Companions of William the Conqueror


William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conquest of England.
The term "Companions of the Conqueror" in the widest sense signifies those who planned, organised and joined with William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, in the great adventure which was the Norman Conquest. The term is however more narrowly defined as those nobles who actually fought with Duke William in the Battle of Hastings. This article is concerned with the latter narrow definition.

Proof versus legend

Over the centuries since the Battle of Hastings, many people in England have claimed that an ancestor fought on the Norman side. While there is sound evidence of extensive settlement in England by people of Norman, Breton and Flemish origin after 1066, the fact remains that the names of only 15 men who were with Duke William at the battle can be found in reliable sources.
This group is sometimes called the "proven companions", Many lists and so-called "rolls" of other alleged companions have been drawn up over the ages but, unless new evidence turns up, all are conjecture of no historical value. The three unchallenged sources remain as follows:

Reliable contemporary sources

The following three sources constitute the only generally accepted reliable contemporary evidence which names participants at the Battle of Hastings. Among all three sources, only 15 names result.
  • Gesta Guillelmi II Ducis Normannorum, by William of Poitiers, written between 1071 and 1077. The author was born in about 1020 in Les Préaux, near Pont-Audemer, and belonged to an influential Norman family. After serving as a soldier he studied at Poitiers then returned to Normandy to become chaplain to Duke William and archdeacon of Lisieux. He died in 1090. His work is a eulogistic biography of the Duke. The earlier and concluding parts are lost, but the extant part covers the period between 1047 and 1068 and contains details of the Conqueror's life, although untrustworthy with regard to affairs in England. It gives a detailed description of the preparations for the Norman Conquest of England, the Battle of Hastings and its aftermath. The work forms the basis for much of the writing of Orderic Vitalis.
  • Historia Ecclesiastica, by Orderic Vitalis, particularly books 4 & 5. Orderic was born in England in about 1075, the son of a Norman priest, and at the age of 11 became a novice monk in Normandy in the monastery of St Evroul-en-Ouche. He started his great work, commissioned to be primarily a history of his monastery, in about 1110 and continued it until his death in 1142.
  • The Bayeux Tapestry, an annotated pictorial representation of the Norman Conquest. It was probably made in Canterbury, shortly after the event in the 11th century. It may have been taken to Bayeux by Bishop Odo, William's half brother, when he returned there in the 1070s.
These three sources are unfortunately manifestly inadequate, as all are primarily from a Norman perspective. William of Poitiers, chamberlain to Duke William and a trained knight, who provides the most detail, was absent in France during the battle, and betrays severe prejudices in respect of Breton culture and their role at Hastings. Both William and Orderic state that the Bretons were a major component of the battle array, but neither names any of the Bretons present.

Proven companions

The order in which names are listed below is that given in the respective sources:
"A certain Norman, Robert, son of Roger of Beaumont, being nephew and heir to Henry, Count of Meulan, through Henry's sister Adeline, found himself that day in battle for the first time. He was as yet but a young man and he performed feats of valour worthy of perpetual remembrance. At the head of a troop which he commanded on the right wing he attacked with the utmost bravery and success."


"With a harsh voice he called to Eustace of Boulogne, who with 50 knights was turning in flight and was about to give the signal for retreat. This man came up to the Duke and said in his ear that he ought to retire since he would court death if he went forward. But at the very moment when he uttered the words Eustace was struck between the shoulders with such force that blood gushed out from his mouth and nose and half dead he only made his escape with the aid of his followers."


"There were present in this battle: Eustace, Count of Boulogne; William, son of Richard, Count of Evreux; Geoffrey, son of Rotrou, Count of Mortagne; William FitzOsbern; Haimo, Vicomte of Thouars; Walter Giffard; Hugh of Montfort-sur-Risle; Rodulf of Tosny; Hugh of Grantmesnil; William of Warenne, and many other most renowned warriors whose names are worthy to be commemorated in histories among the bravest soldiers of all time."

"His corpse was brought into the Duke's camp and William gave it for burial to William, surnamed Malet, and not to Harold's mother, who offered for the body of her beloved son its weight in gold."

"Hic Odo Eps Baculu Tenens Confortat Pueros."

Additional companions

These five were agreed upon by both David C. Douglas and Geoffrey H. White and are from the Complete Peerage XII-1, Appendix L.
Since the time of these lists, J. F. A. Mason in the English Historical Review adds one additional name:
  • Humphrey of Tilleul-en-Auge

Works cited

  • Cokayne's Complete Peerage, Revised edition, vol.12, Appendix L, pp. 47–48
  • Douglas, David C. & Greenaway, George W. English Historical Documents 1042-1189, London, 1959. "William of Poitiers: the Deeds of William, Duke of the Normans and King of the English," pp. 217–232 & "The Bayeux Tapestry," pp. 232–279.
  • Mason, J.F.A., "The Companions of the Conqueror: An Additional Name," The English Historical Review, Vol. 71, No. 278, pp. 61–69.