Narrative strategy in the Historia ecclesiastica of Orderic Vitalis Submitted by Daniel Roach to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History, March 2014. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Abstract The Historia ecclesiastica of Orderic Vitalis is widely regarded as one of the most important examples of Norman historical writing. Written between c.1114 and 1141 at the monastery of Saint-Evroult on the southern frontier of Normandy, its thirteen books have a broad geographic scope, mixing events within the cloister with those taking place in Normandy, England, France, Spain, southern Italy and the Latin East. This thesis examines the question of why Orderic wrote the Historia. It employs close textual analysis to explore the way in which the purpose of the work is reflected in its content. Each of its four chapters focuses on a major part of the narrative. Chapter 1 examines the textual interplay between Saint-Evroult and southern Italy in books III to VII and challenges the notion that Orderic began the work with a narrow geographical horizon which only expanded in the later books. Chapters 2 and 3 are twin chapters on book IX of the Historia, Orderic’s account of the First Crusade. Chapter 2 argues that Orderic punctuated the narrative of book IX, which was based on the Historia Ierosolimitana of Baldric of Bourgueil, with numerous additional passages that deliberately anchored the story in the history of Saint-Evroult. Chapter 3 suggests that book IX was a wholesale reworking of Baldric’s account in which Orderic actively and carefully edited the text in order to ensure that it was suitable for incorporation into the Historia. Chapter 4, the final chapter, examines the effect of the reign of Henry I on Saint-Evroult in the final books of the Historia, books X to XIII. This chapter reveals the ways in which the history of Saint- Evroult and its network of associated houses was interwoven throughout the larger events of the reign of Henry I. It concludes with an examination of the impact of Henry’s death on the final book of the Historia, book XIII, resulting in the burning of the town of Saint-Evroult iii and instability at the end of Orderic’s life. This analysis reveals the extent to which the Historia ecclesiastica is concerned with the history of Saint-Evroult and its monks, patrons, heroes and enemies. The narrative expands outwards to include important material on distant geographical regions, but it consistently returns to the rich history of the monastery to recount numerous different aspects of its past, indicating that such material constitutes the beating heart of the Historia as a whole. iv Acknowledgements I have numerous people and institutions to thank for helping me in various ways throughout the research and writing of this thesis. The thesis was made possible by the generous award of three-year studentship from the Arts and Humanities Research Council between 2009 and 2012. A grant from The Leeke Church Schools and Educational Foundation in 2010 allowed me to purchase all six volumes of Marjorie Chibnall’s edition of the Historia ecclesiastica of Orderic Vitalis. Finally, I was fortunate enough to receive a research support grant from the Royal Historical Society, which enabled me to present part of this research at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2011. Charlie Rozier and Giles Gasper welcomed me to the workshop on Orderic at Durham in May 2010 and this has led to a fruitful partnership with Charlie, with whom our numerous conversations have proven both stimulating and informative. Many others ought to be thanked for their advice and support and for providing me with copies of their work, often in advance of publication: Bill Aird, Rick Barton, David Bates, Marcus Bull, Edoardo D’Angelo, Sarah Hamilton, Alwyn Harrison, Leonie Hicks, Christopher Holdsworth, Elisabeth van Houts, Simon John, Conor Kostick, Chris Lewis, Elisabeth Mégier, Jonathan Middleton, Barbara Packard, Nicholas Paul, Jonathan Phillips, William Purkis, Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo, Sigbjørn Sønnesyn, Hugh Thomas, Michael Winterbottom, Jamie Wood, and Simon Yarrow. My particular thanks in this regard go to Roger Ray and James Bickford Smith for lending me copies of their unpublished theses on Orderic, and to Steven Biddlecombe for allowing me access to his excellent critical edition of Baldric of Bourgueil’s Historia Ierosolimitana before it had even been examined. Emily Albu and Paul Oldfield v were kind enough to read draft chapters of this thesis and their encouragement was deeply appreciated. Two people deserve special thanks here: Simon Barton and Julia Crick, who have provided outstanding supervision throughout the research and writing process. They have consistently provided all the encouragement, support, wisdom, and constructive criticism that are needed to write a thesis, ensuring that this is a far better piece of work than it would otherwise have been. My deepest thanks, however, must go to my wife, Katy, who has supporting me unswervingly throughout the years that it has taken to bring this project to completion and has likely heard far more about Orderic than she ever wanted to hear. I dedicate this to her, with all my love. vi Abbreviations Amatus of Montecassino Aimé du Mont-Cassin. Ystoire de li normant: édition du manuscrit BnF fr. 688, ed. Michèle Guéret-Laferté (Paris, 2011). Annals Le Prévost, v, 139-72. ANS Anglo-Norman Studies BB Steven J. Biddlecombe, The Historia Ierosolimitana of Baldric of Bourgueil: A New Edition in Latin and an Analysis (unpublished PhD thesis, Bristol, 2010). Bachrach and Bachrach The Gesta Tancredi of Ralph of Caen: A History of the Normans on the First Crusade, trans. Bernard S. Bachrach and David S. Bachrach (Aldershot, 2005). Charters Le Prévost, v, 173-208. Chronicle of Battle Abbey The Chronicle of Battle Abbey, ed. and trans. Eleanor Searle (Oxford, 1980). Dunbar and Loud The History of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino, trans. Prescott N. Dunbar and Graham A. Loud (Woodbridge, 2004). Fairweather Liber Eliensis: A History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth, trans. Janet Fairweather (Woodbridge, 2005). Geoffrey Malaterra De rebus gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae comitis et Roberti Guiscardi ducis fratris eius, auctore Gaufredo Malaterra, ed. Ernesto Pontieri, Rerum Italicarum Scriptorum v (Bologna, 1927-8). Gesta Normannorum The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Ducum Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, 2 vols., ed. and trans. Elisabeth M.C. van Houts (Oxford, 1992-1995). Henry of Huntingdon Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, ed. and trans. Diana Greenway (Oxford, 1996). Historia Ecclesie Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis, 2 vols., ed. and trans. John Abbendonensis Hudson (Oxford, 2002-7). vii HSJ Haskins Society Journal JMH Journal of Medieval History John of Worcester The Chronicle of John of Worcester, II-III, ed. and trans. R. R. Darlington and P. McGurk, (Oxford, 1995-98). Le Prévost Orderici Vitalis ecclesiasticae historiae libri tredecim, ed. A. Le Prévost, 5 vols. (Paris, 1838-55). Liber Eliensis Liber Eliensis, ed. E. O. Blake (London, 1962). Liber memorialis Jean Laporte, ‘Tableau des services obituaires assures par les abbayes de Saint-Evroul et de Jumièges’, Revue Mabillon 46 (1956), 141-88. Necrology ‘Ex Necrologio Uticensi’, in Martin Bouquet (ed.) Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France, vol.23 (Paris, 1894), 484-91. OV Orderic Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica, ed. and trans. Marjorie Chibnall, 6 Vols. (Oxford, 1969-80). Ralph of Caen Radulphi Cadomensis Tancredus, ed. Edoardo D’Angelo, Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 231 (Turnhout, 2011). RHC Occ. Recueil des historiens des Croisades. Historiens occidentaux, 5 vols. (Paris, 1844-85). RMS Reading Medieval Studies SCH Studies in Church History TRHS Transactions of the Royal Historical Society William of Apulia Guillaume de Pouille. La geste de Robert Guiscard, ed. Marguerite Mathieu (Palermo, 1961). William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum, ed. and trans. R. A. B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, 2 Vols. (Oxford, 1998-9). Winchcombe and The Winchcombe and Coventry Chronicles: Hitherto Unnoticed Coventry Chronicles Witnesses to the Work of John of Worcester, 2 vols., ed. and trans. Paul Antony Hayward (Tempe, Arizona, 2010). viii Wolf Geoffrey Malaterra, The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of his Brother Duke Robert Guiscard, trans. Kenneth Baxter Wolf (Michigan, 2005). ix Normandy (taken from Shopkow, History and Community, p.viii) x The Daughter Houses of Saint-Evroult in Southern Italy (adapted from Loud, Latin Church, p.xiv) xi Contents Acknowledgements v List of Abbreviations vii Maps x Normandy x The Daughter Houses of Saint-Evroult in Southern Italy xi Introduction 1 Orderic and his Work 2 Editorial History of the Text 5 Historical Writing and the Monastic Life 6 Historical Writing in the Twelfth Century 10 The Purpose of the Historia 23 The Prologues and Epilogues of the Historia 34 The Reception and Dissemination of the Historia 53 The Historia ecclesiastica as Text 61 Thesis Structure 67 1. In the interests of the church of Ouche: From Saint-Evroult to Southern Italy in books III to VII 73 The Foundation of Saint-Evroult and the Move Towards Southern Italy 81 The Death of William Giroie and the Theft of Gifts for Saint-Evroult 83 The Dispute between Robert of Grandmesnil and Abbot Thierry 88 The Exile of Robert of Grandmesnil 91 The Establishment of Daughter Houses in Southern Italy 94 The Travels and Trials of William Pantulf 106 William of Grandmesnil, Venosa and Memories of the Siege of Durazzo 109 The Relics of St.