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The ''De obitu Willelmi'' ('On the death of King William') is a short Latin text connected with, but independent of,
William of Jumièges William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 - died after 1070) (french: Guillaume de Jumièges) was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only ...
's ''
Gesta Normannorum Ducum ''Gesta Normannorum Ducum'' (''Deeds of the Norman Dukes'') is a chronicle originally created by the monk William of Jumièges just before 1060. In 1070 William I had William of Jumièges extend the work to detail his rights to the throne of Engl ...
''. Surviving in full in just one manuscript, it describes the death of
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
, King of England and Duke of
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, though does so in ways heavily influenced by literary traditions, notably those created by
Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita ...
's Life of Charlemagne, and the ''Vita Ludovici imperatoria'' by the so-called Astronomer. It has been suggested that it was written to delegitimise one of William's sons,
Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...
.Katherine Lack, 'The De Obitu Willelmis: Propaganda for the Anglo-Norman Succession, 1087–88?', ''English Historical Review'' 123 (2008), 1417-1456. The text is translated into English by R.Allen Brown, in his ''The Norman Conquest'' (1984), pp. 47–9.


References

William the Conqueror Medieval Latin literature {{Manuscript-stub