Flemish Auxilliaries at the Battle of Hastings (A.D. 1066)
penny edwards
Quote from 'Furness: Past and Present' - Page 2
This Michael Flandrensis (or le Fleming) who led the Flemish auxilliaries at
the battle of Hastings, (A.D. 1066,) was kinsman to Baldwin IV, Count of
Flanders, whose daughter, Matilda, was married to William the Conqueror.
Michael Flandrensis was buried in Furness Abbey -
There lies the lid of a sepulchral vault.
The image of an armed knight is graven
Upon it, clad in perfect panoply-
Cuishes, and greaves, and cuirass, with barred helm,
Gaunteleted hand, and sword, and blazoned shield
Around, in Gothic characters, worn dim
By feet of worshippers, are traced his name.
Has anyone any knowledge of the Flemish auxilliaries at the Battle of
Hastings, and his relationship to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders?
Bye for now,
Penelope
Todd A. Farmerie
> Quote from 'Furness: Past and Present' - Page 2
>
> This Michael Flandrensis (or le Fleming) who led the Flemish auxilliaries at
> the battle of Hastings, (A.D. 1066,) was kinsman to Baldwin IV, Count of
> Flanders, whose daughter, Matilda, was married to William the Conqueror.
> Has anyone any knowledge of the Flemish auxilliaries at the Battle of
> Hastings, and his relationship to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders?
There is a longstanding historical tradition involving invented
participation at the battle of Hastings (of the thousands who
participated, the names of only a couple dozen are known) and
likewise of inventing relationships to the royal family. You
have come upon an account which does both.
Michael Flandrensis is not among those known to have participated
at Hastings, nor is there any evidence whatsoever that such a man
was related to the Counts of Flanders. Sorry.
taf
penny edwards
is not your strong point.
There is documented evidence in Burke's Peerage and Knighteage of the le
Fleming family. Maybe you would care to look it up. There is always the
eternal pessimist! On the other hand I am an optimist.
Bye for now,
Penelope
Todd A. Farmerie <farm...@interfold.com> wrote in message
news:3D757B99...@interfold.com...
Chris Phillips
penny edwards wrote:
> Well, Todd, I suppose your interest in the Crusaders and the Knight
Templars
> is not your strong point.
>
> There is documented evidence in Burke's Peerage and Knighteage of the le
> Fleming family. Maybe you would care to look it up. There is always the
> eternal pessimist! On the other hand I am an optimist.
Todd did try to be gentle in pointing out that there was no record of
Michael Flandrensis at the Battle of Hastings, and the remarks above are not
merited.
Sadly, illustrious ancestors who fought at Hastings were manufactured very
freely in the past, and previous editions of Burke's Peerage often repeated
these claims uncritically.
There seems to be no mention of Michael Flandrensis/le Fleming in either of
Keats-Rohan's volumes, "Domesday People" and "Domesday Descendants", or even
in A.J. Camp's "My Ancestors came with the Conqueror", which was clear about
the small number of those recorded at Hastings, but which for completeness
also compiled many later "rolls" of those alleged to have been at the
battle, mostly spurious.
Chris Phillips
Todd A. Farmerie
> Well, Todd, I suppose your interest in the Crusaders and the Knight Templars
> is not your strong point.
I am not sure I see the connection.
> There is documented evidence in Burke's Peerage and Knighteage of the le
> Fleming family. Maybe you would care to look it up. There is always the
> eternal pessimist! On the other hand I am an optimist.
Depending on the edition in question, and the time period
addressed, Burke's can be very good (particularly for the most
recent editions, and what they say about the most recent
generations of the families covered). However, most of the
accounts in Burke's tracing families to Companions of William the
Conqueror were exposed as uncritical, impossible, or down right
inventions in the early part of the 20th century (and in some
cases earlier), and the reputation of these fabular accounts has
not improved with time. Burke's simply cannot be trusted for
such accounts. Remember, there is a difference between optimism
and gullibility.
taf