Begleiter Wilhelms des Eroberers

William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins in France, under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, along with others completing his Norman conquest of England until after the Harrying of the North and before the Anarchy.

The term “Companions of the Conqueror” in the widest sense signifies those who planned, organised and joined with William the Conqueror , Duke of Normandy, in the great adventure which was the Norman Conquest of England (1066-1071). The term is however more narrowly defined as those nobles who actually fought with Duke William in the Battle of Hastings. This article is concerned with the latter narrow definition.

Proof versus Legend

Many ancient English families of French origin have claimed amongst their ancestors a participant at the Battle of Hastings as a matter of great pride giving them legitimacy in the higher echelons of the British aristocracy. The vast majority of these claims are based on legend and cannot be proven by historical evidence. This is not, however, to say the claims are false, but merely unproven. Many hundreds of Norman nobles of varying degrees certainly fought with the Duke at Hastings, yet the fact remains that only the names of 15 of these are recorded in contemporary historical sources considered to be unimpeachable. This very select group are therefore known as the “Proven Companions”, as distinct from the several hundred “Likely”, “Probable” or “Possible” Companions. Many lists of so-called Companions have been drawn up over the ages, and continue so to be, yet the 3 unimpeachable sources remain as follows:

Unimpeachable Sources

The following 3 sources constitute the only generally accepted reliable contemporary evidence which names participants at the Battle of Hastings. Between all three sources only 15 names result.

• Gesta Guillelmi II Ducis Normannorum ("The Deeds of William II, Duke of the Normans") by William of Poitiers, written between 1071 and 1077. William was born in about 1020 in Les Préaux, near Pont-Audemer, and belonged to an influential Norman family. After serving as a soldier he studied at Poitiers then returned to Normandy to become became chaplain to Duke William and archdeacon of Lisieux. He died in 1090. His work is an eulogistic biography of the Duke. The earlier and concluding parts are lost, but the extant part covers the period between 1047 and 1068 and contains 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. The work forms the basis for much of the writing of Orderic Vitalis.

• Historia Ecclesiastica ("Ecclesiastical History"), by Orderic Vitalis, particularly books 4 & 5. Orderic was born in England in about 1075, the son of a French priest, and at the age of 11 became a novice monk in Normandy in the monastery of St Evroul-en-Ouche. He started his great work, commissioned to be primarily a history of his monastery, in about 1110 and continued it until his death in 1142.

• The Bayeux Tapestry, a pictorial representation of the Norman Conquest. It was probably made at Bayeux, Normandy, shortly after the event, 11th century.

List of 15 Proven Companions

• Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester (Source: William of Poitiers)
• Eustace II, Count of Boulogne(Source: William of Poitiers)
• William, 3rd Count of Evreux(Source: William of Poitiers)
• Geoffrey of Mortagne, later Count of Perche(Source: William of Poitiers)
• William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford(Source: William of Poitiers)
• Aimeri, Viscount of Thouars(Source: William of Poitiers)
• Hugh de Montfort, Lord of Montfort-sur-Risle(Source: William of Poitiers)
• Walter Giffard, Lord of Longuville, later 1st Earl of Buckingham(Source: William of Poitiers)
• Ralph de Tosni, Lord of Conches(Source: William of Poitiers)
• Hugh de Grandmesnil(Source: William of Poitiers)
• William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey(Source: William of Poitiers)
• William Malet, Lord of Graville(Source: William of Poitiers)
• Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, later Earl of Kent (Source: Bayeux Tapestry)
• Turstin FitzRalph (Source: Orderic Vitalis)
• Engenulf de Laigle(Source: Orderic Vitalis)

Sources of Secondary Merit

• Roman de Rou, written by Wace, about 1160-70. Lists 116 names.
• Carmen de Hastingae Proelio(Song of the Battle of Hastings), a poem, said to be by Bishop Guy of Amiens and written shortly after 1066. Widely regarded however as a 12th.c. forgery.
• Le Talleur's Cronicques de Normendie,
• Raphael Holinshed(1529-1580), published 1577 in England, based on Le Talleur
• John Leland(d.1552). Based on a Roll of Battle Abbey.
• Roll of Battle Abbey, various in number and date, surviving from 16th.c.
• Roll of Dives-sur-Mer, Normandy, published 1862. Lists 475 names.
• Roll of Falaise, Normandy, published 1931. Lists 315 names.

Sources for this article

• Cokayne's Complete Peerage. Revised edition, vol.12, Appendix L, pp.47-48

External Sources

• French Wikipedia [fr:Compagnons de Guillaume le Conquérant]
• Lewis, C.P. Companions of the Conqueror. [1]
• Battle Abbey Roll Liste de l'abbaye de la Bataille
• Roll of Dives-sur-Mer. Liste de Dives-sur-Mer
• Roll of Falaise. Liste de Falaise