WILLIAM
637
WILLIAM
anpo in n-storiiiR religious discipline in his diocese.
The saint acceded to his request, becoming Abbot of
Eskill, where he succeeded in bringing back the re-
Ugioiis to the primitive observance of their rule. He
was canonized on 12 February, 1224, his fe;ist being
observed on .^[jril.
William of Perth (or op Rochester), Saint, martyr, b. at Perth; d. about 1201. Practically all that is known of this martyr comes from the "Nova legenda Anglie", and that is little. In youth he had been somewhat wild, but on reaching manhood he devoted himself wholly to the service of God. A baker by trade, he waa accustomed to set aside every tenth loaf for the poor. He went to Mass daily, and one morning, before it was light, found on the threshold of the church an abandoned child, whom he adopted and to whom he taught his trade. Later he took a vow to visit the Holy Places, and, having received the consecrated wallet and staff, set out with his adopted son, whose name is given as "Cockermay Doucri", which is said to be Scots for "David the Foundhng". They stayed three days at Rochester, and purposed to proceed next day to Canterbury, but instead David wilfully misled his benefactor and, with robbery in view, felled him with a blow on the head and cut his throat. The body was discovered by a mad woman, who plaited a garland of flowers and placed it first on the head of the corpse and then her own, whereupon the madness left her. On learning her tale the monks of Rochester carried the body to the cathedral and there buried it. In 1256 the Bishop of Rochester, Lawrence de S. Martino, obtained the canonization of St. Wilham by Pope Innocent IV. A beginning was at once made with his shrine, which was situated in the north-east transept, and attracted crowds of pil- grims. At the same time a small chapel was built at the place of the murder, which was thereafter called "Palmersdene". Remains of this chapel are still to be seen near the present St. WiUiam's Hospital, on the road leading by Horsted Farm to Maidstone. On IS and 19 February, 1300, King Edward I gave two do- nations of seven shillings to the shrine. On 29 No- vember, 1399, Pope Boniface IX granted an indid- gence to those who visited and gave alms to the shrine on certain s]>ecified days. St. William is represented in a w.all-painting, which was discovered in 1SS3 in Frindsbury church, near Rochester, which is supposed to have been painted about 1256-1266. His feast was kept on 23 May.
Ada SS., XVII. 208; Horstmann, Nom legenda Anglie, II
(Oxford, 1901). 457; Archtrologia Canliana (London, 1858 ),
III. 108; V, 144; XV, .331; XVI, 225; XVIII. 200; XXIII. passim; XXVII. 97; Buns and Twemlow. Calendar of Papal Letlern, V (London. 1904). 2.56-7; Bridoett in The Month (London. 1891); Stanton, Menology of England and Wale-a (London. 1887-92), 228, 648: Challoner, Britannia Sanela, I (London, 1745), 312.
John B. Wainewright. William of Poitiers, Norman historian, b. of a noted family, at Preaux near Pont Audemer, Nor- mandy, about 1020. One of his sisters was abbess of a monastery at Preaux. About 1040 he went to make his studies at Poitiers (whence his surname). After leading the life of a knight and taking p.art in several battles, he took orders, and became chaplain to Duke Wilham the Conqueror, whose history he resolved to WTitc. Hugh, Bi.shop of Lisieux, brought him to his cathedral and appointed him archdeacon. He ful- filled these duties under Hugh and his succes,sor Gil- bert Maminot, who had founded a sort of scholarly academy where astronomical and mathematical ques- tions were discussed. William was considered one of the best informed men of his time; he knew the Greek and Latin authors. He lived to an extreme old age, the date of his de.ath being imknown, but it is piace<l about 10S7. He is chiefly known through Or- dericus Vitalis fl, IV, passim), who speaks of his talent for versification and says that he communicated his verses to young students in order to instruct them in
the poetic art . His sole extant work is his Life of Wil-
liam the Conqueror, "Gesta Guilelmi II, duels Nor-
niannoruni, regis Anglorum I". It exists only in a
single MS. (Cot Ionian MS., British Museum), almost
destroyed, according to which the work has been pub-
lished (ed. Duchesne, "Norman. Scriptores", 178-
213). This work was eonipo.sed at a single writing,
and was offered to King William by the author be-
tween 1071 and 1077. The beginning (as far as 1047)
and the end of the work (from IOCS) are lost. Accord-
ing to Ordericus Vitalis the account stopped at 1071.
As sources he made use of Dudon de St. Quentin and
annals now lost. He also interrogated the witnesses
of events and reproduced in part personal recollec-
tions. Hence his work has the value of a contempo-
rary source based on direct testimonies. Although the
style has the pretentious character of the writings of
that period, the composition is careful; the tone is that
of a paneg>ric of William. Among the most impor-
tant passages must be mentioned the sojourn of
Harold in Normandy and the Conquest of England.
L'nfortunately the first part, dealing with the early
life of Duke William, has disappeared. Editions of
his works are: A. Duchesne, "Normannorum Scrip-
tores" (Paris, 1619, 178-213), reproduced in P. L.,
XLIX, 1216-70; Giles, "Scriptores rerum gestarum
Willelmi Conquestoris " (London, 1845), 78-1.59,
French tr. Guizot, "Collection de m^moires relatifs
k I'histoire de France" (Paris, 1826), XXIX.
Kortino, Wilhelmji von Poitiers Gesta Guilelmi . . . Ein Bei- trag zur anglonormann. flistoriographie (X)Tesdea, 1875); Histoire litleraire de la France, VIII, 192-97; Dawson, History of Hasting) Castle, the castlery, rape and battle of Hastings (London, 1909).
Louis Br£hier.
William of Ramsey, flourished about 1219. Nothing is known of his hfe except that he was a monk of Crowland Abbey who had been born at Ramsey, and who WTote lives of saints, some of which are in verse. He has been confused with William of Crowland, Abbot of Ramsey and afterwards of Cluny, who died in 1179. William of Ramsey wrote a poem on the translation of St. Guthlac, a prose accoimt of the translation of St. Neot (printed in Acta SS., VII July, 330), a prose life of St. Waltheof (printed in Michel, "Chroniques anglo-normandes"). Lieber- mann ascribes to him other works on Waltheof found in the same MS., and Baronius regarded him as the author of the Life of St. Edmund of Canterbury pub- lished by Surius. Verified lives of St. Fremund, St. Edmund the King, and St. Birinus are attributed to him by Leland.
Leland, De rebus britannicis collect, (London, 1774); Hardt, Descriptive Catalogue, I (London, 1862).
Edwin Burton.
William of Rubruck. See Rubruck, William.
William of St- Amour, a thirteenth-century theo- logian and controversialist, b. in Burgundy in the first decades of the thirteenth century; d. in Paris about 1273. About the year 1250 he became professor of theology at the I'niversity of Paris, and, a few years later, became a leader of the so-called "seculars" at the university in their controversy with the mendi- cants. In 12.56 he published his attack on the men- dicants, entitled "De periculis novissimorum tem- porum", which was followed ten years later by the "Liber de Antichristo". In both of these he went outside the merits of the question in dispute and with merciless wit poured ridicule on the ways and man- ners of the friars, while he attacked the principle of mendicancy as unchristian .and savouring rather of Antichrist than of Christ. The first of these treatises was condemned to b(^ burned, and the author was banished from France in a decision rendered at Anagni by Alexander IV in 12.56. In 1263 William returned to Paris and resumed his work as a teacher. For an account of the dispute at the I'niversity of Paris between the "seculars" and the mendicants, in
