Carmen de Hastingae Proelio facts for kids

The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio (which means Song of the Battle of Hastings) is a special Latin poem. It's also known as the Carmen Widonis. This poem is the very first story written about the Norman invasion of England. It covers the events from September to December in the year 1066.

People believe that Guy, Bishop of Amiens wrote this poem. He was a noble and a bishop who worked closely with the French royal family. Bishop Guy was also an uncle to Guy I, Count of Ponthieu. This Count Guy is shown in the famous Bayeux Tapestry. He was the one who captured Harold Godwinson in 1064. Harold later became King Harold II of England.

What is the Carmen?

The Carmen is generally seen as the oldest written story we have about the Norman Conquest. It mainly focuses on the famous Battle of Hastings and what happened right after it. But it also tells us about sailing, how cities were run, the siege of London, and church life back then.

The poem is written in a poetic style, with 835 lines. These lines use special patterns called hexameters and elegiac couplets. Only two copies of this poem still exist today. They were made in the 1100s and are kept in libraries in Belgium.

When was the Carmen written?

The Carmen was most likely written very soon after William I became king of England. This happened on Christmas Day in 1066. So, the poem was probably finished sometime in 1067. It might have been performed at royal parties in Normandy, where King William I was celebrating his victory.

People have different ideas about why the poem was created.

• Queen Matilda of Flanders, William's wife, might have asked for it. Queens often asked clerics (church officials) to write history. Bishop Guy d'Amiens knew Queen Matilda's family well. This poem praises William's allies from France, like those from Boulogne and Brittany. These allies would have been at the Easter celebrations where war treasures were shared.
• Bishop Guy might have wanted to impress King William. His family had some problems with William in the past.
• Bishop Guy was also not in favor with the Pope. Some think he wrote the Carmen to honor William. He might have hoped to gain influence through Lanfranc, a powerful church leader who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. The poem is even dedicated to Lanfranc.
• Another idea is that Guy wrote the Carmen to help Count Eustace of Boulogne. King William had banished Eustace after he tried to invade England in 1067. The poem might have tried to show Eustace in a good light.

Why is the Carmen important?

The Carmen is incredibly important for understanding the Norman Conquest. It's one of the earliest stories written about it. It's also very lively and one of the only detailed accounts that doesn't come from a Norman point of view.

The famous Bayeux Tapestry is another important source. But we don't know who made it or why. The Carmen's vivid descriptions have sometimes made people question if it was real or if it was written much later. However, most experts now agree that the Carmen was indeed written around 1067.

The Carmen is also important for its writing style. It describes the Norman Conquest using ideas from old Roman and Carolingian epic poems. But it does so in a way that makes you think about William's honesty and religious devotion. This shows that even in 1067, people could see some of the challenges and early weaknesses of William's new rule, even while praising his success.