Did a Furneaux travel with William the Conqueror?

Problem:

A number of web sites claim that one or other of the Furneaux ancestors was present at the Battle of Hastings. In other words, they claim that a Furneaux landed with William the Conqueror and invaded England with the rest of the mighty Norman horde in 1066.

[su_youtube url="https://youtu.be/ZNYo6I6rjBY"]

As exciting a prospect that might be, as an academic, I need to find some form of evidence to support such a claim. As there were no television camera's present at the time of the invasion, we are reliant on documents which record those present at the battle. I'll give the short version below, and the evidece in detail later in the blog.

Short Version:

It is possible, but not definite, that a Furneaux was present with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings

Longer Detailed Version:

I have summarised the various sources which list the people who are meant to have been present at the Battle of Hastings, in the table below. N.B. entries appear in date order of the source.

[table id=2 /]

As can be seen from the table above, some authors argue that a Furneaux (by some spelling or other) was at the Battle of Hastings, while others do not.

The oldest source, Orderic Vitalis, did not include a Furneaux. However Oderic only includes a limited list of names, noting explicitly that there where also many others who were present who where not named. The second oldest list onwards tends to include a Furneaux.

So only a few nobles can, with any great certainty, be argued to definitely present at the Battle of Hastings. However that does not mean that a Furneaux was not there, just  that we are reliant on later sources to argue that case.

Unfortunately there is a high degree of scepticism with these later sources, although the list by Auchinleck, is generally subject to less criticism as it is still very early.

In December 1067 there was a revolt in Exeter, and while this was put down, William established strongholds in the South West of England, and replaced the holdings of thegns loyal to Harold with his own nobles¹. We also know from the Exon Domesday that Eudes de Furneaux took over a castle from three thegns loyal to Harold in 1086 in the southwest, which suggests further activity post the 1066 invasion, but still doesn't eiuther prove or preclude earlier involvement.

1.Green JA. The Aristocracy of Norman England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1997.