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William Longsword (french: Guillaume Longue-Épée, nrf, Willâome de lon Espee, la, Willermus Longa Spata, on, Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler 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 ...
, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1 (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 79 He is sometimes anachronistically dubbed "
duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple, Charles III in ...
", even though the title
duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
(''dux'') did not come into common usage until the 11th century. Longsword was known at the time as count (Latin ''comes'') of
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
.
Flodoard Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are m ...
—always detailed about titles—consistently referred to both
Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
and his son William as ''principes'' (chieftains) of the Normans.


Birth

William Longsword was born "overseas"Neveux and other authorities believe this may have been in England, as Rollo left Neustria for several years, probably for England. See: Neveux, P. 62; ''Complainte sur l'assassinat de Guillaume Longue-Ėpée, duc de Normandie, poème inédit du Xe siècle'', Gaston Paris;
Jules Lair Jules–Auguste Lair (25 May 1836 – 16 May 1907) was a French lawyer, businessman and scholar. At the École des Chartes he studied palaeography, and was offered a position with the Archives, but he decided instead to become a lawyer. At the ag ...
, Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes (1870), Volume 31, Issue 31, p. 397; ''Complainte de la mort de Guillaume Longue Ėpėe''; and Prentout, ''Etude critique sur Dudon de Saint-Quentin'', 178–9 s
to the
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
(while he was still a pagan) and his wife
more danico The phrase ''more danico'' is a Medieval Latin legal expression which may be translated as "according to Danish custom", i.e. under Medieval Scandinavian customary law. It designates a type of traditional marriage practiced in northern Europe ...
Poppa of Bayeux Poppa of Bayeux (; born 880 AD), was the wife ''more danico of the Viking conqueror Rollo. She was the mother of William I Longsword, Gerloc and grandmother of Richard the Fearless, who forged the Duchy of Normandy into a great fief of medi ...
.
Dudo of Saint-Quentin Dudo, or Dudon, was a Picard historian, and dean of Saint-Quentin, where he was born about 965. Sent in 986 by Albert I, Count of Vermandois, on an errand to Richard I, Duke of Normandy, he succeeded in his mission, and, having made a very favor ...
in his
panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
of the Norman dukes describes Poppa as the daughter of a Count Berengar, the dominant prince of that region. In the 11th-century ''Annales Rotomagenses'' (Annals of Rouen), she is called the daughter of Guy, Count of Senlis, otherwise unknown to history.See Commentary: The origin of Poppa at
Stewart Baldwin, ''The Henry Project: "Poppa"
for more detailed discussion and opinions.
Her parentage is uncertain.Neveux, pp. 60–1 According to the Longsword's
planctus A ''planctus'' (" plaint") is a lament or dirge, a song or poem expressing grief or mourning. It became a popular literary form in the Middle Ages, when they were written in Latin and in the vernacular (e.g., the ''planh'' of the troubadours). The ...
, he was baptized a Christian probably at the same time as his father, which
Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
stated was in 912, by Franco, Archbishop of Rouen.


Life

William succeeded Rollo (who would continue to live for about another 5 years) in 927 and, early in his reign, faced a rebellion from
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
who felt he had become too
Gallicised Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), Frenchification, or Gallicization is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by more ...
.''A Companion to the Anglo-Norman World'', ed. Christopher Harper-Bill; Elisabeth Van Houts (Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press, 2007), p. 25 According to
Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
, the leader was Riouf of Evreux,Neveux, p. 72 who besieged William in Rouen. Sallying forth, William won a decisive battle, proving his authority to be duke. At the time of this 933 rebellion William sent his pregnant wife
more danico The phrase ''more danico'' is a Medieval Latin legal expression which may be translated as "according to Danish custom", i.e. under Medieval Scandinavian customary law. It designates a type of traditional marriage practiced in northern Europe ...
, Sprota, to Fécamp where their son Richard was born. In 933 William recognized Raoul as King of Western Francia, who was struggling to assert his authority in Northern France. In turn, Raoul gave him lordship over much of the lands of the
Bretons The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celts, Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, par ...
including
Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period, t ...
, the
Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...
and the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
. The Bretons did not agree to these changes and resistance to the Normans was led by
Alan II, Duke of Brittany Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...
, and Count Berengar of Rennes but ended shortly with great slaughter and Breton castles being razed to the ground, Alan fled to England and Berengar sought reconciliation. In 935, William married Luitgarde, daughter of Count
Herbert II of Vermandois Herbert II (died 23 February 943), Count of Vermandois, Count of Meaux, and Count of Soissons. He was the first to exercise power over the territory that became the province of Champagne. Life Herbert was the son of Herbert I of Vermandois. He w ...
whose dowry gave him the lands of Longueville, Coudres and Illiers l'Eveque. He also contracted a marriage between his sister Adela (''Gerloc'' was her Norse name) and William, Count of Poitou, with the approval of
Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. Biography Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europ ...
. In addition to supporting King Raoul, he was now a loyal ally of his father-in-law, Herbert II, both of whom his father Rollo had opposed. In January 936 King Raoul died and the 16-year-old Louis IV, who was living in exile in England, was persuaded by a promise of loyalty by William, to return and became king. The Bretons returned to recover the lands taken by the Normans, resulting in fighting in the expanded Norman lands. The new king was not capable of controlling his Barons and after William's brother-in-law, Herluin II, Count of Montreuil, was attacked by Flanders, William went to their assistance in 939,
Arnulf I, Count of Flanders Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 965), called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders. Life Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische S ...
retaliated by attacking Normandy. Arnulf captured the castle of
Montreuil-sur-Mer Montreuil (; also nl, Monsterole), also known as Montreuil-sur-Mer (; pcd, Montreu-su-Mér or , literally ''Montreuil on Sea''), is a sub-prefecture in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It is located on the Canche river, not far fr ...
expelling Herluin. Herluin and William cooperated to retake the castle.David Nicholas, ''Medieval Flanders'' (London: Longman Group UK Limited, 1992), p. 40 William was
excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
for his actions in attacking and destroying several estates belonging to Arnulf. William pledged his loyalty to King Louis IV when they met in 940 and, in return, he was confirmed in lands that had been given to his father, Rollo. In 941 a peace treaty was signed between the Bretons and Normans, brokered in Rouen by King Louis IV which limited the Norman expansion into Breton lands. The following year, on 17 December 942 at
Picquigny Picquigny () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Picquigny is situated at the junction of the N235, the D141 and D3 roads, on the banks of the river Somme, some northwest (and downstream) o ...
on an island on the Somme, William was ambushed and killed by followers of Arnulf while at a peace conference to settle their differences.


Family

William had no children with his Christian wife Luitgarde.Neveux, p. 90 He fathered his son,
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
, with Sprota.Sprota married Esperling, a rich miller in the Pont-de-l’Arche-Louviers region. By her, he had a son, Count
Rodulf of Ivry Rodulf of Ivry (Rodolf, Raoul, comte d'Ivry) (died c. 1015) was a Norman noble, and regent of Normandy during the minority of Richard II. Life Rodolf was the son of Eperleng, a rich owner of several mills at Vaudreuil, and of his wife Sprota, w ...
, who was one of the most trusted advisers of his half-brother, Richard I of Normandy. See Searle, p. 108 and ''The Normans in Europe'', p. 57
his wife ''more danico''.''The Normans in Europe'', p. 47 Richard, then aged 10, succeeded as Ruler of Normandy upon William's death in December 942.


Notes


References


External links


Planctus for William
{{DEFAULTSORT:William Longsword 890s births 942 deaths Burials at Rouen Cathedral Year of birth uncertain 10th-century Dukes of Normandy Dukes of Normandy House of Normandy 10th-century Normans 10th-century rulers in Europe Converts to Christianity from pagan religions Norman warriors