HENRY II, COUNT OF EU--PART 2
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4. Henry I, Count of Eu. He was the son of 8. William II, Count of Eu and
9. Beatrix de Busli. He married 5. Margaret de Sulli.
5. Margaret de Sulli. She was the daughter of 10. William de Sulli.
Notes for Henry I, Count of Eu:
HENRY COUNT OF Eu, the son and heir of Count William II. by Beatrix de Buslé,
succeeded before 1101 to the Honour of Eu both in England and Normandy. Like
most of these nobles, who had domains on both sides of the Channel, he
considered himself aggrieved by the separation of the two countries, and was
one of those Normans, who invited the King of England to invade Normandy in
1104. He is not however named amongst the Counts, who fought in the English
ranks at the battle of Tenchebrai in 1106, when Duke Robert lost his throne
and his liberty. He had not deserted Robert Curthose, until his misgovernment
had grown intolerable, and when Robert's son William Clito asserted in 1118
his claims to the Duchy of Normandy, the Count of Eu was one of the first to
join the league in his favour. But whilst he was waiting for the arrival of
the Count of Flanders to take up arms, his preparations for rebellion were
anticipated by King Henry, whose vigilance never slept. The Count was arrested
at Rouen with Hugh de Gournai and was kept in prison until he had surrendered
his fortresses, and had given hostages for his fidelity. The result was that
when the French invaded Normandy in August 1119 to support the claims of
William Clito, the Count fought on the side of the English King at the battle
of Bremule .
He released himself from this conflict of interest and inclination by joining
the Crusade, and one of his last acts before starting was to give his sanction
to the charter, by which the Archbishop of Rouen in 1119 erected the
collegiate church of Notre Dame at Eu into an Abbey. He returned from the Holy
Land in 1121, but from this time forward took no prominent part in public
affairs. His sympathies were with William Clito, but he had a wholesome dread
of King Henry's power, and was unwilling to incur his enmity by joining the
rebels. He employed himself therefore in works of charity and piety, and was a
founder of religious houses both in England and in Normandy. St. Mary's chapel
in Hastings Castle, in which Robert Bloet was consecrated Bishop of Lincoln in
1094 was enlarged at the Count's expense into a collegiate church served by a
dean and secular canons, who were amply endowed by his munificence. Amongst
the eminent men, who were benefited in early life by this endowment were St.
Thomas Becket, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, and William of Wykeham the
founder of St. Mary's Winton and of New College Oxon. But the chief occupation
of the Count's later lite was the foundation and endowment of the Cistercian
Abbey of Foucarmont, half way between Eu and Auniale, which was consecrated on
25 July 1130.
He married Margaret daughter of William de Sulli the elder brother of Stephen
King of England, by whom he had four children . The Countess was the great
granddaughter of William the Conqueror, and after her death the Count was
shorn a monk of Foucarmont, where he died 12 July 1139. He was buried at the
foot of the High Altar in the place of honour reserved to the founder. Count
Henry had issue by his wife Margaret de Sulli three sons and a daughter.
Children of Henry and Margaret are:
2 i. Count of Eu John, married Alice d'Aubigny.
ii. Hugh de Eu.
Notes for Hugh de Eu:
An ecclesiastic, was Archdeacon of Cornwall in 1135, and of Totnes in 1143.
iii. William de Eu.
Notes for William de Eu:
Was also an ecclesiastic, and was one of the Archdeacons of the Diocese of
Exeter, who are mentioned in a Deed bearing date 2 July 1143. He occurs as
Precentor of York in 1144, and probably owed his appointment to his uncle
Henry de Sulli the Abbot of Caen, who was elected Archbishop of York in 1140,
when the Pope refused to confirm his election. William was no longer Precentor
in 1155, but he was Archdeacon of Barnstaple in the Diocese of Exeter at some
time between 1151 and 1161.
6. William d'Aubigny, born Abt. 1102 in Buckenham, NOR, ENG; died
12-Oct-1176 in Waverly Abbey, SRY, ENG (Source: Complete Peerage, 1:235.). He
was the son of 12. William d'Aubigny and 13. Matilda Bigod. He married 7.
Adeliza de Louvaine 1138 (Source: Complete Peerage, 1:235.).
7. Adeliza de Louvaine, born Abt. 1103 in Louvaine, Belgium; died
23-Apr-1151 in Afflighem, Flanders (Source: Complete Peerage, 1:235.). She
was the daughter of 14. Godfrey I de Brabant and 15. Ida de Namur.
Notes for William d'Aubigny:
Earl of Arunde
Buried in Wymondham Priory, Norfolk
Earl of Lincoln 1139-41
Surnamed "William with the strong hand," from the following circumstance, as
related by William Dugdale: "It happened that the Queen of France, being then
a widow, and a very beautiful woman, became much in love with a knight from
another country, who was a homely person, and in the flower of his youth; and
because she thought that no man excelled him in valor, she caused a tournament
to be proclaimed throughout her dominions, promising to reward those who
should exercise themselves therein, according to their respective abilities;
and concluded that if the person whom she so well affected should act his part
better than others in those military exercises, she might marry him without
any dishonor to herself. Whereupon divers gallant men, from foreign parts
hasting to Paris, amongst others came this our William de Albini, ravely
accoutered, and in the tournament excelled all others, overcoming many, and
wounding one mortally with his lance, which being observed by the queen, she
became exceedingly enamored of him, and forthwith invited him to a costly
banquet, and afterwards bestowing certain jewels upon him, offered him
marriage; but, having plighted his troth to the Queen of England, a widow, he
refused her, whereat she grew so discontented that she consulted with her
maids how she might take away his life; and in pursuance of that design,
inticed him into a garden ... which she descended by divers steps, under color
of showing him the beast; and when she told him of its fierceness, he
answered, that it was a womanish and not a manly quality to be afraid thereof.
But having him there, by the advantage of a folding door, thrust him to the
lion; being therefore in this danger, he rolled his mantle about his arm, and
putting his hand into the mouth of the beast, pulled out his tongue by the
root; which done, he followed the queen to her palace, and gave it to one of
her maids to present her. Returning thereupon to England, with the fame of
this glorious exploit, he was forthwith advanced to the Earldom of Arundel,
and for his arms the Lion given him." He subsequently married Adeliza of
Lorraine, Queen of England, widow of King Henry I., and the daughter of
Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine. Adeliza had the castle of Arundel in dowry from
her deceased husband, the monarch, and thus her new lord became its feudal
earl, 1st Earl of Arundel in this family. he earl was one of those who
solicited the Empress Maud to come to England, and received her and her
brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester, at the port of Arundel, in August 1139,
and in three years afterwards (1142), in the report made of King Stephen's
taking William de Mandeville at St. Albans, it is stated "that before he could
be laid hold on, he underwent a sharp skirmish with the king's party, wherein
the Earl of Arundel, though a stout and expert soldier, was unhorsed in the
midst of the water by Walceline de Oxeai, and almost drowned." In 1150, he
wrote himself Earl of Chichester, but we find him styled again Earl of
Arundel, upon a very memorable occasion, namely, the reconciliation of Henry,
Duke of Normandy, afterwards King Henry II., and King Stephen at the siege of
Wallingford Castle in 1152. "It was scarce possible," says Rapin, "for the
armies to part without fighting. Accordingly the two leaders were preparing
for battle with equal ardor, when, by the prudent advice of the Earl of
Arundel, who was on the king's side, they were
prevented from coming to blows." A truce and peace followed this interference
of the earl's, which led to the subsequent accession of Henry after Stephen's
decease, in whose favor the earl stood so high that he not only obtained for
himself and his heirs the castle and honor of Arundel, but a confirmation of
the Earldom of Sussex, of which county he was really earl, by a grant of the
Tertium Denarium of the pleas of the shire. In 1164, we find the Earl of
Arundel deputed with Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, to remonstrate with
Louis, King of France, upon according an asylum to Thomas a Becket within his
dominions, and on the failure of that mission, dispatched with the archbishop
of York, the Bishops of Winchester, London, Chichester, and Exeter, Wido
Rufus, Richard de Invecestre, John de Oxford (priests), Hugh de Gundevile,
Bernard de St. Valery, and Henry Fitzgerald, to lay the whole affair of Becket
at the foot of the pontifical throne.
Upon levying the aid for the marriage of the king's daughter, in the 12th year
of Henry II., the knight's fees of the honor of Arundel were certified to be
ninety-seven, and those in Norfolk, belonging to the earl, forty-two. In 1173,
we find the Earl of Arundel commanding, in conjunction with William, Earl of
Mandeville, the king's army in Normandy, and compelling the French monarch to
abandon Verneuil after a long siege, and in the next year, with Richard de
Lucy, Justice of England, defeating Robert, Earl of Leicester, then in
rebellion at St. Edmundbury. This potent nobleman, after founding and endowing
several religious houses, died at Waverley, in Surrey, on October 3, 1176, and
was buried in the Abbey of Wymondham.Buried in Wymondham Priory, NOR, ENG;
Earl of Arundel, Earl of Lincoln. With his marriage to Adela, widow of Henry
I, acquired Arundel Castle as part of her dowry. His possession of the castle
and honor of Arundel was confirmed by Henry II in 1154.
Notes for Adeliza de Louvaine:
One might argue it is possible that the second Earl was not her son, but
William and the Queen dowager definitely had a child. CP 5:157, shows that
their daughter Alice/Adelise married John, Count of Eu, Lord of Hastings, and
cites the following charter from the Cartulary of Robertsbridge:
Ego Aliz Comitissa Augi concessi ... pro anima Willelmi Comitis Arundell'
patris mei et Aliz Regine matris mee et pro anima domini mei J. Comitis Augi
et
Godefridi fratris mei ... et pro salute anime mee et omnium antecessorum et
successorum ....
She calls Aliz the Queen her mother (interesting wording concerning how she
addressed her husband). So, unless this is a case of immaculate deception,
there were children, actually quite a few, depending on the account you
believe
(perhaps you meant she had no chidren by Henry I, which is true, but that
would be the aged king's fault, not the fault of his young bride, who was
younger than the King's daughter, the Empress Matilda).
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Adeliza was the daughter of Godfrey of Louvain, duke of Lower Lotharingia and
became, in her mid- to late teens, the second wife of Henry I in January of
1121, about three years after the death of Henry's first vafe Matilda. Adeliza
had no children by Henry during the 15 years as his wife but had seven by her
second husband, William dalbini. Henry's need for a wife in 1120 was made
urgent by the death of his son and heir William in the White Ship disaster.
Most likely in 1138, three years after the death of Henry I, Adeliza married
William d'Albini pincerna, son of the butler of first Henry and then Stephen.
William d'Albini pincerna senior had solidly supported Stephen, as did William
d'Albini pincerna, the younger until 1139. 'Their court was at Arundel (also
refered to as the rape of Arundel).
By November 1139 the elder Wiliam was deceased and the younger William was
earl of Lincoln, created by Stephen. (the editors of Regesta, Vol. III
suggest the elder was dead by June 1139). Regesta, Vol. III show William as
a frequent attestor for Stephen between 1135 and November, 1139.
Adeliza was an active monastic patron following Henry I's death. Her gifts
were to Waltham Abbey (early Charters of Waltham Abbey), Reading Abbey
(Reading Abbey Cartularies), the monks of St-Vincents, Knights Templars,
Waverly Abbey and others. The only surviving Pipe Roll from Henry's reign
indicates that in 1130 Adeliza held land in Oxfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire,
Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, Berkshire, Gloucestershire
(Berkeley), London, Middlesex and Devon.
William d'Albini attended Stephen's Christmas court in 1141 and attested as
earl of Sussex for the flrst time ... and confirming Arundel to him in
perpetuity.
Adeliza retired to the monasteery of Affligem (favored by her father and
brothers) shortly before her death in 1151. Another article has suggested
that Adeliza, as a child, was educated at Affligem.
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As there is an interest in the person of Adeliza of Louvain and her second
husband, I would like to post the brief biographical notes I have on them.
William d'Aubigny was known as "William of The Strong Hand". An amusing
legend accounts for the Albini arms being a lion rampant. This legend told
of a joust held in Paris at which Albini behaved so bravely that the Queen
Dowager of France sought him in marriage. He refused, saying he had already
given his word to the Queen-Dowager of England. The French Queen in revenge
inveigled him into a cave in her garden where a lion had been placed, but
William saved himself from being torn to pieces by covering his arm with
his cloak and thrusting his arm into the beast's mouth and pulling out its
tongue.
Adeliza of Louvain had the Castle and Honour of Arundel settled on her as
her dowry by King Henry I of England, her first husband. He had married her
after the disaster of "The White Ship" when the king's only legitimate son
was drowned, leaving him with his only legitimate daughter, the Empress
Matilda. Sadly, during the fourteen years till the king's death, no
children were born.
She remained a widow for about three years and then, in 1138, married
William d'Aubigny, or de Albini, who then first became known as Earl of
Lincoln, then Earl of Chichester, only much later as Earl of Arundel.
Several children were born from this marriage.
The Queen Dowager retired in 1150 to a nunnery at Afflighem, in South
Brabant, where she died and was buried on 23 April 1151, aged about
forty-eight.
Best wishes,
Leo van de Pas
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Adeliza's failure to bear Henry I a child during the 14 years of their
marriage (1121-35) is indeed puzzling, given the number of children both
legitimate and illegitimate he had previously sired, and given the fact
that after her second marriage, at the age of about 35, she went on to
produce 7 children. First and foremost we should remember that Henry and
Adeliza married in 1121, when he was in his mid-fifties, a goodly age in
that time. It appears from what little we can surmise about the birth
dates of his illegitimate and legitimate children that the birth rate
among them had already tapered off quite strikingly by 1120, and it's
quite possible Henry was no longer quite as successful in reproductive mode
as he had once been. Furthermore, I know of no historian who has stated
that Henry and Adeliza ever became particularly close or devoted to each
other, certainly no more so than Henry had been with his first wife the
good Queen Edith-Matilda. If his marriage to Adeliza failed on that very
basic level, her childlessness by him would not be quite so surpsising.
A dear friend of mind who is presently preparing the first scholarly
biography of Adeliza's predecessor Edith-Matilda has opined, though not in
print so far, that Henry perhaps was not terribly serious about fathering
another child, but always expected, or at least hoped, that his legitimate
daughter Matilda (the Empress) would succeed him. This was because he truly
wanted the old Anglo-Saxon royal blood, which Matilda had through her mother,
to return to the English throne. Certainly there is plenty of evidence that
one of the reasons Henry usually cited to justify her succession to the
throne when, in the last years of his life, he repeatedly got his barons to
swear allegiance to Matilda as his heir, was that she carried the blood of
the Old English kings as well as that of the Norman conquerors.
Incidentally, as one example of the points of interest we can gather from
carefully studying the lives of royal women in the medieval period: if
Adeliza married William d'Aubigny at 35 and had 7 children, she was very
obviously bearing them well after the age of 40. Eleanor of Aquitaine was
certainly past 40 when her last child John was born, perhaps as much as
45. King John's widow Isabella of Angouleme took a second husband, Hugh de
Lusignan, at 33 and had 9 more children. Eleanor of Castile was 42 or 43
when Edward of Caernarfon arrived. Philippa of Hainaut is usually said to
have
been born ca 1314, but I have seen one piece of evidence that would put her
birth (by her own mother's account) as early as 1309--meaning Philippa was 45
or 46 when her last child Thomas was born. Of course this confirms that
medieval society had no effective means of birth control except Lent, Advent
and menopause; but it also shows us that women could, even then, survive
numerous and frequent childbirths at remarkable ages.
John Parsons
Children of William and Adeliza are:
i. William d'Aubigny, born Abt. 1136 in Arundel, SUS, ENG; died 24-Dec-1193
; married Maud de St. Hilary.
Notes for William d'Aubigny:
Buried in Wymondham Priory, Norfolk. 2nd Earl of Arundel and Sussex, had a
grant from the crown, in the 23rd year of King Henry II., of the Earldom of
Sussex, and in the first year of King Richard I., had a confirmation from that
prince, of the castle and honor of Arundel, as also for the Tertium Denarium
of the county of Sussex. He died in 1196, and was succeeded by his son,
William.
3 ii. Alice d'Aubigny, died 1188; married Count of Eu John.
TO BE CONTINUED
Always optimistic--Dave