Note 1300 — Chapter XV · THE NORMAN INVASION AND THE CAMPAIGN OF HASTINGS.[1055] (continued 2)

The vow comes from the Battle Chronicle (3), where it immediately follows the story of the hauberk; “Unde et nunc, de ejus [Creatoris] auxilio securus, ad vestras qui mei gratiâ hoc initis certamen corroborandas manus ac mentes votum facio, me in hoc certaminis loco pro salute cunctorum, et hic nominatim occumbentium ad honorem Dei et sanctorum ejus, quo servi Dei adjuventur congruum, cum dignâ libertate fundaturum monasterium.” The words in Italics come, I suspect, from the chronicler, not from the Duke. The vow at such a moment is in every way probable, but William was hardly already thinking of the exemption of the Abbey of Battle from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Chichester.