Serlo of Bayeux and England

After a short introduction highlighting Serlo’s ambiguous attitude to the English and its king in 1105-1106, I shall discuss three texts which link Serlo with England. First there is Serlo’s poem Defensio pro filiis presbyterorum of which the oldest copy is preserved (incompletely) in a manuscript of Exeter Cathedral c. 1100 (Cambridge CCC ms 190, p. 361). The first 59 lines, in a haphazard order, have survived and concentrate mainly on the sacrament of baptism, the fact that sons cannot be held responsible for the sins of their fathers and the legislators’ lack of attention for simony and homosexuality. Second, I will discuss Serlo’s poem ad Murielem, the versificatrix nun of Wilton (d. before 1113) which was written after Baudri of Bourgueil’s poem for her. Thirdly and briefly I will explore the implications of the suggestion, first raised by Edoardo D’Angelo, that the poem Septem maiores numeramus was written by Serlo for Queen Edith Matilda (d. 1118), perhaps as a contribution to one of her competitions organised for poets.Après une brève introduction mettant en évidence l’attitude ambiguë de Serlon envers les Anglais et leur roi dans les années 1105-1106, je présenterai trois textes qui évoquent les liens de Serlon avec l’Angleterre. Il s’agit d’abord du poème de Serlon Defensio pro filiis Presbyterorum, dont la plus ancienne copie est conservée (partiellement) dans un manuscrit de la Cathédrale d’Exeter daté des environs de 1100 (Cambridge CCC ms 190, p. 361). Les 59 premiers vers, conservés dans un ordre aléatoire, portent principalement sur le sacrement du baptême et sur le fait que les fils ne peuvent être tenus pour responsables des péchés de leurs pères et sur le manque d’attention porté par les législateurs aux questions de simonie et d’homosexualité. Ensuite, j’analyserai le poème ad Murielem, sur la religieuse versificatrice de Wilton († avant 1113), poème que Serlon écrivit après que Baudri de Bourgueil eut écrit celui qu’il consacra à cette religieuse. Enfin, brièvement, j’étudierai les implications de la suggestion, d’abord émise par Edoardo D’Angelo, selon laquelle le poème Septem maiores numeramus fut écrit par Serlon pour la reine Edith Matilda († 1118), peut-être comme une contribution à l’un des concours de poésie qu’elle organisa.Dopo una breve introduzione volta a mettere in evidenza l’atteggiamento ambiguo di Serlone verso gli Inglesi ed il loro re negli anni tra il 1105 e il 1106, presenterò tre testi che evocano i rapporti di Serlone con l’Inghilterra. Si tratta innanzitutto della Defensio pro filiis Presbyterorum, poesia di Serlone la cui copia più antica è conservata (parzialmente) in un manoscritto della Cattedrale di Exeter datato all’incirca al 1100 (Cambridge CCC ms 190, p. 361). I primi 59 versi, serbati in un ordine casuale, vertono principalmente sul sacramento del battesimo e sul fatto che i figli non possono essere considerati responsabili dei peccati dei loro padri e sulla mancata attenzione rivolta da parte dei legislatori alle questioni della simonia e dell’omosessualità. In seguito, analizzerò la poesia ad Murielem, sulla religiosa versificatrice di Wilton († prima del 1113), testo che Serlone compose dopo quello che Balderico di Bourgueil dedicò alla stessa monaca. Infine, studierò brevemente le implicazioni del suggerimento, proposto per la prima volta da Edoardo D’Angelo, secondo il quale la poesia Septem maiores numeramus fu scritta da Serlone per la regina Edith Matilda († 1118), forse come contributo per uno dei concorsi di poesia da lei organizzati

People, Texts and Artefacts: Cultural Transmission in the Norman Worlds of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries

This volume is based on two international conferences held in 2013 and 2014 at Ariano Irpino, and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. It contains essays by leading scholars in the field. Like the conferences, the volume seeks to enhance interdisciplinary and international dialogue between those who work on the Normans and their conquests in northern and southern Europe in an original way. It has as its central theme issues related to cultural transfer, treated as being of a pan-European kind across the societies that the Normans conquered and as occurring within the distinct societies of the northern and southern conquests. These issues are also shown to be an aspect of the interaction between the Normans and the peoples they subjugated, among whom many then settled

Les femmes dans l’histoire du duché de Normandie

Loin de conclure que les femmes normandes n’ont joué aucun rôle dans le processus de l’écriture de l’Histoire, je voudrais suggérer qu’elles ont pu s’impliquer de différentes manières dans l’histoire de leurs familles. Elles ont agi comme des « canaux de communication historique » entre les générations. Des femmes de l’aristocratie, s’occupant du passé, du présent et du futur, ont stimulé la production de récits historiques et prophétiques. Trois dossiers en particulier ont retenu mon attention : le don du château du Homme (Cotentin) de la comtesse Adeliza de Bourgogne aux religieuses de La Trinité de Caen en 1075 ; les deux versions du récit de la fondation de l’église de Saint-Martin d’Auchy de la fin du XIe siècle et le manuscrit Paris BnF lat. 5390 (Raoul Glaber, Vie de Guillaume de Volpiano ; Adson de Montier-en-Der, L’origine et du temps d’Antéchrist et la prophétie sibylline) copié entre 1060 et 1070.Instead of concluding that Norman women did not play any role in the process of writing history, I should like to suggest that there were other ways in which they could be involved with the history of their families. They acted as channels of historical knowledge between the generations. Aristocratic women, preoccupied with the past, the present and the future, stimulated the production of historical and prophetical narratives. Three dossiers in particular will be discussed here: the grant of the castle of Le Homme (Cotentin) by Countess Adeliza of Burgundy to the nuns of Holy Trinity at Caen in 1075, the two versions of the foundation narrative of the church of St Martin at Auchy dating to the late eleventh century, and manuscript Paris BN Lat. 5390 (Ralph Glaber, Life of William of Volpiano; Adso of Montier-en-Der, The Origin and Time of the Antichrist and the sibyline prophecy) copied between 1060 and 1070

Gesta Normannorum Ducum. Een studie over de handschriften, de tekst het geschiedwerk en het genre

The main object of this study is to establish which of the transmitted versions of the Gesta Normannorum Ducun (GND) is the original one and how and when the subsequent redactions have originated from it. It is intended as a priliminary study for a new text edition. ... Zie: Summar

R. H. C. Davis et Marjorie Chibnall, éd. trad. — The « Gesta Guillelmi » of William of Poitiers.Oxford, Clarendon Press / Oxford Univ. Pr., 1998 (Oxford Medieval Texts)

Van Houts Elisabeth M. C. R. H. C. Davis et Marjorie Chibnall, éd. trad. — The « Gesta Guillelmi » of William of Poitiers.Oxford, Clarendon Press / Oxford Univ. Pr., 1998 (Oxford Medieval Texts). In: Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, 43e année (n°170), Avril-juin 2000. Regards croisés sur l'An Mil, sous la direction de Martin Aurell . pp. 202-203

Cassandra Potts. — Monastic Revival and Régional Identity in Early Normandy . Woodbridge, Boydell & Brewer, 1997 (Stud. in Hist. of Médiéval Religion, 11)

Van Houts Elisabeth M. C. Cassandra Potts. — Monastic Revival and Régional Identity in Early Normandy . Woodbridge, Boydell & Brewer, 1997 (Stud. in Hist. of Médiéval Religion, 11). In: Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, 42e année (n°167), Juillet-septembre 1999. p. 308

Life-writing on Lead: Burial Plaques and Their Obituaries, c.950-1200

This article concerns lead burial plaques and their engraved Latin obituaries in France, England, and the southern Low Countries. Lead plaques and their inscriptions were buried with the dead in their shroud or coffin from the seventh century onwards but they became popular in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Originally, they contained brief inscriptions with the name of the dead person accompanied by some penitential prayers. From the tenth century onwards the biographical information increased to the extent that the prayers were cast aside and the texts developed into obituaries. This article will set the obituaries in the context of the concept of life-writing which offers a fresh and nuanced approach to biographical writing. It seems that only very specific information was included in obituaries on the lead plaques, such as important events in someone’s life or career. The texts were not meant to be full narratives from birth to death. The lead plaques and their obituaries are found with elite or near-elite men (mostly high-status clergy) and women and also some children. Several cases studies for women and children are included to illustrate the type of information given in the Latin obituaries. Although lead burial plaques and their inscriptions have been studied by medieval archaeologists, epigraphers and liturgists, this article argues that historians can learn a great deal from the objects and their inscriptions especially as testimony to the Latin life-writing on individual men and women in the Middle Ages

David N. Dumville, éd. — The «Historia Brittonum ». III : The « Vatican » Recension, 1985

Van Houts Elisabeth M. C. David N. Dumville, éd. — The «Historia Brittonum ». III : The « Vatican » Recension, 1985. In: Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, 32e année (n°127), Juillet-septembre 1989. pp. 272-273