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William of Malmesbury, the Gesta Stephani, and the Idea of Successful and Good Rule in the Twelfth Century
- Edited by Stephen D. Church, University of East Anglia
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- Book:
- Anglo-Norman Studies XLV
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 17 December 2023
- Print publication:
- 05 September 2023, pp 1-18
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Summary
Medieval historians who wrote about their own time faced a task that was considerably more difficult than those who sought to explore the more distant past. With the benefit of hindsight, it was relatively easy to write a coherent tale framed by the conditions that, to the medieval mind, drove historical events. Writing about events closer to one's own time was not only dangerous, because important contemporaries might be offended, but it was also more hazardous to one's reputation, since an analysis of the order and causality of events had to be provided before the outcome was entirely clear. Yet in the 1140s, two contemporary commentators did attempt to make sense of the events that they themselves witnessed and did so in real time. It is with these two commentators, William of Malmesbury and the anonymous author of the Gesta Stephani, that this article is concerned, as they discussed the ups and downs of the civil war between two pretenders for the throne, King Stephen and Empress Matilda. Both authors wrestled with the problems inherent in composing a contemporary account that they nevertheless wished to turn into a cohesive and persuasive narrative. William of Malmesbury wrote his Historia Novella at the end of a long life of literary output and seems to have been inspired to write his last work by witnessing the extraordinary events which were unfolding before his eyes. The anonymous writer of the Gesta Stephani was also inspired by contemporary events to set down his account of matters. He seems to have been close to Stephen, possibly a member of his inner circle, perhaps even a Londoner; while William of Malmesbury was a supporter of the other side in the civil war, that of the Angevin party led by Empress Matilda and her half-brother Robert earl of Gloucester.
I will proceed in the following way. Firstly, I want to begin by giving a rough outline of William of Malmesbury's ideas of good and successful rule as they are expressed in the most famous of his earlier works, the Gesta Regum Anglorum, completed about fifteen years before he picked up his pen again to write the Historia Novella.
1 - Normandy and the Continent
- from Part I - Home and Away
- Edited by Benjamin Pohl, University of Bristol
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- Book:
- The Cambridge Companion to the Age of William the Conqueror
- Published online:
- 15 June 2022
- Print publication:
- 09 June 2022, pp 13-31
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Summary
This chapter introduces the volume’s first thematic strand (Home and Away) with a study of Normandy and the Continent in the age of William the Conqueror. It commences with a consideration of terminology, followed by an analysis of Normandy’s developing boundaries and the Normans’ adjustment to Christianity. The chapter then takes a comparative view of Normandy’s neighbours (Brittany, Flanders, Maine, Blois, and France) before studying the duchy’s rise as a major player in eleventh-century north-western Europe. It concludes with discussions of knightly culture, Church reform, and the influence of popes and emperors.
4 - ‘Normans’ on the First Crusade: Actions and agendas of Two Crusaders: Robert Curthose and Bohemond of Taranto
- Edited by Laura L. Gathagan, William North, Charles C. Rozier
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- Book:
- The Haskins Society Journal 31
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 15 December 2020
- Print publication:
- 20 November 2020, pp 67-80
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There can be no doubt that Normans made significant contributions to the crusades. Historians have posited, moreover, whether there was something like a general Norman impact on the crusades that went beyond that of individual Normans. Normans who came to the Kingdom of Jerusalem can be identified as such by their names, lineage and self-identification as Normans. Yet, since they are not usually identified as part of a group, their efforts are usually considered on an individual basis. While questions of Norman identity in other contexts have been the focus of study, the role of Normans as a collective with a distinct identity in the crusading movement has yet to be investigated. We might ask, then, whether this contribution by individual Normans while in the East was linked to the specifically Norman identifiers chroniclers used for them in their European conquests and activities. Chroniclers who often celebrated Norman achievement, seemingly so distinct in a European context, might also be expected to make note of them once joined to the crusading effort. Did ‘Normannitas’ carry over into their participation in the First Crusade abroad? In order to investigate this further, the following essay compares Bohemond of Taranto, a Norman from Southern Italy, and Robert Curthose, William the Conqueror's son and duke of Normandy, in order to decide if they could be considered as examples of a distinctly Norman experience of the crusades. Because the Normans played a significant role in the First Crusade, and were regularly featured as heroes by contemporary chroniclers, it is worth exploring these sources to ascertain whether there is evidence for an exclusively Norman crusade encounter. Alternatively, should they, rather, be considered as two noblemen whose contribution and experience were comparable to more general crusading involvement?
Considering Robert Curthose and Bohemond of Taranto as ‘Normans’ on the First Crusade does seem anachronistic when one looks at crusading narratives. It has long been noted that contemporary crusading chronicles did not identify a specific ‘Norman’ group within the crusaders, even though, within the context of the scope of people who joined the crusade, the participation of Normans from Normandy and Italy was noted in the West.
12 - German Emperors as Exemplary Rulers in William of Malmesbury and Otto of Freising
- Edited by Rodney M. Thomson, Emily Dolmans, Emily A. Winkler
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- Book:
- Discovering William of Malmesbury
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 25 August 2018
- Print publication:
- 30 April 2017, pp 139-152
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One of medieval Germany's most celebrated histories, Otto of Freising's Historia de Duabus Ciuitatibus, or as he himself called it De Mutatione Rerum, penned between 1132 and 1146, is often cited as evidence that the so-called Twelfth-Century Renaissance reached Germany. Otto studied in Paris and wrote excellent Latin, which seems to prove this point. Nevertheless, while most twelfth-century historians looked for their inspiration to works of classical learning, Otto's work is deeply influenced by Augustine's De Ciuitate Dei and his model is not classical Roman thought. Although his treatment of Augustine is rather innovative, he still adheres to the Church Father's late antique pessimism. Otto cast his work in the mould of providential history, which – at least in theory – treats the whole world as its subject. As his narrative progresses, Otto tries to bring to light God's actions in the world, while also emphasising that no human can really perceive God's will. In doing so, however, Otto is somewhat ambivalent. Sometimes the rise of the Church in and after the Investiture Controversy leads him to suggest that the final disunion of the ciuitas permixta (the mixed state), is drawing near and therefore Judgement Day is not far distant. At other times, he seems to think that the rise of the Church will be followed by decadence and decline, as had been the case with every other empire down to his own times. Otto of Freising's other great work, the Gesta Friderici is, at first sight, astonishingly different. Begun in 1156, this work, commissioned by his nephew Barbarossa himself, is characterised by a far more positive view of history and the world. In it Otto describes the beginnings of Frederick Barbarossa's reign as a new dawn for the empire and in this way turns the Historia's view of the imminent end of the world upside down. However, despite these two seemingly incompatible texts, Otto of Freising's view of world history is internally consistent, as Hans-Werner Goetz has pointed out. Otto simply chose to analyse the turn of events differently after his nephew gained the throne. As he saw it, a new power cycle was about to begin and it is Frederick who gets the benefit of it.
The King and His Sons: Henry II’s and Frederick Barbarossa’s Succession Strategies Compared
- Edited by David Bates
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- Book:
- Anglo-Norman Studies 36
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 02 March 2023
- Print publication:
- 17 July 2014, pp 149-166
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The relationship between kings and their sons in the High Middle Ages has been the subject of reflections by Anglophone and German scholars alike. Ralph Turner wrote in an article on Eleanor of Aquitaine: ‘Revolts by sons against the Norman dukes/kings made up a substantial portion of the family history … We can almost speak of a “Norman tradition of family hostility”.’ Karl-Heinrich Krüger, on the other hand, was sure that severe conflicts between father and son happened repeatedly in the Empire. Juxtaposing these two opinions I hope makes my point as to why a comparison between different realms might be useful. Of course both scholars also agreed that the relationship between an adult son and an active father was in principle an awkward situation prone to escalating into conflict. Comparing two examples of kings and adult sons, the Plantagenet empire and Germany might give us clues as to why succession did not always go smoothly and what instigated sons to rebel against their father.
If we look at the narrative sources the family situation of Henry II and Friedrich I could not have been more different. I quote from Otto of Sankt-Blasien, who described Friedrich Barbarossa’s plans for his sons:
[Barbarossa] had them all learn thoroughly to read and write, he acquired huge wealth for them and raised them to important offices, dividing the provinces amongst them. Friedrich he made duke of Swabia … to Konrad he gave the office and the fiefs of the late Duke Friedrich of Rothenburg, Otto … was given the realm of Arles with Burgundy, and Heinrich he designated as king after himself. Philipp was still a child.
For Henry II the relationship with his sons could not have been further away from a family idyll:
When they were boys, he was devoted to his legitimate children with a spontaneous affection even greater than that usually found in a father. But when some sons grew up, he viewed them with more jaundiced eyes than any stepfather. And although he had such distinguished and illustrious sons, one great impediment to his complete happiness was his constant detestation, perhaps with good reason, of those who would succeed him.
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