Note 784 — Chapter VIII · THE EARLY YEARS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.[497] A.D. 1028–1051. (continued 2)

The narrative in the Roman de Rou (9134–9207) clearly implies that Henry was overthrown twice, first by a nameless knight of the Côtentin, secondly by Hamon himself. At the same time there certainly is, as Mr. Taylor (p. 25) says, a certain confusion in the way of telling the story, and one might be tempted to believe that the one overthrow was a mere repetition of the other. But each story seems to receive a certain amount of corroborative evidence. The first overthrow is supported by the Côtentin rhyme, the second by the independent testimony of William of Malmesbury (iii. 230); “Haimo in acie cæsus, cujus insignis violentia laudatur, quod ipsum Regem equo dejecerit; quare a concurrentibus stipatoribus interemtus.”