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", 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 rank ...

(''dux'') did not come into common usage until the 11th century. Longsword was known at the time as count (Latin ''comes'') of Rouen. Flodoard—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, 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 ...

(while he was still a pagan) and his wife more danico

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 favo ...

in his panegyric 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). Th ...

, he was baptized a Christian probably at the same time as his father, which Orderic Vitalis 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: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

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 mor ...

.''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, 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, 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 Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mo ...

including Avranches, 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.'' *Al ...

, 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 E ...

. 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. Guillaume longue epee rouen jnl

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 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 Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, 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, 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