Orderic Vitalis
attributes to him a long speech of repentance regarding his treatment
of the English which appears a trifle too articulate given that the man
must have been in extreme pain and discomfort. But in any event he gave
instructions for his wealth to be distributed amongst the churches and
the poor and also to the clergy of Mantes in compensation for the churches which he
had only just recently burnt to the ground.
“I have persecuted the natives of England beyond all reason. Whether gentle or simple I have cruelly oppressed them; many I unjustly disinherited; innumerable multitudes perished through me by famine or the sword……I fell on the English of the northern shires like a ravening lion. I commanded their houses and corn, with all their implements and chattels, to be burnt without distinction, and great herds of cattle and beasts of burden to be butchered whenever they are found. In this way I took revenge on multitudes of both sexes by subjecting them to the calamity of a cruel famine, and so became a barbarous murderer of many thousands, both young and old, of that fine race of people. Having gained the throne of that kingdom by so many crimes I dare not leave it to anyone but God…..
Most of the clergy and nobility of Normandy were by now in attendance, anxious to pay their last respects. There were however, two notable absences, his eldest son Robert, who he had quarrelled with and fought against four years previously and his half brother Odo of Bayeux earlier imprisoned for suspected treason. According to Orderic Vitalis, after some pressure, William agreed to forgive them both and ordered Odo's release. (Other sources however suggest differently.)
As soon as William was dead the nobility and clergy promptly left, apparently concerned to secure their own property now that William was not around to enforce law and order.1 This left the servants unsupervised and according to Orderic Vitalis they then proceeded to strip the royal apartments bare, as they;
seized the arms, vessels, clothing, linen, and all the royal furnishings, and hurried away leaving the king's body almost naked on the floor of the house
Only a single knight named Herluin remained to put in hand the arrangements to transport William's body to Caen, where it had been decided that his body would be laid to rest at the Abbaye Saint-Etienne. 2However, just as the body arrived at Caen a fire broke out in the town. This rather limited the potential audience for the funeral service as the mourners were rather more concerned about putting out the fire.
The assembled clergy however continued with the service and made a standard request that William be forgiven for any wrongs that he had committed during his life. It was at this point that one rather audacious individual piped up and complained that the Abbaye Saint-Etienne had in fact been built on land that William had earlier stolen from his father and that the property was rightfully his. After a quick whip round the gentleman was satisfied by the payment of sixty shillings.
Worse was to follow.
When the monks came to place William within the stone sarcophagus that had been prepared to hold his body they discovered to their consternation that an error in measurements had been made and that it was too small to fit the coffin. They had no choice other than to force the coffin somehow into the sarcophagus. Unfortunately these contortions had rather an unwelcome result as Orderic Vitalis was to explain;
the swollen bowels burst, and an intolerable stench assailed the nostrils of the by-standers and the whole crowd.The remainder of the service was rather hurriedly concluded as even the incense could not mask the smell, and the clergy were naturally anxious to get the lid on the sarcophagus and get back home.