William of Poitiers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the child of Henry II of England, see William, Count of Poitiers.

William of Poitiers (c. 1020-1090), Norman chronicler, was born at Les Préaux, near Pont-Audemer, and belonged to an influential Norman family. After serving as a soldier he studied at Poitiers, and then returning to Normandy became chaplain to Duke William (William the Conqueror) and archdeacon of Lisieux.

Orderic Vitalis gives a short biography of him in his Historia ecclesiastica and says that he also wrote verses.

He wrote a eulogistic life of the duke, Gesta Guillelmi II ducis Normannorum, the earlier and concluding parts of which are lost; the extant part covers the period between 1047 and 1068 and is valuable for details of the Conqueror's life, although untrustworthy with regard to affairs in England. It gives a detailed description of the preparations for the Norman Conquest of England, the Battle of Hastings and its aftermath. According to E. A. Freeman, "the work is disfigured by his constant spirit of violent partisanship." It was written between 1071 and 1077, and was used by Orderic Vitalis.

[edit] References

There is a translation of the Gesta Guillelmi into modern English: The Gesta Guillelmi of William of Poitiers (ISBN 0-19-820553-8).

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.