Printed Works.—The Gesta regum covers, in its final form, the years 449-1127. But the later recensions add little, beyond fulsome dedications to Earl Robert, to the edition of 1120. The sources used are not always easy to trace. But for the pre-Conquest period William had at his disposal the works of Bede, Ado of Vienne and William of Jumièges; one or more English chronicles similar to the extant “Worcester” and “Peterborough” texts; Asser's life of Alfred, and a metrical biography of Æthelstan; the chronicles of S. Riquier and Fontanelle; a collection of tales relating to the reign of the emperor Henry III.; and the lives of various saints. For the life of William I. he draws on William of Poitiers; for the first crusade he mainly follows Fulcher of Chartres; his knowledge of Anselm's primacy comes mainly from Eadmer; and at least up to 1100, he makes use of an English chronicle. The fifth and last book, dealing with the reign of Henry I., is chiefly remarkable for its desultoriness and an obvious desire to make the best case for that monarch, whose treatment of Anselm he prudently ascribes to Robert of Meulan (d. 1118). Both in this work and in the Gesta pontificum the later recensions are remarkable for the omission of certain passages which might give offence to those in high places. The deleted sentences usually relate to eminent persons; they sometimes repeat scandal, sometimes give the author's own opinion. The Gesta pontificum gives accounts of the several English sees and their bishops, from the beginning to about 1120; the later recensions continue the work, in part, to 1140. Many saints of the south and midlands are also noticed. This work, like the Gesta regum, contains five books; the fifth relates the life and miracles of St Aldhelm of Malmesbury, and is based upon the biography by Abbot Faricius; it is less useful than books i.-iv., which are of the greatest value to the ecclesiastical historian. The Historia novella is annalistic in form. It was projected soon after the battle of Lincoln, as an apology for the supporters of the empress. The author embarks on special pleading in favour of Earl Robert and Bishop Roger of Salisbury, but shows a certain liking for the personal character of Stephen, whose case he states with studious fairness.
The historical works of William of Malmesbury were edited by Savile in his Scriptores post Bedam (London, 1536); but the text of that edition is full of errors. Sir T. D. Hardy edited the Gesta regum and Historia novella for the English Historical Society in 1840, and put the criticism of the manuscripts on a sound basis. But the standard edition of these works is that of W. Stubbs in the “Rolls” series (1 vol., in 2, 1887–1889); the second part of this edition contains a valuable introduction on the sources and value of the chronicler. The Gesta pontificum has been edited for the “Rolls” series by N. G. S. A. Hamilton (London, 1870) from a manuscript which he was the first to identify as the archetype. Another work, De antiquitate Glastoniensis ecclesiae (A.D. 63–1126), is printed in Gale's Scriptores XV. (Oxford, 1691). Wharton in the second volume of his Anglia sacra (London, 1691) gives considerable portions of a life of Wulfstan which is an amplified translation of an Anglo-Saxon biography. Finally Stubbs in his Memorials of St Dunstan (“Rolls” series, London, 1874) prints a Vita S. Dunstani which was written 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 factis memorabilibus philosophorum; an epitome of the Historia of Haymo of Fleury and some other works, historical and legal (autograph in the Bodleian); Lives of the English Saints. The MSS. of these works are to be found partly in the British Museum, partly in the Bodleian.
Lost Works.—A Vita Sancti Patricii and Miracle Sancti Benigni are mentioned in the prologue to the book on Glastonbury; a metrical life of St Ælfgyfu is quoted in the Gesta pontificum; Chronica tribus libellis are mentioned in the prologue to the Historia novella, and a fragment of them is apparently preserved in the Brit. Mus. Lansdowne MS. 436. Leland gives extracts from an Itinerarium Johannis abbatis, describing the journey of Abbot John to Rome in 1140 (Leland, Collectanea, iii. 272). (H. W. C. D.)
WILLIAM OF NANGIS (d. 1300), French chronicler, was a monk in the abbey of St Denis. About 1285 he was placed in charge of the abbey library as custos cartarum, and he died in June or July 1300. Having doubtless done some work on the Latin manuscripts on which the Grandes Chroniques de France are based. William wrote a long Chronicon, dealing with the history of the world from the creation until 1300. For the period before 1113 this work merely repeats that of Sigebert of Gembloux and others; but after this date it contains some new and valuable matter.
William's other writings are: Gesta Ludovico IX.; Gesta Philippi III., sive Audacis; Chronicon abbreviatum regum Francorum; and a French translation of the same work written for the laity. Making use of the large store of manuscripts at St Denis, William was a compiler rather than an author, and with the exception of the latter part of the Chronicon his writings do not add materially to our knowledge of the time. Both his chronicles, however, became very popular and found several continuators, Jean de Joinville being among those who made use of the Chronicon. This work from 1113 to 1300, with continuations to 1368, has been edited by H. Géraud for the Société de l'histoire de France (Paris, 1843), and practically all William's writings are found in tome xx. of Dom Bouquet's Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France (Paris, 1738–1876). A French translation of the Chronicon is in tome xiii. of Guizot's Collection des mémoires 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 sometimes styled, Guillelmus Parvus, English ecclesiastic and chronicler, was a canon of the Augustinian priory of Newburgh in the North Riding of Yorkshire. He was born about 1136, and lived at Newburgh from his boyhood. Shortly before 1196 he began his Historia rerum Anglicarum. This work, divided into five books, covers the period 1066–1198. A great part of it is derived from known sources, especially from Henry of Huntingdon, Jordan Fantosme, the Itinerarium regis Ricardi, or its French original, and a lost account, by Anselm the chaplain, of the captivity of Richard I. The value of Newburgh's work lies in his estimates of men and situations. Except for the years 1154–1173 and the reign of Richard he records few facts which cannot be found elsewhere; and in matters of detail he is prone to inaccuracy. But his political insight and his impartiality entitle him to a high place 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 a continuation, the Annales Furnesienses (1190–1298), composed by a monk of Furness Abbey, Lancashire, is also given. See also Sir T. D. Hardy's Descriptive Catalogue (“Rolls” series, 1865), ii. p. 512; and H. 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 an influential Norman family. After serving as a soldier he studied at Poitiers, and then returning to Normandy became chaplain to Duke William (William the Conqueror) and archdeacon of Lisieux. He wrote an eulogistic life of the duke, the earlier and concluding parts of which are lost; and Ordericus Vitalis, who gives a short biography of him in his Historia ecclesiastica, says that he also wrote verses. William's Gesta Guilelmi II. ducis Normannorum, the extant part of which covers the period between 1047 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 constant spirit of violent partisanship.” It was written between 1071 and 1077, and was used by Ordericus Vitalis.
The Gesta was first published by A. Duchesne in the Historiae Normannorum scriptores (Paris, 1619); and it is also found in the Scriptores rerum gestarum Willelmi Conquestoris of J. A . Giles (London, 1845). There is a French translation in tome xxix. of Guizot'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 of Durham and chief counsellor of William Rufus, was a Norman monk and prior of St Calais in Maine, who received the see of Durham from the Conqueror (1081). In Durham annals he is honourably remembered as the prelate who designed the existing cathedral, and also for his reform of ecclesiastical discipline. His political career is less creditable. Honoured with the special confidence of William Rufus he deserted his patron's cause at the first sign of rebellion, and joined with Odo of Bayeux in urging Duke Robert of Normandy to claim the crown (1088). After the collapse of this plot William was put upon his trial before the Great Council. He claimed the right to be judged by his fellow-bishops alone; this claim being rejected he appealed to the see of Rome. This was the first case of an appeal to the pope from an English tribunal which had occurred since the 7th century. Rufus and Lanfranc did not venture to dispute the right of appeal, but contended that the bishop, as a royal vassal, could not appeal against the forfeiture of his temporalities. These were confiscated, and William left the kingdom, but no more was heard of his appeal, and in 1091 he regained the royal
