Dammartin Counts
Todd A. Farmerie
typically applied to the Counts of Dammartin, but was unable to
provide the Count(s) Aubri with an accurate descent from the
earlier Counts. The next development was an ingenious
suggestion, that they descended in the male line from the Counts
of Mello, who had married the aunt of the last Count of the first
line. With the publication of Family Trees and the Roots of
Politics, a new solution came to my attention, suggesting a
direct male-line descent through a junior branch seated in
England. At the time, I said that I would have to see the
original article describing this descent before I could pass
judgement. Now I can pass judgement.
The work begins with a testament from Michel Bur, indicating that
this new work supercedes all previous work on the question.
Mathieu uses source material which in and of itself takes 7 pages
to list, and follows the family from their first acquisition of
Dammartin, apparently through the marriage of Manasses, younger
brother of Hilduin II of Ramerupt, to Constance reputed daughter
of King Robert II of France (a relationship Mathieu is not
entirely comfortable with). In so doing, he shows several
interesting connections, such as the marriage of Hugh II of
Gournay to a probable daughter of the first Count (explaining
both the name and seemingly out of place elevation of Manasses,
Archbishop of Reims, Hugh's son). While he doesn't dispute a
Mello marriage, he places it in a later generation, making it
impossible for Chamberlain Aubri de Dammartin to descend from
this marriage. Instead, he provides documentary evidence that
Aubri was brother of William and Manasses-Walter of Dammartin,
who both appear in English records, and hence son of Eudes de
Dammartin, who was lord of Norton. If there is a week point in
the interconnections, it is in documenting that this Eudes was
son of Count Hugh, but even this would appear to be a reasonable
conclusion. Thus, this Eudes of Norton is grandson of Count
Eudes, and great-grandson of the first Count, Manasses.
Chamberlain (not Count, as some have made him) was father of
Count Aubri, husband of Matilda of Bar and through his son Simon,
great-grandfather of Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I of
England. All in all, this is both well researched and well
reasoned, and I find myself in agreement with Michel Bur.
Jean-Noel Mathieu, "Recherches sur le Premiers Comtes de
Dammartin", _Paris et Ile-de-France : Memoires . . ._, vol 47
(1996), pp. 7-59 (+5 charts).
taf