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WILLIAM OF NANGIS—WILLIAM OF ST CALAIS
Printed Works.—The Gesta regum covers, in its final form, theyears 449-1127. But the later recensions add little, beyond fulsomededications to Earl Robert, to the edition of 1120. The sources usedare not always easy to trace. But for the pre-Conquest periodWilliam had at his disposal the works of Bede, Ado of Vienne andWilliam of Jumièges; one or more English chronicles similar to theextant “Worcester” and “Peterborough” texts; Asser's life ofAlfred, and a metrical biography of Æthelstan; the chronicles ofS. Riquier and Fontanelle; a collection of tales relating to the reignof the emperor Henry III.; and the lives of various saints. Forthe life of William I. he draws on William of Poitiers; for the firstcrusade he mainly follows Fulcher of Chartres; his knowledge ofAnselm's primacy comes mainly from Eadmer; and at least up to1100, he makes use of an English chronicle. The fifth and last book,dealing with the reign of Henry I., is chiefly remarkable for itsdesultoriness and an obvious desire to make the best case for thatmonarch, whose treatment of Anselm he prudently ascribes toRobert of Meulan (d. 1118). Both in this work and in the Gestapontificum the later recensions are remarkable for the omission ofcertain passages which might give offence to those in high places.The deleted sentences usually relate to eminent persons; theysometimes repeat scandal, sometimes give the author's own opinion.The Gesta pontificum gives accounts of the several English sees andtheir bishops, from the beginning to about 1120; the later recensionscontinue the work, in part, to 1140. Many saints of the south andmidlands are also noticed. This work, like the Gesta regum, containsfive books; the fifth relates the life and miracles of St Aldhelm ofMalmesbury, and is based upon the biography by Abbot Faricius;it is less useful than books i.-iv., which are of the greatest value tothe ecclesiastical historian. The Historia novella is annalistic in form.It was projected soon after the battle of Lincoln, as an apology for thesupporters of the empress. The author embarks on special pleadingin favour of Earl Robert and Bishop Roger of Salisbury, but showsa certain liking for the personal character of Stephen, whose casehe states with studious fairness.
The historical works of William of Malmesbury were edited bySavile in his Scriptores post Bedam (London, 1536); but the text ofthat edition is full of errors. Sir T. D. Hardy edited the Gesta regumand Historia novella for the English Historical Society in 1840, andput the criticism of the manuscripts on a sound basis. But thestandard edition of these works is that of W. Stubbs in the “Rolls”series (1 vol., in 2, 1887–1889); the second part of this editioncontains a valuable introduction on the sources and value of thechronicler. The Gesta pontificum has been edited for the “Rolls” series by N. G. S. A. Hamilton (London, 1870) from a manuscriptwhich he was the first to identify as the archetype. Another work,De antiquitate Glastoniensis ecclesiae (A.D. 63–1126), is printed inGale's Scriptores XV. (Oxford, 1691). Wharton in the secondvolume of his Anglia sacra (London, 1691) gives considerable portionsof a life of Wulfstan which is an amplified translation of an Anglo-Saxonbiography. Finally Stubbs in his Memorials of St Dunstan(“Rolls” series, London, 1874) prints a Vita S. Dunstani which waswritten about 1126.
Unprinted Extant Works.—Among these are Miracles of the Virgin;Liber super explanationem lamentationum Yeremiae prophetae;an abridgment of Amalarius' De divinis officiis; De dictis et factismemorabilibus philosophorum; an epitome of the Historia of Haymoof Fleury and some other works, historical and legal (autograph in theBodleian); Lives of the English Saints. The MSS. of these works areto be found partly in the British Museum, partly in the Bodleian.
Lost Works.—A Vita Sancti Patricii and Miracle Sancti Benigniare mentioned in the prologue to the book on Glastonbury; ametrical life of St Ælfgyfu is quoted in the Gesta pontificum;Chronica tribus libellis are mentioned in the prologue to the Historianovella, and a fragment of them is apparently preserved in the Brit.Mus. Lansdowne MS. 436. Leland gives extracts from anItinerarium Johannis abbatis, describing the journey of Abbot John toRome in 1140 (Leland, Collectanea, iii. 272).(H. W. C. D.)
WILLIAM OF NANGIS (d. 1300), French chronicler, was amonk in the abbey of St Denis. About 1285 he was placedin charge of the abbey library as custos cartarum, and he diedin June or July 1300. Having doubtless done some work on theLatin manuscripts on which the Grandes Chroniques de Franceare based. William wrote a long Chronicon, dealing with thehistory of the world from the creation until 1300. For theperiod before 1113 this work merely repeats that of Sigebertof Gembloux and others; but after this date it contains somenew and valuable matter.
William's other writings are: Gesta Ludovico IX.; Gesta PhilippiIII., sive Audacis; Chronicon abbreviatum regum Francorum; and aFrench translation of the same work written for the laity. Makinguse of the large store of manuscripts at St Denis, William was acompiler rather than an author, and with the exception of the latterpart of the Chronicon his writings do not add materially to ourknowledge of the time. Both his chronicles, however, became very popularand found several continuators, Jean de Joinville being among thosewho made use of the Chronicon. This work from 1113 to 1300,with continuations to 1368, has been edited by H. Géraud for theSociété de l'histoire de France (Paris, 1843), and practically allWilliam's writings are found in tome xx. of Dom Bouquet's Recueil deshistoriens des Gaules et de la France (Paris, 1738–1876). A Frenchtranslation of the Chronicon is in tome xiii. of Guizot's Collection desmémoires relatifs à l'histoire de France (Paris, 1823–1835).
See A. Potthast, Bibliotheca historica (Berlin, 1896); and A.Molinier, Les Sources de l'histoire de France, tome iii. (Paris, 1903).
WILLIAM OF NEWBURGH (d. c. 1198), or, as he is sometimesstyled, Guillelmus Parvus, English ecclesiastic and chronicler,was a canon of the Augustinian priory of Newburgh in the NorthRiding of Yorkshire. He was born about 1136, and lived atNewburgh from his boyhood. Shortly before 1196 he began hisHistoria rerum Anglicarum. This work, divided into five books,covers the period 1066–1198. A great part of it is derived fromknown sources, especially from Henry of Huntingdon, JordanFantosme, the Itinerarium regis Ricardi, or its French original,and a lost account, by Anselm the chaplain, of the captivity ofRichard I. The value of Newburgh's work lies in his estimates ofmen and situations. Except for the years 1154–1173 and thereign of Richard he records few facts which cannot be foundelsewhere; and in matters of detail he is prone to inaccuracy.But his political insight and his impartiality entitle him to a highplace among the historians of the 12th century.
See the editions of the Historia by H. C. Hamilton (2 vols., London,1856) and by R. Howlett in Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen, &c.(“Rolls” series, 1884-1885), vols. i. and ii. In the latter edition acontinuation, the Annales Furnesienses (1190–1298), composed by amonk of Furness Abbey, Lancashire, is also given. See also Sir T. D.Hardy's Descriptive Catalogue (“Rolls” series, 1865), ii. p. 512; andH. E. Salter in the English Historical Review, vol. xxii. (1907).(H. W. C. D.)
WILLIAM OF POITIERS (c. 1020-c. 1090), Norman chronicler,was born at Préaux, near Pont Audemer, and belonged to aninfluential Norman family. After serving as a soldier he studiedat Poitiers, and then returning to Normandy became chaplainto Duke William (William the Conqueror) and archdeacon ofLisieux. He wrote an eulogistic life of the duke, the earlier andconcluding parts of which are lost; and Ordericus Vitalis, whogives a short biography of him in his Historia ecclesiastica, saysthat he also wrote verses. William's Gesta Guilelmi II. ducisNormannorum, the extant part of which covers the period between1047 and 1068, is valuable for details of the Conqueror's life,although untrustworthy with regard to affairs in England.According to Freeman, “the work is disfigured by his constantspirit of violent partisanship.” It was written between 1071and 1077, and was used by Ordericus Vitalis.
The Gesta was first published by A. duch*esne in the HistoriaeNormannorum scriptores (Paris, 1619); and it is also found in theScriptores rerum gestarum Willelmi Conquestoris of J. A . Giles(London, 1845). There is a French translation in tome xxix. ofGuizot's Collection des mémoires relatifs à l'histoire de France (Paris,1826). See G. Körting, Wilhelms von Poitiers Gesta Guilelmi ducis(Dresden, 1875); and A. Molinier, Les Sources de l'histoire de France,tome iii. (Paris, 1903).
WILLIAM OF ST CALAIS (Carilef) (d. 1096), bishop ofDurham and chief counsellor of William Rufus, was a Normanmonk and prior of St Calais in Maine, who received the see ofDurham from the Conqueror (1081). In Durham annals he ishonourably remembered as the prelate who designed the existingcathedral, and also for his reform of ecclesiastical discipline.His political career is less creditable. Honoured with the specialconfidence of William Rufus he deserted his patron's cause atthe first sign of rebellion, and joined with Odo of Bayeux inurging Duke Robert of Normandy to claim the crown (1088).After the collapse of this plot William was put upon his trialbefore the Great Council. He claimed the right to be judged byhis fellow-bishops alone; this claim being rejected he appealed tothe see of Rome. This was the first case of an appeal to thepope from an English tribunal which had occurred since the7th century. Rufus and Lanfranc did not venture to disputethe right of appeal, but contended that the bishop, as a royalvassal, could not appeal against the forfeiture of his temporalities.These were confiscated, and William left the kingdom, but nomore was heard of his appeal, and in 1091 he regained the royal
