William the Clerk (french: Guillaume le Clerc) (fl. c. 1200 – c. 1240) was an

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

poet known only from the self-attribution at the end of the

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

Roman de Fergus {{no footnotes, date=October 2015 The ''Roman de Fergus'' is an Arthurian romance written in Old French probably at the very beginning of the 13th century, by a very well educated author who named himself Guillaume le Clerc (William the Clerk). ...

'', a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of the romances of Chrétien de Troyes, notably the '' Conte du Graal''. William may have been a

Scoto-Norman The term Scoto-Norman (also Franco-Scottish or Franco-Gaelic) is used to describe people, families, institutions and archaeological artifacts that are partly Scottish people, Scottish (in some sense) and partly Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman (in some ...

, but the two manuscripts that preserve the ''Roman'' are from northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, perhaps suggesting their provenance there. It was once suggested to have been commissioned by

Alan of Galloway Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234), also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of S ...

for his wedding in 1209, since Alan was the descendant of Fergus, who ruled Galloway as king in the mid-twelfth century. Beate Schmolke-Hasselmann rejected this view and proposed that the ''Roman'' was commissioned by Dervorguilla, heiress of Galloway, and her husband,

John I de Baliol John de Balliol (before 1208 – 25 October 1268) was an English nobleman, belonging to the House of Balliol. Balliol College, in Oxford, is named after him. Life John de Balliol was born before 1208 to Cecily de Fontaines, daughter of Aléau ...

, to promote the claim of their son, Hugh, to the Scottish throne, a claim derived from their ancestor

Fergus Mor mac Eirc Fergus may refer to: Given name or surname *Fergus (name), including lists of people and fictional and mythological characters Places *Fergus, Ontario, Canada *River Fergus, County Clare, Ireland *Lake Fergus, South Island, New Zealand *Loch ...

. This dates the work later than their marriage, which took place around 1223, and prior to John's death in 1268, most likely between 1237 and 1241. D. D. R. Owen, adjudging the author to be intimately familiar with major figures and events of the reign of

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

in Scotland, posited as "a strong possibility" that William the Clerk is

William Malveisin Guillaume or William de Malveisin (also, modern forms ''Malvoisin'' or ''Mauvoisin'') was Chancellor of Scotland, Bishop of Glasgow (1199/1200–1202) and then Bishop of St. Andrews (1202–1238). William Malveisin was probably born in France. ...

, a Frenchman who arrived in Scotland in the 1180s and served as a royal clerk. In this scenario, the ''Roman'' was composed after 1200. Finally, William may be the

William de Bois William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(de Bosco, de Bosch) who was a clerk of the royal chapel in 1193 and chancellor from 1210 to 1226.

References

* Hunt, Tony (2004). "William the Clerk (fl. c.1200–c.1240)." ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. Oxford: Oxford University Press
accessed 21 June 2008
*

on ''Archives de littérature du moyen âge'', Lauren Brun and Géraldine Toniutti, last updated October 2, 2017. {{authority control 13th-century French poets French poets French male poets