BORN_SHORT ‎ of, Longueville-sur-Scie, Seine-Maritime, France, DIED_SHORT ‎1085
Walter[a] was the son of Osborne de Bolbec, Lord of Longueville and Avelina, sister of Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy. As such he was a cousin of William the Conqueror.

We first hear of him in 1035, as a companion of Hugh de Gournay in the abortive attempt of Edward son of King Ethelred to recover the crown of England. The next, in 1053, when he was left by Duke William in command of the forces blockading the Castle of Arques, and at that period was Lord of Longueville, and already past the prime of life, judging by his account of himself only thirteen years afterwards.

In the following year Wace informs us he was entrusted by the Duke with the defense of the district of Caux, in which Longueville is situate, on the occasion of the invasion of Normandy by Henry, King of France. Subsequently he appears to have made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella, in Spain, or may perhaps have been sent there by the Duke on some mission to Alfonso King of Galicia, to whom William afterwards affianced his daughter Agatha, after the breaking off of the match with the Saxon Prince Edwin.

All we learn from Wace is that in the great battle Giffard had brought William's first horse to him from Spain, "the gift of a king who had a great friendship for him." The Lord of Longueville accompanied his sovereign to England, having furnished his fleet, according to the List published by Taylor, with thirty vessels and a hundred men.

Previous to the battle, Raoul de Conches, the hereditary standard-bearer of Normandy, having prayed quittance of service on that day, that he might fight with greater freedom in the field, the Duke called to him Walter Giffard. He told him he desired him to bear his gonfanon, who also requested to be excused the honour on the plea of being too old and too feeble. "For the mercy of God, sire," said the old knight, "look upon my white and bald head; my strength is impaired, and I am short of breath," and in answer to the Duke's passionate reproaches, urged that he had a large contingent of men-at-arms in the field, whom he was bound to lead into action, and at the head of them he was ready to die in his sovereign's cause. Whereupon the Duke excused him, and assured him that he loved him more than ever and that if he survived that day it should be the better for him (Walter) as long as he lived.

We hear of no special exploit performed by him during the battle, Benoît de St.-More merely saying that he was struck down in the mélée, and rescued apparently by William himself.

When the fight was over, and the victorious Duke had ordered a space on the top of the hill to be cleared of the dead and dying, that his tent might be pitched there, and signified his intention to sup and sleep on the spot, Walter Giffard galloped up to him. " Sire," he said, "what are you about? You are surely not fitly placed here among the dead. Many an Englishman lies bleeding and mingled with the slain, but yet living, and though wounded, only waiting to rise at night and escape in the darkness. They would delight to take their revenge, and would sell their lives dearly, no one caring who killed him afterwards, so he but slew a Norman first, for they say we have done them great wrong. You should lodge elsewhere, guarded by one or two thousand men whom you can best trust. Let a careful watch be set this night, for we know not what snares may be laid for us. You have made a noble day of it, but I like to see the end of the work." The Duke, however, adhered to his original determination. There can be no doubt, I think, that this Walter Giffard who fought at Hastings was the person to whom William the Conqueror, in 1070, gave the earldom of Buckingham; for, old as he is said by Wace to have represented himself at that period, he lived nineteen years afterwards, and was one of the Commissioners intrusted by William to superintend the compilation of the great survey of England, and I can find no reason whatever for the ordinary assertion that his son, the second Walter, was the first earl.

From the mid 1040s Walter's name appears among the loyal supporters of William the Conqueror. Walter was at the Battle of Mortemer and was among the Norman barons who surprised and defeated Counts Odo and Renaud leading the French contingent attacking Normandy from the east. In particular, he and another great vassal Robert of Eu encountered Odo's army encamped in the village of Mortemer with no sentries and the soldiers were drunk. The Normans attacked the French while they slept, most being either killed or taken prisoner. While Odo himself escaped, when King Henry I learned of the fate of his brother Odo's army he promptly withdrew his remaining forces and left Normandy. In 1054 Walter was in charge of maintaining the siege of Arques castle, against William of Talou, who had rebelled against the Conqueror.

Like many other Norman and French knights during the eleventh and early twelfth centuries, Walter served as a Christian knight in Spain (c. 1064-65) against the Saracens. His epithet le Barbastre was earned when he took part in the Siege of Barbastro, an undertaking sanctioned by Pope Alexander II against the Moors in 1064, one of the more famous exploits of that time. By the time of the Conquest, Walter had returned to Normandy bearing a gift of the King of Spain for Duke William, a magnificent war-horse. The same Spanish war-horse duke William called for on the morning of the Battle of Hastings. The Spanish king in question was in all probability Sancho Ramírez of Aragon (1063–94) who was known for making friends and recruiting knights and soldiers from Northern France.



Walter was also one of the first, if not the first in England to go on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, which he did after the siege of Barbastro and before returning to Normandy.

In early January of 1066, after Duke William received news of the crowning of Harold Godwinson as king of England, he called together a meeting that included six of his key magnates, Walter Giffard being one of them. After telling them of his plan to invade England and take the crown they all advised him they supported him fully but suggested he call a meeting of all his vassals, which William did. In the preparation stage for the Battle of Hastings, Walter was one of the Norman magnates who provided ships for William's invasion fleet. In his case, he provided thirty. Walter was one of two who, having been offered the privilege of carrying William's standard in the battle, respectfully refused. Although by this time an older warrior with white hair, he wanted both hands free to fight. As a reward for his participation, Walter was granted 107 lordships, 48 of which were in Buckinghamshire. The date of his death is not recorded, but his son Walter succeeded him before 1085.

KINSHIP: Cousin of William the Conqueror.
BIRTH: Date> Say 978.

MILITARY: Battles and Wars> Accompanied William the Conqueror in the Norman invasion of England, 1066.

PROPERTY: Lord of Longueville, Normandy {Longueville-sur-Scie, Normandy, France}.
PROPERTY: Received grants of no less than 107 lordships, of which 48 were in Buckinghamshire.

BORN_SHORT ‎988
BIRTH: Date> Say 988.