Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Normandy
• Nickname: The Fearless
• FSID: 9HTX-2CD
• Occupation: Peerage of Normandy
• Appointments / Titles: Between 17 Dec 942 and 20 Nov 996, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; Count of Rouen
• Appointments / Titles: Between 943 and 996, Normandy, France; 3rd Duke of Normandie

Notes:

Richard I of Normandy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard I "the Fearless"
Richard FitzWilliam
Count of Rouen
Reign 17 December 942 – 20 November 996
Predecessor William Longsword
Successor Richard II
Born 28 August 933
Fécamp Normandy, France
Died 20 November 996 (aged 63)
Fécamp Normandy, France
Spouse Emma of Paris
Gunnor
Issue Richard II of Normandy
Robert II (Archbishop of Rouen)
Mauger, Count of Corbeil
Robert Danus
Willam?
Emma of Normandy
Maud of Normandy
Hawise of Normandy
Geoffrey, Count of Eu (illegitimate)
William, Count of Eu (illegitimate)
Beatrice of Normandy (illegitimate)
Robert (illegitimate)
Papia (illegitimate)
House House of Normandy
Father William I Longsword
Mother Sprota
Richard I (28 August 933 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French, Richard Sans-Peur)(Old Norse,"Jarl Richart) was the Count of Rouen or Jarl of Rouen from 942 to 996. Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum" (Latin, "On the Customs and Deeds of the First Dukes of Normandy"), called him a Dux. However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility. Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it. By the end of his reign, most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure.

Contents

[hide]
1 Birth
2 Life
2.1 Relationships with France, England and the Church
3 Marriages
4 Illegitimate children
4.1 Possible children
5 Death
6 Depictions in fiction
7 Genealogy
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links
Birth

Richard was born to William Longsword, princeps (chieftain or ruler) of Normandy, and Sprota. His mother was a Breton concubine captured in war and bound to William by a more danico marriage. He was also the grandson of the famous Rollo. William was told of the birth of a son after the battle with Riouf and other Viking rebels, but his existence was kept secret until a few years later when William Longsword first met his son Richard. After kissing the boy and declaring him his heir, William sent Richard to be raised in Bayeux. Richard was about ten years old when his father was killed on 17 December 942. After William was killed, Sprota became the wife of Esperleng, a wealthy miller. Rodulf of Ivry was their son and Richard's half-brother.

Life

With the death of Richard's father in 942, King Louis IV of France installed the boy, Richard, in his father's office. Under the influence of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders the King took him into Frankish territory:32–4 and placing him in the custody of the count of Ponthieu before the King reneged and seized the lands of the Duchy of Normandy. He then split up the Duchy, giving its lands in lower Normandy to Hugh the Great. Louis IV thereafter kept Richard in close confinement at Lâon, but the youth escaped from imprisonment:36–7 with assistance of Osmond de Centville, Bernard de Senlis (who had been a companion of Rollo of Normandy), Ivo de Bellèsme, and Bernard the Dane (ancestor to the families of Harcourt and Beaumont).[a]

In 946, at the age of 14, Richard allied himself with the Norman and Viking leaders in France and with men sent by King Harold of Denmark. A battle was fought after which Louis IV was captured. Hostages were taken and held until King Louis recognised Richard as Duke, returning Normandy to him.:37–41 Richard agreed to "commend" himself to Hugh, the Count of Paris, Hugh resolved to form a permanent alliance with Richard and promised his daughter Emma, who was just a child, as a bride, the marriage would take place in 960.:41–2

Louis IV working with Arnulf I, Count of Flanders persuaded Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor to attack Richard and Hugh. The combined armies of Otto, Arnulf and Louis IV were driven from the gates of Rouen, fleeing to Amiens and being decisively defeated in 947.:41–2 A period of peace ensued, Louis IV dying in 954, 13 year old Lothair becoming King. The middle aged Hugh appointed Richard as guardian of his 15-year-old son, Hugh Capet in 955.:44

In 962, Theobald I, Count of Blois, attempted a renewed invasion of Rouen, Richard's stronghold, but his troops were summarily routed by Normans under Richard's command, and forced to retreat before ever having crossed the Seine river. Lothair, the king of the West Franks, was fearful that Richard's retaliation could destabilize a large part of West Francia so he stepped in to prevent any further war between the two.[16] In 987 Hugh Capet became King of the Franks.

For the last 30 years until his death in 996 in Fécamp, Richard concentrated on Normandy itself, and participated less in Frankish politics and its petty wars. In lieu of building up the Norman Empire by expansion, he stabilized the realm and reunited the Normans, forging the reclaimed Duchy of his father and grandfather into West Francia's most cohesive and formidable principality.[17]

Richard was succeeded in November 996 by his 33-year-old son, Richard II, Duke of Normandy.

Relationships with France, England and the Church

Richard used marriage to build strong alliances. His marriage to Emma of Paris connected him directly to the House of Capet. His second wife, Gunnora, from a rival Viking group in the Cotentin, formed an alliance to that group, while her sisters formed the core group that were to provide loyal followers to him and his successors.[18]

His daughters forged valuable marriage alliances with powerful neighboring counts as well as to the king of England.[18] Emma marrying firstly Æthelred the Unready and after his death in 1016, the invader, Cnut the Great. Her children included three English kings, Edward the Confessor, Alfred Aetheling and with Cnut, Harthacnut so completing a major link between the Duke of Normandy and the Crown of England that would add validity to the claim by the future William the Conqueror to the throne of England.

Richard also built on his relationship with the church, undertaking acts of piety,[19]:lv restoring their lands and ensuring the great monasteries flourished in Normandy. His further reign was marked by an extended period of peace and tranquility.[18][20]

Marriages

Richard & his children
His first marriage in 960 was to Emma, daughter of Hugh "The Great" of France,[21] and Hedwig von Sachsen.[21] They were betrothed when both were very young. She died after 19 March 968, with no issue.

According to Robert of Torigni, not long after Emma's death, Duke Richard went out hunting and stopped at the house of a local forester. He became enamored with the forester's wife, Seinfreda, but she was a virtuous woman and suggested he court her unmarried sister, Gunnor, instead. Gunnor became his mistress and her family rose to prominence. Her brother, Herefast de Crepon, may have been involved in a controversial heresy trial. Gunnor was, like Richard, of Viking descent, being a Dane by blood. Richard finally married her to legitimize their children:[b]

Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy
Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux
Mauger, Count of Corbeil
Emma of Normandy, wife of two kings of England
Maud of Normandy, wife of Odo II of Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres
Hawise of Normandy m. Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany
Papia of Normandy
Orielda (963-1031) wife of Fulk Seigneur de Guernanville, Dean of Evreax [22][23]
Illegitimate children

Richard was known to have had several other mistresses and had children with many of them. Known children are:

Geoffrey, Count of Eu[24]
William, Count of Eu (ca. 972-26 January 1057/58),[24] m. Lasceline de Turqueville (d. 26 January 1057/58).
Beatrice of Normandy, Abbess of Montvilliers d.1034 m. Ebles of Turenne (d.1030 (divorced)
Possible children

Muriella, married Tancred de Hauteville[25][26]
Fressenda or Fredesenda (ca. 995-ca. 1057), second wife of Tancred de Hauteville.[26][27]
Guimara (Wimarc(a)) (b. circa 986), Wife of Ansfred (Ansfroi) II "le Dane" le Goz, vicomte d'Exmes et de Falaise, Mother of Robert FitzWimarc, Death:Abbey of Montivilliers, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy[28]
Death

Richard died of natural causes in Fecamp, France, on 20 November 996.[29]

Depictions in fiction

The Little Duke, a Victorian Juvenile novel by Charlotte Mary Yonge is a fictionalized account of Richard's boyhood and early struggles.

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

Richard married de Crepon, Gunnora in 964 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. Gunnora (daughter of de Crepon, Herfast) was born on 26 Nov 936 in La Bataille, Deux-Sèvres, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 29 Sep 1031 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried in 1031 in Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Eu, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; Count
• Appointments / Titles: Count of Eu
• Appointments / Titles: Count of Hiémois
• Appointments / Titles: Count of Hiémois
• FSID: KFK5-ZL5

Notes:

Illegitimate son of Richard I, Duke of Normandy, was Count of Eu and Count of Hiemois. William succeeded his nephew, Gilbert, as Count of Eu and Hiemois after his murder in 1040.

William rebelled against his half-brother Richard II, Duke of Normandy, and was captured by Raoul d'Ivry and imprisoned by Turquetil of Harcourt, former governer of William the Conqueror. He escaped five years later, and eventually was pardoned by Richard and given leave to marry into the Harcourt Family.

The three mothers listed are various wording for the same mistress.

Family/Spouse: de Normandie, Lesceline. Lesceline (daughter of de Harcourt, Turquetil and de Montfort, Anceline) was born in 986 in Turqueville, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 26 Jan 1058 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; was buried after 26 Jan 1058 in Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Normandy
• FSID: 28YJ-Z4N
• Religion: 989; Archbishop of Rouen
• Appointments / Titles: Between 996 and 1037; Count of Évreux

Notes:

Life
Robert was a son of Richard I, Duke of Normandy and his second wife, Gunnor.[1] He was a younger brother of duke Richard II and uncle of duke Robert I.[1] He had been appointed Archbishop of Rouen by his father c. 989–990 and had been given the countship of Évreux at the same time.[2] Robert was well aware he was destined for the church and seemingly accepted his role as both archbishop and count willingly.[3] But he had always been involved in Norman politics and was a powerful adherent of the Norman dukes.[4] Robert had proved himself a powerful ecclesiastical ally of his father, Richard I, as well as his brother, Richard II, and at the latter's death effectively became the senior male adviser to the ducal clan.[5] But his nephew Richard III had a turbulent and short reign of just over a year and when replaced by his brother Robert I, as Duke of Normandy, the prelate Robert had a great deal of trouble restraining the new duke.[6] In 1028 he found himself besieged and then banished by his young nephew.[6] Duke Robert I then besieged Hugh d'Ivry, Bishop of Bayeux who, along with Archbishop Robert had apparently questioned his authority as duke.[7] From exile in France, Archbishop Robert excommunicated his nephew Duke Robert and placed Normandy under an interdict.[7]

The Archbishop and Duke finally came to terms and to facilitate the lifting of the interdict and excommunication, Duke Robert restored the Archbishop to his see, to his countship of Evereux, and returned all his properties.[8] To further illustrate his change of heart towards the church, Duke Robert restored property that he or his vassals had confiscated, and by 1034 had returned all church properties including those taken from Fécamp Abbey.[8] By 1033 Duke Robert was mounting a major campaign against his double cousin Alan III, Duke of Brittany.[9] He and Alan had been raiding back and forth but finally a peace was negotiated between them by the returned Archbishop Robert, their mutual uncle.[9]

In his last years Robert, realizing his past mistakes, began giving freely to the poor and undertook to rebuild the cathedral church at Rouen.[10] In 1035 Duke Robert had decided on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.[11] After making his illegitimate son William his heir and arranging for the archbishop to watch over and protect young William, Duke Robert set out on his pilgrimage never to return to Normandy.[11] Archbishop Robert fulfilled his promise and effectively ruled Normandy as regent for William[11] until Robert's death in 1037, which almost immediately caused an increase in lawlessness in Normandy.[12] His title of Archbishop of Rouen was succeeded by his nephew, Mauger.[13]

Orderic Vitalis relates of a richly illustrated great psalter given to Archbishop Robert by his sister Queen Emma, wife of king Æthelred.[14] In a catalog of books in the Cathedral of Rouen created during the twelfth century, a reference was found to a particular book, the Benedictionarius Roberti archiepiscopi, which was given to the church of Rouen by Archbishop Robert of Normandy.[b][15] Since that time it became the property of the city of Rouen, where it is preserved (No. 27) as the Benedictional of Æthelgar, possibly for the prayers it contained at the end for the coronation of the Anglo-Saxon kings and queens.[c][16]

Robert was the recipient of two epistolary poems from Warner of Rouen, who describes himself as the bishop's "servant" (famulus).[17]

Family
Robert married Herlevea,[1] and they had several children including the following:

Richard, Count of Évreux (d. 1067)[1]
Ralph d'Évreux, Seigneur of Gacé.[1] He married Basilla Flaitel, daughter of Gerard Flaitel. They had one son, Robert d'Évreux, who died without heirs. Basilla married secondly, Hugh de Gournay.[18]
William d'Évreux,[1][d][19] married Hawise de Échauffour, daughter of Giroie, Lord of Échauffour, and had a daughter, Judith d'Évreux, who married Roger I of Sicily.[20][e][21]

Robert married de Rouen, Herlève in 984 in Évreux, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. Herlève was born in 968 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died on 21 Feb 1034 in Évreux, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried after 21 Feb 1034 in Abbey of St Grestain, Grestain, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: The Good
• FSID: KDQW-JTJ
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1 Jan 996 and 28 Aug 1026, Normandy, France; 3rd Duke of Normandie

Notes:

Richard II, Duke of Normandy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard II "the Good"
Richard the Good as part of the "Six Dukes of Normandy" statue in the town square of Falaise.
Duke of Normandy
Reign 996–1026
Predecessor Richard I
Successor Richard III
Born 23 August 963
Normandy
Died 28 August 1026 (aged 63)
Normandy
Spouse Judith of Brittany
(unsure if married) Poppa of Envermeu
Issue Richard III of Normandy
Robert I of Normandy
and more.
House House of Normandy
Father Richard I, Duke of Normandy
Mother Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy
Richard II (23 August 963 – 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: Le Bon), was the eldest son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnora. He was a Norman nobleman of the House of Normandy.

Contents

[hide]
1 Life
2 Marriages and children
3 Genealogy
4 Notes
5 References
Life

Richard succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 996. During his minority, the first five years of his reign, his regent was Count Rodulf of Ivry, his uncle, who wielded the power and put down a peasant insurrection at the beginning of Richard's reign.

Richard had deep religious interests and found he had much in common with Robert II of France, who he helped militarily against the duchy of Burgundy. He forged a marriage alliance with Brittany by marrying his sister Hawise to Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany and by his own marriage to Geoffrey's sister, Judith of Brittany.

In 1000-1001, Richard repelled an English attack on the Cotentin Peninsula that was led by Ethelred II of England. Ethelred had given orders that Richard be captured, bound and brought to England. But the English had not been prepared for the rapid response of the Norman cavalry and were utterly defeated.

Richard attempted to improve relations with England through his sister Emma of Normandy's marriage to King Ethelred. This marriage was significant in that it later gave his grandson, William the Conqueror, the basis of his claim to the throne of England. The improved relations proved to be beneficial to Ethelred when in 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard invaded England. Emma with her two sons Edward and Alfred fled to Normandy followed shortly thereafter by her husband king Ethelred. Soon after the death of Ethelred, Cnut, King of England forced Emma to marry him while Richard was forced to recognize the new regime as his sister was again Queen. Richard had contacts with Scandinavian Vikings throughout his reign. He employed Viking mercenaries and concluded a treaty with Sweyn Forkbeard who was en route to England.

Richard II commissioned his clerk and confessor, Dudo of Saint-Quentin, to portray his ducal ancestors as morally upright Christian leaders who built Normandy despite the treachery of their overlords and neighboring principalities. It was clearly a work of propaganda designed to legitimize the Norman settlement, and while it contains numerous historically unreliable legends, as respects the reigns of his father and grandfather, Richard I and William I it is basically reliable.

In 1025 and 1026 Richard confirmed gifts of his great-grandfather Rollo to Saint-Ouen at Rouen. His other numerous grants to monastic houses tends to indicate the areas over which Richard had ducal control, namely Caen, the Éverecin, the Cotentin, the Pays de Caux and Rouen.

Richard II died 28 Aug 1026. his eldest son, Richard becoming the new Duke.

Richard II (right), with the Abbot of Mont Saint-Michel (middle) and Lothair of France (left)
Marriages and children

He married firstly, c.1000, Judith (982–1017), daughter of Conan I of Brittany, by whom he had the following issue:

Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy
Alice of Normandy (c. 1003/5), married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy
Robert (c. 1005/7), duke of Normandy
William (c. 1007/9), monk at Fécamp, d. 1025, buried at Fécamp Abbey
Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033. She died young and unmarried.[16]
Secondly he married Poppa of Envermeu, by whom he had the following issue:

Mauger (c. 1019), Archbishop of Rouen
William (c. 1020/5), count of Arques

Richard married de Bretagne, Lady Judith in 1000 in Normandy, France. Judith (daughter of of Berenger, Sir Conan I and d'Anjou, Lady Ermangarde) was born on 21 Mar 982 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; was christened after 22 Mar 982 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; died on 16 Jun 1017 in Bernay, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried on 16 Jun 1017 in Bernay, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LR72-2LH
• Appointments / Titles: 1057, Eu, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; Count of Eu
• Military: 1066, England; Norman conquest of England
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1089 and 1093, Hastings, Sussex, England; Lord

Notes:

Wikipedia

Robert, Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings (d. between 1089-1093), son of William I, Count of Eu, and his wife Lesceline.[1] Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings.

Robert commanded 60 ships in the fleet supporting the landing of William I of England and the Norman conquest of England.[2] Around 1068, Robert was given the Hastings Castle and the adjacent territories previously owned by Onfroy du Tilleul.[3] According to the Domesday Book, Robert and his son William each possessed lands in separate counties. The sum of the annual income generated by the lands of the two men amounted to about 690 pounds sterling.

In 1069 he was charged by the king to support Robert, Count of Mortain, to monitor the Danes,[4] whose fleet moored in the mouth of the Humber, while the latter was to repress the revolt initiated by Eadric the Wild the west. When the Danes left their sanctuary to plunder the neighbourhood, the two commanders and their army fell upon them unexpectedly, crushing them, and forcing them to flee by sea.

After the death of King William, Robert followed the party of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. Dismayed by his softness and debauchery, he turned, along with several other Norman lords, towards the king William II the Red, from whom he received several garrisons for his castles. During the attempted intervention of the English king in Normandy in February 1091, he was one of his supporters. He died after this episode and his son William II succeeded him as count.

Robert married first Beatrix de Falaise,[5] sister of Arlette de Falaise. Robert and Beatrix had six children:

1) Raoul d'Eu (d. after 1036)
2) Robert d'Eu (d. 1149)[citation needed]
3) Condoha (Condor) (d. after 1087) married in 1058 to Fulk d'Angoulême, and was mother of William V d'Angoulême and grandmother of Wulgrin II d'Angoulême.
4) William II, who succeeded his father as Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings[6]
5) Eremburga of Mortain (possible), the second wife of Roger i, Count of Sicily.
6) Armand of Mortain (possible), married to Beatrix, daughter of Tancred of Hauteville.

Very devout, he made numerous donations to the Church, notably lands at Fécamp Abbey of Rouen in 1051. After being widowed, he remarried, to Mathilde de Hauteville, daughter of Roger I, Count of Sicily, and Judith of Evreux, a second cousin of William the Conqueror. He repudiated her, however, and in 1080 she was married to Raymond IV of Saint-Gilles, Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence.

He was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Michel du Tréport,[7] which he had founded in Tréport, near the town of Eu, between 1057 and 1066, in memory of his first wife.[8] Robert was assisted by the council of Duke William and Maurilius, archbishop of Rouen.

Robert was succeeded as Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings by his son William.

Robert married de Falaise, Beatrice in 1039 in France. Beatrice was born in 1021 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 10 Apr 1085 in Le Tréport, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Count of Évreux
• FSID: GHXD-WF2

Notes:

William d'Évreux
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William was a son of Robert II Archbishop of Rouen and Count of Évreux and Herlevea. As a member of the comital dynasty of Évreux, he was probably a supporter of Duke William during his consolidation of control in Normandy. He may also have been a member of the clergy as later generations of Devereux were hereditary chaplains to King Henry and King Stephen, and identified as members of the early form of the Exchequer in Normandy.[a] The Devereux family had lands at Lieuvin and Baiocasino in the pays d'Auge.[b]

William married, c. 1040, Hawisa d'Échauffour, widow of Robert de Grandmesnil and daughter of Giroie, Lord of Échauffour and Gisle de Montfort-sur-Risle.[c] Orderic Vitalis names her, gives her parentage, her two husbands and seven children: six by her first marriage, one by her second to William. Hawise eventually retired to become a nun at Montivilliers along with two of Judith's half-sisters. Together William and Hawisa had a daughter:

Judith d'Évreux († 1076), married Roger I of Sicily
The Devereux family in England which gave rise to the Viscounts of Hereford claims descent from the Norman family of d'Évreux. As William d'Évreux's older siblings are well documented to have had no surviving male heirs, William provides the only potential source of this connection. One source claims that William, by an unidentified woman, was the father of:

William Devereux, he married Helewysa de Lacy
Roger Devereux
Notes
Gilbert Devereux was precentor of Rouen Cathedral, chaplain to Henry I, and treasurer of Normandy. He died in the mid-1120's, and was succeeded by his eldest son, William Devereux. William retired from the court to become Prior of Sainte-Barbe in 1128, and was followed by his brother, Robert Devereux, who was treasurer into Stephen's reign. Gilbert had 5 sons all of whom were involved with the treasury, and two followed their brother to Saint-Barbe.
Lands here were granted to the Priory of Sainte-Barbe by William Devereux for the soul of his father, Gilbert, before 1133, and the grant was confirmed by King Stephen in 1137. These lands were in the same region as d'Evreux's brother, Ralph de Gacé, Sire de Gace.
The necrology of the monastery of Ouche records the death "10 May" of "Haudvisa mater Hugonis de Grentesmesnil".

William married de Echafour, Hawise in 1040. Hawise (daughter of de Echafour, Giroie and de Bastembourg, Gisela) was born in 1007 in Échauffour, Orne, Basse-Normandie, France; died in 1070 in Somme, Picardie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Normandy
• Nickname: The Magnificent
• FSID: LRCQ-X3Y
• Appointments / Titles: 1026; Count of Évreux (Hiémois)
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1027 and 1035, Normandy, France; Duke of Normandie

Notes:

Robert I, Duke of Normandy
For Robert I’s ancestor who took the baptismal name
“Robert”, see Rollo .
Robert the Magnificent (French : le Magni-
Family tree
fique )[lower-alpha 1] (22 June 1000 – 1–3 July 1035), was the
Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035.
Owing to uncertainty over the numbering of the Dukes of
Normandy he is usually called Robert I, but sometimes
Robert II with his ancestor Rollo as Robert I. He was the
father of William the Conqueror who became in 1066
King of England and founded the House of Normandy.
1 Life
Robert was the son of Richard II of Normandy and
Judith , daughter of Conan I, Duke of Brittany . He was
also grandson of Richard I of Normandy , great-grandson
of William I of Normandy and great-great grandson of
Rollo , the Viking who founded Normandy. Before he
died, Richard II had decided his elder son Richard III
would succeed him while his second son Robert would
become Count of Hiémois .[1] In August 1026 their father,
Richard II, died and Richard III became duke, but
very soon afterwards Robert rebelled against his brother,
was subsequently defeated and forced to swear fealty to
his older brother Richard.[2]
1.1 Early reign
When Richard III died a year later, there were suspicions
that Robert had something to do with his death. Although
nothing could be proved, Robert had the most to gain.[3]
The civil war Robert I had brought against his brother
Richard III was still causing instability in the duchy.[3]
Private wars raged between neighbouring barons. This
resulted in a new aristocracy arising in Normandy during
Robert’s reign.[3] It was also during this time that many of
the lesser nobility left Normandy to seek their fortunes in
southern Italy and elsewhere.[3] Soon after assuming the
dukedom, possibly in revenge for supporting his brother
against him, Robert I assembled an army against his uncle,
Robert , Archbishop of Rouen and Count of Évreux.
A temporary truce allowed his uncle to leave Normandy
in exile but this resulted in an edict excommunicating
all of Normandy, which was only lifted when Archbishop
Robert was allowed to return and his countship
was restored.[4] Robert also attacked another powerful
churchman, his cousin Hugo III d'Ivry, Bishop of Bayeux,
banishing him from Normandy for an extended period of
time.[5] Robert also seized a number of church properties
belonging to the Abbey of Fecamp.[6]
1.2 Outside of Normandy
Despite his domestic troubles Robert decided to intervene
in the civil war in Flanders between Baldwin V, Count of
Flanders and his father Baldwin IV whom the younger
Baldwin had driven out of Flanders.[7] Baldwin V, supported
by king Robert II of France , his father-in-law, was
persuaded to make peace with his father in 1030 when
Duke Robert promised the elder Baldwin his considerable
military support.[7] Robert gave shelter to Henry I
of France against his mother, Queen Constance , who favored
her younger son Robert to succeed to the French
throne after his father Robert II.[8] For his help Henry I
rewarded Robert with the French Vexin.[8] In the early
1030s Alan III, Duke of Brittany began expanding his influence
from the area of Rennes and appeared to have
designs on the area surrounding Mont Saint-Michel[9]
After sacking Dol and repelling Alan’s attempts to raid
Avranches, Robert mounted a major campaign against
his cousin Alan III.[9] However, Alan appealed to their
uncle, Archbishop Robert of Rouen, who then brokered
a peace between Duke Robert and his vassal Alan III.[9]
His cousins, the Athelings Edward and Alfred , sons of his
aunt Emma of Normandy and Athelred, King of England
1
2 4 REFERENCES
had been living at the Norman Court and at one point
Robert, on their behalf, attempted to mount an invasion
of England but was prevented in doing so, it was said, by
unfavorable winds,[10] that scattered and sank much of the
fleet. Robert made a safe landing in Guernsey. Gesta Normannorum
Ducum stated that King Cnut sent envoys to
Duke Robert offering to settle half the Kingdom of England
on Edward and Alfred. After postponing the naval
invasion he chose to also postpone the decision until after
he returned from Jerusalem.[11]
1.3 The Church and his pilgrimage
Robert’s attitude towards the Church had changed noticeably
certainly since his reinstating his uncle’s position as
Archbishop of Rouen.[12] In his attempt to reconcile his
differences with the Church he restored property that he
or his vassals had confiscated, and by 1034 had returned
all the properties he had earlier taken from the abbey of
Fecamp.[13]
After making his illegitimate son William his heir, he
set out on pilgrimage to Jerusalem .[14] According to
the Gesta Normannorum Ducum he travelled by way of
Constantinople , reached Jerusalem, fell seriously ill and
died[lower-alpha 2] on the return journey at Nicaea on 2 July
1035.[14] His son William, aged about eight, succeeded
him.[15]
According to the historian William of Malmesbury ,
decades later his son William sent a mission to Constantinople
and Nicaea, charging it with bringing his father’s
body back to Normandy for burial.[16] Permission
was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia (Italy)
on the return journey, the envoys learned that William
himself had meanwhile died.[16] They then decided to reinter
Robert’s body in Italy.[16]
2 Issue
By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise,[17] he was father of:
 William the Conqueror (c. 1028–1087).[18]
By Herleva or possibly another concubine,[lower-alpha 3][19]
he was the father of:
 Adelaide of Normandy , who married firstly,
Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu .[20] She married
secondly, Lambert II, Count of Lens , and thirdly,
Odo II of Champagne .[21]
3 Notes
[1] He was also, although erroneously, said to have been
called 'Robert the Devil' (French: le Diable). Robert I was
never known by the nickname 'the devil' in his lifetime.
'Robert the Devil' was a fictional character who was confused
with Robert I, Duke of Normandy sometime near
the end of the Middle Ages. See: François Neveux, A
Brief History of the Normans, trans. Howard Curtis (Constable
& Robinson, Ltd. London, 2008), p. 97 & n. 5.
[2] It was reported by William of Malmesbury (Gesta regum
Anglorum, Vol. i, pp. 211-12) and Wace (pt. iii, II, 3212–
14) that Robert died of poisoning. William of Malmsebury
pointed to a Ralplh Mowin as the instigator. See:
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), pp. 84–5, n. 2. However it was common in Normandy
during the eleventh century to attribute any sudden
and unexplained death to poisoning. See: David C.
Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of California
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 411
[3] The question of who her mother was seems to remain unsettled.
Elisabeth Van Houts ['Les femmes dans l'histoire
du duché de Normandie', Tabularia « Études », n° 2, 2002,
(10 July 2002), p. 23, n. 22] makes the argument that
Robert of Torigny in the GND II, p. 272 (one of three
mentions in this volume of her being William’s sister) calls
her in this instance William’s 'uterine' sister' (soror uterina)
and is of the opinion this is a mistake similar to one
he made regarding Richard II, Duke of Normandy and his
paternal half-brother William, Count of Eu (calling them
'uterine' brothers). Based on this she concludes Adelaide
was a daughter of Duke Robert by a different concubine.
Kathleen Thompson ["Being the Ducal Sister: The Role
of Adelaide of Aumale”, Normandy and Its Neighbors,
Brepols, (2011) p. 63] cites the same passage in GND as
did Elisabeth Van Houts, specifically GND II, 270–2, but
gives a different opinion. She noted that Robert de Torigni
stated here she was the uterine sister of Duke William “so
we might perhaps conclude that she shared both mother
and father with the Conqueror.” But as Torigni wrote a
century after Adelaide’s birth and in that same sentence
in the GND made a genealogical error, she concludes that
the identity of Adelaide’s mother remains an open question.
4 References
[1] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumieges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Vol. II, Books VVIII,
ed. Elisabeth M.C. Van Houts (Clarendon Press,
Oxford, 1995), pp. 40–1
[2] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
46
[3] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 32
[4] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
48
3
[5] François Neveux. A Brief History of The Normans (Constable
& Robbinson, Ltd, London, 2008), p. 100
[6] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
49
[7] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), pp.
49–50
[8] Elisabeth M C Van Houts, The Normans in Europe
(Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York,
2000), p. 185
[9] David Crouch, The Normans, The History of a Dynasty
(Hambledon Continuum, London, New York, 2002), p.
50
[10] Christopher Harper-Bill; Elisabeth Van Houts, A Companion
to the Anglo-Norman World (Boydell Press, Woodbridge,
UK, 2003), p. 31
[11] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), pp. 78–80
[12] François Neveux. A Brief History of The Normans (Constable
& Robbinson, Ltd, London, 2008), p. 102
[13] François Neveux. A Brief History of The Normans (Constable
& Robbinson, Ltd, London, 2008), p. 103
[14] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), pp. 80-5
[15] François Neveux, A Brief History of the Normans, trans.
Howard Curtis (Constable & Robinson, Ltd. London,
2008), p. 110
[16] William M. Aird, Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy:
C. 1050–1134 (Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 2008),
p. 159 n. 38
[17] The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges,
Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth
M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1992), p. lxxv
[18] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 15,
passim
[19] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), pp.
380–1 noting she may or may not be Herleva’s daughter
but probably is
[20] George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England
Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom,
Extant Extinct or Dormant, Vol. I, ed. Vicary Gibbs
(The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., London, 1910), p. 351
[21] David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of
California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 380
4 5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
5.1 Text
 Robert I, Duke of Normandy Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_I%2C_Duke_of_Normandy?oldid=769821280 Contributors:
Ktsquare, Stan Shebs, John K, Adam Bishop, Tpbradbury, Itai, Mksmith, Wetman, Dimadick, Donarreiskoffer, Henrygb, Everyking, Klemen
Kocjancic, Rich Farmbrough, Furius, Imars, Falastur, A2Kafir, Grutness, Wtmitchell, VivaEmilyDavies, Gene Nygaard, FeanorStar7,
PatGallacher, Mississippienne, LadyofHats, Cuchullain, Porcher, Scafloc, RebelScum, Kmorozov, YurikBot, RussBot, Kauffner, Chaser,
Tvarnoe~enwiki, Allens, SmackBot, Vald, Eskimbot, Srnec, GoodDay, Tamfang, Interfector, Downwards, Clicketyclack, Andrew Dalby,
Grblomerth, Hawkestone, Carpenoctem, WeggeBot, Thijs!bot, Andyjsmith, Tmutant, Maed, Tehem, AntiVandalBot, Txomin, Bearpatch,
Parsecboy, Xn4, Mclay1, Momoboy, JoergenB, MartinBot, Agricolae, Vortimer, Kansas Bear, VolkovBot, Arigato1, FinnWiki, Amcfadgen,
Martarius, Sun Creator, RogDel, Surtsicna, Addbot, Halle23, Favonian, The Quill, Lightbot, Luissilveira, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Rubinbot,
LilHelpa, Xqbot, Sketchmoose, RibotBOT, FrescoBot, Serols, TobeBot, Chnou, Brianann MacAmhlaidh, Weijiya, DASHBot, EmausBot,
John of Reading, ZéroBot, Eyadhamid, L1A1 FAL, NYMets2000, ClueBot NG, Rich Smith, Frietjes, Widr, Mwyandt, Iamthecheese44,
Dainomite, Rory-the-roman, David.moreno72, Makecat-bot, Lugia2453, Baracs, Knedwelb, Mehransabeti, Ânes-pur-sàng, KasparBot and
Anonymous: 47
5.2 Images
 File:Cronological_tree_william_I.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Cronological_tree_william_I.svg
License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
 File:Flag_of_Basse-Normandie.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Flag_of_Basse-Normandie.svg
License: GFDL Contributors: own work + alt='Haute-Normandie flag.svg' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Haute-Normandie_flag.svg/
30px-Haute-Normandie_flag.svg.png' width='30' height='18' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/
Haute-Normandie_flag.svg/45px-Haute-Normandie_flag.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/
Haute-Normandie_flag.svg/60px-Haute-Normandie_flag.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='500' data-file-height='300' /> Original artist:
Zorlot
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5.3 Content license
 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Robert I, Duke of Normandy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert I

Duke of Normandy
Reign 1027–1035
Predecessor Richard III
Successor William II
Born 22 June 1000
Normandy, France
Died 3 July 1035 (aged 35)
Nicaea
Issue William the Conqueror
Adelaide of Normandy
House House of Normandy
Father Richard II, Duke of Normandy
Mother Judith of Brittany

Family tree
Robert the Magnificent (French: le Magnifique)[a] (22 June 1000 – 1–3 July 1035), was the Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035.

Owing to uncertainty over the numbering of the Dukes of Normandy he is usually called Robert I, but sometimes Robert II with his ancestor Rollo as Robert I. He was the father of William the Conqueror who became in 1066 King of England and founded the House of Normandy.

Contents

[hide]
1 Life
1.1 Early reign
1.2 Outside of Normandy
1.3 The Church and his pilgrimage
2 Issue
3 Notes
4 References
Life

Robert was the son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith, daughter of Conan I, Duke of Brittany. He was also grandson of Richard I of Normandy, great-grandson of William I of Normandy and great-great grandson of Rollo, the Viking who founded Normandy. Before he died, Richard II had decided his elder son Richard III would succeed him while his second son Robert would become Count of Hiémois. In August 1026 their father, Richard II, died and Richard III became duke, but very soon afterwards Robert rebelled against his brother, was subsequently defeated and forced to swear fealty to his older brother Richard.

Early reign

When Richard III died a year later, there were suspicions that Robert had something to do with his death. Although nothing could be proved, Robert had the most to gain. The civil war Robert I had brought against his brother Richard III was still causing instability in the duchy. Private wars raged between neighbouring barons. This resulted in a new aristocracy arising in Normandy during Robert’s reign. It was also during this time that many of the lesser nobility left Normandy to seek their fortunes in southern Italy and elsewhere. Soon after assuming the dukedom, possibly in revenge for supporting his brother against him, Robert I assembled an army against his uncle, Robert, Archbishop of Rouen and Count of Évreux. A temporary truce allowed his uncle to leave Normandy in exile but this resulted in an edict excommunicating all of Normandy, which was only lifted when Archbishop Robert was allowed to return and his countship was restored. Robert also attacked another powerful churchman, his cousin Hugo III d'Ivry, Bishop of Bayeux, banishing him from Normandy for an extended period of time. Robert also seized a number of church properties belonging to the Abbey of Fecamp.

Outside of Normandy

Despite his domestic troubles Robert decided to intervene in the civil war in Flanders between Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and his father Baldwin IV whom the younger Baldwin had driven out of Flanders. Baldwin V, supported by king Robert II of France, his father-in-law, was persuaded to make peace with his father in 1030 when Duke Robert promised the elder Baldwin his considerable military support. Robert gave shelter to Henry I of France against his mother, Queen Constance, who favored her younger son Robert to succeed to the French throne after his father Robert II. For his help Henry I rewarded Robert with the French Vexin. In the early 1030s Alan III, Duke of Brittany began expanding his influence from the area of Rennes and appeared to have designs on the area surrounding Mont Saint-Michel After sacking Dol and repelling Alan's attempts to raid Avranches, Robert mounted a major campaign against his cousin Alan III. However, Alan appealed to their uncle, Archbishop Robert of Rouen, who then brokered a peace between Duke Robert and his vassal Alan III. His cousins, the Athelings Edward and Alfred, sons of his aunt Emma of Normandy and Athelred, King of England had been living at the Norman Court and at one point Robert, on their behalf, attempted to mount an invasion of England but was prevented in doing so, it was said, by unfavorable winds, that scattered and sank much of the fleet. Robert made a safe landing in Guernsey. Gesta Normannorum Ducum stated that King Cnut sent envoys to Duke Robert offering to settle half the Kingdom of England on Edward and Alfred. After postponing the naval invasion he chose to also postpone the decision until after he returned from Jerusalem.

The Church and his pilgrimage

Robert's attitude towards the Church had changed noticeably certainly since his reinstating his uncle's position as Archbishop of Rouen. In his attempt to reconcile his differences with the Church he restored property that he or his vassals had confiscated, and by 1034 had returned all the properties he had earlier taken from the abbey of Fecamp.

After making his illegitimate son William his heir, he set out on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to the Gesta Normannorum Ducum he travelled by way of Constantinople, reached Jerusalem, fell seriously ill and died[b] on the return journey at Nicaea on 2 July 1035. His son William, aged about eight, succeeded him.

According to the historian William of Malmesbury, decades later his son William sent a mission to Constantinople and Nicaea, charging it with bringing his father's body back to Normandy for burial.[16] Permission was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia (Italy) on the return journey, the envoys learned that William himself had meanwhile died.[16] They then decided to re-inter Robert's body in Italy.[16]

Issue

By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise,[17] he was father of:

William the Conqueror (c. 1028–1087).[18]
By Herleva or possibly another concubine,[c][19] he was the father of:

Adelaide of Normandy, who married firstly, Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu.[20] She married secondly, Lambert II, Count of Lens, and thirdly, Odo II of Champagne.[21]
Notes

He was also, although erroneously, said to have been called 'Robert the Devil' (French: le Diable). Robert I was never known by the nickname 'the devil' in his lifetime. 'Robert the Devil' was a fictional character who was confused with Robert I, Duke of Normandy sometime near the end of the Middle Ages. See: François Neveux, A Brief History of the Normans, trans. Howard Curtis (Constable & Robinson, Ltd. London, 2008), p. 97 & n. 5.
It was reported by William of Malmesbury (Gesta regum Anglorum, Vol. i, pp. 211-12) and Wace (pt. iii, II, 3212–14) that Robert died of poisoning. William of Malmsebury pointed to a Ralplh Mowin as the instigator. See: The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth M.C. Van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992), pp. 84–5, n. 2. However it was common in Normandy during the eleventh century to attribute any sudden and unexplained death to poisoning. See: David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror (University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 411
The question of who her mother was seems to remain unsettled. Elisabeth Van Houts ['Les femmes dans l'histoire du duché de Normandie', Tabularia « Études », n° 2, 2002, (10 July 2002), p. 23, n. 22] makes the argument that Robert of Torigny in the GND II, p. 272 (one of three mentions in this volume of her being William's sister) calls her in this instance William's 'uterine' sister' (soror uterina) and is of the opinion this is a mistake similar to one he made regarding Richard II, Duke of Normandy and his paternal half-brother William, Count of Eu (calling them 'uterine' brothers). Based on this she concludes Adelaide was a daughter of Duke Robert by a different concubine. Kathleen Thompson ["Being the Ducal Sister: The Role of Adelaide of Aumale", Normandy and Its Neighbors, Brepols, (2011) p. 63] cites the same passage in GND as did Elisabeth Van Houts, specifically GND II, 270–2, but gives a different opinion. She noted that Robert de Torigni stated here she was the uterine sister of Duke William "so we might perhaps conclude that she shared both mother and father with the Conqueror." But as Torigni wrote a century after Adelaide's birth and in that same sentence in the GND made a genealogical error, she concludes that the identity of Adelaide's mother remains an open question.

Family/Spouse: 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: LB5R-TH8
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1026 and 1027; Duke of Normandy

Notes:

Richard III was the eldest son of Richard II of Normandy. Around 1020, Richard was sent by his father in command of a large army to rescue his brother-in-law, Reginald, later Count of Burgundy, by attacking bishop and count Hugh of Chalon, who had captured and imprisoned Reginald.

When Richard II died in August 1026, his eldest son, Richard III became Duke of Normandy. Shortly after his reign began his brother Robert, discontented with his province of Hiemois on the border of Normandy, revolted against his brother. He laid siege to the town of Falaise, but was soon brought to heel by Richard who captured him, then released him on his oath of fealty. No sooner had Richard disbanded his army and returned to Rouen, when he died suddenly (some say suspiciously). The duchy passed to his younger brother Robert I.

In January 1027 he was married to Adela, of a noble lineage. She is usually identified with Adela, a younger daughter of King Robert II of France, who married to Baldwin V, Count of Flanders after Richard's 6 August 1027 death

Richard's marriage to Adela was childless.

By an unknown woman, he had two children:

Alice, who married Ranulph, Viscount of Bayeux
Nicholas, monk at Fecamp, Abbot of Saint-Ouen, Rouen (died 26 Feb 1092)

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: GVJW-SZ8

Notes:

geni.com
Adeliza de Normandie, comtesse de Bourgogne
Spanish: Da. Adelaida de Normandía, comtesse de Bourgogne, French: de Buonalbergo, comtesse de Bourgogne, Italian: de Buonalbergo, comtesse de Bourgogne
Also Known As: "Adeliza", "Alix", "Judith", "Alice", "Alisa", "Adelaide", "Adélaïde", "Adele", "Adela", "Aelis"
Birthdate: circa 1002
Birthplace: Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France
Death: July 07, 1037 (30-39)
Burgundy, Marne, Grand Est, France
Place of Burial: Bourgogne, France
Immediate Family:
Daughter of
Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy and
Judith of Brittany

Wife of Reginald I Ivrea, count palatine of Burgundy

Mother of
Guy of Brionne; William I "the Great" count of Burgundy;
Hugh de Bourgogne, Viscount of Lons-le-Saunier and Falcon of Burgundy
Sister of Robert I "the Magnificent", Duke of Normandy;
Richard III, duke of Normandy;
William of Normandy, de Fecamp;
Eleanor of Normandy and
Matilda of Normandy

Half sister of Mauger, Archbishop of Rouen; William of Normandy, Count Of Talou & Arques and Papia de Normandie, Daughter of Richard II

Family/Spouse: de Bourgogne, Renaud I. Renaud (son of de Bourgogne, Otto William I and de Roucy, Ermentrude) was born in 986 in Nevers, Nièvre, Bourgogne, France; died on 4 Sep 1057 in Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; was buried in 1057 in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comté, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Countess de Vengena
• Appointments / Titles: Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France; Countess of Angoulême
• FSID: L8YM-6TB

Cundoha married de Taillefer, Foulques in 1080 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. Foulques (son of de Taillefer, Count Geoffrey and d'Archiac, Petronille) was born on 24 Sep 1029 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 23 Jun 1089 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France; was buried after 23 Jun 1089 in Montmoreau, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Earl of Roumare
• Nickname: The Fortunate
• FSID: LDL4-HYW

Notes:

geni.com

Gautier Walter Evreux (d'Evreux)
Also Known As: "Walter", "De Ewrus", "Evereux", "of Rosmar", "Walter "the Fortunate" d'Evreux"
Birthdate: 1033
Birthplace: Rosmar, Normandy, France
Death: 1070 (36-37)
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
Immediate Family:

Father of
Gerold Le Gros;
Ala d'Evereaux;
Robert d'Evreux (le Devereux) and
Philippa d'Evereux

Walter married de Ewrus, Philippa in 1055 in France. Philippa was born in 1037 in Roumare, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; died in 1066 in Herefordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Comtesse d'Aumâle
• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Champagne
• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Ponthieu de Normandie
• Appointments / Titles: Countess of the Basques
• Appointments / Titles: She retained the title Comtesse d'Aumâle after her first marriage.
• Life Event: Countess de Champagne
• Life Event: Countess of Aumale (suo jure); Comtesse d'Aumale
• Life Event: Countess of Ponthieu de Normandie
• Life Event: Countess of the Basques
• FSID: LZGK-6BD

Notes:

Adelaide of Normandy (or Adeliza) was the sister of William the Conqueror and was Countess of Aumale in her own right.

Life
Born c. 1030, Adelaide was an illegitimate daughter of the Norman duke Robert the Magnificent. Robert's likewise illegitimate son and successor, William the Conqueror, was Adelaide's brother or half-brother.

Adelaide's first marriage to Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu potentially gave William a powerful ally in upper Normandy. But at the Council of Reims in 1049, when the marriage of William with Matilda of Flanders was prohibited based on consanguinity, so were those of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne and Enguerrand of Ponthieu, who was already married to Adelaide. Adelaide's marriage was apparently annulled c.1049/50 and another marriage was arranged for her, this time to Lambert II, Count of Lens, younger son of Eustace I, Count of Boulogne forming a new marital alliance between Normandy and Boulogne. Lambert was killed in 1054 at Lille, aiding Baldwin V, Count of Flanders against Emperor Henry III. Now widowed, Adelaide resided at Aumale, probably part of her dower from her first husband, Enguerrand, or part of a settlement after the capture of Guy of Ponthieu, her brother-in-law. As a dowager Adelaide began a semi-religious retirement and became involved with the church at Auchy presenting them with a number of gifts. In 1060 she was called upon again to form another marital alliance, this time to a younger man Odo, Count of Champagne. Odo seems to have been something of a disappointment as he appears on only one of the Conqueror's charters and received no land in England; his wife being a tenant-in-chief in her own right.

In 1082, William and his wife, Matilda, gave to the abbey of the Holy Trinity in Caen the town of Le Homme in the Cotentin with a provision to the Countess of Albamarla (Aumale), his sister, for a life tenancy. In 1086, as Comitissa de Albatnarla, as she was listed in the Domesday Book, was shown as having numerous holdings in both Suffolk and Essex, one of the very few Norman noblewomen to have held lands in England at Domesday as a tenant-in-chief. She was also given the lordship of Holderness which was held after her death by her 3rd husband, Odo, the by then disinherited Count of Champagne; the lordship then passed to their son, Stephen. Adelaide died before 1090.

Family
Adelaide married three times; first to Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu (died 1053) by whom she had issue:

Adelaide, living 1096.
She married secondly Lambert II, Count of Lens (died 1054), they had a daughter:

Judith of Lens, m. Waltheof Earl of Huntingdon and Northumbria.
Adelaide married thirdly in 1060 Odo, Count of Champagne (d. aft. 1096), by whom she had a son:

Stephen, Count of Aumale.

Adélaïde married de Boulogne, Sir Lambert in 1054 in Normandy, France. Lambert (son of de Boulogne, Eustace I and de Louvain, Matilde) was born in 1015 in Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died on 12 Mar 1054 in Phalempin, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; was buried on 19 Jun 1054 in Nivelles, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Physical Description: He was described as burly, with a harsh guttural voice, At about 5'10", with excessive corpulence in middle years, exceptional physical strength, and in good health. He had Russet hair, long arms and legs. Said to be of medium height, corpulent, but majes
• Appointments / Titles: Count of Nevers
• Nickname: The Conquerer
• FSID: LRCQ-HCL
• Religion: Catholic
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1035 and 1087; 7th Duke of Normandy
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1066 and 1087; King of England

Notes:

William the Conqueror
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William the Conqueror

William as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry during the Battle of Hastings, lifting his helm to show that he is still alive
King of England
Reign 25 December 1066 – 9 September 1087
Coronation 25 December 1066
Predecessor Edgar the Ætheling (uncrowned) (in reality) Harold Godwinson
Successor William Rufus Duke of Normandy
Reign 3 July 1035 – 9 September 1087
Predecessor Robert the Magnificent
Successor Robert Curthose

Born About 1028
Falaise, Normandy
Died 9 September 1087 (aged about 59)
Priory of Saint Gervase, Rouen, Normandy
Burial Saint-Étienne de Caen, Normandy
Spouse Matilda of Flanders
Issue
Detail Robert Curthose
Richard
William Rufus
Matilda
Cecilia
Henry I of England
Adeliza
Constance
Adela, Countess of Blois
Agatha (existence doubtful)
House Norman dynasty
Father Robert the Magnificent
Mother Herleva of Falaise
William I[a] (c. 1028 – 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard,[b] was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy (as Duke William II) from 1035 onward. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England six years later. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his eldest son.

William was the son of the unmarried Robert I, Duke of Normandy, by Robert's mistress Herleva. His illegitimate status and his youth caused some difficulties for him after he succeeded his father, as did the anarchy that plagued the first years of his rule. During his childhood and adolescence, members of the Norman aristocracy battled each other, both for control of the child duke and for their own ends. In 1047 William was able to quash a rebellion and begin to establish his authority over the duchy, a process that was not complete until about 1060. His marriage in the 1050s to Matilda of Flanders provided him with a powerful ally in the neighboring county of Flanders. By the time of his marriage, William was able to arrange the appointments of his supporters as bishops and abbots in the Norman church. His consolidation of power allowed him to expand his horizons, and by 1062 William was able to secure control of the neighboring county of Maine.

In the 1050s and early 1060s William became a contender for the throne of England, then held by the childless Edward the Confessor, his first cousin once removed. There were other potential claimants, including the powerful English earl Harold Godwinson, who was named the next king by Edward on the latter's deathbed in January 1066. William argued that Edward had previously promised the throne to him, and that Harold had sworn to support William's claim. William built a large fleet and invaded England in September 1066, decisively defeating and killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. After further military efforts William was crowned king on Christmas Day 1066, in London. He made arrangements for the governance of England in early 1067 before returning to Normandy. Several unsuccessful rebellions followed, but by 1075 William's hold on England was mostly secure, allowing him to spend the majority of the rest of his reign on the continent.

William's final years were marked by difficulties in his continental domains, troubles with his eldest son, and threatened invasions of England by the Danes. In 1086 William ordered the compilation of the Domesday Book, a survey listing all the landholders in England along with their holdings. William died in September 1087 while leading a campaign in northern France, and was buried in Caen. His reign in England was marked by the construction of castles, the settling of a new Norman nobility on the land, and change in the composition of the English clergy. He did not try to integrate his various domains into one empire, but instead continued to administer each part separately. William's lands were divided after his death: Normandy went to his eldest son, Robert Curthose, and his second surviving son, William Rufus, received England.

Contents

[hide]
1 Background
2 Early life
3 Duke of Normandy
3.1 Challenges
3.2 Consolidation of power
3.3 Appearance and character
3.4 Norman administration
4 English and continental concerns
5 Invasion of England
5.1 Harold's preparations
5.2 William's preparations
5.3 Tostig and Hardrada's invasion
5.4 Battle of Hastings
5.5 March on London
6 Consolidation
6.1 First actions
6.2 English resistance
6.3 Church affairs
7 Troubles in England and the continent
7.1 Danish raids and rebellion
7.2 Revolt of the Earls
7.3 Troubles at home and abroad
7.4 Last years
8 William as king
8.1 Changes in England
8.2 Administration
8.3 Domesday Book
9 Death and aftermath
10 Legacy
11 Family and children
12 Notes
13 Citations
14 References
15 External links
Background

Norsemen first began raiding in what became Normandy in the late 8th century. Permanent Scandinavian settlement occurred before 911, when Rollo, one of the Viking leaders, and King Charles the Simple of France reached an agreement surrendering the county of Rouen to Rollo. The lands around Rouen became the core of the later duchy of Normandy. Normandy may have been used as a base when Scandinavian attacks on England were renewed at the end of the 10th century, which would have worsened relations between England and Normandy. In an effort to improve matters, King Æthelred the Unready took Emma of Normandy, sister of Duke Richard II, as his second wife in 1002.

Danish raids on England continued, and Æthelred sought help from Richard, taking refuge in Normandy in 1013 when King Swein I of Denmark drove Æthelred and his family from England. Swein's death in 1014 allowed Æthelred to return home, but Swein's son Cnut contested Æthelred's return. Æthelred died unexpectedly in 1016, and Cnut became king of England. Æthelred and Emma's two sons, Edward and Alfred, went into exile in Normandy while their mother, Emma, became Cnut's second wife.

After Cnut's death in 1035 the English throne fell to Harold Harefoot, his son by his first wife, while Harthacnut, his son by Emma, became king in Denmark. England remained unstable. Alfred returned to England in 1036 to visit his mother and perhaps to challenge Harold as king. One story implicates Earl Godwin of Wessex in Alfred's subsequent death, but others blame Harold. Emma went into exile in Flanders until Harthacnut became king following Harold's death in 1040, and his half-brother Edward followed Harthacnut to England; Edward was proclaimed king after Harthacnut's death in June 1042.[c]

Early life

Château de Falaise in Falaise, Lower Normandy, France; William was born in an earlier building here.
William was born in 1027 or 1028 at Falaise, Normandy, most likely towards the end of 1028.[d] He was the only son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, son of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.[e] His mother, Herleva, was the daughter of Fulbert of Falaise; Fulbert may have been a tanner or embalmer. She was possibly a member of the ducal household, but did not marry Robert. Instead, she later married Herluin de Conteville, with whom she had two sons – Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain – and a daughter whose name is unknown.[f] One of Herleva's brothers, Walter, became a supporter and protector of William during his minority.[g] Robert also had a daughter, Adelaide of Normandy, by another mistress.

Robert became Duke of Normandy on 6 August 1027, succeeding his elder brother Richard III, who had only succeeded to the title the previous year. Robert and his brother had been at odds over the succession, and Richard's death was sudden. Robert was accused by some writers of killing his brother, a plausible but now unprovable charge. Conditions in Normandy were unsettled, as noble families despoiled the Church and Alan III of Brittany waged war against the duchy, possibly in an attempt to take control. By 1031 Robert had gathered considerable support from noblemen, many of whom would become prominent during William's life. They included Robert's uncle, Robert the archbishop of Rouen, who had originally opposed the duke, Osbern, a nephew of Gunnor the wife of Duke Richard I, and Count Gilbert of Brionne, a grandson of Richard I. After his accession, Robert continued Norman support for the English princes Edward and Alfred, who were still in exile in northern France.

There are indications that Robert may have been briefly betrothed to a daughter of King Cnut, but no marriage took place. It is unclear if William would have been supplanted in the ducal succession if Robert had had a legitimate son. Earlier dukes had been illegitimate, and William's association with his father on ducal charters appears to indicate that William was considered Robert's most likely heir. In 1034 Duke Robert decided to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Although some of his supporters tried to dissuade him from undertaking the journey, Robert convened a council in January 1035 and had the assembled Norman magnates swear fealty to William as his heir before leaving for Jerusalem. He died in early July at Nicea, on his way back to Normandy.

Duke of Normandy

Challenges

Diagram showing William's family relationships. Names with "---" under them were opponents of William, and names with "+++" were supporters of William. Some relatives switched sides over time, and are marked with both symbols.
William faced several challenges on becoming duke, including his illegitimate birth and his youth: the evidence indicates that he was either seven or eight years old at the time.[16][17][h] He enjoyed the support of his great-uncle, Archbishop Robert, as well as the king of France, Henry I, enabling him to succeed to his father's duchy.[20] The support given to the exiled English princes in their attempt to return to England in 1036 shows that the new duke's guardians were attempting to continue his father's policies, but Archbishop Robert's death in March 1037 removed one of William's main supporters, and conditions in Normandy quickly descended into chaos.[20]

The anarchy in the duchy lasted until 1047,[21] and control of the young duke was one of the priorities of those contending for power. At first, Alan of Brittany had custody of the duke, but when Alan died in either late 1039 or October 1040, Gilbert of Brionne took charge of William. Gilbert was killed within months, and another guardian, Turchetil, was also killed around the time of Gilbert's death.[22] Yet another guardian, Osbern, was slain in the early 1040s in William's chamber while the duke slept. It was said that Walter, William's maternal uncle, was occasionally forced to hide the young duke in the houses of peasants,[23] although this story may be an embellishment by Orderic Vitalis. The historian Eleanor Searle speculates that William was raised with the three cousins who later became important in his career – William fitzOsbern, Roger de Beaumont, and Roger of Montgomery.[24] Although many of the Norman nobles engaged in their own private wars and feuds during William's minority, the viscounts still acknowledged the ducal government, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy was supportive of William.[25]

Column at the site of the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes
King Henry continued to support the young duke,[26] but in late 1046 opponents of William came together in a rebellion centred in lower Normandy, led by Guy of Burgundy with support from Nigel, Viscount of the Cotentin, and Ranulf, Viscount of the Bessin. According to stories that may have legendary elements, an attempt was made to seize William at Valognes, but he escaped under cover of darkness, seeking refuge with King Henry.[27] In early 1047 Henry and William returned to Normandy and were victorious at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes near Caen, although few details of the actual fighting are recorded.[28] William of Poitiers claimed that the battle was won mainly through William's efforts, but earlier accounts claim that King Henry's men and leadership also played an important part. William assumed power in Normandy, and shortly after the battle promulgated the Truce of God throughout his duchy, in an effort to limit warfare and violence by restricting the days of the year on which fighting was permitted.[29] Although the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes marked a turning point in William's control of the duchy, it was not the end of his struggle to gain the upper hand over the nobility. The period from 1047 to 1054 saw almost continuous warfare, with lesser crises continuing until 1060.[30]

Consolidation of power

William's next efforts were against Guy of Burgundy, who retreated to his castle at Brionne, which William besieged. After a long effort, the duke succeeded in exiling Guy in 1050.[31] To address the growing power of the Count of Anjou, Geoffrey Martel,[32] William joined with King Henry in a campaign against him, the last known cooperation between the two. They succeeded in capturing an Angevin fortress, but accomplished little else.[33] Geoffrey attempted to expand his authority into the county of Maine, especially after the death of Hugh IV of Maine in 1051. Central to the control of Maine were the holdings of the Bellême family, who held Bellême on the border of Maine and Normandy, as well as the fortresses at Alençon and Domfort. Bellême's overlord was the king of France, but Domfort was under the overlordship of Geoffrey Martel and Duke William was Alençon's overlord. The Bellême family, whose lands were quite strategically placed between their three different overlords, were able to play each of them against the other and secure virtual independence for themselves.[32]

Image from the Bayeux Tapestry showing William with his half-brothers. William is in the centre, Odo is on the left with empty hands, and Robert is on the right with a sword in his hand.
On the death of Hugh of Maine, Geoffrey Martel occupied Maine in a move contested by William and King Henry; eventually they succeeded in driving Geoffrey from the county, and in the process, William was able to secure the Bellême family strongholds at Alençon and Domfort for himself. He was thus able to assert his overlordship over the Bellême family and compel them to act consistently in Norman interests.[34] But in 1052 the king and Geoffrey Martel made common cause against William at the same time as some Norman nobles began to contest William's increasing power. Henry's about-face was probably motivated by a desire to retain dominance over Normandy, which was now threatened by William's growing mastery of his duchy.[35] William was engaged in military actions against his own nobles throughout 1053,[36] as well as with the new Archbishop of Rouen, Mauger.[37] In February 1054 the king and the Norman rebels launched a double invasion of the duchy. Henry led the main thrust through the county of Évreux, while the other wing, under the French king's brother Odo, invaded eastern Normandy.[38]

William met the invasion by dividing his forces into two groups. The first, which he led, faced Henry. The second, which included some who became William's firm supporters, such as Robert, Count of Eu, Walter Giffard, Roger of Mortemer, and William de Warenne, faced the other invading force. This second force defeated the invaders at the Battle of Mortemer. In addition to ending both invasions, the battle allowed the duke's ecclesiastical supporters to depose Mauger from the archbishopric of Rouen. Mortemer thus marked another turning point in William's growing control of the duchy,[39] although his conflict with the French king and the Count of Anjou continued until 1060.[40] Henry and Geoffrey led another invasion of Normandy in 1057 but were defeated by William at the Battle of Varaville. This was the last invasion of Normandy during William's lifetime.[41] In 1058, William invaded the County of Dreux and took Tillières-sur-Avre and Thimert. Henry attempted to dislodge William, but the Siege of Thimert dragged on for two years until Henry's death.[41] The deaths of Count Geoffrey and the king in 1060 cemented the shift in the balance of power towards William.[41]

The signatures of William I and Matilda are the first two large crosses on the Accord of Winchester from 1072.
One factor in William's favour was his marriage to Matilda of Flanders, the daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders. The union was arranged in 1049, but Pope Leo IX forbade the marriage at the Council of Rheims in October 1049.[i] The marriage nevertheless went ahead some time in the early 1050s,[43][j] possibly unsanctioned by the pope. According to a late source not generally considered to be reliable, papal sanction was not secured until 1059, but as papal-Norman relations in the 1050s were generally good, and Norman clergy were able to visit Rome in 1050 without incident, it was probably secured earlier.[45] Papal sanction of the marriage appears to have required the founding of two monasteries in Caen – one by William and one by Matilda.[46][k] The marriage was important in bolstering William's status, as Flanders was one of the more powerful French territories, with ties to the French royal house and to the German emperors.[45] Contemporary writers considered the marriage, which produced four sons and five or six daughters, to be a success.[48]

Appearance and character

No authentic portrait of William has been found; the contemporary depictions of him on the Bayeux Tapestry and on his seals and coins are conventional representations designed to assert his authority.[49] There are some written descriptions of a burly and robust appearance, with a guttural voice. He enjoyed excellent health until old age, although he became quite fat in later life.[50] He was strong enough to draw bows that others were unable to pull and had great stamina.[49] Geoffrey Martel described him as without equal as a fighter and as a horseman.[51] Examination of William's femur, the only bone to survive when the rest of his remains were destroyed, showed he was approximately 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) in height.[49]

There are records of two tutors for the young duke during the late 1030s and early 1040s, but the extent of William's literary education is unclear. He was not known as a patron of authors, and there is little evidence that he sponsored scholarship or other intellectual activities. Orderic Vitalis records that William tried to learn to read Old English late in life, but he was unable to devote sufficient time to the effort and quickly gave up.[52] William's main hobby appears to have been hunting. His marriage to Matilda appears to have been quite affectionate, and there are no signs that he was unfaithful to her – unusual in a medieval monarch. Medieval writers criticised William for his greed and cruelty, but his personal piety was universally praised by contemporaries.

Norman administration

Norman government under William was similar to the government that had existed under earlier dukes. It was a fairly simple administrative system, built around the ducal household,[53] which consisted of a group of officers including stewards, butlers, and marshalls.[54] The duke travelled constantly around the duchy, confirming charters and collecting revenues.[55] Most of the income came from the ducal lands, as well as from tolls and a few taxes. This income was collected by the chamber, one of the household departments.[54]

William cultivated close relations with the church in his duchy. He took part in church councils and made several appointments to the Norman episcopate, including the appointment of Maurilius as Archbishop of Rouen.[56] Another important appointment was that of William's half-brother Odo as Bishop of Bayeux in either 1049 or 1050. He also relied on the clergy for advice, including Lanfranc, a non-Norman who rose to become one of William's prominent ecclesiastical advisors in the late 1040s and remained so throughout the 1050s and 1060s. William gave generously to the church;[56] from 1035 to 1066, the Norman aristocracy founded at least 20 new monastic houses, including William's two monasteries in Caen, a remarkable expansion of religious life in the duchy.[57]

English and continental concerns

Family relationships of the claimants to the English throne in 1066, and others involved in the struggle. Kings of England are shown in bold.
In 1051 the childless King Edward of England appears to have chosen William as his successor to the English throne.[58] William was the grandson of Edward's maternal uncle, Richard II, Duke of Normandy.[58] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in the "D" version, states that William visited England in the later part of 1051, perhaps to secure confirmation of the succession,[59] or perhaps William was attempting to secure aid for his troubles in Normandy.[60] The trip is unlikely given William's absorption in warfare with Anjou at the time. Whatever Edward's wishes, it was likely that any claim by William would be opposed by Godwin, the Earl of Wessex, a member of the most powerful family in England.[59] Edward had married Edith, Godwin's daughter, in 1043, and Godwin appears to have been one of the main supporters of Edward's claim to the throne.[61] By 1050, however, relations between the king and the earl had soured, culminating in a crisis in 1051 that led to the exile of Godwin and his family from England. It was during this exile that Edward offered the throne to William.[62] Godwin returned from exile in 1052 with armed forces, and a settlement was reached between the king and the earl, restoring the earl and his family to their lands and replacing Robert of Jumièges, a Norman whom Edward had named Archbishop of Canterbury, with Stigand, the Bishop of Winchester.[63] No English source mentions a supposed embassy by Archbishop Robert to William conveying the promise of the succession, and the two Norman sources that mention it, William of Jumièges and William of Poitiers, are not precise in their chronology of when this visit took place.[60]

Count Herbert II of Maine died in 1062, and William, who had betrothed his eldest son Robert to Herbert's sister Margaret, claimed the county through his son. Local nobles resisted the claim, but William invaded and by 1064 had secured control of the area.[64] William appointed a Norman to the bishopric of Le Mans in 1065. He also allowed his son Robert Curthose to do homage to the new Count of Anjou, Geoffrey the Bearded.[65] William's western border was thus secured, but his border with Brittany remained insecure. In 1064 William invaded Brittany in a campaign that remains obscure in its details. Its effect, though, was to destabilise Brittany, forcing the duke, Conan II, to focus on internal problems rather than on expansion. Conan's death in 1066 further secured William's borders in Normandy. William also benefited from his campaign in Brittany by securing the support of some Breton nobles who went on to support the invasion of England in 1066.[66]

Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry whose text indicates William supplying weapons to Harold during Harold's trip to the continent in 1064
In England, Earl Godwin died in 1053 and his sons were increasing in power: Harold succeeded to his father's earldom, and another son, Tostig, became Earl of Northumbria. Other sons were granted earldoms later: Gyrth as Earl of East Anglia in 1057 and Leofwine as Earl of Kent some time between 1055 and 1057.[67] Some sources claim that Harold took part in William's Breton campaign of 1064 and that Harold swore to uphold William's claim to the English throne at the end of the campaign,[65] but no English source reports this trip, and it is unclear if it actually occurred. It may have been Norman propaganda designed to discredit Harold, who had emerged as the main contender to succeed King Edward.[68] Meanwhile, another contender for the throne had emerged – Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside and a grandson of Æthelred II, returned to England in 1057, and although he died shortly after his return, he brought with him his family, which included two daughters, Margaret and Christina, and a son, Edgar the Ætheling.[69][l]

In 1065 Northumbria revolted against Tostig, and the rebels chose Morcar, the younger brother of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, as earl in place of Tostig. Harold, perhaps to secure the support of Edwin and Morcar in his bid for the throne, supported the rebels and persuaded King Edward to replace Tostig with Morcar. Tostig went into exile in Flanders, along with his wife Judith, who was the daughter of Count Baldwin IV of Flanders. Edward was ailing, and he died on 5 January 1066. It is unclear what exactly happened at Edward's deathbed. One story, deriving from the Vita Edwardi, a biography of Edward, claims that Edward was attended by his wife Edith, Harold, Archbishop Stigand, and Robert FitzWimarc, and that the king named Harold as his successor. The Norman sources do not dispute the fact that Harold was named as the next king, but they declare that Harold's oath and Edward's earlier promise of the throne could not be changed on Edward's deathbed. Later English sources stated that Harold had been elected as king by the clergy and magnates of England.[71]

Invasion of England

Harold's preparations

Locations of some of the events in 1066
Harold was crowned on 6 January 1066 in Edward's new Norman-style Westminster Abbey, although some controversy surrounds who performed the ceremony. English sources claim that Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, performed the ceremony, while Norman sources state that the coronation was performed by Stigand, who was considered a non-canonical archbishop by the papacy.[72] Harold's claim to the throne was not entirely secure, however, as there were other claimants, perhaps including his exiled brother Tostig.[73][m] King Harald Hardrada of Norway also had a claim to the throne as the uncle and heir of King Magnus I, who had made a pact with Harthacnut in about 1040 that if either Magnus or Harthacnut died without heirs, the other would succeed.[77] The last claimant was William of Normandy, against whose anticipated invasion King Harold Godwinson made most of his preparations.[73]

Harold's brother Tostig made probing attacks along the southern coast of England in May 1066, landing at the Isle of Wight using a fleet supplied by Baldwin of Flanders. Tostig appears to have received little local support, and further raids into Lincolnshire and near the River Humber met with no more success, so he retreated to Scotland, where he remained for a time.[73] According to the Norman writer William of Jumièges, William had meanwhile sent an embassy to King Harold Godwinson to remind Harold of his oath to support William's claim, although whether this embassy actually occurred is unclear. Harold assembled an army and a fleet to repel William's anticipated invasion force, deploying troops and ships along the English Channel for most of the summer.[73]

William's preparations

Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry showing Normans preparing for the invasion of England
William of Poitiers describes a council called by Duke William, in which the writer gives an account of a great debate that took place between William's nobles and supporters over whether to risk an invasion of England. Although some sort of formal assembly probably was held, it is unlikely that any debate took place, as the duke had by then established control over his nobles, and most of those assembled would have been anxious to secure their share of the rewards from the conquest of England.[78] William of Poitiers also relates that the duke obtained the consent of Pope Alexander II for the invasion, along with a papal banner. The chronicler also claimed that the duke secured the support of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and King Sweyn II of Denmark. Henry was still a minor, however, and Sweyn was more likely to support Harold, who could then help Sweyn against the Norwegian king, so these claims should be treated with caution. Although Alexander did give papal approval to the conquest after it succeeded, no other source claims papal support prior to the invasion.[n][79] Events after the invasion, which included the penance William performed and statements by later popes, do lend circumstantial support to the claim of papal approval. To deal with Norman affairs, William put the government of Normandy into the hands of his wife for the duration of the invasion.

Throughout the summer, William assembled an army and an invasion fleet in Normandy. Although William of Jumièges's claim that the ducal fleet numbered 3,000 ships is clearly an exaggeration, it was probably large and mostly built from scratch. Although William of Poitiers and William of Jumièges disagree about where the fleet was built – Poitiers states it was constructed at the mouth of the River Dives, while Jumièges states it was built at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme – both agree that it eventually sailed from Valery-sur-Somme. The fleet carried an invasion force that included, in addition to troops from William's own territories of Normandy and Maine, large numbers of mercenaries, allies, and volunteers from Brittany, northeastern France, and Flanders, together with smaller numbers from other parts of Europe. Although the army and fleet were ready by early August, adverse winds kept the ships in Normandy until late September. There were probably other reasons for William's delay, including intelligence reports from England revealing that Harold's forces were deployed along the coast. William would have preferred to delay the invasion until he could make an unopposed landing.[79] Harold kept his forces on alert throughout the summer, but with the arrival of the harvest season he disbanded his army on 8 September.[80]

Tostig and Hardrada's invasion

Modern day site of the Battle of Stamford Bridge
Harold's brother Tostig and Harald Hardrada invaded Northumbria in September 1066 and defeated the local forces under Morcar and Edwin at the Battle of Fulford near York. King Harold received word of their invasion and marched north, defeating the invaders and killing Tostig and Hardrada on 25 September at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.[77] The Norman fleet finally set sail two days later, landing in England at Pevensey Bay on 28 September. William then moved to Hastings, a few miles to the east, where he built a castle as a base of operations. From there, he ravaged the interior and waited for Harold's return from the north, refusing to venture far from the sea, his line of communication with Normandy.[80]

Battle of Hastings

After defeating Harald Hardrada and Tostig, Harold left much of his army in the north, including Morcar and Edwin, and marched the rest south to deal with the threatened Norman invasion.[80] He probably learned of William's landing while he was travelling south. Harold stopped in London, and was there for about a week before marching to Hastings, so it is likely that he spent about a week on his march south, averaging about 27 miles (43 kilometres) per day,[81] for the distance of approximately 200 miles (320 kilometres).[82] Although Harold attempted to surprise the Normans, William's scouts reported the English arrival to the duke. The exact events preceding the battle are obscure, with contradictory accounts in the sources, but all agree that William led his army from his castle and advanced towards the enemy.[83] Harold had taken a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill (present-day Battle, East Sussex), about 6 miles (9.7 kilometres) from William's castle at Hastings.[84]

Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings.
The battle began at about 9 am on 14 October and lasted all day, but while a broad outline is known, the exact events are obscured by contradictory accounts in the sources.[85] Although the numbers on each side were about equal, William had both cavalry and infantry, including many archers, while Harold had only foot soldiers and few, if any, archers.[86] The English soldiers formed up as a shield wall along the ridge and were at first so effective that William's army was thrown back with heavy casualties. Some of William's Breton troops panicked and fled, and some of the English troops appear to have pursued the fleeing Bretons until they themselves were attacked and destroyed by Norman cavalry. During the Bretons' flight, rumours swept through the Norman forces that the duke had been killed, but William succeeded in rallying his troops. Two further Norman retreats were feigned, to once again draw the English into pursuit and expose them to repeated attacks by the Norman cavalry.[87] The available sources are more confused about events in the afternoon, but it appears that the decisive event was Harold's death, about which differing stories are told. William of Jumièges claimed that Harold was killed by the duke. The Bayeux Tapestry has been claimed to show Harold's death by an arrow to the eye, but that may be a later reworking of the tapestry to conform to 12th-century stories in which Harold was slain by an arrow wound to the head.[88]

Harold's body was identified the day after the battle, either through his armour or marks on his body. The English dead, who included some of Harold's brothers and his housecarls, were left on the battlefield. Gytha, Harold's mother, offered the victorious duke the weight of her son's body in gold for its custody, but her offer was refused.[o] William ordered that Harold's body was to be thrown into the sea, but whether that took place is unclear. Waltham Abbey, which had been founded by Harold, later claimed that his body had been secretly buried there.[92]

March on London

William may have hoped the English would surrender following his victory, but they did not. Instead, some of the English clergy and magnates nominated Edgar the Ætheling as king, though their support for Edgar was only lukewarm. After waiting a short while, William secured Dover, parts of Kent, and Canterbury, while also sending a force to capture Winchester, where the royal treasury was.[93] These captures secured William's rear areas and also his line of retreat to Normandy, if that was needed. William then marched to Southwark, across the Thames from London, which he reached in late November. Next he led his forces around the south and west of London, burning along the way. He finally crossed the Thames at Wallingford in early December. Archbishop Stigand submitted to William there, and when the duke moved on to Berkhamsted soon afterwards, Edgar the Ætheling, Morcar, Edwin, and Archbishop Ealdred also submitted. William then sent forces into London to construct a castle; he was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.[93]

Consolidation

First actions

William remained in England after his coronation and tried to reconcile the native magnates. The remaining earls – Edwin (of Mercia), Morcar (of Northumbria), and Waltheof (of Northampton) – were confirmed in their lands and titles.[94] Waltheof was married to William's niece Judith, daughter of Adelaide,[95] and a marriage between Edwin and one of William's daughters was proposed. Edgar the Ætheling also appears to have been given lands. Ecclesiastical offices continued to be held by the same bishops as before the invasion, including the uncanonical Stigand.[94] But the families of Harold and his brothers did lose their lands, as did some others who had fought against William at Hastings.[96] By March, William was secure enough to return to Normandy, but he took with him Stigand, Morcar, Edwin, Edgar, and Waltheof. He left his half-brother Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux, in charge of England along with another influential supporter, William fitzOsbern, the son of his former guardian.[94] Both men were also named to earldoms – fitzOsbern to Hereford (or Wessex) and Odo to Kent. Although he put two Normans in overall charge, he retained many of the native English sheriffs.[96] Once in Normandy the new English king went to Rouen and the Abbey of Fecamp,[94] and then attended the consecration of new churches at two Norman monasteries.

While William was in Normandy, a former ally, Eustace, the Count of Boulogne, invaded at Dover but was repulsed. English resistance had also begun, with Eadric the Wild attacking Hereford and revolts at Exeter, where Harold's mother Gytha was a focus of resistance.[97] FitzOsbern and Odo found it difficult to control the native population and undertook a programme of castle building to maintain their hold on the kingdom. William returned to England in December 1067 and marched on Exeter, which he besieged. The town held out for 18 days, and after it fell to William he built a castle to secure his control. Harold's sons were meanwhile raiding the southwest of England from a base in Ireland. Their forces landed near Bristol but were defeated by Eadnoth. By Easter, William was at Winchester, where he was soon joined by his wife Matilda, who was crowned in May 1068.[97]

English resistance

The remains of Baile Hill, the second motte-and-bailey castle built by William in York
In 1068 Edwin and Morcar revolted, supported by Gospatric. The chronicler Orderic Vitalis states that Edwin's reason for revolting was that the proposed marriage between himself and one of William's daughters had not taken place, but other reasons probably included the increasing power of William fitzOsbern in Herefordshire, which affected Edwin's power within his own earldom. The king marched through Edwin's lands and built a castle at Warwick. Edwin and Morcar submitted, but William continued on to York, building castles at York and Nottingham before returning south. On his southbound journey, the king began constructing castles at Lincoln, Huntingdon, and Cambridge. William placed supporters in charge of these new fortifications – among them William Peverel at Nottingham and Henry de Beaumont at Warwick. Then the king returned to Normandy late in 1068.[97]

Early in 1069, Edgar the Ætheling rose in revolt and attacked York. Although William returned to York and built another castle, Edgar remained free, and in the autumn he joined up with King Sweyn of Denmark.[p] The Danish king had brought a large fleet to England and attacked not only York, but Exeter and Shrewsbury. York was captured by the combined forces of Edgar and Sweyn. Edgar was proclaimed king by his supporters, but William responded swiftly, ignoring a continental revolt in Maine. William symbolically wore his crown in the ruins of York on Christmas Day 1069, and then proceeded to buy off the Danes. He marched to the River Tees, ravaging the countryside as he went. Edgar, having lost much of his support, fled to Scotland,[98] where King Malcolm III was married to Edgar's sister Margaret.[99] Waltheof, who had joined the revolt, submitted, along with Gospatric, and both were allowed to retain their lands. But William was not finished; he marched over the Pennines during the winter and defeated the remaining rebels at Shrewsbury before building castles at Chester and Stafford. This campaign, which included the burning and destruction of part of the countryside that the royal forces marched through, is usually known as the "Harrying of the North"; it was over by April 1070, when William wore his crown ceremonially for Easter at Winchester.[98]

Church affairs

While at Winchester in 1070, William met with three papal legates – John Minutus, Peter, and Ermenfrid of Sion – who had been sent by Pope Alexander. The legates ceremonially crowned William during the Easter court.[100] The historian David Bates sees this coronation as the ceremonial papal "seal of approval" for William's conquest. The legates and the king then proceeded to hold a series of ecclesiastical councils dedicated to reforming and reorganising the English church. Stigand and his brother, Æthelmær, the Bishop of Elmham, were deposed from their bishoprics. Some of the native abbots were also deposed, both at the council held near Easter and at a further one near Whitsun. The Whitsun council saw the appointment of Lanfranc as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas of Bayeux as the new Archbishop of York, to replace Ealdred, who had died in September 1069.[100] William's half-brother Odo perhaps expected to be appointed to Canterbury, but William probably did not wish to give that much power to a family member.[q] Another reason for the appointment may have been pressure from the papacy to appoint Lanfranc.[101] Norman clergy were appointed to replace the deposed bishops and abbots, and at the end of the process, only two native English bishops remained in office, along with several continental prelates appointed by Edward the Confessor.[100] In 1070 William also founded Battle Abbey, a new monastery at the site of the Battle of Hastings, partly as a penance for the deaths in the battle and partly as a memorial to those dead.

Troubles in England and the continent

Danish raids and rebellion

Although Sweyn had promised to leave England, he returned in spring 1070, raiding along the Humber and East Anglia toward the Isle of Ely, where he joined up with Hereward the Wake, a local thegn. Hereward's forces attacked Peterborough Abbey, which they captured and looted. William was able to secure the departure of Sweyn and his fleet in 1070,[102] allowing him to return to the continent to deal with troubles in Maine, where the town of Le Mans had revolted in 1069. Another concern was the death of Count Baldwin VI of Flanders in July 1070, which led to a succession crisis as his widow, Richilde, was ruling for their two young sons, Arnulf and Baldwin. Her rule, however, was contested by Robert, Baldwin's brother. Richilde proposed marriage to William fitzOsbern, who was in Normandy, and fitzOsbern accepted. But after he was killed in February 1071 at the Battle of Cassel, Robert became count. He was opposed to King William's power on the continent, thus the Battle of Cassel upset the balance of power in northern France in addition to costing William an important supporter.[103]

In 1071 William defeated the last rebellion of the north. Earl Edwin was betrayed by his own men and killed, while William built a causeway to subdue the Isle of Ely, where Hereward the Wake and Morcar were hiding. Hereward escaped, but Morcar was captured, deprived of his earldom, and imprisoned. In 1072 William invaded Scotland, defeating Malcolm, who had recently invaded the north of England. William and Malcolm agreed to peace by signing the Treaty of Abernethy, and Malcolm probably gave up his son Duncan as a hostage for the peace. Perhaps another stipulation of the treaty was the expulsion of Edgar the Ætheling from Malcolm's court.[104] William then turned his attention to the continent, returning to Normandy in early 1073 to deal with the invasion of Maine by Fulk le Rechin, the Count of Anjou. With a swift campaign, William seized Le Mans from Fulk's forces, completing the campaign by 30 March 1073. This made William's power more secure in northern France, but the new count of Flanders accepted Edgar the Ætheling into his court. Robert also married his half-sister Bertha to the king of France, Philip I, who was opposed to Norman power.[105]

William returned to England to release his army from service in 1073 but quickly returned to Normandy, where he spent all of 1074.[106] He left England in the hands of his supporters, including Richard fitzGilbert and William de Warenne,[107] as well as Lanfranc.[108] William's ability to leave England for an entire year was a sign that he felt that his control of the kingdom was secure.[107] While William was in Normandy, Edgar the Ætheling returned to Scotland from Flanders. The French king, seeking a focus for those opposed to William's power, then proposed that Edgar be given the castle of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the Channel, which would have given Edgar a strategic advantage against William.[109] Edgar was forced to submit to William shortly thereafter, however, and he returned to William's court.[106][r] Philip, although thwarted in this attempt, turned his attentions to Brittany, leading to a revolt in 1075.[109]

Revolt of the Earls

Norwich Castle. The keep dates to after the Revolt of the Earls, but the castle mound is earlier.[110]
In 1075, during William's absence, Ralph de Gael, the Earl of Norfolk, and Roger de Breteuil, the Earl of Hereford, conspired to overthrow William in the "Revolt of the Earls".[108] Ralph was at least part Breton and had spent most of his life prior to 1066 in Brittany, where he still had lands.[111] Roger was a Norman, son of William fitzOsbern, but had inherited less authority than his father held.[112] Ralph's authority seems also to have been less than his predecessors in the earldom, and this was likely the cause of the revolt.[111]

The exact reason for the rebellion is unclear, but it was launched at the wedding of Ralph to a relative of Roger, held at Exning in Suffolk. Another earl, Waltheof, although one of William's favourites, was also involved, and there were some Breton lords who were ready to rebel in support of Ralph and Roger. Ralph also requested Danish aid. William remained in Normandy while his men in England subdued the revolt. Roger was unable to leave his stronghold in Herefordshire because of efforts by Wulfstan, the Bishop of Worcester, and Æthelwig, the Abbot of Evesham. Ralph was bottled up in Norwich Castle by the combined efforts of Odo of Bayeux, Geoffrey de Montbray, Richard fitzGilbert, and William de Warenne. Ralph eventually left Norwich in the control of his wife and left England, finally ending up in Brittany. Norwich was besieged and surrendered, with the garrison allowed to go to Brittany. Meanwhile, the Danish king's brother, Cnut, had finally arrived in England with a fleet of 200 ships, but he was too late as Norwich had already surrendered. The Danes then raided along the coast before returning home.[108] William returned to England later in 1075 to deal with the Danish threat, leaving his wife Matilda in charge of Normandy. He celebrated Christmas at Winchester and dealt with the aftermath of the rebellion.[113] Roger and Waltheof were kept in prison, where Waltheof was executed in May 1076. Before this, William had returned to the continent, where Ralph had continued the rebellion from Brittany.[108]

Troubles at home and abroad

Earl Ralph had secured control of the castle at Dol, and in September 1076 William advanced into Brittany and laid siege to the castle. King Philip of France later relieved the siege and defeated William at Dol, forcing him to retreat back to Normandy. Although this was William's first defeat in battle, it did little to change things. An Angevin attack on Maine was defeated in late 1076 or 1077, with Count Fulk le Rechin wounded in the unsuccessful attack. More serious was the retirement of Simon de Crépy, the Count of Amiens, to a monastery. Before he became a monk, Simon handed his county of the Vexin over to King Philip. The Vexin was a buffer state between Normandy and the lands of the French king, and Simon had been a supporter of William.[s] William was able to make peace with Philip in 1077 and secured a truce with Count Fulk in late 1077 or early 1078.[114]

In late 1077 or early 1078 trouble began between William and his eldest son, Robert. Although Orderic Vitalis describes it as starting with a quarrel between Robert and his two younger brothers, William and Henry, including a story that the quarrel was started when William and Henry threw water at Robert, it is much more likely that Robert was feeling powerless. Orderic relates that he had previously demanded control of Maine and Normandy and had been rebuffed. The trouble in 1077 or 1078 resulted in Robert leaving Normandy accompanied by a band of young men, many of them the sons of William's supporters. Included among them was Robert of Belleme, William de Breteuil, and Roger, the son of Richard fitzGilbert. This band of young men went to the castle at Remalard, where they proceeded to raid into Normandy. The raiders were supported by many of William's continental enemies.[115] William immediately attacked the rebels and drove them from Remalard, but King Philip gave them the castle at Gerberoi, where they were joined by new supporters. William then laid siege to Gerberoi in January 1079. After three weeks, the besieged forces sallied from the castle and managed to take the besiegers by surprise. William was unhorsed by Robert and was only saved from death by an Englishman. William's forces were forced to lift the siege, and the king returned to Rouen. By 12 April 1080, William and Robert had reached an accommodation, with William once more affirming that Robert would receive Normandy when he died.[116]

Map showing William's lands in 1087 (the light pink areas were controlled by William).
Word of William's defeat at Gerberoi stirred up difficulties in northern England. In August and September 1079 King Malcolm of Scots raided south of the River Tweed, devastating the land between the River Tees and the Tweed in a raid that lasted almost a month. The lack of Norman response appears to have caused the Northumbrians to grow restive, and in the spring of 1080 they rebelled against the rule of Walcher, the Bishop of Durham and Earl of Northumbria. The bishop was killed on 14 May 1080, and William dispatched his half-brother Odo to deal with the rebellion.[117] William departed Normandy in July 1080,[118] and in the autumn William's son Robert was sent on a campaign against the Scots. Robert raided into Lothian and forced Malcolm to agree to terms, building a fortification at Newcastle-on-Tyne while returning to England.[117] The king was at Gloucester for Christmas 1080 and at Winchester for Whitsun in 1081, ceremonially wearing his crown on both occasions. A papal embassy arrived in England during this period, asking that William do fealty for England to the papacy, a request that William rejected.[118] William also visited Wales during 1081, although the English and the Welsh sources differ on the exact purpose of the visit. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that it was a military campaign, but Welsh sources record it as a pilgrimage to St Davids in honour of Saint David. William's biographer David Bates argues that the former explanation is more likely, explaining that the balance of power had recently shifted in Wales and that William would have wished to take advantage of the changed circumstances to extend Norman power. By the end of 1081, William was back on the continent, dealing with disturbances in Maine. Although he led an expedition into Maine, the result was instead a negotiated settlement arranged by a papal legate.[119]

Last years

Sources for William's actions between 1082 and 1084 are meagre. According to the historian David Bates, this probably means that little happened of note, and that because William was on the continent, there was nothing for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to record.[120] In 1082 William ordered the arrest of his half-brother Odo. The exact reasons are unclear, as no contemporary author recorded what caused the quarrel between the half-brothers. Orderic Vitalis later recorded that Odo had aspirations to become pope. Orderic also related that Odo had attempted to persuade some of William's vassals to join Odo on an invasion of southern Italy. This would have been considered tampering with the king's authority over his vassals, which William would not have tolerated. Although Odo remained in confinement for the rest of William's reign, his lands were not confiscated. More difficulties struck in 1083, when William's eldest son Robert rebelled once more with support from the French king. A further blow was the death of Matilda, William's wife, on 2 November 1083. William was always described as close to his wife, and her death would have added to his problems.[121]

Maine continued to be difficult, with a rebellion by Hubert de Beaumont-au-Maine, probably in 1084. Hubert was besieged in his castle at Sainte-Suzanne by William's forces for at least two years, but he eventually made his peace with the king and was restored to favour. William's movements during 1084 and 1085 are unclear – he was in Normandy at Easter 1084 but may have been in England before then to collect the danegeld assessed that year for the defence of England against an invasion by King Cnut IV of Denmark. Although English and Norman forces remained on alert throughout 1085 and into 1086, the invasion threat was ended by Cnut's death in July 1086.[122]

William as king

Changes in England

The White Tower in London, begun by William[123]
As part of his efforts to secure England, William ordered many castles, keeps, and mottes built – among them the central keep of the Tower of London, the White Tower. These fortifications allowed Normans to retreat into safety when threatened with rebellion and allowed garrisons to be protected while they occupied the countryside. The early castles were simple earth and timber constructions, later replaced with stone structures.[124]

At first, most of the newly settled Normans kept household knights and did not settle their retainers with fiefs of their own, but gradually these household knights came to be granted lands of their own, a process known as subinfeudation. William also required his newly created magnates to contribute fixed quotas of knights towards not only military campaigns but also castle garrisons. This method of organising the military forces was a departure from the pre-Conquest English practice of basing military service on territorial units such as the hide.[125]

By William's death, after weathering a series of rebellions, most of the native Anglo-Saxon aristocracy had been replaced by Norman and other continental magnates. Not all of the Normans who accompanied William in the initial conquest acquired large amounts of land in England. Some appear to have been reluctant to take up lands in a kingdom that did not always appear pacified. Although some of the newly rich Normans in England came from William's close family or from the upper Norman nobility, others were from relatively humble backgrounds.[126] William granted some lands to his continental followers from the holdings of one or more specific Englishmen; at other times, he granted a compact grouping of lands previously held by many different Englishmen to one Norman follower, often to allow for the consolidation of lands around a strategically placed castle.[127]

The medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury says that the king also seized and depopulated many miles of land (36 parishes), turning it into the royal New Forest region to support his enthusiastic enjoyment of hunting. Modern historians have come to the conclusion that the New Forest depopulation was greatly exaggerated. Most of the lands of the New Forest are poor agricultural lands, and archaeological and geographic studies have shown that the New Forest was likely sparsely settled when it was turned into a royal forest.[128] William was known for his love of hunting, and he introduced the forest law into areas of the country, regulating who could hunt and what could be hunted.[129]

Administration

English coin of William the Conqueror
After 1066, William did not attempt to integrate his separate domains into one unified realm with one set of laws. His seal from after 1066, of which six impressions still survive, was made for him after he conquered England and stressed his role as king, while separately mentioning his role as Duke.[t] When in Normandy, William acknowledged that he owed fealty to the French king, but in England no such acknowledgement was made – further evidence that the various parts of William's lands were considered separate. The administrative machinery of Normandy, England, and Maine continued to exist separate from the other lands, with each one retaining its own forms. For example, England continued the use of writs, which were not known on the continent. Also, the charters and documents produced for the government in Normandy differed in formulas from those produced in England.[130]

William took over an English government that was more complex than the Norman system. England was divided into shires or counties, which were further divided into either hundreds or wapentakes. Each shire was administered by a royal official called a sheriff, who roughly had the same status as a Norman viscount. A sheriff was responsible for royal justice and collecting royal revenue.[54] To oversee his expanded domain, William was forced to travel even more than he had as duke. He crossed back and forth between the continent and England at least 19 times between 1067 and his death. William spent most of his time in England between the Battle of Hastings and 1072, and after that he spent the majority of his time in Normandy.[131][u] Government was still centred on William's household; when he was in one part of his realms, decisions would be made for other parts of his domains and transmitted through a communication system that made use of letters and other documents. William also appointed deputies who could make decisions while he was absent, especially if the absence was expected to be lengthy. Usually this was a member of William's close family – frequently his half-brother Odo or his wife Matilda. Sometimes deputies were appointed to deal with specific issues.[132]

William continued the collection of danegeld, a land tax. This was an advantage for William, as it was the only universal tax collected by western European rulers during this period. It was an annual tax based on the value of landholdings, and it could be collected at differing rates. Most years saw the rate of two shillings per hide, but in crises, it could be increased to as much as six shillings per hide.[133] Coinage between the various parts of his domains continued to be minted in different cycles and styles. English coins were generally of high silver content, with high artistic standards, and were required to be re-minted every three years. Norman coins had a much lower silver content, were often of poor artistic quality, and were rarely re-minted. Also, in England no other coinage was allowed, while on the continent other coinage was considered legal tender. Nor is there evidence that many English pennies were circulating in Normandy, which shows little attempt to integrate the monetary systems of England and Normandy.[130]

Besides taxation, William's large landholdings throughout England strengthened his rule. As King Edward's heir, he controlled all of the former royal lands. He also retained control of much of the lands of Harold and his family, which made the king the largest secular landowner in England by a wide margin.[v]

Domesday Book

A page from Domesday Book for Warwickshire
At Christmas 1085, William ordered the compilation of a survey of the landholdings held by himself and by his vassals throughout the kingdom, organised by counties. It resulted in a work now known as the Domesday Book. The listing for each county gives the holdings of each landholder, grouped by owners. The listings describe the holding, who owned the land before the Conquest, its value, what the tax assessment was, and usually the number of peasants, ploughs, and any other resources the holding had. Towns were listed separately. All the English counties south of the River Tees and River Ribble are included, and the whole work seems to have been mostly completed by 1 August 1086, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that William received the results and that all the chief magnates swore the Salisbury Oath, a renewal of their oaths of allegiance.[135] William's exact motivation in ordering the survey is unclear, but it probably had several purposes, such as making a record of feudal obligations and justifying increased taxation.

Death and aftermath

William left England towards the end of 1086. Following his arrival back on the continent he married his daughter Constance to Alan Fergant, the Duke of Brittany, in furtherance of his policy of seeking allies against the French kings. William's son Robert, still allied with the French king Philip I, appears to have been active in stirring up trouble, enough so that William led an expedition against the French Vexin in July 1087. While seizing Mantes, William either fell ill or was injured by the pommel of his saddle.[136] He was taken to the priory of Saint Gervase at Rouen, where he died on 9 September 1087. Knowledge of the events preceding his death is confused because there are two different accounts. Orderic Vitalis preserves a lengthy account, complete with speeches made by many of the principals, but this is likely more of an account of how a king should die than of what actually happened. The other, the De Obitu Willelmi, or On the Death of William, has been shown to be a copy of two 9th-century accounts with names changed.[136]

William's grave at Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Caen
William left Normandy to Robert, and the custody of England was given to William's second surviving son, also called William, on the assumption that he would become king. The youngest son, Henry, received money. After entrusting England to his second son, the elder William sent the younger William back to England on 7 or 8 September, bearing a letter to Lanfranc ordering the archbishop to aid the new king. Other bequests included gifts to the Church and money to be distributed to the poor. William also ordered that all of his prisoners be released, including his half-brother Odo.[136]

Disorder followed William's death; everyone who had been at his deathbed left the body at Rouen and hurried off to attend to their own affairs. Eventually, the clergy of Rouen arranged to have the body sent to Caen, where William had desired to be buried in his foundation of the Abbaye-aux-Hommes. The funeral, attended by the bishops and abbots of Normandy as well as his son Henry, was disturbed by the assertion of a citizen of Caen who alleged that his family had been illegally despoiled of the land on which the church was built. After hurried consultations the allegation was shown to be true, and the man was compensated. A further indignity occurred when the corpse was lowered into the tomb. The corpse was too large for the space, and when attendants forced the body into the tomb it burst, spreading a disgusting odour throughout the church.[137]

William's grave is currently marked by a marble slab with a Latin inscription dating from the early 19th century. The tomb has been disturbed several times since 1087, the first time in 1522 when the grave was opened on orders from the papacy. The intact body was restored to the tomb at that time, but in 1562, during the French Wars of Religion, the grave was reopened and the bones scattered and lost, with the exception of one thigh bone. This lone relic was reburied in 1642 with a new marker, which was replaced 100 years later with a more elaborate monument. This tomb was again destroyed during the French Revolution, but was eventually replaced with the current marker.[138][w]

Legacy

The immediate consequence of William's death was a war between his sons Robert and William over control of England and Normandy. Even after the younger William's death in 1100 and the succession of his youngest brother Henry as king, Normandy and England remained contested between the brothers until Robert's capture by Henry at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. The difficulties over the succession led to a loss of authority in Normandy, with the aristocracy regaining much of the power they had lost to the elder William. His sons also lost much of their control over Maine, which revolted in 1089 and managed to remain mostly free of Norman influence thereafter.[140]

The impact on England of William's conquest was profound; changes in the Church, aristocracy, culture, and language of the country have persisted into modern times. The Conquest brought the kingdom into closer contact with France and forged ties between France and England that lasted throughout the Middle Ages. Another consequence of William's invasion was the sundering of the formerly close ties between England and Scandinavia. William's government blended elements of the English and Norman systems into a new one that laid the foundations of the later medieval English kingdom.[141] How abrupt and far-reaching were the changes is still a matter of debate among historians, with some such as Richard Southern claiming that the Conquest was the single most radical change in European history between the Fall of Rome and the 20th century. Others, such as H. G. Richardson and G. O. Sayles, see the changes brought about by the Conquest as much less radical than Southern suggests.[142] The historian Eleanor Searle describes William's invasion as "a plan that no ruler but a Scandinavian would have considered".[143]

William's reign has caused historical controversy since before his death. William of Poitiers wrote glowingly of William's reign and its benefits, but the obituary notice for William in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle condemns William in harsh terms.[142] In the years since the Conquest, politicians and other leaders have used William and the events of his reign to illustrate political events throughout English history. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Archbishop Matthew Parker saw the Conquest as having corrupted a purer English Church, which Parker attempted to restore. During the 17th and 18th centuries some historians and lawyers saw William's reign as imposing a "Norman yoke" on the native Anglo-Saxons, an argument that continued during the 19th century with further elaborations along nationalistic lines. These various controversies have led to William being seen by some historians either as one of the creators of England's greatness or as inflicting one of the greatest defeats in English history. Others have viewed William as an enemy of the English constitution, or alternatively as its creator.[144]

Family and children

William and his wife Matilda of Flanders had at least nine children.[48] The birth order of the boys is clear, but no source gives the relative order of birth of the daughters.

Robert was born between 1051 and 1054, died 10 February 1134.[48] Duke of Normandy, married Sybilla of Conversano, daughter of Geoffrey, Count of Conversano.[145]
Richard was born before 1056, died around 1075.[48]
William was born between 1056 and 1060, died 2 August 1100.[48] King of England, killed in the New Forest.[146]
Henry was born in late 1068, died 1 December 1135.[48] King of England, married Edith of Scotland, daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland. His second wife was Adeliza of Louvain.[147]
Adeliza (or Adelida,[148] Adelaide[147]) died before 1113, reportedly betrothed to Harold II of England, probably a nun of Saint Léger at Préaux.[148]
Cecilia (or Cecily) was born before 1066, died 1127, Abbess of Holy Trinity, Caen.[48]
Matilda[148] was born around 1061, died perhaps about 1086.[147] Mentioned in Domesday Book as a daughter of William.[48]
Constance died 1090, married Alan IV Fergent, Duke of Brittany.[48]
Adela died 1137, married Stephen, Count of Blois.[48]
(Possibly) Agatha, the betrothed of Alfonso VI of León and Castile.[x]
There is no evidence of any illegitimate children born to William.[152]

Notes

Old Norman: Williame I; Old English: Willelm I
He was regularly described as bastardus (bastard) in non-Norman contemporary sources.
Although the chronicler William of Poitiers claimed that Edward's succession was due to Duke William's efforts, this is highly unlikely, as William was at that time practically powerless in his own duchy.
The exact date of William's birth is confused by contradictory statements by the Norman chroniclers. Orderic Vitalis has William on his deathbed claim that he was 64 years old, which would place his birth around 1023. But elsewhere, Orderic states that William was 8 years old when he father left for Jerusalem in 1035, placing the year of birth in 1027. William of Malmesbury gives an age of 7 for William when his father left, giving 1028. Another source, De Obitu Willelmi, states that William was 59 years old when he died in 1087, allowing for either 1028 or 1029.
This made Emma of Normandy his great-aunt and Edward the Confessor his cousin.
This daughter later married William, lord of La Ferté-Macé.
Walter had two daughters. One became a nun, and the other, Matilda, married Ralph Tesson.
How illegitimacy was viewed by the church and lay society was undergoing a change during this period. The Church, under the influence of the Gregorian reform, held the view that the sin of extramarital sex tainted any offspring that resulted, but nobles had not totally embraced the Church's viewpoint during William's lifetime.[18] By 1135 the illegitimate birth of Robert of Gloucester, son of William's son Henry I of England, was enough to bar Robert's succession as king when Henry died without legitimate male heirs, even though he had some support from the English nobles.[19]
The reasons for the prohibition are not clear. There is no record of the reason from the Council, and the main evidence is from Orderic Vitalis. He hinted obliquely that William and Matilda were too closely related, but gave no details, hence the matter remains obscure.[42]
The exact date of the marriage is unknown, but it was probably in 1051 or 1052, and certainly before the end of 1053, as Matilda is named as William's wife in a charter dated in the later part of that year.[44]
The two monasteries are the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (or St Étienne) for men which was founded by William in about 1059, and the Abbaye aux Dames (or Sainte Trinité) for women which was founded by Matilda around four years later.[47]
Ætheling means "prince of the royal house" and usually denoted a son or brother of a ruling king.[70]
Edgar the Ætheling was another claimant,[74] but Edgar was young,[75] likely only 14 in 1066.[76]
The Bayeux Tapestry may depict a papal banner carried by William's forces, but this is not named as such in the tapestry.[79]
William of Malmesbury states that William did accept Gytha's offer, but William of Poitiers states that William refused the offer.[89] Modern biographers of Harold agree that William refused the offer.[90][91]
Medieval chroniclers frequently referred to 11th-century events only by the season, making more precise dating impossible.
The historian Frank Barlow points out that William had suffered from his uncle Mauger's ambitions while young and thus would not have countenanced creating another such situation.[101]
Edgar remained at William's court until 1086 when he went to the Norman principality in southern Italy.[106]
Although Simon was a supporter of William, the Vexin was actually under the overlordship of King Philip, which is why Philip secured control of the county when Simon became a monk.[114]
The seal shows a mounted knight and is the first extant example of an equestrian seal.[130]
Between 1066 and 1072, William spent only 15 months in Normandy and the rest in England. After returning to Normandy in 1072, William spent around 130 months in Normandy as against about 40 months in England.[131]
In Domesday Book, the king's lands were worth four times as much as the lands of his half-brother Odo, the next largest landowner, and seven times as much as Roger of Montgomery, the third-largest landowner.[134]
The thigh bone currently in the tomb is assumed to be the one that was reburied in 1642, but the Victorian historian E. A. Freeman was of the opinion that the bone had been lost in 1793.[139]
William of Poitiers relates that two brothers, Iberian kings, were competitors for the hand of a daughter of William, which led to a dispute between them.[149] Some historians have identified these as Sancho II of Castile and his brother García II of Galicia, and the bride as Sancho's documented wife Alberta, who bears a non-Iberian name.[150] The anonymous vita of Count Simon of Crépy instead makes the competitors Alfonso VI of León and Robert Guiscard, while William of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis both show a daughter of William to have been betrothed to Alfonso "king of Galicia" but to have died before the marriage. In his Historia Ecclesiastica, Orderic specifically names her as Agatha, "former fiancee of Harold".[149][150] This conflicts with Orderic's own earlier additions to the Gesta Normannorum Ducum, where he instead named Harold's fiance as William's daughter, Adelidis.[148] Recent accounts of the complex marital history of Alfonso VI have accepted that he was betrothed to a daughter of William named Agatha,[149][150][151] while Douglas dismisses Agatha as a confused reference to known daughter Adeliza.[48] Elisabeth van Houts is non-committal, being open to the possibility that Adeliza was engaged before becoming a nun, but also accepting that Agatha may have been a distinct daughter of William.[148]

Bet. 07 Jan 1087-06 Jan 1088 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; Interred at the Abbey of Saint-Étienne. Unfortunately William"s original tombstone of black marble, the same kind as Matilda"s in the Abbaye aux Dames, was destroyed by the Calvinist iconoclasts in the 16th century and his bones scattered.

Family/Spouse: of Flanders, Matilda. Matilda (daughter of of Flanders, Count Baldwin V and de France, Adele) was born on 24 Nov 1031 in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium; was christened after 24 Nov 1031 in Holy Trinity Abbey, Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 2 Nov 1083 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; was buried after 2 Nov 1083 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: The Grand
• FSID: 998F-RYD
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1057 and 1087; Count of Burgundy

Notes:

William I (1020 – 12 November 1087), called the Great (le Grand or Tête Hardie, "the Stubborn"), was Count of Burgundy from 1057 to 1087 and Mâcon from 1078 to 1087. He was a son of Renaud I and Alice of Normandy, daughter of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. William was the father of several notable children, including Pope Callixtus II.

In 1057, he succeeded his father and reigned over a territory larger than that of the Franche-Comté itself. In 1087, he died in Besançon, Prince-Archbishopric of Besançon, Holy Roman Empire -- an independent city within the County of Burgundy. He was buried in Besançon's Cathedral of St John.

William married a woman named Stephanie [fr] (a.k.a. Etiennette).

Children of Stephanie (order uncertain):

Renaud II, William's successor, died on First Crusade.
Stephen I, successor to Renaud II, Stephen died on the Crusade of 1101.
Raymond of Burgundy who married Urraca of León and Castile and thus was given the government of Galicia (Spain) (died 1107).
Sybilla (or Maud), married (1080) Eudes I of Burgundy
Gisela of Burgundy, married (1090) Humbert II of Savoy and then Renier I of Montferrat.
Clementia married Robert II, Count of Flanders and was Regent, during his absence. She married secondly Godfrey I, Count of Leuven and was possibly the mother of Joscelin of Louvain.
Guy of Vienne, elected pope, in 1119 at the Abbey of Cluny, as Calixtus II.
William
Eudes.
Hugh III [fr], Archbishop of Besançon.
Stephanie married Lambert, lord of Peyrins, brother of Adhemar of Le Puy)
Ermentrude, married (1065) Theodoric I Count of Montbéliard.
(perhaps) Bertha wife of Alphonso VI of Castile and Leon.
and maybe another daughter.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Ier_de_Bourgogne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I,_Count_of_Burgundy His father was Renaud I de Bourgogne, also known as Reginald I Count of BURGUNDY (LDSV-BJ1). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaud_Ier_de_Bourgogne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_I,_Count_of_Burgundy His mother was Adélaïde de Normandie (MHT3-W8P). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_of_Normandy https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad%C3%A9la%C3%AFde_de_Normandie_(1002-1038) He married Étiennette de Bourgogne, also known as Stephanie of BURGUNDY (9WYV-M96). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tiennette_de_Bourgogne Guillaume I de Bourgogne (9S47-R3L) and Étiennette (9WYV-M96) had the following children: ~ Octavien ~ Eudes ~ Renaud II ~ Guillaume ~ Ermentrude ~ Guy ~ Étienne Ier ~ Sybille ~ Raymond ~ Hugues ~ Gisèle ~ Clémence ~ Étiennette ~ Berthe Read the above AGAIN before attempting any merges! !

Family/Spouse: of Burgundy, Stephanie. Stephanie was born in 1035 in France; died in 1088 in France; was buried in 1088 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]