HENRY II, COUNT OF EU--PART 4
U...@aol.com
16. Count of Eu Robert, died 1090. He was the son of 32. William I, Count
of Eu and 33. Lesceline d'Harcourt. He married 17. Beatrix.
17. Beatrix.
Notes for Count of Eu Robert:
ROBERT COUNT OF EU, the son and heir of Count William I. by Lesceline
d'Harcourt, was expelled with his mother and brothers from the Castle of Eu
during Guy of Burgundy's rebellion, but the promotion of his brother Hugh in
1050 to the bishopric of Lisieux proves that William of Normandy cherished no
feelings of resentment against the family. Count Robert and his wife Beatrice
gave a wood in his domains to the Monks of the Holy Trinity of the Mount at
Rouen, and the grant was allowed by William of Normandy at the time when his
quarrel began with the King of France, tempore quo discordia cepit inter ipsum
et Henricum regem Francorum. The war arose out of the assistance, which the
French King gave to the Count of Arques, and afterwards to William Busac in
their attempts to dethrone the young Count William, but Robert of Eu was
steadfast in his loyalty to his sovereign, and was so completely free from
suspicion of sharing his brother's treason, that he was one of the generals in
command of the Norman army, which defeated the rebels and their French allies
at the Battle of Mortemer in 1054.
Count Robert with the consent of his wife Beatrice and of their sons Ralph,
William and Robert founded and endowed in 1059 St. Michael's Abbey at Treport
(Ulterior portus), which is half a league distant from the Castle of Eu at the
mouth of the river Bresle. The Count of Eu witnessed the charter, by which his
neighbour Roger de Busli or Builli, the Seigneur of Builli in the Bailiwick of
Drincourt, sold to the Abbot of the Holy Trinity at Rouen in 1065 the tithes
of his fief for 60lbs of silver pennies and a war-horse. This sale probably
took place in 1065, and was made for the purpose of raising funds to equip him
for the expedition to England. The Count of Eu witnessed this charter, little
suspecting that in generations yet unborn his own descendants the Counts of Eu
would inherit Roger de Busli's patrimony in Normandy and acquisitions in
England.
The Count contributed 60 ships to the fleet for the invasion of England in
1066, and is named by Wace amongst those who fought gallantly at the battle of
Senlac.
He was one of the Conqueror's most trusted generals, and on the King's return
from his first Northern Campaign in 1069 the Counts of Eu and Mortain were
left in Lindsey with an army to watch the Danes, who had sailed up the Humber,
but had dispersed on the King's approach, and had taken shelter in the
Lincolnshire fens. The invaders were welcomed by the inhabitants as kinsmen,
for the
Danish element was strong in the fenlands, but the King's lieutenants
surprised them whilst they were carousing at a festival, and chased them to
their ships with great slaughter.
The high rank and important services of the Count of Eu insured him a large
share in the distribution of estates forfeited by Englishmen, and provision
was made for the Count out of lands which had belonoed to King Harold's father
and brother. The South Coast, which commanded the approach to Normandy, was a
charge reserved for a few great Barons, whom the King could thoroughly trust.
The King's half-brother the Bishop of Bayeux had the custody of Dover Castle
and of the whole County of Kent, except Hugh de Montfort's Castelry at Romney.
The six Rapes of Sussex had only five owners, for Chichester and Arundel were
assigned to Roger de Montgomery, Bramber to William de Braose, Pevensey to the
Count of Mortain, and Hastings to the Count of Eu. Every Rape had its own
castle, river, port and forest, and Hastings is still one of the Cinque Ports,
although the ancient harbour has long been silted up. Hastings Castle was the
first, which the Normans built on English soil, for according to the Bayeux
tapestry it was commenced before the battle of Senlac. The duty of
constructing and defending this fortress was entrusted in the first place to
Humphrey de Tilleul the brother-in-law of Hugh de Grandmesnil the Viceroy of
Hampshire, but Humphrey was one of those home-sick Normans, who was induced by
his wife to desert his post in 1068, and when be left England the Castle, and
perhaps also the Rape of Hastings, was granted to the Count of Eu. The Count
however was by no means constantly resident in England, for when King William
remained five years in Normandy, from June 1075 to July 1080, the Count's
appearance at court from time to time suggests that he also was absent from
England during the whole period. He witnessed in April 1077 the royal charter
in favour of St. Stephen's Caen, and was chief mourner at Lisieux on 25 July
in this year at the funeral of his brother Bishop Hugh. The Count also is
mentioned amongst the grandees, who were present at Rouen at Easter 1080, when
the monks of the Holy Trinity of the Mount obtained from the King a solemn
confirmation of their right to an island in the Seine, which was given to them
by their founder 50 years before.
The Domesday Barony of the Count of Eu was valued at £294 9s. His chief
possession was the Rape and Castle of Hastings, which once belonged to Earl
Godwin. It comprised 157,000 acres, and was valued at £251 9s. per annum. The
Count had also the manor of Buckworth in Huntingdonshire worth £13 p. a., and
formerly belonged to Earl Tostig; and also the manor of Thurrock in Essex,
which formed part of King Harold's domains, and had seven houses in London
attached to it. The Count converted these houses into a residence for himself
in London, which improved their value from £12 to £30 per annum. He was also
mesne-lord under the See of Canterbury of the manors of Ulcombe and Stowting
in Kent, which had increased in value under his stewardship from £8 p. a. each
to £10 arid £11 respectively.
The Count of Eu was one of those Norman nobles, who on the death of William
the Conqueror applied to the King of England for protection against the
anarchy which prevailed in Normandy, and were supplied with money and troops,
which enabled them to fortify their castles in defiance of their lawful
sovereign. The Count was an useful ally to William Rufus on both sides of the
Channel, for his castle at Hastings commanded one of the chief ports of
communication with France. It was so important to the King that this fortress
should be in friendly hands, that the Bishop of Durham reckoned it amongst his
greatest services to his master that had kept the owner from joining the
rebels. The Count died during this unsettled period, for although the day of
his decease is not known all the authorities are agreed that he died in 1090.
Count Robert had issue by his wife Beatrix, who is often confounded with her
son William's wife Beatrix de Busli, three sons.
Children of Count Robert and Beatrix are:
i. Ralph of Eu.
Notes for Ralph of Eu:
Witnessed with his brothers his father and mother's foundation of Treport
Abbey in 1059, and died unmarried before his father.
ii. Robert of Eu.
Notes for Robert of Eu:
Witness with his brothers 1059.
8 iii. William II, Count of Eu, died Bef. 1100; married Beatrix de Busli.
18. Roger de Busli (Source: Eu.).
Notes for Roger de Busli:
of Domesday
Children of Roger de Busli are:
9 i. Beatrix de Busli, married William II, Count of Eu.
ii. Roger de Busli (Source: Eu.).
24. Roger d'Aubigny, born Abt. 1045; died Abt. 1084. He was the son of 48.
William d'Aubigny and 49. ... de Plessis. He married 25. Amicia de Mowbray.
25. Amicia de Mowbray, born Abt. 1055.
Notes for Amicia de Mowbray:
Sister of Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances, according to Orderic Vital, "one of
the bishops with attendant clerks and monks, whose duty it was to aid the war
with their prayers and councils." Amicia also had another brother, Roger de
Montbray (Mowbray).
Children of Roger and Amicia are:
12 i. William d'Aubigny, born Abt. 1070 in Aubigny, FRA; died Abt. 1139;
married Matilda Bigod Abt. 1101 in NOR, ENG.
ii. Richard d'Aubigny.
Notes for Richard d'Aubigny:
Abbot of St. Albans
iii. Nigel d'Aubigny, died 1188; married Gundreda de Gournay.
Notes for Nigel d'Aubigny:
Became one of the greatest landowners in England and is the only member of the
family recorded in Domesday, having received grants of several lordships in
Buckingham, Leicester, Bedford, and Warwick, as he succeeded to the estates of
his father and grandfather. He is reputed to have possessed 120 manors in
Normandy and as many in England, including the great domain of the Earl of
Mowbray, which came to him through his wife, confiscated from his cousin,
Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, given by Henry I., on the condition
that their eldest son would take the name of Mowbray. His son took the name of
Mowbray on inheriting the estates of the family. He lived to a very great age,
and died in 1138.
iv. Humphrey d'Aubigny.
v. Ralph d'Aubigny.
26. Roger Bigod (Source: Ä, 246D-26.), born in St Saveur, Normandy, FRA;
died 15-Sep-1107 in Earsham, NFK, ENG. He was the son of 52. Roger/Robert
Bigod and 53. .... Saint Saveur. He married 27. Adelisa de Toeni.
27. Adelisa de Toeni (Source: Prosopon, 9.), died Aft. 1136. She was the
daughter of 54. Robert de Tosny and 55. Adelais.
Notes for Roger Bigod:
Possessed six lordships in Essex and 117 in Suffolk beside many manors in
Norfolk. In 1103 he founded the Abbey of Whetford in Norfolk and was buried
there four years later.
Roger Bigod was present at Senlac and received large grants for his services
at the Conquest, comprising one hundred and twenty three (123) manors in Essex
and Suffolk, only six being in the latter county, besides divers manors in
Norfolk. Roger adhering to the party that took up arms against William Rufus,
in the first year of that monarch's reign, fortified the castle at Norwich,
and wasted the country around. At the accession of King Henry I. being a
witness of the king's laws, and staunch in his interests, he obtained
Framlingham in Suffolk, as a gift from the crown. He must have been a young
man at that time, as he did not die until 1107, when he was buried in the
Abbey of Whetford in Norfolk, which he had founded in 1103. Roger married
Adeliza Grantesmesnil, daughter and co-heir of Hugh de Grantesmesnil, High
Steward of England.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
Geoffrey H. White, who contributed the greater part of the essay on
"Norfolk" in The Complete Peerage, ix, says, p. 578, n. c: ". . . Roger
[Bigod] left two sons, William and Hugh (see post) and three daughters:
(i) Gunnor, who m. Robert de Essex, otherwise Robert FitzSuein, Lord of
Rayleigh, with whom she joined in gifts to Thetford (Dugdale, Mon., vol.
v, pp. 142, 151); cf. charter of Hugh Bigod to the priory of Norwich,
granting to it Godwin de Smalbergh and his lands, for his father's
anniversary, in exchange for Elstan de Buc, whom Gunnor his sister had
given to it ('penes Dean and Chapter of Norwich_vis. per me P.L., Norroy'
[Peter Le Neve]. MS. at Norfolk House). (ii) Maud, m. William d'Aubigny,
Master Butler of the Royal Household (see Mowbray). (iii) Cecily 'de
Belvoir,' m. William d'Aubigny the Breton, who had obtained part of the
fee of Belvoir before Cecily's mother was given possession of it; this
marriage, therefore, may have been arranged to settle rival claims.
Cecily eventually inherited Belvoir from her mother (Hist. MSS. Com.,
Rutland MSS., vol. iv. pp. 106-7, 144, 161). . . . Of the sons, William
was certainly born of the 1st marriage (see post), and Hugh presumably of
the 2nd, as Cecily obviously was. The fact that neither of her sisters
shared in the Belvoir inheritance would suggest prima facie that she was
the only child of this marriage; but Maud d'Aubigny also seems to have
been a daughter of the 2nd wife, for her mother was present at her funeral
(Dugdale, op. cit., vol. iii, pp. 330-1). This view may be supported by
the fact that her marriage did not take place until after her father's
death, for the King gave her on her marriage 10 knights' fees from the
land of Roger Bigot (Red Book of the Exchequer, Rolls Ser., p. 397; Round,
Rot. de Dominabus, p. xlii, is clearly wrong in writing that they were
granted to her by Roger Bigot). . . ."
Miss Ethel Stokes, in the essay on "Mowbray" in The Complete Peerage,
ix, says, p. 367: "He [William d'Aubigny Pincerna] m. Maud, da. of Roger
le Bigod, by his 2nd wife, Alice, da. of Robert de Tosny, lord of
Belvoir,(d) by whom he was father of William d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel
(see sub Arundel)." Footnote (d) reads: "See text and notes in Norfolk."
I. J. Sanders, English Baronies, in his discussion of Belvoir,
Leicestershire, p. 12, says: "Robert de Todeni, Domesday lord of Belvoir,
d. 1088. William, s. and h., d.s.p. when his heir for Belvoir was his
sister Alice.
"Alice m. Roger Bigod d. 1107 of Framlingham, q.v. She d. post Aug.
1127 leaving Cecily.
"Cecily m. William I de Albini Brito d. 1133-55.[3] William II
d'Aubigny d. 1168 leaving William III, a minor, d. 1236. . . ."
Footnote 3 reads: "Regesta, ii, no. 1495; Rutland MSS, iv, pp. 144,
161. William seems to have controlled part of the Belvoir estate before
the death of Alice (idem, p. 107). William witnesses letters dated 1133
but the early pipe rolls of Henry II give no evidence of his death
(Regesta, ii, nos. 1777, 1798)."
[Sanders' phrase, "leaving Cecily," clearly implies, from his usage
throughout ". . . as daughter and heir."]
Anthony Wagner, English Genealogy, p. 66, comments: ". . . William
d'Aubigny the Breton did indeed succeed a son of Robert de Tony at
Belvoir, but it was, as Round showed, in virtue of his marriage to
Robert's granddaughter Cicely.[3]" Footnote 3 reads: "Hist. MSS. Comm.
MSS. of the Duke of Rutland, iv. 106; Complete Peerage, ix, 577.
Weis, Magna Charta Surities, 4th ed., 157:2, reads: "Maud Fitz
Robert, b. bef. 1134; m. William II (called le Breton) D'Aubigny, son of
William D'Aubigny of Belvoir (d. 1155/6) and grandson of Robert de Toeni,
Lord of Belvoir." [This should actually read "great-grandson," but the
intent of denoting a direct line of descent is clear.]
On 2 Dec 1997, Todd A. Farmerie <ta...@po.cwru.edu> wrote an article
on the subject "Aubigny," in which he states that Maud and Cecily Bigod
were full sisters, but daughters of Roger Bigod's first wife, Adelaide,
not daughters of Alice de Todeni. The reference which Todd gives which is
most pertinent to this identification of parentage, I take it, is to
Andrew Wareham, "The motives and politics of the Bigod family, c.
1066-1177," Anglo-Norman Studies XVII: Proceedings of the Battle
Conference, 1994, pp. 223-242.
Wareham does indeed, first on a charted family tree on p. 230,
clearly assign all three daughters, Gunner, Cecily, and Matilda to
Adelaide, the first wife of Roger Bigod. He thereafter refers to these
three sisters as step-daughters of Alice de Tosny, or as half-sisters of
Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk.
Although his essay densely cites primary or near-primary sources,
Wareham does not explicitly point out any document which would confirm his
assignment of parentage. It is as though his family tree were the
"received wisdom." Indeed one finds no clue, when reading his essay, that
anyone had ever thought that Cecily Bigod, for example, was a daughter of
Alice de Tosny. None of the sources which I quoted above are referred to.
On p. 231 Wareham says: ". . .By 1130 Roger's widow Alice de Tosny
still owed a relief of [pounds] 198 for the inheritance of her father's
estates, but the Tosny fees in Leicester [presumably Belvoir] which formed
the dowry of Alice's step-daughter Cecily Bigod were under the control of
the latter's husband, William d'Albini Brito.. . . ." Wareham argues that
King Henry I effectively disinherited Alice de Tosny after Roger Bigod's
death and before his children came of age, but, perhaps because he did not
consider it problematical, he does not make it clear in the text that his
sources specify that Cecily was a step-daughter rather than a full
daughter. The parentage of these Bigod sisters is not, of course, the
primary topic of Wareham's essay.
On page 234 Wareham says: "Hugh Bigod's loss of ten knights fees to
the husband of his half-sister may have cut very deep, and the only record
of a gift passing the other way was that of three hides and forty acres
which William I d'Albini granted to Thetford Priory. This was barely a
token in comparison to Matilda Bigod's dowry.[69] In nine of Hugh Bigod's
charters does he make provision for the souls of his half-sisters and
their descendants, but a charter drawn up for William I d'Albini records
how at the death of Matilda Bigod her husband was weeping and bewailing
his loss.[70] . . ."
Footnote 69 reads: "Monasticon v. 142."
Footnote 70 reads: "BL ms Landsdowne 229 fo. 148, Vitelius F iv, fos
159v and 176 (Bigod); and BL ms Titus C viii, fos 18-18b (d'Albini)."
I would like to know whether any of these charters providing for the
souls of Hugh's half-sisters, indeed make it explicit that Cecily and/or
Maud is indeed a half-sister, daughter of Adelaide. But, alas, I cannot
even decipher his footnotes. Should I actually locate the manuscripts
referred to, I would surely need someone to translate.
I do wish historians who depict family relations would directly
address at least those genealogists of good repute who have drawn
contradictory inferences. Has anyone read the relevant materials which
Wareham cites? Do they prove his version of the Bigod family tree, or
disprove the tree presented at the outset?
--
Alan B. Wilson
abwi...@uclink2.berkeley.edu
Notes for Adeliza de Grantesmesnil:
AKA Alice of Toeni
Notes for Adelisa de Toeni:
Eventual heiress of Belvoir as her brother William d.s.p.
AKA Toeni, Tosny
Children of Roger Bigod and Adeliza are:
i. William Bigod, died 1120.
Notes for William Bigod:
Lord of Framlingham. Was dapifer to the king and perished with the king's
children and several of the nobility in the wreck of the "White Ship", which
occurred in the 20th year of King Henry I. William was succeeded by his
brother, Hugh. William d.s.p.
ii. Gunnor Bigod (Source: Prosopon, 9.), married Robert FitzSwein of Essex.
Children of Roger Bigod and Adelisa are:
i. Hugh Bigod , Sir (Source: BxP, 53.), born Abt. 1102 in NOR, ENG; died
Bef. 6-Mar-1176/77; married Juliana de Vere.
Notes for Hugh Bigod , Sir:
First Earl of Norfolk. When his elder brother William accidently drowned with
the king's children in a shipwreck and leaving no issue, Hugh succeeded as
lord steward of the King's household to King Henry I. He was mainly
instrumental in raising Stephen, Count of Boulogne, to the throne, and was
rewarded with the earldom of East Angles [Norfolk & Suffolk] about 1140. He
was faithful in his allegiance to King Stephen and continued to enjoy royal
favor, being re-created Earl of Norfolk and suffolk by Henry II, and obtaining
a grant of the office of lord high steward of the kingdom, an office his
father had held. In 1177, as a Crusader, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land, and died in 23rd of king Henry II before March.
Homer Beers James Genealogy shows a second marriage to Adeliza (Alice) Clare,
daughter of Gilbert de Tonebridge and mother of Roger.
13 ii. Matilda Bigod, born Abt. 1080 in ENG; died Abt. 1129; married William
d'Aubigny Abt. 1101 in NOR, ENG.
iii. Cecily Bigod, married William d'Aubigny Brito.
Notes for William d'Aubigny Brito:
William d'Aubigny Brito [le Breton] was granted Belvoir by Henry I, d. 1143-6.
He married Cecily Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod.
28. Henry II de Louvaine, born in FRA; died Aft. 1077. He was the son of
56. Lambert II de Louvain and 57. Oda de Verdun. He married 29. Adelaide von
der Betuwe.
29. Adelaide von der Betuwe, born Abt. 1045; died Aft. 1086. She was the
daughter of 58. Eberhard von der Betuwe and 59. Tristerbaut.
Notes for Henry II de Louvaine:
Count of Louvain and Lorraine
Child of Henry and Adelaide is:
14 i. Godfrey I de Brabant, born Abt. 1060; died 25-Jan-1139/40 in Jerusalem,
Palestine; married (1) Ida de Namur.
30. Otto II de Chiny, born Abt. 1055; died 28-Mar-1125. He was the son of
60. Arnold II of Chiny and 61. Adela de Rameru. He married 31. Adelaide of
Namur.
31. Adelaide of Namur, born 1068; died 1124. She was the daughter of 62.
Albert III de Namur and 63. Ida von Sachsen.
Notes for Otto II de Chiny:
Count of Chiny and Namur, a monk when he died.
Child of Otto and Adelaide is:
15 i. Ida de Namur, born 1083; died Abt. 1120; married Godfrey I de Brabant.
THE END--unless anyone wants more.
Always optimistic--Dave
TALBOT1998
Dans l'article <1a245159...@aol.com>, U...@aol.com écrit :
Bonsoir,
Who have some Information about ascendants and descendants of Gundreda de
Gournay, the wife of Nigel d'Aubigny ?
Thanks for your help !
Alain Talbot
TALBO...@aol.com
> 24. Roger d'Aubigny, born Abt. 1045; died Abt. 1084. He was the son
of >48. William d'Aubigny and 49. ... de Plessis. He married 25. Amicia de
Mowbray.
> 25. Amicia de Mowbray, born Abt. 1055.
>
> .........
>
>Children of Roger and Amicia are:
> 12 i. William d'Aubigny, born Abt. 1070 in Aubigny, FRA; died
Abt. 1139; married Matilda Bigod Abt. 1101 in NOR, ENG.
> ii. Richard d'Aubigny.
>
> ...... ..
ED MANN
>
> Dans l'article <1a245159...@aol.com>, U...@aol.com écrit :
>
> Bonsoir,
>
> Who have some Information about ascendants and descendants of Gundreda de
> Gournay, the wife of Nigel d'Aubigny ?
A bit:
Direct Descendants of Gundred
1 Gundred b: Abt. 1063 d: 27 May 1085 ref #: W158-1
+Seigneur William de Warenne I b: Abt. 1055 d: 24 Jun 1088 ref #:
S135-30
2 Edith de Warenne b: 1084 ref #: W158-2
+Gerold de Gournay aka: Gereard de Gournay b: Abt. 1060 d: Abt. 1098
ref #: BxP:526
3 Gundred de Gournay ref #: W158-3
*2nd Husband of Edith de Warenne:
--
FWIW; AFAIK; IMHO; YMMV; yadda, yadda, yadda.
Regards, Ed Mann mailto:edl...@mail2.lcia.com
References:
Ä = Weis, _Ancestral_Roots_, 7th ed.
AACPW = Roberts & Reitwiesner, _American Ancestors and Cousins of
the Princess of Wales_, [page].
AAP = Roberts, _Ancestors_of_American_Presidents_, [page] or
[Pres. # : page].
BP1 = _Burke's_Presidential_Families_, 1st ed. [page].
BPci = _Burke's_Peerage_, 101st ed., [page].
BRF = Weir, _Britain's_Royal_Families_, [page].
BxP = _Burke's_Dormant_&_Extinct_Peerages_, [page].
EC1 = Redlich, _Emperor_Charlemagne's_Descendants_, Vol I, [page].
EC2 = Langston & Buck, _Emperor_Charlemagne's_Descendants_, Vol II,
[page].
EC3 = Buck & Beard, _Emperor_Charlemagne's_Descendants_, Vol II,
[page].
F = Faris, _Plantagenet_Ancestry_, [page:para].
NK1 = Roberts, _Notable_Kin_Volume_One_, [page].
Π= Hardy, _Colonial_Families_of_the_Southern_States_of_America_,
[page].
S = Stuart, _Royalty_for_Commoners_, 2d ed. Caveat emptor.
W = Weis, _Magna_Charta_Sureties,_1215_, 4th ed.
WFT = Broderbund's World Family Tree CD, [vol]:[num] Caveat emptor.
WMC = Wurt's Magna Charta, [vol]:[page]