Aufrica de Connaught, heiress of Man
Stewart Baldwin
has remained has been the status of Aufrica de Connaught, one of the
heiresses of Man after the kingdom ceased to exist. At the time, the
lack of access to primary sources had forced me to rely on good
secondary sources (such as CP), but I now have found transcriptions of
some of the relevant primary sources. Although primary documentation
can now be given for some of the previous material, loose ends still
remain, as will appear from the discussion below.
The primary sources given here are transcribed (in original Latin with
English translations) in "The Manx Society" 7 (1861), 125-7, 137-8. I
give brief abstracts here which give the substance of the documents.
pp. 125-7: 15 June 1293. Aufrica, kinswoman [consanguinea] and
heiress, as she asserts, of Magnus, formerly king of Man, having
unsuccessfully pleaded her claims before the king of Scotland [John de
Baliol], had appealed her case to the king of England [Edward I, to
whom John de Baliol had sworn fealty the previous year], who cited the
king of Scotland to appear before him to answer the claims of Aufrica.
[source given as "Rotuli Scotiæ" (Scottish Rolls)]
pp. 137-8: "Thursday the vigils of the Annunciation of the blessed
Mary the Virgin", 1305. Aufrica de Connoght, heiress of Man, cedes
all of her rights as heiress to Simon de Montacute, knight. [source
given as "Dods. MSS." (Bodleian Library, Oxford)]
Although some secondary sources have suggested that Aufrica had
married Simon, there is no good evidence that such a marriage ever
took place (and two other marriages are known for Simon, see CP). Two
obvious questions which are immediately suggested from the above items
are:
1. What was Aufrica's exact relationship to Magnus, king of Man?
2. Where did the appellation "de Connoght" come from?
A strange piece of evidence (possibly a red herring) comes from the
article on Simon de Montacute in the "Dictionary of National
Biography" [DNB]. There, it states that "Montacute married Aufricia,
daughter of Fergus, and sister of Orray, king of Man, by whom he had
two sons, William, who succeeded him, and is separately noticed, and
Simon." This statement is strange for a couple of reasons that go
beyond the apparently undocumented marriage. First, king "Orray" (or
Orry) of Man is a legendary king of Man who is generally believed to
be ultimately based on the historical Godred Crovan, two centuries
earlier. Second, it reminds one of another Aufrica who was the
daughter of a Fergus, namely, Aufrica, daughter of Fergus of Galloway,
who was the wife of Godred Crovan's son Olaf of Man and apparently an
ancestor of the present Aufrica, which along with the reference to
"Orray" suggests that there has been some confusion between the
present Aufrica and the earlier one. Still, even though DNB is not
always the most reliable of secondary sources, it does not generally
make blunders that bad. As usual, sources for most of the statements
of DNB (including the one here) are not individually cited, but the
references are listed at the end (most of which are unavailable to
me), and it is not clear which one provided the cited data. Needless
to say, I would be interested an any references which give a better
clue as to the ultimate origin of that claim.
As for the two questions asked above, here are some possible answers,
although other options should also be considered.
1. It seems unlikely that Aufrica was a daughter of either of the
brothers of Magnus who had formerly reigned in Man, because she
probably would have been identified as such. One of the brothers of
Magnus, Reginald, had a daughter and heiress Mary who appears in the
records already discussed in my previous postings. Thus, Aufrica
could not have been a more distant relative (as has sometimes been
suggested), because then Mary (and not Aufrica) would have been the
legal heiress of Magnus. Thus, the most likely possibility is that
Aufrica was a daughter or granddaughter of Magnus. Chronologically,
the former seems more likely.
2. Aufrica appears without the designation "de Connoght" in the 1293
record, and is then called "de Connoght" in the 1305 record. Thus, a
reasonable conjecture would be that she had married in the interval,
to a _____ de Connoght (presumably Connacht, or Connaught, in
Ireland). I am not aware of any Irish records which would confirm
such a marriage.
If anyone has any evidence either for or against the above
suggestions, I would be interedsted in seeing it.
Stewart Baldwin
Douglas Richardson
In answer to your post on Aufrica de Connaught, about two
years ago, I found a visitation record which stated that
Simon de Montacute married Africa, daughter of Fergus of
Galloway. At the time, I was puzzled by this statement as I
had never heard of this woman before, nor of her marriage
into the Montacute family. As I recall, the visitation I
was looking at is something called "Visitation of the North"
which I think has been published in several volumes by the
Surtees Society. I will check on the visitation source for
you when I have the time and try to get you a specific
citation. All for now. Best always, Douglas Richardson
You may contact me by e-mail at either:
douglasr...@hotmail.com
royala...@hotmail.com
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Adrian Channing
>
> 2. Aufrica appears without the designation "de Connoght" in the 1293
> record, and is then called "de Connoght" in the 1305 record. Thus, a
> reasonable conjecture would be that she had married in the interval,
> to a _____ de Connoght (presumably Connacht, or Connaught, in
> Ireland). I am not aware of any Irish records which would confirm
> such a marriage.
>
> If anyone has any evidence either for or against the above
> suggestions, I would be interedsted in seeing it.
>
>
Apart from being the wrong date and the wrong part of Ireland, I can't help
feeling that the following extract from Edmund Curtis "A History of
Medieval Ireland" has something to do with your thread:
"... he (John de Courcy) married in 1180 Affrica, daughter of Godred, king
of Man, and sister of Ragnall who ruled from 1187 to 1229. Godred's sister
Ragnild had married the famous Somerled, lord of Argyle, and Godred himself
was husband of Finola, daughter of Melaghlin MacLochlainn." (p 79)
But de Courcy had taken Ulster not Connacht, and the dates are much too
early for the above Affrica to be your Aufrica, so this is probably nothing
to do with what you are after. Was Aufrica a common name in the Isle of
Man? (I was at a wedding in Douglas a few days ago, and did not meet
one!).
AEDH (ancestor of O'Connor Don and O'Connor Roe) was king of Connacht
1293-1309. Of the de Burgo family there was a Richard (who died in 1242)
whom Curtis describes as Lord of Connacht. Although Richard's son and
grandson were Earls of Ulster, his nephew William "Liath" (d c1323) was the
ancestor of the countless B(o)urkes of Connacht
regards Adrian
>
Adrian (Surrey, UK) ACha...@CompuServe.Com
Stewart Baldwin
<anon...@web.remarq.com> wrote:
>Hi Stewart:
>
>In answer to your post on Aufrica de Connaught, about two
>years ago, I found a visitation record which stated that
>Simon de Montacute married Africa, daughter of Fergus of
>Galloway. At the time, I was puzzled by this statement as I
>had never heard of this woman before, nor of her marriage
>into the Montacute family. As I recall, the visitation I
>was looking at is something called "Visitation of the North"
>which I think has been published in several volumes by the
>Surtees Society. I will check on the visitation source for
>you when I have the time and try to get you a specific
>citation. All for now. Best always, Douglas Richardson
Thanks for the reference. This supports the suggestion that someone
who was ignorant of chronology has incorrectly identified Aufrica de
Connaught with her ancestor of the same name, daughter of Fergus of
Galloway.
Stewart Baldwin
Stewart Baldwin
Channing) wrote:
> Stewart Baldwin wrote,
>>
>> 2. Aufrica appears without the designation "de Connoght" in the 1293
>> record, and is then called "de Connoght" in the 1305 record. Thus, a
>> reasonable conjecture would be that she had married in the interval,
>> to a _____ de Connoght (presumably Connacht, or Connaught, in
>> Ireland). I am not aware of any Irish records which would confirm
>> such a marriage.
>>
>> If anyone has any evidence either for or against the above
>> suggestions, I would be interedsted in seeing it.
>>
>>
>
>Apart from being the wrong date and the wrong part of Ireland, I can't help
>feeling that the following extract from Edmund Curtis "A History of
>Medieval Ireland" has something to do with your thread:
>
>"... he (John de Courcy) married in 1180 Affrica, daughter of Godred, king
>of Man, and sister of Ragnall who ruled from 1187 to 1229. Godred's sister
>Ragnild had married the famous Somerled, lord of Argyle, and Godred himself
>was husband of Finola, daughter of Melaghlin MacLochlainn." (p 79)
>
>But de Courcy had taken Ulster not Connacht, and the dates are much too
>early for the above Affrica to be your Aufrica, so this is probably nothing
>to do with what you are after. Was Aufrica a common name in the Isle of
>Man? (I was at a wedding in Douglas a few days ago, and did not meet
>one!).
The name Aufrica appeared in the family of the kings of Man on no less
than three occasions. The Aufrica who married John de Courcy was an
aunt of king Magnus of Man, of whom the later Aufrica was heiress.
Stewart Baldwin
P A MagLOCHLAINN
of Godred (King of Man) to Fionnghuala daughter of Maelsheachlainn
MagLochlainn (King of Cineál Eoghain)?
P A MagLochlainn (magloc...@dnet.co.uk)
in Belfast, Northern Ireland
====================
Adrian Channing wrote in message
<199908102015_...@compuserve.com>...
(snip)
>"... he (John de Courcy) married in 1180 Affrica, daughter of Godred, king
>of Man, and sister of Ragnall who ruled from 1187 to 1229. Godred's sister
>Ragnild had married the famous Somerled, lord of Argyle, and Godred himself
>was husband of Finola, daughter of Melaghlin MacLochlainn." (p 79)
>regards Adrian
>Adrian (Surrey, UK) ACha...@CompuServe.Com
Stewart Baldwin
<magloc...@dnet.co.uk> wrote:
>What descendants, if any, are reliably recorded anywhere from the marriage
>of Godred (King of Man) to Fionnghuala daughter of Maelsheachlainn
>MagLochlainn (King of Cineál Eoghain)?
>P A MagLochlainn (magloc...@dnet.co.uk)
>in Belfast, Northern Ireland
That is a very good question, and my attempts to find out more about
Aufrica de Connaught are part of an attempt to answer that question.
The only child of Godred who is known for sure to have come from this
Irish marriage is his son Olaf, king of Man (d. 1237), so any such
descents would have to be traced through him. (The are some possible,
but problematic, descents from Olaf's older brother Reginald, but it
is more likely than not that Reginald did not come from this Irish
marriage.) Olaf had four known children, Godred (d. 1238), Harald (d.
1248), Reginald (d. 1249), and Magnus (d. 1265), of whom the last
three reigned in turn as kings of Man. [Source: Chronicle of the
Kings of Man.] Magnus, the last native king of Man, had a son Godred
who died in 1275 in an unsuccessful attempt to gain the throne
[Chronicle of Lanercost]. This exhausts the known descendants of Olaf
in the direct male line, so far as I know. The heir of Magnus was the
Aufrica who is the subject of this thread (exact relationship
unknown). Olaf's son Reginald also had a daughter, Mary, whose
descendants can be traced for two more generations. In 1305, a
certain John de Waldeboef, son and heir of William, who was son and
heir of another John de Waldeboef by his wife Mary, daughter of king
Reginald of Man, petitioned the king [Edward I] to get his inheritance
[Rolls of Parliament, 33 Edw. I]. Unless more can be discovered about
Aufrica, the best shot at finding modern day descendants of the above
Irish marriage of Godred would be to track down descendants of the
Waldeboef family. This possibility is very briefly discussed in
Anthony Wagner's "English Genealogy" (Oxford, 1972), 79.
Stewart Baldwin
Stewart Baldwin
<anon...@web.remarq.com> wrote:
>In answer to your post on Aufrica de Connaught, about two
>years ago, I found a visitation record which stated that
>Simon de Montacute married Africa, daughter of Fergus of
>Galloway. At the time, I was puzzled by this statement as I
>had never heard of this woman before, nor of her marriage
>into the Montacute family. As I recall, the visitation I
>was looking at is something called "Visitation of the North"
>which I think has been published in several volumes by the
>Surtees Society. I will check on the visitation source for
>you when I have the time and try to get you a specific
>citation. All for now. Best always, Douglas Richardson
I have now checked the above reference, and can give more details.
The full citation is "Visitations of the North - Part III - A
Visitation of the North of England circa 1480-1500", which appeared in
"The Publications of the Surtees Society", volume 144 (1930), 49-50.
The original source was MS. Ashmole 831 (Bodleain Library, Oxford),
ff. 29v-30r, which was a copy by Robert Glover (1544-88) of a now lost
manuscript from the late fifteenth century. This page of the
manuscript is in Middle French, and the first few generations are as
follows:
[As usual, a constant width font and a line length of at least seventy
characters are required for this table to look right.]
-----------------------
MONTAGU
Fergus sieur de Galway Harold le noir sieur de
qui porte saphire a vne Ireland et Roy de Man
lyon perle coronne et per conqueste _____
arme topace | | |
|_____________ Godred Cronan | Langman
| Roy de Man | vij ans
| |_____________|_____
| | |
Symon Montagu qui=Anfrike Reyne de=Oland Cronan Roy de Herald
porte perle a | Man marie a Man x ans qui porte fu deboute
trois fusiaulx | Simon Montagu Ruby a trois Iambes par son pere
ruby Roy de Man | apres la mort en vne iointe a
de par sa femme | Oland Cronan genoullies en
| son premier triangle armes perle
| mary garnies et espoirones
| topace
|
Simon Montagu = la fille de Simon Montfort
_________|
|
Guillaume Montagu = Catherina
conte de Salisbury fille a sieur de Granson
and so forth, continuing to later generations which are not
immediately relevant to the discussion.
The descriptions of the arms which are given are accompanied by
pictures, not given here for obvious reasons. The heraldic
descritions follow a rather unusual pattern in which the usual colors
are replaced by the names of precious stones. According to the
introduction, the equivalences for the stones given here are topace
(topaz) = or (gold/yellow), perle (pearl) = argent (silver/white),
ruby = gules (red), and saphire = azure (blue).
-------------------
For comparison purposes, here is an outline of the Montagu line as it
is in "The Complete Peerage" (under "Montagu" and "Salisbury"):
William de Montagu, d. 23 Sep. 1270, md. Berthe, of unknown parentage
Simon de Montagu, d. 26 Sep. 1316, son and heir of William, under age
at father's death, md. 1st, ca. 1270, Hawise, dau. of Amauri de St.
Amand, md. 2nd, in or before 1287, Isabel, whose parentage is unknown,
and who was still living in spring of 1290. [A footnote mentions that
it has been "surmised" that he also md. Aufrica de Connoght, but that
no evidence of such a marriage has been found.]
William de Montfort, d. 1313, son and heir of Simon, md. Elizabeth,
dau. of Piers de Montfort.
William (de Montagu), earl of Salisbury, aged 17-18 in May 1320, d. 30
Jan. 1343/4, 2nd (but 1st surviving) son and heir of William by his
wife Elizabeth de Montfort, md. Katherine, daughter of William de
Grandison.
[One of his daughters, Philippe, was the wife of Roger de Mortimer,
and thereby ancestor of King Edward IV.]
------------------------
The confusion of the first table above is obvious. Fergus of
Galloway, his daughter "Anfrike" (i.e., Aufrica), and the members of
the dynasty of the kings of Man, all appear with exactly the
realtionships given in the Chronicle of the kings of Man, although
with slightly garbled names, and some minor incorrect information (for
example, there is no evidence that I know of that Harald the Black
ever ruled Man). These individuals all lived in the eleventh and
first half of the twelfth centuries. They are then connected in a
chronologically impossible way to members of the Montagu family from
the late thirteenth century, one of who Simon (d. 1316) received all
of the claims to Man of Aufrica de Connoght (a descendant of the
earlier Aufrica) for a still unknown reason. This table of the
Montagus is also confused in giving incorrect parentage to William de
Montagu, the first earl of Salisbury of that family.
Given that Edward IV descended from these Montagus, it would be very
interesting if a link to the kings of Man could be established in this
way, but the known evidence supporting such a link is so poor (with
the the evidence of other marriages of Simon de Montagu being an
additional negative factor) that such a link cannot be accepted unless
better evidence turns up. Thus, much about Aufrica de Connoght
(including why she was called "de Connoght") remains a mystery, but it
would seem that the claim that her father's name was "Fergus" can be
set aside as a mistake, based on her misidentification with her
ancestor Aufrica of Galloway.
Stewart Baldwin