Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
reappraisal of
liam the Great,
duke of Aquitaine
q995-1030)
Bernard S. Bachrach
Joti
of Medievd
pendence of the Capetian monarchs is regarded as absolute. His support of the Church
is seen as multifaceted:
he is crelrlited with
immense gifts to ecclesiastical institutions of
all kinds both within Aquitaine and abroad ;
he is described as an advocate of monastic
reform and a builder of churches. He is said
to have convoked church councils and decre82d the peace of God. His personal religious
devotion
is considered
to have been allembracing;
he made yearly pilgrimages to
holy places (Pfister 1885 : 283-5 ; Luchaire
1901:70-l;
Richard
1903:139-220;
Lot
1904 : 7 l-3 ; Flach 19 17 : 563ff. ; Boissonade
1926: 5 l-2 ; Dhondt
1948 : 225 ; BonnaudDelamare 1962 : 4 15-82 ; Garaud 1964 : 30-l ;
Kienast 1968a : 203-4; Dez 1969 : 37; Brisset
1972:441-60;
Duby
1972:215;
Labande
1973 : 136-53). Recently,
his position was
summarized
thus : . ..Count William in his
capacity
as duke of Aquitaine
was the
dist.inguished ruler of one of the largest principalities in Western Europe, exchanging ambassadors with, among others, the German
Em.peror and the kings of England and Cast i le,
and treating as an equal with the king of
France. His piety, his unusual intellectual
leanings, and the firmness of his rule awed
cogl.temporaries and have given him the epithat William the Great?
A careful examination of the evidence used
by the above-mentioned
scholars indicates
clearly that their consensus takes its tone and
m.rch of its substance from the encomium
devloted to William by his admiring contemporary A&mar of Chabannes
in his Chronicon
(Chavenon
1897 : 162-3). Ademars reputation for truth telling and honesty was attacked
even by his contemporaries
(Saltet 193 1: 1602; Callahan 1976: 257). However, my doubts
concerning
the accuracy of the prevailing
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12
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14
15
16
18
JVotes
Beech 1966:204. Richard 1903:139, n. 1, discusses the origins of Williams sobriquet le grand. This
study was made possible by a grant from the American
Council of Learned Societies for 1973-4.
1
19
Chavenon
1897: 150-2, 1Se. The traditional
hostility between Aquitaine and Franctir, which had
not abated during thii period (Kienast 1968a : 8 1),
permits the hypothesis that :ne choice of a Frank as
archbishop was due to the exercise of northern influence. In trying to date Williams surrender of half
the power over the appointment at Bordeaux it seems
possible that he did so wl.en he married Jhisca the
sister of the duke of Gascony in 1010, the same year
that Seguin was appointed archbishop.
3
Garaud 1964:85. It should be pointed out that
Garaud admits that William the Great lost prerogatives and powers that his father had enjoyed. But
Garaud argues that William the Greats losses were
not as substantial as those suffered by other counts
and dukes during this period. Thus Garaud (1964:29)
observes: 1autoritC comtalc ne subit pas, en Poitou,
une dissolution aussi profonde que dans certains
r&ions da royaume de France. G,arauds point of
departure is the classic study by Duby (1953).
4
Martindale 1969 : 533,542-7 ; Beech 1966 : 205.
The wide-ranging, one-sided claims made by the count
over his fi4& are well-illustrated (Martindale 1969 :
543) : Comes vero dixit : Non eos tibi interrogo propter
tuum malum, sed etiam per hoc quod meus tu es ad
facere meam
voluntatem.
Beech ( 1566 : 206-72,
recognizes that Williams claim vis&vis Hugh yol:
are mine lto do my will, would seem to illustrac
dictatorial powers claimed by the counts of Poita,
over their J$ik&~.
5
Behrends 1976 : no. 5 1. Williams letter does no
survive but Fulberts answer does. This I 3tter has bee
widely used by scholars (Ganshof
1961:&3-8~.
Behrends ( 1976 : no. 51) provides the most recer t
edition of il. Fulbert does not use the terms uassus o:
vassalus but Behrends insists upon translztingfidelk ZY,
v.*
Literature
Bachrach, B. S. 1970, Charles Martel, mounted shock
combat, the stirrup, and feudalism. Studies in medieval and renaissance history 7 : 49-75.
Bachrach, B. S. 1972. LMerovingian military organization 48 l-75 1. Minneapolis.
Bachrach, B. S. 1975. Early medieval fortifications in
the West of France : a revised technical vocabu+y.
Technology and culture 16:531-69.
Bachrach, B. S. 19-6. A study in feudal politics: relations between Fulk Nerra and William the Great,
995-1930. Viator 7:11 l-22.
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