Gesta Ricardus Ducis Normannorum et Regis Anglorum

WILLIAM OF SHREWSBURY

THE HISTORY OF RICHARD, DUKE OF NORMANDY AND KING OF THE ENGLISH

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Icon of William of Shrewsbury

PREFACE

The following Books will endeavour to chronicle the history of the reign of King Richard of England [1], with the addition of whatever in his time, happened elsewhere which from it's fame may demand a more particular notice. This, then is my purpose, if the Divine shall find favour with
my undertaking and carry safely me through the rugged diction of sermon and parable. I am indebted to the works of Henry of Rouen and William of Vannes, noble and industrious men who endeavoured to record the deeds of the Normans and their rule of England, dedicated their works to them in order to gain favour. Whatever I have recorded of the times of King Richard, I have either witnessed or heard from credible authority. I seek to present his reign as a matter of historical record, and in this I pay little respect to the judgement of my contemporaries, trusting that I shall gain with posterity, when the tempers of love and hate have cooled if not a reputation for eloquence, at least credit for diligent veracity. [2]

NOTES

[1] Richard, second son of William the Conqueror who died in a hunting accident sometime in 1081. In this timeline he ascends to the throne as the heir of William the Conqueror following the death of Robert Curthose during the war of 1077-1079. As there's very limited information about him, I have some scope to invent an alternative Norman history.

[2] This preface was heavily inspired by the works of William of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis, the twelfth century chroniclers of Norman England.













 
Well-written preface that gives a nice tonal indication of what we're in for.

Consider me interested. :)

I'm sort of aiming to write this as a cross between this fictional chronicle, and a more modern history book trying to piece together the life and times of "King Richard", which may well be overly ambitious but there we are.
 
I really hope you don't write it using old English.

Almost all of the chronicles from the period were either written in Latin or Norman French so I think your safe on that count.

It might have a slightly archaic feel (as all chronicle translations tend to) but it´ll be in modern English
 
BOOK ONE

THE HISTORY


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The Coronation of William as King of the English

THE CONQUEST AND EARLY REIGN OF WILLIAM, DUKE OF NORMANDY AND KING OF THE ENGLISH

I trust that those who have received this work are familiar with the circumstances of the rule of King William who came to these shores in the year of our lord 1066, as well as his long rule of Normandy the realm from whence he came. Nevetheless I shall briefly describe the times and governance of his reign, as to provide a sufficient summary for those not versed in the subject. For when King Edward had yielded to fate England, consumed with doubtful fervour was uncertain to which ruler she should commit to hersself [sic]: Harold son of Godwin, Duke William of the Normans or Edgar the Atheling, for Edward had recommended him also to the nobility for he was nearest to sovereignty in terms of birth. [1] Wherefore, as I have mentioned above, all of the noble men of the English were distracted in their choice, although all of them openly wished well to Harold, who once crowned thought of nothing of the covenant between him and William. [2] His oath, to respect the claim of William as successor to King Edward was ended, for this man though possessing numerous good qualities was careless about abstaining from perfidy, and upon his crowning thought nothing of the allegiance he had sworn to the Duke. [3] Harold's breaking of the oath and refusal to acknowledge William's lordship would see the Duke cross the seas and claim the throne denied him, while Harold prepared to meet him and the Norwegian King who had crossed the seas with a fleet of Harold's brother to seize the crown. [3]

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The Coronation of King Harold
William, in his prudence had anticipated the invasion of England, and so as no rash action would stain his just cause, he sent envoys to the pope [sic], formerly Anselm of Lucca who had assumed the name Alexander, alleging the justice of the war in which he prepared to wage. Harold, whether for reasons of pride, or for fears that the partisans who beset the pope would turn against him, omitted to so as William. The pope, upon dutifully examining the pretensions of both parties, issued William a standard [4] upon the receiving of wich [sic] he declared a meet of his nobles at the town of Lillebourne, for the purposes of determining their sentiment upon the cause. When this was confirmed through spectacular ascent, the counsel drew plans for the construction of many ships and raising of men from among the Bretons, Normans and Flemings of the northern realms of France. [5] The lack of gale delayed the departure of the fleet, composed of all available ships of the realm which had assembled in the town of Saint-Valery [6] which led the men, as is their wont, to mutter about the madness of the Duke and his invasion. Hearing of these rumours, the Duke ordered the body of Saint Valery be brought to the shore whereupon his body wrought the desired gale in the sails of the fleet, and the fleet sailed for the shores of England, where they arrived after favourable sail at Hastings. [7]

Harold meanwhile returned from the battle with the Norwegians who had landed in Yorkshire, happy in his own estimation for having conquered the Norwegians, but less so in mine, for he had committed the sin of fratricide. [8] When the news of the Norman landing reached him he still reeked of battle, and without waiting to rest he marched his army to Hastings to confront the Duke. After many days of march, the two armies confronted each other, and the battle begun following calls to Divine providence for victory. They fought, neither side giving ground in their ardour, for the duration of the day, until the Normans feigned flight and thus witnessed the English, whose close body charged in pursuit and brought upon itself swift destruction, for the Normans facing about attacked them thus disordered and forced them to fly, whereupon Harold met his death from an arrow fired over distance which struck him in the head. [9] Having defeated the English, William set about burying his dead with great pomp, granting the enemy the liberty of doing the like, if they thought proper, and sent the body of Harold [10] to his mother who buried it at Waltham in a church that Harold himself had constructed.

Following this William, now led the army of the conquerors to London the principal city of the kingdom, where he would be declared king by the learned men and nobles of England. The Lords of the North, Eadwin and Morcar encouraged the nobles to proclaim one of them king , while many if they had had the support of the bishops would have chosen the Atheling, Edgar as king and thus perhaps prevented the foreign stranger, now presented before them, who was crowned in Westminster by Aldred, the Bishop of York. William met with the native lords in the year of our lord 1067, whereupon those present agreed to "respect the rights and titles established." The king and the Lords Waltheof of Huntingdon and Edwin of Mercia agreed upon the matrimonies proposed by the king, with Waltheof marrying Judith of Lens [11], daughter of Adelaide of Normandy, and Edwin betrothed to the king's daughter Adelida. [12]

Despite these agreements, the northern lords rose against the king in league with the Danes, whereupon they murdered Robert, Earl of Northumbria and captured York. The fate of the city had been decided once the sky had changed to a red the colour of blood, and remained so for three days and nights until the rebels arrived at the gates, whereupon they were permitted entry by the local lord, who swore fealty to the rebels. Perhaps, the red sky was a sign of Divine premonition for the northern lands future once William enacted his bloody retribution upon those who defied his authority. Through sword and flame, his men torched the land, driving the sword through the settlements which refused to yield, forcing submission through murder and famine. The King stopped at nothing in his fury to hunt enemies whereupon the innocent and guilty were cut down alike and the towns ravaged for as far as the eye could see. Nowhere else would he show such cruelty. Crops and animals were burned. I have praised him elsewhere in this book, but I cannot praise this brutal slaughter for whcih [sic] God will judge him.

Following the ravaging of the north, the king replaced the native Englishmen who had held the northern marches [13] with those Norman and Breton lords who swore loyalty to him. Those English lords who had survived the ravaging fled to Scotland where they were welcomed by the court of King Malcolm III. The coats was beset by raids of the Danes who attacked the eastern lands, where the fugitive Morcar were hiding. In the year of our lord 1071 the last northern rebellion was defeated following the death of Edwin of Mercia in battle with men loyal to Alan Rufus, Count of York, whereupon soonafter the lord Morcar was captured and imprisoned. The Scots king Malcolm III, sometimes known as Malcolm Canmore, had invaded the north in the year of our lord 1072 and had seized several town sof the border lands. The King, led an army including his eldest sons Robert of Maine [14], also known as Robert Curthose, and Richard of Bernay, also known as Richard Flambard. [15] The triumph of the king saw Malcolm acknowledge William as his lord to whom he would pay homage. For his acceptance of the terms Malcolm was obliged to give up his son Duncan as hostage and banish Edgar Atheling from his court, whereupon Edgar Atheling travelled to the court of King Phillip of France where he was granted the castle and land of Montreuil. Upon his arrival the Atheling Edgar was greeted by a flock of ravens upon the castle's battlements who the local clerk's took as an omen of ill-fortune, one which would prove apt, for the land was soon consumed by war.Wi

BRIEF NOTES

[1] Edgar was the grandson of Edmund Ironside and nephew of Edward the Confessor making him the closest living relative to the king in terms of the suceession. Edgar was supported by several English lords in the aftermath of the conquest, though it seems this was for political expediency rather than genuine faith in his chances of the kingship a William of Shrewsbury attests.
[2] The Anglo-Saxon and Norman sources are divided over this, but William of Shrewsbury accepts the Norman claims that Harold had agreed to support William's claim to the English throne, which he soon broke upon his return to England.
[3] The Norwegian Invasion was led by Harald Hardrada, the fierce king of the Norwegians and Harold's brother Tostig who had been exiled following his removal from the Earldom of Northumbria.
[4] William of Shrewsbury here quotes William of Poitiers who had declared that the invasion had full papal support. While Pope Alexander II granted approval to the conquest in the aftermath no other source has claimed Papal support before the invasion, leaving the veracity of the claim somewhat doubtful.
[5] William drew upon support from the Norman magnates, his father-in-law Baldwin V of Flanders and the Breton lords who had worn fealty to him in the aftermath of earlier wars.
[6] The town, on the mouth of the River Somme was the staging ground for the quickly asembled Norman fleet. The story of Saint Valery is likely an apocryphal legend however.
[7] Upon their arrival they established an encampment. William of Shrewsbury's ommission of this is largely due to this being common knowledge reprinted in other manuscripts of the era.
[8] William's seeming distaste for this, but exclusion of any such moral passage in the description of the death of Robert Curthose suggests that his impartiality was more influenced by the local politics than he would care to admit.
[9] This has been corroborated in other sources of the Battle, including that of William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon.
[10] There was an apocryphal myth which developed in the aftermath of the conflict, and which was repeated by Gerald of Wales in the latter twelfth century, that Harold either survived the battle (or was resurrected) with great wounds, and missing an eye (perhaps the source of said legend) where he fled with the help of his sister and became a pious acolyte in the monastery of Chester.
[11] Judith's marriage to Waltheof was part of a strategy of intermarrying the local Saxon nobility with the Norman incomers.
[12] The betrothal was ended following Edwin's revolt in 1068, with Adelida betrothed to Hugh d'Avranches (or Hugh the Fat), 2nd Earl of Chester.
[13] William's use of the term is one of the first recorded in regards to the northern regions of England which bordered Scotland.
[14] Robert retained the title following the crushing of a revolt in Le Mans in 1069.
[15] It is believed that Richard received the nickname "Flambard" (torch-bearer) in relation to an incident in his youth where he and some of his retainers accidentally burned down a barn following a night of heavy drinking, though this has never been fully determined, and the soubriquet could well have referred to his personality.
 
No, I'm just guessing what the TL will wank.

It's not intending to wank anything.

Besides I haven't written anything about the rise of King Richard (William the Conqueror's second son) or his reign, or the effects of this upon the Normans or the regional powers in Britain and France.

So where does the wank come in?
 
It's not intending to wank anything.

Besides I haven't written anything about the rise of King Richard (William the Conqueror's second son) or his reign, or the effects of this upon the Normans or the regional powers in Britain and France.

So where does the wank come in?
I was just pre-guessing.
Anywho, I'm watching.
 
Hey longtime fan here. Your writing is good, like 'REALLY' good. It can be a real turnoff for me to read a TL that has to much bad grammar but a great premise so I'm really looking forward to this. This maybe a shot in the dark but I gotta know, are you gonna kill off Edgar? I think its a shame that the first house of England was killed off after he disappeared, It would be nice if he could at least prosper a little in France, maybe have some kids plant some roots.
 
I always thought Edgar was an interesting figure (he supported Robert Curthose in various wars against other family members) so there's always the possibility he'll have a family.

Whether he'll survive in the cuthroat world of the Norman marches is another matter of course..
 
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