“Véiez mon chief blanc è chanu,

Empeirié sui de ma vertu,

Ma vertu m’est afébliée,

E m’aleine mult empeiriée.

L’ensuigne estuet à tel tenir,

Ki lonc travail poisse soffrir,

E jo serai en la bataille;

N’aveiz home ki mielx i vaille,

Tant i kuid ferit od m’espée,

Ke tot en iert ensanglantée.”

The dialogue which follows between the Duke and the old warrior is

very curious.

Footnote 1331

Of the long list given by Wace (13462 et seqq.) I only choose a few

of the more remarkable. Wace’s account, with Mr. Taylor’s notes, is a

perfect _nobiliaire_ of the Conquest.

Footnote 1332

Roman de Rou, 13715;

“Willame Patric de la Lande

Li Reis Heraut forment demande;

Co diseit, se il ne véeit,

De perjure l’apellereit.”

On Harold’s visit to William Patry, see Prevost’s note, ii. 261;

Taylor, 238.

Footnote 1333

See vol. ii. p. 291. Roger is described by Wace (13677) only as

“l’ancestre Hue li Bigot.” See Prevost’s note, ii. 256; Taylor, 234.

Footnote 1334

Roman de Rou, 13472;

“Guillame ke l’en dit Mallet

Hardiement entrels se met.”

Footnote 1335

The connexion between William Malet and Harold is not easy to make

out. He is clearly the person described by Guy of Amiens (588) as

“... Quidam partim Normannus et Anglus,

Compater Heraldi.”

(On the reading see M. H. B. 867 D.) The obvious meaning of this

would be that William’s mother was an Englishwoman, and that he and

Harold had contracted spiritual brotherhood by standing godfathers

to the same child. There was a William Malet, whose mother’s name

was Hesilia of the family of Crispin (De Genere Crispinorum, Giles,

Lanfranc, i. 341), but he died a monk at Bec, and was doubtless a

different person. I can make nothing of the pedigrees given by Sir

Alexander Malet in his Translation of Wace, pp. 268, 9. Sir Alexander

makes out William Malet to be uncle to the Lady Ealdgyth, calling her

mother Ælfgifu a sister of William Malet; but I know no authority for

this, and, if true, it would not make William “partim Normannus et

Anglus.”

Footnote 1336

Will. Pict. 132. “Pedites in fronte locavit, sagittis armatos et

balistis, item pedites in ordine secundo firmiores et loricatos;

ultimò turmas equitum.”

Footnote 1337

Roman de Rou, 12885;

“Par matin les fist toz armer

Et la bataille conréer.”

Footnote 1338

Harold’s speech comes from Wace, 12889 et seqq.

Footnote 1339

Roman de Rou, 12905;

“Lungues lances unt et espées,

Ke de lor terres unt aportées,

E vos avez lances agües

E granz gisarmes esmolues.

Cuntre vos armes ki bien taillent

Ke kuid les lor gaires ne vaillent.”

The respective weapons of the two nations could hardly be better

described.

Footnote 1340

Tapestry, plate 13. “Iste nuntiat Haroldum Regem de exercitu Willelmi

Ducis.” The very striking figure of Harold on his horse is clearly

shown under the tree, and the messenger and the host which he has

been spying out seem to be shown crossing the broken ground between

Telham and Senlac.

Footnote 1341

Roman de Rou, 12967;

“Quant Heraut out tot apresté,

E ço k’il volt out comandé,

Emmi les Engleiz est venu,

Lez l’estendart est _descendu_.”

This is almost a translation of the lines in the song of Maldon,

quoted in vol. i. p. 298, note 3. So again, 13103;

“Miz se sunt juste l’estandart;

Chescun prie ke Dex le gart.”

Footnote 1342

The Hyde writer (293) preserves a strange legend indeed. He puts at

this point the advice which Gyrth gave before the army left London.

Both armies are marshalled; Harold has made his speech (“Haroldus

quoque exercitum suum nunc vultu, nunc voce, nunc patriâ oratione,

hortatur”). Then Gyrth counsels his brother to withdraw, while he

himself leads on the army. Then comes this marvellous tale; “Denique

quum omnimodo Haroldus obsisteret, et numquam se Normannorum timore

fugam inire responderet, principes Anglorum equum cui solus infidebat

[insidebat?] enervaverunt, dicentes debere eum participem esse

pœnarum qui tantum malum Angliæ solus intulerit.” This is one way

indeed to account for the national tactics.

Footnote 1343

Roman de Rou, 12985–12999. Harold is here (see Appendix HH) made to

say that he has four hundred thousand men of all kinds.

Footnote 1344

Ib. 13054;

“Guert, dist Heraut, por bien le fis;

Jor li assis à samedi,

Por ço ke samedi naski;

Ma mere dire me soleit

Ke à cel jor bien m’aveindreit.”

Compare the memorable Tuesdays in the life of Saint Thomas. Herbert,

vii. 164 (Giles); Robertson’s “Becket,” 339.

Footnote 1345

Roman de Rou, 13093;

“Li quens de Flandres m’a traï;

Mult fis ke fol ke jel’ créï,

Kar par son brief m’aveit mandé,

Et par messaige asséuré

Ke Willame ne porreit mie

Aveir si grant chevalerie.”

I can throw no more light on these dealings of Baldwin with Harold

than I can upon his other no less mysterious dealings with William.

See above, p. 312, and Appendix W.

Footnote 1346

See above, p. 457, &c.

Footnote 1347

Herod. vi. 112. Μανίην τε τοῖσι Ἀθηναίοισι ἐπέφερον καὶ πάγχυ

ὀλεθρίην, ὁρέωντες αὐτοὺς ὀλίγους, καὶ τούτους δρόμῳ ἐπειγομένους,

οὔτε ἵππου ὑπαρχούσης σφι οὔτε τοξευμάτων. Here however it was no

case of δρόμῳ ἐπείγεσθαι.

Footnote 1348

Roman de Rou, 12929;

“Fet orent devant els escuz

De fenestres è d’altres fuz,

Devant els les orent levez

Come cleies joinz è serrez;

N’i lessierent nule jointure,

Fet en orent devant closture.

Par ù Normanz entrels venist,

Ki descunfire les volsist.

D’escuz è d’aiz s’avironerent,

Issi desfendre se kuiderent;

Et s’il se fussent bien tenu,

Jà ne fussent li jor veincu.”

Will. Malms. iii. 241. “Pedites omnes cum bipennibus, consertâ ante

se scutorum testudine, impenetrabilem cuneum faciunt; quod profectò

illis eâ die saluti fuisset, nisi Normanni simulatâ fugâ more suo

confertos manipulos laxâssent.” On the shield-wall, see vol. i. p.

300. Cf. the γέῤῥα of the Persians at Plataia, Herod. ix. 61 (see

Blakesley’s note), and the palisade at Mykalê, ix. 97.

Footnote 1349

See vol. i. p. 298. Will. Pict. 133. “Protinùs, equorum ope relictâ,

cuncti pedites constitere densiùs conglobati.” So Guy, 369;

“Nescia gens belli solamina spernit equorum,

Viribus et fidens hæret humo pedibus,

_Et decus esse mori summum dijudicat armis,_

_Sub juga ne tellus transeat alterius_.”

(The Peterborough Chronicler himself could not have asked for

a nobler panegyric on his countrymen than these two lines.) He

presently adds (377);

“Omnes descendunt et equos post terga relinquunt,

Affixique solo bella ciere tubis.”

Footnote 1350

See the quotation from William of Malmesbury at vol. i. p. 299.

Footnote 1351

Only one English archer is represented in the Tapestry, pl. 14. He

is a small man without armour, crouching under the shield of a tall

Housecarl, like Teukros under that of Aias; Il. viii. 267. Compare

the remarks on the use of the bow at Stamfordbridge, p. 370.

Footnote 1352

The heavy-armed English in the Tapestry are largely armed with the

axe, which one only of the light-armed in plate 15 seems to carry.

Wace therefore is hardly accurate when he says (12927),

“_Geldons_ Engleiz haches portoent,

E gisarmes ki bien trenchoent.”

“Geldons” being said to mean peasants. He had before said (12839),

“Li vilain des viles aplouent,

Tels armes portent com ils trovent,

Machues portent è granz pels,

Forches ferrées è tinels.”

The “lignis imposita saxa” of William of Poitiers (133) can hardly

mean engines for hurling stones, but rather such rude weapons as

are described in the text. Perhaps we may recognize them in the

odd-looking clubs which are borne by the flying English in the

Tapestry, pl. 16, and one of which is shown as hurled in pl. 14.

Otherwise the light-armed are mainly armed with javelins, as in pl.

15. I follow the Tapestry throughout as to the equipment of the two

classes of English.

Footnote 1353

Will. Malms. iii. 243. “Haroldus ... sæpe hostem cominùs venientem

ferire, ut nullus impune accederet quin statim uno ictu equus et

eques prociderent.” So the description in Wace (13400) of the

exploits of an English warrior;

“A un Normant s’en vint tot dreit,

Ki armé fu sor un destrier;

Od la hache ki fu d’acier,

El helme férir le kuida,

Maiz li colp ultre escolorja;

Par devant l’arcon glacéia

La hache ki mult bien trencha;

Li col del cheval en travers

Colpa k’a terre vint li fers,

E li cheval chaï avant

Od tot son mestre à terre jus.”

Many groups in the Tapestry fully bear out this description. Does the

special mention of “acier” imply that the Danish axe was, so late as

this time, ever made of bronze? I believe that, vividly as the great

axes of the eleventh century live in description and in stitch-work,

no antiquary has ever lighted on a specimen. The clashing of axe

and lance at Senlac can hardly fail to remind one of the saying of

Sperthias and Boulis (Herod. vii. 135); εἰ γὰρ αὐτῆς [ἐλευθερίης]

πειρήσαιο, οὐκ ἂν δόρασι συμβουλύοις ἡμῖν περὶ αὐτῆς μάχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ

καὶ πελέκεσι.

Footnote 1354

Roman de Rou, 13733;

“Engleiz ne saveient joster,

Ne à cheval armes porter;

Haches è gisarmes teneient,

Od tals armes se cumbateient.

Hoem ki od hache volt férir,

Od sez dous mainz l’estuet tenir,

Ne pot entendre à sei covrir,

S’il velt férir de grant aïr;

Bien férir è covrir ensemble

Ne pot l’en faire, ço me semble.”

This remark of Wace is well illustrated by many of the figures in the

Tapestry.

Footnote 1355

Wid. Amb. 375;

“In summo montis vexillum vertice fixit,

Affigique jubet cætera signa sibi.”

This seems a dark allusion to the double ensign.

Footnote 1356

See vol. i. p. 429. The passage of Henry of Huntingdon there quoted

gives us just the explanation which is needed. The Tapestry (pl. 16)

very distinctly shows the Dragon, and the other writers describe the

Standard. Whether the Standard itself is shown in the Tapestry, pl.

14, I do not feel certain. If so, the Fighting Man is not discernible.

Footnote 1357

Æsch. Sept. c. Theb. 447;

ἐσχημάτισται δ’ ἀσπὶς οὐ σμικρὸν τρόπον’

ἀνὴρ δ’ ὁπλίτης, κ.τ.λ.

Footnote 1358

Will. Pict. 144. “Memorabile vexillum Heraldi, hominis armati

imaginem intextam habens ex auro purissimo.” Will. Malms. iii. 241.

“Vexillum ... erat in hominis pugnantis figurâ, auro et lapidibus

arte sumptuosâ intextum.” So Roman de Rou, 12975;

“Li gonfanon fu mult vaillanz,

D’or è de pierres reluisanz.”

Footnote 1359

Wid. Amb. 374. “Nobilibusque viris munit utrumque latus.” So Roman de

Rou, 12973;

“Asez out entur li Baronz.

Heraut fu lez si gonfanonz.”

Footnote 1360

Will. Malms, iii. 241. “Rex ipse pedes juxta vexillum stabat cum

fratribus.” So William of Poitiers by implication (138); “Propius

Regem fratres ejus duo reperti sunt.” Wace says (12971);

“Lewine è Guert furent od lui,

Frere Heraut furent andui.”

And afterwards (13105), “Envirun els _lor parenz_ furent.” On the

strength of this I have ventured to introduce Hakon, as well as

Ælfwig. The Abbot undoubtedly was there (see vol. ii. p. 644); and,

if Harold had brought Hakon back from Normandy (see above, p. 242),

he would hardly be away. I may perhaps have been somewhat influenced

by the part which Hakon plays in Lord Lytton’s romance, where however

he somewhat usurps the traditional functions of Gyrth.

Footnote 1361

“Granz haches tindrent en lor cols,” says Wace (13111), but none

appears in the Tapestry with the axe hanging from the neck. Can “en

lor cols” mean “on their shoulders”? In the Tapestry, pl. 14, an

Englishman is distinctly shown resting his axe on his shoulder while

he uses his spear.

Footnote 1362

See above, p. 444.

Footnote 1363

Flor. Wig. 1066. “Ab horâ diei tertiâ.” So Roman de Rou, 13265;

“Dez ke tierce del jor entra,

Ke la bataille comença,

De si ke none trespassa

Fust si de si, fust si de là,

Ke nus ne sout lequel veincreit,

Ne ki la terre cunquerreit.”

But I cannot help noticing the tendency to make the hours of battles

and of other great events coincide with the hours of the Church.

Footnote 1364

Roman de Rou, 13215;

“En la champaigne out un fossé;

Normanz l’aveient adossé;

En belliant l’orent passé,

Ne l’aveient mie esgardé.”

Footnote 1365

Od. ix. 156;

Αὐτίκα καμπύλα τόξα καὶ αἰγανέας δολιχαύλους

εἰλόμεθ’ ἐκ νηῶν· διὰ δὲ τρίχα κοσμηθέντες

βάλλομεν.

Footnote 1366

Wace (13149 et seqq.) introduces him as “Taillefer ki mult bien

cantout.” Guy of Amiens first calls him (391)

“Histrio, cor audax nimium quem nobilitabat;”

and afterwards (399)

“Incisor-ferri mimus cognomine dictus.”

Footnote 1367

Roman de Rou, 13151;

“Devant li Dus alout cantant

De Karlemaine è de Rollant,

E d’Oliver è des vassals

Ki morurent en Renchevals.”

Will. Malms, iii. 242. “Tunc cantilenâ Rollandi inchoatâ, ut martium

viri exemplum pugnaturos accenderet.” So in the Ludwigslied;

“Sang was gesungen,

Wig was bigunnen.”

After the profanation of the name of the great Emperor, it is

refreshing to turn to a word or two of his own speech.

Footnote 1368

I should hardly have ventured to accept this juggling trick on the

sole authority of Henry of Huntington (M. H. B. 763 B), but we find

it also in Guy, 393;

“Hortatur Gallos verbis, et territat Anglos;

Altè projiciens ludit et ense suo.”

Footnote 1369

Will. Pict. 133. “Iis [the English missiles, see above, p. 473],

veluti mole letiferâ, statim nostros obrui putares.”

Footnote 1370

Ib. “Altissimus clamor, hinc Normannicus, illinc barbaricus, armorum

sonitu et gemitu morientium superatur.”

Footnote 1371

Roman de Rou, 13193;

“Normanz escrient; Dex aïe;

La gent englesche, _Ut_ s’escrie.”

Compare the dying words of Lewis the Pious in the Astronomer’s Life

(64, Pertz, ii. 648); “Bis dixit, _Hutz, hutz_, quod significat

_foras_. Unde patet quia malignum spiritum vidit,” &c. The English

had to drive out less ghostly foes.

Footnote 1372

As we have two ensigns, a national and a personal one, so we

evidently have a national and a personal war-cry. As, besides the

Standard, Harold’s own Standard, we have the national Dragon, so we

have the cry of “Holy Cross,” which cannot fail to be an invocation

of Harold’s own Holy Cross of Waltham, and we have also another cry

of “God Almighty,” which we must infer to be more strictly a national

cry. We may fancy that the irregular levies shouted “God Almighty,”

while the King’s Thegns and Housecarls shouted “Holy Cross.”

Footnote 1373

Compare the description of a widely different warfare;

“And one enormous shout of ‘Allah!’ rose

In the same moment, loud as even the roar

Of war’s most mortal engines, to their foes

Hurling defiance: city, stream, and shore

Resounded ‘Allah!’ and the clouds which close

With thickening canopy the conflict o’er,

Vibrate to the Eternal name. Hark through

All sounds it pierceth, ‘Allah! Allah! Hu!’”

Don Juan, viii. 8.

Footnote 1374

We here get some more of Wace’s English. Roman de Rou, 13119;

“_Olicrosse_ sovent crioent,

E _Godemite_ reclamoent;

_Olicrosse_ est en engleiz

Ke _Saints Croix_ est en franceiz,

Et _Godemite_ altretant

Com en frenceiz _Dex tot poissant_.”

Footnote 1375

Will. Pict. 133. “Subveniunt equites, et qui posteriores fuere fiunt

primi. Pudet eminùs pugnare; gladiis rem gerere audent.”

Footnote 1376

Ib. “Angli nimium adjuvantur superioris loci opportunitate, quem

sine procursu tenent, et maximè conferti; atque ingenti quoque

numerositate suâ atque validissimâ corpulentiâ; præterea pugnæ

instrumentis, quæ facile per scuta vel alia tegmina viam inveniunt.”

“Corpulentia” doubtless means height and general bigness. The English

in the Tapestry are decidedly taller than the Normans. Compare the

same remark on our continental kinsfolk, p. 90.

Footnote 1377

Will. Pict. 133. “Vulnerant et eos qui eminùs in se jacula

conjiciunt.” So Wid. Amb. 415;

“Anglorum stat fixa solo densissima turba,

Tela dat et telis et gladios gladiis.”

Footnote 1378

Will. Pict. u. s. “Fortissimè itaque sustinent vel propellunt ausos

in se districtum ensibus impetum facere.” Cf. Il. xv. 708;

οὐδ’ ἄρα τοίγε

τόξων ἀϊκὰς ἀμφὶς μένον οὐδέ τ’ ἀκόντων,

ἀλλ’ οἵγ’ ἐγγύθεν ἱστάμενοι, ἕνα θυμὸν ἔχοντες,

ὀξέσι δὴ πελέκεσσι καὶ ἀξίνῃσι μάχοντο,

καὶ ξίφεσιν μεγάλοισι καὶ ἔγχεσιν ἀμφιγύοισι.

Footnote 1379

Will. Pict. 133. “Ecce igitur hâc sævitiâ perterriti avertuntur

pedites pariter atque equites Britanni et quotquot auxiliares erant

in sinistro cornu; cedit ferè cuncta Ducis acies; quod cum pace

dictum sit Normannorum invictissimæ nationis.” So Guy, 444;

“Normanni fugiunt, dorsa tegunt clipei.”

(On the difference in the order of events between William and Guy see

Appendix KK.) Cf. Eadmer (5, 6, copied by Roger of Howden, Bromton,

and others); “De quo prœlio testantur adhuc Franci qui interfuerant,

quoniam, licèt varius casus hic inde exstiterit, tamen tanta strages

ac fuga Normannorum fuit, ut victoria quâ potiti sunt verè et absque

dubio solo miraculo Dei adseribenda sit.”

Footnote 1380

See vol. i. p. 301.

Footnote 1381

Ib. p. 424.

Footnote 1382

Will. Pict. u. s. “Credidere Normanni Ducem ac dominum suum

cecidisse.”

Footnote 1383

Will. Pict. 134. “Nudato insuper capite detractâque galeâ.” So Guy,

448; “Iratus galeâ nudat et ipse caput.” In the Tapestry, pl. 15, he

simply raises his nose-piece. This was perhaps the real action, which

it was hard to describe in an heroic fashion.

Footnote 1384

Wid. Amb. 449. “Vultum Normannis dat, verba precantia Gallis.”

Footnote 1385

Will. Pict. u. s. “Me, inquit, circumspicite. Vivo, et vincam,

opitulante Deo. Quæ vobis dementia fugam suadet?” &c. The exact words

are of course given differently in different accounts.

Footnote 1386

Ib. “Fugientibus occurrit et obstitit, verberans aut minans hastâ.”

So Guy, 445;

“Dux ubi perspexit quod gens sua victa recedit,

Occurrens illi signa ferendo manu,

Increpat et cædit, retinet, constringit et hastâ.”

Yet it is at this moment that the Tapestry (pl. 15, “Hic est Willelm

Dux”) shows him in the most marked way with his mace.

Footnote 1387

On the part taken by Eustace in the battle, see Appendix KK.

Footnote 1388

In the Tapestry, pl. 15, all William’s immediate comrades at this

point, except Eustace, are shown with drawn swords.

Footnote 1389

Roman de Rou, 13243;

“Quant Odes li boen corunez,

Ki de Baieues ert sacrez,

Poinst, si lor dist, Estez, estez;

Séiez en paiz, ne vos movez;

N’aiez poor de nule rien,

Kar se Dex plaist nos veincron bien.

Issi furent asséuré,

Ne se sunt mie remué.

Odes revint puignant arière

U la bataille esteit plus fière,

Forment i a li jor valu.”

He is very plainly shown in the Tapestry, pl. 15; “Hic Odo Episcopus,

baculum tenens, confortat pueros.” Odo is most prominent in the two

authorities connected with his own church.

Footnote 1390

Will. Pict. 134. “Exardentes Normanni, et circumvenientes millia

aliquot insequuta se, momento deleverunt ea, ut ne quidem unus

superesset.” But Guy (463) seems to include other parts of the army

also;

“Post illum reliqui feriunt ad corda reversi;

Vires assumunt rejiciendo metum.

Ut stipulæ flammis pereunt spirantibus auris,

Sic a Francigenis, Anglica turba, ruis.”

Footnote 1391

I need hardly refer to the story of the Horatii and Curiatii in Livy

(i. 24); “Forte in duobus tum exercitibus erant trigemini fratres,

nec ætate nec viribus dispares.”

Footnote 1392

See above, p. 434.

Footnote 1393

Wid. Amb. 471;

“Heraldi frater, non territus ore leonis,

Nomine Gernt, Regis traduce progenitus,

Librando telum celeri volitante lacerto,

Eminus emisso cuspide corpus equi

Vulnerat, atque Ducem peditem bellare coegit;

Sed pedes effectus dimicat et meliùs.”

So Will. Pict. 136. “Equi tres ceciderunt sub eo confossi. Ter ille

desiluit intrepidus, nec diu mors vectoris inulta remansit.” So Will.

Malms. iii. 244. “Dum ubique sævit, ubique infrendet, tres equos

lectissimos sub se confossos eâ die amisit.” I find no account of the

third unhorsing.

Footnote 1394

Od. ix. 49:

Ἤπειρον ναίοντες, ἐπιστάμενοι μὲν ἀφ’ ἵππων

ἀνδράσι μάρνασθαι, καὶ ὅθι χρὴ πεζὸν ἐόντα.

Footnote 1395

On the different accounts of the death of Gyrth, see Appendix KK.

Footnote 1396

The death of Leofwine as well as of Gyrth is placed at this point in

the Tapestry, pl. 14.

Footnote 1397

Liv. xxvii. 49. “Ibi, ut patre Hamilcare et Hannibale fratre dignum

erat, pugnans cecidit.” Compare the reception of the news by Hannibal

in c. 51.

Footnote 1398

Roman de Rou, 13874;

“Là ù la presse ert plus espesse,

Là cil de Kent è cil d’Essesse

A merveille se cumbateient,

E li Normanz ruser faiseient,

En sus les faiseient retraire,

Ne lor poeient grant mal faire.”

Footnote 1399

Wid. Amb. 489;

“Ille timens cædem negat illi ferre salutem;

Nam pavitat mortem, ceu lepus ante canem.”

But the other motive is just as likely in one “ex Cenomannorum

progenitus genere.”

Footnote 1400

Ib. 491;

“Dux memor, ut miles subitò se vertit ad illum,

Per nasum galeæ concitus accipiens,

Vultum telluri, plantas ad sidera volvit;

Sic sibi concessum scandere currit equum.”

Mark the mention of the _nose-piece_, so conspicuous in the Tapestry.

Footnote 1401

Ib. 501;

“Postquam factus eques Dux est, mox acriùs hostes

Vulnerat, aggreditur, fulminat, insequitur.”

Footnote 1402

Ib. 503–518. The Englishman is described as

“Filius Hellocis, vir celer et facilis.”

I wish I knew how to identify him.

Footnote 1403

Ib. 525;

“Talibus auspiciis Comes et Dux associati,

Quo magis arma micant, bella simul repetunt.”

Footnote 1404

Will. Pict. 134. “Patuerunt tamen in eos viæ incisæ per diversas

partes fortissimorum militum ferro.”

Footnote 1405

Ib. “Tiro quidam Normannus Robertus, Rogerii de Bello-Monte filius

... prœlium illo die primum experiens, egit quod æternandum esset

laude, cum legione quam in dextro cornu duxit irruens ac sternens

magnâ cum audaciâ.” Wace (13462) seemingly confounds Robert with his

father Roger, who was not there. See Prevost’s note, ii. 229, and

above, p. 384. Mark how the allies and mercenaries are put under

Norman officers.

Footnote 1406

Roman de Rou, 12941;

“Jà Normant ne s’i embastist,

Ke l’alme à hunte ne perdist,

Fust par hache, fust par gisarme,

U par machue u par altre arme.”

Footnote 1407

See above, p. 161.

Footnote 1408

Wid. Amb. 421;

“Nec penetrare valent spissum nemus Angligenarum,

Ni tribuat vires viribus ingenium.”

(The metaphor of the “nemus” or “silva” runs throughout Guy’s

description.) So William of Malmesbury (ii. 228) speaks of Harold as

being “astutiâ Willelmi circumventus.”

Footnote 1409

Will. Pict. 135. “Meminerunt quam optatæ rei paullò ante fuga dederit

occasionem.”

Footnote 1410

The Brevis Relatio however (7) calls them “cuneus Normannorum fere

usque ad mille equites.” But he adds that they were “ex alterâ parte”

from the Duke’s own post.

Footnote 1411

Will. Pict. u. s. “Animadvertentes Normanni, sociaque turba, non

absque nimio sui incommodo hostem tantum simul resistentem superari

posse, terga dederunt, fugam ex industriâ simulantes.”

Footnote 1412

Guy of Amiens (425) marks clearly what troops they were who broke

their order;

“Rustica lætatur gens et superâsse putabat,

Post tergum nudis insequitur gladiis.”

William of Poitiers (135) is here very graphic; “Barbaris cum spe

victoriæ ingens lætitia exorta est. Sese cohortantes exsultantè

clamore nostros maledictis increpabant, et minabantur cunctos illicò

ruituros esse.”

Footnote 1413

Will. Pict. 135. “Normanni repente regirati equis interceptos et

inclusos undique mactaverunt, nullum relinquentes.” Brevis Relatio,

8. “Normanni, qui erant cautiores bello quam Angli, mox redierunt,

atque inter illos et agmen a quo se disjunxerant, se immiserunt.”

Wid. Amb. 433;

“Quique fugam simulant instantibus ora retorquent,

Constrictos cogunt vertere dorsa neci.

Pars ibi magna perit, pars et densata resistit,

_Millia namque decem sunt ibi passa necem_.”

Footnote 1414

Will. Malms. iii. 242. “Ita ingenio circumventi, pulcram mortem pro

patriæ ultione meruere: nec tamen ultioni suæ defuere, quin crebrò

consistentes, de insequentibus insignes cladis acervos facerent; nam,

occupato tumulo, Normannos, calore succensos acriter ad superiora

nitentes, in vallem dejiciunt, levique negotio in subjectos tela

torquentes, lapides rotantes, omnes ad unum fundunt.” The scene is

vividly shown in the Tapestry, pl. 15, and the defenders of the

little hill are all light-armed.

Footnote 1415

Will. Malms. iii. 242. “Item fossatum quoddam præruptum, compendiario

et noto sibi transitu evadentes, tot ibi inimicorum conculcavere, ut

cumulo cadaverum planitiem campi æquarent.” On this last proverbial

saying, see above, pp. 351, 369, and Appendix CC. This scene is most

vividly shown in the Tapestry, pl. 15; “Hic ceciderunt simul Angli et

Franci in prœlio.” It must not be confounded with the similar event

later in the day on the other side of the hill. See Appendix KK.

Footnote 1416

Wid. Amb; 427;

“Amotis sanis labuntur dilacerati,

Silvaque spissa priùs rarior efficitur.”

Footnote 1417

This was evidently the case, and this is, I suppose, what Guy of

Amiens means in his somewhat difficult lines (429);

“Conspicit ut campum cornu tenuare sinistrum,

Intrandi dextrum quod via larga patet.”

“Dextrum” would thus mean the _English_ right.

Footnote 1418

Will. Pict. 135. “Fit deinde insoliti generis pugna, quam altera

pars incursibus et diversis motibus agit, altera, velut humo adfixa,

tolerat.... Mortui plus dum cadunt, quam vivi moveri videntur.

Leviter sauciatos non permittit evadere, sed comprimendo necat,

sociorum densitas.” He had before said (134), “Ob nimiam densitatem

eorum labi vix potuerunt interempti.” So Guy, 417;

“Spiritibus nequeunt frustrata cadavera sterni,

Nec cedunt vivis corpora militibus:

Omne cadaver enim, vitâ licet evacuatam,

Stat velut illæsum, possidet atque locum.”

Footnote 1419

Will. Pict. u. s. “Reliquos majori cum alacritate aggressi sunt,

aciem adhuc horrendam et quam difficillimum erat circumvenire.”

Footnote 1420

See above, p. 477. Wace makes three o’clock the time when William

gave the order to shoot up into the air. I cannot help thinking that

it must have been much nearer sunset when that order was given, and

that the hour of vespers rather marks the time when the Normans first

got on the hill.

Footnote 1421

Of the long list of stories of this kind given by Wace (13387 et

seqq.) I pick out a few of the more remarkable.

Footnote 1422

See above, p. 474, note 1.

Footnote 1423

Will. Malms, iii. 242–244. “Emicuit ibi virtus amborum ducum.

Haroldus, non contentus munere imperatorio ut hortaretur alios,

militis officium sedulò exequebatur.... Item Willelmus suos clamore

et præsentiâ hortari, ipse primus procurrere, confertos hostes

invadere.” Cf. vol. i. p. 424.

Footnote 1424

Will. Pict. 136. “Cum Heraldo, tali qualem poëmata dicunt Hectorem

vel Turnum, non minùs auderet Willelmus congredi singulari certamine

quam Achilles cum Hectore vel Æneas cum Turno.”

Footnote 1425

Roman de Rou, 13845–13872.

Footnote 1426

Ib. 13910–13915.

Footnote 1427

Ib. 13388;

“Quant un Engleiz vint acorant;

En sa cumpaigne out chent armez,

De plusors armes atornez.

Hache noresche out mult bele.”

It has been suggested that this centurion may have been a hundred-man

or _centenarius_.

Footnote 1428

Roman de Rou, 13428–13461. The sworn brotherhood is thus described;

“Ki s’esteient acumpaignié

Por ço ke bien erent preisié.

Ensemble debveient aler,

Li uns debveit l’altre garder.”

Of their axes we read, as of that of Harold;

“En lors cols aveient levées

Dui gisarmes lunges è lées;

As Normanz feseient granz mals,

Homes tuoent è chevals.”

It is hard to identify any of these stories with the particular

groups in the Tapestry, but in plates 15 and 16 several single

combats of this kind may be seen, which well illustrate the deadly

effect of the English axes.

Footnote 1429

Roman de Rou, 13751–13764. This story is told with great spirit. The

four last lines run;

“Maiz li Engleiz l’avironerent,

Od lor gisarmes le tuerent:

Là fu trové quant il fu quis,

Lez l’estandart mort et occis.”

On his kindred to Ralph of Tesson (see vol. ii. p. 256) see Prevost’s

note, ii. 265.

Footnote 1430

Roman de Rou, 13395;

“En la bataille el primer front,

La ù Normanz plus espez sont,

En vint saillant plus tost ke cers.”

This encounter (described by Wace, 13387–13423) is worth notice

on several grounds. I have quoted some lines above, p. 494. The

Englishman is at last killed by Roger of Montgomery, who exclaims,

“Ferez, Franceiz.” M. Pluquet (ii. 227) here comments on the Norman

Roger calling his men “French.” The name of “Franci” (see above, p.

419) would take in all William’s followers, but Roger of Montgomery

was (see above, p. 459) in the immediate command of the distinctly

French contingent.

Footnote 1431

Will. Pict. 135. “Languent Angli, et quasi reatum ipso defectu

confitentes vindictam patiuntur.” So Guy, 527;

“Amborum gladiis campus rarescit ab Anglis,

Defluit et numerus, nutat et atteritur,

Corruit appositâ ceu silva minuta securi,

Sic nemus Angligentûm ducitur ad nihilum.”

Footnote 1432

Wid. Amb. 533;

“... Dux prospexit Regem super ardua montis

Acriter instantes dilacerare suos.”

Will. Malms. iii. 242. “Valuit hæc vicissitudo, modò illis modò istis

vincentibus, quantùm Haroldi vita moram fecit.”

Footnote 1433

Flor. Wig. 1066. “Ab horâ diei tertiâ usque noctis crepusculum suis

adversariis restitit fortissimè, et seipsum pugnando tam fortiter

defendit et tam strenuè ut vix ab hostili interimi posset agmine.”

Od. ix. 56;

ὄφρα μὲν ἠὼς ἦν καὶ ἀέξετο ἱερὸν ἦμαρ,

τόφρα δ’ ἀλεξάμενοι μένομεν πλέονάς περ ἐόντας·

ἦμος δ’ ἠέλιος μετενίσσετο βουλυτόνδε,

καὶ τότε δὴ Κίκονες κλῖναν δαμάσαντες Ἀχαιούς.

Footnote 1434

See the full account in the Roman de Rou, 13275–13296. So Henry

of Huntingdon (M. H. B. 763); “Docuit igitur Dux Willielmus viros

sagittarios ut non in hostem directè, sed in aëra sursum sagittas

emitterent, cuneum hostilem sagittis cæcarent, quod Anglis magno fuit

detrimento.” Henry is copied by Ralph of Diss, X Scriptt. 480, and

Bromton, 960.

Footnote 1435

Roman de Rou, 13287;

“Quant li saetes reveneient,

De sor les testes lor chaeient,

Chiés è viaires lor perçoent,

Et à plusors les oilz crevoent;

Ne n’osoent les oilz ovrir,

Ne lor viaires descovrir.”

Footnote 1436

Ib. 13293;

“Saetes plus espessement

Voloent ke pluie par vent.”

So Henry of Huntingdon (u. s.), who is again followed by Ralph and

Bromton; “Interea totus imber sagittariorum cecidit circa Regem

Haraldum, et ipse in oculo percussus corruit.”

Footnote 1437

Wid. Amb. 543;

“Per nimias cædes nam bellica jura tenentes

Heraldus cogit pergere carnis iter.”

Footnote 1438

Roman de Rou, 13297;

“Issi avint k’une saete

Ki de verz li ciel ert chaete,

Féri Heraut de sus l’oil dreit,

Ki l’un des oilz li a toleit;

E Heraut l’a par aïr traite,

Getée a les mains, si l’a fraite.

Por li chief ki l’a dolu

S’est apuié sor son escu.”

This scene, the turning-point of all English history, is vividly

shown in the Tapestry, pl. 16. Wace places it too early in the

battle. William of Poitiers and the English writers do not mention

the manner of the King’s death. All that Florence can utter is “heu,

ipsemet cecidit crepusculi tempore.” William of Malmesbury (iii. 242)

says, “Jactu sagittæ violato cerebro procubuit,” and in the next

chapter, after describing Harold’s exploits (see above, p. 474), how

every Norman who came near him was cut down, adds the remarkable

expression, “_quapropter_, ut dixi, eminùs letali arundine ictus

mortem implevit.” Compare—if any comparison be not sacrilege—the

death of Richard, son of Richard King of the Romans, at the siege

of Berwick in 1296 (Walt. Hem. ii. 98); “Ibi corruit frater Comitis

Cornubiæ, miles strenuissimus [Harold’s own epithet], qui quum ad

hostes caput in altum erigeret, in ipsum oculari aperturâ galeæ

percussus telo, confestim cecidit et expiravit.” Between 1066 and

1296 the nose-piece had been exchanged for the vizor.

Footnote 1439

Hen. Hunt. M. H. B. 763 C. “Viginti autem equites strenuissimi fidem

suam dederunt invicem quod Anglorum catervam perrumpentes signum

regium quod vocatur Standard arriperent. Quod dum facerent, plures

eorum occisi sunt; pars autem eorum, viâ gladiis factâ, Standard

asportavit.” But it would seem from Wace that it was rather the

Dragon which was carried off (13956);

“L’estendart unt à terre mis,

Et li Reis Heraut unt occis

E li meillor de ses amis;

Li gonfanon à or unt pris.”

So directly after (13965); “E l’estendart out abatu.” And so again,

14013.

Footnote 1440

Hen. Hunt. M. H. B. 763 C. “Irrumpens autem multitudo equitum Regem

vulneratum interfecit.”

Footnote 1441

Guy of Amiens (537) gives their names. Eustace has been already

mentioned;

“Alter ut Hectorides, Pontivi nobilishæres;

Hos comitatur Hugo promptus in officio;

Quartus Gilfardus patris a cognomine dictus;

Regis ad exitium quattuor arma ferunt.”

Footnote 1442

Compare the four murderers of Saint Thomas, who however needed a

fifth, and that a clerical hand, to imitate this particular act of

brutality. Will. Fil. Steph. 303. “Quidam Hugo de Horsea, cognomento

Malus Clericus, sancti martyris procumbentis collum pede comprimens,

a concavitate coronæ amputatæ, cum mucrone cruorem et cerebrum

extrahebat.” Cf. Edw. Grim, 77; Reg. Pont. 168.

Guy leaves out all mention of the wound from the arrow.

Footnote 1443

Wid. Amb. 549;

“Abscidit coxam quartus procul egit ademptam;

Taliter occisum terra cadaver habet.”

This action is very clearly shown in the Tapestry, pl. 16. So Wace,

13942.

Footnote 1444

Will. Malms. iii. 243. “Jacentis femur unus militum gladio proscidit;

unde a Willelmo ignominiæ notatus, quod rem ignavam et pudendam

fecisset, militiâ pulsus est.” But I certainly cannot identify the

one among the four mentioned by Guy who was punished in this way by

William.

The death of Harold reminds one of the death of Patroklos (Il. xvi.

818);

Ἔκτωρ δ’, ὡς εἶδεν Πατροκλῆα μεγάθυμον

ἂψ ἀνάχαζόμενον, βεβλημένον ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ,

ἀγχίμολόν ῥά οἱ ἦλθε κατὰ στίχας, οὖτα δὲ δουρὶ

νείατον ἐς κενεῶνα· διὰ πρὸ δὲ χαλκὸν ἔλασσε.

Footnote 1445

The resistance of the heavy-armed English after the death of Harold

is shown most distinctly in the Tapestry, pl. 16; but it is confined

to the heavy-armed.

Footnote 1446

Will. Pict. 137. “Viderunt Normannos non multum decrevisse

peremptorum casu, et quasi virium incrementa pugnando sumerent,

acriùs quam in principio imminere.”

Footnote 1447

Flor. Wig. 1066. “Comites etiam Gyrth et Leofwinus fratres illius

cecidere, et fere nobilitas totius Angliæ.” This is an enlargement of

the Worcester Chronicle; “Ðær wearð ofslægen Harold Kyng and Leofwine

Eorl his broðor and Gyrð Eorl his broðor and fela godra manna.”

Footnote 1448

Guy indeed says (553), “Bella negant Angli; veniam poscunt superati,”

but nothing of the sort is implied either in William of Poitiers or

in the Tapestry. William (137) speaks of “Ducis eam sævitiam quæ

nulli contra stanti parceret,” and the Tapestry (pl. 16) shows all

the heavy-armed English lying dead.

Footnote 1449

See above, p. 427.

Footnote 1450

See below, p. 508.

Footnote 1451

Chron. Petrib. 1066. “And þa wæs Leofric Abbot of Burh æt þæt ilca

feord, and sæclode þær, and com ham, and wæs dæd sone þæræfter on

ælre halgan mæsse-niht.”

Footnote 1452

Wid. Amb. 681;

“Intus erat quidam contractus debilitate

Renum, sicque pedum segnis ab officio;

Vulnera pro patriâ quoniam numerosa recepit;

Lecticâ vehitur mobilitate carens.”

This is said of “Ansgardus,” whom I hold to be the same as Esegar.

See above, p. 424, and Appendix EE.

Footnote 1453

Wid. Amb. 557;

“Vesper erat, jam cardo diem volvebat ad umbras,

Victorem fecit quum Deus esse Ducem.

Solum devictis nox et fuga profuit Anglis,

Densi per latebras et tegimen nemoris.”

Footnote 1454

Tapestry, pl. 16. “Fugâ vertunt Angli.” The fliers are all

light-armed.

Footnote 1455

See vol. i. p. 301.

Footnote 1456

Will. Pict. 137. “In fugam itaque conversi quantociùs abierunt, alii

raptis equis, nonnulli pedites.”

Footnote 1457

This adventure of Eustace is described at length by William of

Poitiers (137). William seems now to be armed with a broken lance;

“Terribilior cum parte hastæ quam grandia spicula vibrantes.” He

calls back Eustace from his flight; “Eustachium Comitem cum militibus

quinquaginta aversum et receptui signa canere volentem ne abiret

virili voce compellavit.” The blow given to Eustace is thus described

(138); “Hæc inter verba percussus Eustachius inter scapulas ictu

sonoro, cujus gravitatem statim sanguis demonstrabat naribus et ore.”

Footnote 1458

This last scene of the battle is left out by Wace and Guy of Amiens,

but it comes out very strongly in William of Poitiers, 137; “Rediit

tamen fugientibus confidentia, nactis ad renovandum certamen maximam

opportunitatem, prærupti _vallis_ [valli?] et frequentium fossarum.”

Orderic (501 D), who partly follows William of Jumièges (vii. 36),

is fuller; “Nam crescentes herbæ antiquum aggerem tegebant, ubi

summopere currentes Normanni cum equis et armis ruebant; ac sese,

dum unus super alterum repente cadebat, vicissim exstinguebant.

Ibi nimirum fugientibus Anglis rediit confidentia. Cernentes enim

opportunitatem prærupti _valli_ et frequentium fossarum, inopinatò

restiterunt, in unum collecti sunt, et Normannis magnam stragem

fortiter intulerunt.” He says that fifteen thousand of the Normans

were killed at this point, which must surely be the number of the

slain in the whole battle. He mentions one only by name, “Eginulfus

Aquilensis oppidanus.” The name of _Malfosse_ comes from the

Chronicon de Bello, 5. See Appendix KK.

I do not feel at all clear about the reading of the words in Italics.

There is a “prærupta vallis,” but the palisade could hardly be called

a “vallum,” and I greatly doubt about Orderic’s “antiquus agger.” The

gender of “vallis” however in William of Poitiers is odd.

Footnote 1459

Will. Malms. iii. 245. “Illa fuit dies fatalis Angliæ, funestum

excidium dulcis patriæ, pro novorum dominorum commutatione.”

Footnote 1460

Hen. Hunt. lib. vi.; Scriptt. p. Bed. 212. “Quum jam Domini justam

voluntatem super Anglorum gentem Normanni complêssent, nec jam vix

aliquis princeps de progenie Anglorum esset in Angliâ, sed omnes ad

servitutem et ad mœrorem redacti essent; ita etiam ut Anglicum vocari

esset opprobrio.”

Footnote 1461

Ib. lib. vii.; Scriptt. p. Bed. 213. “Declaratum constat quomodò

Dominus salutem et honorem genti Anglorum pro meritis abstulerit et

jam populum non esse jusserit.”

Footnote 1462

See the quotation from Eadmer in p. 482.

Footnote 1463

Will. Pict. 138. “Sic victoriâ consummatâ, ad aream belli regressus,

repperit stragem, quam non absque miseratione conspexit, tametsi

factam in impios, tametsi tyrannum occidere sit pulcrum, famâ

gloriosum, beneficio gratum.” Cf. vol. ii. p. 285, note 3.

Footnote 1464

Chron. Wig. 1066. “And þa Frencyscan ahton wælstowe geweald, eallswa

heom God uðe for folces synnon.”

Footnote 1465

Will. Pict. 138. “Latè solum operuit sordidatus in cruore flos

Anglicæ nobilitatis atque juventutis.”

Footnote 1466

Roman de Rou, 14026;

“Ki par noit kuident relever,

Et par noit kuident escaper;

Maiz mult se kuident ainz vengier,

Et mult se kuident vendre chier.

Ne chaut chescun de sa vie,

Ne li chaut poiz ki l’ocie,

Mais ke il ait un Normant mort.”

This remarkable passage throws light on the escape of Esegar and

Leofric.

Footnote 1467

Ib. 14055;

“Li colps virent granz en l’escu

E li helme out quassé véu.”

Will. Malms, iii. 244. “Et proculdubio divina ilium manus protexit,

ut nihil sanguinis ex ejus corpore hostis hauriret, quamquam ilium

tot jaculis impeteret.” If we can believe Guy of Amiens (555),

William had killed two thousand Englishmen with his own hand;

“Dux ibi per numerum duo millia misit ad Orcum,

Exceptis aliis millibus innumeris.”

Footnote 1468

Roman de Rou, 14073;

“A la champaigne la nuit jut,

Entre li morz mainga è but.

Diemaine fu el demain.”

Footnote 1469

Wid. Amb. 561;

“Inter defunctos noctem pausando peregit

Victor, et exspectat Lucifer ut redeat.”

Footnote 1470

Ib. 567;

“Illuxit postquam Phœbi clarissima lampas

Et mundum furvis expiat à tenebris,

Lustravit campum, tollens et cæsa suorum

Corpora, Dux terræ condidit in gremio.”

Footnote 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,

“Vermibus atque lupis, avibus canibusque voranda,

Deserit Anglorum corpora strata solo.”

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.

Footnote 1472

Of William’s dealings with the New Minster I shall have to speak in

my next volume.

Footnote 1473

William of Poitiers (138) simply says, “Propiùs Regem fratres ejus

duo reperti sunt.”

Footnote 1474

Roman de Rou, 14083;

“Li nobles dames de la terre

Sunt alées lor maris querre;

Li unes vunt quérant lor peres,

U lor espos u filz u freres;

A lor villes les emporterent,

E as mostiers les en terrerent.”

Footnote 1475

See Appendix K.

Footnote 1476

See vol. ii. p. 630.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1478

Flor. Wig. 1066. “Cujus [Haroldi] morte auditâ, Comites Edwinus et

Morkarus ... Lundoniam venere, et sororem suam Aldgitham Reginam

sumptam ad Civitatem Legionum misere.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1480

Ib. c. 21. “Fatales hos Regis eventus sequuti fuerant a longè ut

viderent finem.”

Footnote 1481

Wid. Amb. 577;

“Heraldi mater, nimio constricta dolore,

Misit adusque Ducem, postulat et precibus

Orbatæ miseræ natis tribus et viduatæ,

Pro tribus unius reddat ut ossa sibi,

Si placet, aut corpus puro præponderet auro.”

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.”

Footnote 1482

Il. xxii. 351:

οὐδ’ εἴ κεν σ’ αὐτὸν χρυσῷ ἐρύσασθαι ἀνώγοι

Δαρδανίδης Πρίαμος· οὐδ’ ὥς σέ γε πότνια μήτηρ

ἐνθεμένη λεχέεσσι γοήσεται, ὃν τέκεν αὐτὴ,

ἀλλὰ κύνες τε καὶ οἰωνοὶ κατὰ πάντα δάσονται.

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.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1484

Wid. Amb. 582;

“Sed Dux iratus prorsùs utrumque negat;

Jurans quod potiùs præsentis littora portûs

Illi committet aggere sub lapidum.

Ergo velut fuerat testatus, rupis in alto

Præcepit claudi vertice corpus humi.”

Cf. Il. vii. 86;

σῆμά τέ οἱ χεύσωσιν ἐπὶ πλατεῖ Ἑλληςπόντῳ κ.τ.λ.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1486

See Appendix NN.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1488

See Hist. Fed. Gov. vol. i. p. 451.

Footnote 1489

Wid. Amb. 573;

“Heraldi corpus collegit dilaceratum,

Collectum texit sindone purpureâ,

Detulit et secum repetens sua castra marina,

Expleat ut solitas funeris exsequias.”

Footnote 1490

Ib. 587;

“Extemplo quidam partim Normannus et Anglus,

Compater Heraldi, jussa libenter agit:

Corpus enim Regis citò sustulit et sepelivit,

Imponens lapidem, scripsit et in titulo:

‘Per mandata Ducis, Rex, hic, Heralde, quiescis,

Ut custos maneas littoris et pelagi.’”

See the quotation from William of Poitiers, p. 512. So Ord. Vit. 502

B.

Footnote 1491

See Appendix MM.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1493

Vit. Har. 173. “A duobus, ut fertur, mediocribus viris, quos

francalanos sive agricolas vocant, agnitus et callidè occultatus.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1495

See vol. i. p. 68.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1497

Fuller, History of Waltham Abbey, p. 259. Cf. Knighton, 2343.

Footnote 1498

There was a twofold translation of Waltheof (see Ord. Vit. 537 A, 543

A), and seemingly of Harold also.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1500

Il. xxiv. 804.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1503

The authorities for this Chapter are the same as for the last, except

that the Bayeux Tapestry now fails us.

Footnote 1504

Guy of Amiens (595) says, after mentioning Harold’s burial,

“Nomine postposito Ducis, et sic Rege locato,

Hinc regale sibi nomen adeptus abit.”

Footnote 1505

Will. Malms. ii. 228. “Quasi cum Haroldo omne robur deciderit Angliæ.”

Footnote 1506

Chron. Wig. 1066. “And Wyllelm eorl for eft ongean to Hæstingan, and

geanbidode þær hwæðer man him to bugan wolde.”

Footnote 1507

Ib. “Ac þa he ongeat þæt man him to cuman nolde.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1509

Roman de Rou, 13986;

“Engleiz ki del champ eschaperent,

De si à Lundres ne finerent:

Ço diseient è so creimeient

Ke li Normanz prez les sueient.”

He goes on to say that many were drowned through their eagerness to

cross the bridge into the city.

Footnote 1510

See above, p. 501.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1512

See above, p. 511.

Footnote 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;

“Hanc bello superata petit gens improba, sperans

Vivere per longum libera tempus in hâc.”

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1515

See Appendix NN.

Footnote 1516

Guy of Amiens (645) has here a very singular statement;

“Unà, postremùm rectores atque potentes

Tali consilio consuluere sibi:

Scilicet ut puerum _natum de traduce Regis_

Hi Regem sacrent, ne sine Rege forent.”

“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.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1518

Will. Malms, iii. 247. “Edwinus et Morcardus, amplæ spei fratres, ...

urbanos sollicitaverant ut alterutrum in regnum sublevarent.”

Footnote 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;

“Esleu unt e fait seignor

D’un chevalier mult jent meschin

Qui ert apelé Addelin,

De la lignée au bon Ewart;

Fust od dutance ou à regart,

En firent rei: kar por morir

Ne porreient-il-ce soffrir

Qu’eussent rei en Engleterre

Qu’estraiz e nez fut d’autre terre.”

Yet young Eadgar was hardly more than an Englishman by courtesy.

Footnote 1520

This is implied in the quotation from Florence in p. 526.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1523

They are mentioned a little later by Florence among the Bishops and

others who submitted to William at Berkhampstead.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1525

See above, p. 501.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1527

Ib. “And se Æðeling hit him geatte þa bliþolice.”

Footnote 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;

“Sparsit fama volans quod habet Londonia Regem;

Gaudet et Anglorum qui superest populus.”

Footnote 1529

On the age of Eadgar see Appendix OO.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1532

See above, p. 525.

Footnote 1533

Wid. Amb. 597;

“Hastingæ portûs castris tum quinque diebus

Mansit, et ad Doveram vertit abinde viam.”

The affair of Romney is passed by.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1536

See above, p. 411.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1538

See above, p. 410.

Footnote 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;

“Por c’en ert mult vers eus irié,

Laidement lor fist comparer.”

Footnote 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;

“N’i aveit gaires fortelesce,

Ne tur de pierre ne bretesce,

Se n’esteit en vieille cité,

Ki close fust d’antiquité;

Maiz li Barunz de Normendie,

Quant il orent la Seignorie,

Tirent chastels è fermetez

Turs de pierre, murs è fossez.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1542

Wid. Amb. 603;

“Est ibi mons altus, strictum mare, littus opacum;

Hinc hostes citiùs Anglica Regna petunt.

Sed castrum Doveræ pendens a vertice montis,

Hostes rejiciens, littora tuta facit.”

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.”

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1544

See above, pp. 241, 245.

Footnote 1545

Will. Pict. 139. “Hinc Doveram contendit, ubi populum innumerabilem

congregatum acceperat, quod locus ille inexpugnabilis videbatur.”

Footnote 1546

Will. Pict. 139. “Ejus propinquitate Angli perculsi, neque naturæ vel

operis munimento neque multitudini virorum confidunt.”

Footnote 1547

See Lappenberg, Anglo-Norman Kings, 103, ed. Thorpe.

Footnote 1548

Guy of Amiens (599) makes the men of Dover meet William while still

on his march from Romney;

“Nec medium complêrat iter, quum territus illi

Occurrit populus partus in obsequio,

Obtulit et claves castri portasque reclusas:

Testatur simulans velle subesse sibi.”

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.

Footnote 1549

See vol. ii. p. 169.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 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;

“Clavibus acceptis, Rex intrans mœnia castri,

Præcipit Angligenis evacuare domos.

Hos introduxit per quos sibi regna subegit,

Unumquemque suum misit ad hospitium.”

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.

Footnote 1552

Will. Pict. u. s. “Severiùs animadverti præcepisset in auctores

incendii, ni vilitas et numerositas ipsorum occultavisset eos.”

Footnote 1553

Ib. “Recepto castro, quæ minùs erant per dies octo addidit

firmamenta.”

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1555

Wid. Amb. 611;

“Illicò pervasit terror vicinia castri,

Urbes et burgos, oppida quæque replens.”

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.

Footnote 1556

Will. Pict. 140. “Contremuit etiam potens metropolis metu, et ne

funditus caderet ullatenus resistendo, maturavit impetrare statum

obediendo.”

Footnote 1557

Ib. “Occurrunt ultro Cantuarii hand procul à Doverâ, jurant

fidelitatem, dant obsides.” So Guy, 613;

“Nobilior reliquis urbs Cantorberia dicta,

Missis legatis, prima tributa tulit.”

Footnote 1558

Wid. Amb. 615;

“Post aliæ plures nimium sua jura timentes,

Regi sponte suâ munera grata ferunt.

...

Omnes dona ferunt et sub juga colla reponunt;

Flexis poplitibus oscula dant pedibus.”

He likens them to flies settling on a wound.

Footnote 1559

See above, p. 358.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 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;

“Per spatium mensis cum gente perendinat illic,

Post aliò vadit castra locare sibi.”

Guy does not mention William’s illness, but his mention of the

month’s delay quite agrees with it.

Footnote 1562

See Appendix K.

Footnote 1563

Wid. Amb. 625;

“Guincestram misit, mandat primatibus urbis,

Ut faciunt alii, ferre tributa sibi.

Hanc Regina tenet Regis de dote prioris

Hetguardi: quare dedecus esse putat

Sic sibi concessam si vadit tollere sedem;

Solum vectigal postulat atque fidem.”

The embassy to Winchester is not mentioned by William of Poitiers.

Footnote 1564

Wid. Amb. 631;

“Unà primates Reginæ consuluerunt,

Illaque concedens ferre petita jubet.

Taliter et Regis præcepto spirat uterque,

Nam dominæ pariter et sua dona ferunt.”

Footnote 1565

Ib. 639;

“A lævâ muris, a dextris flumine tuta,

Hostes nec metuit, nec pavet arte capi.”

Footnote 1566

Wid. Amb. 635;

“Rex sic pacatus tentoria fixa resolvit,

Quo populosa nitet Londona vertit iter.”

Footnote 1567

See the quotation from Florence in p. 534.

Footnote 1568

The expressions of Guy (663 et seqq.) seem distinctly to assert a

siege. We read, for instance,

“Densatis castris a lævâ mœnia cinxit.”

And again,

“Ædificat moles, vervecis cornua ferro,

Fabricat et talpas urbis ad excidium.”

Yet it is impossible to reconcile this with the account in William of

Poitiers. Guy’s description of Westminster (665) is worth notice;

“Dimidiæ leugæ spatio distabat ab urbe

Regia regalis, ante decora nimis,

Fertur ab antiquis quæ Guest vocitata colonis,

Post Petri nomen duxit ab ecclesiâ.

Providus hanc sedem sibi Rex elegit ad ædem,

Quæ sibi complacuit jure nec immeritò:

Nam, veluti patrum testantur gesta priorum,

Ex solito Reges hic diadema ferunt.”

Guy has a little exaggerated the antiquity of Westminster as a royal

dwelling-place.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1570

Will. Pict. 141. “Ut malo duplici superba ferocia contundatur.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1573

See vol. i. p. 410.

Footnote 1574

See vol. ii. pp. 113, 117, 330.

Footnote 1575

See above, p. 485.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1577

On the submission of Berkhampstead, see Appendix PP.

Footnote 1578

Wid. Amb. 681. See above, p. 502.

Footnote 1579

Ib. 685.

“Omnibus ille tamen primatibus imperat urbis;

Ejus in auxilio publica res agitur.”

Footnote 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),

“Molis et erectæ transcendit machina turres,

Ictibus et lapidum mœnia scissa ruunt.”

Footnote 1581

Wid. Amb. 689;

“Solum Rex vocitetur, ait; sed commoda regni,

Ut jubet Ansgardus, subdita cuncta regat.”

Footnote 1582

Ib. 693;

“Natu majores, omni levitate repulsâ,

Aggregat.”

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.

Footnote 1583

Wid. Amb. 715;

“Actutum docilis noster legatus ut hosti

Mittatur, verbis fallere qui satagat,

Servitium simulet, necnon et fœdera pacis,

Et dextras dextræ subdere, si jubeat.”

Footnote 1584

Wid. Amb. 723;

“Sed quia vix patulâ teneatur compede vulpes,

Fallitur a Rege fallere quem voluit.”

Cf. above, pp. 161, 488, but one is a little surprised at the

comparison being made by William’s own laureate.

Footnote 1585

Ib. 725;

“Namque palam laudat Rex atque latenter ineptat

Quidquid ab Ansgardo nuntius attulerat.”

Footnote 1586

Ib. 727;

“Obcæcat donis stolidum verbisque fefellit,

Prœmia promittens innumerosa sibi.”

Footnote 1587

Ib. 735;

“Pulcrior est sole, sapientior et Salomone,

Promptior est Magno, largior et Carolo.”

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);

“Contulit Eguardus quod Rex donum sibi regni

Monstrat et affirmat, _vosque probâsse refert_.”

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.

Footnote 1588

Ib. 731;

“Rex vobis pacem dicit profertque salutem,

Vestris mandatis paret et absque dolis.

...

Hoc igitur superest, ultra si vivere vultis,

Debita cum manibus reddere jura sibi.”

Footnote 1589

Wid. Amb. 741;

“Annuit hoc vulgus, jus turn probat esse senatus,

Et puerum Regem cœtus uterque negat.”

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.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1591

Chron. Wig. 1066. “And bugon þa for neode, þa mæst wæs to harme

gedón.”

Footnote 1592

See above, p. 529.

Footnote 1593

Chron. Wig. 1066. “And gysledan and sworon him aðas.” So Florence;

“Datis obsidibus, illi deditionem fecerunt, fidelitatemque

juraverunt.”

Footnote 1594

Wid. Amb. 747;

“Novit ut adventum, factus Rex obvius illis

Cum puero reliquis oscula grata dedit;

Culpas indulsit, gratanter dona recepit,

Et sic susceptos tractat honorificè.”

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.”

Footnote 1595

Chron. Wig. 1066. “And he heom behet þæt he wolde heom hold hlaford

beon.” Flor. Wig. “Cum quibus et ipse fœdus pepigit.”

Footnote 1596

See Appendix PP.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1598

See above, p. 449.

Footnote 1599

Will. Pict. 141. “Consulens ille comitatos e Normanniâ, quorum non

minùs prudentiam quam fidem spectatam habebat.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 1603

See above, p. 456.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1605

Ord. Vit. 503 B. “Hoc summopere flagitabant Normanni, qui pro fasce

regali nanciscendo suo Principi subierunt ingens discrimen maris ac

prœlii.”

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1607

Ib. “Præsertim sperans, ubi regnare cœperit, rebellem quemque minus

ausurum in se, faciliùs conterendum esse.”

Footnote 1608

Will. Pict. 142. “Præmisit ergo Lundoniam, qui munitionem in ipsâ

construerent urbe, et pleraque competentia regiæ magnificentiæ

præpararent.”

Footnote 1609

See vol. ii. p. 264.

Footnote 1610

See above, p. 130.

Footnote 1611

Will. Pict. 142. “Adversitas omnis procul fuit adeò ut venatui et

avium ludo, si fortè libuit, securè vacaret.” Cf. vol. ii. p. 284.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1613

See above, p. 534.

Footnote 1614

See above, p. 537.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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).

Footnote 1618

See above, p. 284.

Footnote 1619

See above, p. 282.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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

“Præsul celeberrimus unus,

Moribus insignis et probitate cluens.”

“Probitas” generally refers to warlike prowess; but Ealdred’s Welsh

campaign (see vol. ii. p. 110) was not specially glorious.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 1623

That it was a new crown appears from Guy of Amiens (757);

“Auro vel gemmis jubet ut sibi nobile stemma

Illud quo deceat fiat ab artifice.”

He then goes on to devote twenty-four lines to a description of the

jewels which adorned it.

Footnote 1624

The procession is described at length by Guy, 787 et seqq.;

“Tempore disposito quo Rex sacrandus habetur,

Terræ magnates et populosa manus,

Pontificale decus, venerabilis atque senatus

Undique conveniunt Regis ad officium.”

Footnote 1625

This is clear from Guy (801);

“Rex, multâ comitumque ducum vallante catervâ,

Ultimus incedit cum strepitu populi.

Illius et dextram sustentat metropolita,

Ad lævam graditur alter honore pari.”

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.

Footnote 1626

See above, p. 451.

Footnote 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;

“Normannus quidam præsul mox pulpita scandens,

Famosis Gallis talia verba dedit;

‘Oblatus vobis si Rex placet, edite nobis;

Arbitrio vestri nam decet hoc fieri.’

Concessit populus, clerus favet atque senatus;

Quod sermone nequit innuit et manibus.

Sermo peroratur post illum metropolitæ:

Hac eadem linguâ protulit Angligenâ.

Spirat utrimque manus, laudat, spondet famulari,

Annuit ex toto corde subesse sibi.”

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.”

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 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.”

Footnote 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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.

● Used numbers for footnotes, placing them all at the end of the last

chapter.

● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.

● Enclosed bold or blackletter font in =equals=.