Note 752 — Chapter VII

The portrait of Sibyl is drawn by William of Malmesbury, iv. 389, where she appears as “Filia Willelmi de Conversana, quam rediens in Apuliam duxerat, cujus elegantissimæ speciei prodigium vix ullius disertitudinis explicabit conatus.” So Orderic, 780 A; “Hæc nimirum bonis moribus floruit, et multis honestatibus compta, his qui noverant illam amabilis extitit.” The continuator of William of Jumièges (viii. 14) goes further; “Fuit vero prædicta comitissa pulcra facie, honesta moribus, sapientia præclara, et aliquando absente duce ipsa melius per se negotia provinciæ, tam privata quam publica, disponebat, quam ipse faceret si adesset.” Wace (15422) calls her Sebire, and speaks only of her personal beauty. She was the mother of William Clito who plays so conspicuous a part in Henry’s reign. According to William of Malmesbury she died at his birth in 1103, but Orderic (810 A) tells a strange story how she was poisoned by Agnes the widow of the old Earl Walter Giffard, who hoped to marry the Duke. The more general statement in the continuation of William of Jumièges is to the same effect.