|
Saxon thegn | Anglo Saxon History
Search Pages |  | |
| Battle of Hastings 1066AD - B - The Ship list of William the Conqueror |
|---|
|
| Introduction ▲ |
|---|
In the autumn of 1066, William Duke of Normandy assembled the largest invasion fleet seen in the Channel since the Romans. But how large was it, who built it, who paid for it, and what could it actually carry?
The Ship List of William the Conqueror is one of the few documents from the period that gives us hard numbers. Originating most likely from the monastery at Fécamp shortly after the conquest, it records the agreements made between William and fourteen of his principal vassals — the ships each was to provide, the harbours they sailed from, and the rewards they subsequently received in the conquered territories.
This page works through that document line by line, cross-references it against the chronicle accounts of Master Wace, Orderic Vitalis and the Carmen, and uses the resulting figures to calculate what the fleet could realistically have carried in terms of men, horses and supplies. It also examines William's flagship the Mora — her design, her captain, her papal banner, and the intriguing question of how she got her name.
The numbers, as always, raise as many questions as they answer. But they are the closest thing we have to an invasion manifest for the most consequential Channel crossing in English history.
| | |
|---|
What was the Ship List of William the Conqueror ▲ |
|---|
The document originated most likely from the monastery at Fécamp in Normandy shortly after the conquest, and records agreements made between Duke William and his principal vassals before the invasion. Fourteen vassals are listed by name, together with the number of ships each was to provide. All held rights in harbour-towns, either along the Norman coast or on the rivers feeding into the Channel — coastal harbours contributed more ships than inland river harbours. The vassals were subsequently rewarded with fiefs in the conquered territories.
At the end of the document it is noted that William had 1,000 ships at his disposal for the invasion, beyond those listed — suggesting the named contributions were the core of the fleet rather than its entirety.
| 
This is an image of the first page of the Ship List from the Bodleian Library in Oxford
| | |
|---|
The Ship List — translated ▲ |
|---|
| Line |
Latin |
English |
| 1 |
Willelmus dux Normannorum veniens in Angliam ob adgrediendi regnum, iure sibi debiti habuit a Willelmo dapifero filio Osberni sexaginta naues. |
William Duke of the Normans, coming to England to claim the kingdom owed to him by right, had from William the steward, son of Osbern, sixty ships. |
| 2 |
Ab Hugone pena comite de Olreti vndecim. |
From Hugh, Count of Eu, eleven ships. |
| 3 |
Ab Hugone de Mufort, quinquaginta naues. |
From Hugh de Montfort, fifty ships. |
| 4 |
Et Suganmiltoti. |
And Suganmiltoti [name uncertain]. |
| 5 |
A Armo Dermo signaro secam p̥eā ep'o Lincolensi, una nauis cum c̥ milibus. |
From Armo Dermo, standard-bearer of the bishop of Lincoln, one ship with knights. |
| 6 |
A Nicholao abbē de Sancto Dudo uno. X naues cum c̥ milibus. |
From Nicholas, Abbot of Saint-Denis, ten ships with knights. |
| 7 |
A Robŏ comite Aug., sexaginta naues. |
From Robert, Count of Eu, sixty ships. |
| 8 |
A Falcone Daruo. XI naues. |
From Falcon of Dives, eleven ships. |
| 9 |
A Geroldo dapifero, vndecim naues. |
From Gerald the steward, eleven ships. |
| 10 |
Albero Demunguer, sexaginta naues. |
From Alberic of Meung, sixty ships. |
| 11 |
Argo de Bauuuer, IX naues. |
From Argo of Beauvais, nine ships. |
| 12 |
Ab Done ep'o de Baios, c. naues. |
From Odo, bishop of Bayeux, one hundred ships. |
| 13 |
A Robbo de Morcono, c. XXXII. |
From Robert de Mortain, one hundred and thirty-two ships. |
| 14 |
A Walio Giffardo, XXVII naues cum c̥ milibus. |
From Walter Giffard, twenty-seven ships with knights. |
| | |
|---|
Summary of contributions ▲ |
|---|
| Lord |
Ships |
Knights |
Ports |
| William fitz Osbern |
60 |
|
Eure, Pacy, Ivry |
| Hugh de Avranches |
60 |
|
Avranches |
| Hugh de Montfort |
50 |
60 |
Risle, Montfort |
| Remigus de Fécamp |
1 |
20 |
St Valéry-en-Caux |
| Nicholas, Abbot of St Ouen |
15 |
100 |
Seine, Rouen |
| Robert, Count of Eu |
60 |
|
Le Tréport |
| Fulk d'Aunou |
40 |
|
Risle, Foulbec |
| Gerold the Steward |
40 |
|
Epte, Neufmarché, Honfleur, Gonville |
| William, Count of Évreux |
80 |
|
Itton, Évreux |
| Roger de Montgommery |
60 |
|
Dives, Orne |
| Roger de Beaumont |
60 |
|
Risle, Beaumont-le-Roger, Pont Audemer |
| Odo, Bishop of Bayeux |
100 |
|
Port-en-Bessin |
| Robert, Count of Mortain |
120 |
|
Honfleur |
| Walter Giffard |
30 |
100 |
Scie, Longueville |
| Duchess Mathilde |
1 |
|
Béthune |
| Total |
777 |
280 |
|
| What the fleet could carry ▲ |
|---|
The Carmen de Triumpho Normannico gives a total of approximately 6,000 fighting men. At roughly 60 men per Snekkja on a short Channel crossing, that figure would require around 100 longships — leaving approximately 600 of the remaining vessels available for horses and supplies. At 10 horses per ship, 600 ships could carry approximately 6,000 horses. A Norman knight typically travelled with two horses — a warhorse and a palfrey — which implies a cavalry force of around 3,000 mounted knights. That is a substantial force, and the logistics of transporting it are examined in detail on Page B (ship types and capacities) and Page H (army size and logistics).
| What the Chronicles say ▲ |
|---|
The three main chronicle sources each add something different.
Master Wace describes the physical assembly of the fleet in considerable detail — the carpenters, smiths and workmen, the cutting of planks, the stretching of sails — and records that his father told him there were 700 ships less four when they sailed from St Valérie, with additional boats and skiffs carrying arms and harness. He also notes a claim, which he says he cannot vouch for, that there were in all three thousand vessels bearing sails and masts. The gap between Master Wace's 696 ships at St Valérie and the ship list's 777 at Dives is significant: if the ship list was compiled at departure from Dives, the difference of 81 ships represents roughly what was lost in the storm between Dives and St Valérie — a figure examined on Page D.
Orderic Vitalis confirms the fleet waited a full month at the mouth of the Dives for a south wind, eventually taking advantage of a westerly to reach St Valérie, and that the crossing to England took place on the night of 29th September. He gives no count of vessels and makes no mention of any storm losses.
The Carmen records William occupying the region around St Valérie for fifteen days awaiting favourable winds, and gives a figure of around 6,000 men — the basis for the cavalry calculation above.
| Williams flagship — the Mora ▲ |
|---|
The Mora was a Drakkar/Snekkja design, clinker-built, constructed at Barfleur and given to William by his wife Mathilde. She was larger than a standard Snekkja and carried ten knights with their entourages and equipment. Her captain was Stephen Fitz Airard, who retained command until William's death in 1087 and was rewarded with lands in Hampshire, Berkshire and Warwickshire.
Orderic Vitalis describes her figurehead as a gilt image of a child pointing toward England with its right hand, holding an ivory trumpet in its mouth. She flew multicoloured sails and carried at her masthead the papal banner — a square white banner charged with a gold cross within a blue border — sent to William from Rome as a mark of papal blessing for the invasion.
The ship's name appears only in the Ship List. The word Mora has attracted considerable discussion, but there is an intriguing possibility rooted in the Norman-Viking linguistic inheritance. The Saxon word Moraþ (pronounced Morath) means a drink made by boiling and sweetening wine with mulberries — essentially a spiced wine. This is speculation, but not entirely idle: William of Jumièges records that while the fleet lay at anchor in the Channel on the crossing night, William partook of an abundant meal accompanied by spiced wine, as if in his hall at home. Whether the ship was named after a favourite drink we cannot know — but the connection is suggestive.
| Norman Ship details link ▲ |
|---|
| Conclusion ▲ |
|---|
The Ship List gives us the starting point: 777 vessels assembled at Dives, contributed by fourteen named lords from harbours along the Norman coast and its rivers. The Carmen's figure of around 6,000 fighting men implies that roughly a sixth of those ships carried troops, leaving the majority for horses and supplies — enough, on the arithmetic, for a cavalry force of around 3,000 knights.
What the list cannot tell us is how those ships performed on the crossing, how many survived the storm between Dives and St Valérie, or what route they took across the Channel. Those questions are addressed on Pages B, D and E.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Local Interest
Just click an image |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
![Saxon thegn](javascript:launch_resize("/images/1066AD/saxon_thegn2_lft.png",900,1000);)
![This is an image from the Bodleian library in Oxford](javascript:launch_resize("/images/DbImages/Ship_list_of_William_the_Conqueror.jpg"))
.jpg',800,1300)){kind=link}