Jordan Fantosme

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Jordan Fantosme Biography

Jordan Fantosme (died c. 1185) was an Anglo-Norman historian, chronicler, and trouvère. He was a cleric and probably the spiritual chancellor of the Diocese of Winchester. His major work is an Anglo-Norman verse chronicle of the war between Henry II of England and his son Henry the Young King and William I of Scotland in 1173–1174. As literature, it stands, according to its latest editor, "absolutely first class". It has been conjectured that Fantosme was an Italian (named Giordano Fantasma) who came to England in the train of Henry of Blois. A few lines from his poem suggests that he was Scoto-Norman, but this may have been inserted for the sake of the minstrels who would be reciting the piece. On the other hand, Fantosme may have simply identified with his adopted country, he referred to messengers of William, who were also subjects of the Young King, as noz (ours). Considering his evident knowledge and skill in the Anglo-Norman language, the most likely hypothesis is that he was Anglo-Norman. Fantosme was in fact a partisan of Henry II, though his work has been noted for its impartiality and admired for its detail and vigour. Nonetheless, it has been criticised frequently in the past, because of its unusual metre, as a deterioration of the continental French style, but more recent analysis by R. C. Johnston has led to the conclusion that in fact Fantosme's chronicle represents a conscious insular style of French verse. This hypothesis rests in part on the assumption that Fantosme integrated some characteristics of Occitan verse (perhaps coblas by the troubadour Jaufre Rudel) he encountered during a stay in Poitiers in the 1140s, where he probably studied under Gilbert de la Porrée. Fantosme was a contemporary and often claimed to be an eye-witness of the events he describes, but another probable source is Richard of Ilchester, his bishop. His work is in general reliable as a historical source. A Goliardic Latin poem defending the incarnation and atonement of Jesus Christ and which is preserved in many manuscripts is entitled in one near-contemporary source as Rithmus Jordanis Fantasmatis and it is likely that the author was Fantosme, or at least believed to be Fantosme. Elsewhere the skillful poem is entitled Prædicatio Goliæ ("Preaching of Golias"). A legal document of 10 April 1160 refers to a Magistrum Jordanum Fantasma in Fareham near Portsmouth. He is recorded in connexion with the diocese of Winchester between about 1150 and 1180. At about the time of the war he versified he was involved in a suit against John Joichel, who had an unlicensed opened a school in Winchester; he won the suit.)

The Best Poem Of Jordan Fantosme

Chronicle Of The Wars

Have you heard tell the news?
The Earl of Leicester has turned traitor,
And at Orwell has certainly landed.
He has fleeced the people as though the land were his own;
From thence to Dunwich, funds he has extorted by force.
All young and old, have verily heard
That Earl Robert of Leicester has far advanced,
And having reached Suffolk, he holds the land to ransom;
All the way to Dunwich, all is at his command.
Many a Flemish soldier of fortune follows the Earl,
To bring joy later to the King of England!
Earl Hugh Bigod his messenger has sent
To announce to the men of Dunwich that he is their friend:
Let them side with the Earl if they would have sport and be merry,
Or they all will lose their heads.
And they answered him that they would be fools to take his advice.
Better to sell themselves to their enemies dearly.
Indeed look to the proverbs, wherein it is told:
'He who is guilty of treachery to his lawful lord
Or of any offence whereby his lord may suffer wrong
Is certain to reap his just deserts,
But he who loyally serves, is held in high repute.'
So spake the people of Dunwich, about whom you hear me tell.
The Earl of Leicester prepared to besiege the town,
And swore his usual oath:
That if the worthies and burgesses failed to surrender,
Not a man would escape being wounded or killed.
And those in the forefront did answer him:
'Cursed be the man who for you has a pennyworth of fear.
The good lawful king lives,
And will soon bring your venture to naught.
Our town we'll never surrender for fear of your attack.'
The Earl of Leicester became more and more angry,
And to frighten them had gallows erected.
He bade sergeants and squires with speed to arm
And attack resolutely the town in strength.
That day saw the burgesses, right valiant warriors,
Sally forth to the ramparts; each man to his task;
Some to draw bows, others to hurl spears,
The strong helped the weak, again and again.
Within the town there was not a wife or a girl
Who did not to the palisade carry a missile.
Thus did the people of Dunwich defend their town.
As these verses tell, which are here written.
And young and old were so stout-hearted
That Earl Robert retreated, mocked and discomforted,
No love did he feel for the people of Dunwich.
Neither threats nor trickery had been of use,
Nor sergeant nor squire into those hearts had struck fear.
The Earl and his forces made ready to go.
On the morrow at daybreak, when they saw the dawn,
His marshalls he called and plainly to them said:
'Order the men to mount; no delay must there be.
I to Norwich will go, if God give me strength,
To learn how they've fared and what is their bearing.'

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