Dear Newsgroup ~
It has long been known that Guillaume de Fiennes, seigneur of Fiennes,
died 1302, was a near kinsman of Queen Eleanor of Castile, 1st wife of
King Edward I of England. Their kinship is charted in a note
published in Notes & Queries, 4th Series, 7 (1871): 438, which
pedigree may be viewed at the following weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=f9gEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA438
Guillaume de Fiennes' son and heir, Jean de Fiennes, was directly
acknowledged as kinsman by King Edward II of England in various
contemporary records: Rymer, Fœdera 2(1) (1818): 380 (John de Fienles
styled “kinsman” by King Edward II); Wauters, Table Chronologique des
Chartes et Diplômes imprimés concernant l'Histoire de la Belgique 8
(1892): 697 (Jean de Fiennes styled “kinsman and vassal” [parent et
vassal] by King Edward II of England in 1318); and Cal. Close Rolls,
1313–1318 (1893): 473 (John de Fienles styled “king’s kinsman” by King
Edward II in 1317).
I might mention that the chart in Notes and Queries includes Guillaume
de Fiennes' sister, Maud de Fiennes, wife of Humphrey de Bohun [died
1298), Earl of Hereford and Essex, hereditary Constable of England.
It has been commonly thought that Guillaume and his sister, Maud, were
full siblings, both being the children of Enguerrand de Fiennes,
chevalier, seigneur of Fiennes, by his 1st wife, [?Isabeau], daughter
of Nicolas de Condé, chevalier, seigneur of Condé. While the evidence
is quite good that the mother of Guillaume de Fiennes was a member of
the Condé family, the chronology suggests that Guillaume's sister,
Maud de Fiennes, was actually the child of their father's 2nd wife,
Isabel, who is known to have been a near kinswoman of Queen Eleanor of
Provence, wife of King Henry III of England. If so, then Guillaume
and Maud would only be half-siblings.
For interest's sake, the following is a list of the 17th Century New
World immigrants that descend from Maud de Fiennes, wife of Humphrey
de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex:
Robert Abell, Elizabeth Alsop, William Asfordby, Marmaduke Beckwith,
Dorothy Beresford, Essex Beville, William Bladen, George & Nehemiah
Blakiston, Elizabeth Bosvile, Mary Bourchier, George, Giles & Robert
Brent, Charles Calvert, Kenelm Cheseldine, Grace Chetwode, James &
Norton Claypoole, St. Leger Codd, Elizabeth & Thomas Coytemore,
William Crymes, Francis Dade, Humphrey Davie, Edward Digges, Rowland
Ellis, John Fenwick, John Fisher, Edward Foliot, Thomas Gerard, Muriel
Gurdon, Warham Horsmanden, Anne Humphrey, Daniel & John Humphrey,
Edmund Jennings, Mary Launce, Thomas Ligon, Nathaniel Littleton,
Thomas Lloyd, Henry, Jane & Nicholas Lowe, Percival Lowell, Gabriel,
Roger & Sarah Ludlow, Thomas Lunsford, Oliver Manwaring, Anne &
Katherine Marbury, Anne Mauleverer, John and Margaret Nelson, Philip &
Thomas Nelson, Joshua & Rebecca Owen, Thomas Owsley, John Oxenbridge,
Richard Palgrave, Richard Parker, Herbert Pelham, William & Elizabeth
Pole, Henry & William Randolph, Thomas Rudyard, Katherine Saint Leger,
Richard Saltonstall, Diana & Grey Skipwith, Mary Johanna Somerset,
Samuel & William Torrey, Margaret Touteville, John West, Hawte Wyatt,
Amy Wyllys.