Le Mans Commune Worskshop

A Workshop about the account of the Le Mans commune of 1070 (see below) was held on Wednesday, 20 August, 7 PM at Lyn Olson's balcony flat, Glebe.

This was a SMRG meeting as usual but with advance preparation, limited presentation(s) and much discussion.

While the Le Mans episode is well known as the first recorded instance of a commune, the account of it is very obscure and very interesting, as I discovered in translating it for teaching a couple of years ago, for urban history, social history, history of church reform, women's history, history of the Normans and possibly even the origins of crusade.

Basically, participants read the document in advance and came prepared to work on its significance in context. Copies of the Latin original were available on request, and comments on its translation were especially welcome.

Document to be considered in the Workshop:

Extract from Acts of the Bishops Dwelling in the City of Le Mans,

trans. L. Olson from G. Busson & A. Ledru (eds), Actus pontificum Cenomannis in urbe degentium, Paris, 1901, pp. 376-81; this is most of chapter 33, 'The Deeds of the Lord Bishop Arnald':

Yet since the city of Le Mans under his episcopate was oppressed by much civil unrest, I do not think it unfitting to set out at greater length some things from the deeds of the same [i.e. Bishop Arnald] which I judge worthy of memory. For in his time, William, prince of the Normans, who had already acquired the countship of Maine after the heirs to the countship were wiped out and completely destroyed, conveyed a great army of Franks, Normans, men of Maine and Bretons to England, conquered the English by war and, their king Harold having been slain, obtained the kingdom of all England. Since he was held there for some time by warlike occupations, the leaders of Maine, together with the people, unanimously withdrew their allegiance from the same king. Sending word to Italy, they caused a certain marquis Atho, with his wife and son, who was called Hugh, to come to them, and they handed over themselves, the city and the whole region likewise to that same marquis. They completely expelled the royal soldiers and all Normans who remained in the city from the fortresses and from the whole region likewise, a certain steward of the king, Umfred by name, having been killed in the same fortresses. When the bishop saw this, lest he seem to give assent to the betrayal by the citizens, he immediately left the city and, after a prosperous voyage to England, was honourably received by the king there. When his adversaries learned of this, they instantly invaded his houses and all his possessions, obstinately determined to seize everything which seemed to belong to him. Wherefore he, spending little time with the king, with the latter's permission decided to return to his see, honoured by many gifts from the king. Yet since the citizens, from hatred of the English king, did not at all allow their bishop to enter the city, he stayed with his household outside the city in the monastery of St Vincent. The clerics, however, not tolerating his absence, by an agreement made with the adversaries restored him to his see.

Meanwhile the marquis Atho, after acquiring the whole region as much by gifts as by strength, knowing the fickleness of the people of Maine, since already the money which he had paid them abundantly in the beginning was running out, sensed that their faith towards him indeed equally would be lacking. He returned to Italy, leaving his wife and son in the hands of Geoffrey of Mayenne, a noble man of very shrewd disposition. The wife of the same marquis, Gercendis by name, moreover, was the daughter of Herbert, illustrious count of Maine, who was called 'Wake the Dog'. She first indeed had been married to Theobald, Duke of Campania, but leaving him by divorce, she was afterwards joined by wedlock to the aforementioned Atho.

Therefore, when Geoffrey of Mayenne, her guardian and quasi-husband, levied certain imposts against the citizens and attempted to oppress them by certain new exactions, they took counsel as to how they might resist his evil attempts; neither would they suffer themselves to be oppressed unjustly by him or anyone else. And so, a conspiracy having been made, which they call a commune, they all bind themselves equally by oaths, and compel Geoffrey himself and other leading men of the same region, although unwilling, to be bound by the oaths of their conspiracy. By the presumption of this co-swearing, they committed innumerable crimes, condemning many everywhere, without any trial, tearing out their eyes for certain very slight causes, strangling others by hanging, truly ó which it is abominable to relate ó for a very light fault; indeed irrationally setting on fire nearby castles in the days of holy Lent, even in the time of the Lord's Passion.

And so, since one of the chief men of the same region, that is Hugh of Sillé, had stirred up the spirits of the conspirators against him by certain injuries, suddenly they sent envoys throughout the people of the whole region, tumultuously inciting an army of the multitude against the aforesaid Hugh, who was opposing their holy ordinances. After the army also had been assembled, with the bishop and priests of each of the churches with crosses and banners in the vanguard, in a furious assault they aimed for the castle of Sillé. When, however, they had halted not far from the castle, Geoffrey, of whom we have made mention above, who had deceitfully joined their company, pitched camp not far from them. By secretly talking with the enemy through messengers, he worked by every means to rout the conspirators. Therefore in the morning, when the adversaries came out from the castle and began to provoke the army to battle, and our troops were worked up by hasty outcry and preparing to make an attack on the approach of the enemy, by a trick of the devisers suddenly a rumour sprang up in the camps, asserting falsely by the consent of certain wretches that the city had been handed over to the party of the adversaries. And so the multitude of rustics, terrified here by fear of the enemy, there by the false rumour, threw down their arms and turned to flight. In which flight how many were captured, how many were wounded, how many were pressed down by themselves in torrents and in narrow places on paths and killed, is not for the present little work to narrate. And would that I might be silent concerning others, as much noble as ignoble, whom they seized for judgement: not only soldiers but even mere women far and wide through the fields, like little deer. Also the bishop himself, alas! was seized and delivered to custody. For which reason our city, in grief and terror, was carried here and there like a ship without a rudder. Nevertheless the aforesaid Hugh, who was a generous man, not wishing to touch the bishop by injuries, without delay sent him away with honour to his own place.

Geoffrey of Mayenne, however, as he was uneasy in his mind, holding the citizens suspect, indeed sent the boy Hugh back to his father in Italy; he himself in truth withdrew to the castle which is called Carcer. Gersendis though remained in the city. She saw that Geoffrey, odious to the citizens on account of his badness, could not easily return to their friendship, and since on account of the illicit familiarity which already evilly had grown up between them she could not endure his absence, she began to plot how she might hand over the city to him.

And so on a certain Sunday, with the consent of certain traitors, Geoffrey with almost 80 soldiers entered into a certain stronghold of the city, which was located next to mother church, began to act hostilely and to strive for the ruin of the citizens by all efforts. When the citizens learned of these things, suddenly they called together the leaders of the whole region and especially Fulk, count of Anjou, and confined Geoffrey with all his men in the fortress by an unexpected siege. The enemy in truth, emerging from the fortress, burned the settlement which is called St Vincent or St Audoen by a night fire. And since they had occupied for their defense two little towers near that stronghold and certain houses adjoining these, and neither could they be driven out from these easily by arms, our forces unexpectedly cast fire onto the same houses albeit near the church, and compelled them to flee thence - not without great work defending the roofs of the church from so near a blaze - and here pursuing them more keenly, assailing them with missiles and machines of various kinds, they instilled in them no little fear. Thus terrified, Geoffrey, with the consent of certain of our people, emerged secretly from the fortress by benefit of a night flight and, trembling, avoided imminent danger. The others in truth, since they were frustrated of the aid which Geoffrey had promised them and were so confined on all sides that they could get access to no one from anywhere and lacked nourishment and could see that the fortress would also be dashed to pieces by frequent blows of machines, finally were compelled by necessity and handed themselves and the fortress over to Count Fulk. The citizens, moreover, moved by anger and taking precautions for themselves in the future, made the interior part of the same fortress level with the wall of the city, leaving its exterior wall whole for the defense of the city.

Meanwhile the bishop already mentioned, having gone to Rome, while returning through the land of the marquis Atho was captured by the same Atho and placed in custody with all of his people. Afterwards Atho, moved by penitence that he had presumed to afflict unjustly a man of such honesty, took pains to appease him by a worthy satisfaction, and after seven months sent him, honoured with many gifts, to his own see with great veneration.

In the same time William, king of the English, after an innumerable army was assembled, came into the Maine countryside and beseiged the castle of Fresnay, devastating by fire and sword fields and vineyards and all things round about. Yet since the castellans were not able to sustain his attack, they made peace with him as they were better able. Soon William, having received the castle and placed custodians there for its defence, proceeded to the city and constructed a camp near the river Sarthe, in the place which is called Maule. Thither went the leaders of the city and held discussions with the same king about peace. After receiving oaths from him, as much concerning freedom from punishment for betrayal as about preserving the ancient customs and judicial arrangements of the same city, they gave themselves and everything that was theirs into the rule and authority of the same [i.e. King William].

From that time, therefore, the oft-mentioned bishop, residing quietly in his see, furnished benefits to his church inasmuch as he was able.

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