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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conque ...
in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conquest of England.
The term "Companions of the Conqueror" in the widest sense signifies those who planned, organised and joined with William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, in the great adventure which was the Norman Conquest (1066-1071). The term is however more narrowly defined as those nobles who actually fought with Duke William in the Battle of Hastings. This article is concerned with the latter narrow definition.
Proof versus legend
Over the centuries since the Battle of Hastings, many people in England have claimed that an ancestor fought on the Norman side. While there is sound evidence of extensive settlement in England by people of Norman, Breton and Flemish origin after 1066, the fact remains that the names of only 15 men who were with Duke William at the battle can be found in reliable sources.
This group is sometimes called the "proven companions," Many lists and so-called "rolls" of other alleged companions have been drawn up over the ages but, unless new evidence turns up, all are conjecture of no historical value. The three unchallenged sources remain as follows:
Reliable contemporary sources
The following three sources constitute the only generally accepted reliable contemporary evidence which names participants at the Battle of Hastings. Between all three sources only 15 names result.
*''Gesta Guillelmi II Ducis Normannorum ("The Deeds of William II, Duke of the Normans"),'' by
William of Poitiers
William of Poitiers ( 10201090) (LA: Guillelmus Pictaviensis; FR: Guillaume de Poitiers) was a Frankish priest of Norman origin and chaplain of Duke William of Normandy (William the Conqueror), for whom he chronicled the Norman Conquest of Eng ...
, written between 1071 and 1077. The author was born in about 1020 in Les Préaux, near
Pont-Audemer
Pont-Audemer () is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France.Poitiers then returned to Normandy to become chaplain to Duke William and archdeacon of
Lisieux
Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland.
Name
The name of the town derives from the ...
. He died in 1090. His work is a eulogistic biography of the Duke. The earlier and concluding parts are lost, but the extant part covers the period between 1047 and 1068 and contains details of the Conqueror's life, although untrustworthy with regard to affairs in England. It gives a detailed description of the preparations for the Norman Conquest of England, the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conque ...
and its aftermath. The work forms the basis for much of the writing of Orderic Vitalis.
*''Historia Ecclesiastica (The Ecclesiastical History),'' by Orderic Vitalis, particularly books 4 & 5. Orderic was born in England in about 1075, the son of a Norman priest, and at the age of 11 became a novice monk in Normandy in the monastery of St Evroul-en-Ouche. He started his great work, commissioned to be primarily a history of his monastery, in about 1110 and continued it until his death in 1142.
* The Bayeux Tapestry, an annotated pictorial representation of the Norman Conquest. It was probably made in Canterbury, shortly after the event in the 11th century (many figures on the tapestry can be shown to have been copied from figures on manuscripts known to have been in Canterbury at the time). It may have been taken to Bayeux by Bishop Odo, William's half brother, when he returned there in the 1070s.
These three sources are unfortunately manifestly inadequate, as all are primarily from a Norman perspective. William of Poitiers, chamberlain to Duke William and a trained knight, who provides the most detail, was absent in France during the battle, and betrays severe prejudices in respect of Breton culture and their role at Hastings. Both William and Orderic state that the Bretons were a major component of the battle array, but neither names any of the Bretons present.
Proven companions
''The order in which names are listed below is that given in the respective sources'':
*(1) Robert de Beaumont, later 1st Earl of Leicester (Source: William of Poitiers)
"A certain Norman, Robert, son of Roger of Beaumont, being nephew and heir to Henry, Count of Meulan, through Henry's sister Adeline, found himself that day in battle for the first time. He was as yet but a young man and he performed feats of valour worthy of perpetual remembrance. At the head of a troop which he commanded on the right wing he attacked with the utmost bravery and success."
"With a harsh voice he (Duke William) called to Eustace of Boulogne, who with 50 knights was turning in flight and was about to give the signal for retreat. This man came up to the Duke and said in his ear that he ought to retire since he would court death if he went forward. But at the very moment when he uttered the words Eustace was struck between the shoulders with such force that blood gushed out from his mouth and nose and half dead he only made his escape with the aid of his followers."
*(3)
William, Count of Évreux
William, Count of Évreux (died 16 April 1118) was a powerful member of the Norman aristocracy during the period following the Norman conquest of England. He is one of the few documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Ha ...
(Source: William of Poitiers)
"There were present in this battle: Eustace, Count of Boulogne; William, son of Richard, Count of Evreux; Geoffrey, son of Rotrou, Count of Mortagne; William FitzOsbern; Haimo, Vicomte of Thouars; Walter Giffard; Hugh of Montfort-sur-Risle; Rodulf of Tosny; Hugh of Grantmesnil; William of Warenne, and many other most renowned warriors whose names are worthy to be commemorated in histories among the bravest soldiers of all time."
William fitz Osbern
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford ...
, later 1st Earl of Hereford (Source: William of Poitiers)
*(6) Aimeri, Viscount of Thouars a.k.a. Aimery IV (Source: William of Poitiers)
*(7)
Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville
Walter Gautier Giffard, Lord of Longueville, Normandy (a.k.a. 'Giffard of Barbastre'), was a Norman baron, a Tenant-in-chief in England, a Christian knight who fought against the Saracens in Spain during the Reconquista and was one of the 15 ...
Hugh de Grandmesnil
Hugh de Grandmesnil (1032 – 22 February 1098), (known in French as ''Hugues'' and Latinised as ''Hugo de Grentmesnil'', aliter ''Grentemesnil'', etc.), is one of the proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle ...
(Source: William of Poitiers)
*(11) William de Warenne, later 1st Earl of Surrey (Source: William of Poitiers)
*(12) William Malet, Lord of Graville (Source: William of Poitiers)
"His (King Harold's) corpse was brought into the Duke's camp and William gave it for burial to William, surnamed Malet, and not to Harold's mother, who offered for the body of her beloved son its weight in gold."
"''Hic Odo Eps (Episcopus) Baculu(m) Tenens Confortat Pueros.''" ("Here Odo the Bishop holding a club strengthens the boys.")
*(14) Turstin fitz Rolf a.k.a. Turstin fitz Rou and Turstin le Blanc, (Source: Orderic Vitalis)
*(15) Engenulf de Laigle (Source: Orderic Vitalis)
Additional companions
These five were agreed upon by both David C. Douglas and Geoffrey H. White and are from the ''Complete Peerage XII-1,'' Appendix L.
*(16) Geoffrey de Mowbray, Bishop of Coutances (Source: William of Poitiers)''Complete Peerage, XII-1,'' App. L, 47-8
*(17) Robert, Count of Mortain (Source: The Bayeux Tapestry)
*(18)
Wadard
Wadard was an 11th century Norman nobleman who is mentioned in Domesday Book, and is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.
Wadard was a noble who travelled to England in 1066 with Duke William of Normandy. He is depicted and named in the Bayeux Tap ...
. Believed to be a follower of the Bishop of Bayeux (Source: The Bayeux Tapestry)
*(19) Vital. Believed to be a follower of the Bishop of Bayeux (Source: The Bayeux Tapestry)
*(20) Gilbert d’Auffay, Seigneur of Auffay (Source: Orderic Vitalis)
Since the time of these lists, J. F. A. Mason in the ''
English Historical Review
''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and ...
Carmen de Hastingae Proelio
The ''Carmen de Hastingae Proelio'' (''Song of the Battle of Hastings'') is a 20th-century name for the ''Carmen Widonis'', the earliest history of the Norman invasion of England from September to December 1066, in Latin. It is attributed to Bish ...
'' (Song of the Battle of Hastings), a poem, said to be by Bishop Guy of Amiens and written shortly after 1066.
* ''
Roman de Rou
''Roman de Rou'' is a verse chronicle by Wace in Norman covering the history of the Dukes of Normandy from the time of Rollo of Normandy to the battle of Tinchebray in 1106. It is a national epic of Normandy.
Following the success of his ''Ro ...
'' (The Romance of Rolf), written by
Wace
Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...
, about 1160-70. Lists 116 names.
*''Cronicques de Normendie'', by William Le Talleur. Published at Rouen, Normandy, in 1487.
*''Collectanea'' by John Leland (d.1552). Based on a Roll of Battle Abbey.
*''Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland,'' by
Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed ( – before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler, who was most famous for his work on ''The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande'', commonly known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles''. It was the "first complete printe ...
(1529–1580), first published in 1577, in England. Said to be based on Le Talleur, and Leland.Raphael Holinshed, ''Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland,'' first published in London, 1577. Further edition of 1587 : ''Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland''J. Johnson & Co., London, 1805 le projet Gutenberg
* Roll of Battle Abbey, various in number, date and reliability, surviving from 16th century. The original version, now long lost, is said to have been placed in
Battle Abbey
Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument.
The Grade I listed site is now ...
, built by William the Conqueror on the spot of King Harold's death, shortly after the Battle.
*Roll of
Dives-sur-Mer
Dives-sur-Mer (, literally ''Dives on Sea''; nrf, Dives sus Mé) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.
History
It was from harbour of Dives-sur-Mer that William the Conqueror set out on the Norman Conques ...
, Normandy, 1862. Names were engraved in 1862 under the auspices of the French Archaeological Society, on the wall of the nave of the Norman church (11th century) of Dives-sur-Mer. Four hundred seventy-five names are listed, based mainly on names contained in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
. The names are therefore merely those of Normans holding land in England in 1086, many of whom may have fought at Hastings.
*Roll of
Falaise
Falaise may refer to:
Places
* Falaise, Ardennes, France
* Falaise, Calvados, France
** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War
* La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France
* The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...
, Normandy, 1931. This consists of a bronze plaque erected on the initiative of the French government in 1931 in the Château de Falaise. It lists 315 names, based on the ''Roman de Rou'' and one of the Battle Abbey Rolls.
References
Citations
Works cited
*''Cokayne's Complete Peerage,'' Revised edition, vol.12, Appendix L, pp. 47–48
*Douglas, David C. & Greenaway, George W. (Eds.) English Historical Documents 1042-1189, London, 1959. "William of Poitiers: the Deeds of William, Duke of the Normans and King of the English," pp. 217–232 & "The Bayeux Tapestry," pp. 232–279.
*Mason, J.F.A., "The Companions of the Conqueror: An Additional Name," ''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. 71, No. 278 (Jan., 1956), pp. 61–69.
Further reading
* Camp, Anthony J. ''My Ancestors Came With the Conqueror: those who did and some of those who probably did not.'' Society of Genealogists, 1990, pp89.
*Douglas, David C. Companions of the Conqueror, ''Jnl of History'', vol.28, 1943, pp. 129–147
* Planché, J.R. The Conqueror and his Companions, 1874
*Moriarty, G. Andrews, "The Companions of The Conqueror," published in ''
The American Genealogist
''The American Genealogist'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on genealogy and family history. It was established by Donald Lines Jacobus in 1922 as the ''New Haven Genealogical Magazine''. In July 1932 it was renamed ...
,'' Vol.21, No. 2, October 1944, pp. 111–113
External links
* C. P. Lewis, "Companions of the Conqueror (1066–1071)," ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' Oxford University Press read online
* Battle Abbey Rol * Roll of Dives-sur-Mer * Roll of Falaise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Companions Of William 01 Of England
Norman conquest of EnglandNormans in EnglandWilliam the Conqueror