Latin poetry and the Anglo-Norman court 1066–1135: The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio

Abstract

In order to answer the question whether the Carmen de Hastingae Proelio is the poem written shortly after 1066 by Bishop Guy of Amiens or anonymously in the early twelfth century, the Carmen is set in the context of the Latin poetry written between 1066 and 1135. A survey of the poems, which have survived in manuscripts or in the works of Orderic Vitalis and Henry of Huntingdon, concerning William the Conqueror and his family, shows that, although he himself was a major source of inspiration, neither he nor his sons were patrons of literature. On the contrary, his daughters Cecily and Adela and his daughters-in-law Mathilda II and Adeliza of Louvain actively encouraged poets. During the whole period the majority of poets came from outside the Anglo-Norman realm. The survey also shows that the only contemporary poem describing work and that this poem is only one of three celebrating a military victory of the conqueror or his sons. Since the Carmen contains an apostrophe to William the Conqueror as still alive and since the poem describes the battle of 1066 it seems very likely that it is in fact the poem written by Guy of Amiens. An historical analysis gives evidence that Bishop Guy wrote at the French court and used information from French sources. The poem is dated between the beginning of Lent and the beginning of the autumn of 1067. It is suggested that the bishop dedicated his poem to Lanfranc in the hope that he would mediate between himself and Pope Alexander II.

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