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 | Anglo Saxon History |  | |
| | Battle of Hastings 1066AD - B - The Ship list of William the Conqueror |
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What was the Ship List of William the Conqueror
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This document was part of the Battle Abbey Archives and was at least in their possession between 1130AD and 1160AD.
The document contains a list of important Norman Lords and Ecclesiastic figures who provided ships and knights to
William the Conqueror for the invasion of Britain in 1066AD.
An excellent analysis of the document was provided by Elizabeth M.C. van Houts in the 'Proceedings of the Battle
Conference 1987' in her article titled 'The ship list of William the Conqueror'. This article is a useful
document for the corroboration of Master Wace's account of the invasion in his 'The Roman de Rou'
The only online copy I can find is Proceedings
of the Battle Conference 1987 on google books page 159.
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This is an image of the first page of the Ship
List from the Bodleian Library in Oxford
| | What did the list contain ▲ |
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The ship list of William the Conqueror provides fascinating insights into the maritime preparations for the Norman
Conquest of England in 1066.
Let’s delve into the details:
- Historical Context:
- The list appears in the Battle manuscript, written down between 1130 and 1160.
- It likely originated from the monastery at Fécamp in Normandy shortly after the Norman Conquest of England.
- The document summarizes agreements made between Duke William of Normandy and a number of his mightiest vassals
before the invasion of England and explains who were to supply the necessary ships.
- Vassals and Ship Contributions:
- Altogether 14 vassals are listed, and they are to turn up with a total of 776 vessels.
- While not all ships were necessarily longships, they served various purposes, including cargo transport for supplies
and weapons.
- The army also transported horses and much armor, including a whole timber fortress as a “do-it-yourself
kit.”
- Role of Harbor-Towns:
- All the vassals had rights in harbor-towns, either along the coast of Normandy or on the rivers.
- Coastal harbors supplied more ships than inland river harbors.
- William’s Fleet:
- At the end of the document, it is noted that William had 1,000 ships at his disposal for the invasion, apart from
those that each of the vassals might have been willing to supply in addition to the number mentioned in the list.
- The vassals were rewarded for their participation in the invasion by being granted fiefs in the conquered
areas.
- William likely drew on his own resources, including numerous harbors under his command, to contribute to the
fleet.
| | William the Conqueror's Ship list - a summary ▲ |
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| Lord | Ships | Knights | Ports |
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| William fitz Osbern | 60 | | Eure, Pacy and Ivry |
| Hugh de Avranches | 60 | | Avranches |
| Hugh de Montfort | 50 | 60 | Risle, Montfort |
| Remigus de Fecamp | 1 | 20 | St Valery-en-Caux |
| Nicholas Abbot de St Ouen | 15 | 100 | Seine, Rouen |
| Robert comte d'Eu | 60 | | Le Treport |
| Fulk d'Aunou | 40 | | Risle, Foulbec |
| Gerold the Steward | 40 | | Epte, Neufmarche, Honfleur,
Gonville |
| William comte d'Evreux | 80 | | Itton, Evreux |
| Roger de Montgommery | 60 | | Dives, Orne |
| Roger de Beaumont | 60 | | Risle, Beaumont-le-Roger, Pont
Audemer |
| Odo Bisshop de Bayeux | 100 | | Port-en-Bessin |
| Robert comte de Mortain | 120 | | Honfleur |
| Walter Giffard | 30 | 100 | Scie, Longueville |
| Duchess Mathilde | 1 | | Bethune |
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| Totals | 777 | 280 | |
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Duke William controlled the ports of Dieppe, Etretat, Bruneval, Dives/Cabourg, Caen/Quistreham, Barfleur, Cherbourg,
Portbail, Vernon, Le Goulet, Les Damps, Elbeuf and Rouen.
| | Master Wace ▲ |
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Master Wace records:
'He
got together carpenters smiths and other workmen,
so that great stir was seen at all the ports of Normandy,
in the collecting of wood and materials, cutting
of planks, framing of ships and boats, stretching
sails, and rearing masts, with great pains and
at great cost. They spent all one summer and autumn
in fitting up the fleet and collecting the forces;
and there was no knight in the land, no good serjeant,
archer, nor peasant of stout heart, and of age
for battle, that the duke did not summon to go with
him to England : promising rents to the vavassors,
and honors to the barons.
When the ships were ready, they were moored in
the Somme at St. Valeri, and there delivered to the
barons. Many were the ships and boats in the river
there, which is called the Somme, and separates
Ponthieu and Vimou.'
'I shall never put in writing, and would not undertake to set down, what barons, and how many knights, how many
vavassors, and how many soldiers the duke had in his company, when he had collected all his navy ; but I heard my father
say I remember it well, although I was but a lad that there were seven hundred ships, less four, when they sailed from
St. Valeri ; and that there were besides these ships, boats and skiffs for the purpose of carrying the arms and harness.
I have found it written (but I know not whether it be true) that there were in all three thousand vessels bearing sails
and masts. Any one will know that there must have been a great many men to have furnished out so many vessels.'
It would seem that Master Wace's total of 696 is not far from the 777 from the ship list, but the ship list may have
been written as the ships left Normandy, so that if a storm swept the fleet into 'St Valerie' then possibly 70 ships
were lost between Dives and St Valerie.
Battle of Hastings 1066AD - C
- Sailing - Dives sur Mer to St Valerie
| | Orderic Vitalis ▲ |
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Orderic Vitalis records:
'While however the attention of the English was diverted
by the invasion of Yorkshire, and by (rod's permission they
neglected, as I have already mentioned, to guard the coast,
the Norman fleet, which for a whole month had been waiting
for a south wind in the mouth of the river Dive and the
neighbouring harbours, took advantage of a favourable
breeze from the west to gain the roads of St. Valeri.'
'At last when by God's grace
it suddenly came round to the quarter which was the object
of so many prayers, the duke, full of ardour, lost no time in
embarking the troops, and giving the signal for hastening
the departure of the fleet. The Norman expedition, therefore,
crossed the sea on the night of the third of the calends
of October [29th September], which the Catholic church
observes as the feast of St. Michael the archangel, and,
meeting with no resistance, and landing safely on the coast
of England, took possession of Pevensey and Hastings, the
defence of which was entrusted to a chosen body of soldiers,
to cover a retreat and guard the fleet.'
Orderic doesn't mention any storm or any count of vessels.
| | The Carmen de Triumpho Normannico ▲ |
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The Carmen records:
'But for a long time your leading fleet across the Channel is barred by storms and constant rain
From antiquity the port of Vimeu has been renown
Above is the fortress of St Valery
For fifteen days you occupied these regions
It remains wet
And the sky is covered with cloud and rain
And the sun shone forth brighter than usual
When Michaelmas was celebrated around the world
While sailors take up their oars and knights their arms
Surely ten times ten times ten and 5 thousand more men'
Fairly limited details relating to the ships, but the number of men is about 6000 which would take about 100
longboats to carry at 60 men per ship. This would leave 600 ships to carry the horses at possibly 10 per ship giving a
total of 6000 horses at 2 per knight would give 3000 cavalry .
| | Norman Ship details link ▲ |
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Williams flagship the Mora ▲
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This is an extract from the Bayeux Tapestry showing William in the Mora, the ship was provided by Mathilde,
WIlliam's wife.
The word Mora is mentioned only in the Ship List which was written in medieval Latin around 1067 and was
translated by the historian Elisabeth van Houts.
The original
"Matildis postea regina eiusdem ducis uxor ad cecis fecit effcis effcis nauem que uocabatur mora in qua
ipse dux uecus est"
Which can translate into:
Later on Matilda, the dukes wife, built a ship at Cici, which was called the mora, in which the duke himself
lived.
Ship details from Wikipedia:
'Mora was a ship of Drakkar/Snekkja design and clinker construction built at Barfleur in Normandy, a gift of Matilda
of Flanders to her husband William the Conqueror in the summer of 1066. She was a larger ship and carried ten knights
with their entourages and equipment. The ship was captained by Stephen Fitz Airard, meaning the son of Airard, who
remained her captain until William's death in 1087.
Stephen received lands in Hampshire, Berkshire, and Warwickshire as reward for his services in the English campaign
of 1066. Orderic Vitalis describes the ship: "it had for its figurehead the image of a child, gilt, pointing with its
right hand towards England, and having in its mouth a trumpet of ivory. Mora carried multicoloured sails and at the top
of the mainmast was the papal banner, consecrated and sent to William from Rome. The banner was described as "a square
white banner charged with a gold cross within a blue border." '
| | What could the name Mora mean: ▲ |
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A lot of discussion as to the meaning of the name Mora has been proposed which you can read on the French Wikipedia Mora page (be careful of the Wiki
translator it doesn't work on this page), but there is a further possibility.
The Normans were Viking settlers in Northern France, whose language was similar to the Saxon language, Vikings and
Saxons could mostly talk
to each other.
With this in mind there is a possibility that the name Mora is derived from Moraþ(pronounced Morath in
Saxon) which translates as 'A drink formed by boiling down and sweetening wine (with mulberries), a decoction of wine
and herbs', so the ship could have been named after Williams favourite drink, but we will never know.
From the Gesta Normannorum Ducum by William of Jumièges there is an interesting piece of text about William having a
meal in the Channel:
At once the anchor was dropped, the meddlesome Duke partook of an abundant meal, accompanied by spiced
wine, as if he were in his hall at home.
So perhaps the ship was named after his favourite drink.
| | Conclusion ▲ |
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The ship list gives us about 777 ships and Master Wace 696 so we shall assume 700 ships as a nice round number for the
following calculations.
The Carmen records the number of men at about 6000 which would take about 100 longboats to carry at 60 men per ship.
This would leave 600 ships to carry the horses at possibly 10 per ship giving a total of 6000 horses at 2 per knight
would give 3000 cavalry .
In summary, William the Conqueror's ship list reveals the intricate organization of a maritime power during the Middle
Ages and the critical role played by harbor-towns and their Lords in William’s preparations for the invasion of
England.
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