Walter Gautier Giffard, Lord of Longueville, Normandy (a.k.a. 'Giffard of Barbastre'), was a Norman baron, a

Tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as opp ...

in England, a Christian knight who fought against the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s in Spain during the

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

and was one of the 15 or so known companions of William the Conqueror 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.

Life

WalterThis Walter has been confused with his son, Walter Giffard, 1st Earl of Buckingham. Orderic confused reports of father and son while Freeman, not realizing that the elder Walter had died in the lifetime of the Conqueror, assumed William Rufus had created the first Walter as earl of Buckingham when in fact it was his son Walter who became the first earl. See: ''Records of Buckinghamshire'', Vol 8, Ed. John Parker (Aylesbury: G.T. de Fraine, "Bucks Herald" Office, 1903), pp. 289-293. was the son of Osbern de Bolbec, Lord of Longueville by a sister of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy.Several sisters of Gunnor are named by historical sources but these sources are in conflict regarding which of Gunnor's kin derived from which sister.

Robert of Torigni Robert of Torigni (also known as Roburtus de Monte) (c. 1110–1186) was a Norman monk, prior, abbot and twelfth century chronicler. Religious life Robert was born at Torigni-sur-Vire, Normandy c. 1110 most probably to an aristocratic family but ...

identifies Walter's mother with Gunnor's sister Wevie, and though ''The Complete Peerage'' states the mother was instead Avelina without further explanation, more comprehensive studies of Gunnor's siblings accept Robert de Torigni's version. (G.H. White, "The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy", ''The Genealogist'', New Series, vol. 37 (1920-21), pp. 57–65 & 128–132; Elisabeth van Houts, "Robert of Torigni as Genealogist", ''Studies in Medieval History'' presented to R. Allen Brown, Boydell Press, 1989, pp. 215–233) As such he was first cousin twice removed 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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

.George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol. II, Ed. Vicary Gibbs (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1912), p. 386 note (a) From the mid 1040s Walter's name appears among the loyal supporters of William the Conqueror. Walter was at the

Battle of Mortemer The Battle of Mortemer was a defeat for Henry I of France when he led an army against his vassal, William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy in 1054. William was eventually to become known as William the Conqueror after his successful invasion and ...

and was among the Norman barons who surprised and defeated Counts Odo and Renaud leading the French contingent attacking Normandy from the east. In particular, he and another great vassal Robert of Eu encountered Odo's army encamped in the village of Mortemer with no sentries and the soldiers were drunk.François Neveux, ''A Brief History of the Normans'', Trans. Howard Curtis (London: Constable & Robinson, Ltd., 2008), p. 127 The Normans attacked the French while they slept, most being either killed or taken prisoner. While Odo himself escaped, when King Henry I learned of the fate of his brother Odo's army he promptly withdrew his remaining forces and left Normandy. In 1054 Walter was in charge of maintaining the siege of Arques castle, against William of Talou, who had rebelled against the Conqueror. Like many other Norman and French knights during the eleventh and early twelfth centuries, Walter served as a Christian knight in Spain () against the Saracens.T. A. Archer, 'Giffard of Barbastre', ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 18, No. 70 (Apr., 1903), p. 304 His epithet ''le Barbastre''As examples of some of the pitfalls found in translations of earlier works, Walter Giffard’s epithet ''de Barbastre'' appears in a verse by

Geoffrey Gaimar Geoffrey Gaimar (fl. 1130s), also written Geffrei or Geoffroy, was an Anglo-Norman chronicler. His contribution to medieval literature and history was as a translator from Old English to Anglo-Norman. His ''L'Estoire des Engleis'', or ''History o ...

. The first of his English translators guessed that ''De Barbastre'' referred to Walter being a barber. Geoffrey's second translator thought ''de Barbastre'' was a reference somehow to Walter's cousin, William the Conqueror, being a bastard. In fact, 'Walter de Barbastre' was an honorific gained at the successful siege of Barbastro in Aragon, near Saragossa. See: Archer, 'Giffard of Barbastre', ''EHR'', 18, 70 (1903), pp. 304-05; Lomax, 'The First English Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela', ''Studies in Medieval History: Presented to R.H.C.Davis'' Ed. Henry Mayr-Harting, Hambldeon (1985), 165-176. was earned when he took part in the Siege of Barbastro, an undertaking sanctioned by Pope Alexander II against the Moors in 1064, one of the more famous exploits of that time. By the time of the Conquest, Walter had returned to Normandy bearing a gift of the King of Spain for Duke William, a magnificent war-horse. The same Spanish war-horse duke William called for on the morning of the Battle of Hastings. The Spanish king in question was in all probability

Sancho Ramírez Sancho Ramírez ( 1042 – 4 June 1094) was King of Aragon from 1063 until 1094 and King of Pamplona from 1076 under the name of Sancho V ( eu, Antso V.a Ramirez). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the f ...

of Aragon (1063–1094) who was known for making friends and recruiting knights and soldiers from Northern France.D.W. Lomax, 'The First English Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela', ''Studies in Medieval History: Presented to R.H.C.Davis'', Ed. Henry Mayr-Harting and R.I. Moore (London: The Hambledon Press, 1985), p. 166 Walter was also one of the first, if not ''the'' first in England to go on pilgrimage to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

, which he did after the siege of Barbastro and before returning to Normandy. In early January 1066, after Duke William received news of the crowning of

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

as king of England, he called together a meeting, the Council of Lillebonne, that included six of his key magnates, Walter Giffard being one of them.Elisabeth M.C. van Houts, 'The Ship List of William the Conqueror', ''Anglo-Norman Studies X; Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1987'', Ed. R. Allen Brown (Woodbridge UK: The Boydell Press, 1988), p. 161 After telling them of his plan to invade England and take the crown for himself they supported him fully but suggested he should call a meeting of all his vassals, which William did. In the preparation stage for the Battle of Hastings, Walter was one of the Norman magnates who provided ships for William's invasion fleet. In his case, he provided thirty. Walter was one of two who, having been offered the privilege of carrying William's

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

in the battle, respectfully refused. Although by this time an older warrior with white hair, he wanted both hands free to fight. As a reward for his participation, Walter was granted the feudal barony of Long Crendon, comprising 107 manors, 48 of which were in Buckinghamshire,George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol. II, Ed. Vicary Gibbs (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1912), p. 387 of which the ''

caput Latin words and phrases {{Short pages monitor