ord. Vit. 503 D. “Soli Præsules, et pauci clerici cum monachis, nimium trepidantes ante aram perstiterunt, et officium consecrationis super Regem vehementer trementem vix peregerunt.”
1631. The Worcester Chronicler is emphatic on the oath; “Ða on midwintres dæg hine halgode to Kynge Ealdred arcebisceop on Westmynstre, and he sealde him on hand mid Christes béc, and eac swór, ærþan þe he wolde þa corona him on heafode settan, þæt he wolde þisne þeodscype swa wel haldan swa ænig kynge ætforan him betst dyde, gif hi him holde beon woldon.” So Florence; “Quia Stigandus, primas totius Angliæ, ab Apostolico Papâ calumniatus est pallium non suscepisse canonicè, ipsâ Nativitatis die, quæ illo anno feriâ secundâ evenit, ab Aldredo Eboracensium Archiepiscopo in Westmonasterio consecratus est honorificè [the words which he uses of Harold’s coronation], priùs ut idem Archipræsul ab eo exigebat, ante altare Sancti Petri Apostoli, coram clero et populo jurejurando promittens, se velle sanctas Dei ecclesias et rectores illarum defendere, necnon et cunctum populum sibi subjectum justè et regali providentiâ regere, rectam legem statuere et tenere, rapinas injustaque judicia penitùs interdicere.” William of Poitiers and Guy are silent about the oath.
- Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.
- Used numbers for footnotes, placing them all at the end of the last chapter.
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