Writing William William the Conqueror and the Problem of Legitimacy in Twelfth-Century English Historiography Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie an der Ludwig‐Maximilians‐Universität München vorgelegt von Pia Zachary aus München 2019 Erstgutachter: apl. Prof. Dr. Jörg Schwarz Zweitgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Claudia Märtl Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 7. Februar 2019 Acknowledgements This work is revised from my doctoral thesis submitted at the Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität that could not have been written in this form without the support of numer- ous people, for which I am very grateful. I wish to begin my thanks with my supervisor, Jörg Schwarz, for his constant support, feedback, and encouragement. The thesis was further examined by Claudia Märtl whom I want to thank for her feedback. Further, I want to thank Alessia Bauer for being part of the examination committee and for her constant encouragement. The fellow delegates of the conferences I attended encouraged me and lent me their advice. Thanks go especially to Emily Winkler and Alheydis Plassmann. Emily took her time to discuss my outline and shared her yet unpublished doctoral thesis. Alheydis Plassmann helped me sharpen my topic and introduced me to the Forschungsbereich England mit britischen Inseln im Mittelalter. I owe further thanks to Mark Hengerer and Martin Kaufhold for discussing my exposé with me. I further want to thank to my colleagues at the Writing Center who helped me improving my writing process and especially my English. Special thanks are to Sarah Martin and Mark Olival-Bartley for their patient proof-reading of all kind of texts, not least this one. I also would like to thank the Institut für Nordische Philologie at the University of Mu- nich. Though no longer being a student there, they offered me a working space in the library, which spared me carrying around a countless number of books. The friendly and supportive atmosphere there was one of the reasons I enjoyed writing my thesis as much as I did. Special and heartfelt thanks are due to my friends and family. They have always be- lieved in me (more than I did myself), encouraged me, listened to my problems, or dis- tracted me by going out for a coffee. Table of Contents Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ iii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 1066: The Kings Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror ..................... 2 1.2 Research Status: On Medieval Historiography and William I’s Legitimacy .... 11 1.3 Sources ........................................................................................................ 16 1.3.1 Orderic Vitalis: Historia Ecclesiastica ............................................................ 19 1.3.2 Eadmer of Canterbury: Historia novorum in Anglia ....................................... 24 1.3.3 William of Malmesbury: Gesta Regum Anglorum .......................................... 28 1.3.4 Henry of Huntingdon: Historia Anglorum ....................................................... 31 1.3.5 Roger of Howden: Chronica .......................................................................... 36 1.3.6 William of Newburgh: Historia de rebus anglicis ........................................... 38 2. The Legitimisation of Kings in the Middle Ages .................................................... 42 2.1 Legitimizing the King via Structures to Rule .................................................. 42 2.1.1 The Debate on Feudality ....................................................................... 42 2.1.2 The Election by the Great: Consensual Rule ......................................... 48 2.1.3 The Rise of Bureaucracy ....................................................................... 51 2.2 Legitimizing the King via Ideologies .............................................................. 53 2.2.1 Chosen by God: Ruling by Divine Right ................................................. 53 2.2.2 Rituals and Other Symbols of Royal Power ........................................... 54 2.2.3 The Virtues of a King ............................................................................. 58 2.2.4 The Establishment of Dynasties: Hereditary Right ................................. 60 2.3 Legitimising the King in Anglo-Norman England ........................................... 63 3. The Legitimisation of Kings in Medieval Historiography ....................................... 72 3.1 Legitimising and Reflecting Legitimisation in Medieval Historical Writing ...... 72 3.2 The Depiction of Kings in Medieval Historiography ....................................... 73 3.3 Legitimising the King in Anglo-Saxon Historiography .................................... 79 3.4 The Legitimisation of William I in Eleventh-Century Historiography ............... 85 4. The Legitimisation of William I in Twelfth-Century English Historiography ............ 93 4.1 Authorising Edward the Confessor ................................................................ 93 4.2 Delegitimising Harold Godwinson ............................................................... 105 4.3 God’s Decision: The Battle of Hastings ....................................................... 124 4.4 Crowning the New King .............................................................................. 137 i 4.5 Creating the King: William I as rex iustus .................................................... 145 4.6 Blaming the Normans: The New Aristocracy as Exploiter ........................... 170 4.7 Compensating Atrocity: The Reform of the English Church ........................ 179 4.8 Handing Down the Kingdom ....................................................................... 194 5. Conclusion: The Change in Legitimising William I during the Twelfth Century ... 205 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 219 Primary Sources .................................................................................................... 219 Secondary Sources ............................................................................................... 221 ii Abbreviations ASC Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Eadmer: HN Eadmer of Canterbury: Historia Novorum in Anglia Henry: HA Henry of Huntingdon: Historia Anglorum Orderic Vitalis: HE Orderic Vitalis: Historia Ecclesiastica Roger: Chr. Roger of Howden: Chronica William of Jumièges: GND William of Jumièges: Gesta Normannorum ducum William: GRA William of Malmesbury: Gesta regum Anglorum William: HRA William of Newburgh: Historia Rerum Anglicarum iii 1. Introduction “An entire book could indeed be devoted to the opinions which have been expressed about William [the Conqueror].”1 Bates wrote this at the beginning of his biography about the first Norman English king. William brought with the Norman Conquest many changes to the English kingdom—changes which are still a topic of controversy. The victory at Hastings made William I one of the best-known English kings but also one of the most controversial ones. As apparent from the vast amount of literature—including popular scientific works—and from their various interpretations of it, the Norman Conquest (along with William I) was and still is a controversial yet very popular topic in England. On the one hand, some see it as a civilising progress, or as stated in the famous 1066 and All That, “The Nor- man Conquest was a Good Thing, as from this time onwards England stopped being conquered and thus was able to become top nation [sic!]”2. Others, on the other hand, condemn it as the downfall of the old Anglo-Saxon England.3 Considering the emotions evoked even these days by William’s victory in the Battle of Hastings, the view of the people from the twelfth century seems to be a worthy research subject to better under- stand our memory of 1066. William I’s claim to the throne is first and foremost very problematic: Indeed, he ruled by the right of conquest. This was neither a good founda- tion of his power nor for that of his sons, who claimed the throne after him by the right of birth—especially by taking into consideration that their claims never were unchal- lenged.4 Consequently, Norman propaganda tried in the immediate aftermath of the Conquest to justify William’s rule by other means. Therefore, this work aims to find out how the historiographical sources of the twelfth century adopted these ideas and how they adapted them to address concerns of their present. The twelfth century is especially suitable as a period for investigation because the au- thors to be analysed were mostly born after 1066. Nevertheless, they experienced the consequences and changes brought about by Norman rule, and they had the possibility to speak to eye-witnesses personally. The authors did not belong to the generation that had to eulogise King William but could judge him more independently from politics. Further, at the beginning of the 13th century, the process of assimilation of the two cul- tures had largely concluded and, with the loss of Normandy in 1204, a new relationship of the Norman aristocracy to their former home country began. That makes the twelfth 1 Bates 1989, p. 2. 2 Sellar, Yeatman 1931, p. 17. 3 Chibnall 1999; Baxter 2009, pp. 78–80; Kumar 2013. The changes brought by the Norman Conquest is a huge field of study. For a general overview