Vale Castle.—"Towards the end of the tenth century the Danes, or other piratical nations of Scandinavia, who had long been quiet, commenced their depredations. They did not attempt to attack Normandy, but the new settlement of the Benedictines in Guernsey did not escape their cruelty, but was greatly injured by them. They frequently visited the island, and, according to the insular MSS., plundered the defenceless inhabitants, carrying off their corn and cattle. In order to shelter them, a fair and stately castle was built on an eminence in the vale, calculated to receive, even three centuries later, not only the inhabitants of the island but also their cattle and effects. It was called St. Michael's Castle" (Ibid., p. 56).
NOTE D.
Visit of Duke Robert.—"In 1028 Robert Duke of Normandy espoused the cause of his two cousins Alfred and Edward, claiming the throne of England. On Canute's refusal to make restitution, Robert fitted out a powerful armament, and embarked at the head of a numerous army, intending to land on the coast of Sussex. A great storm arose the day after leaving Fécamp, his whole fleet was dispersed, and many ships totally lost. Robert's vessel and about twenty others were forced down the channel as far as Guernsey, and would have been dashed to pieces on the rocky coast of the island had not the fishermen, seeing them in distress, ventured out in boats to their assistance, and piloted them into a bay on the north side of the Vale, where they rode in safety. The Duke was brought ashore and lodged at the Abbey of St. Michael.... To reward the Abbot for his hospitality and attention, he gave them all the lands within the Close of the Vale in fee to him and his successors, Abbots of St. Michael, by the title of Fief or Manor of St. Michael, with leave to extend the same without the Close of the Vale towards the north-west.... And to recompense the islanders for saving him and his fleet, upon their representing to him how they had been plundered by pirates, he determined to leave behind him two of his most able engineers with a sufficient number of skilled workmen under them, who had embarked with him for the intended descent upon England, to finish the Castle of St. Michael in the Vale, and to build such other fortresses as might be found necessary for protecting the inhabitants. The Duke left a fortnight after his arrival, and the place where his fleet lay has been ever since called L'Ancresse" (Wm. Berry, "History of Guernsey," p. 58).
NOTE E.
The Sarrazins in Guernsey.—"According to tradition the northern freebooters, who were termed by the old French historians Sarrazins, Anglicé Saracens, established themselves in Guernsey, where they erected a stronghold, which was named, probably after their leader, Le Chastel du Grand Jeffroi, and it appears also to have borne the name of the Chastel of the Grand Sarrazin. This castle was situated on an eminence nearly in the centre of the island, and commanded an extensive view of the ocean, and of many of the landing-places as well as of the coast of Normandy" (F.B. Tupper, "History of Guernsey," p. 21).
NOTE F.
The Expedition of Samson d'Anville.—"[Guernsey], in the year 1061, is stated to have been attacked by a new race of pirates, who, according to Berry (p. 63), issued from the southern ports of France bordering on the Bay of Biscay. Duke William was at Valognes when he received information of this attack, and he immediately sent troops under the command of his squire, Sampson d'Anville, who landed at the harbour of St. Samson. Being joined by the islanders who had sought refuge at the Castle of the Vale and other retreats, he defeated the invaders with much slaughter. Duke William is also said to have made large concessions of land in Guernsey to d'Anville" (F.B. Tupper, "History of Guernsey," p. 41).