The Planctus on the Death of William Longsword (943) as a Source for Tenth-Century Culture in Normandy and Aquitaine (The R. Allen Brown Memorial Lecture, 2013)
Elisabeth van Houts
The Planctus, or lament, is a contemporary Latin poem on the murder of William Longsword, count Rouen, 17 December 942. It belongs to Carolingian genre lament (planctus) poems, which bewail death beloved person. Laments were written for rulers, bishops other prominent people, originally in but also vernacular, Occitan planh are amongst most common. Early composition after person lamented was norm and, as I will argue, William’s 943. Planctus an exceptionally important text various reasons. oldest literary history early Normandy, only Scandinavian settlement France last beyond one generation. poem’s survival, two non-Norman manuscripts, illustrates precariousness process whereby memorial poetry preserved. throws exceptional light Christianity second generation immigrants, embedded into highest Frankish aristocracy, who viewed them with suspicion. role aristocratic women mourning rituals, commemoration their menfolk, and cultural links these practices fostered.