The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio of Guy Bishop of Amiens (Oxford Medieval Texts)

The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio, or Song of the Battle of Hastings, is a Latin poem attributed to Guy, Bishop of Amiens, composed shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It serves as one of the few contemporary accounts of the conflict, intended to glorify the triumph of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was rediscovered in the 19th century and has since become a foundational document for medievalists studying the political and military landscape of 11th-century England.

This specific edition, edited by the eminent historian Frank Barlow for the Oxford Medieval Texts series, was published in 1999 to provide scholars with a critical text, translation, and comprehensive commentary. Barlow, an authority on the Anglo-Norman period, sought to clarify the poem's complex historical context and literary nuances. The volume is recognized in academic circles for its rigorous scholarship, helping to distinguish between the poet's panegyric intentions and the documented realities of the battlefield.