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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.

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Original Chronicle of Scotland by Andrew of Wyntoun

Original Chronicle of Scotland by Andrew of Wyntoun is in Late Medieval Books.

1303 Battle of Roslyn

1332 Battle of Dupplin Moor

1346 Battle of Neville's Cross

[24th February 1303] That thare wes thretty full thowsand [30,000],

That come in Scotland wyth Confrere,

The Kyng off Inglandis Tresorere;

And bot ten thowsand Scottis men,

That gaddryd war agayne thame then.

In othir Cornykyllis twa I fand,

That thai ware twenty full thowsand,

That come in Scotland off Inglis men;

And noucht attoure aucht thowsand then

Off Scottis men togyddyr syne

Agayne thame gaddryd at Roslyne.

Swa trybyll thai war, or dowbill then

Be the lest sowmyd, off Inglis men

Agayne the Scottis gadryde thare,

Quhen all the nowmyre sowmyd ware.

Swa agayne a Scottis man

Twa Inglis be the lest war than.

And lang or the Sowne yhed down

The Scottis men thare wan the Crown.

Armowris, that war gud and fyne

Off Inglis men, that thai tuk syne,

Wyth all laysere, and othir pelff

Thai departyd amang thame-selff.

And till thare awne syne alsa fast

Ilkane hame wyth tothir past.

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The Scottis men, that in the park than lay,

Wyst rycht noucht off that gadryng,

Made thame gret myrth and solasyng.

Willame off Dowglas, that than was

Ordanyd in forray for to pas,

And swa he dyd in the mornyng

Wyth the mast part off thare gadryng,

And towart that place he held the way

All strawcht, qwhare that his fais lay.

And thai, that bowne war well arly,

Wyth thaire battaillis suddanly

At the Ferry off the Hill thai mete.

The forryowris thare hard war sete;

For thai war off na fors to fycht,

In to gret hy thai tuk the flycht.

Than thai rudly on thame rade,

And swilk martyry on thame made,

That thare, and by at Swndyr-sand,

Fywe hundyr deyd wyth dynt off hand.

Dowglas ethchapyd fra the chas.

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Thare ost than all affrayid was:

Bot noucht for-thi the worthy men

Thare folk stowtly arayid then,

And delt thame in till eschelis thre:

The Kyng hym-selff in ane wald be;

And to the Erle syne off Murraie

And to Dowglas ane othir he gave;

The Stwart hade the thryd eschele,

That wes the mast be mekill dele.

Qwhill thai thame redyand swa were,

The Inglis archerys come so nere,

That wyn to thame welle nere mycht thai.

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[17th October 1346] Than gud Schyre Jhone the Grame can say

To the Kyng, "Gettis me, but ma,

Ane hundyre on hors wyth me to ga,

And all yhone archerys skayle sall 1:

Swa sall we fecht mare sykkerly."

Thus spak he, bot he mycht get nane.

His hors in hy than has he tane,

And hym allane amang thame rade,

And rwdly rowme about hym made.

Qwhen he a qwhille had prekyd thare,

And sum off thame had gert sow sare,

He to the battaylis rade agayne.

[Sa fell it, thai his hors hes] slayne.

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[17th October 1346] The Erle off Murrawe and his menyhé

Than nere wes that assemblé:

At hey dykis assemblid thai,

And that brak gretly thaire aray;

Tharfor thai war swne dyscumfyte.

Thai, that held hale, sped thame full tyte

To the Kyng, that assemblid was

In till a full anoyus plas,

Than nane, but hurt, mycht lyfft his hand,

Qwhen thai thaire fayis mycht noucht wythstand.

To the Stwartis rowt than went thai,

That was assemblyd nere that way.

Thare had thai rowme to stand in fycht;

Thare mycht thai welle assay thare mycht.

Than bathe the fyrst rowtis rycht thare

At that assemblé Wencust war.

Thare wes hard fechtyng; as man sayis,

Swilk wes nevyre sene befor thai dayis:

Swa hard fechtyng than wes thare,

That qwhen the flearis twa myle and mare

'War fled, the banaris war standand,

And thai ware face to face fychtand,

As mony sayd; bot noucht for-thi

Thai war syne wencust wtarly.

Mony fled, and noucht agayne

Repayrid, and thaire war mony slayne.

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Jhon off Cowpland thare tuk the Kyng

Off fors, noucht yholdyne in that takyng;

The Kyng twa teth owt off his hevyd

Wyth a dynt off a knyff hym revyd.

In that fycht slayne war Erlis twa,

Murrawe and Stratherne war tha:

And foure war takyn in presowne

Off Fyffe the fyrst, and syne Wyctown,

Menteth syne, and Swthyrland;

Thir foure Erlis war tane in hand.

Fyvwe hundyr slayne ware, as sayd thai,

Bot thai, that deyd in [the] forray:

Swa thai all, that slayne war thare,

Nowmryde till a thowsand ware.

Thar Schyr Willame off Dowglas

Takyne in that fychtyng was:

Thare takyn was the Kyng Dawy.

Than wes the bataylle off Kersy:

Thare wes mony Inglis men;

The Scottis trowyde for-thi then,

That few [war] lefft in till Ingland

Behynd thame for to kepe [the] land.

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A THOWSAND and thre hundyr yhereIn the year one thousand three hundred
[And] twa and thretty to tha clere,and thirty-two, as the reckoning clearly shows,
On Saynt Margret the Madynys dayon St Margaret the Virgin's day [22nd July 1332],
The Erle Thomas, that qwhill than layEarl Thomas, who until then had lain
In hard seknes, yhald than the gast.in severe sickness, gave up his spirit
Till God, that wes off mychtis mast.to God, who is greatest in might.
And efftyr that his dayis war dwne,And after his days were ended,
The Statis off Scotland gaddryd swne,the Estates of Scotland soon assembled,
Byschapys, erlys, and barownys,bishops, earls and barons,
And othir famows gret persownysand other famous and great persons,3370
Than togyddyr at Saynt Jhonystown.together at Perth.
Efftyr gret and lang dyssentyown,After great and lengthy disagreement,
At the last all, that thare ware,at last all who were there
Ordanyd Donawld, than Erle off Mare,appointed Donald, then Earl of Mar,
To be Wardane off the land ;to be Guardian of the land;
For the Kyng wes than hawandfor the King was then
Bot nyne yhere, but may, off helde,only nine years of age,
All wayk than wapnys for to welde.far too weak to wield weapons.
And on the morne efftyr Lammes day,And on the morning after Lammas Day [1st August 1332],
Qwhen all thus [had] ordanyd thai,when they had arranged all these things,3380
It wes tald thame, that at Kyngornethey were told that at Kinghorn,
Bot twa dayis than gone beforneonly two days before,
Edward the Ballyoll had tane landEdward Balliol had landed
Wyth the flot, that he browcht off Ingland :with the fleet that he had brought from England;
And Alysandyre off Setowh, that hym hale setand Alexander of Seton [aged 42], who had wholly set himself
Thaim to tak land thare to let,to prevent them from landing there,
At ane assawte slayne wes he,was slain in an assault [on 6th August 1332],
And discumfyt his menyhé :and his company defeated.
And qwhen that he wes dwne off dawe,And when he had been killed,
Thai tuk the land forowtyn awe.they took the land without fear.3390
This Wardane and the Statis-thare,This Guardian and the Estates there,
Fra thai hard, that thai but few ware,when they heard that they were only a few
That thar arry Wyd in thare cuntré,who had arrived in their country,
Lang wald noucht in it byddand be.thought that they would not remain there long.
The Inglis men yhit nevyrtheles,Nevertheless, the Englishmen,
Fra thai tuk land, thare byddand wes,after they had landed, remained there,
A[nd] restyd thame a qwhille; and syneand rested for a while; and then
Thai tuk the way till Dwnfermlyne.they took the road to Dunfermline.
And thar all a qwhylle thai lay,There they remained for some time,
And send thare schyppys abowt in Tay.and sent their ships round into the Tay.3400
And in the meyne tyme in ScotlandMeanwhile throughout Scotland
The word ran fra hand till hand,the news passed from hand to hand
That sa few folk in thare cuntréthat so few men had dared
Durst tak the land, and leve the se.to land in their country and leave the sea.
The Scottis men made myrth and play,The Scots made merry and sport,
And ofltsys wald amang thame say,and often among themselves would say,
Lattand a crak, that men mycht here,calling out loudly so that men might hear,
In hethyng, "Tak ane [Bewmonde] here."in mockery, "Take a Beaumont here."
For thai ware few, and thai mony,For they were few and the Scots were many,
Thai lete off thame rycht lychtly.and so they thought very little of them.3410
Bot swa suld nane do, that ware wys:But no wise man should act so:
Wys men suld drede thare innymys;wise men should fear their enemies,
For lychtlynes and sucewdryfor contempt and overconfidence
Drawys in defowle comownaly.commonly lead to disgrace.
Besowth the Scottis Se thanSouth of the Scottish Sea at that time,
The Erle Patryk as WardanEarl Patrick, as Guardian,
Had all the land in governale,had the whole land under his government,
Ordanyd be the gret Cownsale.appointed by the Great Council.
Than qwhen thai herd the aryWyng,Then, when they heard of the landing,
Thai made a generale gadryng :they ordered a general muster;3420
And athyre off thame wyth playne batayleand each of the two intended, in open battle,
Schwpe thaim thare fayis till assayle.to prepare themselves to attack their enemies.
Wyth ilkane, as men bare on hand,With each of them, as men reported,
Ware well gaddryd thretty thowsand.were gathered fully thirty thousand men.
The Erle off Mare wyth his folk ferdThe Earl of Mar went with his force
To Saynt Jhonystown; and thare he herd,to Perth; and there he heard
That all thare fays cummyn warethat all their enemies had come
To ForteWyot, and thaim thareto Forteviot, and there
Had lwgyd in a lytill plas;had lodged themselves in a little place
The Mylnarys Akyre it callyd was:called the Miller's Acre [on 11th August 1332];3430
And men sayis, bath hors and manand men say that both horse and man
In that Akyre war lwgyd than.were then lodged within that acre.
Beyhond Erne a lytil fraA little way beyond the Earn,
The Scottis men come till a brathe Scottish men came to a hillside
Twa bowdrawcht, or lytill mare,two bowshots, or a little more, away,
Lychtyd, and a rest tuk thare,dismounted and took their rest there,
For it nychtyd fast: and thaifor night was quickly falling; and they
Thowcht till abyd thare to the day.intended to remain there until day.
Thai send to Perth for wyn and ale,They sent to Perth for wine and ale,
And drank, and playid, and made na taleand drank and played, taking no account3440
Off thare fays, that lay thame by,of their enemies who lay close by,
That semyd to be stad stratly :who seemed to be in a desperate position;
For lyand before thame ewyn warefor immediately before them lay
The gret ost, that I spak off are;the great host of which I spoke before,
And behynd thame bot fyve myle nereand behind them, scarcely five miles away,
At Owehtyrardore lyand wereat Auchterarder, lay
The Erle Patryk, and all his rowt,Earl Patrick and all his company,
That wes a gret ost and a stowt ;which was a great and powerful host.
Swa that it semyd, thai ware setThus it seemed that they were caught
Amang thare fays, as fysch in net.among their enemies like fish in a net.3450
I trow, thai wald have bene away.I believe they would gladly have been away.
Bot I have herd offtsys say,But I have often heard it said
That dispare gyvys hardyment:that despair gives courage;
For qwhen men trowys in thare intent,for when men believe in their minds
That thai can set for thame na rede,that they can devise no remedy for themselves,
Bot anerly mon byde the dede,but must simply await death,
To Wenge thare dede thai tak thaim will,they resolve to avenge their deaths,
And swa takis hardyment thame till.and thereby courage comes to them.
Tharefore sayd Scypio, that wes wys,Therefore Scipio, who was wise, said
That men suld gyve thare innymysthat men should give their enemies3460
Laysere to fley, that. ware straytlyroom to flee when they were closely
Stade, for swa suld men lychtlypressed, for in that way men might more easily
Ourecum thame; for qwha to the flychtovercome them; for whoever sets
Hym settis, tynys bath hart and mycht.his mind upon flight loses both heart and strength.
I trow, that swa fell in this case:I believe that this is what happened in this case:
For that few folk, that closyd wasefor that small body of men who were enclosed
Wyth thare fays, as I hard say,by their enemies, as I have heard,
Made thame all reddy befor day,made themselves completely ready before day,
And wyth-owtyn noys or cryand without noise or cry
Passyd the wattyr prewaly,secretly crossed the water,3470
That nane, that sat, wpon the bra,so that none of those sitting upon the hillside
Wyst it, for thai made myrthis swa,knew of it, for they were making such merry sport
That thai set on thaim na kepyng;that they kept no watch upon them;
For thai drede noucht thare owre cummyng.for they did not fear their coming across.
Men sayis, ane met thame in the forde,Men say that someone met them at the ford
That preWaly wyth-owtyn wordeand secretly, without a word,
Led thame wp by the wattyr syne,led them up beside the water
Qwhill thai to the Gask come and Duplyne.until they came to Gask and Dupplin.
Thare mony wes lwgyd noucht to layne:Many men were lodged there, without concealment;
Off thai the mast part have thai slayne,of these they slew the greater part,3480
Syne to the gret rowt held in hy,then hurried towards the main body.
That be the noyis, and the cryBy the noise and the cries
Off men, that slayne and stekyd ware,of the men who were being slain and stabbed,
That thai herd heyly cry and rare,whose loud shouting and roaring they heard,
Thai wyst, thare fays war by thame past.the Scots realised that their enemies had passed them.
Tharefore thai mad thame reddy fast,Therefore they quickly made themselves ready
And till thare fays held thare way ;and advanced towards their enemies;
Bot skalyd swa that tyme war thai,but they were so scattered at that time
That thai togyddyr ware noucht thenthat they had together no more
Owt owre aucht hwndyr armyd men.than eight hundred armed men.3490
The Erle off Murrave, yhoung Thomas,The Earl of Moray, young Thomas,
In till that rowt a chefftane was ;was a commander in that force;
The Erle off Menteth Mwrthak alsua ;Murdoch, Earl of Menteith, likewise;
Alysandyr the Frysare yhowng ; wyth thayoung Alexander Fraser; and with them
Robert the Brws, that to the KyngRobert Bruce, who was a son
Robert wes swne, in that gaddryng.of King Robert, was in that company.
The Erle off Mare, that Wardane was,The Earl of Mar, who was Guardian,
Wes nere by in ane othir plas.was close by in another place.
The fyrst rowt held wp strawcht thare wayThe first division went straight on its way,
And swne as it was dawand day, |and as soon as day was dawning [on 12th August 1332]3500
Thare fays in the face thai met.they met their enemies face to face.
Togyddyr thai strak but langare let.They struck together without further delay.
Men sayis, that the Inglis thareMen say that the English there
On bak a gret space rwyschyd ware ;were driven back a great distance;
That the Barown off Staffwrdeand that the Baron of Stafford
On hycht wyth a full sturdy wurdecried aloud in a very powerful voice,
Bade, stand a[nd] pwt ; bot noucht for-thi"Stand and push!" Nevertheless,
Syndry men trowyd rycht fermly,several men firmly believed
That had thai hade to feycht laysare,that, had the Scots had more time to fight,
Thai had noucht bene dyscumfyt thare.they would not have been defeated there.3510
Bot Erle Donawld come hastyly.But Earl Donald came hastily.
Walde he have had assemblyd by,Had he waited until the others had assembled beside him,
Thai had hade the ovyr-hand but dowt :they would without doubt have had the upper hand;
Bot he wyth all his mekill rowtbut he, with all his great company,
Come on behynd, and all downe bare,came up from behind and bore down
That evyre he fand before hym thare.everything he found before him.
Thare wes the myscheff swa cruell,There the disaster was so terrible
That qwha sa in that gret thrang fell.that whoever fell in that great press
Had nevyre laysere to ryse agayne.never had the chance to rise again.
On this wys smoryd war and slayneIn this way, smothered and slain,3520
Welle twa thowsand, as men can ges.were fully two thousand men, as may be reckoned.
The Erle off Murrasve slayne thare wes,The Earl of Moray was slain there,
The Erle Murthak, Broys, and Frysell,Earl Murdoch, Bruce and Fraser,
And ane thowsand, as I herd tell,and a thousand, as I have heard tell,
And ma, wes smoryd in that plas,and more besides, were smothered in that place
Quhare drope off blwde nane drawyn was.without a drop of blood being drawn.
The Erle off Mare thare deyd alswa.The Earl of Mar also died there.
Hereby men may ensawmpill ta,From this men may take an example
That bettyre is ordynans in till fychtthat good order in battle is sometimes better
Sum tyme, than owthir streynth or mycht.than either strength or might.3530
And Caton sayis, off othire thyngAnd Cato says that, in other matters,
Men may offtsys mak mendyng,men may often make amends
Quhen men trespast has; bot in fychtafter they have made a mistake; but in battle,
Quhen that men rewlyd ar noucht rycht,when men are not properly ordered,
Men sall it noucht welle mend agayne,they cannot easily put matters right again,
For in the nek folowys the payne.for punishment follows immediately upon the fault.