When The Elder was about 14 years of age he went to live with his father in Normandy, France and was a page in training as Knight as the custom was. Four years later when he was 18 he was a seasoned knight. In 1066 he accompanied his father to Hastings and helped take England. Then about 1068 his father made him Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

William Peverel the Elder was said to have had three wives and a number of concubines and was also said to have had two sons named William. The first William died at a very young age. When the second son was born he was named William and was known as 'The Younger'.

THE HONOUR OF PEVEREL: The Conqueror gave his son, Guillaume Peuerel the Elder, 100 lordships in Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire; 14 in Derbyshire and 20 in other places. This was 'The Honour of Peverel'.

The Conqueror built Peveril Castle and his son The elder built the curtain around it. It is located in Derbyshire.

The Elder founded Lenton Priory and St. James Abbey near nottingham.

PEVEREL ARMS: DEXTER BEND
Author: Hallie June Peavey Aragon, Jan. 15, 2005
(edited slightly by Genealogist Dale A. Updike)

The Heraldic use of "true son" is very important - it means "legitimate son". It is an old Heraldic term used to separate the two forms of natural sons. Bastard son was termed as "bastard or sinister" son; non-illegitimate son being called "true" son. Both are natural sons as they both are from the same seed.

This got to be a big deal in heraldry. They allowed the use of a dexter bend ONLY on the arms of a non-illegitimate son. Users of a DEXTER BEND are said to be from "TRUE" SON (meaning non-illegitimate). A bastard son was REQUIRED to use the sinister bend.

Both were NATURAL SONS. To separate them accurately they adopted two terms: TRUE for legitimate, and BASTARD for illegitimate. This is a very important heraldic law. Major lines had to be labeled. The KINGSHIP LINE of William the Conqueror with his 2nd wife Matilda of Flanders, and the NAME BEARING LINE of 1st wife Ingelrica is no exception.

The secret marriage in England becomes glaringly revealed as the Peverel coat of arms proudly displays that DEXTER BEND, MEANING TRUE SON, therefore the Peverel arms were extremely hated by William Peverel's half brothers, the sons of Matilda.

William the Conqueror himself was a bastard son. Other knights used to taunt him by shaking animal hides at him and screaming, "Bastard of the tanner's daughter!" That ridicule is why William the Conqueror insisted upon the secret marriage to Ingelrica, while having a standing proposal to Matilda of Flanders. Ingelrica's father was the richest man in England and William the Conqueror needed that connection. The Conqueror needed Matilda of Flanders' Father's connection to keep France unified.

Ingelric, Ingelrica and William the Conqueror actually negotiated the marriage, name bearing, and oldest son heir prior to the secret marriage. It was insisted upon by William the Conqueror because he said he did NOT want his firstborn to be ridiculed like he was. He gave William Peverel his name, heirship, and legitimacy, thereby giving him the DEXTER BEND on the Peverel arms.

This was to much for the jealous sons of Matilda to swallow. They hated that coat of arms that indicated that William Peverel was also a TRUE son and heir and had the right to bear the PEVEREL name. They were forbidden to bear the name their Father William the Conqueror had bestowed upon what he named "THE HONOUR OF PEVEREL". As long as William the Conqueror was alive William Peverel's half brothers could do nothing but seethe with jealousy and anger about the vast wealth held by "The Honour of Peverel".

They made their move after William died, unlawfully confiscated the holdings.....BUT were not content at all with just that - the Peverel arms had to be eradicated so they also attacked them. That was an attempt to cover up and eradicate the truth so their horrible acts were not so obvious. This taking of arms is unprecedented in Heraldry and is literally impossible and illegal to do. They wanted that dexter bend destroyed, along with the name Peverel that they themselves had been denied. Well, it didn't work because the defender cousin Fulk Fitz Guarrine-Warren fought until he got them back.

During the ban by the King, some Peverels changed the "v" for "p", substituting the pepper plant for the 3 golden crosses. They became forefathers of our famous rich cousins Peperel-Pepperill (John Davidson and Nelson Rockefeller).

Concerning Sir John Peverel's arms, we are certain that this line continually kept the banned arms from Ingelric and William the Conqueror, but couldn't use them. Some switched to Peperel, and some resumed the true arms and name when Fulk retrieved them. This was the case of the line to Sir John Peverel.

The Peverel name was almost made extinct during that ban, as was the wish of the jealous brothers. This act of theft made our Peverel blooded ancestors furious. Fulk Fitz Guarine-Warren refused to give up the fight until he righted the wrong. What an admirable blood line to say the least! No wonder Peaveys are so proud!

You can plainly see our glaring DEXTER BEND on Sir John's arms. You can see the incorporation of the gold crosses of Ingelrica in the chief. William the Conqueror's red rampant lion and the field of blue plus the name from "Peuerel", the "Fearless Kings" from Rollo. The gold on silver was allowed only to be used upon proof of direct descent from Kings of the Holy Land.