Maud Fitzrobert

Other Events:

• Name: Maud of Gloucester
• Reference Number: 5315

Maud married Ranulph De Gernon Abt 1141, Gloucestershire, England. Ranulph (son of Ranulf Le Meschin and Lucy of Bolingbroke) was born 1099, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died 16 Dec 1153, Cheshire, England; was buried , Chester, Cheshire, England. [Group Sheet]

1. Richard De Meschines was born Abt 1149.
2. Beatrix De Meschines was born Abt 1150.
3. Hugh De Kevelioc was born 1147, Merionethshire, Wales; died 1181, Leek, Staffordshire, England.

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:

• 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

Other Events:

• Name: William the Conqueror
• Reference Number: 37276

Notes:

William I (c.?1028 - 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II. Before his conquest of England, he was known as William the Bastard because of the illegitimacy of his birth.

To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, and Frenchmen (from Paris and Île-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.

William of Malmesbury, the foremost historian of the day, reported of William: "He was of just stature, extraordinary corpulence, fierce countenance; his forehead bare of hair; of such strength of arm that it was often a matter of surprise that no one was able to draw his bow, which he himself could bend when his horse was on full gallop; he was majestic whether sitting or standing, although the protuberance of his belly deformed his royal person: of excellent health so that he was never confined with any dangerous disorder except at the last."

His heavy taxes, together with the exactions of the greedy Norman landlords he put in power, reduced the great mass of Anglo-Saxon freemen to serfdom. By 1086, the Domesday Book showed that England comprised 12% freeholders; 35% serfs or villeins: 30% cotters and borders; and 9% slaves.[4] William was one of the foremost soldiers of the medieval era, conquering a large kingdom from a smaller base. Most important, William created a feudal state that brought order, peace, law to England, promoted commerce, and created a strong central government that long endured.

His reign, which imposed Norman culture and leadership on England, reshaped England in the Middle Ages. The details of that impact and the extent of the changes have been debated by scholars for centuries. In addition to the obvious change of ruler, his reign also saw a programme of building and fortification, changes to the English language, a shift in the upper levels of society and the church, and adoption of some aspects of continental church reform.

William was born in either 1027 or 1028 in Château de Falaise in Falaise, Normandy, France, and more likely in the autumn of the later year. William was the only son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, as well as the grandnephew of the English Queen, Emma of Normandy, wife of King Ethelred the Unready and then of King Canute the Great. Though illegitimate, his father named him as heir to Normandy. His mother, Herleva, who later married and bore two sons to Herluin de Conteville, was the daughter of Fulbert of Falaise. In addition to his two half-brothers, Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain, William also had a sister, Adelaide of Normandy, another child of Robert.

William's illegitimacy affected his early life. As a child, his life was in constant danger from his kinsmen who thought they had a more legitimate right to rule. One attempt on William's life occurred while he slept at a castle keep at Vaudreuil, when the murderer mistakenly stabbed the child sleeping next to William. Nevertheless, when his father died, he was recognised as the heir. Later in his life, his enemies are reported to have called him "William the Bastard"-a title which William had no problems with--but when residents of besieged Alençon also derided him as the son of a tanner's daughter and hung animal skins from the city walls to taunt him, William had their right hands chopped off.

By his father's will, William succeeded him as Duke of Normandy at age seven in 1035. Plots by rival Norman noblemen to usurp his place cost William three guardians, though not Count Alan III of Brittany, who was a later guardian. William was supported by King Henry I of France, however. He was knighted by Henry at age 15. By the time William turned 19 he was successfully dealing with threats of rebellion and invasion. With the assistance of Henry, William finally secured control of Normandy by defeating rebel Norman barons at Caen in the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes in 1047, obtaining the Truce of God, which was backed by the Roman Catholic Church. Against the wishes of Pope Leo IX, William married Matilda of Flanders in 1053 in the Notre-Dame chapel of Eu castle, Normandy (Seine-Maritime). At the time, William was about 24 years old and Matilda was 22. William is said to have been a faithful and loving husband, and their marriage produced four sons and six daughters. In repentance for what was a consanguine marriage (they were distant cousins), William donated St Stephen's Church (l'Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and Matilda donated Holy Trinity church (l'Abbaye aux Dames).

Feeling threatened by the increase in Norman power resulting from William's noble marriage, Henry I of France attempted to invade Normandy twice (1054 and 1057), without success. Already a charismatic leader, William attracted strong support within Normandy, including the loyalty of his half-brothers Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain, who played significant roles in his life. Later, he benefited from the weakening of two competing power centres as a result of the deaths of Henry I and of Geoffrey II of Anjou, in 1060. In 1062 William invaded and took control of the county of Maine, which had been a fief of Anjou.

Upon the death of the childless Edward the Confessor, the English throne was fiercely disputed by three claimants-William; Harold Godwinson, the powerful Earl of Wessex; and the Viking King Harald III of Norway, known as Harald Hardrada. William had a tenuous blood claim through his great aunt Emma (wife of Ethelred and mother of Edward). William also contended that Edward, who had spent much of his life in exile in Normandy during the Danish occupation of England, had promised him the throne when he visited Edward in London in 1052. Further, William claimed that Harold had pledged allegiance to him in 1064: William had rescued the shipwrecked Harold from the count of Ponthieu, and together they had defeated Conan II, Duke of Brittany. On that occasion, William had knighted Harold; he had also, however, deceived Harold by having him swear loyalty to William himself over the concealed bones of a saint.

In January 1066, however, in accordance with Edward's last will and by vote of the Witenagemot, Harold Godwinson was crowned King by Archbishop Aldred.

Invasion of England:

Meanwhile, William submitted his claim to the English throne to Pope Alexander II, who sent him a consecrated banner in support. Then, William organised a council of war at Lillebonne and in January openly began assembling an army in Normandy. Offering promises of English lands and titles, he amassed at Dives-sur-Mer a huge invasion fleet, supposedly of 696 ships. This carried an invasion force which included, in addition to troops from William's own territories of Normandy and Maine, large numbers of mercenaries, allies and volunteers from Brittany, north-eastern France and Flanders, together with smaller numbers from other parts of France and from the Norman colonies in southern Italy. In England, Harold assembled a large army on the south coast and a fleet of ships to guard the English Channel.

Fortuitously for William, his crossing was delayed by eight months of unfavourable winds. William managed to keep his army together during the wait, but Harold's was diminished by dwindling supplies and falling morale. With the arrival of the harvest season, he disbanded his army on 8 September. Harold also consolidated his ships in London, leaving the English Channel unguarded. Then came the news that the other contender for the throne, Harald III of Norway, allied with Tostig Godwinson, had landed ten miles (16 km) from York. Harold again raised his army and after a four-day forced march defeated Harald and Tostig on 25 September.

On 12 September the wind direction turned and William's fleet sailed. A storm blew up and the fleet was forced to take shelter at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and again wait for the wind to change. On 27 September the Norman fleet finally set sail, landing in England at Pevensey Bay (Sussex) on 28 September. William then moved to Hastings, a few miles to the east, where he built a prefabricated wooden castle for a base of operations. From there, he ravaged the hinterland and waited for Harold's return from the north.

William chose Hastings as it was at the end of a long peninsula flanked by impassable marshes. The battle was on the isthmus. William at once built a fort at Hastings to guard his rear against potential arrival of Harold's fleet from London. Having landed his army, William was less concerned about desertion and could have waited out the winter storms, raided the surrounding area for horses and started a campaign in the spring. Harold had been reconnoitring the south of England for some time and well appreciated the need to occupy this isthmus at once.

Battle of Hastings:

Harold, after defeating his brother Tostig and Harald Hardrada in the north, marched his army 241 mi (388 km) in 5 days to meet the invading William in the south. On 13 October, William received news of Harold's march from London. At dawn the next day, William left the castle with his army and advanced towards the enemy. Harold had taken a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill/Senlac ridge (present-day Battle, East Sussex), about seven miles (11 km) from Hastings.

The Battle of Hastings lasted all day. 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. Along the ridge's border, formed as a wall of shields, the English soldiers at first stood so effectively that William's army was thrown back with heavy casualties. Then William rallied his troops reportedly raising his helmet, as shown in the Bayeux Tapestry, to quell rumours of his death. Meanwhile, many of the English had pursued the fleeing Normans on foot, allowing the Norman cavalry to attack them repeatedly from the rear as his infantry pretended to retreat further. Norman arrows also took their toll, progressively weakening the English wall of shields. At dusk, the English army made their last stand. A final Norman cavalry attack decided the battle irrevocably when it resulted in the death of Harold who, legend says, was killed by an arrow in the eye, beheaded and bodily dismembered. Two of his brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine Godwinson, were killed as well. By nightfall, the Norman victory was complete and the remaining English soldiers fled in fear.

Battles of the time rarely lasted more than two hours before the weaker side capitulated; that Hastings lasted nine hours indicates the determination of both William's and Harold's armies. Battles also ended at sundown regardless of who was winning. Harold was killed shortly before sunset and, as he would have received fresh reinforcements before the battle recommenced in the morning, he was assured of victory had he survived William's final cavalry attacks.

March to London:

For two weeks, William waited for a formal surrender of the English throne, but the Witenagemot proclaimed the young Edgar Ætheling King instead, though without coronation. Thus, William's next target was London, approaching through the important territories of Kent, via Dover and Canterbury, inspiring fear in the English. However, at London, William's advance was beaten back at London Bridge, and he decided to march westward and to storm London from the northwest. After receiving continental reinforcements, William crossed the Thames at Wallingford, and there he forced the surrender of Archbishop Stigand (one of Edgar's lead supporters), in early December. William reached Berkhamsted a few days later where Ætheling relinquished the English crown personally and the exhausted Saxon noblemen of England surrendered definitively. Although William was acclaimed then as English King, he requested a coronation in London. As William I, he was formally crowned on Christmas Day 1066 in Westminster Abbey, the first documented coronation held there, by Archbishop Aldred. The ceremony was not a peaceful one. When Aldred asked the congregation "Will you have this Prince to be your King", they answered with a great shout of agreement. The Norman guards stationed outside, believing the English were revolting, due to all the shouting, set fire to the neighbouring houses. A Norman monk later wrote "As the fire spread rapidly, the people in the church were thrown into confusion and crowds of them rushed outside, some to fight the flames, others to take the chance to go looting."

English resistance:

Although the south of England submitted quickly to Norman rule, resistance in the north continued for six more years until 1072. During the first two years, King William I suffered many revolts throughout England (Dover, western Mercia, Exeter). Also, in 1068, Harold's illegitimate sons attempted an invasion of the south-western peninsula, but William defeated them.

For William I, the worst crisis came from Northumbria, which had still not submitted to his realm. In 1068, with Edgar Ætheling, both Mercia and Northumbria revolted. William could suppress these, but Edgar fled to Scotland where Malcolm III of Scotland protected him. Furthermore, Malcolm married Edgar's sister Margaret, with much éclat, stressing the English balance of power against William. Under such circumstances, Northumbria rebelled, besieging York. Then, Edgar resorted also to the Danes, who disembarked with a large fleet at Northumbria, claiming the English crown for their King Sweyn II. Scotland joined the rebellion as well. The rebels easily captured York and its castle. However, William could contain them at Lincoln. After dealing with a new wave of revolts at western Mercia, Exeter, Dorset, and Somerset, William defeated his northern foes decisively at the River Aire, retrieving York, while the Danish army swore to depart.

William then devastated Northumbria between the Humber and Tees rivers, with what was described as the Harrying of the North. This devastation included setting fire to the vegetation, houses and even tools to work the fields. After this cruel treatment the land did not recover for more than 100 years. The region ended up absolutely deprived, losing its traditional autonomy towards England. It may, however, have stopped future rebellions, frightening the English into obedience. Then the Danish king disembarked in person, readying his army to restart the war, but William suppressed this threat with a payment of gold. In 1071, William defeated the last rebellion of the north through an improvised pontoon, subduing the Isle of Ely, where the Danes had gathered. In 1072, he invaded Scotland, defeating Malcolm, who had recently invaded the north of England. William and Malcolm agreed to a peace by signing the Treaty of Abernethy and Malcolm gave up his son Duncan as a hostage for the peace.[17] In 1074, Edgar Ætheling submitted definitively to William.

In 1075, during William's absence, the Revolt of the Earls was confronted successfully by Odo. In 1080, William dispatched his half brothers Odo and Robert to storm Northumbria and Scotland, respectively. Eventually, the Pope protested that the Normans were mistreating the English people. Before quelling the rebellions, William had conciliated with the English church; however, he persecuted it ferociously afterwards.

Reign in England:

William spent much of his time (11 years, since 1072) in Normandy, ruling the islands through his writs. Nominally still a vassal state, owing its entire loyalty to the French king, Normandy arose suddenly as a powerful region, alarming the other French dukes who reacted by persistently attacking the duchy. William became focused on conquering Brittany, and the French King Philip I admonished him. A treaty was concluded after his aborted invasion of Brittany in 1076, and William betrothed Constance to the Breton Duke Hoel's son, the future Alan IV of Brittany. The wedding occurred only in 1086, after Alan's accession to the throne, and Constance died childless a few years later.

William's elder son Robert, enraged by a prank of his brothers William and Henry, who had doused him with filthy water, undertook what became a large scale rebellion against his father's rule. Only with King Philip's additional military support was William able to confront Robert, who was then based in Flanders. During the battle of 1079, William was unhorsed and wounded by Robert, who lowered his sword only after recognising him. The embarrassed William returned to Rouen, abandoning the expedition. In 1080, Matilda reconciled both, and William restored Robert's inheritance.

Odo caused trouble for William, too, and was imprisoned in 1082, losing his English estate and all his royal functions, but retaining his religious duties. In 1083, Matilda died, and William became more tyrannical over his realm.

William initiated many major changes. He increased the function of the traditional English shires (autonomous administrative regions), which he brought under central control; he decreased the power of the earls by restricting them to one shire apiece. All administrative functions of his government remained fixed at specific English towns, except the court itself; they would progressively strengthen, and the English institutions became amongst the most sophisticated in Europe. In 1085, in order to ascertain the extent of his new dominions and to improve taxation, William commissioned all his counsellors for the compilation of the Domesday Book, which was published in 1086. The book was a survey of England's productive capacity similar to a modern census.

William also ordered many castles, keeps, and mottes, among them the Tower of London's foundation (the White Tower), to be built throughout England. These ensured effectively that the many rebellions by the English people or his own followers did not succeed.

His conquest also led to French (especially, but not only, the Norman French) replacing English as the language of the ruling classes for nearly 300 years. Whereas in 1066 fewer than 30% of property owners had non-English given names, by 1207 this had risen to more than 80%, with French names such as William, Robert and Richard most common. Furthermore, the original Anglo-Saxon culture of England became mingled with the Norman one; thus the Anglo-Norman culture came into being.

William is said to have eliminated the native aristocracy in as little as four years. Systematically, he despoiled those English aristocrats who either opposed the Normans or died without issue. Thus, most English estates and titles of nobility were handed to the Norman noblemen. Many English aristocrats fled to Flanders and Scotland; others may have been sold into slavery overseas. Some escaped to join the Byzantine Empire's Varangian Guard, and went on to fight the Normans in Sicily. Although William initially allowed English lords to keep their lands if they offered submission, by 1070, the indigenous nobility had ceased to be an integral part of the English landscape, and by 1086, it maintained control of just 8% of its original land-holdings. More than 4,000 English lords had lost their lands and been replaced, with only two English lords of any significance surviving. However, to the new Norman noblemen, William handed the English parcels of land piecemeal, dispersing these widely, ensuring nobody would try conspiring against him without jeopardising their own estates within the still unstable post-invasion England. Effectively, this strengthened William's political stand as a monarch.

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, however, 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.

In 1087 in France, William burned Mantes (30 mi [50 km] west of Paris), besieging the town. However, he fell off his horse, suffering fatal abdominal injuries from the saddle pommel. On his deathbed, William divided his succession for his sons, sparking strife between them. Despite William's reluctance, his combative elder son Robert received the Duchy of Normandy, as Robert II. William Rufus (his third son) was the next English king, as William II. William's youngest son Henry received 5,000 silver pounds, which would be earmarked to buy land.[22] He later became King Henry I of England after William II died without issue. While on his deathbed, William pardoned many of his political adversaries, including Odo.

William died at age 59 at the Convent of St Gervais in Rouen, the chief city of Normandy, on 9 September 1087. William was buried in the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, which he had erected, in Caen, Normandy. It is said that Herluin, his stepfather, loyally bore his body to his grave.

The original owner of the land on which the church was built claimed he had not been paid yet, demanding 60 shillings, which William's son Henry had to pay on the spot. In a most unregal postmortem, it was found that William's corpulent body would not fit in the stone sarcophagus as his body had bloated due to the warm weather and length of time that had passed since his death. A group of bishops applied pressure on the king's abdomen to force the body downward but the abdominal wall burst and drenched the king's coffin, releasing putrefaction gases into the church.

William's grave is currently marked by a marble slab with a Latin inscription; the slab dates from the early 19th century. The grave was defiled twice, once during the French Wars of Religion, when his bones were scattered across the town of Caen, and again during the French Revolution. Following those events, only William's left femur, some skin particles and bone dust remain in the tomb.

Legacy:

William's conquest decisively changed English history in terms of customs culture, politics, economics and, most dramatically, the language itself.[26] As Duke of Normandy and King of England, William the Conqueror, divided his realm among his sons, but the lands were reunited under his son Henry, and his descendants acquired other territories through marriage or conquest and, at their height, these possessions would be known as the Angevin Empire.

They included many lands in France, such as Normandy and Aquitaine, but the question of jurisdiction over these territories would be the cause of much conflict and bitter rivalry between England and France, which took up much of the Middle Ages.

An example of William's legacy even in modern times can be seen on the Bayeux Memorial, a monument erected by Britain in the Normandy town of Bayeux to those killed in the Battle of Normandy during World War II. A Latin inscription on the memorial reads NOS A GULIELMO VICTI VICTORIS PATRIAM LIBERAVIMUS - freely translated, this reads "We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror's native land".

The numbering scheme of the English (or British) Crown regards William as the Founder of the State of England. This explains, among other things, why King Edward I was "the First" even though he ruled long after the Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor.

Physical appearance:

No authentic portrait of William has been found. Nonetheless, he was depicted as a man of fair stature with remarkably strong arms, "with which he could shoot a bow at full gallop". William showed a magnificent appearance, possessing a fierce countenance. He enjoyed excellent health until old age; nevertheless his noticeable corpulence in later life eventually increased so much that French King Philip I commented that William looked like a pregnant woman.[28] Examination of his 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) tall, which was around 2 inches (5.1 cm) taller than the average for the 11th century.[29] He is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry as being clean-shaven, as opposed to Harold and the English lords, who wore moustaches.


Birth:
Château de Falaise

Died:
Convent of St. Gervais

William — Matilda of Flanders. Matilda (daughter of Baldwin V of Flanders and Adèle of France) was born 1031; died 2 Nov 1083; was buried l'Abbaye aux Dames Caen. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37275

Other Events:

• Name: Long Neck
• Name: Malcolm III of Scotland
• Reference Number: 8964

Notes:

Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Modern Gaelic: Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh, called in most Anglicised regnal lists Malcolm III, and in later centuries nicknamed Canmore, "Big Head", either literally or in reference to his leadership, "Long-neck"; died 13 November 1093), was King of Scots. It has also been argued recently that the real "Malcolm Canmore" was this Malcolm's great-grandson Malcolm IV, who is given this name in the contemporary notice of his death. He was the eldest son of King Duncan I (Donnchad mac Crínáin). Malcolm's long reign, lasting 35 years, preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norman age.

Malcolm's Kingdom did not extend over the full territory of modern Scotland: the north and west of Scotland remained in Scandinavian, Norse-Gael and Gaelic control, and the areas under the control of the Kings of Scots would not advance much beyond the limits set by Malcolm II (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda) until the 12th century. Malcolm III fought a succession of wars against the Kingdom of England, which may have had as their goal the conquest of the English earldom of Northumbria. However, these wars did not result in any significant advances southwards. Malcolm's main achievement is to have continued a line which would rule Scotland for many years, although his role as "founder of a dynasty" has more to do with the propaganda of his youngest son David, and his descendants, than with any historical reality.

Malcolm's second wife, Saint Margaret of Scotland, was later beatified and is Scotland's only royal saint. However, Malcolm himself gained no reputation for piety. With the notable exception of Dunfermline Abbey he is not definitely associated with major religious establishments or ecclesiastical reforms.

Background:

Malcolm's father Duncan I (Donnchad mac Crínáin) became king in late 1034, on the death of Malcolm II (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda), Duncan's maternal grandfather. According to John of Fordun, whose account is the original source of part at least of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Malcolm's mother was a niece of Siward, Earl of Northumbria, but an earlier king-list gives her the Gaelic name Suthen. Other sources claim that either a daughter or niece would have been too young to fit the timeline, thus the likely relative would have been Siward's own sister Sybil, which may have translated into Gaelic as Suthen.

Duncan's reign was not successful and he was killed by Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findlaích) on 15 August 1040. Although Shakespeare's Macbeth presents Malcolm as a grown man and his father as an old one, it appears that Duncan was still young in 1040, and Malcolm and his brother Donalbane (Domnall Bán) were children. Malcolm's family did attempt to overthrow Macbeth in 1045, but Malcolm's grandfather Crínán of Dunkeld was killed in the attempt.

Soon after the death of Duncan his two young sons were sent away for greater safety - exactly where is the subject of debate. According to one version, Malcolm (then aged about 9) was sent to England, and his younger brother Donalbane was sent to the Isles. Based on Fordun's account, it was assumed that Malcolm passed most of Macbeth's seventeen year reign in the Kingdom of England at the court of Edward the Confessor.

According to an alternative version, Malcolm's mother took both sons into exile at the court of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Earl of Orkney, an enemy of Macbeth's family, and perhaps Duncan's kinsman by marriage.

An English invasion in 1054, with Siward, Earl of Northumbria, in command, had as its goal the installation of Máel Coluim, "son of the King of the Cumbrians (i.e. of Strathclyde)". This Máel Coluim, perhaps a son of Owen the Bald, disappears from history after this brief mention. He has been confused with King Malcolm III. In 1057 various chroniclers report the death of Macbeth at Malcolm's hand, on 15 August 1057 at Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. Macbeth was succeeded by his stepson Lulach, who was crowned at Scone, probably on 8 September 1057. Lulach was killed by Malcolm, "by treachery", near Huntly on 23 April 1058. After this, Malcolm became king, perhaps being inaugurated on 25 April 1058, although only John of Fordun reports this.

Malcolm and Ingibiorg:

If Orderic Vitalis is to be relied upon, one of Malcolm's earliest actions as King may have been to travel south to the court of Edward the Confessor in 1059 to arrange a marriage with Edward's kinswoman Margaret, who had arrived in England two years before from Hungary. If he did visit the English court, he was the first reigning King of Scots to do so in more than eighty years. If a marriage agreement was made in 1059, however, it was not kept, and this may explain the Scots invasion of Northumbria in 1061 when Lindisfarne was plundered. Equally, Malcolm's raids in Northumbria may have been related to the disputed "Kingdom of the Cumbrians", reestablished by Earl Siward in 1054, which was under Malcolm's control by 1070.

The Orkneyinga saga reports that Malcolm married the widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Ingibiorg, a daughter of Finn Arnesson. Although Ingibiorg is generally assumed to have died shortly before 1070, it is possible that she died much earlier, around 1058. The Orkneyinga Saga records that Malcolm and Ingibiorg had a son, Duncan II (Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim), who was later king. Some Medieval commentators, following William of Malmesbury, claimed that Duncan was illegitimate, but this claim is propaganda reflecting the need of Malcolm's descendants by Margaret to undermine the claims of Duncan's descendants, the Meic Uilleim. Malcolm's son Domnall, whose death is reported in 1085, is not mentioned by the author of the Orkneyinga Saga. He is assumed to have been born to Ingibiorg.

Malcolm's marriage to Ingibiorg secured him peace in the north and west. The Heimskringla tells that her father Finn had been an adviser to Harald Hardraade and, after falling out with Harald, was then made an Earl by Sweyn Estridsson, King of Denmark, which may have been another recommendation for the match. Malcolm enjoyed a peaceful relationship with the Earldom of Orkney, ruled jointly by his stepsons, Paul and Erlend Thorfinnsson. The Orkneyinga Saga reports strife with Norway but this is probably misplaced as it associates this with Magnus Barefoot, who became king of Norway only in 1093, the year of Malcolm's death.

Malcolm and Margaret:

Although he had given sanctuary to Tostig Godwinson when the Northumbrians drove him out, Malcolm was not directly involved in the ill-fated invasion of England by Harald Hardraade and Tostig in 1066, which ended in defeat and death at the battle of Stamford Bridge. In 1068, he granted asylum to a group of English exiles fleeing from William of Normandy, among them Agatha, widow of Edward the Confessor's nephew Edward the Exile, and her children: Edgar Ætheling and his sisters Margaret and Cristina. They were accompanied by Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria. The exiles were disappointed, however, if they had expected immediate assistance from the Scots.

In 1069 the exiles returned to England, to join a spreading revolt in the north. Even though Gospatric and Siward's son Waltheof submitted by the end of the year, the arrival of a Danish army under Sweyn Estridsson seemed to ensure that William's position remained weak. Malcolm decided on war, and took his army south into Cumbria and across the Pennines, wasting Teesdale and Cleveland then marching north, loaded with loot, to Wearmouth. There Malcolm met Edgar and his family, who were invited to return with him, but did not. As Sweyn had by now been bought off with a large Danegeld, Malcolm took his army home. In reprisal, William sent Gospatric to raid Scotland through Cumbria. In return, the Scots fleet raided the Northumbrian coast where Gospatric's possessions were concentrated. Late in the year, perhaps shipwrecked on their way to a European exile, Edgar and his family again arrived in Scotland, this time to remain. By the end of 1070, Malcolm had married Edgar's sister Margaret, the future Saint Margaret of Scotland.

The naming of their children represented a break with the traditional Scots Regal names such as Malcolm, Cináed and Áed. The point of naming Margaret's sons, Edward after her father Edward the Exile, Edmund for her grandfather Edmund Ironside, Ethelred for her great-grandfather Ethelred the Unready and Edgar for her great-great-grandfather Edgar and her brother, briefly the elected king, Edgar Ætheling, was unlikely to be missed in England, where William of Normandy's grasp on power was far from secure. Whether the adoption of the classical Alexander for the future Alexander I of Scotland (either for Pope Alexander II or for Alexander the Great) and the biblical David for the future David I of Scotland represented a recognition that William of Normandy would not be easily removed, or was due to the repetition of Anglo-Saxon Royal name-another Edmund had preceded Edgar-is not known. Margaret also gave Malcolm two daughters, Edith, who married Henry I of England, and Mary, who married Eustace III of Boulogne.

In 1072, with the Harrying of the North completed and his position again secure, William of Normandy came north with an army and a fleet. Malcolm met William at Abernethy and, in the words of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle "became his man" and handed over his eldest son Duncan as a hostage and arranged peace between William and Edgar. Accepting the overlordship of the king of the English was no novelty, previous kings had done so without result. The same was true of Malcolm; his agreement with the English king was followed by further raids into Northumbria, which led to further trouble in the earldom and the killing of Bishop William Walcher at Gateshead. In 1080, William sent his son Robert Curthose north with an army while his brother Odo punished the Northumbrians. Malcolm again made peace, and this time kept it for over a decade.

Malcolm faced little recorded internal opposition, with the exception of Lulach's son Máel Snechtai. In an unusual entry, for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle contains little on Scotland, it says that in 1078:

"Malcholom [Máel Coluim] seized the mother of Mælslæhtan [Máel Snechtai] ... and all his treasures, and his cattle; and he himself escaped with difficulty."

Whatever provoked this strife, Máel Snechtai survived until 1085.

Malcolm and William Rufus:

When William Rufus became king of England after his father's death, Malcolm did not intervene in the rebellions by supporters of Robert Curthose which followed. In 1091, however, William Rufus confiscated Edgar Ætheling's lands in England, and Edgar fled north to Scotland. In May, Malcolm marched south, not to raid and take slaves and plunder, but to besiege Newcastle, built by Robert Curthose in 1080. This appears to have been an attempt to advance the frontier south from the River Tweed to the River Tees. The threat was enough to bring the English king back from Normandy, where he had been fighting Robert Curthose. In September, learning of William Rufus's approaching army, Malcolm withdrew north and the English followed. Unlike in 1072, Malcolm was prepared to fight, but a peace was arranged by Edgar Ætheling and Robert Curthose whereby Malcolm again acknowledged the overlordship of the English king.

In 1092, the peace began to break down. Based on the idea that the Scots controlled much of modern Cumbria, it had been supposed that William Rufus's new castle at Carlisle and his settlement of English peasants in the surrounds was the cause. However, it is unlikely that Malcolm did control Cumbria, and the dispute instead concerned the estates granted to Malcolm by William Rufus's father in 1072 for his maintenance when visiting England. Malcolm sent messengers to discuss the question and William Rufus agreed to a meeting. Malcolm travelled south to Gloucester, stopping at Wilton Abbey to visit his daughter Edith and sister-in-law Cristina. Malcolm arrived there on 24 August 1093 to find that William Rufus refused to negotiate, insisting that the dispute be judged by the English barons. This Malcolm refused to accept, and returned immediately to Scotland.

It does not appear that William Rufus intended to provoke a war, but, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports, war came:

"For this reason therefore they parted with great dissatisfaction, and the King Malcolm returned to Scotland. And soon after he came home, he gathered his army, and came harrowing into England with more hostility than behoved him ..."

Malcolm was accompanied by Edward, his eldest son by Margaret and probable heir-designate (or tánaiste), and by Edgar. Even by the standards of the time, the ravaging of Northumbria by the Scots was seen as harsh.

Death:

While marching north again, Malcolm was ambushed by Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, whose lands he had devastated, near Alnwick on 13 November 1093. There he was killed by Arkil Morel, steward of Bamburgh Castle. The conflict became known as the Battle of Alnwick. Edward was mortally wounded in the same fight. Margaret, it is said, died soon after receiving the news of their deaths from Edgar. The Annals of Ulster say:

"Mael Coluim son of Donnchad, over-king of Scotland, and Edward his son, were killed by the French i.e. in Inber Alda in England. His queen, Margaret, moreover, died of sorrow for him within nine days."

Malcolm's body was taken to Tynemouth Priory for burial. The king's body was sent north for reburial, in the reign of his son Alexander, at Dunfermline Abbey, or possibly Iona.

On 19 June 1250, following the canonisation of Malcolm's wife Margaret by Pope Innocent IV, Margaret's remains were disinterred and placed in a reliquary. Tradition has it that as the reliquary was carried to the high altar of Dunfermline Abbey, past Malcolm's grave, it became too heavy to move. As a result, Malcolm's remains were also disinterred, and buried next to Margaret beside the altar.

Issue:

Malcolm and Ingebjorg had 3 sons:

Duncan II of Scotland, succeeded his father as King of Scotland
Donald, died ca.1094
Malcolm, died ca.1085

Malcolm and Margaret had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

Edward, killed 1093.
Edmund of Scotland
Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld
King Edgar of Scotland
King Alexander I of Scotland
King David I of Scotland
Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England
Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne

Depictions in fiction:

Malcolm appears in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. He is the son of King Duncan and heir to the throne. He first appears in the second scene where he is talking to a sergeant, with Duncan. The sergeant tells them how the battle was won thanks to Macbeth. Then Ross comes and Duncan decides that Macbeth should take the title of Thane of Cawdor. Then he later appears in Act 1.4 talking about the execution of the former Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth then enters and they congratulate him on his victory. He later appears in Macbeth’s castle as a guest. When his father is killed he is suspected of the murder so he escapes to England. He later makes an appearance in Act 4.3, where he talks to Macduff about Macbeth and what to do. They both decide to start a war against him. In Act 5.4 he is seen in Dunsinane getting ready for war. He orders the troupes to hide behind branches and slowly towards the castle. In Act 5.8 he watches the battle against Macbeth and Macduff with Siward and Ross. When eventually Macbeth is killed, Malcolm takes over as king.

From:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1el_Coluim_III)

Máel married Margaret of Scotland 1068, Dunfermline, Perthshire, Scotland. Margaret (daughter of Edward and Agatha Von Brunswick Augsburg) was born 1045, Hungary; died 16 Nov 1093. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Margaret of Wessex, Saint Margaret of Scotland
• Name: St. Margaret
• Reference Number: 10643

Notes:

Born about 1045, Princess Margaret was a daughter of Edward "Outremere", or "the Exile", and Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife of St. Stephen of Hungary . She was the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside.
The chief authority for Margaret's life is the contemporary biography printed in Roman " Acta SS .", II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed to Turgot, the Saint's confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop of St. Andrews, as well as to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk
The Norman conquest forced the Anglo Margaret and her family to flee to Scotland in 1070 where shortly thereafter she married the King, Malcom II (Canmore). As Queen and co-Regent, Margaret bore eight children (two daughters and six sons). She was known to have been a particularly involved and good mother - a departure from the contemporary practice of leaving the rearing of children to servants and tutors. Margaret's daughter Matilda married Henry I of England , making her an ancestress of the present British royal house.
Queen Margaret was renown for her moderating and good influence on her husband and for her devout piety and religious observance. As Queen, Margaret used her influence to bring Scotland into the more modern practices, disciplines of European Christianity and is celebrated as a clerical reformer. Though strong-willed, Margaret used reason and encouragement to influence change, not her authority as co-Regent and Queen. Under Queen Margaret's leadership the Rite of the Celebration of the Mass was brought under standardized norms, the vernacular of the Mass was changed from the many dialects of Gaelic spoken throughout Scotland to the unifying Latin, the Scots began to receive Communion regularly, and the observance of Lent was improved.
Although her influence in causing the clergy to adopt Latin to celebrate the Mass was intended as a tool by which all Scots could worship in unity, along with the other Christians of Western Europe, Queen Margaret's introduction of Anglo-Norman manners and values into Celtic Scotland laid the cultural groundwork for the future induction of her land and people into a greater England and Britain. While many hagiographers view Queen Margaret's goals as not simply uniting the Scots, but Scotland and England together as a way of ending bloody warfare amongst the clannish highlanders, Scotland returned to a period of isolation immediately following her death.
In 1093, King Malcom was murdered through treachery near Alnwick and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey, which had been founded by in 1072 Margaret. She foretold the day of her death, joining her husband's eternal rest on 16 November 1093, her body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline.
In 1250, Queen Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible beyond the modern east wall of her restored chapel. At the Reformation her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later was secured by the Jesuits at Douai , where it is believed to have perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, " De duplici statu religionis apud Scots " (Rome, 1628), the rest of the relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When, however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their restoration to Scotland , they could not be found.
St. Margaret is remembered for her fervent faith, practiced piety and religious observance and continues to be celebrated as Scotland's most beloved saint. St. Margaret was loved by the poor, especially orphans to whom she was particularly attached in personal care and through the unceasing distribution of alms. She was the foundress of many churches, convents and monasteries, including the Abbey of Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford . St. Margaret's son King David of Scotland is also celebrated by the people of Scotland as a Saint.

Died:
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

Other Events:

• Name: Haimo
• Reference Number: 37274

Notes:

Haimo or Hamo (died around 1100) (sometimes Haimo Dapifer or Hamo Dapifer) was an Anglo-Norman royal official under both King William I of England and King William II of England. He held the office of dapifer, or seneschal, as well as the office of Sheriff of Kent.

Haimo was the son of Haimo Dentatus, a Norman lord who held Torigny-sur-Vire near Manche in Normandy. The elder Haimo rebelled against Duke William, later King William I, and died about 1047.

Haimo was steward to both King William I and William II. He was in the office of steward by 1069. Haimo was appointed to the office of Sheriff of Kent in 1077, and held it until his death. During William II's reign, Haimo was one of five known stewards, the others were Eudo, Eudo's brother Hubert of Ryes, Roger Bigod, and Ivo Taillebois.

The historian Emma Mason argues that Haimo, along with Ranulf Flambard, Urse d'Abetot, Robert Fitzhamon (Haimo's son), Roger Bigod, and Eudo Dapifer, were the first recognizable barons of the Exchequer, during King William II's reign. These men were often associated in government together, witnessing documents and being used by William II as officials.Haimo witnessed six of William II's writs. Haimo's involvement in the higher levels of government dates especially from William II's absence from England in the late 1090s. In 1099, when William was in Normandy, Haimo was one of the main assistants to Flambard, who was left in charge of England in the king's absence.

According to Domesday Book, Haimo held lands in Kent, Surrey, and Essex, with the estates in Essex being larger than the other two counties.

Haimo was still witnessing royal documents in September 1099, and was one of the witnesses to the letter that King Henry I, William's brother and successor, wrote to Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, shortly after Henry's accession to the throne after William II's death in a hunting accident.

Haimo died at some point shortly after this. He had two sons, Haimo, who became sheriff after him, and Robert fitz Haimo. Robert was probably the elder, as he received his father's lands in Normandy after Haimo's death. The younger Haimo received the English lands.