Gripla - 01.01.2000, Qupperneq 189

GIFFARÐSÞÁTTR
187
If we tum to Normandy and Norman England, the name Giffarðr (Gif-
fard) is well attested among the ranks of Norman nobility.18 The name origi-
nated as a nickname meaning “chubby-cheeks” (Carmen de Hastingae proe-
lio: 119) and was fírst attached to Walter Giffard I, the son of the Norman no-
bleman Osbem of Bolbec and Wevia, sister of Gunnor, the wife of Duke
Richard I of Normandy (William of Jumiéges 11:268-69; White 1921:57-58).
Walter Giffard I was a landholder in Bolbec in Normandy, and after 1055 the
family honors comprised lands in Longueville-sur-Scie (William of Jumiéges
11:268-69 n. 5; Loyd 1975:45; Le Maho 1976:38-46). In 1066 he accompa-
nied William the Conqueror to England with a fleet of thirty ships and one
hundred soldiers (Brevis relatio:22) and fought alongside William in the bat-
tle of Hastings. He remained one of William’s faithful supporters, was ap-
pointed Earl of Buckingham (Le Maho 1976:31), and died before 1084 (Wil-
liam of Jumiéges 11:269 n. 8; Ordericus Vitalis IV: 183 n. 2).
According to Robert of Torigni, the continuator of William of Jumiéges,
Walter Giffard I had one son, Walter Giffard II, and many daughters (William
of Jumiéges 11:269). His son witnessed charters from 1060 tol066 (ibid:269
n. 8; Le Maho 1976:35). He succeeded his father as Earl of Buckingham,
married Agnes of Ribemont, and died in July of 1102 (William of Jumiéges
11:269 n. 8; Toll 1927:178). Shortly after his death his body was moved to
Normandy, where he was interred in the church of the Virgin Mary in
Longueville (Ordericus Vitalis IV: 183-84).19 He left behind one son, Walter
Giffard III, who began to subscribe charters in 1107 to 1109 and died without
offspring in 1164 (ibid: 184 n. 2).
battle of Fuxema. According to that version, the first battle (where Giffarðr was present) must
have taken place in the spring of 1100, whereas the second battle occurred in the early spring
of 1101 (Morkinskinna 1932:328-29). Snorri, who apparently had access to direct infor-
mation conceming these campaigns (see IF XX VlIItxlvii—xlviii), places the second campaign
(which included the battle of Fuxema) in the early spring of 1101, when he states that Magn-
ús set out for Götaland “[þ]egar um várit, er ísa leysti” (//•' XXVIII:227). For a discussion of
the chronology, see Bugge 1914:32-34; Power 1986:123.
18 The name is spelled variously as Gifardus, Gyfardus, Vyfardus, Gifart, Giffart, Giffard, or Gi-
phardus (Carmen de Haslingae proelio 119 n. 1).
19 Ordericus Vitalis gives his epitaph as follows (IV: 183-84):
Stemma Gifardorum Gualterius ingenuomm,
Quæ meruit vivens, busta sepultus habet.
Templi fundator præsentis et ædificator,
Hoc velut in proprio conditus est tumulo.
Qui se magnifieum, patriæque probavit amicum,
Dux virtute potens, et pietate nitens,
Religiosomm sed præcipue monachomm
Cultor, multimodæ profuit Ecclesiæ.