5th Earl of Chester Hugh De Kevelioc

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37263

Notes:

Hugh de Kevelioc, 6th Earl of Chester married Bertred, daughter of Simon, Earl of Evereux, in Normandy.

Hugh was a witness where Countess of Huntindon, Maud de Meschines daughter and in her issue co-heir of Hugh de Kevilioc, Earl of Chester. Hugh was the successor of Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester; Viscount of Avranches. He was born in 1147 at Kevelioc, Merionethshire, Wales. He was the son of Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester and Maud of Gloucester. Hugh was Viscount of Avranches at Normandy, France, between 1153 and 1181 and 6th Earl of Chester at England between 1153 and 1181.

Hugh associated with N. N. (?) circa 1167 either first wife or a mistress?He married Bertrade de Montfort, daughter of Simon III de Montfort, comte de Évreux and Maud, in 1169 at Montfort, Normandy, France.

The Great Rebellion: Henry II versus his heir, Henry "the Young King", his two older brothers, the Earl of Leicester, the King of Scots, the King of France, and the Count of Flanders.

Hugh joined in the rebellion of the Earl of Leicester and the King of Scots against King Henry II, and in support of the monarch's son, Prince Henry, and taken prisoner, along with the Earl, at Alnwick in 1172/73. He was deprived of his earldom between July 1174 and January 1177. He rebelled against the king yet again, and was again pardoned and restored to his lands in 1176/77. He was restored to his earldom in January 1177. He died in 1181 at midsummer, Leek, Staffordshire, England, at age 34 years.

Hugh was the predecessor of Ranulph de Blundevil, 7th Earl of Chester; Viscount of Avranches.


http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p376.htm#i6940

Hugh married (Unknown) France. [Group Sheet]

1. Amicia De Meschines was born Abt 1171.

Hugh — Bertrade De Montfort. [Group Sheet]

1. Matilda of Chester was born 1171, Chester, Cheshire, England; died 6 Jan 1233.
2. Ranulf De Blondeville
3. Mabel of Chester
4. Hawise of Chester
5. Agnes of Chester died 2 Nov 1247.

Other Events:

• Name: Ranulf le Meschin
• Reference Number: 3800

Notes:

Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester son of Ranulph "le Meschin", 4th Earl of Chester and Countess Lucy of Lincoln. He was born before 1100 at Castle of Gernon, Normandy, France.

Ranulph was the successor of Ranulph "le Meschin", 4th Earl of Chester, Viscount of Avranches. He was Viscount of Avranches at Normandy, France, between 1129 and 1153 and 5th Earl of Chester at England between 1129 and 16 December 1153.

Ranulph was one of the 5 Earls who witnessed the Charter to Salisbury granted at the Northampton Council of Henry I on 8 September 1131 at Northampton, England. He was made Constable of Lincoln by King Stephen in 1136.

He married Maud of Gloucester, daughter of Robert fitz Roy de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester and Mabel FitzHamon, circa 1141 at Gloucestershire, England.

King Stephen laid siege to Lincoln castle. Supporters of Maud defeat the besiegers and Stephen is captured. On 2 February 1140/41 at the Battle of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. Ranulph took part in the Battle of Lincoln against King Stephen, who was taken prisoner there, on 2 February 1140/41. He distinguished himself as a soldier both on the side of the Empress Maud and of that of King Stephen, with the greatest impartiality. He was seized at court by King Stephen, who he previously had fought against on 29 August 1146 at Northampton, England.

He was granted the city and castle of Chester by King Stephen, probably after the pacification in 1151. He was the predecessor of Hugh de Kevelioc, 6th Earl of Chester.

Ranulph died on 16 December 1153 at England. He died, under excommunication, supposedly poisoned by his wife and William Peverell, Lord of Nottingham.

He was a witness where Lord of Nottingham William Peverel the Younger supposedly, "as men said," the one who poisoned Ranulf de Gernham, Earl of Chester, on 16 December 1153. He was buried in St. Werburg's, Chester, England.


http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p369.htm#i6795

Birth:
Guernon castle

Buried:
St. Werburg's

Died:
Succumbed to poisoning

Ranulph married Maud Fitzrobert Abt 1141, Gloucestershire, England. Maud (daughter of Robert Fitzroy and Mabel Fitzhamon) was born Abt 1124; died 29 Jul 1189. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Maud of Gloucester
• Reference Number: 5315

Other Events:

• Name: Ranulf de Briquessart
• Reference Number: 9915

Notes:

Ranulph "le Meschin", 4th Earl of Chester also called "de Briquessart" from the commune of Livry where the earthworks of his castle are still visible, also called Ranulph "the Young" from the Latin "Mischinus" and also called Randal was born circa 1068. He was the son of Ranulph II, vicomte de Bayeaux and Margaret d' Avranches.

Ranulph first married Maud de Vere, daughter of Aubrey de Vere I and Beatrice de Ghisnes, circa 1089. He then married Lucy "the Countess" of Lincoln, daughter of Turold of Bucknell, Sheriff of Lincoln and N. N. Malet, circa 1098. Ranulph was her 3rd husband.

Ranulphwas the successor of Richard, 3rd Earl of Chester; Viscount of Avranches. He was granted the title Earl of Chester following the death, without issue, of his cousin Richard, the son of his uncle, Hugh d'Avranches, on 26 November 1119. He was 4th Earl of Chester at England between 1121 and 1129 and Viscount of Avranches at Normandy, France, between 1121 and 1129.

He was commander of the Royal Forces in 1124 at Normandy, France. Viscount of Bayeaux at Normandy, France, in 1129. He was the predecessor of Ranulph de Gernon, 5th Earl of Chester, Viscount of Avranches.

Ranulphwas buried in Abbey of St. Werburg's, Chester, England. He died circa 1129.


http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p362.htm#i14644

Buried:
Chester Abbey

Ranulf — Lucy of Bolingbroke. Lucy (daughter of Thorold of Lincoln) was born Abt 1066; died Abt 1138. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 8739

Other Events:

• Name: Robert of Caen
• Reference Number: 15921

Notes:

Robert Fitzroy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (before 1100 - 31 October 1147) was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. He was called "Rufus" and occasionally "de Caen" , he is also known as Robert "the Consul". He was the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, and her chief military supporter during the civil war known as The Anarchy, in which she vied with Stephen of Blois for the throne of England.

Robert was probably the eldest of Henry's many illegitimate children. He was born before his father's accession to the English throne.[3] His mother may have been Nesta, daughter of Rhys ap Tudor. However, his mother has also been identified as a member of "the Gay or Gayt family of north Oxfordshire", possibly a daughter of Rainald Gay (fl. 1086) of Hampton Gay and Northbrook Gay in Oxfordshire. Rainald had known issue Robert Gaay of Hampton (died c. 1138) and Stephen Gay of Northbrook (died after 1154). A number of Oxfordshire women feature as the mothers of Robert's siblings.

He may have been a native of Caen or he may have been only Constable and Governor of that city, jure uxoris.

His father had contracted him in marriage to Mabel, daughter and heir of Robert Fitzhamon, but the marriage was not solemnized until June 1119 at Lisieux,. His wife brought him the substantial honours of Gloucester in England and Glamorgan in Wales, and the honours of Sainte-Scholasse-sur-Sarthe and Évrecy in Normandy, as well as Creully. After the White Ship disaster late in 1120, and probably because of this marriage, in 1121 or 1122 his father created him Earl of Gloucester.

Robert of Caen was the father of Maud of Gloucester, also called Maud FitzRobert. She married Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, also known as Ranulf le Meschin.

There is evidence in the contemporary source, the Gesta Stephani, that Robert was proposed by some as a candidate for the throne, but his illegitimacy ruled him out:

"Among others came Robert, Earl of Gloucester, son of King Henry, but a bastard, a man of proved talent and admirable wisdom. When he was advised, as the story went, to claim the throne on his father's death, deterred by sounder advice he by no means assented, saying it was fairer to yield it to his sister's son (the future Henry II of England), than presumptuously to arrogate it to himself."

This suggestion cannot have led to any idea that he and Stephen were rivals for the Crown, as Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1136 referred to Robert as one of the 'pillars' of the new King's rule.

The capture of King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln on February 2, 1141 gave the Empress Matilda the upper hand in her battle for the throne, but by alienating the citizens of London she failed to be crowned Queen. Her forces were defeated at the Rout of Winchester on September 14, 1141, and Robert of Gloucester was captured nearby at Stockbridge.

The two prisoners, King Stephen and Robert of Gloucester, were then exchanged, but by freeing Stephen, the Empress Matilda had given up her best chance of becoming queen. She later returned to France, where she died in 1167, though her son succeeded Stephen as King Henry II in 1154.

Robert of Gloucester died in 1147 at Bristol Castle, where he had previously imprisoned King Stephen, and was buried at St James' Priory, Bristol, which he had founded.


Buried:
St James' Priory

Died:
Bristol Castle

Robert — Mabel Fitzhamon. Mabel (daughter of Robert Fitzhamon and Sybil De Montgomery) was born 1090, Gloucestershire, England; died 29 Sep 1157, Bristol, Somerset, England. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15922

Notes:

Mabel FitzHamon of Gloucester, Countess of Gloucester (1090 - 29 September 1157) was an Anglo-Norman noblewoman, and a wealthy heiress who brought the lordship of Gloucester, among other prestigious honours to her husband, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester upon their marriage. He was the illegitimate son of King Henry I of England.

Her own father was Robert Fitzhamon, Lord of Gloucester and Glamorgan. As she was the eldest daughter of four, and her younger sisters had become nuns, Mabel inherited all of his honours and properties upon his death in 1107.

As Countess of Gloucester, Mabel was significant politically and she exercised an important administrative role in the lordship.

Mabel was born in Gloucestershire, England in 1090, the eldest of the four daughters of Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Gloucester and Glamorgan, and his wife, Sybil de Montgomery. Her three younger sisters, Hawise, Cecile and Amice all became nuns, making Mabel the sole heiress to her father's lordships and vast estates in England, Wales, and Normandy.

Her paternal grandfather was Hamon, Sheriff of Kent, and her maternal grandparents were Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Mabel Talvas of Belleme.

In March 1107, her father died in Normandy, leaving his lordships and estates to Mabel. Her mother married secondly Jean, Sire de Raimes.

In 1107, Mabel married Robert of Caen, an illegitimate son of King Henry I by his mistress Sybil Corbet. Their marriage is recorded by Orderic Vitalis who also names her parents. He would later become an important figure during the turbulent period in English history known as The Anarchy which occurred in the reign of King Stephen of England. Throughout the civil war, he was a loyal supporter of his half-sister Empress Matilda who would make him the chief commander of her army. He had originally sworn fealty to King Stephen, but after quarrelling with him in 1137, his English and Welsh possessions were forfeited, and thus he joined forces with Matilda.

Mabel brought to her husband, the honours of Gloucester in England, Glamorgan in Wales, Sainte-Scholasse-sur-Sarthe, Evrecy and Creully in Normandy. By right of his wife, he became the 2nd Lord of Glamorgan, and gained possession of her father's castle of Cardiff in Wales. In August 1122, he was created 1st Earl of Gloucester; henceforth, Mabel was styled as Countess of Gloucester.

As countess, Mabel exercised a prominent administrative role in the Gloucester lordship. Her political importance was evident when she was made responsible for seeing that her husband upheld his side of the agreement in the treaty he made with Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford. She also witnessed four of Robert's charters; as well as giving her personal consent for his foundation of the Abbey of Margam, whose endowment came from her own lands. Later, after Robert's death, Mabel assumed control of the honour of Gloucester's Norman lands on behalf of her eldest son William.

Together Robert and Mabel had at least eight children:

William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (23 November 1112- 23 November 1183), married Hawise de Beaumont by whom he had five children, including Isabella of Gloucester, the first wife of King John of England, and Amice FitzRobert, Countess of Gloucester.
Roger, Bishop of Worcester (died 9 August 1179)
Hamon FitzRobert, (died 1159), killed in the Siege of Toulouse.
Robert FitzRobert of Ilchester (died before 1157), married Hawise de Redvers, by whom he had a daughter Mabel who in her turn married Jordan de Cambernon.
Richard FitzRobert, Sire de Creully (died 1175), inherited the seigneury of Creully from Mabel, and became the ancestor of the Sires de Creully. He married the daughter of Hughes de Montfort by whom he had five children.
Philip FitzRobert, (died after 1147), Castellan of Cricklade. He took part in the Second Crusade.
Maud FitzRobert (died 29 July 1190), married Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester by whom she had three children.
Mabel FitzRobert, married Aubrey de Vere
Robert also sired an illegitimate son, Richard, Bishop of Bayeux by Isabel de Douvres.

Mabel's husband died on 31 October 1147. Mabel herself died on 29 September 1157 in Bristol at the age of sixty-seven years.

Other Events:

• Name: Ranulf the Viscount
• Reference Number: 11591

Notes:

Also called Ralph de Meschines.4,5 Ranulph II, vicomte de Bayeaux was born circa 1042 at Normandy, France. He was the son of Ranulph I, Vicomte du Bessin and Alix de Normandie.3 Ranulph II, vicomte de Bayeaux was regarded as an adult in 1066.6 He married Margaret d' Avranches, daughter of Richard le Goz, vicomte d' Avranches and Emma de Conteville, after 1066 at England. Ranulph II, vicomte de Bayeaux was living in April 1089.6 He was was commander of the Royal Forces in 1124 at Normandy, France. He died in 1128/29 at Chester, Cheshire, England. Ranulph II, vicomte de Bayeaux was buried in St. Werburg's, Chester, England.

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p363.htm#i6821

Ranulf — Margaret D' Avranches. Margaret (daughter of Richard Le Goz and Emma De Conteville) was born Abt 1046; died Abt 1136. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 3530

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37270

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37271

Notes:

Henry I (c. 1068/1069 - 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106. A later tradition[1] called him Beauclerc for his scholarly interests- he could read Latin and put his learning to effective use- and Lion of Justice for refinements which he brought about in the royal administration, which he rendered the most effective in Europe, rationalizing the itinerant court, and his public espousal of the Anglo-Saxon legal tradition.

Henry's reign established deep roots for the Anglo-Norman realm, in part through his dynastic (and personal) choice of a Scottish princess who represented the lineage of Edmund Ironside for queen. His succession was hurriedly confirmed while his brother Robert was away on the First Crusade, and the beginning of his reign was occupied by wars with Robert for control of England and Normandy. He successfully reunited the two realms again after their separation on his father's death in 1087. Upon his succession he granted the baronage a Charter of Liberties, which linked his rule of law to the Anglo-Saxon tradition, forming a basis for subsequent limitations to the rights of English kings and presaged Magna Carta, which subjected the king to law.

The rest of Henry's reign, a period of peace and prosperity in England and Normandy, was filled with judicial and financial reforms. He established the biannual Exchequer to reform the treasury. He used itinerant officials to curb the abuses of power at the local and regional level that had characterized William Rufus' unpopular reign, garnering the praise of the monkish chroniclers. The differences between the English and Norman populations began to break down during his reign and he himself married a descendant of the old English royal house. He made peace with the church after the disputes of his brother's reign and the struggles with Anselm over the English investiture controversy (1103-07), but he could not smooth out his succession after the disastrous loss of his eldest son William in the wreck of the White Ship. His will stipulated that he was to be succeeded by his daughter, the Empress Matilda, but his stern rule was followed by a period of civil war known as the Anarchy.

Henry was born between May 1068 and May 1069, probably in Selby in Yorkshire. His mother Queen Matilda named the infant prince Henry, after her uncle, Henry I of France. As the youngest son of the family, he was almost certainly expected to become a bishop and was given more extensive schooling than was usual for a young nobleman of that time. Henry's biographer C. Warren Hollister suggests the possibility that the saintly ascetic Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, was in part responsible for Henry's education; Henry was consistently in the bishop's company during his formative years, ca 1080-86. "He was an intellectual", V.H. Galbraith observed, "an educated man in a sense that his predecessors, always excepting Alfred, were not." The chronicler William of Malmesbury asserts that Henry once remarked that an illiterate king was a crowned ass. He was certainly the first Norman ruler to be fluent in the English language.

William I's second son Richard was killed in a hunting accident in 1081, so William bequeathed his dominions to his three surviving sons in the following manner:

Robert received the Duchy of Normandy and became Duke Robert II
William Rufus received the Kingdom of England and became King William II
Henry received 5,000 pounds in silver.

The chronicler Orderic Vitalis reports that the old king had declared to Henry: "You in your own time will have all the dominions I have acquired and be greater than both your brothers in wealth and power."

Henry tried to play his brothers off against each other but eventually, wary of his devious manoeuvring, they acted together and signed an accession treaty. This sought to bar Prince Henry from both thrones by stipulating that if either King William or Duke Robert died without an heir, the two dominions of their father would be reunited under the surviving brother.

When, on 2 August 1100, William II was killed by an arrow in a hunting accident in the New Forest, where Henry was also hunting, Duke Robert had not yet returned from the First Crusade. His absence allowed Prince Henry to seize the royal treasury at Winchester, Hampshire, where he buried his dead brother. Conspiracy theories have been repeatedly examined and widely dismissed.[4] Thus he succeeded to the throne of England, guaranteeing his succession in defiance of William and Robert's earlier agreement. Henry was accepted as king by the leading barons and was crowned three days later on 5 August at Westminster Abbey.
Henry secured his position among the nobles by an act of political appeasement: he issued a coronation charter guaranteeing the rights of free English folk, which was subsequently evoked by King Stephen and by Henry II before Archbishop Stephen Langton called it up in 1215 as a precedent for Magna Carta.[5] The view of Henry and his advisors did not encompass a long view into constitutional history: the Coronation Charter was one of several expedients designed to distance him from the extraordinary and arbitrary oppressions of William Rufus' reign, claiming to return to the practices of Edward the Confessor, made clear in clause 13, a statement of general principles. Its first clause promised the freedom of the church and the security of its properties, and succeeding clauses similarly reassured the propertied class.

On 11 November 1100 Henry married Edith, daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland. Since Edith was also the niece of Edgar Atheling and the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside (the half-brother of Edward the Confessor) the marriage united the Norman line with the old English line of kings. The marriage greatly displeased the Norman barons, however, and as a concession to their sensibilities Edith changed her name to Matilda upon becoming Queen. The other side of this, however, was that Henry, by dint of his marriage, became far more acceptable to the Anglo-Saxon populace.

In the following year, 1101, Robert Curthose, Henry's eldest brother, attempted to seize the crown by invading England. In the Treaty of Alton, Robert agreed to recognise his brother Henry as King of England and return peacefully to Normandy, upon receipt of an annual sum of 3,000 silver marks, which Henry proceeded to pay.

In 1105, to eliminate the continuing threat from Robert, Henry led an expeditionary force across the English Channel.

Battle of Tinchebray

On the morning of 28 September 1106, exactly 40 years after William had made his way to England, the decisive battle between his two surviving sons, Robert Curthose and Henry Beauclerc, took place in the small village of Tinchebray, Basse-Normandie. This combat was totally unexpected. Henry and his army were marching south from Barfleur on their way to Domfront and Robert was marching with his army from Falaise on their way to Mortain. They met at the crossroads at Tinchebray. The running battle which ensued was spread out over several kilometres; the site where most of the fighting took place is the village playing field today. Towards evening Robert tried to retreat but was captured by Henry's men at a place three kilometres (just under two miles) north of Tinchebray where a farm named "Prise" (grip or capture)[citation needed] stands today on the D22 road. The tombstones of three knights are nearby on the same road.

After Henry had defeated his brother's Norman army at Tinchebray he imprisoned Robert, initially in the Tower of London, subsequently at Devizes Castle and later at Cardiff. One day, while out riding, Robert attempted to escape from Cardiff but his horse bogged down in a swamp and he was recaptured. (A story was later circulated that, to prevent further escapes, Henry had Robert's eyes burnt out: this is not accepted by Henry's recent biographer, Judith Green.) Henry appropriated the Duchy of Normandy as a possession of the Kingdom of England and reunited his father's dominions. Even after taking control of the Duchy of Normandy he didn't take the title of Duke, he chose to control it as the King of England.

In 1113, Henry attempted to reduce difficulties in Normandy by betrothing his eldest son, William Adelin, to the daughter of Fulk, Count of Anjou at the time a serious enemy. They were married in 1119. Eight years later, after William's death, a much more momentous union was made between Henry's daughter, (the former Empress) Matilda and Fulk's son Geoffrey Plantagenet, which eventually resulted in the union of the two realms under the Plantagenet Kings.

Henry's need for finance to consolidate his position led to an increase in the activities of centralized government. As king, Henry carried out social and judicial reforms; he issued the Charter of Liberties and restored the laws of Edward the Confessor.

Between 1103 and 1107 Henry was involved in a dispute with Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Paschal II in the investiture controversy, which was settled in the Concordat of London in 1107. It was a compromise. In England, a distinction was made in the king's chancery between the secular and ecclesiastical powers of the prelates. Employing the distinction, Henry gave up his right to invest his bishops and abbots, but reserved the custom of requiring them to come and do homage for the "temporalities" (the landed properties tied to the episcopate), directly from his hand, after the prelate had sworn homage and feudal vassalage in the ceremony called commendatio, the commendation ceremony, like any secular vassal.

Some of Henry's acts are brutal by modern standards. In 1090 he threw a treacherous burgher named Conan Pilatus from the tower of Rouen; the tower was known from then on as "Conan's Leap." In another instance that took place in 1119, Henry's son-in-law, Eustace de Pacy, and Ralph Harnec, the constable of Ivry, exchanged their children as hostages. When Eustace inexplicably blinded Harnec's son, Harnec demanded vengeance. King Henry allowed Harnec to blind and mutilate Eustace's two daughters, who were also Henry's own grandchildren. Eustace and his wife, Juliane, were outraged and threatened to rebel. Henry arranged to meet his daughter at a parley at Breteuil, only for Juliane to draw a crossbow and attempt to assassinate her father. She was captured and confined to the castle, but escaped by leaping from a window into the moat below. Some years later Henry was reconciled with his daughter and son-in-law.

During his reign, King Henry introduced a new monetary system known as the tally stick, which started primarily as a form of record keeping. Since tally sticks could be used to pay the taxes imposed by the king, he created a demand for tally sticks. This demand for tally sticks expanded their role and they began to circulate as a form of money. This practice survived for many years, a little over 700 in fact, until it was finally retired in 1826. The Bank of England then continued to use wooden tally sticks until 1826: some 500 years after the invention of double-entry bookkeeping and 400 years after Johannes Gutenberg's invention of printing. The tally sticks were then taken out of circulation and stored in the Houses of Parliament until 1834, when the authorities decided that the tallies were no longer required and that they should be burned. As it happened, they were burned rather too enthusiastically and in the resulting conflagration the Houses of Parliament were razed to the ground.

He had four children by Matilda (Edith), who died on 1 May 1118 at the Palace of Westminster. She was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Matilda. (c. February 1102 - 10 September 1167). She married firstly Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, and secondly, Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, having issue by the second.
William Adelin, (5 August 1103 - 25 November 1120). He married Matilda (d.1154), daughter of Fulk V, Count of Anjou.
Euphemia, died young.
Richard, died young.

On 29 January 1121 he married Adeliza, daughter of Godfrey I of Leuven, Duke of Lower Lotharingia and Landgrave of Brabant, but there were no children from this marriage. Left without male heirs, Henry took the unprecedented step of making his barons swear to accept his daughter Empress Matilda, widow of Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir.

Henry visited Normandy in 1135 to see his young grandsons, the children of Matilda and Geoffrey. He took great delight in his grandchildren, but soon quarrelled with his daughter and son-in-law and these disputes led him to tarry in Normandy far longer than he originally planned.

Henry died on 1 December 1135 at Saint-Denis-en-Lyons (now Lyons-la-Forêt) in Normandy. According to legend, he died of food poisoning, caused by his eating "a surfeit of lampreys", of which he was excessively fond.[9] His remains were sewn into the hide of a bull to preserve them on the journey, and then taken back to England and were buried at Reading Abbey, which he had founded fourteen years before. The Abbey was destroyed during the Protestant Reformation. No trace of his tomb has survived, the probable site being covered by St. James' School. Nearby is a small plaque and a large memorial cross stands in the adjoining Forbury Gardens.

Although Henry's barons had sworn allegiance to his daughter as their queen, her sex and her remarriage into the House of Anjou, an enemy of the Normans, allowed Henry's nephew Stephen of Blois to come to England and claim the throne with baronial support. The struggle between the former Empress and Stephen resulted in a long civil war known as the Anarchy. The dispute was eventually settled by Stephen's naming of Matilda's son, Henry Plantagenet, as his heir in 1153.

King Henry is famed for holding the record for more than twenty acknowledged illegitimate children, the largest number born to any English king; they turned out to be significant political assets in subsequent years, his bastard daughters cementing alliances with a flock of lords whose lands bordered Henry's. He had many mistresses, and identifying which mistress is the mother of which child is difficult. His illegitimate offspring for whom there is documentation are:

Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester. b. 1090 Often said to have been a son of Sybil Corbet.
Maud FitzRoy, married 1113 Conan III, Duke of Brittany
Constance or Maud FitzRoy, married 1122 Roscelin, Viscount de Beaumont (died ca. 1176)
Mabel FitzRoy, married William III Gouet
Alice FitzRoy, married Matthieu I of Montmorency and had two children Bouchard V de Montmorency ca 1130-1189 who married Laurence, daughter of Baldwin IV of Hainault and had issue and Mattheiu who married Matilda of Garlande and had issue. Mattheiu I went on to marry Adelaide of Maurienne.
Gilbert FitzRoy, died after 1142. His mother may have been a sister of Walter de Gand.
Emma, married Guy de Laval IV, Lord Laval.[11] This is based on epitaphs maintained in the chapterhouse of Clermont Abbey which appear to refer to Emma as the daughter of a king. There may be some confusion here, however, in that Guy's son, Guy de Laval V, was also married to an Emma who described herself as the daughter of Reginald de Dunstanville, Earl of Cornwall, who was an illegitimate son of Henry I as noted below. Additionally, if the elder Emma was also an illegitimate child of Henry I, this would make Guy and his wife Emma first cousins, something that casts more doubt on the claim.

With Edith

Matilda, married in 1103 Count Rotrou III of Perche. She perished 25 November 1120 in the wreck of the White Ship. She left two daughters: Philippa, who married Elias II, Count of Maine (son of Fulk, Count of Anjou and later King of Jerusalem), and Felice.

With Gieva de Tracy

William de Tracy

With Ansfride

Ansfride was born c. 1070. She was the wife of Anskill of Seacourt, at Wytham in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire).

Juliane de Fontrevault (born c. 1090); married Eustace de Pacy in 1103. She tried to shoot her father with a crossbow after King Henry allowed her two young daughters to be blinded.
Fulk FitzRoy (born c. 1092); a monk at Abingdon.
Richard of Lincoln (c. 1094 - 25 November 1120); perished in the wreck of the White Ship.

With Sybil Corbet

Lady Sybilla Corbet of Alcester was born in 1077 in Alcester in Warwickshire. She married Herbert FitzHerbert, son of Herbert 'the Chamberlain' of Winchester and Emma de Blois. She died after 1157 and was also known as Adela (or Lucia) Corbet. Sybil was definitely mother of Sybil and Rainald, possibly also of William and Rohese. Some sources suggest that there was another daughter by this relationship, Gundred, but it appears that she was thought as such because she was a sister of Reginald de Dunstanville but it appears that that was another person of that name who was not related to this family.

Sybilla de Normandy, married Alexander I of Scotland.
William Constable, born before 1105. Married Alice (Constable); died after 1187.
Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st Earl of Cornwall.
Gundred of England (1114-46), married 1130 Henry de la Pomeroy, son of Joscelin de la Pomerai.
Rohese of England, born 1114; married Henry de la Pomerai.
Elizabeth of England married Fergus of Galloway and had issue.

[G. E. Cokayne, in his Complete Peerage, Vol. XI, Appendix D pps 105-121 attempts to elucidate Henry I's illegiimate children. For Mistress Sybil Corbet, he indicates that Rohese married Henry de la Pomerai [ibid.:119]. In any case, the dates concerning Rohese in the above article are difficult to reconcile on face value, her purported children having seemingly been born before their mother, and also before the date of her mother's purported marriage.]

With Edith FitzForne

Robert FitzEdith, Lord Okehampton, (1093-1172) married Dame Maud d'Avranches du Sap. They had one daughter, Mary, who married Renaud, Sire of Courtenay (son of Miles, Sire of Courtenay and Ermengarde of Nevers).

Adeliza FitzEdith. Appears in charters with her brother, Robert.

With Princess Nest

Nest ferch Rhys was born about 1073 at Dinefwr Castle, Carmarthenshire, the daughter of Prince Rhys ap Tewdwr of Deheubarth and his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhywallon. She was married, in 1095, to Gerald de Windsor (aka Geraldus FitzWalter) son of Walter FitzOther, Constable of Windsor Castle and Keeper of the Forests of Berkshire. She had several other liaisons - including one with Stephen of Cardigan, Constable of Cardigan (1136) - and subsequently other illegitimate children. The date of her death is unknown.

Henry FitzRoy, 1103-1158. #2. Phillip de Prendergast;Prendergast (Irish: de Priondárgas) is an Irish name of Welsh/Norman origin. The name derives from the 12th century Norman Knight Maurice de Prendergast

IN WALES

The Prendergast name is said to have been brought to England during the Norman Conquest by one Prenliregast, (also given as Preudirlegast in The Battle Abbey Roll) a follower of William the Conqueror. The son of Prenliregast, Phillip, was given land in the district of Ros in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. Maurice de Prendergast was one of his descendants and in 1160, lord of the manor (castle) of Prendergast. He was probably a nephew of Nesta, the daughter of Rufus, Prince of Demetia (which was the Norman name for Pembrokeshire) where Maurice’s family had lived since the Norman Conquest in 1066. Nesta was distinguished for her beauty and infamous for her affairs (ref. "The Norman Invasion of Ireland" by Richard Roche), it has been said that the "first conquerors of Ireland were nearly all descendants of Nesta", either by her two husbands or through the son she had to Henry 1 of England.

With Isabel de Beaumont

Isabel (Elizabeth) de Beaumont (after 1102 - after 1172), daughter of Robert de Beaumont, sister of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester. She married Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke, in 1130. She was also known as Isabella de Meulan.

Isabel Hedwig of England
Matilda FitzRoy, abbess of Montvilliers, also known as Montpiller


Died:
Lyons-la-Forêt

Henry — Edith of Scotland. Edith (daughter of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada and Margaret of Scotland) was born Abt 1080; died 1 May 1118. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Matilda of Scotland
• Reference Number: 38037

Notes:

Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080 - 1 May 1118), born Edith, was the first wife and Queen consort of Henry I of England.

Early life:

Matilda was born around 1080 in Dunfermline, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret. She was christened (baptised) Edith, and Robert Curthose stood as godfather at the ceremony. Queen Matilda, the consort of William the Conqueror, was also present at the baptismal font and was her godmother. Baby Matilda pulled at Queen Matilda's headress, which was seen as an omen that the younger Matilda would be queen one day.

The Life Of St Margaret, Queen Of Scotland was later written for Matilda by Turgot of Durham. It refers to Matilda's childhood and her relationship with her mother. In it, Margaret is described as a strict but loving mother. She did not spare the rod when it came to raising her children in virtue, which Tugot supposed was the reason for the good behaviour Matilda and her siblings displayed. Margaret also stressed the importance of piety.

When she was about six years old, Matilda of Scotland (or Edith as she was then probably still called) and her sister Mary were sent to Romsey Abbey, near Southampton, where their aunt Cristina was abbess. During her stay at Romsey and, some time before 1093, at Wilton Abbey, both institutions known for learning, the Scottish princess was much sought-after as a bride; refusing proposals from William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, and Alan Rufus, Lord of Richmond. Hériman of Tournai even claims that William II Rufus considered marrying her.

She had left the monastery by 1093, when Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote to the Bishop of Salisbury ordering that the daughter of the King of Scotland be returned to the monastery that she had left.

Marriage:

After the mysterious death of William II in August 1100, his brother, Henry, immediately seized the royal treasury and crown. His next task was to marry and Henry's choice was Matilda. Because Matilda had spent most of her life in a convent, there was some controversy over whether she was a nun and thus canonically ineligible for marriage. Henry sought permission for the marriage from Archbishop Anselm, who returned to England in September 1100 after a long exile. Professing himself unwilling to decide so weighty a matter on his own, Anselm called a council of bishops in order to determine the canonical legality of the proposed marriage. Matilda testified that she had never taken holy vows, insisting that her parents had sent her and her sister to England for educational purposes, and her aunt Cristina had veiled her to protect her "from the lust of the Normans." Matilda claimed she had pulled the veil off and stamped on it, and her aunt beat and scolded her for this act. The council concluded that Matilda was not a nun, never had been and her parents had not intended that she become one, giving their permission for the marriage.

Matilda and Henry seem to have known one another for some time before their marriage - William of Malmesbury states that Henry had "long been attached" to her, and Orderic Vitalis says that Henry had "long adored" her character.

Her mother was the sister of Edgar the Ætheling, proclaimed but uncrowned King of England after Harold, and through her, Matilda was descended from Edmund Ironside and thus from the royal family of Wessex, which in the 10th century, had become the royal family of a united England. This was very important as Henry wanted to make himself more popular with the English people and Matilda represented the old English dynasty. In their children, the Norman and English dynasties would be united. Another benefit was that England and Scotland became politically closer; three of her brothers became kings of Scotland in succession and were unusually friendly towards England during this period of unbroken peace between the two nations: Alexander married one of Henry I's illegitimate daughters and David lived for some time before his accession at Henry's court.

Most of her dower estates were granted from lands previously held by Edith of Wessex.

Queen:

After Matilda and Henry were married on 11 November 1100 at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, she was crowned as "Matilda," a fashionable Norman name. By courtiers, however, she and her husband were soon nicknamed 'Godric and Godiva'. These two names were typical English names from before The Conquest and mocked their more rustic style, especially when compared to the flamboyance of William II.

She gave birth to a daughter, Matilda, in February 1102, and a son, William, called "Adelin", in November 1103. As Queen, she maintained her court primarily at Westminster, but accompanied her husband on his travels around England, and, circa 1106-1107, probably visited Normandy with him. Matilda was the designated head of Henry's curia and acted as regent during several of his absences.

During the English investiture controversy (1103-07), she acted as intercessor between her husband and archbishop Anselm. She wrote several letters during Anselm's absence, first asking him for advice and to return, but later increasingly to mediate.

Works:

Matilda had great interest in architecture and instigated the building of many Norman style buildings, like at Waltham Abbey and a leper hospital. She also had the first arched bridge in England built, at Stratford-le-Bow, as well as a bathhouse with piped-in water and public lavatories at Queenhithe.

Her court was filled with musicians and poets; she commissioned a monk, probably Thurgot, to write a biography of her mother, Saint Margaret. She was an active queen and, like her mother, was renowned for her devotion to religion and the poor. William of Malmesbury describes her as attending church barefoot at Lent, and washing the feet and kissing the hands of the sick. She also administered extensive dower properties and was known as a patron of the arts, especially music.

Death:

After Matilda died on 1 May 1118 at Westminster Palace, she was buried at Westminster Abbey. The death of her only adult son, William Adelin, in the tragic disaster of the White Ship (November 1120) and Henry's failure to produce a legitimate son from his second marriage led to the succession crisis of The Anarchy.

Legacy:

After her death, she was remembered by her subjects as "Matilda the Good Queen" and "Matilda of Blessed Memory", and for a time sainthood was sought for her, though she was never canonised.

Other Events:

• Name: Robert FitzHamon, Sieur de Creully
• Reference Number: 37272

Notes:

Robert Fitzhamon (died March 1107), or Robert FitzHamon, Sieur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was Lord of Gloucester and the Norman conqueror of Glamorgan, southern Wales. He became the leader of Glamorgan in 1075.

As a kinsman of the Conqueror and one of the few Anglo-Norman barons to remain loyal to the two successive kings William Rufus and Henry I of England, he was a prominent figure in England and Normandy.

Not much is known about his earlier life, or his precise relationship to William I of England.

Robert FitzHamon (born c. 1045-1055, d. March 1107 Falaise, Normandy) was the son of Haimo the Sheriff of Kent and grandson of Haimo Dentatus ('The Toothy', i.e., probably buck-toothed). His grand-father held the lordships of Torigny, Creully, Mézy, and Evrecy in Normandy, but following his death at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes in 1047, the family might have lost these lordships.

Few details of Robert's career prior to 1087 are available.

Robert probably did not fight at Hastings, and does not appear in the Domesday Book, although some relatives may. He first comes to prominence as a supporter of William Rufus during the Rebellion of 1088. After the revolt failed he was rewarded with great estates in Gloucestershire and elsewhere. Some of these had belonged to the late Queen Matilda, and were supposed to be inherited by Rufus's younger brother Henry (the future Henry I); nevertheless Fitzhamon remained on good terms with Henry.

The chronology of Fitzhamon's conquest of Glamorgan is uncertain, but it probably took place in the decades after he received Gloucester.

The Twelve Knights of Glamorgan

One explanation is the legend of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan, which dates from the 16th century, in which the Welsh Prince Iestyn ap Gwrgan (Jestin), prince or Lord of Glamorgan, supposedly called in the assistance of Robert Fitzhamon. Fitzhamon defeated the prince of South Wales Rhys ap Tewdwr in battle in 1090. With his Norman knights as reward he then took possession of Glamorgan, and "the French came into Dyned and Ceredigion, which they have still retained, and fortified the castles, and seized upon all the land of the Britons." Iestyn did not profit long by his involvement with the Normans. He was soon defeated and his lands taken in 1091.

Whether there is any truth in the legend or not Robert Fitzhamon seems to have seized control of the lowlands of Glamorgan and Gwynllwg sometime from around 1089 to 1094. His key strongholds were Cardiff Castle, which already may have been built, on the site of an old Roman fort, new castles at Newport, and at Kenfig. His descendants would inherit these castles and lands.

Rhys's daughter Nest became the mistress of King Henry I of England and allegedly was mother of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester who married Mabel, Fitzhamon's daughter and heiress and thus had legitimacy both among the Welsh and the Norman barons.[1] (Robert of Caen's mother is however unknown to historians and genealogists).

Founder of Tewkesbury Abbey (1092)

He also refounded Tewkesbury Abbey in 1092. The abbey's dimensions are almost the same as Westminster Abbey. The first abbot was Giraldus, Abbot of Cranborne (d. 1110) who died before the abbey was consecrated in October 1121. The abbey was apparently built under the influence of his wife Sybil de Montgomery., said to be a beautiful and religious woman like her sisters.

Fitzhamon and His Kings

Legend has it that Robert had ominous dreams in the days before Rufus' fatal hunting expedition, which postponed but did not prevent the outing. He was one of the first to gather in tears around Rufus' corpse, and he used his cloak to cover the late king's body on its journey to be buried in Winchester. How much of these stories are the invention of later days is unknown.

In any case Fitzhamon proved as loyal to Henry I as he had been to his predecessor, remaining on Henry's side in the several open conflicts with Henry's brother Robert Curthose. He was one of the three barons who negotiated the 1101 truce between Henry I and Robert Curthose.

In 1105 he went to Normandy and was captured while fighting near his ancestral estates near Bayeux. This was one of the reasons Henry crossed the channel with a substantial force later that year. Fitzhamon was freed, and joined Henry's campaign, which proceeded to besiege Falaise. There Fitzhamon was severely injured in the head; although he lived two more years he was never the same mentally. He was buried in the Chapter House at Tewkesbury Abbey, which he had founded and considerably enriched during his lifetime.

Marriage and children

Fitzhamon married Sybil de Montgomery around 1087 to 1090, apparently the youngest daughter of Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury by his first wife Mabel Talvas, daughter of William I Talvas, by whom he is said to have had four daughters. His eldest daughter Mabel inherited his great estates and married Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester around 1107. Fitzhamon's Gloucestershire property thus became the nucleus of the Earldom of Gloucester later given to his son-in-law. Fitzhamon is sometimes called Earl of Gloucester, but was never so created formally.

Another daughter Isabella (or Hawisa) is said to have been married to a count from Brittany, but no further details exist. His widow and two other daughters (unnamed) are reported to have entered a convent.

Robert Fitzhamon's great granddaughter Isabel of Gloucester married John of England.

Robert — Sybil De Montgomery. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37273