Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Derby, Derbyshire, England; Countess of Derby
• FSID: LBK3-87T

Family/Spouse: de Ferrers, Lord Robert. Robert (son of de Ferrers, Lord Henry and Roberts, Bertha) was born on 9 Jul 1062 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 1 Jun 1139 in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England; was buried on 1 Jun 1139 in Tutbury, Staffordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. de Ferrers, Matilda was born in 1142 in Tutbury, Staffordshire, England; died in 1175 in England.

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LY3P-BPB
• Appointments / Titles: 1072; Seigneur (Lord) of Vitré

Notes:

André I st Vitre (born in 1054 and died circa 1135 ) is a baron Vitre about 1072 to his death, more than sixty years of reign.

«b»Biography «/b»
André I st dom Vitre is the eldest son of Robert I st and one of its two namesake wife Berthe Garin girl Craon or Berthe.

He succeeded his father around 1072 and married to 1091 Agnes, lady of Ryes in Normandy, daughter of Robert de Mortain. According to Pierre Le Baud, this marriage was concluded after a war between André I st to count of Mortain. In exchange for the release of the Norman count, Andre also receives six seigneuries in Cornwall, including the rich Triggshire. According to Louis Du Bois, the Baron de Vitré allegedly participated in a war with (or against) Alain Fergent, Duke of Brittanyin 1112, which would have pushed the sovereign to abdicate in favor of his son, Conan III. André I st recognizes without difficulty the authority of Duke Alain Fergent and his successor Conan III. In 1116 he handed over, in the presence of the latter, the Notre-Dame de Vitré church to the abbey of Saint-Melaine. In 1119 he attended Rennes with his son Robert at the funeral of Duke Alain Fergent.

According to Arthur of the Borderie "in 1132, Conan III was master of Vitre, and it exercised authority over natural lord of this land baron André I st. We do not know the reason for the conflict". It seems nevertheless that André became again baron soon after, since he died as a baron, in Vitré , in 1135. He is buried in the chapter of the church of Notre-Dame de Vitré. His son, Robert II, succeeded him but due, in turn, to be expelled from his stronghold by the Duke of Brittany from 1135.

«b»Union and posterity «/b»
From his marriage with Agnès de Mortain (also named Agnès de Morlaix), were born:

1.) Marquise

2.) Robert II of Vitré says the Old Man; also count of Mortain

3.) Gervais de Vitré, lord of Acigné, father of Militaries Guilaume de Vitré and Renaud de Vitré Dominus of Acigné. Author of the so-called "B kinship" of this family

4.) Elie

A certain Eudes (died in 1158 ) is sometimes considered as his son, but it would seem in fact that there is confusion with Eudes de Vitry, lord of Vitry and count of Rethel.

André married de Mortaigne, Agnes. Agnes (daughter of de Conteville, Earl Robert and de Montgomery, Countess Maud) was born in 1066 in Mortain, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 1 May 1121 in Mortagne, Orne, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: M8X3-52W

Other Events and Attributes:

• Life Event: Robert I (about 1034-1072 ) is a baron of Vitré from 1050 to his death. He could also be lord of Marcillé, having received this fief of his uncle Robert de Marcillé, deceased without descendants. Marcillé -Robert\'s name could thus come from the name of the latter as well as from that of Baron de Vitré. «b»Biography «/b» Robert \"princeps and dom\" of Vitré, is the son of Baron Tristan de Vitré and his wife, Innoguen de Fougères. It was under his impulse that the first stone castle of the city was built, overlooking the Vilaine with its rocky outcrop. He founded, in fact, around 1070, the Sainte-Croix priory instead of the primitive castle of the first lords, as evidenced by certain charters. The Romanesque porch of the fortress of Robert Ier still exists today. Arthur de La Borderie notes that, in all likelihood, the beginnings of the city of Vitré and the foundation of the parish of Saint-Pierre (todayNotre-Dame ) date from the same period. Earlier, in 1066 , Robert fought under the orders of William the Conqueror, including participating in the Battle of Hastings on 14 October. «b»Union and posterity «/b» He marries around 1051 Berthe de Craon, daughter of Garin lord of Craon. They gave birth to Ennoguen de Craon, wife of Renaud and mother of Robert de Craon, second master of the Order of the Temple. Also from their union André 5, Robert died around 1106, Philippe and Guy.
• FSID: G4PQ-9YR
• Occupation: Allié de Guillaume le conquérant, a combattu à Hastings
• Occupation: Allié de Guillaume le conquérant, a combattu à Hastings
• Alternate Birth: 1034, Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France
• Appointments / Titles: 1050, Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; Baron of Vitré
• Life Event: Between 1050 and 1072; Baron de Vitré

Robert married de Craon, Berthe in 1051. Berthe (daughter of de Craon, Guérin and de Crequy, Anne) was born in 1035 in Craon, Mayenne, Pays de la Loire, France; died in 1109 in Bretagne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: GHNS-BLW

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: 1st Earl of Arundel
• Appointments / Titles: Shrewsbury, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA; 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
• FSID: 9H16-YMP
• Military: Between 1031 and 1095; Was half brother of William the Conqueror and accompanied him
• Appointments / Titles: 1049, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France; Count of Mortain
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1066 and 1090; Earl of Cornwall

Notes:

Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (c. 1031–c. 1095) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings and as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 was one of the greatest landholders in his half-brother's new Kingdom of England.

Life
Robert was the son of Herluin de Conteville and Herleva of Falaise and brother of Odo of Bayeux. Robert was born c. 1031 in Normandy, a half-brother of William the Conqueror. and was probably not more than a year or so younger than his brother Odo, born c. 1030. About 1035, Herluin, as Vicomte of Conteville, along with his wife Herleva and Robert, founded Grestain Abbey.

Count of Mortain
Around 1049 his brother Duke William made him Count of Mortain, in place of William Werlenc, who had been banished by Duke William; according to Orderic Vitalis, on a single word. William Werlenc was a grandson of Duke Richard I and therefore a cousin once removed to William, Duke of Normandy. Securing the southern border of Normandy was critical to Duke William and Robert was entrusted with this key county which guarded the borders of Brittany and Bellême.

Conquest of England
In early 1066, Robert was present at both the first council of Lillebonne, that of William's inner circle, and the second larger council held to discuss the Duke's planned conquest of England. Robert agreed to provide 120 ships to the invasion fleet, which was more than any other of William's magnates.

Robert was one of those few known to have been at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He is pictured at a dinner at Pevensey on the Bayeux Tapestry, seated with his brothers William and Odo on the day of the landing in England. When granting the monastery of St Michael's Mount to the Norman monastery on the Mont Saint-Michel Robert recorded that he had fought at the Battle of Hastings under the banner of St Michel (habens in bello Sancti Michaelis vexillum).

Lands granted by William the Conqueror
Robert's contribution to the success of the invasion was clearly regarded as highly significant by the Conqueror, who awarded him a large share of the spoils; in total 797 manors at the time of Domesday. The greatest concentration of his honours lay in Cornwall where he held virtually all of that county and was considered by some the Earl of Cornwall.

While Robert held lands in twenty counties, the majority of his holdings in certain counties was as few as five manors. The overall worth of his estates was £2100. He administered most of his southwestern holdings from Launceston, Cornwall, and Montacute in Somerset. The holding of single greatest importance was the rape of Pevensey (east Sussex) which protected one of the more vulnerable parts of the south coast of England.

Later life
In 1069, together with Robert of Eu, he led an army against a force of Danes in Lindsey and effected great slaughter against them. After that there is little mention of Robert who appears to have been an absentee landholder spending the majority of his time in Normandy. Along with his brother Odo he participated in a revolt in 1088 against William II but afterwards he was pardoned. Robert died in 1095, possibly on 9 December, and chose to be buried at the Abbey of Grestain, near his father and next to his first wife Matilda.

Character
He was described by William of Malmesbury in his Gesta Regum as a man of stupid dull disposition (crassi et hebetis ingenii). William the Conqueror considered him one of his greatest supporters and trusted him with the important county of Mortain. Further clues to his character are found in the Vita of Vitalis of Savigny, a very wise monk who Robert sought out as his chaplain. One incident tells of Robert beating his wife and Vital, intervening, threatened to end the marriage if Robert did not repent. In still another entry Vital tells of his leaving Robert's service abruptly and after being escorted back to him, Robert begged for Vital's pardon for his actions. Overall, Robert was proficient in every duty William assigned him, he was a religious man yet ill-tempered enough to beat his wife, but was not known as a man of great wisdom.

Family
Robert was married to Matilda, daughter of Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, before 1066 and together they had:
1. William, Count of Mortain, who succeeded him.
2. Agnes who married André de Vitré, seigneur of Vitré.
3. Denise, married in 1078 to Guy, 3rd Sire de La Val.
4. Emma of Mortain, the wife of William IV of Toulouse.
Through Emma's daughter Philippa, Countess of Toulouse, Robert was the great-great-grandfather of Eleanor of Aquitaine and hence an ancestor of all English monarchs after Henry II.

After Matilda de Montgomery's death c. 1085 Robert secondly married Almodis. The couple had no children.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert,_Count_of_Mortain

Robert married de Montgomery, Countess Maud on 3 Apr 1058 in Mortagne, Orne, Basse-Normandie, France. Maud (daughter of de Montgomery, Count Roger II and de Bellême, Mabel Talvas) was born in 1039 in St Germain de Montgomery, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 12 Sep 1082 in Abbey of St Grestain, Grestain, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried on 12 Sep 1082 in Abbey of St Grestain, Grestain, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: L82R-5HJ
• Appointments / Titles: 1060; Countess of Montaigne

Notes:

“Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):

“ROBERT, Count of Mortain (in Cotentin), Domesday lord of Pitstone and West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Blisland, Boyton, Lancarffe, Poundstock, Treroosel, and Truthwall, Cornwall, Bere Ferrers, Bolberry, Bratton Fleming, Buckland Brewer, Densham, Dunsdon, Fardel, and Weare Giffard, Devon, Ashill, Barton St. David, Bishopston, Brompton Regis, Bruton, Crewkerne, Curry Rivel, Kingstone, Shepton Montague, Stoke sub Hamdon, Swell, and Tintinhill, Somerset, etc.,

Born about 1040. He was an uterine half-brother of William the Conqueror, King of England.
He was created a count about 1060.

He married (1st) before 1066 MAUD DE MONTGOMERY, daughter of Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, by his 1st wife, Mabel, daughter and heiress of William, seigneur of Alencon and Bellême.

They had one son, William [Count of Mortain], and four daughters:
Agnes,
Denise (wife of Guy III, seigneur of Laval),
Emma (wife of William IV, Count of Toulouse), and Sibylle [Abbess of Saintes].

About 1082 he and his wife, Maud, founded a collegiate church at St. Evroult at Mortain. His wife, Maud, died 21 Sept. 1082, and was buried in Grestain Abbey.

He married (2nd) ALMODIS ___. They had one son, Robert, and one daughter, Almodis (wife of Raimon Berenguer III of Barcelona).

In the period, 1082-84, he granted land in Dorset to Marmoutier Abbey at Tours. He joined the rebellion against King William Rufus in 1088, which was soon put down. He was a benefactor of many religious houses, including the abbeys of Grestain, Marmoutier, Caen, Préaux, Fécamp, Mont-St-Michel, St.- Nicholas, Angers and St. Albans.

ROBERT, Count of Mortain, died 8 Dec. 1090.

L'Art de Vérifier les Dates 2 (1784): 790 (sub Montgomeri). Rud Coelicum Manuscriptorum Ecclesia Cathedralis Dunelmensis (1825): 214 ("Nomina quae in Kalendario (supra Tr. 5.) occurrunt: XI. Kal. Octobr. [21 September] - Obiit Mathildis Comitissa de Moretonio."). Dugdale Monasticon Anglicanum 6(2) (1830): 1090-1091 (Robert, Count of Mortain, styled "brother" [fratris] of King William the Conqueror in charter dated 1189). Guerard Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Bertin (Coll. des Cartulaires de France 3) (1840): 462-463 (Count Robert, brother of the King [i.e., King William the Conqueror] witness to doc. dated c.1066-87). Le Prévost Notes pour servir el la Topographie et a l'Histoire des Communes du Département de l'Eure (1849): 30-31 (charter dated April 1066 witnessed by William, Duke of Normandy, his wife, Maud, and his "brother" [fratris], Robert). Desroches Annales civiles, militaires et généalogiques du Pays d'Avranches (1856): 58. Munford Analysis of the Domesday Book of the County of Norfolk (1858): 7-8. Delisle Rouleaux des Morts du IXe au XVe Siècle (1866): 207-208, 289-290. Delisle Chronique de Robert de Torigni 1 (1872): 319 ("Siquidem Robertus, comes Moritonii, uterinus frater Willermi regis qui regnum Angliæ subjugavit, habuit unum filium Guillermum, qui ei successit ... et tres filias, quarum unam duxit Andreas de Vitreio, aliam Guido de Laval, terciam comes Tolosanus, frater Raimundi comitis Sancti Ægidii, qui in expeditione Ierosolimitana viriliter se habuit. Genuit autem ex ea comes Tolosanus unam solummodo filiam, quam Guillermus, comes Pictavensis et dux Aquitanorum, mortuo patre prædictæ puellæ, cum hereditate propria, scilicet urbe Tolosa et comitatu Tolosano, duxit uxorem; ex qua genuit idem Guillermus filium Guillermum nomine, qui ei successit, qui pater fuit Alienor, reginæ Anglorum."). Planché The Conqueror & his Companions 1 (1874): 107-116 (biog. of Robert, Comte de Mortain and Earl of Cornwall). Le Fizelier Mémoire chronologique de Maucourt de Bourjolly seer la Ville de Laval 1 (1886): 122-128. Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France 23 (1894): 583 (Ex Obtuario Ecclesiæ Moretoniensis: "8. Dec. Obiit Robertus comes Moretonii fundator istius ecclesi"). Two Cartularies of the Augustinian Priory of Bruton & Cluniac Priory of Montacute (Somerset Rec. Soc. 8) (1894): 119-120 (foundation charter of William, Count of Mortain for Montacute Cartulary dated 1102; charter names his parents, Count Robert and Countess Matilda). Round Cal. of Docs. Preserved in France 918-1206 (1899): 108, 256 (charter of Robert, Count of Mortain dated ?1085), 256-257 (charter of Robert, Count of Mortain and Almodis his wife dated 1087-91), 359, 433. Notes & Oueries 9th Ser. 8 (1901): 525-526. Bréard L’Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Grestain (1904.) Rpt. & Trans. of the Devonshire Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, Lit. & Art 2nd Ser. 8 (1906): 338-339. D.N.B. 13 (1909): 1014 (biog. of Robert of Mortain, Count of Mortain). VCH Somerset 2 (1911): 111-115. C.P. 3 (1913): 427- 428 (sub Cornwall). Douglas Domesday Monachorum (1944): 33-36. Hull Cartulary of St. Michael's Mount (Devon & Cornwall Rec. Soc. n.s. 5) (1962): 3-4. Douglas William the Conqueror (1964). D. Bates "Herluin de Conteville et sa famille" in Annales de Normandie 23 (1973): 21-38. Brown Angle-Norman Studies III (1981): 74-75. Hull Cartulary of Launceston Priory (Devon & Cornwall Rec. Soc. n.s. 30) (1987): 2-4 (charter of Robert, Count of Mortain, Earl of Cornwall brother [frater] of William King of the English, and Maud his wife dated 1076). Bates and Gazeau `L'Abbaye de Grestain & la Famille d'Herluin de Conteville,' in Annales de Normandie 40 (1990): 5-30. Anglo-Norman Studies 13 (1991): 119-144. Haskins Soc. Jour. 3 (1991): 161-162. Bates & Curry England & Normandy in the Middle Ages (1994): 136-137. Cownie Religious Patronage in Anglo-Norman England, 1066-1135 (1998): 197-199. Fleming Domesday Book & the Law (1998).

Children of Robert, Count of Mortain, by Maud de Montgomery:
i. AGNES OF MORTAIN
ii. EMMA OF MORTAIN, married WILLIAM IV, Count of Toulouse

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: le Bâtard
• FSID: G8WY-2HY

Guérin married de Crequy, Anne. Anne was born in 1020 in Mayenne, Pays de la Loire, France; died in DECEASED in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: GC7S-MY9

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Vicomte de Conteville
• FSID: GZNM-NZ4

Notes:

No contemporary record provides the parentage for Herluin, although much later sources have assigned him parents (such as the otherwise unknown Jean de Conteville (965) and Harlette de Meulan.

Herluin married de Falaise, Herleva. Herleva (daughter of de Falaise, Fulbert and de Falaise, Doda) was born on 9 Jun 1003 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 23 Apr 1078 in Fatouville, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried after 23 Apr 1078 in Grestain, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: KDQH-DJG

Notes:

Buried:
Burial in Abbey

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: Roger was one of William the Conqueror's principal advisors.
• Appointments / Titles: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England; First Earl of Shrewsbury
• Nickname: The Great
• FSID: LD9R-5G3
• Occupation: Councilor to William the Conqueror

Notes:

Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great de Montgomery, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, and was a relative, probably a grandnephew, of the Duchess Gunnor, wife of Duke Richard I of Normandy. The elder Roger had large holdings in central Normandy, chiefly in the valley of the Dives, which the younger Roger inherited....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_de_Montgomery

Life[edit]
Roger was one of William the Conqueror's principal counsellors, playing a major role in the Council of Lillebonne. He may not have fought in the initial invasion of England in 1066, instead staying behind to help govern Normandy. According to Wace's Roman de Rou, however, he commanded the Norman right flank at Hastings, returning to Normandy with King William in 1067.[1] Afterwards he was entrusted with land in two places critical for the defence of England, receiving the Rape of Arundel at the end of 1067 (or in early 1068), and in November 1071 he was created Earl of Shrewsbury; a few historians believe that while he received the Shropshire territories in 1071 he was not created Earl until a few years later. In 1083, he founded Shrewsbury Abbey.[2]
Roger was thus one of the half dozen greatest magnates in England during William the Conqueror's reign. William gave Earl Roger nearly all of what is now the county of West Sussex, which at the time of the Domesday Survey was the Rape of Arundel.[3] The Rape of Arundel was eventually split into two rapes, one continuing with the name Rape of Arundel and the other became the Rape of Chichester.[3] Besides the 83 manors in Sussex, his possessions also included seven-eighths of Shropshire which was associated with the earldom of Shrewsbury, he had estates in Surrey (4 manors), Hampshire (9 manors), Wiltshire (3 manors), Middlesex (8 manors), Gloucestershire (1 manor), Worcestershire (2 manors), Cambridgeshire (8 manors), Warwickshire (11 manors), and Staffordshire (30 manors).[4] The income from Roger's estates would amount to about £2,000 per year, in 1086 the landed wealth for England was around £72,000, so it would have represented almost 3% of the nation's GDP.[5][6]
After William I's death in 1087, Roger joined with other rebels to overthrow the newly crowned king, William II, in the Rebellion of 1088. However, William was able to convince Roger to abandon the rebellion and side with him. This worked out favourably for Roger, as the rebels were beaten and lost their land holdings in England.
Family[edit]
Roger married Mabel de Bellême, who was heiress to a large territory straddling the border between Normandy and Maine. The medieval chronicler Orderic Vitalis paints a picture of Mabel of Bellême being a scheming and cruel woman.[7] She was murdered by Hugh Bunel and his brothers who, possibly in December 1077, rode into her castle of Bures-sur-Diveand cut off her head as she lay in bed.[7][8] Their motive for the murder was that Mabel had deprived them of their paternal inheritance.[9] Roger and Mabel had 10 children:
·       Robert de Bellême, Count of Alençon in 1082, he succeeded his younger brother Hugh as 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury. He married Agnes, Countess of Ponthieu and died in 1131.[10]
·       Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, died without issue 1098.[11]
·       Roger the Poitevin, Vicomte d'Hiemois, married Adelmode de la Marche.[12]
·       Philip of Montgomery.[13]
·       Arnulf of Montgomery,[13] married Lafracota daughter of Muirchertach Ua Briain.[14]
·       Sibyl of Montgomery, she married Robert Fitzhamon, Lord of Creully.[15]
·       Emma, abbess of Almenêches.[16]
·       Matilda (Maud) of Montgomery, she married Robert, Count of Mortain and died c. 1085.[17]
·       Mabel of Montgomery, she married Hugh de Châteauneuf.[13]
·       Roger of Montgomery, died young.
Roger then married Adelaide du Puiset, by whom he had one son, Everard, who entered the Church.
After his death, Roger's estates were divided.[18] The eldest surviving son, Robert of Bellême, received the bulk of the Norman estates (as well as his mother's estates); the next son, Hugh, received the bulk of the English estates and the Earldom of Shrewsbury.[18] After Hugh's death, the elder son Robert inherited the earldom.[18]

Roger married de Bellême, Mabel Talvas. Mabel (daughter of de Bellême, Seigneur of Bellême and Alençon WIlliam Talvas II and de Beaumont, Hildeburge) was born in 1026 in Bellême, Orne, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 2 Dec 1079 in Bures, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; was buried on 5 Dec 1079 in Troarn, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England; Countess Castile
• House: Bellême
• FSID: M897-QTS

Notes:

Mabel was the daughter of William I Talvas and his first wife Hildeburg. She was the heiress of her father’s estates, her half-brother Oliver apparently being excluded. She also inherited the remainder of the Bellême honor in 1070 at the death of her uncle Yves, Bishop of Séez and Lord of Bellême. When their father was exiled by her brother Arnulf in 1048 she accompanied him until both were taken in by the Montgomery family. Between 1050-1054 she married Roger II de Montgomery, later 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. Roger II de Montgomery was already a favorite of Duke William and by being given in marriage to Mabel it increased his fortunes even further.

Her husband Roger had not participated in the Norman conquest of England, but had remained behind in Normandy as co-regent along with William's wife, Matilda of Flanders. He had also contributed 60 ships to Duke William's invasion force. He joined the king in England in 1067 and was rewarded with the earldom of Shropshire and a number of estates to the point that he was one of the largest landholders in the Domesday Book.

She and her husband Roger transferred the church of Saint-Martin of Séez to Evroul and petitioned her uncle, Yves, Bishop of Séez to build a monastery there on lands from her estates. The consecration was in 1061 at which time Mabel made additional gifts.

Of all of Orderic’s female subjects Mabel was the most cunning and treacherous; if not entirely for her own misdeeds then as the mother of Robert de Bellême, who had a reputation for savagery as well as cruelty. In one passage Orderic describes her as "small, very talkative, ready enough to do evil, shrewd and jocular, extremely cruel and daring."

In perpetuating her family’s feud with the Giroie family she set her sights on Arnold de Echauffour, the son of William fitz Giroie who her father had mutilated at his wedding celebration.[a] She obtained part of his estates when she and her husband Roger convinced Duke William to confiscate his lands. In 1063 however, Arnold was promised forgiveness by the Duke and was to have his lands restored. To prevent this Mabel plotted to kill Arnold. She attempted to murder Arnold of Echauffour by poisoning a glass of wine but he declined to drink. Her husband's brother, refreshing himself after a long ride, drank the wine and died shortly thereafter. In the end though she bribed Arnold's chamberlain providing him with the necessary poison, this time being successful.

Excepting Theodoric, abbot of the abbey of Saint-Evroul, who she listened to at times, Mabel was hostile to most members of the clergy; but her husband loved the monks at Saint-Evroul so she found it necessary to be more subtle. In an incident in 1064, she deliberately burdened their limited resources by visiting the abbey for extended stays with a large retinue of her soldiers.[c] When rebuked by Theodoric the abbot for her callousness she snapped back that the next time she would visit with an even larger group. The abbot predicted that if she did not repent of her evilness she would suffer great pains and that very evening she did. She left the abbey in great haste as well as in great pain and did not abuse their hospitality again.

Mabel continued her wickedness causing many nobles to lose their lands and become destitute. In 1077 she took the hereditary lands of Hugh Bunel by force. Two years later while coming out of her bath, she was killed by some men who had crept into the castle. Hugh had enlisted the help of his three brothers, gained entry to the castle of Bures on the Dives and struck off her head with his sword. The murderers were pursued but escaped by destroying a bridge behind them. Mabel's murder occurred on 2 December 1079 and she was buried three days later at Troarn.

Her epitaph is notable as an example of monks bowing more to “the partiality of her friends than to her own merits":

Sprung from the noble and the brave,
Here Mabel finds a narrow grave.
But, above all woman’s glory,
Fills a page in famous story.
Commanding, eloquent, and wise,
And prompt to daring enterprise;
Though slight her form, her soul was great,
And, proudly swelling in her state,
Rich dress, and pomp, and retinue,
Lent it their grace and houours due.
The border’s guard, the country’s shield,
Both love and fear her might revealed,
Till Hugh, revengeful, gained her bower,
In dark December’s midnight hour.
Then saw the Dive’s o’erflowing stream
The ruthless murderer’s poignard gleam.
Now friends, some moments kindly spare,
For her soul’s rest to breathe a prayer!

Mabel and her husband, Roger de Montgomery had ten children:
1. Roger of Montgomery, oldest son, died young
2. Robert de Bellême, Count of Alençcon in 1082, he succeeded his younger brother Hugh as 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury. He married Agnes, Countess of Ponthieu and died in 1131.
3. Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, died without issue 1098.
4. Roger the Poitevin, Vicomte d'Hiemois, married Adelmode de la Marche.
5. Philip of Montgomery.
6. Arnulf of Montgomery,married Lafracota daughter of Muirchertach Ua Briain.
7. Sibyl of Montgomory, she married Robert Fitzhamon, Lord of Creully.
8. Emma, abbess of Almenêches.
9. Matilda (Maud) of Montgomery, she married Robert, Count of Mortain and died c. 1085.
10. Mabel of Montgomery, she married Hugh de Châteauneuf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabel_de_Bell%C3%AAme