It was also decreed that if a Frenchman summon an Englishman for perjury or murder, theft, homicide or 'ran' - as the English call evident rape which can not be denied - the Englishman shall defend himself as he prefers, either through the ordeal of iron or through wager of battle. But if the Englishman be infirm he shall find another who will do it for him. If one of them shall be vanquished he shall pay a fine of forty shillings to the king. If an Englishman summon a Frenchman, and be unwilling to prove his charge by judgement, or by wager of battle, I will, nevertheless, that the Frenchman purge himself by informal oath.
Laws of William I
We have experienced the truth of this prophesy, for England has become the habitation of outsiders and the dominion of foreigners. Today, no Englishman is earl, bishop or abbot, and newcomers gnaw away at the riches and very innards of England; nor is there any hope for an end of this misery.
William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regnum Anglorum (early C12th)
The Normans who entered into the English inheritance were a harsh and violent race. They were the closest of all western peoples to the barbarian strain in the continental order. They had produced little in art of learning, and nothing in literature, that could be set beside the work of Englishmen. But politically they were the masters of the world.
Sir Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (3rd edition, 1971)
If the Normans are disciplined under a just and firm rule they are men of great valour who... fight resolutely to overcome all enemies. But without such rule they tear each other to pieces and destroy themselves, for they hanker after rebellion, cherish sedition and are ready for any treachery.
Attributed to William I
The Normans are a race inured to war, and can hadly live without it, fierce in rushing against the enemy, and, where force fails to success, ready to use stratagem, or corrupt by bribery.
William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regnum Anglorum (early C12th)
And men said openly that Christ and His saints slept.
