Falaise, Herleve of
![Female](img/tng_female.gif)
1. Falaise, Herleve of was born about 1012; died about 1050. Notes:
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Herleve is daughter of Robert, a tanner of Falaise. She is called Robert's
"Danish" wife [not married before clergy]. She was previously a mistress to
Robert I [The Devil], Duke of Normandy (parents of WIlliam the Conqueror)...
having two other children, Odo & Robert. Then she "married" Herlouin.Family/Spouse: Robert, Duke of Normandy I. I (son of Richard, Duke of Normandy II and Brittany, Judith of) was born about 1008; died on 22 Jul 1035 in Bythinian Nicaea. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 2. William, King of England I
was born in 1027 in Falaise, Normandy; died on 9 Sep 1087 in Rouen, France; was buried in St. Stephen Abbey, Caen, Normandy.
- 3. Normandy, Adelaide of
was born about 1030.
Herleve married de Conteville, Herlouin (De Burgo) on Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 2. William, King of England I
Generation: 2
2. William, King of England I (1.Herleve1) was born in 1027 in Falaise, Normandy; died on 9 Sep 1087 in Rouen, France; was buried in St. Stephen Abbey, Caen, Normandy.
Notes:
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William was described by a Norman monk "as a burly warrior with a harsh
gutteral voice, great in stature but not ungainly" - probably 5'10",
full-fleshed in face, of "russet hair" {-"William the Conqueror...," David
C. Douglas [London, 1966]}. A primary source by a contemporary is "The
Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy," Ordericus Vitalis, trans.
Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854).
----- Compton's Encyclopedia (America On-Line, 1995):
William I (born 1027, ruled 1066-87), called William the Conqueror, was an
illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy. His mother was a tanner's
daughter. William succeeded his father when he was only 7 years old. At 24 he
had made himself the mightiest feudal lord in all France by various
conquests, but his ambition was not satisfied. He laid plans to become king
of England also.
William married Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V, count of Flanders, in
1053. She was descended from the old Anglo-Saxon line of kings. Among their
children were four sons: Robert, future duke of Normandy; Richard, who died
as a youth; William Rufus, who succeeded his father as king of England; and
Henry, who succeeded William Rufus. One daughter, Adela, became the mother of
England's King Stephen.
Edward the Confessor, king of England, was William's cousin. William used
his connection with Flanders to put pressure on Edward to extort a promise
that he would become heir to the English throne. It is probable that Edward
made some kind of pledge to William as early as 1051. Edward died childless
on Jan. 5, 1066. William then claimed the throne on the basis of this
promise. The English, however, chose Harold, earl of Wessex, as their king.
William prepared a large expedition and set sail for England. On Oct. 14,
1066, he defeated and killed Harold at Hastings in one of the decisive
battles of the world. Then he marched on London, and on Christmas day he was
crowned king.
After subduing England's powerful earls, William seized their lands for
his Norman nobles and ordered the nobles to build fortified stone castles to
protect their lands. As payment for their fiefs, the nobles supplied the king
with armed knights. French became the language of the king's court and
gradually blended with the Anglo-Saxon tongue.
William won the loyalty of the mass of the people by wisely retaining the
old Anglo-Saxon laws, courts, and customs with only a few changes. Thus the
principle of self-government, which lies at the root of the political system
of English-speaking peoples, was preserved and strengthened. At the same
time, William taught the English the advantages of a central government
strong enough to control feudal lords.
Toward the end of his reign, William ordered a great census to be taken of
all the lands and people of England. This survey was called Domesday Book.
Two of the original books may still be seen at the Public Records Office in
London. "So very narrowly did he cause the survey to be made," complained the
old Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "that there was not a single rood of land, nor an
ox, or a cow, or a pig passed by, and that was not set down in the accounts."
William was often on the continent dealing with his widespread holdings.
He died there in 1087 from injuries received while warring with Philip I of
France. William was a man of great stature and had a tremendous voice. Such
was the good order he established that, according to a quaint historian of
his time, "any man, who was himself aught, might travel over the kingdom with
a bosom of gold unmolested, and no man durst kill another, however great the
injury he might have received from him." He was succeeded in Normandy by his
eldest son, Robert, and in England by his second son, William II, called
William Rufus.
- - - - - - - - -
Regarding the location of the Battle of Hastings, this site on the World Wide
Web is helpful and provocative: http://www.cablenet.net/pages/book/index.htm#PART57
I married Flanders, Matilda ("Maud") of in 1053 in Eu in Normandy. Matilda (daughter of Baldwin, Count of Flanders V and Adelaide Princess of France) was born in 1032; died on 3 Nov 1083; was buried in Holy Trinity Abbey, Caen, Normandy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 5. Henry, King of England I
was born in 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire; died on 1 Dec 1135 in near Gisors, Normandy; was buried in Reading Abbey, England.
- 5. Henry, King of England I
3. Normandy, Adelaide of (1.Herleve1) was born about 1030.
Notes:
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Adelaide (referred to as de Gand) was Countess of Huntgindon, Northampton
and Aumale. She m. (1) Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu, slain at the siege
of Arques in 1053. She m. (3) Eudes, Count of Champagne and Earl of
Holderness, imprisoned in 1096.
See "Falaise Roll" (Baltimore: Gen. Pub. Co., 1994), p. 15.Adelaide married Boulogne, Count Of Lens Lambert of in 1054. Lambert (son of Eustace, Count of Boulogne I and Louvain, Maud of) died in 1055 in Battle of Lille. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 6. Lens, Judith of
was born in 1054.
- 6. Lens, Judith of
4. Conteville, Emma de (1.Herleve1)
Notes:
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Half-sister of William the Conqueror.Emma married de Goz, Richard Vicomted'Avranches on Yes, date unknown. Richard (son of Goz, Turstain de ViscomteD'exmes and Monterolier, Judith de) died after 1082. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
Generation: 3
5. Henry, King of England I (2.I2, 1.Herleve1) was born in 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire; died on 1 Dec 1135 in near Gisors, Normandy; was buried in Reading Abbey, England.
Other Events and Attributes:
- Occupation: Duke of Normandy
Notes:
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Henry I had 20 or 21 bastard children re: N.E.Hist.Gen.Register 4/1965, pp.95-96. His form of government was "severe and grasping; but he `kept good peace' and honorably distinguished himself among contemporary statesmen in an age when administrative
reform was in the air. He spent more time in Normandy than in England. But he showed admirable judgment in
his choice of subordinates...." -Encyclopedia Britannica (1956 Ed., 11:432). He was King of England, 1100-35, and Duke of Normandy (1106-35); his coronation at Westminster Abbey was on Sunday, 08-05-1100. Thomas B. Costain offers a popular account of
his reign in "The Conquering Family" (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1949, pp.43-77). The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" described him as the "lion of justice."I married on Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 8. Elizabeth
- 9. Henry, Robert Fitz
was born in 1090; died on 31 Oct 1147.
6. Lens, Judith of (3.Adelaide2, 1.Herleve1) was born in 1054.
Notes:
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"Ancestral Roots..." (Balt., 1992) 148-23: "The line is in question at this
point. Judith may have been the child of the 1st marriage. ...In fact,
Adelaide may not even have been Lambert's wife."Judith married Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland II in 1070. II (son of Syward The Saxon Earl and Northumbria, Elfleda of) was born in 1045; died on 31 May 1076 in Winchester, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 10. Huntingdon, Countess of Huntingdon Maud of
was born in 1072; died in 1130; was buried in Scone.
- 10. Huntingdon, Countess of Huntingdon Maud of
7. Maud, d'Avranches Margaret (4.Emma2, 1.Herleve1)
Notes:
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Margaret (or Mathilde) is sister of Hughes d'Avranches, First Earl of
Chester (d.1101) - Hughes' son Richard was the second Earl, but died
without issue in 1120 and was succeeded by Margaret's son (the 2nd Earl's
first cousin).Margaret married Ranulph Vicomte de Bayeux on Yes, date unknown. (son of Ranulph, Vicomte of Bessin I and Normandy, Alice of) died after Apr 1089. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 11. Meschin, Ranulph Le
died in 1129.
- 11. Meschin, Ranulph Le
Generation: 4
8. Elizabeth (5.I3, 2.I2, 1.Herleve1)
Notes:
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"The Lineage and Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales," I:11-12,
lists 20 `natural' children of King Henry I; among the youngest is Isabel
(a form of Elizabeth), born of Isabel, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, Earl
of Leicester, and wife of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke.Family/Spouse: Fergus Lord of Galloway. (son of Maldred and Northumberland, Edith of) died on 12 May 1166 in Holyrood Abbey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 12. Gilbert
died on 1 Jan 1185.
- 12. Gilbert
9. Henry, Robert Fitz (5.I3, 2.I2, 1.Herleve1) was born in 1090; died on 31 Oct 1147.
Other Events and Attributes:
- Occupation: Earl of Gloucester
Notes:
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Robert "of Caen" was also called Robert the Consul; Earl of Gloucester in
1122, founder of the Margam Abbey; his mother is either the king's
mistress, Sibyl Corbet (daughter of Robert Corbet, Burgess of Caen), or
Nesta of Wales, who became wife of Gerald of Windsor.{ref. "Royal
Ancestors...," Collins, p.58} His granddaughter Avisa was the first wife of
King John. The family's story is told by Thomas B. Costain, "The
Conquering Family" (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1949).Robert married Hammond, Mabel Fitz about 1120. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 13. Robert, Earl of Gloucester William Fitz
died on 23 Nov 1183.
- 14. Gloucester, Maud of
was born in de Caen; died on 29 Jul 1189.
10. Huntingdon, Countess of Huntingdon Maud of (6.Judith3, 3.Adelaide2, 1.Herleve1) was born in 1072; died in 1130; was buried in Scone.
Notes:
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Maud was Countess of Huntingdon and Northumberland; m. (1) Simon de St.
Liz, Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton, who died about 1111. Also known
as Maud de Senlis, she brought to her husband David the English earldoms of
Northampton and Huntington.Family/Spouse: David, King of Scots I. I (son of Canmore, King of Scots Malcolm III and Margaret, Saint of Scotland) was born in 1080; died on 24 May 1153 in Carlisle, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 15. Huntingdon, Prince of Scotland Henry de
was born in 1114; died on 12 Jun 1152.
- 15. Huntingdon, Prince of Scotland Henry de
11. Meschin, Ranulph Le (7.Margaret3, 4.Emma2, 1.Herleve1) died in 1129.
Other Events and Attributes:
- Occupation: Earl of Chester
Notes:
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Ranulph, also styled "de Briquessart," was Vicomte de Bayeux in Normandy;
first cousin and heir to the last Earl (whom he succeeded as Vicomte
d'Avranches, etc.); became Earl of Chester in 1120; Commander of Royal
Forces in Normandy, 1124. {-"The Complete Peerage," London, Vol. 3, pp.
164-5.} He was Vicomte of the Bessin and in 1121 Vicomte also of the
Avranchin. He "held the new Cumbrian gains of the Norman house in a block
of land stretching from Stainmore west to the sea and from Carlisle south
to the Derwent" prior to his accession to the earldom of Chester {-"The
Northerners," J. C. Holt (Oxford: Clarendon, 1961), p. 214}. He is buried
in St. Werburg at Chester, England.Ranulph married on Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 16. Meschines, Adeliza
died in 1128.