Source: Textual EditionWilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi

Edition(s)

Editor Article or Book Title Journal or Pub.Loc. Date pp. R.H.C. Davis and M. Chibnall The Gesta Gvillelmi of William of Poitiers Oxford 1998

Translation(s)

Editor Article or Book Title Journal or Pub.Loc. Date pp. R.H.C. Davis and M. Chibnall The Gesta Gvillelmi of William of Poitiers Oxford 1998

Event/Transaction List

Factoid Type Source Reference Short Description 1 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.1 Cnut 3 died and lost his kingdom. 2 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.1 Cnut 3 and his father [Swein 1] conquered the English kingdom. 3 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.1 Harold 5 obtained his throne and crown. 4 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.1 Exiles Edward 15 and Alfred 54 were living in the court of their kinsman William 1. 5 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.1 Edward 15 and Alfred 54 fled as boys to their maternal uncles in Normandy to avoid being murdered. 6 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.2 On hearing of the death of Cnut 3, Edward 15 crossed the sea with forty ships packed with armed forces and landed in Southampton. 7 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.2 In Southampton Edward 15 came up against a great multitude of English lying in ambush to kill him. Edward 15 swiftly overcame them with great slaughter, turned round his ships and returned to Normandy with great booty. 8 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.2 Alfred 54 sailed from Wissant to Dover well prepared for armed opposition, seeking his father [Cnut 3's] sceptre. 9 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.3 Godwine 51 went to meet Alfred 54 openly, as if to honour him, promised his help, giving Alfred 54 his kiss and his right hand as a pledge of faith. Godwine 51 also admitted Alfred 54 to his table and his counsels. But in the middle of the following night Godwine 51 tied Alfred 54's hands behind his back while Alfred 54 was unarmed and heavy with sleep. Godwine 51 sent Alfred 54 to King Harold 5 in London with some of Alfred 54's similarly bound followers; of the remainder some were imprisoned and some put to death through disembowelling. 10 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.3 Harold 5 has Alfred 54's companions beheaded in his presence, and Alfred 54 blinded and sent to the Isle of Ely in shameful nakedness to be tortured in exile and starvation. Harold 5 wanted to frighten Edward 15 with the sufferings of his brother Alfred 54. 11 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.3 Alfred 54 perished because he could not survive long since while his eyes were put out with a knife the point damaged his brain. 12 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.5 Harold 5 died. 13 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.5 Harthacnut 1 returned from Denmark. 14 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.5 Harthacnut 1 did not desire Edward 15's death, but only his advancement. 15 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.14 William 1 supported and counselled Edward 15, sending envoys to England on his behalf. 16 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.14 Harthacnut 1 died. 17 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.14 Edward 15 was at last crowned and placed on this father [Æthelred 32]'s throne. 18 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.14 William of Poitiers claims that Edward 15 promised William 1 the English crown on account of their consanguinity and as a token of his gratitude for the honour and affection Edward 15 had been shown by William 1 in Normandy. 19 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.14 Edward 15 sent to William 1 through Robert 5 hostages of noble birth, a son [Wulfnoth 26] and a grandson [Hakon 3] of Earl Godwine 51. 20 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.41 William of Poitiers claims that Edward 15, preparing for his nearing death, confirmed his pledge of making of William 1 his heir with an oath, sending Harold 3 [to Normandy]. 21 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.41 To confirm the pledge with an oath, Edward 15 sent [to Normandy] Harold 3, whose brother [Wulfnoth 26] and nephew [Hakon 3] had been received as hostages for William 1's succession, see also I.14. 22 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.41 Harold 3 escaped the dangers of the crossing of the sea and landed on the coast of Ponthieu, where he fell into the hands of Count Guy 1, because the locals lay ambushes for the wealthy, caught, imprisoned and humiliated them, and then had them ransomed. 23 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.41 William 1, on hearing of Harold 3's capture, despatched envoys to Guy 1 and got Harold 3 out of prison by a mixture of prayers and threats, and went to meet him and receive him honourably. Guy 1 could have sold Harold 3 to the castle of Eu, but instead handed him over to William 1, for which William 1 rewarded Guy 1 with land and money. Then William 1 honourably escorted Harold 3 to Rouen and showed him every kind of hospitality. 24 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.42 Harold 3 swore fealty to William 1. Many truthful witnesses heard that in his oath Harold 3 clearly and of his free will promised to be the vicar of William 1 at the court of Edward 15; to ensure that the English monarchy should be pledged to William 1 after Edward 15's death; to fortify the castle of Dover for William 1's knights at Harold 3's expense; to furnish with provision and garrisons other castles chosen by William 1. 25 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.42 William 1, after he had received Harold 3 as his vassal and before he took the oath, confirmed all Harold 3's lands and powers to him at his request. 26 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.43 William 1 provided Harold 3 and his men with knightly arms and the finest horses, and took them to the Breton war, treating Harold 3 as his companion in arms to make him by that honour more faithful. 27 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.46 On his return to Normandy, William 1 kept Harold 3 as his valued guest for a while longer and then sent him back to Edward 15 with rich gifts for Harold 3 and Edward 15. 28 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  I.46 William 1 released Hakon 3 out of respect to Edward 15 to return with Harold 3. 29 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.1 The English land lost its king [Edward 15]. 30 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.1 Harold 3 did not wait for a public election, but on the day of Edward 15 was buried he violated his oath and seized the royal throne; Stigand 1 consecrated him. 31 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.1 Edward 15 was buried. 32 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.1 Stigand 1 was deprived of his priestly office by the just zeal and anathema from the pope [Leo 6 IX]. 33 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.1 William 1 took counsel with his men and decided to claim his inheritance by force of arms, although many argued that the enterprise was too arduous and far beyond the resources of Normandy. 34 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.2 William 1 directed ships to be built and equipped with arms, men, provisions, and the other things necessary for war [with England]. Normandy eagerly bent to the task. Foreign knights flocked to join William 1 in great numbers, attracted by his liberality and the justice of his cause. 35 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.4 Harold 3 was ready to give battle on land or sea and spread out a vast army over the greater part of the sea-coast. 36 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.4 Harold 3 sent spies across the sea to William 1. One was captured and tried to conceal the purpose of his journey from William 1. William 1 exposed him and sent the spy back to Harold 3 with a message: Harold 3 will have nothing to fear from William 1 if, within the space of one year, he has not seen William 1 in the place Harold 3 thinks safest for his fleet. 37 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.8 Carried by a favourable breeze to Pevensey, William 1 and his army disembarked easily from the ships without having to offer battle. 38 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.8 Harold 3 went away to Yorkshire to fight against his brother Tosti 2 and Harald 5, king of the Norwegians. 39 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.8 Tosti 2 brought foreign [Norwegian] arms against Harold 3, incensed by his injuries and eager to regain his confiscated lands. 40 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.8 Harold 3 confiscated Tosti 2's lands. 41 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.8 Eadgyth 3, unable to take up arms against Tosti 2, fought him with prayers and counsel. 42 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.8 Eadgyth 3 wished William 1 to rule over the English on account of her husband King Edward 15's choice. 43 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.9 William 1 and his men occupied Pevensey and Hastings, and then went to investigate the region with no more than twenty-five knights. 44 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.10 Harold 3 is advancing against William 1 by forced marches with a strong and numerous troop. William 1 is warned by a messager and decides to fight with Harold 3 as soon as possible rather than take refuge in the shelter of ditch or walls. 45 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.10 Harold 3 killed Tosti 2 in a battle and destroyed his huge army. 46 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.10 Harold 3 killed Harald 5 in a battle and destroyed his huge army. 47 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.11 Harold 3 sent a monk to deliver a message to William 1. William 1 passed himself for his own steward, heard the message and invited the monk to repeat it publicly next morning. Harold 3's message read: 'You [William 1] have invaded his [Harold 3's] land, whether from confidence or rashness he does not know. He recalls, indeed, that King Edward 15 formerly decreed that you should be heir to the English kingdom, and that he himself gave you surety in Normandy for this succession. He knows, however, that the kingdom is his by right, by gift of the same king his lord, made to him on his deathbed. For ever since the time when St Augustine 1 came to these parts, the common custom of this people has been that the gift that anyone made at the point of death shall be held as valid. Wherefore he rightly demands that you should leave this land with your men. Otherwise he will end the friendship and break all the pacts made by him to you in Normandy, leaving the responsibility entirely with you'. 48 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.11 Harold 3 claimed the kingdom of England by gift of Edward 15, made to him on his deathbed. 49 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.11 Edward 15 formerly decreed that William 1 should be the heir to the English kingdom. 50 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.11 William 1 sent a monk to Harold 3 with a message, reciting their previous interaction and expressing his readiness to put his case against Harold 3 concerning the right over the kingdom of England to judgement by the law of the English or of the Normans. 51 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.12 Edward 15 made William 1 his heir with the advice of his magnates: Archbishop Stigand 1, Earl Godwine 51, Earl Leofric 49 and Earl Siweard 11. 52 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.13 Harold 3 ignored William 1's offer entrust the future of the kingdom of England to either a single combat between the two claimants, or the judgement determined by the laws of their people. Instead Harold 3 decided to continue advancing against William 1 and fight for the victory. 53 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.14 [Before the Battle of Hastings William 1] hung around his neck in humility the relics whose protection Harold 3 had forfeited by breaking the oath that he had sworn on them. 54 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.15 - 24 The entry lists all personalities listed by William of Poitiers as participants of the Battle of Hastings. 55 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.25 The king's [Harold 3's] two brothers ([Gyrth 1] and [Leofwine 69]) were found very near to his body. He himself was recognized by certain marks, not by his face, for he had been despoiled of all signs of status. 56 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.25 [Harold 3] was carried into the camp of the duke [William 1], who entrusted his burial to William 6 surnamed Malet, not to his mother [Gytha 1], though she offered his weight in gold for the body of her beloved son. For he [William 1] knew it was not seemly to accept gold for such transaction. He considered that it would be unworthy for him to be buried as his mother wished, when innumerable men lay unburied because of his overweening greed. It was said in jest that he should be placed as guardian of the shore and sea, which in his madness he had once occupied with his armies. 57 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.25 William 1 refused Harold 3's body to his mother [Gytha 1], even though she offered his weight in gold. 58 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.25 William of Poitiers claims that Harold 3 lies buried in a tumulus on the seashore, even though in the previous sentence he called it a jest. 59 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.25 Harold 3 stained himself with his brother [Tosti 2's] blood. 60 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.28 Stigand 1... was threatening [William 1] with battle together with the sons of Ælfgar 46, [Edwin 33] and [Morcar 3], together with other nobles. 61 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.28 English nobles chose Edgar 14 Ætheling as their king. 62 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.30 [Ealdred 37], archbishop of York, addressed the English before William 1's coronation and asked them whether they would consent to him being crowned as their lord. They all shouted their joyful assent, joined by the Normans when [Geoffrey 2] asked them. Then [Ealdred 37] consecrated William 1, crowned him with the diadem of kings, and seated him on a royal throne, in the presence of many bishops and abbots, in the basilica of St Peter the apostle, which boasted of possessing the tomb of King Edward 15, on the holy feast of Christmas in the year of Our Lord 1066. 63 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.28 Stigand 1 the archbishop, coming to William 1 to Wallingford, did homage to him, confirmed his fealty with an oath, and renounced [Edgar 14] the Ætheling, whom he had elected without due consideration. 64 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.30 The basilica of St Peter the apostle [in Westminster] boasted of possessing the tomb of King Edward 15. 65 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.30 William 1 liberally distributed what Harold 3 had shut up in the royal treasure store. 66 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.31 William 1 sent the banner of Harold 3 to the church of St Peter in Rome. 67 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.32 Cnut 3 the Dane slaughtered the noblest of [England's] sons, young and old, with the uttermost cruelty. 68 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.32 William of Poitiers claims that William 1 did not desire the death of Harold 3, but rather he wished to increase for him the power of his father Godwine 51, and give him in marriage to his own daughter [Adelida 1]... as had been promised. 69 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.32 [William 1] has lifted from [England's] neck the proud and cruel lordship of Harold 3; he has killed the execrable tyrant who was forcing [England] into a servitude that was both disastrous and shameful. 70 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.33 [William 1] did not approve of the pontificate of Stigand 1, which he knew to be uncanonical, but thought it better to await the pope [Alexander 1]'s sentence than to depose him hastily. 71 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.34 [In Barking] Edwin 33 and Morcar 3... came to submit to [William 1]; they sought his pardon for any hostility they had shown him, and surrendered themselves and all their property to his mercy. Various other wealthy nobles did the same, amongst them Earl Copsi 1... [William 1] readily accepted their oaths, as they had requested, freely granted them his favour, restored all their possessions, and treated them with great honour. 72 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.35 The Ætheling [Edgar 14], whom the English tried to make their king after Harold 3's downfall, [William 1] endowed with ample lands; he held him among his dearest friends, because he was of the stock of King Edward 15, and also so as to ensure that he, still a mere boy, did not grieve too much at not having the honour to which he had been elected. 73 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.38 Leaving for Normandy from Pevensey William 1 was determined to take away with him those Englishmen of high rank whose loyalty and power he particularly suspected: Archbishop Stigand 1, Edgar 14 the Ætheling, kinsman of King Edward 15, the three earls Edwin 33, Morcar 3 and Waltheof 2, and many others..., so that during his absence no revolt instigated by them might break out, and the general populace, deprived of their leaders, would be less capable of rebellion. 74 Event WilliamofPoitiers.GestaGuillelmi  II.48 Earl Copsi 1 died an unjust death. He was entirely favourable to the king [William 1] and supported his cause. But his subordinates did not share his views and tried to turn him from his duty. Finally, they laid an ambush and murdered him.