CHAPTER 4 Robert of Torigni and Le Bec: The Man and the Myth*

Benjamin Pohl

Introduction

Few chroniclers of 12th-century enjoy the same kind of reputation as Robert of Torigni. Though Robert’s fame falls behind that of his English-born colleagues, and , both of whom he might have known personally,1 he nevertheless has come to be celebrated and stud- ied as one of the greatest bibliophiles of his time.2 Today, Robert is probably known best among scholars and students for two works in particular: the first is his redaction of William of Jumièges’s Gesta Normannorum ducum, a task previously embarked upon, and in a sense prepared for him, by Orderic;3 the second is Robert’s Chronica, a continuation of Sigebert of Gembloux’s World Chronicle. The Chronica, thanks to the work of Thomas Bisson, is about to ben- efit from a new and much-needed critical edition to supersede those published by Léopold Delisle in 1872–73 and Richard Howlett in 1889.4 Having taken the Benedictine habit as a young man in 1128, Robert spent more than a quarter of a century at Le Bec, first as a monk and later as the abbey’s prior. And yet, he is never referred to as ‘Robert of Le Bec’, but either as Robert of Torigni (after his birthplace, Torigni-sur-Vire) or, less frequently now than in previous

* In writing this chapter, I have benefited from the kind help of my co-editor, Laura L. Gathagan, as well as from the expertise of other colleagues. My particular thanks go to Elisabeth van Houts, Thomas Bisson and Laura Cleaver, all of whom read and commented on drafts, as well as to Steven Vanderputten, who advised me on the topic of abbatial ordinations. All remain- ing errors are entirely my own. 1 Bates, “Robert of Torigni”, p. 175. See also Chibnall, “Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni”. 2 See, for example, Stirnemann, “Two Twelfth-Century Bibliophiles”. 3 GND. See also van Houts, “The Gesta Normannorum Ducum”. 4 RT; RT(b). Both these editions are now deemed insufficient by modern editorial standards, which is why Bisson’s edition is very much anticipated by scholars in the field. On Sigebert and his œuvre, see the contributions in Straus, Sigebert de Gembloux; Licht, Untersuchungen.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���8 | doi ��.��63/9789004351905_006 Robert of Torigni and Le Bec 95 scholarship, as Robert of Monte, after Mont-Saint-Michel, where he became abbot in 1154 and spent the last three decades of his life.5 It is probably fair to say that Robert’s reputation between the later 12th cen- tury and today has been shaped, first and foremost, by his activities at Mont- Saint-Michel during the years 1154–86. Indeed, it is this later and extremely prolific period of Robert’s life that has been the subject of renewed scholarly enquiry in recent years. These studies have combined into an increasingly com- plex and comprehensive mosaic that enriches our understanding of Robert’s vita and the development of his personal and professional life while residing at, and presiding over, Mont-Saint-Michel.6 By contrast, we are considerably less well informed about Robert’s previous time at Le Bec (1128–54). The surviv- ing sources are much scarcer and rarely, if ever, has a study been dedicated spe- cifically to investigating a particular aspect of Robert’s life and career before his abbacy.7 Most characterizations of Robert that can be found in scholarship to date appear to paint a more holistic picture, often presenting Robert’s earlier life in the light of his later achievements. In doing so, the implicit assumption seems to be that Robert’s later ‘successes’ must have been to some degree fore- shadowed, or even predetermined, by his earlier activities. Such a teleological approach is not without its problems, however, even where it is born of ne- cessity due to a lack of contemporary sources. In this chapter, I would like to re-examine Robert’s range of activities at Le Bec in the light of the surviving evidence, however scarce and fragmentary. For reasons of space, my analysis focuses on four ‘core activities’, each of which will be discussed in turn: Robert as bibliophile; Robert as scribe; Robert as priest; Robert as administrator and historian. Through this selection, I hope to offer the basis for a more nuanced sketch of Robert’s life at Le Bec, one which might be lacking in grandeur, but instead aims to tease out the man behind the myth, as it were.

5 See, for example, Spear, “Torigni, Robert de”; Embree, “Robert of Torigni”. 6 Apart from the studies referred to frequently in the notes below, these include Chazan, “La représentation de l’Empire”; Béasse, “Au XIIe siècle”; van Houts, “Le roi et son historien”; Foreville, “Robert de Torigni et ‘Clio’ ”. 7 Some aspects of Robert’s career have been discussed in the context of other 12th-century historians and their works, especially Henry of Huntingdon and ; see Greenway, “Henry of Huntingdon”; Wright, “Henry of Huntingdon’s Epistola ad Warinum”.