| William Longsword | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Count of Rouen | |
| Reign | 927–942 |
| Predecessor | Rollo |
| Successor | Richard I |
| Born | c. 893 Bayeux or Rouen |
| Died | 17 December 942 (aged 48–49) Picquigny on the Somme |
| Burial | |
| Spouses | Luitgarde of Vermandois Sprota |
| Issue | Richard I of Normandy |
| House | Normandy |
| Father | Rollo, Count of Rouen |
| Mother | Poppa of Bayeux |
William Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Old Norman: Williame de lon Espee, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Old Norse: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.[1]
He is sometimes referred to as a "duke of Normandy", though the title duke (dux) did not come into common usage until the 11th century.[2] Longsword was known at the time as count (Latin comes) of Rouen.[3][4] Flodoard—always detailed about titles—consistently referred to both Rollo and his son William as principes (chieftains) of the Normans.[5] There are no contemporary accounts of William's byname, 'Longsword', either; it appears first in later eleventh-century sources.[6]
- ^ Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1 (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 79
- ^ Douglas, David 'The Earliest Norman Counts', The English Historical Review, Vol. 61, No. 240 (May 1946), p. 130, JSTOR 555396
- ^ David Crouch, The Normans: The History of a Dynasty, (London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 14.
- ^ The Normans in Europe, ed. & trans. Elisabeth van Houts (Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, 2000), pp. 31, 41, 182
- ^ Eleanor Searle, Predatory Kinship and the Creation of Norman Power, 840–1066 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), p. 45
- ^ Crouch, David (2002). The Normans: The History of a Dynasty. London: Hambledon Continuum. p. 9.