Continuing the volume’s fourth thematic strand (Cultural Perspectives), this chapter studies the writing of history and memory in the age of William the Conqueror. After a discussion of Normandy’s first dynastic chronicle composed by Dudo of Saint-Quentin, it directs its focus onto monastic historical narratives produced in Normandy, England, and their neighbouring territories, before turning to a range of contemporary secular narratives. The chapter is rounded off with considerations of Anglo-Norman historical writing in the broader context of north-western Europe and its transmission in manuscripts.

The eleventh century is unique in English history, because it is the only time within one century that two foreigners conquered England and became king of the English. The first was Cnut (d. 1035), son of the Danish king Svein who had come to England in 1013 and would have been crowned king if he had not died in February 1014. Cnut succeeded him, though not without a long struggle: first he fought against King Æthelred, who had returned from exile in Normandy, and then, after his death in April 1016, against Æthelred's son Edmund, who only survived his father by six months. Edmund's death opened the way for Cnut to be accepted as sole king sometime in 1017. In contrast to the protracted route to kingship for Cnut, which took three years from his father's death, it took the second conqueror, the Norman duke, William, only three months from invasion and battle in early autumn to his coronation in Westminster Abbey on 25 December 1066. This sharp contrast is, of course, deceptive. During his three-year campaign, Cnut controlled most of the north before he became king, whereas for William that subjection followed in the three years after his coronation. In what follows, comparison and contrast between the two kings and their reigns will focus on three themes of conquest: royal atonement, contemporary reputation and married partnership.

Royal Atonement

Having been accepted as kings of the English, both Cnut and William had blood on their hands, and they knew it. The chronicler of the ‘D’ version of the Anglo- Saxon Chronicles recorded that, on the day of the battle of Assandun in 1016, ‘the flower of the English aristocracy had fallen’, a phrase that was equally, if not more, appropriate in 1066. At an early stage of their kingship both men sought a similar penitential solution, namely the foundation of a church on the site where they fought their bloody battles: Cnut at Ashingdon in Essex and William at Battle in East Sussex. Cnut's decision to found a church as penance constitutes a very early case in northern Europe, although he was not the first.

The forty-first Battle Conference of Anglo-Norman Studies took place from the 20th to the 23rd of July 2018 at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. The Fellow Steward, Mrs Christine Houghton, arranged a warm welcome, exemplary logistical support, delicious meals and very welcome shade in the lush college gardens.

We are most grateful for the financial support from the George Macauley Trevelyan Fund of the Faculty of History (University of Cambridge), and to the Master and Fellows of Emmanuel College for the use of the Old Library and Gardens for the drinks reception. We are indebted to Edward Mayes, Faculty of History, who dealt with the financial aspects of the conference. The fifth winner of the Marjorie Chibnall Memorial Essay Prize was Richard Purkiss (University of Oxford), whose research on the early royal rights of the Liberty of St Edmund was considered the unanimous choice of the panel of judges. This year's Muriel Brown scholars were Hannah Boston, Catherine Healy and Daniel Talbot. For the first time this year, at the initiative of Dr Leonie Hicks, we held a successful poster session for graduate students. The University of Christ Church at Canterbury made available a prize for the best presentation, which was won by Daniel Talbot. As for the conference proceedings, as ever I am most grateful for the expert assistance provide by Caroline Palmer and Rohais Landon and the home team at Boydell & Brewer.

After five years as director of the conference and editor of Anglo-Norman Studies I would like to express my warmest gratitude to my co-trustees of the Allen Brown Memorial Trust, Professors Stephen Church and Lindy Grant, and Drs Mark Hagger, Leonie Hicks and Chris Lewis, without whom these responsibilities would have been infinitely harder to carry out. I am delighted to hand over to Professor Stephen Church (University of East Anglia), who will succeed me in both posts.

The fortieth Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies took place from Thursday 20th July to Monday 24th July in Paris, where several distinguished medievalists and their institutions provided us with a warm welcome and splendid hospitality. Profound thanks are due to Professor Mathieu Arnoux at the Université Paris-Diderot and the École des Hautes Études des Sciences Sociales, who was in charge of the overall academic organisation of lectures and visits. His task was not unlike that of a medieval royal court steward who made sure that our itinerant conference each day reached its different location for lectures and meals. He also hosted the wonderful conference dinner in a Jugendstil restaurant. He was efficiently assisted by Dr Isabelle Bretthauer. We are also immensely grateful to Professor Dominique Barthélemy of the Université Paris-Sorbonne and the Institut Universitaire de France as our host at the Sorbonne on the Saturday, which was especially opened up for the delegates’ lunch. Professeur Jean-François Cottier of the Université Paris-Diderot provided invaluable preparatory assistance but due to illness was unfortunately unable to attend the conference. More happily, Dr Fanny Madeline (Fondation Thiers) was willing and able to take his place at the very last minute. The Allen Brown Memorial lecture by Professor Nicholas Vincent was given on the Thursday at the Institut de Recherches et d'Histoire des Textes in the Salle Jeanne Vieillard where the director, François Bougard, hosted a lavish reception. We thank him most warmly. The Director of the Institut d’Études Avancées, Professor Gretty Mirdal, allowed us the use of the splendid eighteenth-century Hôtel de Lauzun on the Quai d'Anjou on the Friday, and the Director of the Collège Franco-Britannique in the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris, Professor François Brunet, welcomed us there on the Monday. We acknowledge our sincerest debt to both of them. The Sunday was reserved for an informative tour of Paris under the expert guidance of Professor Lindy Grant (University of Reading) with visits to two important medieval churches. At Saint Denis we were fortunate in receiving additional guidance from Eliott Boulate, who allowed us exceptional access to the Saint Denis lapidarium and its magnificent lavabo of c. 1200.