Adela, wife of Richard III of Normandy
Stewart Baldwin
Richard III of Normandy, was the same person as Adela, a daughter of
Robert II of France, wife of Baldwin V of Flanders, and mother of
Matilda of Flanders. One recent place where this is questioned
(without discussion of the details) is in Elizabeth Van Houts's
translation of Guillaume of Jumièges (Oxford, 1995), where she stated
that the two Adela's were probably not the same person (vol. 2, p. 53,
note 2). The only citation given in that footnote is J. Dhondt, "Une
crise du pouvoir capétien 1032-4", Miscellanea mediaevalia in memoriam
J. F. Niermeyer (Groningen, 1967), 137-48 (not available to me),
although it is not clear whether or not that reference discusses this
specific point.
It appears that the only evidence for Richard III's wife Adela is
their marriage contract, printed in D'Archery, Spicilegium 3, 390, and
in Licquet, Hist. de Normandie 2, 269 (neither available to me, but
cited by Freeman 3, 657), where Adela's parentage is not explicitly
stated, but some of the wording ("Domina Adela", "juxta nobilitatis
tuae lineam dotata") has been interpreted as indicating that she must
have been a daughter of the king of France, and therefore the same
person as Adela, wife of Baldwin V.
Against this interpretation, it has been pointed out that Guillaume de
Jumièges [vi, 6; vol. 2, p. 52-3 in the Van Houts edition] states that
Adela had been betrothed to Baldwin since she was still in her cradle.
The problem with this report is that Guillaume put the time of the
betrothal in the reign of duke Robert of Normandy, when Adela must
have already been an adult or nearly so.
Given the apparent lack of supporting evidence, I am inclined to agree
with Van Houts that there are two different Adelas here (and that the
parentage of Richard III's wife Adela must therefore be regarded as
unknown), but I have not seen any modern discussion of the problem.
Does anybody know of any modern discussions of this matter in the
literature?
Stewart Baldwin
Nathaniel Taylor
sba...@mindspring.com (Stewart Baldwin) wrote:
>Secondary sources (e.g., ES) frequently state that Adela, wife of
>Richard III of Normandy, was the same person as Adela, a daughter of
>Robert II of France, wife of Baldwin V of Flanders, and mother of
>Matilda of Flanders. One recent place where this is questioned
>(without discussion of the details) is in Elizabeth Van Houts's
>translation of Guillaume of Jumičges (Oxford, 1995), where she stated
>that the two Adela's were probably not the same person (vol. 2, p. 53,
>note 2). The only citation given in that footnote is J. Dhondt, "Une
>crise du pouvoir capétien 1032-4", Miscellanea mediaevalia in memoriam
>J. F. Niermeyer (Groningen, 1967), 137-48 (not available to me),
>although it is not clear whether or not that reference discusses this
>specific point.
>
>It appears that the only evidence for Richard III's wife Adela is
>their marriage contract, printed in D'Archery, Spicilegium 3, 390, and
>in Licquet, Hist. de Normandie 2, 269 (neither available to me, but
>cited by Freeman 3, 657), where Adela's parentage is not explicitly
>stated, but some of the wording ("Domina Adela", "juxta nobilitatis
>tuae lineam dotata") has been interpreted as indicating that she must
>have been a daughter of the king of France, and therefore the same
>person as Adela, wife of Baldwin V.
>
>Against this interpretation, it has been pointed out that Guillaume de
>Jumičges [vi, 6; vol. 2, p. 52-3 in the Van Houts edition] states that
>Adela had been betrothed to Baldwin since she was still in her cradle.
>The problem with this report is that Guillaume put the time of the
>betrothal in the reign of duke Robert of Normandy, when Adela must
>have already been an adult or nearly so.
>
>Given the apparent lack of supporting evidence, I am inclined to agree
>with Van Houts that there are two different Adelas here (and that the
>parentage of Richard III's wife Adela must therefore be regarded as
>unknown), but I have not seen any modern discussion of the problem.
>Does anybody know of any modern discussions of this matter in the
>literature?
How about from the Capetian side? I don't have Van Kerrebrouck's _Les
Capetiens directs_, but this should have a blurb that may clarify the
question.
Nat Taylor
Stewart, Peter
> From: Nathaniel Taylor [mailto:nta...@post.harvard.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, 14 August 2002 3:40
> To: GEN-MED...@rootsweb.com
> Subject: Re: Adela, wife of Richard III of Normandy
>
> <snip>
> > inclined to agree with Van Houts that there are two
> > different Adelas here (and that the parentage of
> > Richard III's wife Adela must therefore be regarded as
> >unknown), but I have not seen any modern discussion of the problem.
> >Does anybody know of any modern discussions of this matter in the
> >literature?
>
> How about from the Capetian side? I don't have Van
> Kerrebrouck's _Les Capetiens directs_, but this should have a blurb
> that may clarify the question.
It doesn't - he cites a note by Andrew Lewis in _Royal Succession in
Capetian France: Studies in Familial Order and the State_ (Cambridge, Mass &
London, 1981). Lewis points out that Henri Prentout disproved the marriage
of Robert II's daughter Adela to Richard of Normandy (I haven't seen this),
and cites William of Jumièges.
The idea tackled by Prentout has been current at least since Père Anselme's
original edition in 1674, where the marriage is given without comment
although William of Jumièges is cited in the same section.
Peter Stewart
Todd A. Farmerie
> Does anybody know of any modern discussions of this matter in the
> literature?
IIRC, there was a brief discussion in Thierry Stasser's work on
Matilda, daughter of Richard II.
taf