Regina (Reginophychra)

Regina married Charlemagne, Emperor of the West Holy Roman Emperor about 791. Charlemagne (son of Pepin III "The Short", King of the Franks and Bertrada II de Laon) was born on 2 Apr 747 in Aachen, Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; died on 28 Jan 814 in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; was buried in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Dhuoda married Duke of Narbonne, Count of Barcelona Bernard d'Autun, Marquis of Septimania and Count of Barcelona I on 25 Jun 824 in Aachen, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Bernard (son of Guillaume (William) d'Autun and Guitberge de Hornbach) was born in 797 in Bohain-en-Vermandois, Departement de l'Aisne, Picardie, France; died on 17 Apr 818. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Petronilla married Count of Anjou Tertulle about 844 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. Tertulle (son of Torquat (Tortulfe) de Rennes) was born about 821 in of Rennes, Anjou, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bernard married Ermengarde de Chalons in 866 in Auvergne, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. Ermengarde (daughter of Count of Chalons Guerin and Avane) was born in 843 in Champagne, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France; died in Jun 881 in Auvergne, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Vulgrin I de Perigord. Vulgrin was born on 3 May 886. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ingelgerius married Melinda de Buscancois about 871 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. Melinda was born about 860. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ingelgerius married Aeline (Rescinde) d'Amboise about 869 in of France. Aeline (daughter of Geoffrey de Gastinois) was born in 844 in Tours, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Aznar III de Comminges. Aznar (son of Aznar de Comminges, Count II) was born in 860 in Comminges, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France; died in 900 in Commignes, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married Roscille de Loches before 5 Jul 905 in France. Roscille (daughter of Seigneur de Loches Garnier and Toscanda) was born in 874 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Sancha. Sancha was born about 880 in Comminges, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France; died in Comminges, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count of la Marche and Perigord Boso I de la Marche. Boso (son of Sulpice de Charroux) died in 968. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married Gerberge d'Arles on 2 Mar 929 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. Gerberge (daughter of Rotbold II d'Arles) was born about 913 in Maine, Arles, France; died about 952 in Tours, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count of Vexin Gautier I de Valois. Gautier (son of Count of Vexin Valeran de Gucy and Eldegarde d'Ampens) was born about 919 in Vexin, Normandy, France; died in 944. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Arnaud married Arsinde de Carcassonne about 934 in Aude, France. Arsinde (daughter of Count of Carcassonne Alfred and Adelaide d'Auvergne) was born about 902 in Comminges, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France; died about 960. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Adalbert I, Count de la Haute Marche and Perigord; was at the fall of Gencay, 997; killed 997, prob at Gencay.

Family/Spouse: Almode de Limoges. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count of Arles, Provence, and Toulouse William (Guillaume) de Taillefer, III. William (son of Count of Toulouse III Raymond and Garsinde) was born in 958 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France; died in Sep 1037. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bouchard married Elizabeth de Corbiel about 960. Elizabeth was born about 943 in Corbiel, Seine-et-O, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Geoffrey married Adelaide de Vermandois on 7 Dec 965 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. Adelaide (daughter of Count of Troyes Robert de Vermandois, Count of Meaux and Troyes and Countess of Challons Adelaide de Chalon) was born on 7 Dec 934 in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; died on 12 Mar 984 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; was buried in Saint-Aubin, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Walter married Adele de Senlis in 974. Adele (daughter of Bernard II (Bormard) de Senlis and Adele (Hildegarde)) was born about 944 in Isle de France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Roger I De Comminges
• Birth: 935, Carcassonne, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
• Death: Apr 1012, Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées, France

Family/Spouse: Gersinde de Bigore. Gersinde was born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Amelia de Montignac. Amelia was born in 989; died in 1072. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Constance married King of France Robert II "The Pious" Capet in 1000 in Meulan, Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France, France. Robert (son of Hugh Capet, King of the Franks and Adelaide d'Aquitaine) was born on 27 Mar 972 in Orléans, Loiret, Centre, France; died on 20 Jul 1031 in Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France, France; was buried in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Robert I d'Auvergne. Robert was born about 970; died in 1032. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Elizabeth married Fulk III "The Black", Count of Anjou before 990 in France. Fulk (son of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou I and Adelaide de Vermandois, son of Geoffrey "Greymantle" d'Anjou and Adelaide de Vermandois) was born on 21 Jun 972 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 21 Jun 1040 in Metz, Moselle, Lorraine, France; was buried in Beaulieu-les-Loches, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married Elizabeth de Vendome before 990 in France. Elizabeth (daughter of Bouchard IV "The Old" de Vendome and Elizabeth de Corbiel) was born about 960 in Vendome, Anjou, France; died in 1000. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married Hildegarde de Lorraine in 1001 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. Hildegarde (daughter of Adalbert von Metz and Judith von Ohningen Comtesse Konradiner) was born in 987 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 1 Apr 1046 in Jerusalem; was buried in Jerusalem. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermengarde married Conan I "The Crooked", Duke of Brittany Count of Rennes about 970 in Le Mont Saint Michel, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France,. Conan (son of Juhel Beranger and Gerberge) was born in 944 in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; died on 16 Jun 1017 in Conquereuil, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried in Pontorson, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Walter married Princess of England Goda (Godgifu) about 1023. Goda (daughter of King of England Æthelred II "The Unready" and of Normandy Emma) was born about 1009 in Wessex, England; died before 1056 in Lewes, Sussex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Adela de Breteuil. Adela (daughter of Viscount of Chartres Gilduin (Hilduin) de Breteuil and Emeline de Chateuaudun) died on 11 Sep 1051. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Robert II de Meulan. Robert (son of Robert I de Meulan) was born about 960 in Mellent, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermensinde married Count of Barcelona Raimund Borrel, I on 20 Jan 992 in Barcelona, Spain. Raimund (son of Count of Barcelona II Borrel and Luitgarde de Toulouse) was born in 972 in of Barcelona, Spain; died on 25 Feb 1018. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bernardo married Garsinda de Bigorre in 1010 in Carcassonne, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France. Garsinda (daughter of Garcia Arnoldo de Bigorre, Count of Bigorre and Ricarda d'Astarac) was born in 986 in Carcassonne, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France; died in Longueville, Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

DEATH: Murdered by her step son, Pedro Raimundo de Barcelona.

Almodis married Hugh V "The Fair" de Lusignan about 1038. Hugh (son of Hugh IV de Lusignan and Adelaide de Thouars) was born in 1015 in Lusignan, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 2 Oct 1060 in Lusignan, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Almodis married Ramon Berenguer, I in 1056. Ramon was born in 1023 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; died on 26 May 1076 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; was buried in Barcelona, Provincia de Barcelona, Cataluna, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Almodis married Pons, Count of Toulouse II in 1040 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France. Pons was born in 991 in Toulouse, Jura, Franche-Comté, France; died in 1060 in Toulouse, Jura, Franche-Comte, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Adela Capet

Adèle married Richard III "le Bon", Duke of Normandy in Jan 1026 in Nevers, Nièvre, Bourgogne, France. Richard (son of Richard, Duke of Normandy II and Judith de Rennes) was born about 1001 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 6 Aug 1027 in Nicea, Bithynia, Turkey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Adèle married Baldwin V "The Pious", Count of Flanders in 1028 in Amiens, Somme, Picardie, France. Baldwin (son of Baldwin IV "Fair Beard", Count of Flanders and of Luxemburg Otgive de Luxembourg) was born on 19 Aug 1012 in Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died on 1 Sep 1067 in Lille, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; was buried in Lille, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Ermengarde Blanche d'Anjou about 1048 in France. Ermengarde (daughter of Fulk III "The Black", Count of Anjou and Hildegarde de Lorraine) was born about 1018 in Semur, Cote-d'Or, Bourgogne, France; died on 18 Mar 1076 in Fleury-sur-Ouche, Cote-d'Or, Bourgogne, France; was buried in Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye, Côte-d'Or, Bourgogne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Helie (Eleanor) de Semur about 1033 in France. Helie (daughter of Count of Semur I Dalmace and Aremburge de Vergy) was born in 1016 in of Semur, Cote-d'Or, France; died on 22 Apr 1109. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Death: 4 Aug 1060, Brie, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France

Henry married of Germany Matilda of de Friesland in 1043 in Bourgogne, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Matilda was born about 1022 in Friesland, Netherlands; died before 1044 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Anna Agnesa Yaroslavna Princess of Kyiv on 19 May 1051 in Maine, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. Anna (daughter of Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kyiv Yaroslav I "The Wise" Wladimirowwitsch Grand Prince of Kyiv and Ingegarda Olafsdottir, Princess of Sweden) was born in 1036 in Kyiv, Ukraine; died on 5 Sep 1075 in La Ferté-Alais, Essonne, Île-de-France, France; was buried in Villiers Abbey, La Ferte-Alais, l'Essonne, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermengarde married Count of Blois, Champagne, Chartres, Tours and Beauvais Odo (Eudes), II about 1010. Odo (son of Count of Blois, Chartres, Tours, Chateaudun, Beauvaix, Meaux and Provins Odo (Eudes), I and Princess of Burgundy Bertha) was born about 985; died on 15 Nov 1037 in Lorraine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermengarde married Robert I "The Old" Capet, Duke of Burgundy about 1048 in France. Robert (son of King of France Robert II "The Pious" Capet and of Toulouse Constance d'Arles) was born about 1011 in Meulan, Yvelines, Ile-de-France, France; died on 21 Mar 1076 in Fleury-Sur-Ouche, Yonne, Bourgogne, France; was buried in St Seine Abbey, Semur. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermengarde married Count of the Gatinais Aubri Geoffrey, Cunt of the Gatinals about 1035 in France. Aubri (son of Count of the Gatinais Geoffrey III "Ferreol" and Beatrice de Macon) was born about 1000 in Chateau Landon, Seine-et-Marne, France; died on 1 Apr 1046 in Jerusalem. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Angers Abbey, Angers, Anjou, France

Family/Spouse: Comtesse de Bourgogne Agnes de Macon. Agnes (daughter of Otto, King of Lombardy I and of Rheims Ermentrude de Roucy) was born in 995 in of Bourgogne, France; died on 10 Nov 1068. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gunnora married Gilbert de Clare, Count of Brionne in 1021 in Tillieres, Eure, France. Gilbert (son of Geoffrey, Count of Brionne and Hawise de Guines) was born in 1000 in Brionne, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 24 Nov 1040 in Eschafour,, Eu, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Gilbert de Bec,, Seigneur de Tillieres et Bec. Gilbert was born about 990 in Tillières, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France; died in 1046 in Le Bec-Hellouin, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Adelaide married Otto, King of Lombardy I before 1016. Otto (son of King of Italy, Marquis of Ivrea Adalbert and Countess of Burgundy Gerberge) was born in 966 in Ivrea, Torino, Piemonte, Italy; died on 21 Sep 1026 in Dijon, Cantal, Auvergne, France; was buried in Dijon, Cantal, Auvergne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Judith married Richard, Duke of Normandy II in 996 in France. Richard (son of Richard I "The Fearless", Duke of Normandy and Gunnora de Crepon) was born on 28 Aug 962 in Fécamp, Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 28 Aug 1026 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Geoffrey married Hedwig de Normandy in 996 in Bretagne, France. Hedwig (daughter of Richard I "The Fearless", Duke of Normandy and Gunnora de Crepon) was born in 977 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 21 Feb 1034 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; was buried in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ralph married Getha Clopa about 1055. Getha was born about 1040 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ralph married Gytha FitzOsgood about 1038. Gytha (daughter of Osgood Clapa) was born in 1025 in Hereford, Herefordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Adele de Bar-Sur-Aube. Adele was born about 1012 in Vitry, France; died in 1043. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The Complete Peerage v. XII p II, p 358, note a.

Family/Spouse: Ode de Conteville. Ode (daughter of Jean de Conteville) was born in 994 in Mellent, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ramon married de Castile Sancha Sanchez in 1021 in Spain. Sancha (daughter of King of Castile Sancho and Queen of Castile Urraca) was born in 995 in Castilla, Spain; died on 26 Jun 1026; was buried in Santa Maria, Ripoll, Gerona, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ramon married Guisle d'Ampurias about 1030 in Spain. Guisle was born about 1010 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Clemence married Adalbert de Longwy in 1030 in Longwy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France. Adalbert (son of Gerard II von Metz and Gisele Egisheim, Countess Alsace) was born on 2 Jan 1004 in Longwy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France; died on 11 Nov 1048 in Thuin, Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mathide married Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitiers William VIII (Guillaume) about 1058. William (son of Count of Aquitaine William VII "The Great" and Comtesse de Bourgogne Agnes de Macon) was born about 1026; died on 25 Sep 1086 in Chateau de Chize, Deux-Sevres, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Hugh VI "The Devil" de la Marche

Family/Spouse: Hildegarde de Thouars. Hildegarde (daughter of Aimery IV de Thouars and Aremgarde de Mauleon) was born about 1045. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
TWIN TO BERENGUER. Called TOWHEAD because of the thickness and colour of his hair.

Died:
While hunting in the woods. His brother who became sole ruler, was blamed for the murder.

Ramon married Mathilda in 1078 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Mathilda was born in 1055 in Apulia, Calabria, Puglia, Italy; died on 19 Sep 1107 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Emma de Mortain in 1072 in Toulouse, Jura, Franche-Comte, France. Emma was born in 1058 in Mortagne, Orne, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 21 Aug 1112 in Huesca, Huesca, Aragon, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Raymond married Bertrande de Provence in 1066. Bertrande was born in 1040; died in 1090. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Raymond married Elvira Alfonsa de Castilla in 1094. Elvira was born in 1075 in Burgos, Burgos, Castilla-Leon, Spain; died in 1135. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Mafalda of Sicily. Mafalda was born in 1062 in Sicily, Italy; died in 1094 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alix married Ranulf "The Rich" de Briquessart, Vicomte De Bessin on 1 May 1045 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. Ranulf (son of Ancitel de Bayeux, Viscount of Bessin and Poppa de Senlis) was born on 17 Jan 1021 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 21 May 1089 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Death: 13 Oct 1093, Kassel, Stadt Kassel, Hessen, Germany

Robert married Gertrud Wettin in 1063 in Flanders, Belgium. Gertrud (daughter of Duke of Saxony II Bernard and Elika von Schweinfurt) was born in 1028 in Schwaben, Kelheim, Bayern, Germany; died on 4 Aug 1113 in Kassel, Kassel, Hesse, Germany; was buried in Veurne, Arrondissement Veurne, West Flanders, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Hainault 1051-1070.

Baldwin married Countess of Hainault and Namur Richilda in 1055 in Mons, Hainaut, Belgium. Richilda (daughter of Count of Mons Renier and Maud) was born in 1030 in Mons, Hainaut, Belgium; died on 18 Mar 1086 in Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium; was buried . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Matilda married William I "The Conqueror", King of England in 1053 in Cathedral of Notre Dame d'Eu, Normandy, France. William (son of 6th Duke of Normandy Robert I "The Magnificent", 5th Duke of Normandy and Officer of the Household Hariette de Falaise) was born on 14 Oct 1024 in Falaise, Normandy, France; died on 9 Sep 1087 in Priory of St. Gervais, Rouen, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Judith married Duke of Bavaria IV Welf about 1071 in Bavaria. IV (son of Duke of Bavaria II Azo and Duchess of Bavaria Cunigunde) was born about 1040 in Bavaria; died on 6 Nov 1101. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hildegard married Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitiers William VIII (Guillaume) about 1069. William (son of Count of Aquitaine William VII "The Great" and Comtesse de Bourgogne Agnes de Macon) was born about 1026; died on 25 Sep 1086 in Chateau de Chize, Deux-Sevres, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Countess of Barcelona Sibylle in 1056 in Burgundy, France. Sibylle (daughter of de Barcelona Ramon Berenger and Guisle d'Ampurias) was born about 1032 in Barcelona, Spain; died in 1066. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Margaret about 1070 in Burgundy, France. Margaret was born about 1050. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Constance married King of Castile and Leon Alfonso VI "The Brave" on 8 May 1081. Alfonso (son of King of Castile and Leon Ferdinand "The Great" and of León Sancha) was born in Jun 1040; died on 29 Jun 1109 in Toledo, Spain; was buried in Monastery of Sahegun. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Philip married Bertrade de Montfort in 1095. Bertrade (daughter of Simon de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort and Agnès d'Évreux) was born in May 1059 in Montfort-l'Amaury, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France; died on 14 Feb 1117 in Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried in Saint-Remy-l'Honore, des Yvelines, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Philip married Countess of Holland Bertha in 1072. Bertha (daughter of Count of Holland Floris, Count of Holland I and Gertrud Wettin) was born about 1054 in of Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands; died on 30 Jul 1093 in Montreuil-sur-Lo, Maine-et-Loire, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hugh married Adelaide de Vermandois in 1064 in France. Adelaide (daughter of Count of Vermandois Herbert IV de Vermandois and Adela de Valois) was born about 1048 in Valois, Isle de France, France; died on 23 Sep 1120 in Meulan, Yvelines, Ile-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

III married of Maine Garsende about 1042 in Blois, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Princess of Normandy Adela. Adela (daughter of Richard, Duke of Normandy II and Pope (Papie)) was born about 1015. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married Hildegard de Beaugency in 1070 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France. Hildegard was born in 1044 in Beaugency, Loiret, Centre, France; died on 14 Feb 1116 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married Bertrade de Montfort about 1077. Bertrade (daughter of Simon de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort and Agnès d'Évreux) was born in May 1059 in Montfort-l'Amaury, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France; died on 14 Feb 1117 in Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried in Saint-Remy-l'Honore, des Yvelines, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married in 1090. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 1030, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England

Notes:

also Sheriff of Devon

Family/Spouse: Rohese Giffard. Rohese (daughter of Count of Longueville Walter Giffard and Ermentrude (Ermengarde) Fleitel) was born about 1035 in Longueville, Normandy, France; died after 1133. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Baldwin de Brionis, who, for the distinguished part he had in the Conquest, obtained from King William the Barony of Okehampton, the custody of the co. of Devon, and the government of the castle of Exeter in fee. He m. Albreda, dau. of Richard, surnamed Gos, Count of Avranche, and had, with other issue,
I. Richard, surnamed de Redvers.
II. Robert, governor of Brione.
I. Emma, m. 1st to William Avenal, and 2ndly, to William de Abrincis.

[Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p. 140, Courtenay, Barons Courtenay, Earls of Devon]

Family/Spouse: Albreda d'Avranches. Albreda was born about 1020 in Avranches, Normandy, France; died in Okehampton, Devonshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Emma. Emma was born about 1030 in Brionne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Esilia married William Malet about 1041 in Normandy, France. William (son of Earl of Mercia III Ælfgar and Alversa Malet) was born in 1014 in Graville, Normandy, France; died about 1071. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gilbert married Eva de Montfort in 1074 in France. Eva (daughter of Amaury de Montfort, Lord of Montfort I and Bertrade de Gometz) was born in 1045 in Isle, Aube, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died after 1086 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Robert contributed to the restoration of Henry King of France to his throne and received from the gratitude of that monarch the Vexin as an addition to his patrimonial domains. In the 8th year of his reign, curiosity or devotion induced him to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where the fatigues of the journey and the heat of the climate so impaired his constitution he died on his way home.

Some sources call him Robert I the Magnificent!

Robert married Officer of the Household Hariette de Falaise about 1023. Hariette (daughter of Fulbert "The Tanner" de Falaise and Doda (Duxia)) was born in 1003 in Falaise, Normandy, France; died in 1035; was buried . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Adèle Capet, Princess of France in Jan 1026 in Nevers, Nièvre, Bourgogne, France. Adèle (daughter of King of France Robert II "The Pious" Capet and of Toulouse Constance d'Arles) was born in 1009 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France; died on 8 Jan 1078 in Monastere de Lordre de St Benoist, Messines, France; was buried in Mesen, Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alice married Renaud, Count of Burgundy I before 1 Sep 1016 in Burgundy, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France.. Renaud (son of Otto, King of Lombardy I and of Rheims Ermentrude de Roucy) was born in 990 in Mâcon, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France; died on 4 Sep 1057 in Fecamp, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried in Besancon, Franche-Comté, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Emma married Ivo, Vicomte de Cotentin on 2 Apr 1043 in Bretagne, France. Ivo (son of Niel, Vicomte de St. Sauveur II and Adela d'Eu) was born in 1026 in Bellomontensis, Cotentin Manche Normandy, France; died on 22 May 1059 in Contentin, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Harold married Margaret d'Avranches about 1084. Margaret (daughter of Viscount of Avranches Richard le Goz and Emma de Conteville) was born about 1054 in Avranches, Normandy, France; died in 1136 in Chester, Cheshire, England; was buried in Chester, Cheshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Emma FitzOsbern. Emma (daughter of Earl of Hereford William FitzOsbern and Adeliza (Adelina) de Toeni) was born about 1059 in Breteuil, France; died after 1095. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Roger de Mortimer. Roger was born about 1035; died before 1086. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Adeline married Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger and Pont-Audemer, Viscount of Hiesmes Roger de Beaumont in 1040. Roger (son of Humphrey de Vielles and Aubreye de la Haye Auberie) was born in 1022 in Pont-Audemer, Eure, France; died on 29 Nov 1094. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sibylle married Duke of Burgundy Henry Capet in 1056 in Burgundy, France. Henry (son of Robert I "The Old" Capet, Duke of Burgundy and Helie (Eleanor) de Semur) was born about 1036 in of Bourgogne, Marne, France; died on 27 Jan 1066 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Death: 30 Jun 1109, Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comte, France

Stephanie married William I "The Great", Count of Burgundy and Macon before 1060 in Bourgogne, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. William (son of Renaud, Count of Burgundy I and Countess of Burgundy Alice (Adelaide) de Normandie) was born on 14 Oct 1020 in Bourgogne, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 12 Nov 1087 in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comté, France; was buried in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comte, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Agnes married King of Leon and Castile Alfonso VI Fernandez in 1069. Alfonso died on 29 Jun 1109 in Toledo, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: of Armenia Sarazine. Sarazine was born in 1085. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 10 Nov 1080, Rodez, Barcelona, Aragon, Spain
• Death: 19 Jul 1131, Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
• Death: 19 Aug 1131, Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Ramon married Countess of Provence Douce, heiress of Provence on 3 Feb 1112 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Douce (daughter of Gilbert I of Gévaudan and Countess of Provence Gerberga) was born in 1095 in Gevaudan, Essonne, Ile-de-France, France; died in 1127 in Gevaudan, Essonne, Ile-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Philippa married Duke of Aquitaine William IX "The Troubadour" in 1094 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France. William (son of Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitiers William VIII (Guillaume) and of Burgundy Hildegard) was born on 22 Oct 1071 in Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 10 Feb 1126 in Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ranulf married Margaret d'Avranches about 1069 in Normandy, France. Margaret (daughter of Viscount of Avranches Richard le Goz and Emma de Conteville) was born about 1054 in Avranches, Normandy, France; died in 1136 in Chester, Cheshire, England; was buried in Chester, Cheshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Agnes married Robert de Grandmesnil in 1075 in Grandmesnil, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. Robert (son of Sheriff of Leicester Hugh I de Grandmesnil and Adeliza (Aelis) (Alice) de Beaumont) was born about 1062 in Grandmesnil, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 1 Jun 1136 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gertrude married Duke of Alsace-Lorraine II Thierry in 1095 in Alsace, France. II (son of Count of Alsace-Lorraine Gerard, Count of Metz and Chatenois Duke of Lorraine I and of Namur Hedwig) was born about 1044 in Bar-le-Duc, Meuse, Lorraine, France; died on 23 Jan 1115. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count of Leuven Henry III de Leuven. Henry (son of Count of Leuven Henry de Leuven, Count of Lorraine II and Adele, Countess Beteau) died in 1095 in Tournai, Hainaut, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Drowned in Marne River

Robert married Ida De Namur in 1096 in Flanders, Belgium, Netherlands. Ida (daughter of William I "The Great", Count of Burgundy and Macon and Stephanie de Longwy) was born in 1073 in Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 22 Nov 1117 in Nottinghamshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Baldwin married Alix (Ida) de Louvain in 1084. Alix (daughter of Count of Lorraine II Henri and Countess of Beteau Adele (Alix)) was born in Mar 1062 in Leuven, Brabant, Flanders, Belgium; died in Apr 1139 in Mons, Hainaut, Belgium; was buried in Mons, Hainaut, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Became a Nun at Cluniac Priory in widowhood.

Adela married Count of Blois Stephen Henry II (Etienne Henri) "The Sage" about 1081 in Chartres Cathedral, France. Stephen (son of Count of Blois and Champagne III Theobald and of Maine Garsende) was born about 1045 in Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France; died on 19 May 1102 in Ramula, Holy Land. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

CHAPTER II: THE FAMILY OF THE CONQUEROR
The Conqueror and His Companions
by J.R. Planché, Somerset Herald. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1874........

I introduce here the few observations I have to make on the uncertain and disputed points in the history of William the Conqueror, his queen and family, to which I alluded at the commencement of the former chapter, in lieu of placing them as an appendix at the end of the volume, as they principally turn on questions of date, and those who care to discuss them would naturally desire to do so before passing to other subjects. The less curious reader can "skip and go on."

The first and most important date open to controversy is that of the birth of William-most important because it affects all the rest...

The latest investigators place it in 1027 or 1028, and one (Mons. Deville) endeavours to fix it exactly to the month of June or of July in the former year.

Were it a question of only a few weeks or a few months I should not have thought it necessary to moot it here; but it is one of years, and of much more consequence than it appears at first sight.

The calculations of the upholders of the dates 1027-28 are founded on:

1. The contract of marriage of Duke Richard II and Judith, the parents of Robert, said to be dated in 1008. According to this date, Robert being their second son, would hardly have been born before 1010, and could be only seventeen or eighteen at the birth of William, and consequently his passion for Herleve was that of a boy of sixteen or seventeen at the utmost.

2. A charter granted by Robert previous to his departure on pilgrimage to Jerusalem dated in the ides of January, 1035, and as it is agreed on all hands that William was between seven and eight years old when his father left Normandy, that would place his birth in 1027-28.

3. The cartulary recently discovered at Falaise recording William's birth and baptism therein 1027.

4. The statement of Guillaume de Jumièges that William was not quiteeeeee sixty at his death iiin 1087.

A sort of collateral substantiation of the date of the pilgrimage I find also in the story told by the author of the "Gesta Consulum Andegavensium," of the meeing of Duke Robert with Fulk Nera, Count of Anjou, at Constantinople in 1035, and their travelling thence to the Holy Land together, escorted by some merchants of Antioch, who had offered to be their guides. Robert becoming fatigued was carried in a litter by four Moors. A Norman pilgrim returning from Jerusalem, meeting his sovereign with this equipage, asked if he had any message to send to his friends. "Tell them," said the Duke, "that thou sawest me borne to Paradise by four devils." But it is to be observed that Fulk was also a pilgrim to the Holy Land in 1028, and that the compiler of "L'Art de Vérifierrr lesssss Dates" remarks that the work I have quoted "ne mérititite ppp papass beaucouppp de créance."""""""""

On the other hand we have also to consider the statement of William himself, who, according to Orderic, declared on his death-bed that he was sixty-four, which would make him born in 1023; that he was eight years old when his father went into what he calls voluntary exile, and that he had ruled the duchy fifty-six years, thus placing the death of Robert in 1031. That date is supported by the perfectly independent testimony of the Saxon Chronicle, which becomes more trustworthy in the eleventh century, wherein we read, "A 1031. . . . and Robert, Earl of Normandy, went to Jerusalem and there died, and William, who was afterwards king in England, succeeded to Normandy, though he was but a child." The words I have printed in italics, however, detract from the value of the evidence; as they must have been written at least thirty-five years after the event, and perhaps much later.

The Peterborough and Canterbury chronicles follow the Saxon, and Roger of Wendover and Matthew of Westminster are merely copyists of the earlier writers.

I have seen too many errors in the dates of charters and other MSS., arising from clerical or typographical carelessness, to pin my faith upon any copy, printed or other, even when the original document is undoubtedly genuine, and therefore hesitate to accept the date accorded to the contract of marriage of Richard and Judith, particularly as there are several obvious inaccuracies in the copy printed in Martene (Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum, vol. i.).

Judith was the only child of Conan le Tort, Count of Rennes, by his second wife Ermengarde, daughter of Geoffrey Grisegonelle, married according to the "Chroniques de Mont St. Michel" in 9 70. Conan was slain at the battle of Conquereux in 992. Now, if these dates can be at all relied on, what age was Judith likely to be in 1008, if not married till then? At what period of the two-and-twenty years of her parents' married life was she born? If in the ordinary course of nature, she must have been five- or six-and-thirty in 1008!

Judith died in 1017, the mother of five children: Richard, Robert, Guillaume, Alix (also called Judith), and Eleanore; and if only married in 1008 her eldest son Richard could scarcely have been born before 1009, and Robert, as already remarked, 1010. Whether Guillaume or Alix was their third child is uncertain, but before 1025 Alix was the wife of Renaud, son of Otto-Guillaume, Count of Burgundy, who, having fallen into the power of Hugues, Bishop of Auxerre and Count of Chalons, was strictly confined in prison by that prelate. Richard II, Duke of Normandy, thereupon sent his sons, Richard and Robert, with an army to relieve their brother-in-law, and Count Hugues was compelled to present himself with a saddle on his back (the usual custom at that period) and crave mercy at the hands of the sons of the Duke of Normandy.

Now, doubting that young warriors were mere boys of fifteen and sixteen years of age in 1025 (Richard, the eldest, dying in 1027, and leaving a natural son named Nicholas, who was Abbot of St. Ouen in 1042), I cannot bring myself to believe in the "extreme youth" of Robert, as pointed out by Mons. Deville, and without presuming to fix an exact date, believe that both Richard and Robert were nearly of full age at the death of their father, whether that event occurred in 1026 or 1027.

Leaving, therefore, the precise period of the birth of William the Conqueror still undecided, the weight of evidence inclining rather to 1027, let us hasten to the consideration of the equally vexed question concerning the number and ages of his family, consisting undoubtedly of four sons, and presumably of five or six daughters. [Freeman: Nor. Con., vol. v. [. 468, note4.]

Notwithstanding the various and conflicting dates suggested for the marriage of William and Matilda, ranging from 1047 to 1053, I think we may consider it sufficiently proved that it was solemnized at the close of 1053 or beginning of 1054, and that Robert, their first child, was born in the course of the latter year.

Their second child I take to have been Adeliza, eldest daughter, born apparently in 1055, being seven years old in 1062, when betrothed to Harold, and dead before 1066, as her decease was the undeniable answer of the Saxon king to one of William's charges of broken faith.

Cecilia must have been the third child, as she was clearly born in 1056, dedicated to the service of God by her father and mother at the consecration of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Caen, 18th June, 1066, was elected abbess on the death of Matilda, the first abbess, in 1112, and died on the 30th of July, 1125, in the seventieth year of her age.

The fourth child appears to have been Richard, born 1057-58, who, with his younger brother, William (fifth child), born 1060, witnessed the consecration of the Church of the Holy Trinity at Caen in 1066.

Richard was killed in the New Forest by accident during the reign of his father in England; and his brother William, surnamed Rufus, who succeeded the Conqueror as King of England, met his death, as is well known, A.D. 1100, in the same forest, doomed apparently to be fatal to the progeny of the heartless despot who had sacrificed to his passion for the chase the homes and hearths of thousands of his unfortunate subjects.

The sixth child I take to be Constance, born in 1061, married to Alain, Duke of Brittany, in 1086, and who died, poisoned by her own servants, according to some writers, on the 13th of August, 1094, at the early age of thirty-three.

Mrs. Green, notwithstanding she places her birth "most likely about 1057," subsequently tells us, upon the authority of no less than four chronicles, that she died in 1094 " when she had scarcely attained her thirty-third year." If the latter statement is to be depended upon, she must have been born in 1061, and the probabilities are all in favour of that date. Miss Strickland, by a curious inadvertency, makes Constance die some years before her mother, "after seven years' unfruitful marriage." The marriage having taken place three years after her mother's death!

The seventh child I believe to have been Adela, born circa 1062, married, at Chartres in 1080, to Stephen, Count of Blois and Chartres, and deceased in 1137, in tbe seventy-fourth year of her age.

Agatha, believed by Mrs. Green to be also Matilda, whose name appears in Domesday, the eighth and last child born in Normandy, circa 1064, was promised to Edwin, the Saxon Earl of Chester, in 1067, when only three years old, and after his death contracted to Alfonso 1, King of Castile and Galicia. She died on her journey to Spain, having, as the story goes, prayed she might not live to be married, and by unceasing genuflections caused a horny substance to form on her knees.

More incredible is the sentimental account of "blighted hopes" and "crushed affections" indulged in by Mrs. Green, as the child was but three years old when she first saw the "fair-haired Saxon," seven when her "lover" was murdered, and scarcely fifteen when she was contracted to Alfonso; for she must have been dead in 1080, as in that year the Castilian monarch married the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy.

This is of course according to my calculation, which I by no means presume to be irrefutable, and also applies solely to Agatha, leaving it to others to identify her with Matilda "filiae regis," whose chamberlain (Geoffrey) held lands in Hampshire of the King for service rendered to his said daughter. That there was a Matilda, daughter of King William, is undeniable, not only from the entry in Domesday, but from her being named with her sisters Adelaide and Constance in an encyclical letter to the nuns of the Holy Trinity at Caen in 1112. But as the survey was only begun in 1085, and completed in 1086, it will be difficult, I think, to prove that Agatha, who must have been dead in 1080, was the same daughter as Matilda, supposed to be living five or six years later.

Henry, afterwards King Henry 1, the youngest of the whole family, was the only child born in England, and the date of his birth is generally acknowledged to be 1068, his mother having come over from Normandy for her coronation in that year. Now let us see when it would be possible that a tenth child, if not a twin, could have been born to William by his duchess, and of sufficient age to have a chamberlain appointed to her before 1085.

Robert, born 1054.
Adeliza, born 1055; dead before 1066.
Cecilia, born 1058.
Richard, born 1057-58.
William, born 1060.
Constance, born 1061.
Adela, born 1062.
Agatha, born 1064; dead before 1080.
Henry, born 1068.

The ingenious theory that Matilda was no other than the mysterious Gundrada, the former name being simply a translation of the latter, is negatived by the fact that Gundrada died wife of William de Warren in 1085, while the survey was in the course of compilation. That one daughter should have been named after her mother is most natural. That the King had a daughter so named, and that she was apparently living in 1085, must be conceded; but that she was the same person as Agatha "the inexorable logic of facts" positively contradicts. There is just the possibility of its being Constance, who survived her mother, and was married to Alain, Duke of Brittany, as before stated, in 1086. She is said to have been the favourite daughter and companion of Queen Matilda, and for nearly six years the only princess at Court. At the period of her niother's death she would have been twenty-three, and previous to her marriage would no doubt have had a chamberlain and other officers appointed for her service. That she was ever called Matilda there is no evidence yet discovered; but there is no daughter of Matilda's more likely to have been so. But then we have to get over the awkward fact of Matilda and Constance being separately named in the encyclical letter of 1112. ["Matildem Anglorum reginam, nostri cnobii fondatricem, Adelidem, Mathildem Constantiam, filias ejus." Also in the Bouleau des Morts of the same Abbey we read: Ç "Orate pro nostria Mathilde Regina etttt Wiiiiillielmoooo ejus filio atque pro filiabus ejus Adelide, Mathilde, Constancia." -- Recherches sur le Domesday, p. 234.] Matilda is consequently, as Mr. Freeman truly describes her, "without a history." The vexed question of Gundrada will be discussed in the chapter comprising the biography of her husband, William, Earl of Warren and Surrey, and in connection with it the presumed widowhood of Matilda of Flanders, and her passion for Brihtric Meaw.

Robert married of Conversano Sybil in 1071/1104. Sybil was born in 1050/1070; died in 1071/1154. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Henry I (of England) (1068-1135), third Norman king of England (1100-1135), fourth son of William the Conqueror. Henry was born in Selby. Because his father, who died in 1087, left him no land, Henry made several unsuccessful attempts to gain territories on the Continent. On the death of his brother William II in 1100, Henry took advantage of the absence of another brother-Robert, who had a prior claim to the throne-to seize the royal treasury and have himself crowned king at Westminster. Henry subsequently secured his position with the nobles and with the church by issuing a charter of liberties that acknowledged the feudal rights of the nobles and the rights of the church. In 1101 Robert, who was duke of Normandy, invaded England, but Henry persuaded him to withdraw by promising him a pension and military aid on the Continent. In 1102 Henry put down a revolt of nobles, who subsequently took refuge in Normandy (Normandie), where they were aided by Robert. By defeating Robert at Tinchebray, France, in 1106, Henry won Normandy. During the rest of his reign, however, he constantly had to put down uprisings that threatened his rule in Normandy. The conflict between Henry and Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, over the question of lay investiture (the appointment of church officials by the king), was settled in 1107 by a compromise that left the king with substantial control in the matter.

Because he had no surviving male heir, Henry was forced to designate his daughter Matilda as his heiress. After his death on December 1, 1135, at Lyons-la-Faret, Normandy, however, Henry's nephew, Stephen of Blois, usurped the throne, plunging the country into a protracted civil war that ended only with the accession of Matilda's son, Henry II, in 1154.

"Henry I (of England)," Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia copyright 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Henry I was born in the year 1068---a factor he himself regarded as highly significant, for he was the only son of the Conqueror born after the conquest of England, and to Henry this meant he was heir to the throne. He was not an attractive proposition: he was dissolute to a degree, producing at least a score of bastards; but far worse he was prone to sadistic cruelty---on one occasion, for example, personally punishing a rebellious burgher by throwing him from the walls of his town.

At the death of William the Conqueror, Henry was left no lands, merely 5,000 pounds of silver. With these he bought lands from his elder brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, only to see them taken back again a few years later by Robert, in unholy alliance with his brother William Rufus.

Henry could do little to avenge such treatment, but in England he found numerous barons who were tired of the exactions and ambitions of their king. He formed alliances with some of these, notably with the important de Clare family. He and some of the de Clares were with William Rufus on his last hunting expedition, and it is thought that the king's death was the result of Henry's plotting.

Certainly he moved fast to take advantage of it; leaving Rufus's body unattended in the woods, he swooped down on Winchester to take control of the treasury. Two days later he was in Westminster, being crowned by the Bishop of London. His speed is understandable when one realizes that his elder brother, Robert [Curthose], was returning from the crusade, and claimed, with good reason, to be the true heir.

Henry showed great good sense in his first actions as King. He arrested Ranulph Flambard, William's tax-gatherer, and recalled Anselm, the exiled Archbishop. Furthermore, he issued a Charter of Liberties which promised speedy redress of grievances, and a return to the good government of the Conqueror. Putting aside for the moment his many mistresses, he married the sister of the King of Scots, who was descended from the royal line of Wessex; and lest the Norman barons should think him too pro-English in this action, he changed her name from Edith to Matilda. No one could claim that he did not aim to please.

In 1101 Robert Curthose invaded, but Henry met him at Alton, and persuaded him to go away again by promising him an annuity of 2000 pounds. He had no intention of keeping up the payments, but the problem was temporarily solved.

He now felt strong enough to move against dissident barons who might give trouble in the future. Chief amongst these was the vicious Robert of Belleme, Earl of Shrewsbury, whom Henry had known for many years as a dangerous troublemaker. He set up a number of charges against him in the king's court, making it plain that if he appeared for trial he would be convicted and imprisoned. Thus Robert and his colleagues were forced into rebellion at a time not of their own choosing, were easily defeated and sent scuttling back to Normandy.

In Normandy Robert Curthose began to wreak his wrath on all connected with his brother, thus giving Henry an excellent chance to retaliate with charges of misgovernment and invade. He made two expeditions in 1104-5, before the great expedition of 1106 on which Robert was defeated at the hour-long battle of Tinchebrai, on the anniversary of Hastings. No one had expected such an easy victory, but Henry took advantage of the state of shock resulting from the battle to annex Normandy. Robert was imprisoned (in some comfort, it be said); he lived on for 28 more years, ending up in Cardiff castle whiling away the long hours learning Welsh. His son William Clito remained a free agent, to plague Henry for most of the rest of his reign.

In England the struggle with Anselm over the homage of bishops ran its course until the settlement of 1107. In matters of secular government life was more simple: Henry had found a brilliant administrator, Roger of Salisbury, to act as Justiciar for him. Roger had an inventive mind, a keen grasp of affairs, and the ability to single out young men of promise. He quickly built up a highly efficient team of administrators, and established new routines and forms of organization within which they could work. To him we owe the Exchequer and its recording system of the Pipe Rolls, the circuits of royal justiciars spreading the king's peace, and the attempts at codification of law. Henry's good relationships with his barons, and with the burgeoning new towns owed much to skilful administration. Certainly he was able to gain a larger and more reliable revenue this way than by the crude extortion his brother had used.

In 1120 came the tragedy of the White Ship. The court was returning to England, and the finest ship in the land was filled with its young men, including Henry's son and heir William. Riotously drunk, they tried to go faster and faster, when suddenly the ship foundered. All hands except a butcher of Rouen were lost, and England was without an heir.

Henry's only legitimate child was Matilda, but she was married to the Emperor Henry V of Germany, and so could not succeed. But in 1125 her husband died, and Henry brought her home and forced the barons to swear fealty to her---though they did not like the prospect of a woman ruler. Henry then married her to Geoffrey of Anjou, the Normans' traditional enemy, and the barons were less happy---especially when the newly-weds had a terrible row, and Geoffrey ordered her out of his lands. In 1131 Henry, absolutely determined, forced the barons to swear fealty once more, and the fact that they did so is testimony of his controlling power. Matilda and Geoffrey were reunited, and in 1133 she produced a son whom she named for his grandfather. If only Henry could live on until his grandson was old enough to rule, all would be well.

But in 1135, against doctor's orders, he ate a hearty meal of lampreys, got acute indigestion, which turned into fever, and died. He was buried at his abbey in Reading---some said in a silver coffin, for which there was an unsuccessful search at the Dissolution. [Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1995]

Henry I was born in the year 1068---a factor he himself regarded as highly significant, for he was the only son of the Conqueror born after the conquest of England, and to Henry this meant he was heir to the throne. He was not an attractive proposition: he was dissolute to a degree, producing at least a score of bastards; but far worse he was prone to sadistic cruelty---on one occasion, for example, personally punishing a rebellious burgher by throwing him from the walls of his town.

At the death of William the Conqueror, Henry was left no lands, merely 5,000 pounds of silver. With these he bought lands from his elder brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, only to see them taken back again a few years later by Robert, in unholy alliance with his brother William Rufus.

Henry could do little to avenge such treatment, but in England he found numerous barons who were tired of the exactions and ambitions of their king. He formed alliances with some of these, notably with the important de Clare family. He and some of the de Clares were with William Rufus on his last hunting expedition, and it is thought that the king's death was the result of Henry's plotting.

Certainly he moved fast to take advantage of it; leaving Rufus's body unattended in the woods, he swooped down on Winchester to take control of the treasury. Two days later he was in Westminster, being crowned by the Bishop of London. His speed is understandable when one realizes that his elder brother, Robert [Curthose], was returning from the crusade, and claimed, with good reason, to be the true heir.

Henry showed great good sense in his first actions as King. He arrested Ranulph Flambard, William's tax-gatherer, and recalled Anselm, the exiled Archbishop. Furthermore, he issued a Charter of Liberties which promised speedy redress of grievances, and a return to the good government of the Conqueror. Putting aside for the moment his many mistresses, he married the sister of the King of Scots, who was descended from the royal line of Wessex; and lest the Norman barons should think him too pro-English in this action, he changed her name from Edith to Matilda. No one could claim that he did not aim to please.

In 1101 Robert Curthose invaded, but Henry met him at Alton, and persuaded him to go away again by promising him an annuity of 2,000 pounds. He had no intention of keeping up the payments, but the problem was temporarily solved.

He now felt strong enough to move against dissident barons who might give trouble in the future. Chief amongst these was the vicious Robert of BellÃssme, Earl of Shrewsbury, whom Henry hhhhhad known for manyy yearrssss asss aaa dangerous troublemaker. He set up a number of charges against him in the king's court, making it plain that if he appeared for trial he would be convicted and imprisoned. Thus Robert and his colleagues were forced into rebellion at a time not of their own choosing, were easily defeated and sent scuttling back to Normandy.

In Normandy Robert Curthose began to wreak his wrath on all connected with his brother, thus giving Henry an excellent chance to retaliate with charges of misgovernment and invade. He made two expeditions in 1104-5, before the great expedition of 1106 on which Robert was defeated at the hour-long battle of Tinchebrai, on the anniversary of Hastings. No one had expected such an easy victory, but Henry took advantage of the state of shock resulting from the battle to annex Normandy. Robert was imprisoned (in some comfort, it be said); he lived on for 28 more years, ending up in Cardiff castle whiling away the long hours learning Welsh. His son William Clito remained a free agent, to plague Henry for most of the rest of his reign.

In England the struggle with Anselm over the homage of bishops ran its course until the settlement of 1107. In matters of secular government life was more simple: Henry had found a brilliant administrator, Roger of Salisbury, to act as Justiciar for him. Roger had an inventive mind, a keen grasp of affairs, and the ability to single out young men of promise. He quickly built up a highly efficient team of administrators, and established new routines and forms of organization within which they could work. To him we owe the Exchequer and its recording system of the Pipe Rolls, the circuits of royal justiciars spreading the king's peace, and the attempts at codification of law. Henry's good relationships with his barons, and with the burgeoning new towns owed much to skilful administration. Certainly he was able to gain a larger and more reliable revenue this way than by the crude extortion his brother had used.

In 1120 came the tragedy of the White Ship. The court was returning to England, and the finest ship in the land was filled with its young men, including Henry's son and heir William. Riotously drunk, they tried to go faster and faster, when suddenly the ship foundered. All hands except a butcher of Rouen were lost, and England was without an heir.

Henry's only legitimate child was Matilda, but she was married to the Emperor Henry V of Germany, and so could not succeed. But in 1125 her husband died, and Henry brought her home and forced the barons to swear fealty to her---though they did not like the prospect of a woman ruler. Henry then married her to Geoffrey of Anjou, the Normans' traditional enemy, and the barons were less happy---especially when the newly-weds had a terrible row, and Geoffrey ordered her out of his lands. In 1131 Henry, absolutely determined, forced the barons to swear fealty once more, and the fact that they did so is testimony of his controlling power. Matilda and Geoffrey were reunited, and in 1133 she produced a son whom she named for his grandfather. If only Henry could live on until his grandson was old enough to rule, all would be well.

But in 1135, against doctor's orders, he ate a hearty meal of lampreys, got acute indigestion, which turned into fever, and died. He was buried at his abbey in Reading---some said in a silver coffin, for which there was an unsuccessful search at the Dissolution. [Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]

Henry married Adeliza de Leuven on 2 Feb 1121 in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England. Adeliza (daughter of Count of Leuven and Brussels, Landgraves of Brabant Godfrey de Leuven, Duke of Lorraine I and of Chiny Ida) was born about 1094 in Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium; died on 23 Apr 1151 in Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Ansfride about 1089. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Nest verch Rhys about 1090. Nest (daughter of King of Deheubarth Rhys ap Tewdwr Mawr and Gwladus verch Rhiwallon) was born about 1073 in Dynevor, Llandyfeisant, Caemarvonshire, Wales; died about 1163. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Sibyl Corbet about 1089. Sibyl (daughter of Burgess of Caen Robert Corbet) was born about 1077 in Alcester, Warwickshire, England; died after 1157. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Isabel (Elizabeth) de Beaumont about 1119. Isabel (daughter of 1st Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, Count Meulan I and Isabel (Elizabeth ) de Vermandois) was born in 1098 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England; died on 6 Jan 1147 in Tunbridge, Kent, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Edith FitzForne about 1089. Edith (daughter of 1st Lord of Greystoke Forne FitzSigulf) was born about 1072 in Greystoke, Cumberland, England; died in 1152 in Oseney Abby, Oxfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Princess of Scotland Matilda (Edith) mac Maíl Coluim on 11 Nov 1100 in Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England. Matilda (daughter of King of Scots Malcolm III "Canmore" mac Dhonnchaidh and Margaret "of Scotland" Ætheling) was born about 1080 in Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Scotland; died on 1 May 1118 in Westminster Palace, London, Middlesex, England; was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

It was thought that Matilda (Gundred) married William de Warren, 1st Earl of Surrey. That has since been disproved. For details see "Early
Yorkshire Charters" by C. T. Clay or "tudes sur Quelques Points de
l'Histoire de Guillame le Conqurant" by H. Prentout described under
Surrey in "The Complete Peerage" by G.E. Gibbs.

I married Wulfhilda von Saxony about 1099 in Germany. Wulfhilda (daughter of Duke of Saxony Magnus and Princess of Hungary Sophia (Zsofia)) was born about 1075 in Saxony, Germany; died on 29 Dec 1126. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Assisted Philip I of France against William the Conqueror. He erected the Palace of Poictou, and, after conferring large donations on the Church, died.

The dates and name are unclear. Some label him as William VII.

William married Philippa de Toulouse in 1094 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France. Philippa (daughter of William, Count of Toulouse Margrave of Provence and Duke of Narbonne IV and Emma de Mortain) was born on 22 Oct 1073 in Toulouse, Jura, Franche-Comte, France; died on 28 Nov 1118 in Fontevrault Abbey, Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Ermengard d'Anjou in 1088. Ermengard (daughter of Fulk IV "The Rude" d'Anjou, Count of Anjou and Hildegard de Beaugency) was born on 18 Mar 1066 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France; died on 1 Jun 1147 in Acquitaine, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eudes married Sibylla Burgundy in 1080. Sibylla (daughter of William I "The Great", Count of Burgundy and Macon and Stephanie de Longwy) was born in 1065 in Bourgogne, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 23 Mar 1102 in Brosse, Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eudes married of Burgundy Matilda in 1077/1098 in Burgundy, France. Matilda (daughter of William I "The Great", Count of Burgundy and Macon and Stephanie de Longwy) was born in 1065 in Dijon, Cote d'Or, Bourgogne, France; died on 23 Mar 1103 in Dijon, Cote d'Or, Bourgogne, France,. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married of Castile, Queen of Portugal Teresa before 24 Aug 1092. Teresa (daughter of King of Leon and Castile Alfonso VI Fernandez and Agnes de Blois) was born in 1070; died on 1 Nov 1130. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Urraca married Count, Dominus, Prince, Emperor and Consul of Galicia Raymond Burgandy in 1087 in Toledo, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Raymond (son of William I "The Great", Count of Burgundy and Macon and Stephanie de Longwy) was born about 1065 in Dijon, Cote d'Or, Bourgogne, France; died on 24 May 1107 in Grajal de Campos, Leon, Castilla-Leon, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Louis married of Rochefort Lucienne in 1104. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Louis married Countess of Savoy Adélaïde de Maurienne on 3 Aug 1115 in Paris, Seine, France. Adélaïde (daughter of Count of Maurienne and Savoy, Marquis of Turin Humbert II de Maurienne and Countess of Burgundy-Ivrea Gisela Burgundy) was born about 1092 in Savoy, France; died on 18 Nov 1154 in Montmartre Abbey, Paris, France; was buried in Montmartre Abbey, Paris, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Constance married Count of Blois Hugo (Hugh), I in 1104. Hugo (son of Count of Blois and Champagne III Theobald and of Maine Garsende) was born about 1048 in Blois, France; died in 1126. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Isabel married 1st Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, Count Meulan I in 1096. Robert (son of Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger and Pont-Audemer, Viscount of Hiesmes Roger de Beaumont and Adeline de Meulan) was born in 1046 in Beaumont-le-Roger, Eure, Normandy, France; died on 5 Jun 1118 in Préaux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; was buried . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Isabel married 2nd Earl of Surrey William II de Warenne in 1118 in Pays du Valois, Bretagne, France. William (son of 1st Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Princess of England Gundred) was born on 24 Jun 1085 in Surrey, England; died on 11 May 1138 in Lewes, Sussex, England; was buried in Priory of Lewes, Sussex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Lord of Montfort Ralph de Gael. Ralph (son of Earl of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge Ralph de Gael and Emma FitzOsbern) was born in 1078 in Montford de Gael, Brittany, France; died in Montford de Gael, Brittany, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Matilda married Raoul de Beaugency about 1111 in Beaugency, Loiret, France. Raoul was born about 1082 in of Beaugency, Loiret, France; died in 1130. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Eléonore de Blois. Eléonore (daughter of Count of Blois Stephen Henry II (Etienne Henri) "The Sage" and Adela (Adelle)) was born in 1104; died in 1147. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: of Flanders Laurette. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hugo married Elizabeth de Macon about 1110. Elizabeth (daughter of Count of Burgundy and Macon Stephen de Macon and of Lorraine Beatrix) was born about 1094; died after 1125. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hugo married Constance in 1104. Constance (daughter of King of France Philip I "The Fair" Capet and Countess of Holland Bertha) was born in 1071/1091; died in 1109/1179. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

BIOGRAPHY: http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal1517
Count of Blois, Champagne, Chartres and Tourain, a crusader under Godfrey de Bouillon, who fell, gallantly fighting against the Infidels at Rames. (Battle of Ascalon actually). Count of Meaux.

Stephen married Adela (Adelle) about 1081 in Chartres Cathedral, France. Adela (daughter of William I "The Conqueror", King of England and of Flanders Matilda) was born in 1062 in Normandy, France; died on 8 Mar 1137 in Marcigny-sur-Loire, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Odo married of Normandy Adeliza about 1056 in of Normandy, France. Adeliza was born about 1026 in Falaise, Calvados, France; died before 1090. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermengard married Duke of Aquitaine William IX "The Troubadour" in 1088. William (son of Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitiers William VIII (Guillaume) and of Burgundy Hildegard) was born on 22 Oct 1071 in Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 10 Feb 1126 in Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Duke of Brittany Alan IV Fergant. Alan died on 13 Oct 1119. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Became King of Jerusalem 1131 on the death of his 2nd Father-in-Law.

Fulk married Princess of Jerusalem Melisende de Rethel on 2 Jun 1129 in Jerusalem, Palestine. Melisende (daughter of Baldwin de Rethel, King of Jerusalem II and Morphia) was born about 1110 in Jerusalem, Palestine; died on 11 Sep 1161 in Nablus, Israel; was buried in Jerusalem, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem District), Israel. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Fulk married of Maine Ermengarde de la Fletche on 11 Jul 1110 in France. Ermengarde (daughter of Count of Maine Baldwin II de la Fletche and of Chateau du Loire Mathilda) was born about 1096 in Maine, France; died in 15 January or 12 October 1126 in Maine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rohese married Eudo de Rie about 1088. Eudo (son of Baron de Rie Hubert de St Clair and Albreda De Preaux) was born in 1047 in Ryes near Bayeux, Calvados, Normandy, France; died after 12 Jul 1080 in Oxfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Heir in England; granted Cardigan in Wales.

Lord of Tunbridge, founded Priory of Clare, Lord of Cardigan

Gilbert de Tonebruge, who resided at Tonebruge and inherited all his father's lands in England, joined in the rebellion of Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, but observing the king (William Rufus) upon the point of falling into an ambuscade, he relented, sought pardon, and saved his royal master. We find him subsequently, however, again in rebellion in the same reign and fortifying and losing his castle at Tunbridge. Hem. In 1113, Adeliza, dau. of the Earl of Cleremont, and had issue, Richard, his successor, Gilbert, Walter, Hervey, and Baldwin. Gilbert de Tonebruge, who was a munificent benefactor to the church, was s. by his eldest son, Richard de Clare. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p. 119, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford, Earls of Gloucester]

Gilbert m. Adeliza, dau, of the Earl of Claremont, and was father of Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford, and Gilbert de Clare, created Earl of Pembroke. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, England, 1883, p. 230, Giffard, Earls of Buckingham]

Gilbert married Adeliza (Alice) de Clermont about 1086. Adeliza (daughter of Count of Clermont Hugh de Clermont and Margaret de Roucy) was born about 1072 in Clermont, Beauvais, Oise, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Emma married William d'Avranches, Baron of Okehampton in 1065 in Avranches, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France. William (son of Guillaume d'Avranches and Beatrice de Buillt) was born in 1037 in Avranches, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France; died in 1087 in Okehampton, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Guillaume d'Arques. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Sheriff of Lincoln Thorold de Taillebois about 1065 in of Lincolnshire, England. Thorold was born about 1040 in of Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Wolfric de Hatton, 1st Baron Hatton of Runcorn. Wolfric (son of Ivo, Vicomte de Cotentin and Emma) was born in 1055 in Cotentin, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France; died in 1100 in Runcorn, Cheshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count of Lens Lambert II von Boulogne. Lambert died in 1054. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Reigned 1066-1087. Duke of Normandy 1035-1087. Invaded England defeated and killed his rival Harold at the Battle of Hastings and became King. The Norman conquest of England was completed by 1072 aided by the establishment of feudalism under which his followers were granted land in return for pledges of service and loyalty. As King William was noted for his efficient if harsh rule. His administration relied upon Norman and other foreign personnel especially Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1085 started Domesday Book.

William married of Flanders Matilda in 1053 in Cathedral of Notre Dame d'Eu, Normandy, France. Matilda (daughter of Baldwin V "The Pious", Count of Flanders and Adèle Capet, Princess of France) was born on 24 Nov 1031 in Flanders, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died on 2 Nov 1083 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; was buried in Holy Trinity Abbey, Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alix married Ranulf "The Rich" de Briquessart, Vicomte De Bessin on 1 May 1045 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. Ranulf (son of Ancitel de Bayeux, Viscount of Bessin and Poppa de Senlis) was born on 17 Jan 1021 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 21 May 1089 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Stephanie de Longwy before 1060 in Bourgogne, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Stephanie (daughter of Adalbert de Longwy and Clemence de Foix) was born in 1035 in Longwy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France; died on 19 Oct 1092 in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comte, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Eleanor de Crispin. Eleanor (daughter of Gilbert de Crispin and Eva de Montfort) was born in 1070 in Runcorn, Cheshire, England; died after 1114 in Somme, Picardie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Sybil about 1145. Sybil was born about 1101 in of Sudley, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John, the elder son, assumed his surname from Sudeley, the chief seat which he inherited, becoming John de Sudeley. He m. Grace, dau. and heir of Henry de Traci, feudal Lord of Barnstaple, and had issue, Ralph and William. He was s. by his elder son. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 520, Sudeley, Barons Sudeley]

Notes:

Ralph rebelled against William I, and was stripped of lands

Family/Spouse: Emma Avice de Vermandois. Emma (daughter of Hugh "The Great" Capet, Duke of France and Burgundy and Adelaide de Vermandois) was born in 1075 in Vermandois, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

HUGH, ROGER and RAOUL DE MORTEMER

The Conqueror and His Companions
by J. R. Planché, Somerset Herald. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1874..

Wace, in his description of the great battle, speaks of a "Hue de Mortemer, who, with three other knights, the sires of Auvilier, Onebec, and St. Cier, charged a body of English who had fallen back on a rising ground, and overthrew many." Monsieur Auguste le Prévost, in his note onn this passage says authoritatively, but without citing his evidence, that "it was not Hugh de Mortemer who assisted at the battle of Hastings, but his father Raoul, son of Roger Lord of Mortemer sur Eaulne," in which opinion he is followed by Mr. Taylor, in his translation of Wace's account, without further information. In the recently compiled lists of MM. de Magny and Leopold de Lisle be is also called Raoul; but upon what evidence?

The English translator of Orderic, in a note on the death-bed discourse of William the Conqueror, says, equally without proof, that it was Roger de Mortemer, son of the elder Roger, who fought at Hastings.

It is quite true that we cannot implicitly rely upon Wace, who has been misled by his informants or betrayed by his memory in many instances, and where his statements are improbable or contradicted by direct or circumstantial evidence we may justly consider him mistaken; but it is a bold thing to deny without very strong reasons that there was no Hugh de Mortemer in the fight at Senlac.

That Monsieur le Prévost may be justified in stating that it was not Hughh de Mortemer, son of Raoul and grandson of Roger, who was present at the battle I will not dispute, but Wace does not say it was, and there is such wild confusion and glaring contradictions in all the pedigrees I have examined of the Norman Mortemers that I consider it premature to discredit Wace's assertion, while I by no means deny that not only Ralph, but his father, or some other of the name of Roger of that family, may also have been present in the battle, as assumed by the erudite antiquaries whose opinions I have quoted. I propose, therefore, to give the worthy Prebend of Bayeux the benefit of the doubt till better advised, and at the same time state as briefly as possible the result of my own researches into the early history of the Mortemers or Mortimers.

"The first of the name that I have observed," says Dugdale, "is Roger de Mortimer, by some thought to be the son of William de Warren, by others of Walter de St. Martin, brother of that William." And farther on he adds that "this Roger de Mortimer was by consanguinity allied to William the Conqueror, his mother being niece to Gunnora, wife to Richard, Duke of Normandy, and great-grandmother to the Conqueror."

For these statements he relies on Guillaume de Jumièges, the Normann genealogist, to whom we are indebted for so much interesting information of this description, but who is occasionally as incorrect as his contemporaries. As I have already, in my notice of William de Warren, shown the fallacy of this descent of Mortimer, I shall not inflict it a second time on my readers.

There can be no doubt tbat Mortemer (latinized, Mortuo-mari), the locality from which the surname of the family was assumed, is situated in that portion of Normandy known as the Pays de Caux, and at the source of the river Eaulne; that the Castle of Saint Victor-en-Caux was the caput baroniaeof the family, and that it was in the poseession of a Roger de Mortemer anterior to the invasion of England, as in 1054, twelve years previous to that event, Count Eudes, or Odo, brother of Henry I, King of France, invaded the territory of Evreux, and William, then Duke of Normandy, sent this Roger de Mortemer, at that time his general, with Robert, Comte d'Eu, Hugh de Montfort, Hugh de Gournay, William Crispin, and Walter Giffard to oppose him. (See the long and elaborate controversy in M. de la Mairie's "Recherches Historiques," 1852, respecting the scene of this battle.)

The French had taken possession of the town of Mortemer, and had passed the night in revelry. The Normans surprised them at daybreak, while the majority were asleep, and set fire to the town. Awakened by the flames in their lodgings, they armed themselves in the greatest confusion. Wace is as usual most graphic in his account. One man, he says, could not mount his horse, not being able to find his bridle; another could not get out of the house he was in, being unable to find the door. Every issue from the burning town was guarded by the Normans, and the fight was kept up in the midst of the conflagration from morning till three hours past noon. The French were nearly all killed or taken prisoners. One of the few who escaped was Eudes, the King's brother; but Guy, Count of Ponthieu, was taken prisoner, and his brother Waleran slain. There was no varlet, let him be ever so mean or of ever so low degree, but took some Frenchman prisoner aud seized two or three horses with all their harness; nor was there a prison in all Normandy which was not full of Frenchmen. They were to be seen fleeing around, skulking in the woods and bushes, the dead and wounded lying amidst the smouldering ruins, on the dunghills, about the fields, and in the by-paths.

Ralph III, surnamed "the Great," Comte de Valois aud Amiens, by Orderic called De Montdidier, who was on the side of the French, succeeded in making his way out of the town, and took refuge in the Castle of Mortemer, where he was sheltered by its victorious lord, who had formerly sworn fealty to him, and who, after entertaining him for three days, safely conducted him to his own territories.

For this breach of duty to Duke William, Roger de Mortemer was banished from Normandy and his possessions confiscated, but being afterwards reconciled to the Duke, had them all restored to him, with the exception of the Castle of Mortemer, in which he had harboured William's enemy Count Ralph, and that the Duke gave to Roger's cousin, young William de Warren; a sufficient answer to those who assert that Roger was his son.

Orderic, in making the Conqueror allude to the oath of fealty Roger had taken to Count Ralph, does not assign the reason for it, or hint that Roger de Mortemer was the Count's son-in-law. Here at any rate is some very important light thrown upon the pedigree of Mortemer, as none of the ancient or later genealogists have mentioned the wife of this Roger. Notwithstanding her noble descent, no trace of her is to be found even in the "Art de Verifierles Dates," but her name appears to have been Hadewisa, who possessed of her own inheritance the vill of Mees, at the mouth of the river Bresle, in the diocese of Amiens, and the district called Le Vimieu, and her gifts to the Abbey of St. Victor at this place were confirmed in 1102 by Theobald, Bishop of Amiens. Montdidier is in the same diocese, and had been forcibly seized by Count Ralph, who eventually died there September 8, 1074. Roger de Mortemer, therefore, it has been reasonably presumed, did homage to the Count for the lands he held of his fief, and which were given to him in franc marriage with his daughter.

Still, upon the principal question, who were the parents of this Roger de Mortemer, we have no conclusive evidence; no fact to start from of an earlier date than 1054, when we find him a leader at the battle fought in his own town, beneath the walls of his own castle. His age at that period can be no more determined at present than his parentage; but we see he was married, in possession of the family estates, and had attained sufficient military rank and reputation to be intrusted by Duke William with the chief command of a division of his forces. He was living, as well as his wife, in 1074, when, upon their joint petition, a priory which had been established at St. Victor as a cell to the abbey of St. Ouen was itself erected into an abbey. This was only twenty years after the battle of Mortemer, and unless incapacitated by illness, there is no reason why he should not have been eight years previously in that of Senlac. At all events he is said to have contributed sixty vessels to the Duke's fleet, and if not himself in the expedition, was doubtlessly represented, either by his son Ralph, or it may be by some other relative named Hugh.

My reason for the latter suggestion is that Ralph de Mortemer, by his wife Millicent, had two sons, the eldest of whom was named Hugh, and may not have been the first so named in the family, as he certainly was not the laSt. It is a question, indeed, with some, whether Ralph, if the son of Hadewisa, as there is no reason to doubt, cauld have been old enough in 1066 to bear arms at Hastings. His mother must have been very young in 1054, and her eldest born, in his infancy. I say eldest born, for it is not proved that Ralph was an only child any more than that his father Roger was an only child.

A Wydo or Guy de Mortimer, and a Bartholomew de Mortimer were living in the latter half of the twelfth century, whose parents must have been contemporary with the first Roger de Mortemer we know of, and the branch of Mortimer of Ricard's Castle has yet to be traced to its offshoot.

Roger de Mortemer, living in 1074, was dead before the compilation of Domesday, when Ralph de Mortemer was found possessed of one hundred and twenty-three manors, besides several hamlets, and the Castle of Wigmore, built by William Fitz Osbern, Earl of Hereford, and which became the principal seat of his family. His tenure of these estates in 1086 by no means proves that they were bestowed upon him for his services at Senlac. He might have succeeded to many by inheritance from his father Roger, or some other kinsman, on whom they had been bestowed by the Conqueror, and obtained some with his wife Millicent, whose family has yet to be discovered. It is most provoking to be left thus continually in the dark respecting the families of the wives of these Norman nobles. A knowledge of them would frequently be of the greatest importance to English history, by accounting in many instances for the acts of their husbands. Witness, for example, the fact recently discovered respecting Hadewisa, wife of Roger de Mortemer. Herbeing the daughter of Ralph de Montdidier, Count of Amiens, at once discloses the difficult position in which Roger was placed between his sovereign and his father-in-law, to both of whom he owed fealty, and explains the excuse King William admitted he had for sheltering his Prince's enemy. A similar discovery regarding Millicent might as satisfactorily account for the conduct of her husband Ralph, who is one day in arms against his sovereign and the next for him, without any motive assigned for his tergiversation. Matrimonial alliances and family dissensions have naturally influenced, and will continue to influence, the actions of public men, and history is constantly corrected and illustrated by a disclosure of the secret springs of action which have their rise in private interests and feelings. I therefore say with the French Lieutenant de Police, "Cherchez la femme,"and depend upon it, nine times out of ten you will arrive at the truth of the story.

I have as yet searched in vain to affi1iate Millicent de Mortemer. Her family name is not alluded to by Stephen, Comte d'Aumale, who married her daughter Havise, in his confirmation charter to the Church of St. Martin-des-Champs, a Cluniac Priory in one of the suburbs of Paris. He simply informs us that she was then deceased. Vincent and Dugdale make no guess at it, and I shall prudently follow their example.

Roger de Mortemer, the eldest, was, I have stated, dead before the compilation of Domesday, as we hear no more of him after 1074, and in 1088 we find Ralph in arms against William Rufus, having joined the movement of Bishop Odo in favour of Robert Court-heuse, and with the assistance of the Welsh doing much mischief in Worcestershire and on the Welsh borders. Two years afterwards, having been restored to the King's favour, he, with Robert, Comte d'Eu, and Walter Giffard, fortified his castle in Normandy against Court-heuse, and. continued apparently true to his English overlord from that period.

In 1100 (the 1st of Henry I) he founded the priory of Wigmore, and in the history of the foundation of that establishment, printed by Dugdale in his "Monasticon," Ralph de Mortemer is stated to have died in Normandy on the nones of August that same year. Clearly an error, clerical or other, as in 1104, on King Henry's arrival in Normandy, Ralph de Mortemer is mentioned by Orderic as amongst the many nobles of that duchy who possessed large estates in England, and received him with great honour, making him many costly presents befitting a king. The history itself also not only records his services in the war that followed, but states that King Henry gave him the command of the forces sent against Robert Court-heuse, whom he vanquished and brought captive to the King, which, if it means anything, would amount to the assertion that he was the general-in-chief of the royal army at the battle of Tenchebrai in 1106; but of this there is no coroborative evidence, and as his name even does not appear amongst the known leaders in that memorable action, I conclude that he was at that time deceased.

By his wife, the unidentified Millicent, Sir Ralph de Mortemer had two sons: Hugh, who succeeded him, and William, to whom his brother gave Chelmarsh, and who, though represented to have died without issue, has been proved by Mr. Stapleton to have been the progenitor of the line of Mortimer of Attleborough. He had also a daughter named after her grandmother, Hadewisa, Havise, or Avice, wife, as I have previously stated, of Stephen, Comte d'Aumale. From this Hugh de Mortemer descended the many illustrious men of that name, whose blood, eventually mingling with that of the Plantagenets and the Tudors, still flows in the veins of the royal family of England.

Family/Spouse: Millicent de Ferrers. Millicent (daughter of 3rd Earl of Derby William de Ferrers and Sybil de Braose) was born about 1060 in Wigmore, Herfordshire, England; died before 10 Mar 1087/88. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick (? – 20 June 1123) was an English nobleman. He is also known as Henry de Neubourg or Henry de Newburgh, from the castle of Newburg near Looviers, in Normandy where he was born.

Henry was the younger son of Roger de Beaumont and Adeline of Meulan, daughter of Waleran III, Count de Meulan. He inherited the modest lordship of La Neubourg, in central Normandy, but acquired a much greater holding in England, when, in reward for help in suppressing the Rebellion of 1088, William II of England made him Earl of Warwick.

His name is included in the roll of the knights who came over with the William the Conqueror, but he does not appear to have been present at the Battle of Hastings. He spent the greater part of his life in Normandy, his name is not found in the Domesday Book. He took it leading part in reconciling the Conqueror with his eldest son Robert Curthose in 1081 and he stood high in the Conqueror's favour. He was the companion and friend of Henry I, and when in 1100 a division took place amongst the barons who had gathered together to choose a successor to William II, it was mainly owing to his advice that Henry was selected and when in the following year most of the barons were openly or secretly disloyal and favoured the attempt of Duke Robert to gain the Crown, he and his brother were amongst the few that remained faithful to the King.

He had many honours conferred upon him, in 1068 he was made Constable of Warwick Castle and shortly afterwards King William gave it to him together with the borough and manor. The Castle was enlarged and strengthened during the long succession of powerful lords, and it eventually became one of the most renowned of English fortresses and it remains even to-day the glory of the midland shires. The Bear and Ragged Staff was the badge of Guy the great opponent of the Danes, and Henry on his elevation to the Earldom in 1076 by William I, assumed it, and it has ever since been used by successive Earls. Odericus tells us that "he earned this honour by his valour and loyalty" and Wace speaks of him as "a brave man". He was made a Councillor by the King in 1079 and a Baron of the Exchequer in Normandy 12 April 1080.

In 1099 he fought against the Welsh and built a castle at Abertawy, near Swansea, which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Welsh in 1113; he also captured the Gower peninsula in the south of Glamorganshire. He built other castles at Penrhys, Llandhidian and Swansea in ll20, together with the others at Oystermouth and Aberllychor, the only remains of the latter are a mound and a keep.

Some time between 1106 and 1116 he was granted the lordship of Gower in Wales.

Henry was by disposition quiet and retiring, and was overshadowed by his elder brother Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, reputedly one of the most brilliant men in England.

He died 20 June 1123 and was buried in the Abbey at Preaux.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Family/Spouse: Margaret de Perche. Margaret (daughter of Count of Perche and Mortaigne Geoffrey II de Perche and Beatrice de Montdidier) was born about 1067 in Morlaign, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

ROBERT DE BEAUMONT

The Conqueror and His Companions
by J. R. Planché, Somerset Herald. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1874..

"Rogier li Veil, cil de Belmont, Assalt Engleis el primier front." Roman de Rou, 1. 13,462.

Thus sings the Prebend of Bayeux in direct contradiction, as I have already observed, of the Archdeacon of Lisieux, who as distinctly asserts that Roger de Beaumont was left in Normandy, president of the council appointed by the Duke to assist his Duchess in its government. There is more reason, however, to discredit Wace in this instance than even in the former one, as Orderic corroborates the statement of the Archdeacon that it was Robert, the eldest son of Roger de Beaumont, who was the companion of the Conqueror in 1066, and whom he describes as "a novice in arms." Mr. Taylor, in his translation of the poem, has mentioned also that in the MS. of Wace, in the British Museum, the name is Robert, though the epithet "le Viel" is not appropriate to his then age. Might not "le Viel" be a clerical error for "de Vielles," the name of Roger's father, which is latinized into "de Vitulis"? Roger de Beaumont would of course have been de Vielles as well as his father. The latinizing of proper names cannot be too much deplored and deprecated.

Of Roger, Count de Beaumont, it is unanimously recorded that he was the noblest, the wealthiest, and the most valiant seigneur of Normandy, and the greatest and most trusted friend of the Danish family. Son of Humphrey de Vielles, and grandson of Thorold de Pontaudemer, a descendant of the Kings of Denmark, through Bernard the Dane, a companion of the first Norman Conqueror, Duke Rollo, illustrious as was such as origin in the eyes of his countrymen, he considered his alliance with Adelina, Countess of Meulent, sufficiently honorable and important to induce him to adopt the title of her family in preference to that of his own.

We have already heard of his first great exploit, when, as a young man, in the early years of Duke William, he defeated the turbulent Roger de Toeni, who with his two sons were slain in that sanguinary conflict (vide p. 19, ante). Towards the invading fleet he contributed, according to Taylor's List, sixty vessels, and being at that time advanced in years, and selected to superintend the affairs of the duchy, sent his young son Robert to win his spurs at Senlac.

In that memorable battle he is said to have given proof of courage and intelligence beyond his years, and promise of the high reputation he would eventually obtain, and which won for him the surname of Prudhomme. "A certain Norman young soldier," writes William of Poitou, "son of Roger de Bellomont, and nephew and heir of Hugh, Count of Meulent, by Adelina, his sister, making his first onset in that fight, did what deserves lasting fame, boldly charging and breaking in upon the enemy with the troops he commanded in the right wing of the army."

His services were rewarded by ninety manors in Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, and Northamptonshire. In 1080 he, with his brother Henry, afterwards Earl of Warwick, were amongst the barons who exerted themselves to reconcile King William to his son Robert Court-heuse, and in 1081 he subscribed a charter of confirmation in favour of the Abbey of Fécamp. This was the last document he signed inn the name of Beaumont, for his mother dying in year, he thenceforth wrote himself Comte de Meulent, and did homage to Philip I, King of France, for the lands to which he succeeded in that kingdom, and in 1082 sat as a Peer of France in a parliament held by the said King at Poissy.

On the death of the Conqueror, the Comte de Meulent and his brother sided with William Rufus; their father, Roger de Beaumont, leaving also the ducal court and retiring to his estates. The late King had given the Castle of Ivri jointly to Roger de Beaumont and Robert his son; but during the absence of the latter in England, Robert Court-heuse, having become Duke of Normandy, exchanged, in 1090, that castle for the Castle of Brionne with Roger de Beaumont, without obtaining the consent of Robert de Meulent. The latter, having a quarrel with the monks of Bec, whose monastery was in the territory of Brionne, was greatly angered by this transaction, and repairing to the Duke at Rouen, boldly demanded of him the restoration of Ivri. The Duke answered that he had given his father the Castle of Brionne for it, which was a fair exchange. The Count replied, "I was no party to that bargain, and repudiate it; but what your father gave to my father that will I have, or by Saint Nicaise I will make you repent your conduct to me." The Duke, highly incensed, had him immediately arrested and imprisoned, and seizing the Castle of Brionne, gave it into the keeping of Robert, son of Baldwin de Meules. Roger de Beaumont, on receipt of these tidings, sought the Duke, and with the skill of an old courtier contrived to pacify his resentment, and obtain the release of his son and the restoration of Brionne; but Robert de Meules, who was in charge of it, refused to surrender it, and the Count de Meulent was obliged to resort to force. Siege was laid to the castle in regular form, and the garrison stoutly holding out, Gilbert du Pin, commanding the beleaguering forces, caused arrows, with their steel heads made red-hot in a furnace, to be shot over the battlements, and which, falling on the roofs of the buildings within the walls, set them on fire. The conflagration spreading, the place became no longer tenable, and Brionne remained from that period in the hands of the Counts of Meulent.

The monks of Bec now found it necessary to patch up their quarrels with the Count, who behaved generously on the occasion, confirming their privileges and those also of the Abbey of Préaux, of Jumiéges, and St.t. Vaudrille, remitting certain imports due to him from the wine-growers of Mantes. I mention these circumstances, which have no interest for the general reader, only to notice a singular condition the Count attached to the franchise, namely, that the masters of all boats passing the Castles of Meulent and Mantes should play on the flageolet as they shot the bridges!

On the departure of Robert Court-heuse for the Crusades, William Rufus, to whom he had confided the government of Normaudy, as a pledge for the repayment of the money the King had lent to him for the expenses of his expedition, considered it a good opportunity to recover from France the province of the Vexin. The Count of Meulent found himself awkwardly situated between the two contending parties. He owed fealty to both sovereigns: to the King of France for the Comté of Meulent, and to thee King of England for his large estates, both in that country and Normandy. He decided in fayour of the latter, received into his castle the forces of the Red King, and so opened for him an entrance into France. The war ended without advantage to either side, and was followed by another between Rufus and Hélie de la FlÈche, Comte du Maine. After vainlyly attempting to reduce the Castle of Dangueul, the King withdrew from the siege, leaving the Count of Menlent to carry on the operations. On the 28th April, 1098, Hélie was drawn into an ambush by Count Robert, and,, after a desperate defence, made prisoner, and conducted by him to the King, who was at Rouen, and who consigned his captive immediately to a dungeon in the great tower of that city.

The incidents and results of this campaign are not sufficiently connected with the personal history of Robert de Meulent to require notice here. He was one of the royal hunting party in the New Forest on the 2nd of August, 1100, when William Rufus received his mysterious death-wound, and hastened on the instant with Prince Henry to Winchester, in order to secure the royal treasure, as well as the succession to the throne of England.

Under the reign of the new King he retained the favour and influence he had enjoyed during those of the two Williams, and commanded the English army, which achieved the conquest of Normandy by Henry I in 1106, who acknowledged himself indebted for it to the advice and valour of the Earl of Leicester, to which dignity Robert de Meulent had been advanced by him at some period not distinctly ascertained, but most probably in the first year of his reign.

Orderic Vital gives the following account of the mode by which he obtained the earldom: -- "The town of Leicester had four masters -- the King, the Bishop of Lincoln, Earl Simon" (Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Huntingdon), "and Ivo, the son of Hugh" (de Grentmesnil). The latter had been heavily fined for turbulent conduct, and was in disgrace at Court. He was also galled by being nicknamed "the Rope-dancer," having been one of those who had been let down by ropes from the walls of Antioch. He therefore had resolved to rejoin the Crusade, and made an agreement with the Count of Meulent to the following effect: -- The Count was to procure his reconciliation with the King, and to advance him five hundred silver marks for the expenses of his expedition, having the whole of Ivo's domains pledged to him as a security for fifteen years. In consideration of this, the Count was to give the daughter of his brother Henry, Earl of Warwick, in marriage to Ivo's son, who was yet in his infancy, and to restore him his father's inheritance. This contract was confirmed by oath, and ratified by the King, but Ivo died on his road to the Holy Land, and Robert de Meulent, by royal favour and his own address, contrived to get the whole of Leicester into his own hands, and being in consequence created an English earl, his wealth and power surpassed those of any other peer of the realm, and he was exalted above nearly all his family." (Book xi, c. 2)

This great warrior and able man is said to have died of sorrow and mortification, caused by the infidelity of his second wife Elizabeth, otherwise Isabella, daughter of Hugh the Great, Comte de Vermandois and of Chaumont in the Vexin. He had married -- the date at present unknown -- Godechilde de Conches, daughter of Roger de Toeni, Seigneur de Conches, but had separated from her before 1096, as in that year she, who could not then have been seventeen, became the wife of Baldwin, son of Eustace de Boulogne, who was King of Jerusalem after the decease of his brother Godfrey. Robert de Meulent, then being between fifty and sixty, and without issue, sought the hand of Elizabeth de Vermandois, who was in the bloom of youth, and was accepted by the lady; but Ivo, Bishop of Châtres, forbade the magiage on the ground of consanguinity; the Count off Vemandois and the Count of Meulent being both great-grandsons of Gautier II, surnamed "Le Blanc," Count of the Vexin. A dispensation was obtained, however, from the Pope, on condition that Count Hugh should take the Cross, and the marriage was celebrated on the eve of his departure for the Holy Land, the same year in which Robert's first wife married Baldwin de Boulogne.

The issue of Robert de Meulent by his second wife was a daughter named Emma, born, according to Orderic, in 1102; two sons (twins), baptised Waleran and Robert, born in 1104; a third son, known as Hugh the Poor, afterwards Earl of Bedford, and three other daughters, Adeline, Amicia, and Albreda, all of whom must have been born after 1104, when their father, then Earl of Leicester, was well stricken in years. Orderic, indeed, says he had five daughters, the fifth being named Isabel, after her mother.

All these children being born in wedlock, were of course in the eyes of the law legitimate, but William de Warren, Earl of Warren and Surrey, second of that name, son of the mysterious Gundred, had supplanted the Earl of Leicester for some years in the affections of his wife, and her ultimate desertion of him for his young rival affected his mind, and hurried hhn to the grave, June 5, 1118.

Henry of Huntingdon, in his "Letter to Walter," gives the following account of his last moments: -- "I will mention the Earl of Meulent, the most sagacious in political affairs of all who lived between this and Jerusalem. His mind was enlightened, his eloquence persuasive, his shrewdness acute; he was provident and wily; his prudence never failed; his counsels were profound; his wisdom great. He had extensive and noble possessions, which are commonly called honours, together witIx towns and castles, villages and farms, woods and waters, which he acquired by the exercise of the talents I have mentioned. His domains lay not only in England but in Normandy and France, so that he was able at his will to promote concord between the sovereigns of those countries, or to set them at variance and provoke them to war. If he took umbrage against any man, his enemy was humbled and crushed, while those he favoured were exalted to honour. Hence his coffers were filled with a prodigious influx of wealth in gold and silver, besides precious gems and costly furniture and apparel. But when he was in the zenith of his power it happened that a certain earl carried off the lady he had espoused, either by some intrigue or by force and stratagem. Thenceforth his mind was disturbed and clouded with grief, nor did he to the time of his death regain composure and happiness. "After days abandoned to sorrow, when he was labouring under an infirmity which was the precursor of death, and the Archbishop (of Rouen) and priests were performing their office for the confessional purification, they required of him that as a penitent he should restore the lands which by force or fraud he had wrung from others, and wash out his sins with tears of repentance, to which he replied, 'Wretched man that I am! If I dismember the domains I have acquired, what shall I have to leave to my sons?'

"Upon this the ministers of the Lord answered, 'Your hereditary estates and the lands which you have justly obtained are enough for your sons; restore the rest, or else you devote your soul to perdition.'

"The Earl replied, 'My sons shall have all. I leave it to them to act mercifully, that I may obtain mercy.'"

"Assuming the monastic habit, he then breathed his last, and was buried near his father at Préaux, his heart being sent to the monastery off Brackley in Northamptonshire, which he had founded, and there preserved in salt.

William of Malmesbury says of him, that his advice was regarded as though the oracle of God had been consulted; that he was the persuader of peace, the dissuader of strife, and capable of speedily bringing about whatever he desired by the power of his eloquence; that he possessed such mighty influence in England as to change by his single example the long established modes of dress and diet. Limiting himself on the score of his health to one meal a day, in imitation of Alexius, Emperor of Constantinople, the custom was adopted generally by the nobility. In law, he was the supporter of justice; in war, the insurer of victory; urging his lord the King to enforce the statutes vigorously, he himself not only respecting those existing, but proposing new. Ever loyal to his sovereign, he was the stern avenger of treason in others.

It is a relief to read such a character of a man in these darkest days of feudalism, imperfect civilization, and demoralizing superstition.

A word or two respecting his children.

The twins, Waleran and Robert, were carefully brought up by King Henry I from the time of their father's death, "for the King loved him much, because in the beginning of his reign he had greatly aided and encouraged him." On their arriving at the proper age they received knighthood at his hands, and Waleran was put in possession of all his father's domains in France and Normandy, his brother Robert receiving the earldom of Leicester and the lands and honours in England. Three of their sisters were given in marriage by Waleran: -- Adeline to Hugh, 4th Sire de Montfort-sur-Risle, Amicia to Hugh de Château-neuf in Thimerais; andd Albreda (or Aubrey) to William Louvel or Lupel, son of Ascelin Goel, Lord of Ivri. ( Vide vol. ii, p. 223)

Isabel became, according to the chronique scandaleuse of that day, one of the many mistresses of Henry I, and subsequently married Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke. What became of Emma, the eldest born, we know not. According to Orderic she was betrothed, when only a year old, to Aumari, nephew of William, Count of Evreux, but from some impediment which occurred the marriage never took place. She probably died in infancy, or entered a convent. The author of "L'Art de Vérifier less Dates," besides Hugh, Earl of Bedford, already mentioned, gives Robert, a fourth son, whom he calls Dreux, Sire de Boisemont.

Robert married Isabel (Elizabeth ) de Vermandois in 1096. Isabel (daughter of Hugh "The Great" Capet, Duke of France and Burgundy and Adelaide de Vermandois) was born on 13 Feb 1081 in Vermandois, Normandy, Bretagne, France; died on 13 Feb 1131 in Sens, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France; was buried in St. Nicaise, Meulan, France-Sens, Saone-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The sources conflict on who was Gisele's father. Some show Otto William of Burgundy, grandson of Gerbega; another shows William I of Burgundy. I have picked the Stammtafeln version.

Gisela married Count of Maurienne and Savoy, Marquis of Turin Humbert II de Maurienne in 1090 in Savoy, France. Humbert (son of Count of Savoy Amadeus (Amadeo) de Maurienne, II and Joan de Geneva) was born about 1062 in of Savoie, France; died on 17 Oct 1103; was buried on 19 Oct 1103. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]