Note 840 — Chapter VIII · THE EARLY YEARS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.[497] A.D. 1028–1051. (continued 2)
Reading edition
Fulk, p. 233. “Propter quæ omnia bella, et propter magnanimitatem quam ibi exercebat, merito Martellus nominatus est, quasi suos conterens hostes.” William of Malmesbury (iii. 231) calls him “Gaufredus cognomento Martellus, quod ipse sibi usurpaverat, quia videbatur sibi felicitate quâdam omnes obsistentes contundere.” Another account makes the name derived from the trade of Geoffrey’s foster-father, a blacksmith, something like Donald of the Hammer in Scottish story.