The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Avebury Outer Circle Stone 9 aka SW16 aka Barber Stone is in Avebury Outer Stone Circle Extant Stones.
Keiller's Slides TR000126. 1938. General view of the re-erection of stone 9 [Map] in the south west sector of the henge at Avebury, with a figure in the foreground
Keiller's Slides TR000034. 1938. General view of the skull of the Barber Surgeon in situ during the excavation of stone 9 [Map] in the south west sector of the henge at Avebury. Items found with the body including three silver coins dated to around 1320–25, as well as a pair of iron scissors and an iron probe led to him being identified as an itinerant mediaeval barber surgeon.
Antiquity 1939 Volume 13 Pages 223-233. During the excavation of the buried Stone 16 [Map], a complete skeleton was found within the narrow space between the stone and the only unfinished part of the side of the burial-pit. It is evident that the remains were those of an individual who had been accidentally killed while engaged in completing the pit for the burial of the stone, which had apparently slipped or fallen owing to a support giving way, fracturing the victim's pelvis, and also breaking his neck. The right foot was wedged beneath the fallen stone and it had consequently been impossible at the time of death to remove the corpse. It had therefore been covered over and the pit containing stone and body filled in. The date of the occurrence, and the burial of the stone, could be accurately fixed to within a few years by the discovery near the man's left hip of a discoloured patch of soil, doubtless representing the remains of a leather pouch, upon which lay thrce coins; two silver pennies of Edward I, minted at Canterbury in 1307, and a sterling of the City of Toul. Other finds beside the skeleton included a pair of pointed scissors, which were from their form definitely those rather of a barber than a tailor, and a small iron object, with the vestigial remains of a wooden handle, which had apparently been a lancet or probe. These objects were found beside the left thigh. The discovery of a pair of scissors in England accurately identifiable to so early a date as the first quarter of the fourteenth century A.D. is interesting.
In passing it may be remarked that the generally accepted explanation that is in order to facilitate agriculture-for the burial of so many of the stones at Avebury cannot, on other grounds than the employment of a barber for the task, be regarded as adequate, at any rate so far as the northwest and southeast sectors are concerned.
The skeleton has been accepted by the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, while the associated finds are housed in the Museum of the Morven Institute at Avebury.
Keiller's Slides TR000003. General view of the excavation of stone 9 [Map] in the south west sector of the henge at Avebury
