Compare And Contrast The Primary Sources Of William The Conqueror

Medieval primary sources are NOT always from a male, victorious perspective. This can be seen through the two primary sources of William I or William the Conqueror who ruled over the Anglo-Saxons (now known as England) after a victory in the Battle of Hastings. The two sources show the two opposing perspectives of William the Conqueror; the first of these is an extract from the Anglo-Saxon chronicle which shows England’s perspective on the losing side while the second is also an extract from book called Gesta Guillelmi II Ducis Normannorum ("The Deeds of William, Duke of the Normans") by William of Poitiers from Normandy which explores the victorious perspective of William the Conqueror.
“The deeds of William, Duke of the Normans”, maintains

Another example of this his courage is shown when William does not retreat even when his is in imminent danger. In the extract, William of Poitiers stated,“[William the Conqueror] who was following the victorious standards did not turn from his course when he saw [the Anglo-Saxon] troops rallying, however, …was superior to all fear and dishonour, attacked and beat …his enemies.” Through writing

This is shown primarily in the extract where it described William as a greedy, violent man. According to the chronicle, “Through the advice of evil men, who are always agreeable to [William], and through his own avarice, he was always harassing the nation with military and excessive taxes.” In writing this, the chronicle suggests that William was very narcissistic person who was hungry for wealth and a militaristic nation but did not consider the wellbeing and opinions of the citizens of his nation. Also, it claims that the men around him did not have good intentions for the nation either. Through this example which shows William’s inferiorities in leadership, a very non-victorious perspective is portrayed. This view is also corroborated by historian/author Toby Purser in his book, “Medieval England 1042-1228” where he stated, “William the Conqueror kept the shires, sheriffs and earldoms and continued to raise taxes as Edward [the Confessor] had done, for his own means.” In other words, he also, implies that William was very self-centred and in order to gain land, power and wealth for “his own means”, William would sacrifice the economic prosperity England had during Edward the Confessor’s (previous ruler of the England) reign. Furthermore, the chronicle also suggests that William made seemingly pointless