Warner of Rouen (French: Garnier de Rouen) was a Norman poet who wrote in Latin in the first quarter of the 11th century.
Nothing is known about Warner beyond what he relates about himself in his two surviving poems. He describes himself as a servant (famulus) of the Archbishop Robert II of Rouen (r.989–1037), which suggests that he was either a canon of Rouen Cathedral or a monk of Saint-Ouen Abbey. He was educated in the classics, but the first direct evidence of a school at Rouen dates from 1028.[1]
Warner's two poems are both found in a single 12th-century manuscript, now Paris, BnF lat. 8121A, at folios 3v–11v. They were both composed during the reign of Robert's brother, Richard II, Duke of Normandy (996–1026).[1] One is the defence of an unnamed master (magister) from the slander of a monk of Mont-Saint-Michel.[1][2] The slander is said to have been uttered in Saint-Ouen, suggesting that the master may be the abbot, either Hildebert (died 1006) or Henry (after 1006). In this poem, Warner shows familiarity with the Benedictine Rule. The master may even be Benedict of Nursia. Warner poses as his disciple (discipulus).[1]
The other poem is a polemic against an immoral Irish poet named Moriuht.[2] Untitled in the manuscript, it is conventionally known as Moriuht. Both are written in the form of epistles addressed to Archbishop Robert. Moriuht is also addressed to Robert's mother Gunnor and King Robert II of France.[1] The poem tells how the grammarian Moriuht left Ireland in search of his abducted wife Glicerium. He is captured and raped by Vikings, who sell him to a Northumbrian nunnery. There he plans to impregnate every nun, and with his sons march and conquer Italy. Caught in flagrante, he is expelled. Captured once more by Vikings, he is sold into slavery in Saxony. On account of his ravenous sexual appetite for both men and women, he is driven out. By magic, he learns that his wife is a slave in Normandy. With money from an unnamed countess, he buys her and ransoms their child. He tries to make a living in Rouen as a poet, but his poetry is awful. Warner includes an example and critiques it, citing Statius, Virgil, Horace and Bede.[3]
Bjork, Robert E., ed. (2010). "Warner (Garnier) of Rouen". The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press.
De Jong, F. P. C. (2016). "Rival Schoolmasters in Early Eleventh-century Rouen with Special Reference to the Poetry of Warner of Rouen (fl. 996–1027)". Anglo Norman Studies. 39: 45–64.
Normandy is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Rollo, also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He emerged as a leading warrior figure among the Norsemen who had secured a permanent foothold on Frankish soil in the valley of the lower Seine after the Siege of Chartres in 911. Charles the Simple, king of West Francia, granted them lands between the mouth of the Seine and what is now Rouen in exchange for Rollo agreeing to end his brigandage, swearing allegiance to him, religious conversion and a pledge to defend the Seine's estuary from other Viking raiders.
Robert of Jumièges was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. He had previously served as prior of the Abbey of St Ouen at Rouen in Normandy, before becoming abbot of Jumièges Abbey, near Rouen, in 1037. He was a good friend and adviser to the king of England, Edward the Confessor, who appointed him bishop of London in 1044, and then archbishop in 1051. Robert's time as archbishop lasted only about eighteen months. He had already come into conflict with the powerful Earl Godwin and, while archbishop, made attempts to recover lands lost to Godwin and his family. He also refused to consecrate Spearhafoc, Edward's choice to succeed Robert as Bishop of London. The rift between Robert and Godwin culminated in Robert's deposition and exile in 1052.
Richard II, called the Good, was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026.
Richard I, also known as Richard the Fearless, was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996. Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum", called him a dux. However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility. Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it. By the end of his reign, the most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure.
Richard III was the duke of Normandy who reigned from August 1026 to his death. His brief reign opened with a revolt by his brother.
The treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) is the foundational document of the Duchy of Normandy, establishing Rollo, a Norse warlord and Viking leader, as the first Duke of Normandy in exchange for his loyalty to Charles III, the king of West Francia, following the Siege of Chartres. The territory of Normandy centered on Rouen, a city in the Marches of Neustria which had been repeatedly raided by Vikings since the 840s, and which had finally been taken by Rollo in 876.
Yvetot is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. It is the capital of the Caux region.
Rouen Cathedral is a Catholic church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each in a different style. The cathedral, built and rebuilt over a period of more than eight hundred years, has features from Early Gothic to late Flamboyant and Renaissance architecture. It also has a place in art history as the subject of a series of impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, and in architecture history as from 1876 to 1880, it was the tallest building in the world.
The House of Normandy was a noble family originating from the Duchy of Normandy. The House of Normandy's lineage began with the Scandinavian Rollo who founded the Duchy of Normandy in 911.
Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen, and Count of Évreux was a powerful and influential prelate, and a family member of and supporter of five dukes of Normandy.
Fontenelle Abbey or the Abbey of St. Wandrille is a Benedictine monastery in the commune of Rives-en-Seine. It was founded in 649 near Caudebec-en-Caux in Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France.
Jumièges Abbey, formally the Abbey of St Peter at Jumièges, was a Benedictine monastery. Its ruins are situated in the commune of Jumièges in the Seine-Maritime Departement of Normandy, France.
Étienne de Rouen, also Stephen of Rouen and Latin: Stephanus de Rouen, was a Norman Benedictine monk of Bec Abbey of the twelfth century, and a chronicler and poet.
Ouche Abbey or the Abbey of Saint-Evroul is a former Benedictine abbey in Normandy, located in the present commune of Saint-Évroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois, Orne, Normandy. It has been classified as a Monument historique since 1967 and is designated "classé".
Bernard the Dane is described by the tenth century ecclesiastical writer Dudo of Saint-Quentin as a 'warrior' of Rouen from 'Dacia', an ally and confidant of the first leaders of Normandy, political counsellor to Rollo's son William Longsword, and co-regent of the territory during the minority of his son and heir, Richard I of Normandy. In particular, Bernard is seen as being at the centre of events in the aftermath of the assassination of William Longsword.
The Normans were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Francia followed a series of raids on the French northern coast mainly from what is now Denmark, although some also sailed from Norway and Sweden. These settlements were finally legitimized when Rollo, a Scandinavian Viking leader, agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia following the siege of Chartres in 911. The intermixing in Normandy produced an ethnic and cultural "Norman" identity in the first half of the 10th century, an identity which continued to evolve over the centuries. The Normans adopted the culture and language of the French, while they continued the martial tradition of their Viking ancestors as mercenaries and adventurers. In the 11th century, Normans from the duchy conquered England and southern Italy.
Hagrold, also known as Hagroldus, Harold, and Harald, was a powerful tenth-century Viking chieftain who ruled Bayeux. He was apparently a pagan from Scandinavia, and seems to have seized power in Normandy at about the time of the death of William, Count of Rouen. His career can be interpreted in the context of aiding the Normans against the intrusion of Frankish authority, or conversely in the context of taking advantage of the Normans.
Bernardin de Saint-François, born in 1529 at the Château de Ronceray in Marigné and died on July 14, 1582, at the priory of Bersay in Saint-Mars-d'Outillé, was a French bishop of the 16th century. This prelate, a great scholar, wrote as well in Greek as in Latin and in French. We have several small poems by him which have remained in manuscript.
Hugh III, also known as Hugh of Saint-Denis, was archbishop of Rouen from 942 to 989. As archbishop, he was also the titular abbot of Saint-Ouen. Very little is known about his early life, except that he was a monk from Saint-Denis when chosen by William Longsword. He was heavily criticized by later chroniclers, who mention his inability to resist temptations of the flesh and his spoliation of cathedral property.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
