Ancestors of Russell Owen HJELM
Thirty-First Generation
(Continued)
1663582608. Richard Fitzgilbert 1St Earl De CLARE was born before 1035 in Brionne, Eure, Normandy, France. He died May 1089 in Priory Of St Neot, Cambridgeshire, England and was buried in Priory, St Neot's, Huntingdonshire, England. Richard married Rohese GIFFARD about 1054 in England.
Richard 1090. [Parents]
Richard Fitz Gilbert; also known as "de Bienfaite" (from the quantity of his fiefs [so states BP, but CP states Richard was lord of Bienfate & Orbec in Normandy]), "de Clare" or "de Tonbridge" (from actual fiefs); went with his cousin William I the Conqueror to England and was granted 176 Lordships, 95 of them associated with the Honour (feudal unit of administration) of Clare, Suffolk, and others with Tonbridge, Kent. [Burke's Peerage]
-----------------------------
Richard FitzGilbert, having accompanied the Conqueror into England, participated in the spoils of conquest and obtained extensive possessions in the new and old dominions of his royal leader and kinsman. In 1073 we find him joined under the designation of Ricardus de Benefacta, with William de Warren, in the great office of Justiciary of England, with whom, in three years afterwards, he was in arms against the rebellious lords Robert de Britolio, Earl of Hereford, and Ralph Waher, or Guarder, Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, and behaved with great gallantry. But afterwards, at the time of the General Survey, which was towards the close of William's reign, he is called Ricardus de Tonebruge, from his seat at Tonebruge (now Tunbridge) in Kent, which town and castle he obtained from the archbishop of Canterbury in lieu of the castle of Brion, at which time he enjoyed thirty-eight lordships in Surrey, thirty-five in Essex, three in Cambridgeshire, with some others in Wilts and Devon, and ninety-five in Suffolk, amongst those was Clare, whence he was occasionally styled Richard de Clare, and that place in a few years afterwards becoming the chief seat of the family, his descendants are said to have assumed thereupon the title of Earls of Clare. This great feudal lord m. Rohese, dau. of Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham, and had issue, Gilbert, his successor, Roger, Walter, Richard, Robert, a dau. m. to Ralph de Telgers, and a dau. mo. to Eudo Dapifer. Richard de Tonebruge, or de Clare, whose is said to have fallen in a skirmish with the Welsh, was s. by his eldest son, Gilbert de Tonebruge. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p. 118, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford, Earls of Gloucester]
1663582609. Rohese GIFFARD was born about 1036 in Longueville, Normandy, France. She died after 1133 in Clare, Suffolk, England. [Parents]
Ancestral File Number:
FSLM-H5
1663582610. Hugh I De Creil CLERMONT [Count Cleremont] was born 1030 in Clermont, Beauvais, Oise, France. He died 1101 in Clermont, Beauvais, Oise, France. Hugh married Margaret De MONTDIDIER [Countess Of Cle about 1080 in France. [Parents]
Ancestral File Number:
8XJT-7H
1663582611. Margaret De MONTDIDIER [Countess Of Cle was born 1045 in Montdidier, Somme, France. She died 1110 in Clermont, Beauvais, Oise, France. [Parents]
Name Suffix:
[Countess of Cle
Ancestral File Number:V9V7-3N
1663582624. Eudes Count Of Penthievre & BRITTANY was born about 999 in Penthievre, Morbihan, Bretagne, France. He died 7 Jan 1078/1079. Eudes married Unknown MISTRESS. [Parents]
GEOFFREY, DUKE OF BRITTANY, married Hawise, daughter of Richard I, DUKE OFNORMANDY, and died in 1008, leaving two sons, Alan and Eudon. During their mother's lifetime the two brothers seem to have been joint rulers of Brittany, but on her death, on 21 February 1034, dissensions broke out between them; peace was restored by a settlement under which Eudon received a territory corresponding roughly to the dioceses of Dol, St. Mialo, St. Brieuc and Tréguier, reduced in the hands of his successors to the two last-named dioceses, while Alan retained the rest of Brittany. After the death of Alan in 1040 Eudon seized the government of Brittany to the exclusion of his nephew Conan, who recovered it in 1057. Eudon died 7 January 1079. He married Orguen, whose parentage is unknown. [Complete Peerage X:779-81, (transcribed by Dave Utzinger)]
Note: In the chart on X:781, CP notes that it is unsure if Orguen was mother of Stephen, although CP mentions no other wife. AR does indicate that Stephen was son of Agnes, probably daughter of Alan Canhiart.
Note: According to the chart on CP:781, Geoffrey had two different sons named Alan, Count of Brittany, Lord of Richmond: Alan "The Red", dsp. 4 Aug 1089 and Alan "The Black", dsp. 1093. He also had possibly elder sons (Geoffrey, d. 24 Aug 1093, & Brian, Count of Brittany, held Cornwall, living 1069) and younger sons (William, Robert, & Richard).
1663582625. Unknown MISTRESS was born about 1000 in France.
1663582640. Pierre Seigneur De CONDE was born about 1030 in Conde, Hainault, Belgium. He died Dec. Pierre married Emma CRISPIN.
1663582641. Emma CRISPIN was born about 1030 in Tillieres, Anjou, France. She died Dec. [Parents]
1663582644. Ralph Sire De QUESNAY was born 1044 in La Quesnay, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, France. He died 1086 in Rudham, Norfolkshire, England and was buried in Fought In The Battle Of Hastings. Ralph married Maud De WATEVILLE about 1063 in England.
1663582645. Maud De WATEVILLE was born 1048 in West Hoathley, Sussex, England. She died. [Parents]
1663582648. Ranulph Vicomte Of BESSIN (Count Of Bessin & Bayeux) was born 1017 in Bayeux, Normandy, France. He died. Ranulph married Alix De NORMANDY in France.
Ranulph about 1017 Bayeux, Calvados, Normandy, France. He about 1017 Bayeux, Calvados, Normandy, France. [Parents]
Fought in the Battle of Val-es-Dunes 1047
Fought in the Battle of Val-es-Dunes 1047
1663582649. Alix De NORMANDY was born about 1021 in Normandy, France. She died. [Parents]
Illegitimate daughter by unknown mistress.
1663582650. Richard Le Goz Viscount D' AVRANCHES was born about 1014 in Avranches, Normandy, France. He died after 1084. Richard married Emma De CONTEVILLE. [Parents]
Crispin, M 1969 (pp. 79-80) is no doubt incorrect in showing Emma de Conteville as Richard's wife. Moriarty, 1985 (p. 11) says the marriage is probably unfounded.
1663582651. Emma De CONTEVILLE was born about 1029 in Conteville, Eure, Normandy, France. She died Dec in France. [Parents]
Ancestral File Number:
924T-7H Ancestral File Number:
924T-7H
1663582652. Thorold Of COVENTRY was born about 985 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England (Mercia). He died. Thorold married Mrs-Thorold Of COVENTRY.
Ancestral File Number:
FLHB-W8 Ancestral File Number:
FLHB-W8
1663582653. Mrs-Thorold Of COVENTRY was born about 985 in Mercia, England. She died.
Ancestral File Number:
FLHB-XF Ancestral File Number:
FLHB-XF
1663582654. William I MALET Sheriff York, Sire De Graville was born 1023 in Graville St Honorine, Normandy, France. He died 1071 in Yorkshire, England and was buried in Fought In Battle Of Hastings. William married Hesilia (Elise) CRISPIN. [Parents]
Note: Malet is a dimunitive of "Mal" meaning evil.The Peytons, Camden observes, have had a common progenitor with the Uffords, who became Earls of Suffolk, the founder of both being William Mallet, a Norman baron, who was sheriff of Yorkshire in the 3rd of William I, and obtained grants of sundry lordships and manors from the crown, amongst which were Sibton and Peyton Hall, which he possessed at the time of the survey. "Iselham," says the same author, "formerly belonged to the Bernards, which came to the family of the Peytons by marriage, which knightly family of Peyton flowed out of the same male stock whence the Uffords, Earls of Suffolk, descended; albeit they assumed the surname of Peyton, according to the use of that age, from their manor of Peyton Hall, in Boxford, in the county of Suffolk." [John Burke & John Bernard Burke, Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland, and Scotland, Second Edition, Scott, Webster, & Geary, London, 1841, p. 408, Peyton, of Isleham]Note: Domesday states that Walter de Caen held Sibton (given to him by William's widow) and Swein of Essex held Peyton--Walter having been dead since 1071. ---------------------------------------------------William, according to some, was grandson of Lady Godiva & brother of Harold Godwyn's wife, while not necessarily entirely true, probably there was some relationship. ---------------------------------------------------According to Crispin and Macary, "William (Guillaume) Malet de Graville stands out as one of the most imposing figures at the Conquest. There can be no doubt about his presence there, which is subscribed to by William of Poitiers, Guy of Amiens, Orderic Vital, and all the historians of this epoch. So much has been placed on record concerning him that just a few facts of his life will be recited here. He was probably descended from Gerard, a Scandinavian prince and companion of Duke Rollo, which gave the name of the fief of Gerardville or Graville, near Havre. Robert, the eldest son, occurs in a document of about 990 in Normandy. On his mother's side William Malet was of Anglo-Saxon origin, for she was probably the daughter of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Godwa or Godgifu, the supposed sister of Thorold the Sheriff in the time of Edward the Confessor, and therefore the aunt of Edwin and Morcar, Earls of Northumberland. He was nearly killed in the battle of Hastings but was rescued by the sire de Montfort and William of Vieuxpont, and was appointed by William the Conqueror to take charge of the body of Harold, a statement that has been disputed. The consensus of opinion favors it, and it is most logical if William Malet's mother was as stated the sister of Algar II., 7th Earl of Mercia, who was the father of Alditha, wife of Harold. He accompanied King William at the reduction of Nottingham and York in 1068, for which he was rewarded with the shreivalty of land in that county. Gilbert de Gand and Robert Fitz Richard were also commanders in this expedition. The following year he was besieged in the castle of York by Edgar, the Saxon prince, and was only saved from surrender by the timely arrival of the Conqueror. In the same year he was attacked by the Danes, who captured the city of York with great slaughter and took William Malet, his wife and children, prisoners, but their lives were spared, as was that of Gilbert de Gand, for the sake of their ransoms. There is evidence that he was slain in this year, but it is uncertain and the date of his death is unknown. An entry in Domesday that "William Malet was seized of this place (Cidestan, Co. Suffolk), where he proceeded on the King's service where he died," would indicate that his death occurred during the compilation of that book. He was witness to a charter of King William to the church of St. Martin-le-Grand, in London, and is there styled "princeps," which title, however, was honorary and not hereditary, having ceased with his death." ------------------------------------------William Malet, or Guillaume, as he may have been called, "Sire de Graville", came from Graville Sainte Honorine between Le Havre and Harfleur, in what is today the French province of Normandy. He is said to have had a Norman father and a Saxon (read English) mother, and had some sort of association with King Harold of England before the conquest. William, through his Saxon mother, may actually have been related to King Harold, and also to the well known Lady Godiva. It is also possible that William and Harold were both God fathers of Duke William of Normandy's daughter, Abela.The Malet Castle at Graville Sainte Honorine had an important strategic location, at the mouth of the Seine. It has now fallen into the sea, though some remnants of it may still be visible. A large section of wall with large iron rings attached was still there just over 100 years ago. The Abbey church, in which some of the Malets are buried, is now in the town of Le Havre. Though William Malet had connections to both sides in the conflict to come, his main allegiance was to Duke William of Normandy.William fought with distinction at Hastings, as the following Excerpt from Wace's "Roman de Rou" attests:
William whom they call Mallet,
Boldly throws himself among them;
With his flashing sword
Against the English he makes furious onset;
But his shield they clove,
And his horse beneath him killed,
And himself they would have slain,
When came the Sire de Montfort
And Lord William de Vez-Pont
With the great force which they had,
Him they bravely rescued.
There many of their men they lost;
Mallet they remounted on the field
On a fresh war-horse.
When the battle was over, Duke William entrusted William Malet to attend to the burial of the dead English king. The body was buried under a heap of stones on top of a cliff at Hastings overlooking the shore that Harold had so bravely defended. William placed a stone on the grave with the epitaph:
"By command of the Duke, you rest here a King, O Harold, that you may be guardian still of the shore and sea".This burial of Harold was only temporary and the body was later re-buried at Harold's Abbey at Waltham.William and his brother Durand held lands in Lincolnshire, England, during the reign of Edward the Confessor, and through the reign of Harold right up to the conquest, in addition to those in Normandy. These Lincolnshire holdings, all in the Danelaw, probably came from William and Durand's mother. After the conquest William's English holdings were greatly increased, again, principally in the Danelaw, as English lands were taken from their Saxon owners and handed over to Norman Barons. It is likely that Duke William conferred these estates on William, partly because of his loyalty and skill in battle, but also because of his prior connections with his Danish "cousins" there. Perhaps the Duke felt that William was the best man to bring these proud, warlike and independent settlers under the control of their new King.William was dead at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, but the holdings at that time of his son Robert, and of his wife, give a good indication of the extent of his estates. He held large parts of what are today Suffolk and Norfolk, with smaller amounts of land in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Eye, in Suffolk appears to have been William's stronghold. Here he built a Motte and Bailey castle, after the Norman fashion. Nothing remains of the Norman fortifications, but the outline of the baileys and "Castle Mound", are still evident. There is even a slight indication of where the Market, founded by William Malet under Royal License would have been held.William married Hesilia Crispin, by whom he had two sons, Robert and Gilbert, and one daughter, Beatrice. Robert and possibly Gilbert, along with their uncle Durand, accompanied their father at the battle of Hastings. The arms shown at the top of the page, likely carried by the Malets at Hastings, were used by many generations of the Malet family, both in England and in France, and can be seen on the Bayeux tapestry.William was made Sheriff of York and granted considerable lands in Yorkshire following the building of the first Norman castle there (the mound now supports 'Clifford's Tower') in 1068. He and his fellow captains, Robert Fitz-Richard and William of Ghent, with 500 picked knights had to fight off a local revolt, headed by Edgar the Atheling; this in or shortly after January 1069. Robert Fitz-Richard and many of his men were killed and it was only by the timely arrival of King William that the City was saved. The natives remained restless and had another, token go, as soon as King William left but were quickly put down. The troops were strengthened and another castle built on the other side of the river from the original but, notwithstanding, in September 1069, William, his wife and two of his children were captured by a combined force of Danes and English under Sweyn of Denmark supported by Earls Waltheof and Gospatric and the Northumbrians, when York fell to them after a terrible fight. This led to King William ordering the burning and killing of everything in the north and Domesday, even 16 years later, records most of northern England as still being waste and uninhabited.William, his wife and two children must have been released some time later and William retained most of his lands apart from those in Yorkshire, which will have come with the office of Sheriff, which had been taken from him. At some point the King awarded William the appellation of "Princep", and in the Chart granted by the King to the church of St. Martin le Grand, his signature appears as "Wilielmus Malet Princep". In the context of the times, Princep would likely have been interpreted as "leader, or chief". William is believed to have died fighting "Hereward the Wake" in the Fens near Ely Cathedral, which lies between South Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk (and in the middle of the Malet holdings), in 1071. The Domesday book records that "...He went into the marsh", and that "...he went on the King's service, where he died".William is generally accepted to be the progenitor of many of the various branches of the Malet family (those that can trace their lines back that far), both in England and in France. The descendants of Durand continued to hold lands in Lincolnshire, and are recorded in Irby on Humber up to the 16th century. -----------------------------------------
NORMAN SHERIFFSBy 1066, when William the Conqueror seized power, he replaced all of the existing sheriffs with his own loyal comrades in arms. When William conveyed the offices of sheriff to his Normans, he also bestowed to them the title "Vicomte," which added nobility to their positions. He allowed Vicomte sheriffs to build castles, a powerful symbol of privilege and a far greater honor than had ever been granted to prior Anglo-Saxon sheriffs. The castles were a sign of aggressive force. This fortification symbolism helped identify William as the incomparable authority in the newly conquered land.The most famous William the Conqueror sheriff was a man named William Malet, a ferocious warrior. During the Battle of Hasting his horse was killed from under him. Mounting a fresh horse, he continued leading the charge, killing the enemy along the way, to a Norman victory. William continued to use Malet to crush insurgent forces within his reign.. . . As a reward, William named Malet the sheriff of Yorkshire.King William sought aggressive types for the office of sheriff whose ambitions were consistent with his. Those willing to squeeze the peasants to their maximum were the best qualified in William's eyes. He instituted the practice of selling the office to the highest bidder. This brought forth evil men willing to pay exorbitant prices for the office and then willing to do whatever it took to recoup their investment. . . No one spoke out for the peasantry because their only representative to the king was the very sheriffs embezzling them. The most notorious was Picot, Sheriff of Cambridgeshire. . . . Monks describe him as:a hungry lion, a prowling wolf, a crafty fox, a filthy swine, a dog without shame, who stuffed his belly like an insatiable beast as though the whole country were a single corpse.If events reduced production within the shires and thereby reduced the prosperity of King William, the sheriff was then forced to press the peasants even more to make up for the deficiency. In 1083, William levied the highest tax assessment of his reign to make up for the previous year's famine and low production. . . . To enhance their income, sheriffs commonly pillaged Church properties. . . .The only coin in circulation in twelfth century England was the silver penny. It was the responsibility of the sheriff to police the silver content in the coinage. If the sheriff failed to see that the tender did not meet quality assurance in the amount of silver content versus the alloy percentage, he was held personally liable for the shortage. Because this burden was placed on the sheriffs in the area that effected them the most, their pocketbooks. . . .Enforcement of the matter was particularly unkind under the reign of King Henry II to punish offenders that circulated "bastard" coins. The first offense routinely resulted in the severing of a hand or castration. . . .The coming of King John in 1199 brought about one of the most stirring periods in the history of the medieval sheriff. . . . As King John waged war against the Welsh, the French, and the Irish, he placed the emphasis upon the sheriffs to finance his wars. . . . Because of the sheriff's authority and ability to raise funds, the 13th century saw the sheriff as the most powerful administrative force in medieval England. . . .King John personally knew every one of the 100 or so sheriffs that he appointed between 1199 and 1216. Some were his intimate friends and most trusted advisors. In contrast to the prior practice of King Richard, he appointed only two members of the Church to the post. He instead chose to select intense, secular men, with strong military backgrounds. . . . His deliberate selection of men of harsh demeanor . . . was considered by people of his time as a substantive answer for the difficult issues of the day . . . tough men for tough times. . . .
1663582655. Hesilia (Elise) CRISPIN was born about 1025 in Tillieres, Anjou, France. She died after 1086. [Parents]
1663583328. Humphrey DE VIEILLES died 28 Sep 1044. He married Aubreye DE HAYE. [Parents]
1663583329. Aubreye DE HAYE died 20 Sep 1045.
1663584256. Geoffrey FEROLE "Count Of Gastinoi" married Ermengard D'ANJOU. [Parents]
1663584257. Ermengard D'ANJOU died 18 Mar 1076 in Fleury-sur-Ouche, France. [Parents]
1663584262. William (Geoffrey) VI is printed as #831792136.
1663584263. Hildegard is printed as #831792137.
1663584272. William III "Great Duke Of Aquitaine" died 31 Jan 1030 in Abbey Of St Cyprian, France. He married Agnes DE MACON. [Parents]
1663584273. Agnes DE MACON "Of Burgundy" died 10 Nov 1068. [Parents]
1663584274. Duke Robert CAPET I Of Burgundy died 21 Mar 1076 in Fleury-sur-Ouche, France. He married Ermengard D'ANJOU. [Parents]
1663584275. Ermengard D'ANJOU is printed as #1663584257.
1663584276. Pons "Countess Of Toulouse" married Almodis DE LA MARCHE. [Parents]
1663584277. Almodis DE LA MARCHE died 16 Oct 1071. [Parents]
1663584280. Hugh DE CHASTELLERAULT married Gerberga DE ROCHEFOUCAULD.
1663584281. Gerberga DE ROCHEFOUCAULD.
1663584282. Aimery IV Viscount De THOUARS married Aurengarde DE MAULEON.
BIOGRAPHY: Companion of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.
1663584283. Aurengarde DE MAULEON.
