Master Wace, His Chronicle of the Norman Conquest From the Roman De Rou

INTRODUCTION

A detailed narrative of events so interesting as those which preceded and attended the conquest of England by William, duke of Normandy, needs little apology for its introduction, for the first time, to the english reader. If his feelings are at all in unison with those of the translator, he will welcome the easy access thus afforded to this remarkable chronicle;—by far the most minute, graphic, and animated account of the transactions in question, written by one who lived among the immediate children of the principal actors. The historian will find some value in such a memorial of this great epoch in english affairs;—the genealogist will meet in it some interesting materials applicable to his peculiar pursuits;—and the general reader will hardly fail to take a lively interest in such an illustration of the history of the singular men, who emerged in so short a time from the condition of roving barbarians into that of the conquerors, en noblers, and munificent adorners of every land in which they settled, and to whom the proudest families of succeeding ages have been eager to trace the honours of their pedigree.

MASTER WACE, the author of the ROMAN DE ROU and chronicle of the dukes of Normandy, from which the ensuing pages are extracted, tells concerning himself, in his prologue, all that is known with any degree of certainty. His name, with several variations of orthography, is not an unusual one in early norman history, though he has not claimed an identification with any known family distinguished by it. The name of Robert, which has been usually assigned to him as an addition, has no sufficient warranty. It certainly occurs in connection with that of Wace in the charters of the abbey of Plessis-Grimoult; (see the Mémoires des antiquaires de Norm, viii.); but Richard Wace, a priest whose name occurs in the chartulary of the abbey of St. Sauveur le Vicomte, has been speculated upon by the Abbé de la Rue as having a more probable claim of identification.

In speaking of the numbers which composed William's invading fleet, Wace says,

and it has been in consequence supposed that he intended to represent his father as a cotemporary and even an eye witness of the expedition. It will, however, be easily seen that this is extremely improbable. Wace lived and wrote as late as at least 1173, and could hardly have been born earlier than the commencement of the eleventh century. The assumption that his father was adult in 1066 would give to the latter an improbable age at his son's birth, and a very great one at the time when the 'varlet' could have listened to the tale of his parent's experience. The probability, therefore, is, that Wace only meant to refer to his father as a suitable authority, conveying information which he might easily have derived from living among those who actually shared in the expedition. It is clear, however, that in another place, p. 115, he directly asserts his own communication with persons adult at the conquest; for, in speaking of the comet that preceded it, he refers to the report of eye-witnesses as his personal authority:

Master Wace tells us that he was born in Jersey;—probably soon after 1100. He was taken young to be educated at Caen, and proceeded thence to the proper dominions of the king of France; returning eventually to Caen, where he betook himself to writing 'romanz.' He says that he finished his 'Roman de Brut' (now in course of publication at Rouen) in 1155; and that he lived under three Henries; namely Henry I. and II. of England, and the latter's son Henry, who died young. His principal patron was Henry II. who gave him a prebend of the cathedral of Bayeux. It appears, we are told, from the archives of that church, that he held the office nineteen years. We learn from him, however, that he did not consider his reward equal to his desert; and he dwells on further promises, which would have been more acceptable if followed by performance.

His chronicle (which he says he wrote in 1160) continues down to 1106; and ends in apparent ill humour at Benoit de Sainte-More's being employed upon a similar task. His concluding words are,

He is reported to have died in England as late as 1184. He certainly wrote after 1173, for his ascending chronicle of the dukes of Normandy speaks of events which occurred in that year.

The earlier portions of his chronicle, like the pages of Ordericus Vitalis, teem with wonders. His principal sources of these materials were Dudo de St. Quintin, and William of Jumieges. But, as M. Guizot observes in vindication of the latter, the reproach is certainly not, that having truth and error within his reach he selected the latter, but that with no choice about the matter he used the only materials that were in his power. When he reached the era of the conqueror, more complete and authentic information was within his reach; and the perusal of this later portion of his work will perhaps leave no unfavorable impression as to the judgment and fidelity with which he has used his materials, especially with regard to the narrative of the great english expedition. There is an obvious desire to represent the truth, and to state the doubt when certainty was not attainable; and it may not escape the reader, that though Wace is far from wanting in poetic spirit, he sometimes rejects precisely those ornaments of his story which were most attractive for a poet's purpose, and for the use of which grave example might be pleaded.

He is particularly interesting whenever his subject leads to local description applicable to his more immediate neighbourhood. From that part of Normandy in particular his list of the chiefs present at the battle of Hastings has its principal materials. The allusions, in which he abounds, to the personal history and conduct of many of these leaders give great value to this portion of his chronicle. Anachronisms no doubt are easily to be discovered, from which none of the chroniclers of the day were or could be expected to be exempt. His christian names are sometimes incorrect; an error which he certainly might have avoided had he followed the safer policy of Brompton, who covers his inability to enter upon that branch of his work, by roundly asserting that truth was unattainable.

If Wace is followed on the map, it will readily be seen to what extent the fiefs in his own district of Normandy predominate in his catalogue. He even commemorates the communes of neighbouring towns; and the arrangement throughout is determined by circumstances of propinquity, by rhyme, or other casual association.

But with all the drawbacks which may be claimed, Wace's roll, partial and confined in extent as it is, must always be considered an interesting and valuable document. Even if it be taken as the mere gossip and tradition of the neighbourhood, it belongs to a period so little removed from that of the immediate actors, that it cannot be read with indifference. It bears a character of general probability in the main, of simplicity and of absence of any purpose of deception. It puts together much local and family information, gathered by an intelligent associate of those whose means of knowledge was recent and direct; and it may be read, so far as it goes, with far less distrust, and is in fact supported by more external authority both positive and negative, than those lists which were once of high pretension, but are now universally abandoned as fabricated or corrupt.1

The narrative of the english expedition is the main object of the present volume: but it seemed desirable to prefix the leading passages of William's early history; not only for the purpose of introducing many of the persons with whom the reader is afterwards to become better acquainted, but with the view of exhibiting a lively picture of the difficulties attending William's opening career—of the energy with which he triumphed over his enemies, and directed his turbulent subjects to useful purposes—and of the hazards he incurred, in attempting so bold an expedition in the presence of such dangerous neighbours. The narratives of the revolt quelled at Valdesdunes, and of the affairs of Arques, Mortemer, and Varaville, are among the most picturesque and graphic portions of Wace's chronicle, and derive much interest from their bearing upon local history and description.

The division into chapters, it may be proper to observe, is a liberty taken with the original by the translator; and his further liberties are those of omitting portions of the duke's early adventures, and of restoring, in one or two cases, the proper chronological arrangement, which Wace does not always observe.

It may be asked, why the version is prose? The answer may be, that the translator's wish was to place before the english reader a literal narrative, and not to attempt the representation of a poetical curiosity; if conscious of the power of so doing, to which however he makes no pretension. To those, who wish to judge of the style and diction of the original chronicle, it is easily accessible in the Rouen edition; and occasional extracts will be given, which may answer the purpose of most readers. It was considered to be an idle attempt to pretend to represent such a work in modern english verse. In so doing, the fidelity of the narrative must have been more or less sacrificed, especially if rhyme had been attempted; and without rhyme there could hardly have been much resemblance.

The object in view has been to represent the author's narrative simply and correctly; but the printed text is obviously inaccurate, and its want of precision in grammar often creates difficulty in translation. The lapse of words, and even of lines, defects in the rhymes, and other circumstances noticed in M. Raynouard's observations, betry the inaccuracy of the MS. from which it is taken. Nevertheless, this MS.—the one of the British Museum, MS. Reg. 4. C. xi.,—appears to be, on the whole, the best of the existing transcripts. It is of the date of about 1200; its style is anglicized, the grammar loose, and parts of it are lost. It has one peculiar interest, that of having belonged to the library of Battle abbey, for which it was no doubt made; it bears the inscription, 'LIBER ABBATIÆ SANCTI MARTINI DE BELLO.'

The plan and extent of this volume did not admit of discussions concerning the many disputed historical questions as to the respective rights, wrongs, pretentions or grievances of the great rivals, whose fates were decided by the expidition. Abundant materials are now open for the English reader's judgment, in the historical works adapted to such inquiries. Wace's account, published at a norman court, and under the patronage of the conqueror's family, may be expected to represent the leading facts in light favourable to norman pretensions; but on the whole, the impression left on a perusal of his report will probably be, that it is fair, and creditable to the author's general judgment and fidelity as an historian.

Notes are appended to the text, directed mainly to local and genealogical illustrations, and particularly to that species of information which is, in a great degree, new to the english reader,—the pointing out the cradles of great norman families, whose representatives are stated to have been present at the expedition. Much of the material for this purpose was supplied in the truly valuable and interesting notes to the Rouen edition, written by M. Auguste Le Prevost, a resident antiquary of great and deserved reputation, who has also obliged the translator by additional illustrations in MS. Further information has been sought in various other quarters. The translator's wish has been to keep the branch of his work within reasonable limits; though the result may after all be, that he will be thought too diffuse on these points for the general reader, and too brief for the satisfaction of those whose pursuits lie in the direction of such inquiries. Wherever notes, borrowed substantially from M. Le Prevost, may be considered as turning on his personal or local information, his authority is cited by adding his initials, A.L.P. It was believed that all were likely to attach importance on doubtful subjects to the testimony or opinion of an active and intelligent local inquirer. But, on the other hand, the translator has not scrupled on all occasions to use his own judgment, and the assistance derived from other sources; and these have sometimes led him to different conclusions from those of his predecessors. He has particularly to acknowledge his great obligations to Mr. Stapleton, for supervision of his notes on chapters 22 and 23. Those who know the extent and accuracy of that gentleman's acquaintance with these subjects, will appreciate the great value of his assistance.

In the notes on those chapters, the translator's design has mainly been to trace the locality of the fiefs in question, and to refer to other evidence, such as that of Domesday, with regard to each holder's share in the expedition; adding, where it could be done, the state and ownership of such fiefs at the time of the compilation of the roll of Hen. II. copied into the Red book of our exchequer. The english history of these families has not been dwelt upon. Those who wish to follow up that branch of the subject, can at once refer to Dugdale's Baronage, and other authorities easily accessible. In the references to Domesday book, the obviously convenient method has been to have recourse to the very useful Introduction to that record, published in 1833, under the direction of the Record-commissioners.

In the orthography of the proper names, that of Wace has been strictly observed in the translator's text; his notes generally giving what is conceived to be the proper or more modern version of each. The necessity for this precaution is abundantly shown by the confusion and mistakes that have arisen from modernizing names, (of the true relation or derivation of which a translator is sometimes scantily informed,) without supplying at the same time the opportunity of correction, by a faithful quotation of the original. The translator here begs to express his fear lest he has in one respect violated his own rule, by the use he has made of FITZ as a prefix. It is right the reader should bear in mind, that throughout the original the term used is filz,—such as 'le filz Osber de Bretuil,' &c.; and it might have been better, by a literal translation, to have avoided the appearance of an anachronous use of the patronymic form afterwards so common.

The proper completion of the notes would consist in tracing the identity and possession of the fiefs, from the Red book roll of the exchequer down-wards, to the lists formed, after the general confiscation of the estates of king John's adherents, by Philip Augustus. The translator has only had access to the former, as to which a few words may be said. It is a beautiful transcript from a roll, a portion of which still exists, according to the report of Mr. Stapleton, in the Hotel Soubise at Paris. Ducarel has printed, though very incorrectly, a transcript from our exchequer record.2 The roll itself was probably completed between the twentieth and thirtieth years of Hen. II.; but that part of it which relates to the fees of the cathedral church of Bayeux is an abstract of an inquest of an earlier date, namely, of about 1133, taken on the death of Richard Fitz-Samson the bishop, and lately printed in the 8th vol. of the Mémoires des antiquaires de Normandie.' This circumstance creates anachronisms in the roll, that are still more apparent in the one published—also incorrectly—in Duchesne's Scriptores, from a MS. now in the King's library at Paris. The roll of Hen. II. is only the basis of Duchesne's; which was obviously compiled after the confiscations of Philip Augustus; to whose era, and the then existing state of things, the entries are made to conform. Some who have not examined into the minutise of these records, have supposed that the list, with which they close, of men who neither appeared nor made any return, refers to those who adhered to John; instead of its being, as the fact is, a mere record of defaulters under Hen. II.

There are historical traces of attempts under that monarch, to form a sort of norman Domesday, for purposes, no doubt, of revenue. It would seem that this design was resisted, and perhaps was only imperfectly executed in the form we find the existing roll. Philip Augustus afterwards caused much more complete registers of the Fœda Normannorum to be formed. Transcripts of these are in the King's library, and at the Hotel Soubise, and partially in the Liber-niger of Coutances which M. de Gerville quotes. The 'Fœda Normannorum' in Duchesne seems part of a document of this later period.

While this volume was in progress, and after the notes had been prepared, the 7th and 8th vols, of the 'Mémoires des antiquaires de Normandie' reached the translator. They contain a calendar and analysis of a vast number of charters to religious houses within the department of Calvados, and furnish a perpetual recurrence of the names of the early owners of the principal fiefs in that district.

Another great addition has at the same time been made to the stock of materials for the illustration of Wace, in the publication at Rouen of the first vol. of the 'Chroniques Anglo-Normandes,' comprising such portions of Gaimar, of the Estotre de Seint Ædward le Rei, of the continuation of Wace's Brut d'Angleterre, and of Benoit de Sainte-More, as relate to the norman conquest. They had all been previously resorted to in MS. and more copious extracts would have been added, if they had not been made so accessible by the publication referred to. Its continuation will add other valuable historic documents relative to the period in question.

For the graphic illustrations of the volume recourse has been had to a few of the illuminations of the beautiful Cambridge MS. of the Estoire de Seint Ædward le Rei. Several other subjects, that appeared appropriate, have been added from various sources. But the principal storehouse of the illustrations has been that noble and exquisite relic of antiquity, the tapestry of the cathedral of Bayeux. To this series of pictures the chronicle of Wace, (a prebend of that church, as already observed,) [Pg xxviii]would almost seem to have been intended as what, in modern times, would be called the letter press. The controversies long carried on, as to the age of this interesting piece of workmanship, and as to the identity of the Matilda to whom it may owe its origin, need not be reviewed here. The reader will find in Ducarel, in the observations of M.H.F. Delauney annexed to the French translation of Ducarel, in the Archæologia, in Mr. Dawson Turner's Letters, Dr. Dibdin's Tour, and other modern works, ingenious and ample discussions upon what is known or conjectured on the subject.

Speculations have been hazarded, with the view of testing the era of the tapestry by Wace's supposed want of agreement with the story of the former. It seems assumed that this variance would not have occurred, had the tapestry been in existence when he wrote. It is not clear, however, that there is any material variance; but if there be, it is surely somewhat hasty to assume on that account, either that Wace preceded, or that he was unacquainted with the worsted chronicle. He obviously sought his authorities in various quarters; and he might very well have known and rejected the testimony of the tapestry, on any matter of fact regarding which there were conflicting accounts. It is very curious that two such monuments of antiquity should be connected with the same church; but it is left to others to speculate whether this was accidental, or what influence, if any, the work of either party had on that of the other.

Lastly, a small map of Normandy has been added, for the illustration of Wace's work and of the accompanying notes. With the exception of the leading monastic establishments, (which were considered a convenient addition, though many of them were founded at a later period), little is shown upon the map beyond the towns and fiefs introduced by Wace; and these are laid down so far as the means of knowledge or probable conjecture presented themselves. In the execution of this little map, no pretension is made to strict geographical or even chronological accuracy; neither has uniformity been preserved in the language of the names; but such as it is, it will probably be found sufficiently full and precise to answer the general purpose for which it is designed.

PROLOGUE CONCERNING THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK, SETTING FORTH HIS INTENT AND DEGREE

To commemorate the deeds, the sayings, and manners of our ancestors, to tell the felonies of felons and the baronage of barons3, men should read aloud at feasts the gests and histories of other times; and therefore they did well, and should be highly prized and rewarded who first wrote books, and recorded therein concerning the noble deeds and good words which the barons and lords did and said in days of old. Long since would those things have been forgotten, were it not that the tale thereof has been told, and their history duly recorded and put in remembrance.

Many a city hath once been, and many a noble state, whereof we should now have known nothing; and many a deed has been done of old, which would have passed away, if such things had not been written down, and read and rehearsed by clerks.

The fame of Thebes was great, and Babylon had once a mighty name; Troy also was of great power, and Nineveh was a city broad and long; but whoso should now seek them would scarce find their place.

Nebuchadnezzar was a great king; he made an image of gold, sixty cubits in height, and six cubits in breadth; but he who should seek ever so carefully would not, I ween, find out where his bones were laid: yet thanks to the good clerks, who have written for us in books the tales of times past, we know and can recount the marvellous works done in the days that are gone by.

Alexander was a mighty king; he conquered twelve kingdoms in twelve years: he had many lands and much wealth, and was a king of great power; but his conquests availed him little, he was poisoned and died. Cæsar, whose deeds were so many and bold, who conquered and possessed more of the world than any man before or since could do, was at last, as we read, slain by treason, and fell in the capitol. Both these mighty men, the lords of so many lands, who vanquished so many kings, after their deaths held of all their possessions nought but their bodies' length. What availed them, or how are they the better for their rich booty and wide conquests? It is only from what they have read, that men learn that Alexander and Caesar were. Their names have endured many years; yet they would have been utterly forgotten long ago, if their story had not been written down.

All things hasten to decay; all fall; all perish; all come to an end. Man dieth, iron consumeth, wood decayeth; towers crumble, strong walls fall down, the rose withereth away; the war-horse waxeth feeble, gay trappings grow old; all the works of men's hands perish4. Thus we are taught that all die, both clerk and lay; and short would be the fame of any after death, if their history did not endure by being written in the book of the clerk.

The story of the Normans is long and hard to put into romanz. If any one ask who it is that tells it and writes this history, let him know that I am Wace, of the isle of Jersey, which is in the western sea, appendant to the fief of Normandy. I was born in the island of Jersey, but was taken to Caen when young; and, being there taught, went afterwards to France, where I remained for a long time. When I returned thence, I dwelt long at Caen, and there turned myself to making romances, of which I wrote many.

In former times, they who wrote gests and histories of other days used to be beloved, and much prized and honoured. They had rich gifts from the barons and noble ladies; but now I may ponder long, and write and translate books, and may make many a romance and sirvente, ere I find any one, how courteous soever he may be, who will do me any honour, or give me enough even to pay a scribe. I talk to rich men who have rents and money; it is for them that the book is made, that the tale well told and written down; but noblesse now is dead, and largesse hath perished with it5; so that I have found none, let me travel where I will, who will bestow ought upon me, save king Henry the second. He gave me, so God reward him, a prebend at Bayeux6, and many other good gifts. He was grandson of the first king Henry, and father of the third7. Three kings—dukes and kings—dukes of Normandy, and kings of England—all three have I known, being a reading clerk, in their days.