King of Mercia Ceolwulf

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

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

Family/Spouse: Ealdorman of The Gainas AEthelred Mucil. AEthelred (son of Mucil) died in 866. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Smyth says died 902.
Became a nun at widowhood. Reputed as a saint after death.

Ealhswith married King of The West Saxons Alfred "The Great" in 868 in Winchester, England. Alfred (son of King of England Æthelwulf and Osburga (Osburh)) was born on 23 Apr 849 in Wantage, Berkshire, England; died on 26 Oct 899 in Winchester, Hampshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Reigned 899-924. He defeated the Danes (918), taking East Anglia, and
also conquered Mercia (918) and Northumbria (920).

He was called "Edward the Elder"; he ruled Wessex from 899 to 925.He fought the invading Danes along with his sister Aethelflaed. In 909 he defeated them at the battle of Tettenhall. According to the book, A Short History of England, by McElwee, p. 35, he had three wives and fourteen children.

Edward married of Kent Ælflaeda about 896 in Wessex, England. Ælflaeda (daughter of Ealdorman of Wiltshire Æthelhelm and of Risborough Æthelgyth) was born about 878 in Wiltshire, England; died in 920 in England; was buried in Winchester Cathedral, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edward married Edgiva in 919 in Wessex, England. Edgiva was born about 900 in Kent, England; died on 25 Aug 968 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edward married Ecgwyn about 894 in England. Ecgwyn was born about 880 in of Mercia, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

This princess, whose masculine virtues and martial exploits are celebrated in the highest strains of panegyric by our ancient historians, administered the Government of Mercia, after the death of her brother Edward in his operation against the common enemy, the Dane.

Family/Spouse: Ealdorman of Mercia II Æthelred. II was born about 865; died in 911. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Burke calls her Ethelwida, other Elfrida.

Ælfthryth married Baldwin, Count of Flanders II in 884 in Flanders, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Baldwin (son of Baldwin I "Iron Arm", Count of Flanders and Judith) was born about 865 in Flanders, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died on 10 Sep 918 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, France; was buried in Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eadhild married Hugh "The Great" Capet about 926. Hugh (son of Robert, King of West Francia I and Beatrice de Vermandois) was born in 898 in Paris, City of Paris, Île-de-France, France; died on 16 Jun 956 in l'Aube, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Reigned 940-946

Murdered; an outlaw, Leolf, stabbed him to death at a banquet to St. Augustine. He expelled the Norse King Olaf from Northumbria in 944. He supported Dunstan in the reintroduction of the Monastic rule of St. Benedict.

Family/Spouse: Alfgifu (Elgiva). Alfgifu was born about 922 in Wessex, Devonshire, England; died in 945 in Shaftebury Abbey, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Elgiva married Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitou Ebles "The Bastard" about 918 in Poitiers, France. Ebles (son of Count of Poitiers II Ranulph and Princess of France Adelaide (Irmgard)) was born in 890 in of Poitiers, France; died in 934. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

2nd wife.

Eadgifu married Herbert III de Vermandois in 951 in Vermandois, Aisne, Picardie, France. Herbert (son of Herbert de Vermandois, Count of Vermandois Count of Meaux and Count of Soissons II and Adele Capet) was born about 910 in Vermandois, Aisne, Picardie, France; died on 28 Dec 993 in Lagny-Sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; was buried in Lagny Abbey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eadgifu married King of the Franks Charles III "The Simple" about 918 in England. Charles (son of Louis II "The Stammerer", King of France and Adelaide) was born on 17 Sep 879 in France; died on 7 Oct 929 in Peronne, Somme, France; was buried in St Fursi, Peronne, Somme, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eadgifu married Duke Manzer Ebles "Le Batard" d'Aquitaine about 911 in Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France. Manzer was born about 880 in Poitou, Aquitaine, France; died after 14 Oct 962. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eadgifu married Count of Vermandois Henry about 925. Henry was born about 898 in of Vermandois, East Picardy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Randall-Friday has death in England.

Randall-Friday has burial in England.

In Search of the Dark Ages, by Michael Wood, p. 136.

Eadgyth married Holy Roman Emperor Otto I "The Great", Duke of Saxony King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor in 929 in Wessex, England. Otto (son of Heinrich I "The Fowler", King of Germany and Countess of Ringleheim Matilda von Ringelheim) was born on 23 Nov 912 in of Saxony, Germany; died on 7 May 973 in Memleben, Saxony, Germany; was buried in Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He drowned while attempting to escape to exile in France. He may have been crowned King during the lifetime of his father, but this is unsure.

Notes:

RoyalGen. Acceded, 939. Reigned, 940-946. Murdered. An outlaw, Leofl, stabbed him to death at a banquet to St. Augustine. He expelled the Norse King Olaf from Northumbria in 944. He supported Dunstan in the reintroduction of the Monastic rule of St. Benedict.
Also known as Edmund I the Magnificent.

Notes:

RoyalGen. Nun at Nunnaminster.

Family/Spouse: Edulph. Edulph was born in 921 in Mercia, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She was dispossed of her territories, and sent an honorable captive into
Wessex, by her Uncle Edward. She married a West Saxon Nobleman.

Notes:

Waged war against William of Normandy, whom he defeated and slew.

Arnulf married Alix de Vermandois in 934 in East Flanders, Belgium. Alix (daughter of Herbert de Vermandois, Count of Vermandois Count of Meaux and Count of Soissons II and Adele Capet) was born about 910 in Vermondois, Neustria, France; died on 10 Oct 960 in Bruges, Aquitaine, France; was buried . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Mathilde de Crequy. Mathilde (daughter of Baldwin, Count of Flanders II and Ælfthryth) was born in 891 in Artois, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died in 920 in Artois, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Adelolf de Boulogne. Adelolf (son of Baldwin, Count of Flanders II and Ælfthryth) was born about 892 in Boulogne, Pas-De-Calais, Nord-Pas-De-Calais, France; died on 13 Nov 933 in Thérouanne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; was buried in Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Adelulf De Boulogne De Therouanne, I. Adelulf was born about 893 in Boulogne, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died on 1 Nov 933 in Thérouanne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edgar married Ælfthryth in 964 in Wessex, England. Ælfthryth (daughter of Earl of Devon Ordgar) was born about 945 in Lydford Castle, Devonshire, England; died on 17 Nov 1000 in Wherwell, Hampshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon11.html
Eadwig (Edwy) (955-59 AD) On the death of Eadred, who had no children, Eadwig was chosen to be king since he was the oldest of the children in the natural line of the House of Wessex. He became king at 16 and displayed some of the tendencies one could expect in one so young, royalty or not. Historians have not treated Eadwig especially well, and it is unfortunate for him that he ran afoul of the influential Bishop Dunstan (friend and advisor to the recently deceased king, Eadred, future Archbishop of Canterbury and future saint), early in his reign. An incident, which occurred on the day of Eadwig's consecration as king, purportedly, illustrates the character of the young king. According to the report of the reliable William of Malmesbury, all the dignitaries and officials of the kingdom were meeting to discuss state business, when the absence of the new king was noticed. Dunstan was dispatched, along with another bishop, to find the missing youth. He was found with his mind on matters other than those of state, in the company of the daughter of a noble woman of the kingdom. Malmesbury writes, Dunstan, "regardless of the royal indignation, dragged the lascivious boy from the chamber and...compelling him to repudiate the strumpet made him his enemy forever." The record of this incident was picked up by future monastic chroniclers and made to be the definitive word on the character of Eadwig, mainly because of St. Dunstan's role in it. Dunstan was, after that incident, never exactly a favorite of Eadwig's, and it may be fair to say that Eadwig even hated Dunstan, for he apparently exiled him soon after this. Eadwigwent on to marry AElgifu, the girl with whom he was keeping company at the time of Dunstan's intrusion. For her part, "the strumpet" was eventually referred to as among "the most illustrious of women", and Eadwig, in his short reign, was generous in making grants to the church and other religious institutions. He died, possibly of the Wessex family ailment, when he was only 20.

Family/Spouse: Queen of Wessex Ælfgifu (Elgiva) (Elfgiva). Ælfgifu (daughter of Æthelfrith and Ælfgifu) was born about 920; died in Sep 959 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Note -between 936 and 954 in France: King:936-954. When Louis IV's father [Charles "Le Simple"] was captured [by Herbert de Vermandois in 923] , his mother Eadgifu took him to England for refuge. Louis IV came to the throne thanks to the support of Hughes, Count of Paris who had Louis IV recalled to France to succeed King Raoul (reign: 923-936). On 19 June 936, the new King, arrived in Boulogne, from England [hence the nickname "from overseas"] . He is annointed in Laon by the Archbishop of Reims, Artaud. Hughes "Le Grand" fancies himself the mentor of the King, but the King is rather independent of mind. Louis struggled against Hughes "Le Grand", Count of Paris, through most of his reign. In 936, the new German King, Otton I (who had just succeeded Henri I) tries to arbitrate their quarrels. In 938, King Louis "d'Outremer" makes an enemy out of Otton by marching into Lorraine. In 940, Otton I invades France and marches on Paris, with the help of his allies, Hughes "Le Grand" and Hughes de Vermandois. The Kingdom is split in two. While fighting the Normans in an attempt to recapture Normandy, Louis IV was made prisoner in 945 in Rouen. His liberty following that capture was short-lived as Louis IV fell into the hands of Hughes "Le Grand", now Duke de France, who kept him prisoner for one year until 946. An alliance with the German King Otto I allowed Louis IV to defeat Hughes (having had Hugues de Vermandois excommunicated in 948 at the Council of Ingelheim; The Church Council met again in September that year and excommunicated Hughes "Le Grand"), who made peace in 950 with Louis because he needed the support of the Church. Louis IV married Gerberge, Sister of the Emperor of the Occident Othon=Otto the Great, who bore him a son named Lothaire who eventually replaced Louis IV on the throne. Louis was fatally injured in a fall form his horse.

Louis married Gerberga of Saxony in 939 in Laon, Aisne, Picardie, France. Gerberga (daughter of Heinrich I "The Fowler", King of Germany and Countess of Ringleheim Matilda von Ringelheim) was born on 5 Apr 913 in Nordhausen, Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany; died on 5 May 969 in Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; was buried in Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Notes:

Internet Search, 7 Nov 1995: Archives of Great Britain, Hull University, U.K. He became Bishop in 949.

Liudolf married Duchess of Swabia Ida about 948 in Schwaben, Germany. Ida (daughter of Duke of Swabia I Hermann and Reginlinde) was born about 934 in Schwaben, Germany; died in 985 in Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Luitgarde married Duke of Lorraine Konrad "The Wise", II about 946 in Germany. Konrad (son of Count of Worms Werner) was born about 920 in Worms, Germany; died in 955 in Battle, of Lechfeld. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Alwara. Alwara (daughter of Athelstan Mannesson) was born in 955 in Mercia, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lietgarde married Wickmann de Gand about 955 in Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium. Wickmann was born about 920 in Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Baldwin married Mathilde von Billung Sachsen before 960 in Flanders, Belgium. Mathilde (daughter of Duke of Saxony Hermann "Conrad I" Billung and of Westerbourg Hildegardis) was born about 936 in Luneburg, Saxony, Germany; died on 25 May 1008. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Mathilde de Boulogne
• Name: Maud de Flanders

Maud married Malahuc Eysteinsson about 875 in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. Malahuc (son of Eyestein "The Noisy" Ivarsson, Earl of More and Ascrida Rognvaldsdottir) was born in 845 in Mære, Steinkjer, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway; died about 900 in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Æthelred married of Normandy Emma on 5 Apr 1002 in Winchester Cathedral, England. Emma (daughter of Richard I "The Fearless", Duke of Normandy and Gunnora de Crepon) was born about 982 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 6 Mar 1052 in Winchester, Hampshire, England; was buried on 14 Mar 1051/52 in Winchester, Hampshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Æthelred married Ælgifu Gunnarson in 985. Ælgifu (daughter of Thored Gunnarson) was born in 968 in Wessex, England; died in Feb 1002 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mathilde married King of Burgundy I Conrad on 10 Aug 966/967. I (son of King of Burgundy II Rudolph and Bertha von Swabia) was born about 925 in of Arles, Bouches-du-Rhone, France; died on 19 Oct 993. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charles married Bonne Adelaide about 980 in Lorraine, France. Bonne (daughter of Count Verdun Godfrey D'Ardenne Bidgau and Mathilde von Billung Sachsen) was born about 965 in Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charles married Agnes de Vermandois about 985 in France. Agnes was born about 960 in Vermandois, Normandy, France; died in 991 in Orléans, Loiret, Centre, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

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

Otto married of Verdun Judith about 969 in Carinthia, Germany. Judith (daughter of Count of Verdun Henri) was born about 950 in Verdun, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

III married Godiva before 1030. Godiva (daughter of Sheriff of Lincoln Thorold) was born in 980 in Mercia, England; died on 10 Sep 1067; was buried in of Coventry, Warwickshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

3123-p17(i4):;

Theodric married Hildegarde de Holland about 983 in Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium. Hildegarde (daughter of I Diedrich de Holland and Gerberge Vermandois) was born about 961 in Zuid Holland, Netherlands. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Arnulf married of Italy Rosele of Italy in 968. Rosele (daughter of King of Italy, Marquis of Ivrea II Berenger and of Tuscany Willa) was born in 955 in Ivrea, Torino, Piemonte, Italy; died on 26 Jan 1003 in Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium; was buried in Ghent, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Richard de St. Sauveur

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

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

Notes:

Known as "the Confessor", he was born around c. 1003/4 (by 1005) at Islip, Oxon. When he succeeded his half-brother King Hartacanute, on the 8th of June, 1042, the crown of England reverted from the usurping Dainsh dynasty to the line of Cerdic once
more, and for the last tiem. Edward was crowned on the 3rd of April, 1043, at Winchester Cathedral.

He died on the 4th or 5th of January, 1066, at the Palace of Westminster, and was buried in the new Westminster Abbey, built by his command and only recently consecrated.

He was succeeded by Harold, Earl of Wessex, his brother-in-law, to whom he left his throne, with the suport of the Witan, there being no adult claimant to the crown of the line of Cerdic.

Edward and Edith's marriage was purely platonic, the King being unwilling, for religious reasons, to comsummate it, hense there were no children.

His talent lay in the building of churches.

On the 7th of February, 1161, edward the Confessor was canonised, thus becoming the only king of England to be made a saint.

Edward married of Wessex Edith on 23 Jan 1045. Edith (daughter of Godwin and Gytha Thorgilsdottir) was born about 1020; died on 18 Dec 1075 in Palace of Westminster, London, England; was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Goda married Count of Mantes and the Vexin Walter "Dreux" de Vexin about 1023. Walter (son of Count of Vexin Walter (Gautier) II "The White" de Valois and Adele de Senlis) was born in 979 in Normandy, France; died on 1 Jul 1035 in Bithynia, Turkey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Goda married Count of Boulogne II Eustace about 1050. II (son of I Eustace and Mahaut) was born about 1015 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died in 1087. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The death of Edmund Ironside so soon after his peace treaty with Canute has always been suspicious. Although the offcial story was that he died of natural cuases, at least one chronicler claimed that he was murdered. The assassin apparently hid under the king's privy and, when the king came to relieve himself, he was stabbed twice up through the bowels. He is the only king believed to have been murdered on the toilet, though George II also died (of a heart attack) while going to the lavatory.

Edmund married Ealdgyth in Aug 1015 in England. Ealdgyth was born about 995 in Wessex, England; died in 1016 in London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Earldorman of Northumbria Ughtred "The Bold". Ughtred was born about 971 in Northumberland, England; died in 1016. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ælgifu married Earl of Mercia III Ælfgar in 1062. III (son of Earl of Mercia III Leofric and Godiva) was born before 1002 in Mercia, England; was buried in 1059 in Coventry, Warwick, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bertha married Count of Blois, Chartres, Tours, Chateaudun, Beauvaix, Meaux and Provins Odo (Eudes), I about 987 in Burgundy, France. Odo (son of Count of Champagne I Theobald and Luitgarda de Vermandois) was born in 950 in Mormontier, France; died on 12 Mar 995/96 in Mormontier, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bertha married Count of Vienne I Aimon about 997 in Flanders, France. I (son of of Geneva Gerald) was born about 972 in of Geneva, Switzerland; died in 1016. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Duke of Bavaria Henry II "The Wrangler". Henry (son of Henrich I "The Quarrelsome" von Bayern Duke of Bavaria and Judith von Bavaria) was born in 951; died on 28 Aug 995. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gerberga married Hermann II Duke Swabia about 989 in Schwaben, Bayern. Hermann (son of Count in the Rheingau Konrad and Duchess of Swabia Judith) was born about 947 in Schwaben, Kelheim, Bayern, Germany; died on 4 May 1003. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gerberge married Count of Louvain Lambert II "The Bearded" about 994. Lambert (son of Count of Hainault III Rainer and Countess of Equisheim Adele (Alice)) was born in 954 in Louvain, Brabrant, Belgium; died in 1015. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ermengarde married Count of Namur I Albert about 990 in Lorraine, France. I (son of Count of Lomme I Robert and Ermengarde Lotharingia) was born about 968 in Namur, Belgium; died in 1011. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Alix de Clare. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Henry married of Alsace Adelaide about 987 in Burgundy, France. Adelaide (daughter of Count of Alsace Gerard and of Luxembourg Eva) was born about 970 in Alsace, France; died on 19 May 1040/1046. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

III married Ælgifu in 1062. Ælgifu (daughter of King of England Æthelred II "The Unready" and Ælgifu Gunnarson) was born on 16 Apr 990 in Wessex, England; died in 1098 in Alkborough, Lincolnshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Alversa Malet. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

3123-p17(j4-k5):

Arnulf married Lietgarde De Cleves about 1003 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Lietgarde (daughter of Rutger De Cleves and Athela von Hamalant) was born about 987 in Cleves, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; died on 14 May 1005 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Baldwin married of Luxemburg Otgive de Luxembourg about 1012. Otgive (daughter of Count of Luxembourg I Frederic and of Gleiberg Ermentrude) was born on 4 Sep 1000 in Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died on 21 Nov 1030 in Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Baldwin married Eleanora de Normandy in 1031. Eleanora was born about 1012; died after 1071 in Flanders, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Balso married Poppa de Valois in 970 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. Poppa (daughter of Count of Bayeux Gui Berenger de Senlis and Gunhilde de Vermandois) was born in 934 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [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]

Notes:

http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal01545

Some say he married Agatha daughter of Stephen, and some say Agatha was the daughter of Henry II of Germany. Stephen is accepted as being incorrect, and other more complex relationships have been postulated. One has been shown here which is attributed to David Bolesbolesd@goya.its.rpi.edu

Also called Edward the Exile. See also articles by Rene Jette NEHGR 150, 96 and Szabolcs de Vajay in Duquesne Review 7.

Edward married Agatha Wladimirowwitsch in 1035 in Hungary. Agatha (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 about 1025; died after 1070 in Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Æthelreda married Gospatric de Dunbar, Earl of Northumberland I in 1062 in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. Gospatric (son of Earl of Dunbar, King of Cumbria Maldred de Molle, Earl of Dunbar and Ældgyth) was born in 1042 in Northumberland, England; died on 15 Dec 1074 in Ubbanford, Northumberland, England; was buried in Northumberland, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Maldred FitzMaldred. Maldred was born in 1044 in Carlisle, Scotland; died in 1084 in Winlaton, Durham, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ældgyth married Earl of Dunbar, King of Cumbria Maldred de Molle, Earl of Dunbar in 1036 in Northumberland, England. Maldred (son of Abbot of Dunkeld and Thane of the Isles and Atholl Crinan "The Thane" de Mormaer, Abbot of Dunkeld and Bethoc Alpin) was born in 1003 in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland; died in 1045. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Earl of Anjou, 1st Baron of Kendal, Earl of Holland in Lincolnshire Ivo (Ives) de Taillebois. Ivo (son of Bertrade de Montfort) was born about 1036 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; died in 1094 in Kendal, Westmorland, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Earl of Anjou, 1st Baron of Kendal, Earl of Holland in Lincolnshire Ivo (Ives) de Taillebois. Ivo (son of Bertrade de Montfort) was born about 1036 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; died in 1094 in Kendal, Westmorland, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Lord Spalding Roger de Romara. Roger (son of Gerald de Romara and Aubreye) was born about 1037; died before 1110. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ealdgyth married King of Gwynedd and Powys Gruffydd ap Llewelyn about 1058. Gruffydd (son of Llywelyn ap Seisyllt and Angharad verch Maredydd) was born about 1011 in Rhuddlan, Flintshire, Wales; died on 5 Aug 1063. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ealdgyth married King of England Harold II Godwineson about 1052 in York, England. Harold (son of Godwin and Gytha Thorgilsdottir) was born in 1022; died on 14 Oct 1066 in Battle of Hastings, Sussex, England; was buried in Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Odo married Ermengarde d'Auvergne about 1010. Ermengarde (daughter of Robert I d'Auvergne and of Arles Ermengarde) was born about 990; died on 10 Mar 1040. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gerold married Gisela about 1039 in Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. Gisela was born about 1020 in of Switzerland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gerold married Thietburge Faucigny about 1049 in Savoy, France. Thietburge was born about 1023 in of Geneva, Switzerland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gisele married Bruno von Braunschweig in 1015 in Swabia, Germany. Bruno was born in 960 in of Derlingo, West Friesland; died in 1012/1014. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gisele married Duke of Swabia and Margrave of Austria Ernst about 1003/04 in of Schwaben, Bavaria. Ernst was born about 975 in Niederosterreich, Austria; died on 31 May 1015. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gisele married Holy Roman Emperor Konrad (Conrad) II "The Salic" on 21 Nov 1017 in Utrecht, Netherlands. Konrad (son of Count of Spires Henry and of Alsace Adelaide) was born about 988 in Germany; died on 4 Jun 1039 in Utrecht. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lambert married Oda de Lorraine about 1020 in Lorraine, France. Oda (daughter of Duke of Lorraine Gonselon I "Le Grand" d'Ardenne and Princess of Italy Urracca) was born about 1000 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: I Eustace. I was born about 1004 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died in 1047 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

II married Regilinde de Lorraine about 1015 in Namur, France. Regilinde (daughter of Duke of Lorraine Gonselon I "Le Grand" d'Ardenne and Ermengarde) was born about 998 in Lorraine, France; died on 15 Nov 1064. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Hedwig married Count of Alsace-Lorraine Gerard, Count of Metz and Chatenois Duke of Lorraine I about 1043 in Alsace, France. Gerard (son of Count of Metz II Gerhard and Countess of Alsace Gisela, son of Gerard II von Metz and Gisele Egisheim, Countess Alsace) was born in 1010 in Vosges, Lorraine, France; died on 4 Apr 1070 in Remiremont, Vosges, Lorraine, France; was buried in Remiremont, Vosges, Lorraine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Hildegarde married Frederick von Büren about 1045 in Germany. Frederick (son of Pfalzgraf of Swabia Frederick von Büren and Adelheid von Filsgau) was born about 1020 in Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Konrad married Duchess of Swabia Gisele on 21 Nov 1017 in Utrecht, Netherlands. Gisele (daughter of Hermann II Duke Swabia and Duchess of Burgundy Gerberga) was born on 11 Nov 989 in of Schwaben, Bavaria; died on 14 Feb 1043; was buried on 16 Feb 1043. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Esilia Crispin about 1041 in Normandy, France. Esilia (daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Count of Brionne and Gunnora d'Anjou) was born on 1 Nov 1020 in Tillières, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; died in 1087 in Eye, Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ludolf Brunswick. Ludolf was born in 1006 in Brunswick, Germany; died in 1038. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Adalbert married of Flanders Ermengade in 1021 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Ermengade (daughter of Baldwin IV "Fair Beard", Count of Flanders and of Luxemburg Otgive de Luxembourg) was born in 1005 in Flanders, Belgium; died in 1071 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Entered into hostilities with Emperor Otho II and acquired from that
monarch Valenciennes and the Isles of Zealand. He subsequently further increased his territories by another rich accession, that of the citadel of Ghent.

Baldwin married Adèle Capet, Princess of France in 1028 in Amiens, Somme, Picardie, 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]

Ermengade married Adalbert de Gand in 1021 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Adalbert (son of I Arnulf de Gand and Lietgarde De Cleves) was born about 1004 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium; died in 1032 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ancitel married Poppa de Senlis in 1016 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. Poppa (daughter of Berengal de Senlis) was born in 1000 in Senlis, Oise, Picardie, France; died in 1026 in Longueville, Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Raoul I de Toeni. Raoul (son of Ralph I de Toeni) was born in 975 in Toeni, Eure, France; died about 1018. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Roger married Adele Esproita de Bretagne in 964 in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France. Adele was born about 920 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died in 1057 in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [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]

Notes:

BIOGRAPHY: http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal01512

Canonized 1250 and her feast day is 16th November. In 1057 she arrived at the English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exile after William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotland where she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she bore six sons and two daughters. Her unlearned and boorish husband grew daily more graceful and Christian under the queen's graceful influence. Her remains were removed to Escorial Spain and her head Douai, France.

http://www.talweb.com/redlimey/gene/saxonkings.htm#MARGARET
Queen Margaret, "a saintly and determined young woman," began to strip the old Scottish traditions and ways from society. She brought with her the modern culture of England and the current religious beliefs of the Catholic church. Amoung other things, she imposed all the English religious practices upon the Scottish clergy. She was successful in nearly completely erradicating what little was left of the ancient Celtic and Druidic practices. She also saw to the rebuilding of the Monastery of Iona.

St. Margaret died 16 Nov 1093, three days after her husband was killed in an ambush. Her last words are said to have been a prayer of thanks to God for the pain and sadness which purified her in her last days. Her burial is believed to be at the Monastery of Iona. Although I have found no exact mention of this, I have found referance that all kings (and presumably their queens) were buried here up until it was taken by King Magnus Barelegs of Norway in 1098.

For all her actions and benefactions, she was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1251 and became Saint Margaret.

Margaret married King of Scots Malcolm III "Canmore" mac Dhonnchaidh in 1068 in Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland. Malcolm (son of King of Scots Duncan I Atholl and Sibyl FitzSiward) was born about 1031 in Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland; died on 13 Nov 1093; was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Dumferline, Fifeshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Eldgitha married Eldred de Taillebois in 1072 in Mercia, England. Eldred (son of Earl of Anjou, 1st Baron of Kendal, Earl of Holland in Lincolnshire Ivo (Ives) de Taillebois and Ælaed) was born in 1056 in Workington, Cumberland, England; died in Kendal, Westmorland, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Baron Kendal Eldred. Eldred was born in 1056 in Mercia, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Sybil Morel. Sybil (daughter of Arkil Morel) was born in 1074 in Bearley, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: William de Londres, 1st Lord Kidwelly. William (son of Thomas (Simon) de Londres and Sibylla de Mille) was born in 1035 in Paisley Abbey, Renfrewshire, Scotland; died in 1131 in Ogmore Castle, Glamorgan, Wales; was buried in Ewenny, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 1040, Northumberland, England

Gospatric married Æthelreda in 1062 in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. Æthelreda (daughter of King of England Edmund II "Ironside" and Ealdgyth) was born in 1042 in Northumberland, England; died on 25 Sep 1086 in Orkney, Scotland; was buried in Northumberland, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eldred married of Northumberland Eldgitha in 1072 in Mercia, England. Eldgitha (daughter of Gospatric de Dunbar, Earl of Northumberland I and Æthelreda) was born in 1057 in Mercia, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Lucy of Bolingbroke
• Name: Lucy Thoroldsdottir

Lucy married Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester in 1098 in Normandy, France. Ranulf (son of Ranulf "Le Meschin" de Briquessart, Viscount of Bessin and Margaret d'Avranches) was born on 26 Jun 1070 in Livry, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 29 Jan 1128 in Chester, Cheshire, England; was buried in St Werburgh, Chester, Cheshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lucy married Roger FitzGerold about 1095 in of England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Hawyse de Redvers. Hawyse (daughter of Seigneur de Reviers Richard de Reviers and Adelise Peverel) was born about 1094. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Trahaearn ap Caradog. Trahaearn (son of Caradog ap Gwyn and verch Gwerystan) was born about 1030 in Arwystli, Montgomeryshire, Wales; died in 1081 in Carno, Arwystli, Montgomeryshire, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Vladimir Monomakh, Grand Duke of Kyiv II. Vladimir (son of Grand Duke of Kyiv Vsevolod I Yaroslavich and Irene Maria Monomachina) was born in 1053 in Kyiv, Ukraine; died on 19 May 1125 in Kyiv, Ukraine. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He was perhaps born in December, 1066 in Chester, although some authorities have stated that he was an illegitimate son of Harold by his mistress Edith Swanneshals. Ulf is said by some chroniclers to have drowned at sea before 1070, but he is recorded as being alive in 1087 in Normandy.

Notes:

He grew up in exile.

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]

Joan married Count of Savoy Amadeus (Amadeo) de Maurienne, II about 1061 in Savoy, France. Amadeus (son of Count of Maurienne and Chablais Oddon and of Torino Adelaide) was born about 1046 in Marne, France; died on 26 Jan 1080. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

IV married of Torino Adelaide about 1021 in of Torino, Germany, Italy. Adelaide (daughter of Olderico Manfredo di Torino and of Este Bertha Ivrea) was born in 1020 in Turin, Italy; died on 19 Dec 1091 in Canischio, Canavese, Italy; was buried in Cathedral of San Giovanni, Turin, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Heinrich married Princess of Aquitaine Agnes on 21 Nov 1043 in France. Agnes (daughter of Count of Aquitaine William VII "The Great" and Comtesse de Bourgogne Agnes de Macon) was born about 1018 in Aquitaine, France; died on 14 Dec 1077. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

II married Countess of Beteau Adele (Alix) about 1060 in Brabant, Lorraine, France. Adele (daughter of Eberhard de Beteau) was born about 1033 in of Brabant, Louvaine, France; died after 1086. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

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

He was the son of Eustace I and Mahaut, daughter of Lambert the Bearded, Count of Louvain, and succeeded his father in or about 1047, being distinguished from him, who was called "l'oeil" (" with the eye") by the sobriquet of "aux Grenons," or "Als Gernons" ("with the whiskers"), the origin of the modern name of Algernon.

In 1050 he married Goda, daughter of Ethelred II, King of England, and widow of Gauthier, Count of Mantes, and in the following year, in the month of September, crossed the Channel from Wissant to Dover, on a visit to his brother-in-law, King Edward the Confessor, who was then at Gloucester. Returning via Canterbury and Dover, one of his attendants killed an inhabitant of the latter place, who had refused him a lodging, and was himself slain by a townsman, who avenged the deed.

The brawl soon swelled into a tumult. The English flew to arms, and attacked the Count and his followers, who fought for their lives, and, fearfully outnumbered, were at length compelled to flee for them. Roger of Wendover says this incident occurred on his first landing at Dover, and that the Count and his followers in their wrath slew a great number of men and women, and trod the children under their horses' feet. William of Malmesbury, who lays the scene at Canterbury, says that Eustace, on hearing of the murder of his servant, proceeded with all his retinue to avenge it, and killed the perpetrator of the crime and eighteen others; that the citizens, flying to arms, he lost twenty-one of his people, and had multitudes wounded (Roger of Wendover says he lost eighty men), himself and one companion with difficulty making their escape in the confusion. King Edward, on hearing from Eustace his account of the circumstances, sent for Earl Godwin, and ordered him to march with sufficient forces into Kent and punish the offenders. The Saxon Earl, jealous of the favour constantly shown to the Normans by King Edward, remonstrated, and subsequently taking up arms, demanded that the Count and Ins followers should be delivered up to him for trial, the affair resulting, after much altercation, in the banishment of Godwin and his family.

Much obloquy has been heaped upon Eustace for his conduct upon this occasion; but large allowance must be made for the bias of the English against the Normans, and save and except the main facts of the affray, the versions of it are too conflicting to enable us at the present day to come to any definite conclusion on the subject.

Returned to his dominions, Count Eustace, in 1053, gave an asylum to William Count of Talou and his family, who had been expelled from Normandy by Duke William, and in 1054 he succeeded his brother Lambert, the second husband of the Duke's sister, in the lordship of Lens, according to the same law which gave the county of Champagne to Thibaut, Count of Blois and Chartres, to the exclusion of Odo, the only child of Lambert being an infant in her cradle.

About the same period the Countess Goda died, whether without issue by Eustace is not satisfactorily settled, and in 1056, after escorting Pope Victor II to Rome from the Council of Cologne, he returned through Lower Lorraine, and paid a visit to its Duke, Geoffrey the Bearded, at Bouillon, where he saw and was captivated by the charms of the Duke's daughter, Ida, and received her hand in marriage, with the castle of Bouillon for her dowry. The nuptials were celebrated at Cambrai in December, 1057, and the second of their three sons was the famous "Godfrey of Bouillon," King of Jerusalem, born in 1060.

In 1066, Count Eustace was one of the French nobles who joined the army of the Conqueror, and of whose presence in the great conflict there can be no doubt. He is not only expressly named by William of Poitiers, and the author of the Latin poem of the battle of Hastings, but his conduct in the fight is particularly described, and he is also personally depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, the almost obliterated name of "Eustatius" over the figure having been detected by that accurate and excellent artist, the late Mr. Stothard.

Wace simply mentions a "Wiestace d'Abevile," in which Monsieur le Prévostt and Mr. Taylor hessssiitate to recognize the Count offf Boulogne,,, inn presence of the fact that both the Counts of Ponthieu and the Counts of Boulogne were occasionally called "of Abbeville." Without, however, contesting this point, there is evidence enough that Eustace II fought at Senlac, where at some period of the action he was grievously wounded. He is said to have advised William at a critical moment to retreat, and not rush upon certain death, counsel which the Conqueror was the last man to listen to. The stratagem of the feigned flight is also said to have been suggested by him, and on the Duke's second horse being killed under him, he dismounted and offered him his own. As darkness fell upon the fatal field, the headlong pursuit of the Normans led to a disaster which might have turned the scale in favour of the English. Unacquainted with the ground, a considerable body of the Norman cavalry, galloping down the north side of the hill of Senlac, suddenly found themselves floundering in a morass, and the flying foe, perceiving their hapless condition, turned upon them and slew the greater number.

The Norman panegyrist of the Conqueror tells us that Count Eustace, imagining that the English had been strongly reinforced, rode back with fifty knights to William, and again advised him to retreat, when at the moment he was speaking he was struck by some one between the shoulder-blades with such violence that the blood gushed from his mouth and nostrils, and he was borne from the field in a dying state. How and by whom such a blow -- a blow which Orderic says was heard -- could be struck at that moment upon that spot, even in the darkness, without the dealer of it being detected, I am at a loss to imagine. The enemy had been driven from that portion of the ground, and Eustace, with fifty knights at his back, was speaking confidentially to the Duke, who was certainly not without his own officers and attendants. They were both on horseback too, and so heavy a blow between the shoulder-blades could only have been dealt with a mace by a mounted man, or by one on foot with the long-handled axe of a Saxon soldier, and in neither case without observation, as the assailant must have been close to him, and could not have escaped instant death. Remember, it was on the summit of the hill, in the open air, with the sky for a background, and the darkness must have been Egyptian if the erect form of a man could escape the observation of so many surrounding friends and followers. If there be any truth in the story, the incident occurred at an earlier period, during the confusion of the fight, in the midst of the mélée, and not at the e e e e e e e e e time stated by ththe w writeter.r.

I have dwelt upon this point because it will be found of importance hereafter.

That Count Eustace was rewarded for his services, whatever they may have been, for they are not particularized, by large grants of land in England there can be little doubt, but he speedily forfeited them by his attempt, in 1067, to seize Dover Castle, at the instigation of the disaffected men of Kent, during William's absence in Normandy; and though many manors were probably restored to him on his subsequent reconciliation with the Conqueror, they cannot at present be distinguished from those which were added to them at a later period, or might have been acquired by his son, Eustace III, who is the tenant recorded in Domesday, and at the time of its compilation was about twenty-seven. The attempt on Dover failed, through the loyalty of the royal garrison and the personal hostility to Eustace entertained by the townsmen from the recollection of the fatal affray in 1051. A vigorous sally on the besiegers compelled them to retreat, and a report that Bishop Odo was advancing with a large force, created a panic that sent them flying in confusion back to their ships, which few of them reached in safety, many being slain, and more taken prisoners, amongst whom William of Poitiers mentions a young nephew of Eustace, of whose name or subsequent fate we have no information.

Eustace himself contrived to escape to his own country, but on the King's return to England in 1068, the Count of Boulogne was outlawed, and his honours and lands in this country forfeited. By what means he regained the favour and friendship of the Conqueror is unknown. William seems never to have thoroughly trusted him, as he took hostages for his good behaviour before the expedition to Hastings, and now, after this overt act of treason, the avowed object of which was to deprive him of his hardly won crown, forgiveness was out of the question, except from motives of that crafty policy which was throughout his life the sole guide of the Conqueror's conduct. What those motives were on this occasion must be left to conjecture, but Eustace was a dangerous neighbour, and owed fealty to Philip l King of France, as well as to William 1, King of England. It was at the instigation of the former over-lord that he had broken with the latter and allied himself with the Kentish insurgents, and William may have thought no price too dear to secure at least his neutrality in prospect of a war with France.

In 1071 he espoused the cause of Richilde and her son, Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and in the February of that year defeated their competitor, Robert the Frison, at Montcassel, and, pursuing him to St. Omer, took him prisoner. On regaining his liberty some few months afterwards, Robert in his turn defeated Eustace, and took him prisoner at the battle of Broqueroie.

Godfrey, the brother of Eustace, Chancellor of France and Bishop of Paris, ransomed him, and Robert, to obtain his alliance, ceded to him the Forest of Bethlo and the Castle of Sperli.

Various dates have been given of his death. One writer placing it in 1065, in which case he could not have fought at Senlac. The "Art de Vérifier les Dates," which denies this and also ttttthe date of 1080,,,,,, givenn by another author, prolongs las existence to 1093; but no authority is quoted, and the probability is in favour of 1080, as the late Sir Henry Ellis cites a charter in winch Ida, the second wife of this Eustace, is described as a widow in 1081. The point is of great importance, because if he did not die till 1093, he must have been the Count Eustace of Boulogne who was implicated in the rebellion against Rufus in 1088 (as stated by the compilers of the great work above mentioned), and also the Count Eustace of Domesday, which I think it is perfectly clear he was not.

The author of "Carmen de Bello," said to have been Guy, Bishop of Amiens, recounts with great gusto a barbarous outrage committed by Eustace and three other knights -- namely, Walter Giffard, Hugh de Montfort, and some one he calls "the heir of Ponthieu" [" Pontivi nobilis hæres"], on the still breathing but mortally-wounded Harold, who, pierced through the right eye by a falling arrow, had sunk in agony at the foot of his standard. One knight thrust his lance through the shield of the dying King, and stabbed him in the breast; another assailant finished the work by striking off his head with his sword: but even this vengeance was not enough; a third pierced the dead body and scattered about the entrails; the fourth coming, it would seem, too late for any more efficient share in the deed, cut off the king's leg as he lay dead!

Mr. Freeman, while reprobating in a proper spirit this "inglorious exploit," accepts it as a matter of fact, though it is not alluded to by any other contemporary, and is partially contradicted by their accounts of the death of Harold.

I place no faith in it whatever. William of Poitiers is silent altogether on the subject; Orderic simply says, "Harold was slain in the first onset." From Wace we receive the earliest account of the fall of the arrow, of Harold's attempting to extract it, and breaking the shaft; of his leaning for support, in his agony, on his shield, and being attacked by two knights, one of wbom struck him down by a blow on the head, and the other, as he attempted to regain his footing, severely wounded him in the thigh, which was cut to the bone; but he honestly adds that by whose arm he was slain he knew not, and never heard. The Bayeux Tapestry corroborates this account. Harold is first depicted with the fatal arrow in his eye, and then prostrate in front of a knight who, as he is attempting to rise (the action is unmistakable) is dealing him a blow on the thigh with his long Norman sword.

William of Malmesbury says that Harold fell from having his brain pierced with an arrow from a distance, and that one of the soldiers with a sword gashed his thigh as he lay prostrate, for which shameful and cowardly action he was branded with ignominy by William and dismissed the service.

Who was this nameless soldier? Certainly not one of the noble and distinguished warriors on whom the Latin libeller has flung his wretched calumnies. Who was the heir of Ponthieu he speaks of? Mr. Freeman says: "Nor are we amazed to find the son of Guy of Ponthieu foremost in showing despite to the man who had once been his father's prisoner." Why? -- what had Harold done to injure Guy of Ponthieu? He was the injured, not the offender! Guy I, Count of Ponthieu, who arrested Harold when thrown upon his coast in 1062, had succeeded his brother Enguerrand II, who was slain before Arques in 1053, and died circa 1100, leaving by his wife Ada, who died before him, an only child, Agnes, married to Robert de Belesme. He is said to have had a son named lvo, whom he had associated with himself in the government, but the boy as well as his inother preceded him to the grave, and the heir of Ponthieu in 1066 was, if not this young lvo -- in which case I give the Bishop joy of his great nephew -- no other than the Bishop himself ! As regards the person who is the especial subject of this memoir, the "cowardly" Eustace Count of Boulogne -- his share in the brutality, whatever it was, can only be brought home to him by some more credible witness than a romancer, who tells us that Duke William slew two thousand English at the battle of Hastings with his own hand ! I have already expressed my doubts about the period of the battle when Eustace received the terrible blow in the back, which caused the blood to burst from his mouth and nostrils and, according to Orderic, to be "borne from the field in a dying state."

If this incident occurred in the heat and confusion of the fight -- and otherwise it appears impossible -- Eustace was not present at the fall of Harold. Under any circumstances, if he were, and had been guilty of one of the dastardly acts the Bishop celebrates, the detestation, deserved or not, which the English seem to have held him in, would have caused them to spread the scandal far and wide. When it is proved to me that an heir to the County of Ponthieu was in the battle, I will reconsider the evidence against the Count of Boulogne.

II married Princess of England Goda (Godgifu) about 1050. 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]

III married Ida Billung about 1066 in Chiny, Luxem., Belgium. Ida (daughter of Duke of Saxony II Bernard and Elika von Schweinfurt) was born about 1024 in Saxony, Germany; died in Namur, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

II married of Burgundy Ermentrude de Burgundy about 1089. Ermentrude (daughter of William I "The Great", Count of Burgundy and Macon and Stephanie de Longwy) was born in 1055 in Rheim, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 8 Mar 1105 in Bar-le-Duc, Meuse, Lorraine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

II married Gertrude De Flanders in 1095 in Alsace, France. Gertrude (daughter of Robert, Count of Flanders and Artois I and Gertrud Wettin) was born in 1064 in Flanders, Belgium; died in 1117 in Lorraine, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

II married Countess of Formbach Hedwige about 1080 in Lorraine, France. Hedwige (daughter of Count of Formbach Frederick and Gertrude von Haldensleben) was born about 1060; died about 1085. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrix married Count of Burgundy and Macon Stephen de Macon about 1087. Stephen (son of William I "The Great", Count of Burgundy and Macon and Stephanie de Longwy) was born about 1065 in Mâcon, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France; died on 27 May 1102 in during the Crusades, Turkey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Frederick married Princess of Germany Agnes about 1089 in Hohenstauffen, Germany. Agnes (daughter of Holy Roman Emperor IV Heinrich and Bertha de Savoy) was born in 1072 in of Klosterneuburg, Austria; died on 24 Sep 1143; was buried in Klosterneuburg, Austria. [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]

Notes:

3123-p15(k5): 10177-p30:


Died:
Aalst Sint-Pieter, Ghent, Belgium

Ralph married of Luxembourg Gisele about 1046 in Aalst, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Gisele was born about 1028 in Flanders, Belgium; was buried in St Peters, Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ralph married Gisele de Luxembourg in 1046 in Aalst, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Gisele was born in 1028 in Flanders, Belgium; died in 1058 in Chapel St Lawrence, Ghent, Flanders, Belgium. [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]

Ranulf married Alix De Normandy on 1 May 1045 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. Alix (daughter of Richard III "le Bon", Duke of Normandy and Adèle Capet, Princess of France) was born on 14 Oct 1021 in Vire, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 3 Aug 1098 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Richard de Beauffoe. Richard was born in 1016 in Normandy, France; died in 1081. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Godehut (Goldehilde) Borrell. Godehut was born in 995 in Toeni, Normandy, France; died in 1077. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Belvoir: The Heirs of Robert and Berengar de Tosny.

Taken from website http://www.ihrinfo.ac.uk/ihr/nine.html.

K. S. B. Keats-Rohan.

Succession to the fee of Belvoir has been discussed as a problem several times over the years, but perhaps the issue is actually straightforward once one has identified the key players.1 Domesday's Robert de Tosny of Belvoir was a collateral of his contemporaries Ralph and Roger. By c. 1050+ he had a first-born son Berengar who could expect to succeed his father in Normandy.2 Around the time of Domesday Book, a few years before his death, Robert founded Belvoir priory with his wife Adelais. Early charters of Belvoir mention their sons William and Geoffrey and their daughter Agnes.3 At his death, Robert's lands were divided between Berengar, his eldest son and Norman heir - co-incidentally an English tenant-in-chief in his own right - and his next son and English heir, William. Presumably some provision was made for the third son Geoffrey. As it happened, all three sons were to die without issue, which meant that rights of succession passed to Robert's daughters.

Initially, the sole right of succession passed to Robert's eldest daughter Albreda, who inherited the tenancies-in-chief of both her eldest brother Berengar and her younger brother William before the date of the Lindsey Survey, which shows her husband Robert de Insula in charge of both honours.4 It has always been assumed that Albreda was the widow of Berengar who took his land to a second husband, but the idea is clearly untenable once the full story of the Belvoir succession unfolds. The references in confirmation charters of the Lincolnshire abbey of Newhouse to 'the fee of Albreda de Tosny'' is an indication that the wife of Robert de Insula was a blood relative and heiress of Berengar, rather than his widow.5 This view is confirmed by the necrology of Belvoir priory, where the anniversaries of Berengar and Albreda uxor eius, deo sancta (a phrase always referring to a religious in this document) were kept on 29 June.6 All doubt is removed by a charter of c. 1147/52 in which Hugh Bigod made a grant to Kirkstall abbey for the soul of Albrede de Insula amite mee, a phrase that can only mean that Albreda was his mother's sister.7 The phrase also usefully confirms that Albreda de Tosny and Albreda (wife of Robert) de Insula were the same.

Robert de Tosny had two other daughters, of whom the youngest was Agnes. She confirmed her father's grant of land at Aslackby, Lincolnshire, to Belvoir priory as being part of her marriage portion on her first marriage to Ralph de Beaufour of Hockering (fl. 1086/1100).8 Widowed in the early twelfth century, she married secondly Hubert I de Ryes, castellan of Norwich, to whom the tenancy-in-chief of Hockering was given by Henry I. She occurs in the 1129/30 Pipe Roll (p. 93) charged with a debt of 35 silver marks because her son was with the count of Flanders. At a similar date she attested the charter which William de Albini pincerna gave for Wymondham priory on the day his wife Matilda Bigod, Agnes's niece, died. Agnes follows her sister Adelisa Bigod in the witness list, where she was accompanied by her daughter Almud and a niece or granddaughter (nepta) Muriel.9 Her dower lands at Aslackby and at Seaton, Northamptonshire (then in Rutland), were held in 1166 by her son or grandson Ralph de Beaufour from her grandson Hubert II de Ryes.10

The elder of Robert de Tosny's younger daughters was Adelisa, wife of Roger Bigod at his death in 1107. It is probable that Roger was married only once, although he is usually credited with two wives of the same name on the inconclusive evidence of a pro anama clause in a charter of his son William.11 Roger and his wife Adelisa gave charter for Rochester priory which referred to their sons and daughters and was attested by their children William, Humphrey, Gunnor and Matilda.12 This charter tellingly refers to King Henry, making it highly unlikely that Roger acquired a second wife and second family before his death in 1107. It is likely that Rogers' children were born from the late 1090s onwards, and that the youngest of them were Hugh and Cecilia.13 Roger's daughters Gunnor and Matilda were married soon after 1107. Gunnor's marriage to Robert fitz Swein of Essex had perhaps been arranged by her father. Matilda was married to William de Albini pincerna by Henry I who bestowed 10 Bigod fees on her as a marriage portion. The marriages certainly took place before Adelisa de Tosny became the heiress to Belvoir on the death without issue of her eldest sister Albreda, some time between 1115/18 and 1129, when Adelisa, as widow of Roger Bigod, accounted for her father's land of Belvoir.14

In 1129 the sole surviving issue of Robert de Tosny were his younger daughters Adelisa Bigod and Agnes de Beaufour, who was then already married to Hubert de Ryes. At that date his Bigod granddaughter Matilda de Albini was probably already dead and her sister Gunnor not long removed from her second marriage to Haimo de St Clair. Of their siblings, only Hugh Bigod and Cecilia, then wife of William de Albini Brito, survived. The Carta returned by Hugh Bigod in 1166 shows him holding the fee of his aunt Albreda de Insula.15 At the same date William de Albini Brito II held the fee of Belvoir. The conclusion from this must be that Adelisa succeeded Albreda in the fees of both Berengar and Robert de Tosny as next surviving sister. When she in her turn died she left issue of both sexes. Her sole surviving son Hugh succeeded his aunt Albreda - and by extension, her eldest brother Berengar - as heir both to Berengar's tenancy-in-chief in Lincolnshire and the Norman lands of Robert de Tosny of Belvoir. His tenancy of Robert's Norman lands is shown in a Norman record of 1172 where he is named as holding land of the fee of Conches and Tosny.16 More important in terms of size in England, the lordship of Belvoir was nonetheless the lesser of the two Tosny lordships because it as not associated with their Norman heritage. As the inheritance of a woman married to an important tenant-in-chief it could be expected to pass to one of her younger children and not her husband's principal male heir. Since she had no surviving younger sons after 1120, the devolution of Belvoir to one of her daughters was inevitable. Gunnor and Matilda had long since been provided for from their father's inheritance by the time, after c. 1115/1118, that Adelisa succeeded to Belvoir. Consequently it was the youngest daughter Cecilia - quite probably a mere infant at her father's death in 1107 - who became her mother's heiress. She was, of course , an heiress whose marriage could advantageously be used to reward one of the king's loyal new men. Cecilia's marriage to William de Albini Brito has been said to have occurred as early as 1107 on the basis of a Belvoir charter given by Ralph de Raines and attested by Roger Bigod, but it certainly took place much later. The Belvoir charter just mentioned probably begins to the early 1140s . It was attested by William de Albini senior and his wife Cecilia, their son William junior, Roger Bigot, Robert de Toteneio, Ralph de Albeneio and others.17 Since William, Robert and Ralph were certainly sons of William and Cecilia it is clear that Roger Bigod was also, as is confirmed by the order of their sons William, Robert, Roger, listed in the Thorney Liber vitae (BL Add, 40,000, fol. 2r)

The prosopography of Domesday Book which is part of the COEL research project will be published later this year by Boydell and Brewer as Domesday People: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066-1166. Volume I. Domesday Book.

It is hoped that the COEL database will be published in November/December. Final details are still to be decided, but a network copy will probably cost around Ãii600. A few screen shottttts frommm theeeee database are available on the Unit website, http;://www.linacre.ox.ac.uk/prosop/home.stm (or, if that proves troublesome, www.linacre.ox.ac.uk, then click on Unit).

Inquiries can be sent be e-mail to katherine.keats-rohan@linacre.ox.ac.uk

Footnotes
1 Cf. J. Green, Government of England Under Henry I, 228-9.
2 Named after his father's brother Berengar Spina, all three occur in a Marmoutier charter of 1063, when Berengar , probably then still an adolescent, authorised an agreement made by his father (Faroux, Recueil...de Normandie, 157).
3 Mon. Ang. ii, 288-9.
4 Lindsey Survey (Lincoln Record Soc. Vol. 19) L3/8, 4/3, 6/5, 7/5, 10/1.
5 Stenton, Danelaw Charters, nos. 238-9.
6 BL Add. 4936, fol. 27.
7 Coucher Book of Kirkstall (Thoresby Soc. Vol. 8, 1904), no. cclxvi, pp. 188-9.
8 Mon. Ang. ii, 290, no. vii.
9 Mon. Ang. iii, 330-1.
10 RBE, 401.
11 Mon. Ang. iii, 330-1.
12 BL Cotton Domitian A x, fol. 201v-2r.
13 The view that all his children were minors at his death in 1107 was expressed in A. Wareham,'Motives and politics of the Bigod family c.1066-1177', Anglo-Norman Studies 17 (1995).
14 Pipe Roll 31 Henry I, 114.
15 RBE 397.
16 At Guerney and Vesley, Eure, cant. Gisors; RBE, 642; cf. Loyd, Anglo-Norman Families, 74.
17 Mon. Ang. ii, 289, no. 111.

Family/Spouse: Adeliza. Adeliza was born about 1050. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Said by some to be the widow, not the sister of Roger. This is not possible as Roger did not die until 1038.

Family/Spouse: Richard d'Evereaux. Richard (son of Count of Evreux and Archbishop of Rouen Robert d'Evereaux and Havlive de Rouen) was born about 986 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 13 Dec 1067 in Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Countess of Bretange Hedwige. Hedwige was born about 1004 in Brittany, Bretange, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Niel married Adela d'Eu in 1040 in St Sauveur, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne, France. Adela (daughter of William, PERSON Comte de Eu & Hiesmes and Lesceline de Harcourt) was born in 985 in Eu, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died in 1025. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Fredistina de Bayeaux. Fredistina (daughter of Balso de Bayeux, Count of Bayeaux and Poppa de Valois) was born in 974 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died in 1015 in Guerny, Eure, Haute-Normandie, 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:

Died:
Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, England

Family/Spouse: Princess of England Sibylla. Sibylla (daughter of King of England Henry I "Beauclerc" and Sibyl Corbet) was born about 1097 in Domfront, Normandy, France; died on 12 Jul 1122 in Island of the Woman, Loch Tay, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

David married Maud Huntingdon in 1113. Maud (daughter of Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland Waltheof Siwardsson and of Lens Judith) was born about 1072 in Huntingdon, Northumberland, England; died on 23 Apr 1130 in Scone, Perthshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mary married Count of Boulogne and Lens Eustace III de Talvas in 1102. Eustace was born about 1059; died on 31 May 1116. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Matilda married King of England Henry I "Beauclerc" on 11 Nov 1100 in Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England. Henry (son of William I "The Conqueror", King of England and of Flanders Matilda) was born about Sep 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire, England; died on 1 Dec 1135 in Lyons-la-Foret, Normandy, France; was buried in Reading Abbey, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gunnild married Uchtred de Molle about 1144 in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. Uchtred was born in 1125 in Carrick, Ayrshire, Scotland; died on 22 Sep 1174 in Loch Fergus, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Christiana. Christiana was born in 1073 in Mercia, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Death: 1128, Fordoun, Kincardineshire, Scotland

Maurice married Margaret Verch Caradog in 1099 in Scotland. Margaret was born in 1065 in Forfar, Angus, Scotland; died in 1103 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Eldgitha married Eldred de Taillebois in 1072 in Mercia, England. Eldred (son of Earl of Anjou, 1st Baron of Kendal, Earl of Holland in Lincolnshire Ivo (Ives) de Taillebois and Ælaed) was born in 1056 in Workington, Cumberland, England; died in Kendal, Westmorland, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Baron Kendal Eldred. Eldred was born in 1056 in Mercia, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Sybil Morel. Sybil (daughter of Arkil Morel) was born in 1074 in Bearley, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: William de Londres, 1st Lord Kidwelly. William (son of Thomas (Simon) de Londres and Sibylla de Mille) was born in 1035 in Paisley Abbey, Renfrewshire, Scotland; died in 1131 in Ogmore Castle, Glamorgan, Wales; was buried in Ewenny, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alice married Lord of Tonbridge Lord of Cardigan Richard FitzGilbert de Clare about 1115. Richard (son of Earl Hertford Gilbert FitzRichard de Clare and Adeliza (Alice) de Clermont) was born in 1090 in Clare, Suffolk, England; died on 15 Apr 1136 in Slain by Welsh near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales; was buried in Tonbridge, Kent, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alice married Lord of Appleby Robert de Condet after 1136. Robert (son of Lord Wickhambreux Osbert de Condet and Adelaide de Chesney) was born about 1108 in Thorngate Castle, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; died about 1141. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ranulph de Meschines (surnamed de Gernons, from being born in Gernon Castle, in Normandy), Earl of Chester. This nobleman, who was a leading military character, took an active part with the Empress Maud, and the young Prince Henry, against King Stephen, in the early part of the contest, and having defeated the king and made him prisoner at the battle of Lincoln, committed him to the castle of Bristol. He subsequently, however, sided with the king, and finally, distrusted by all, died under excommunication in 1155, supposed to have been poisoned by William Peverell, Lord of Nottingham, who being suspected of the crime, is said to have turned monk to avoid its punishment. The earl m. Maud, dau. of Robert, surnamed the Consul, Earl of Gloucester, natural son of King Henry I, and had issue, Hugh, his successor, named Keveliok, from the place of his birth, in Merionethshire; Richard; Beatrix, m. to Ralph de Malpas. His lordship was s. by his elder son, Hugh (Keveliok), 3rd Earl of Chester. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 365, Meschines, Earls of Chester]

----------

Ranulf II de Gernons, 4th Earl of Chester, VICOMTE (Viscount) DEBAYEUX, VICOMTE D'AVRANCHES, Ranulf also spelled RANDULF, or RALPH (b. c. 1100--d. Dec. 16, 1153), a key participant in the English civil war (from 1139) between King Stephen and the Holy Roman empress Matilda (also a claimant to the throne of England). Ranulf, nicknamed 'aux Gernons' (i.e. moustaches), played a prominent and vacillating part in the civil war of Stephen's reign, his actions, in common with most of his peers, springing from personal grievances rather than dynastic loyalty or principle. Ranulf's father, Ranulf I, had been granted the earldom of Chester in 1121 after his maternal uncle had drowned in the White Ship disaster (1120) but, in return, had been compelled to surrender Cumberland and his patrimony of Carlisle. The restoration of these lost estates was the mainspring of much of Ranulf II's political life. Inheriting the Chester earldom in 1129, he initially supported Stephen as king after 1135. However, successive treaties between Stephen and King David of Scotland in 1136 and 1139 gave the Scots large tracts of land in Cumberland coveted by Ranulf who reacted by seizing the town and besieging the castle. Ranulf now allied with the Empress Matilda in defeating the king at Lincoln in February 1141, capturing and briefly imprisoning Stephen. Ranulf's association with the Angevin party was cemented by his marriage in 1141 to the daughter of Robert of Gloucester. Later (1149) he transferred his allegiance to the king in return for a grant of the city and castle of Lincoln. Coventry received its original charter from him. However, his territorial ambitions were no closer realization as the king of Scots was also a close ally of Matilda. In 1145, Ranulf was reconciled to Stephen. However, there was no love lost between Ranulf and the king's entourage, many of whom had suffered at his hands. In August, 1146, at Northampton, Ranulf was suddenly arrested and put in chains when he refused the king's demand to restore all lands he had taken. He was only released when he surrendered all former royal property, including Lincoln. Stephen's arrest of Ranulf was a public relations disaster. He had broken his oath of reconciliation of 1145 and his own promise of protection, thus deterring any more defections from the Angevin faction. Stephen had breached a central tenet of effective medieval rule, that of being a good -- i.e. fair -- lord. Ranulf joined Henry FitzEmpress and was reconciled with David of Scotland who, in return for the lavish grant to Ranulf of most of Lancashire, retained Carlisle. But Ranulf was never a party man. His priorities remained centered on his own territorial and dynastic advantage, as shown by his 'conventio' with a leading royalist baron Robert of Leicester (1149/53). Under this treaty, the two magnates , independently of their rival liege-lords Stephen and Henry FitzEmpress, agreed to limit any hostilities forced between them by their masters and to protect their respective tenurial positions. Ranulf's career, notorious for his arrest in 1146, is more significant as evidence that the drama of high politics was played against a dense background of baronial competition for rights, lands, and inheritances which took precedence over any claims of royalty. [Encyclopedia Britannica CD'97, RANULF DE GERNONS, 4TH EARL OF CHESTER]

Ranulph married Maud FitzRobert de Caen about 1141 in Gloucestershire, England. Maud (daughter of 1st Earl of Gloucester Robert de Caen and Maud FitzHamon) was born in 1117 in Gloucestershire, England; died on 29 Jul 1189 in Chester, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Cecily de Romilly. Cecily (daughter of Robert de Romilly and Murel) was born about 1100 in of Normandy; died in 1151. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]