Flaald Fitz Flaald Seneschal de Dol en Bretagne1

M, #7561, b. circa 1030, d. between 1080 and 1106

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Flaald Fitz Flaald Seneschal de Dol en Bretagne was born circa 1030 in de Dol, Brittany, France*.1,3
  • Death*: He died between 1080 and 1106.2

Family:

  • Last Edited: 20 Sep 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p511.htm#i5101
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p511.htm#i5105
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_fitz_Flaad

Alan (?) Seneschal de Dol1

M, #7562, b. circa 1000

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Alan (?) Seneschal de Dol was born circa 1000 in Britanny, France*.1
  • Biography*: Dol-de-Bretagne is reputed to be the origin of the royal House of Stewart who became the monarchs of Scotland and later England and Ireland; a plaque in Dol commemorates that origin. The Stewart monarchs descend from the Seneschal of the Bishop of Dol and his son, Flaad Fitzalan, who arrived in Britain in the army of William the Conqueror. Flaad's grandson, Walter Fitzalan, was appointed the 1st Steward of Scotland by David I of Scotland. Malcolm IV of Scotland later confirmed the honour bestowed by David and made the office of Steward of Scotland hereditary in Walter's family. In the fourteenth century, Walter Stewart (so named for his family's hereditary possession of the office of High Steward of Scotland), a descendant of Walter Fitzalan, married Marjorie Bruce, daughter of King Robert I of Scotland. Their son became King Robert II, and their descendants the royal House of Stewart.

    Dol figured prominently in the formation and evolution of the Duchy of Brittany. Nominoe, the ruler of Brittany attempted to establish a Patriarch for the Breton church in a move to give it autonomy, and thereby strengthen his rule and further secure his independence from the Carolingian Empire. It took centuries for Rome to recognize the Archbishop of Dol. However after the formation of the Duchy of Brittany in 939, the Archbishop of Dol often wielded great political power and was even at one time Regent to a young Duke of Brittany. Dol Cathedral is a significant building in an eclectic mix of styles.

    In June 1173 Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester, laid siege to Dol-de-Bretagne and captured the settlement as part of the Revolt of 1173–1174 against Henry II of England. Henry II, supported by an army of 20,000 mercenaries retook Dol-de-Bretagne the same year.2

Family:

  • Last Edited: 20 Sep 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p511.htm#i5105
  2. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dol-de-Bretagne

Alexander Stewart 4th High Steward of Scotland1

M, #7563, b. 1214, d. 1283

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Alexander Stewart 4th High Steward of Scotland was born in 1214 in Scotland.1
  • Marriage*: He married Jean Macrory, daughter of James Macrory Lord of Bute, circa 1243 in Scotland.2
  • Death*: Alexander Stewart 4th High Steward of Scotland died in 1283 in Scotland.1
  • Biography*: He succeeded to the title of 4th High Steward of Scotland in 1241. He held the office of Regent of Scotland in 1255. He fought in the Battle of Largs in 1263, in command of the right wing.

    Alexander Stewart (1214–1283), also known as Alexander of Dundonald, was 4th hereditary High Steward of Scotland from his father's death in 1246.

    A son of Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland by his wife Bethóc, daughter of Gille Críst, Earl of Angus, Alexander is said to have accompanied Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254). In 1255 he was one of the councillors of King Alexander III, though under age.

    He was the principal commander under King Alexander III of Scotland at the Battle of Largs, on 2 October 1263, when the Scots defeated the Norwegians under Haakon IV. The Scots invaded and conquered the Isle of Man the following year, which was, with the whole of the Western Isles, then annexed to the Crown of Scotland.

    Marriage and children
    The identity of Alexander's wife is uncertain. Some secondary sources erroneously identify her as Jean, daughter of James, son of Angus, son of Somerled.

    James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland (c. 1243-1309)
    Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, Berwickshire (c. 1245-22 July 1298), described as the "second son" who married the Bonkill heiress, had seven sons and one daughter, and was killed in the Battle of Falkirk. Agnatic ancestor of British kings.

    Andrew Stewart (a.k.a. Andrew Steward) Esq. (c. 1245), third son of Alexander Stewart. Married the daughter of James Bethe. Father of Sir Alexander 'the fierce' Steward and direct ancestor of Oliver Cromwell. Great uncle of King Robert II.

    Elizabeth Stewart, (c. 1248, d. before 1288) Married Sir William Douglas the Hardy, Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed She was the mother of the Good Sir James Douglas.

    Hawise Stewart (c. 1262) Married the brother of the Lord of Liddesdale, Sir John de Soulis. Had female issue, Muriel de Soulis.

    Through their eldest son James they were great-grandparents of King Robert II, the first Stewart to be King of Scots, and thus ancestors of all subsequent Scottish monarchs and the later and current monarchs of Great Britain.

    Through their second son John, they were the direct ancestors in the male line of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and of the Stuart monarchs of Scotland and England from Darnley's son James VI and I onwards.1,3

Family: Jean Macrory b. c 1220

  • Last Edited: 27 Apr 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p466.htm#i4656
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p466.htm#i4656
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p466.htm#i4657
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stewart,_4th_High_Steward_of_Scotland.
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p514.htm#i5133
  5. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p514.htm#i5135

Jean Macrory1

F, #7564, b. circa 1220

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Alexander Stewart 4th High Steward of Scotland b. 1214, d. 1283

  • Last Edited: 3 Apr 2015

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p466.htm#i4656
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p466.htm#i4657
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p466.htm#i4656
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p466.htm#i4657
  4. [S217] Ronald Williams, The Lords of the Isles, page 127.
  5. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p514.htm#i5133
  6. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p514.htm#i5135

William d'Aubigny 3rd Earl of Arundel1

M, #7565, b. before 1180, d. 1 February 1221

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: William d'Aubigny 3rd Earl of Arundel was born before 1180 in England.1,3
  • Marriage*: He married Mabel (?) of Chester, daughter of Hugh of Kevelioc (?) 3rd Earl of Chester and Bertrada de Montfort, between 1196 and 1200 in England.4,3
  • Death*: William d'Aubigny 3rd Earl of Arundel died on 1 February 1221 in on his journey home from the 5th Crusade, Caneill, Italy*.3
  • Biography*: William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel, also called William de Albini IV,[1] (before 1180 – 1 February 1221) was an English nobleman, a favourite of King John, and a participant in the Fifth Crusade.

    Lineage
    William was son of William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel and Matilda de St Hilary, and grandson of Queen Adeliza of Leuven.

    A royal favourite
    William was a favourite of King John. He witnessed King John's concession of the kingdom to the Pope on 15 May 1213. On 14 June 1216 he joined Prince Louis (later Louis VIII of France) after King John abandoned Winchester. He returned to the allegiance of the King Henry III after the Royalist victory at Lincoln, on 14 July 1217.

    Death returning from the Fifth Crusade
    He joined in the Fifth Crusade (1217–1221), in 1218. He died on his journey home, in Caneill, Italy, near Rome, on 1 February 1221. News of his death reached England on 30 March 1221. He was brought home and buried at Wymondham Abbey.

    His title was held by his son William, until he died, childless, in 1224, when it was passed to William's youngest son Hugh.

    Marriage and issue
    After 1196 and before 1200 William married Mabel of Chester (born c. 1173), daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester, and Bertrade de Montfort. They were the parents of eight children.
    Avice de Aubigny (1196–1214), the wife of William Mowbray
    Maud d'Aubigny, (d.aft 1210), the wife of 1. Robert de Tateshal, 2. Gille Brigte, Earl of Strathearn
    Cicely d'Aubigny married Roger de Mahaut of Elford (d.1260)
    Colette d'Aubigny (d.aft 1233)
    William d'Aubigny, 4th Earl of Arundel (d. 1224); buried Wymondham Abbey
    Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel (d. 7 May 1243); buried Wymondham Abbey
    Isabel d'Aubigny; married John Fitzalan, Lord of Oswestry
    Nicole or Nichole d'Aubigny (d.abt 1240); married Roger de Somery, Baron Somery of Dudley Castle (died 26 August 1273), son of Ralph de Somery (died 1211).
    Lady Mabel d'Albini(1240-1330)married Robert de Tattershall.3

Family: Mabel (?) of Chester b. a 1171

  • Last Edited: 27 Dec 2020

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p462.htm#i4614
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p407.htm#i4064
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_d%27Aubigny,_3rd_Earl_of_Arundel.
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p462.htm#i4614
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10473.htm#i104723
  5. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p2498.htm#i24979

Mabel (?) of Chester1

F, #7566, b. after 1171

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: William d'Aubigny 3rd Earl of Arundel b. b 1180, d. 1 Feb 1221

  • Last Edited: 27 Dec 2020

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p462.htm#i4614
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p2349.htm#i23483
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p462.htm#i4614
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p2349.htm#i23483
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p462.htm#i4614
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10473.htm#i104723
  5. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_d%27Aubigny,_3rd_Earl_of_Arundel.
  6. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p2498.htm#i24979

William d'Aubigny 2nd Earl of Arundel1

M, #7567, b. before 1150, d. 24 December 1193

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Marriage*: William d'Aubigny 2nd Earl of Arundel married Matilda de Hilary du Harcouet.1
  • Birth*: William d'Aubigny 2nd Earl of Arundel was born before 1150 in England.1
  • Death*: He died on 24 December 1193 in England.2
  • Burial*: He was buried after 24 December 1193 in Wymondham Priory, Wymondham, Norfolk, England.2
  • Biography*: He succeeded to the title of Earl of Sussex in 1176/77. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Earl of Arundel [E., c. 1138] on 27 June 1190. He held the office of Custos Rotulorum of Windsor Castle in 1191. He was one of the receivers for the money raised for the King's raised in 1194.

    William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel (b. before 1150 – 24 December 1193), also called William de Albini III, was the son of William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel and Adeliza of Louvain, widow of Henry I of England.

    He married Matilda St Hilary de Harcouet and among their children was William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel. The Duke of Norfolk's Archives Assistant Librarian Sara Rodger wrote that William "did have three sons, William who succeeded him as Earl in 1196, and Alan and Geoffrey, of whom we know nothing." His daughter, Matilda d'Aubigny, married William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey. In 1176/7 he was created Earl of Sussex and in 1190 he inherited the earldom of Arundel. He is buried at Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk, England.2,3
  • Last Edited: 16 Nov 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p407.htm#i4064
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10473.htm#i104723
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_d%27Aubigny,_2nd_Earl_of_Arundel.

Matilda de Hilary du Harcouet1

F, #7568

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: William d'Aubigny 2nd Earl of Arundel b. b 1150, d. 24 Dec 1193

  • Last Edited: 7 Oct 2012

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p407.htm#i4064

William d'Aubigny 1st Earl of Arundel1

M, #7569, b. circa 1120, d. 12 October 1176

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: William d'Aubigny 1st Earl of Arundel was born circa 1120 in England.1
  • Marriage*: He married Adeliza de Louvain, daughter of Godefroi I de Louvain Duc de Basse-Lorraine and Ida de Namur Comtesse de Namur, in 1138.3
  • Death*: William d'Aubigny 1st Earl of Arundel died on 12 October 1176 in Waverly Abbey, Surrey, England.2
  • Burial*: He was buried after 12 October 1176 in Wymondham Priory, Wymondham, Norfolk, England.2
  • Biography*: He was created 1st Earl of Arundel [England] circa 1138. He held the office of Lord of the Manor of Buckenham, Norfolk in 1139. In 1139 he gave shelter to the Empress Maud at Arundel Castle, but ever after adhered to King Stephen. In 1153 he was influential in arranging the treaty where King Stephen retained the crown for life, but with Henry II as heir. In 1163/64 he was one of the embassy to Rome. In 1168 he was one of the embassy to Saxony. He was commander of the Royal army in Normandy, against the King's rebellious sons, where he distinguished himself with "swiftness and velocity" in August 1173. He fought in the battle near Bury St. Edmunds on 29 September 1173, where he assisted in the defeat of the Earl of Leicester who had, with his Flemings, invaded Suffolk. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.

    William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel (c. 1109[citation needed] – 12 October 1176), also known as William d'Albini, William de Albini and William de Albini II, was an English nobleman. He was the son of William d'Aubigny "Pincerna" of Old Buckenham Castle in Norfolk, and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod of Norfolk.

    Marriage and issue
    The younger William was an important member of Henry I of England's household. After Henry's death, William married his widow, Queen Adeliza in 1138. William and Adeliza were parents to the following children:
    William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel (d. 24 December 1193)
    Reynor d'Aubigny
    Henry d'Aubigny
    Geoffrey d'Aubigny
    Alice d'Aubigny (d. 11 September 1188)
    Olivia d'Aubigny
    Agatha d'Aubigny

    Titles
    He was loyal to Stephen of England, who made him first Earl of Lincoln and then Earl of Arundel (more precisely, Earl of Sussex).

    In 1143, as Earl of Lincoln, he made two charters confirming a donation of land around Arundel in Sussex to the abbey of Affligem in Brabant (representing his wife Adeliza of Louvain), with William's brother, Olivier, present.

    Mediator
    He fought loyally for King Stephen, but in 1153 helped arrange the truce between Stephen and Henry Plantagenet, known as the Treaty of Wallingford, which brought an end to The Anarchy.

    When the latter ascended the throne as Henry II, he confirmed William's earldom and gave him direct possession of Arundel Castle (instead of the possession in right of his wife he had previously had). She had died in 1151. He remained loyal to the king during the 1173 revolt of Henry the Young King, and helped defeat the rebellion.
    He was the builder of Castle Rising Castle at Castle Rising, Norfolk.2,4

Family: Adeliza de Louvain b. c 1105

  • Last Edited: 13 Nov 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10473.htm#i104723
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10225.htm#i102250
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10473.htm#i104723
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10225.htm#i102250
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_d%27Aubigny,_1st_Earl_of_Arundel.

Adeliza de Louvain1

F, #7570, b. circa 1105

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Married Name: Her married name was d'Aubigny.1
  • Birth*: Adeliza de Louvain was born circa 1105 in Louvain, Belgium*.2
  • Marriage*: She married William d'Aubigny 1st Earl of Arundel, son of Guillaume d'Aubigny and Maud le Bigod, in 1138.3
  • Biography*: She married, firstly, Henry I 'Beauclerc', King of England, son of William I 'the Conqueror', King of England and Matilda de Flandre, on 29 January 1121 at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England. She married, secondly, William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel, son of Guillaume d'Aubigny and Maud le Bigod, in 1138. She was also reported to have been married on 2 February 1121 at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England.
    From 30 January 1121, her married name became Queen Consort Adeliza of England. As a result of her marriage, Adeliza de Louvain was styled as Queen Dowager of England on 1 December 1135. She was a nun in 1150 at Affligem Abbey, Afflingham, Flanders, Belgium.2
    She has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.
    Adeliza of Louvain d. 1151, second queen of Henry I, was daughter of Godfrey (Barbatus) of Louvain, duke of Brabant or Lower Lotharingia, descended in the male line from Charles the Great. The date of her birth is not known, but she is described as puella in 1120. It was partly the report of her singular beauty (on which all the chroniclers are agreed), and partly ob spem prolis adipiscendæ (Gervase, i. 92, Rolls Ser.), that Henry, then in his fiftieth year (and a widower since May 1118), sought her hand in the above year. The contract of marriage was signed 16 April 1120; but, owing to the delay in the bride's arrival, the marriage itself did not take place till 24 Jan. 1120-1, the royal pair being crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury six days later. It was on this occasion that Henry of Huntingdon (p. 243, Rolls Ser.) composed, in praise of her beauty, the elegiacs beginning:Anglorum regina, tuos, Adeliza, decoresIpsa referre parans musa stupore riget.
    Of a gentle and retiring disposition she took no part in politics, but devoted herself to soothing and pacifying the disappointed and sullen king. She also interested herself greatly in the literary movement of the day, taking under her special patronage Geoffroi Gaimar, Philip du Than, the author of the Voyage de St. Brandan, and David the Trouveur. On the death of Henry (1 Dec. 1135) she disappears from view; but it is probable that she retired to the castle of Arundel which, with its honour, had been left to her in dower for life. We find her residing there in 1139, when the empress landed in the neighbourhood, and was received into the castle ab Adeliza quondam regis Henrici regina tunc autem amica (sic) vel uxore W. Comitis de Arundell (Gervase, ed. Stubbs, i. 110). The date of her marriage to William de Albini [see Albini, William de, d. 1176] is unknown; but as she left by him seven children, it cannot have been long after Henry's death. Her only recorded acts after 1139 are her foundation of the small priories of Pyneham and of the Causeway (De Calceto), and her benefactions to that of Boxgrove, all in Sussex, with her gifts to Henry's abbey of Reading and to the cathedral church of Chichester. To the latter she presented the prebend of West Dean in the year 1150, after which date there are no further traces of her. It is stated by Sandford that she was certainly buried at Reading; but she has since been proved to have left her husband and retired to the abbey of Affligam near Alost, in Flanders, which had been founded by her father and uncle, and to which her brother Henry had withdrawn in 1149. Here she died on 24 March 1151 (Annals of Margam), and was buried: Affligenam delata vivendi finem facit ix. kal. Aprilis et sepulta est e regione horologii nostri (Sanderus, Chorographia Sacra Brabantiæ). While lady of Arundel she had sub-enfeoffed her brother Joceline (the Castellan) in the lordship of Petworth on the occasion of his marriage with the heiress of the Percies, by whom he was ancestor of the earls of Northumberland.4

Family: William d'Aubigny 1st Earl of Arundel b. c 1120, d. 12 Oct 1176

  • Last Edited: 1 Apr 2015

Guillaume d'Aubigny1

M, #7571, b. circa 1100, d. 1139

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

Please be patient until the page fully loads.

  • Birth*: Guillaume d'Aubigny was born circa 1100 in France.3
  • Marriage*: He married Maud le Bigod, daughter of Roger le Bigod and Alice de Tosny, before 1139.1
  • Death*: Guillaume d'Aubigny died in 1139.2
  • Biography*: He held the office of Lord of the Manor of Buckenham, Norfolk. He migrated from the Côtentin to England.2

Family: Maud le Bigod

  • Last Edited: 13 Nov 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10225.htm#i102250
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p2349.htm#i23481
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10225.htm#i102250
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p2349.htm#i23481

Maud le Bigod1

F, #7572

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Guillaume d'Aubigny b. c 1100, d. 1139

  • Last Edited: 13 Nov 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10225.htm#i102250
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p11648.htm#i116471

Roger d'Aubigny1

M, #7573, b. before 1139

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Roger d'Aubigny was born before 1139 in France.1

Family:

  • Last Edited: 13 Nov 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p2349.htm#i23481
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p46842.htm#i468419

Guillaume d'Aubigny1

M, #7574, b. before 1010, d. circa 1086

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Last Edited: 13 Nov 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p46842.htm#i468419
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p46842.htm#i468419
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p46696.htm#i466952
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p46696.htm#i466952

Adeliza Fitzosulf le Freyne du Plessis1

F, #7575, b. circa 1120

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Married Name: Her married name was d'Aubigny.1
  • Birth*: Adeliza Fitzosulf le Freyne du Plessis was born circa 1120.1
  • Marriage*: She married Guillaume d'Aubigny before 1139.1

Family: Guillaume d'Aubigny b. b 1010, d. c 1086

  • Last Edited: 13 Nov 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p46842.htm#i468419

William II de Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey1

M, #7576, b. circa 1080, d. circa 11 May 1138

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: William II de Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey was born circa 1080 in England.1,3
  • Marriage*: He married Elizabeth de Vermandois, daughter of Hugh de Crepi Comte de Vermandois et de Valois and Aelis de Vermandois Comtesse de Vermandois, after 5 June 1118.4
  • Death*: William II de Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey died circa 11 May 1138.2
  • Biography*: William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (died 11 May 1138) was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He was more often referred to as Earl Warenne or Earl of Warenne than as Earl of Surrey.

    Life
    His father, the 1st Earl, was one of the Conqueror's most trusted and most rewarded barons who, at his death in 1088, was the 3rd or 4th richest magnate in England. In 1088 William II inherited his father's lands in England and his Norman estates including the castles of Mortemer and Bellencombre in Haute-Normandy. But William II was not as disposed to serve the king as his father was. In January 1091, William assisted Hugh of Grantmesnil (d.1094) in his defense of Courcy against the forces of Robert de Belleme and Duke Robert of Normandy. In 1093 he attempted to marry Matilda (or Edith), daughter of king Malcolm III of Scotland. She instead married Henry I of England, and this may have been the cause of William's great dislike of Henry I, which motivated him in the following years.

    When Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy invaded England 1101 William joined him. But when Curthose promptly surrendered to Henry I, William lost his English lands and titles and was exiled to Normandy. There he complained to Curthose that he had expended great effort on the duke's behalf and in return lost all of his English possessions. Curthose's return to England in 1103 was apparently made to convince his brother, the king, to restore William's earldom. This was successful, though Curthose had to give up his 3000 mark annual pension he had received after the 1101 invasion, after which William's lands and titles were restored to him.

    To further insure William's loyalty Henry considered marrying him to one of his many illegitimate daughters. Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury forbade the marriage based on the couple being related in the 4th generation on one side, and in the 6th generation on the other. William was one of the commanders on Henry's side (against Robert Curthose) at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. Afterwards, with his loyalty thus proven, he became more prominent in Henry's court.

    In 1110, Curthose's son William Clito escaped along with Helias of Saint-Saens, and afterwards Warenne received the forfeited Saint-Saens lands, which were very near his own in upper Normandy. In this way king Henry further assured his loyalty, for the successful return of Clito would mean at the very least Warenne's loss of this new territory. He fought for Henry I at the Battle of Bremule in 1119. William, the second Earl of Surrey was present at Henry's deathbed in 1135. After the king's death disturbances broke out in Normandy and William was sent to guard Rouen and the Pays de Caux.

    William's death is recorded as 11-May-1138 in the register of Lewes Priory and he was buried at his father's feet at the Chapter house there. His wife, the countess Elizabeth, survived him, dying before July 1147.

    Family
    In 1118 William finally acquired the royal-blooded bride he desired when he married Elizabeth de Vermandois. She was a daughter of count Hugh of Vermandois, a granddaughter of Henry I, King of France, and was the widow of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester.

    By Elizabeth his wife he had three sons and two daughters:
    William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey
    Reginald de Warenne, who inherited his father's property in upper Normandy, including the castles of Bellencombre and Mortemer. He married Adeline or Alice, daughter of William, lord of Wormgay in Norfolk, by whom he had a son William (founder of the priory of Wormegay), whose daughter and sole heir, Beatrice married first Doun, lord Bardolf, and secondly Hubert de Burgh. Reginald was one of the persecutors of Archbishop Thomas in 1170.
    Ralph de Warenne
    Gundred de Warenne who married first Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick and second William, lord of Kendal, and is most remembered for expelling king Stephen's garrison from Warwick Castle.
    Ada de Warenne, who married Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, the mother of two Scottish kings, she made many grants to the priory of Lewes.2,3

Family: Elizabeth de Vermandois b. c 1085, d. 17 Feb 1131

  • Last Edited: 22 Nov 2014

Elizabeth de Vermandois1

F, #7577, b. circa 1085, d. 17 February 1131

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Married Name: Her married name was de Warenne.1,3
  • Birth*: Elizabeth de Vermandois was born circa 1085 in France.4,5
  • Marriage*: She married Robert de Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester, son of Roger de Beaumont Seigneur of Beaumont-le-Roger and Adeline (?) of Meulan, circa 1104 in England.6
  • Marriage*: Elizabeth de Vermandois married William II de Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey, son of William I de Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey and Gundreda (?), after 5 June 1118.7
  • Death*: Elizabeth de Vermandois died on 17 February 1131.2
  • Biography*: She was also known as Isabel de Vermandois. She was also known as Isabel de Crépi. From 1096, her married name became de Beaumont. Her married name became de Warenne.

    Elizabeth of Vermandois, or Elisabeth or Isabel de Vermandois (c.?1085 – c. 1148), was the third daughter of Hugh Magnus and Adelaide of Vermandois, and as such represented both the Capetian line of her paternal grandfather Henry I of France, and the Carolingian ancestry of her maternal grandfather Herbert IV of Vermandois. As the wife of two Anglo-Norman magnates, Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, she is the ancestress of hundreds of well-known families down to the present time.

    Countess of Leicester
    In 1096, Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan reputed to be "the wisest man in his time between London and Jerusalem" insisted, in deference to the laws of the church, on marrying a very young Elizabeth, he being over fifty at the time. In early 1096 Bishop Ivo, on hearing of the proposed marriage, wrote a letter banning the marriage and preventing its celebration on the grounds the two were related within prohibited degrees. In April of that year Elizabeth's father count Hugh left on Crusade, his last act being to see his daughter married to count Robert. The crusader was able to convince Pope Urban to issue a dispensation for the marriage which then went forward.

    Her husband was a nobleman of some significance in France, having inherited lands from his maternal uncle Henry, Count of Meulan, and had fought at the Battle of Hastings as a known companion of William the Conqueror. He was rewarded with ninety manors in the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. The count of Meulan was one of Henry I's "four wise counsellors and was one of the king's commanders at the Battle of Tinchebray 28 September 1106. In 1107 Robert became Earl of Leicester.

    Countess of Surrey
    Elizabeth, Countess of Meulan apparently tired of her aging husband at some point during the marriage. The historian James Planché says (1874) that the Countess was seduced by or fell in love with a younger nobleman, William de Warenne for whom she left her husband Robert. William II de Warenne had sought a royal bride in 1093 in a failed attempt to wed Matilda of Scotland also known and Edith, who later married Henry I, but obtained a bride of royal blood when he married Elizabeth in 1118, at the death of Earl Robert. Elizabeth survived her second husband William to later die either in 1147–1148.

    Family
    By her first husband, Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, (d 5 June 1118), Elizabeth had three sons (including twin elder sons) and five or six daughters:
    Emma de Beaumont (born 1102), was betrothed as an infant to Aumari, nephew of William, Count of Évreux, but the marriage never took place. She probably died young, or entered a convent.
    Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (born 1104) married and left issue.
    Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (born 1104) married and left issue.
    Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born c. 1106) lost his earldom, left issue.
    Adeline de Beaumont (b ca 1107), married 1stly, Hugh IV, 4th Lord of Montfort-sur-Risle, and 2ndly Richard de Granville of Bideford (d. 1147).
    Aubree (or Alberee) de Beaumont (b ca 1109), married Hugh II of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais.
    Maud de Beaumont (b ca 1111), married Willi[am Lovel.
    Isabel de Beaumont (b Aft. 1102), a mistress of King Henry I of England. She married 1stly Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke[14] and 2ndly Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland.

    By her second husband, William de Warenne, Elizabeth had three sons and two daughters:
    William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey.
    Ralph de Warenne.
    Reginald de Warenne, who inherited his father's property in upper Normandy, including the castles of Bellencombre and Mortemer He married Adeline, daughter of William, lord of Wormegay in Norfolk, by whom he had a son William (founder of the priory of Wormegay),
    Gundrada de Warenne, (Gundred) who married 1stly Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick and had issue, and 2ndly William de Lancaster and had issue.
    Ada de Warenne (d. ca. 1178), who married Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, younger son of King David I of Scotland and had issue. She is known as the Queen mother of Scotland for her two sons Malcolm IV, King of Scotland and William I 'the Lion', King of Scotland as well as being the ancestor of numerous Scottish kings.2,8

Family 1: Robert de Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester b. bt 1040 - 1050, d. 5 Jun 1118

Family 2: William II de Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey b. c 1080, d. c 11 May 1138

  • Last Edited: 18 Feb 2015

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p10293.htm#i102929
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p10466.htm#i104653
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p10778.htm
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p10293.htm#i102929
    http://thepeerage.com/p10466.htm#i104653
  5. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_I,_Count_of_Vermandois.
  6. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10681.htm#i106807
  7. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p10778.htm
    http://thepeerage.com/p17627.htm#i176268
  8. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_of_Vermandois,_Countess_of_Leicester.
  9. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Beaumont,_3rd_Earl_of_Leicester.
  10. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_de_Warenne

William I de Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey1

M, #7578, b. circa 1030, d. 24 June 1088

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: William I de Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey was born circa 1030 in Normandy, France*.1,3
  • Marriage*: He married Gundreda (?) before 1070.1,3
  • Death*: William I de Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey died on 24 June 1088 in England.2
  • Biography*: William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes († 1088), was a Norman nobleman who was created Earl of Surrey under William II 'Rufus'. He was one of the few who was documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At the Domesday Survey he held extensive lands in thirteen counties including the Rape of Lewes in Sussex (now East Sussex).

    Early career
    William was a younger son of Ranulf I de Warenne and his 1st wife Beatrice (whose mother was probably a sister of duchess Gunnor, wife of duke Richard I). William was from Varenne, Seine Maritime, now in the canton of Bellencombre. At the beginning of Duke William’s reign, Ranulf II was not a major landholder and, as a second son, William de Warenne did not stand to inherit the family’s small estates. During the rebellions of 1052-1054, the young William de Warenne proved himself a loyal adherent to the Duke and played a significant part in the Battle of Mortemer for which he was rewarded with lands confiscated from his uncle, Roger of Mortemer, including the Castle of Mortimer and most of the surrounding lands. At about the same time he acquired lands at Bellencombre including the castle which became the center of William de Warenne’s holdings in Normandy

    Conquest of England
    William was among the Norman barons summoned to a council by Duke William when the decision was made to oppose king Harold II's accession to the throne of England. He fought at the Battle of Hastings and was well rewarded with numerous holdings. The Domesday book records his lands stretched over thirteen counties and included the important Rape of Sussex, several manors in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, the significant manor of Conisbrough in Yorkshire and Castle Acre in Norfolk, which became his caput (see below). He is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He fought against rebels at the Isle of Ely in 1071 where he showed a special desire to hunt down Hereward the Wake who had killed his brother-in-law Frederick the year before. Hereward is supposed to have unhorsed him with an arrow shot.

    Later career
    Sometime between 1078 and 1082, William and his wife Gundred traveled to Rome visiting monasteries along the way. In Burgundy they were unable to go any further due to a war between Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII. They visited Cluny Abbey and were impressed with the monks and their dedication. William and Gundred decided to found a Cluniac priory on their own lands in England. William restored buildings for an abbey. They sent to Hugh the abbot of Cluny for monks to come to England at their monastery. At first Hugh was reluctant but he finally sent several monks including Lazlo who was to be the first abbot. The house they founded was Lewes Priory dedicated to St. Pancras, the first Cluniac priory in England.

    William was loyal to William II, and it was probably in early 1088 that he was created Earl of Surrey. He was mortally wounded at the First Siege of Pevensey Castle and died 24 June 1088 at Lewes, Sussex, and was buried next to his wife Gundred at the Chapterhouse of Lewes Priory. At his death William's vast landholdings were estimated to be worth over an adjusted $143 Billion today.

    Family
    He married first, before 1070, Gundred (Latin: Gundrada), sister of Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester and Frederick of Oosterzele-Scheldewindeke. By her he had:
    William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (d. 1138) married Elisabeth (Isabelle) de Vermandois, widow of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester.
    Edith de Warenne who married 1stly Gerard de Gournay, lord of Gournay-en-Bray, 2ndly and Drew de Monchy.
    Reynold de Warenne, who inherited lands from his mother in Flanders and died c.1106-08
    an unnamed daughter who married Ernise de Coulonces

    William married secondly a sister of Richard Gouet who survived him. They had no children.2,3

Family: Gundreda (?) d. 27 May 1085

  • Last Edited: 16 Dec 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p17627.htm#i176268
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p448.htm#i4477
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Warenne,_1st_Earl_of_Surrey.

Gundreda (?)1

F, #7579, d. 27 May 1085

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: William I de Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey b. c 1030, d. 24 Jun 1088

  • Last Edited: 22 Nov 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p17627.htm#i176268
  2. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Warenne,_1st_Earl_of_Surrey.
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p448.htm#i4478

Rudolph de Warenne1

M, #7580

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Rudolph de Warenne was born.1
  • Marriage*: He married Beatrice (?)1

Family: Beatrice (?)

  • Last Edited: 7 Oct 2012

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p448.htm#i4477

Beatrice (?)1

F, #7581

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Marriage*: Beatrice (?) married Rudolph de Warenne.1
  • Birth*: Beatrice (?) was born.1
  • Married Name: Her married name was de Warenne.1
  • Last Edited: 7 Oct 2012

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://thepeerage.com/p448.htm#i4477

Waltheof (?) Earl of Northumbria and Huntingdon1

M, #7582, b. 1050, d. 31 May 1076

c. 15th century statue traditionally identified as Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, in the Croyland Abbey, west front of ruined nave, 4th tier

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

Please be patient until the page fully loads.

  • Birth*: Waltheof (?) Earl of Northumbria and Huntingdon was born in 1050 in Northumbria, England*.1,3
  • Marriage*: He married Judith (?) of Lens, daughter of Lambert II de Boulogne Comte de Lens and Adeliza (?) Countess of Aumale, circa 1070.4
  • Death*: Waltheof (?) Earl of Northumbria and Huntingdon died on 31 May 1076; executed.2
  • Biography*: Waltheof, 1st Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton (1050 – 31 May 1076) was the last of the Anglo-Saxon earls and the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I.

    Early life
    Waltheof was the second son of Siward, Earl of Northumbria. His mother was Aelfflaed, daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia, son of Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria. In 1054, Waltheof’s brother, Osbearn, who was much older than he, was killed in battle, making Waltheof his father’s heir. Siward himself died in 1055, and Waltheof being far too young to succeed as Earl of Northumbria, King Edward appointed Tostig Godwinson to the earldom.

    He was said to be devout and charitable and was probably educated for a monastic life. In fact around 1065 he became an earl, governing Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire. Following the Battle of Hastings he submitted to William and was allowed to keep his pre-Conquest title and possessions. He remained at William’s court until 1068.

    Family and children
    In 1070 Waltheof married Judith of Lens, daughter of Lambert II, Count of Lens and Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale. They had three children, the eldest of whom, Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland, and another, Adelise, married the Anglo-Norman noble Raoul III of Tosny. Their son Uchtred of Tynedale married Bethoc; daughter of Donald III, King of Scotland.

    One of Waltheof's grandsons was Waltheof (d. 1159), abbot of Melrose.

    First revolt
    When Sweyn II invaded Northern England in 1069, Waltheof and Edgar Ætheling joined the Danes and took part in the attack on York. He would again make a fresh submission to William after the departure of the invaders in 1070. He was restored to his earldom, and went on to marry William's niece, Judith of Lens. In 1072, he was appointed Earl of Northampton.

    The Domesday Book mentions Waltheof ("Walleff"); "'In Hallam ("Halun"), one manor with its sixteen hamlets, there are twenty-nine carucates [~14 km²] to be taxed. There Earl Waltheof had an "Aula" [hall or court]. There may have been about twenty ploughs. This land Roger de Busli holds of the Countess Judith." (Hallam, or Hallamshire, is now part of the city of Sheffield)

    In 1072, William expelled Gospatric from the earldom of Northumbria. Gospatric was Waltheof’s cousin and had taken part in the attack on York with him, but like Waltheof, had been pardoned by William. Gospatric fled into exile and William appointed Waltheof as the new earl.

    Waltheof had many enemies in the north. Amongst them were members of a family who had killed Waltheof’s maternal great-grandfather, Uchtred the Bold, and his grandfather Ealdred. This was part of a long-running blood feud. In 1074, Waltheof moved against the family by sending his retainers to ambush them, succeeding in killing the two eldest of four brothers.

    Second revolt and death
    In 1075 Waltheof joined the Revolt of the Earls against William. His motives for taking part in the revolt are unclear, as is the depth of his involvement. However he repented, confessing his guilt first to Archbishop Lanfranc and then in person to William, who was at the time in Normandy. He returned to England with William but was arrested, brought twice before the king's court and sentenced to death.

    He spent almost a year in confinement before being beheaded on May 31, 1076 at St. Giles's Hill, near Winchester. He was said to have spent the months of his captivity in prayer and fasting. Many people believed in his innocence and were surprised when the execution was carried out. His body was initially thrown in a ditch, but was later retrieved and was buried in the chapter house of Croyland Abbey.

    Cult of martyrdom
    In 1092, after a fire in the chapter house, the abbot had Waltheof’s body moved to a prominent place in the abbey church. When the coffin was opened, it is reported that the corpse was found to be intact with the severed head re-joined to the trunk. This was regarded as a miracle, and the abbey, which had a financial interest in the matter began to publicise it. As a result, pilgrims began to visit Waltheof’s tomb.

    After a few years healing miracles were reputed to occur in the vicinity of Waltheof’s tomb, often involving the restoration of the pilgrim’s lost sight.

    Waltheof also became the subject of popular media, heroic but inaccurate accounts of his life being preserved in the Vita et Passio Waldevi comes, a Middle English Waltheof saga, since lost, and the Anglo-Norman Waldef.

    In popular culture
    Waltheof was portrayed by actor Marcus Gilbert in the TV drama Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990).
    Waltheof is the subject of Juliet Dymoke's 1970 historical novel Of the Ring of Earls
    Waltheof is a major character in Elizabeth Chadwick's 2002 historical novel The Winter Mantle.3

Family: Judith (?) of Lens b. bt 1054 - 1055, d. a 1086

  • Last Edited: 1 Apr 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10287.htm#i102868
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10670.htm#i106697
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltheof,_Earl_of_Northumbria.
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10287.htm#i102868
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10670.htm#i106697

Judith (?) of Lens1

F, #7583, b. between 1054 and 1055, d. after 1086

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Judith (?) of Lens was born between 1054 and 1055 in France.3
  • Marriage*: She married Waltheof (?) Earl of Northumbria and Huntingdon, son of Siward Digera Earl of Northumberland and Aetheldryth (?), circa 1070.4
  • Death*: Judith (?) of Lens died after 1086 in England.2
  • Biography*: Countess Judith (born in Normandy between 1054 and 1055, died after 1086), was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens.

    Life
    In 1070, Judith married Earl Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria. They had three children. Their eldest daughter, Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland. Their daughter, Adelise, married Raoul III de Conches whose sister, Godehilde, married Baldwin I of Jerusalem.

    In 1075, Waltheof joined the Revolt of the Earls against William. It was the last serious act of resistance against the Norman conquest of England. Judith betrayed Waltheof to her uncle, who had Waltheof beheaded on 31 May 1076.

    After Waltheof's execution Judith was betrothed by William to Simon I of St. Liz, 1st Earl of Northampton. Judith refused to marry Simon and she fled the country to avoid William's anger. William then temporarily confiscated all of Judith's English estates. Simon, later, married, as his second wife, Judith's daughter, Maud, as her first husband.
    Judith founded Elstow Abbey in Bedfordshire around 1078. She also founded churches at Kempston and Hitchin.

    She had land-holdings in 10 counties in the Midlands and East Anglia. Her holdings included land at:
    Earls Barton, Northamptonshire
    Great Doddington, Northamptonshire
    Grendon, Northamptonshire
    Merton, Oxfordshire
    Piddington, Oxfordshire
    Potton, Bedfordshire
    The parish of Sawtry Judith in Huntingdonshire is named after the Countess.

    From the Domesday Book
    In POTONE Hugh holds ½ virgate of land from the Countess. Land for 1 plough; it is there, with 1 smallholder. The value is and was 5s; before 1066, 2s. Earl Tosti held this land in Potton, his manor.

    Countess Judith holds POTONE herself. It answers for 10 hides. Land for 12 ploughs. In lordship 3½ hides; 3 ploughs there. 18 villagers and 2 Freemen with 8 ploughs; a ninth possible. 13 smallholders and 3 slaves. 1 mill, 5s; meadow for 12 ploughs; pasture for the village livestock. In total, value £12; when acquired 100s; before 1066 £13. King Edward held this manor; it was Earl Tosti's. There were 4 Freemen who had 1 hide and 1 virgate; they could grant to whom they would.

    In (Cockayne) HATLEY Countess Judith holds 3 hides and 2½ virgates as one manor. Land for 6½ ploughs. In lordship 1 hide and ½ virgate; 2 ploughs there. 8 villagers with 4½ ploughs; woodland, 4 pigs. Value £6 5s; when acquired 100s; before 1066 £6. Earl Tosti held this manor. It lies in Potton, the Countess' own manor. A Freeman had 1 virgate; he could grant and sell, and withdraw to another lord.

    Ranulf brother of Ilger holds EVERTON from the Countess. It answers for 5 hides. Land for 5 ploughs; 2 ploughs there; 3 possible. 4 villagers; 5 smallholders. Meadow for 1 plough. Value £3; when acquired 100s; as much before 1066. Earl Tosti held this manor. It lay in Potton, the Countess' own manor.5

Family: Waltheof (?) Earl of Northumbria and Huntingdon b. 1050, d. 31 May 1076

  • Last Edited: 29 Oct 2014

Siward Digera Earl of Northumberland1

M, #7584, b. circa 980, d. circa 1055

From the Death of Earl Siward, 1861, by James Smetham

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Name Variation: Siward Digera Earl of Northumberland was also known as Bjorn Bearsson.2
  • Birth*: He was born circa 980 in Scandinavia.1,3
  • Marriage*: He married Aetheldryth (?), daughter of Ealdred II (?) Earl of Bamburgh, in 1042 in Northumberland.4
  • Death*: Siward Digera Earl of Northumberland died circa 1055 in England.5
  • Biography*: Siward or Sigurd (Old English: Sigeweard) was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname Digri and its Latin translation Grossus ("the stout") are given to him by near-contemporary texts. Siward was probably of Scandinavian origin, perhaps a relative of Earl Ulf, and emerged as a powerful regional strongman in England during the reign of Cnut ("Canute the Great", 1016–1035). Cnut was a Scandinavian ruler who conquered England in the 1010s, and Siward was one of the many Scandinavians who came to England in the aftermath of that conquest. Siward subsequently rose to become sub-ruler of most of northern England. From 1033 at the latest Siward was in control of southern Northumbria, that is, present-day Yorkshire, governing as earl on Cnut's behalf.

    He entrenched his position in northern England by marrying Ælfflæd, the daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh. After killing Ealdred's successor Eadulf in 1041, Siward gained control of all Northumbria. He exerted his power in support of Cnut's successors, kings Harthacnut and Edward, assisting them with vital military aid and counsel. He probably gained control of the middle shires of Northampton and Huntingdon by the 1050s, and there is some evidence that he spread Northumbrian control into Cumberland. In the early 1050s Earl Siward turned against the Scottish ruler Mac Bethad mac Findlaích ("Macbeth"). Despite the death of his son Osbjorn, Siward defeated Mac Bethad in battle in 1054. More than half a millennium later the Scotland adventure earned him a place in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Siward died in 1055, leaving one son, Waltheof, who would eventually succeed to Northumbria. St Olave's church in York and nearby Heslington Hill are associated with Siward.

    Sources
    Source material on Siward's life and career is scarce, and only a small and potentially unrepresentative amount of information exists. No contemporary or near-contemporary biography has survived, and narratives from around the time of his life such as the Encomium Emmae and the Vita Ædwardi Regis scarcely mention him; historians are therefore dependent on a few entries in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and comparable Irish sources. Later Anglo-Norman histories may or may not be reliable depending on their source material, but useful ones include the Chronicle of John of Worcester (compiled between 1124 and 1140), William of Malmesbury (writing between c. 1125 and 1142), Henry of Huntingdon (writing between c. 1133 and 1154), and Orderic Vitalis (writing between c. 1114 and 1141). Other sources include the material attributed to Symeon of Durham (compiled and written as extant between the late 1000s and the first half of the 1100s). Legendary material, such as that in hagiography or later medieval sources such as John of Fordun or Andrew of Wyntoun, is not generally regarded as useful beyond its limited potential for cleanly preserving earlier source material.

    Background
    Siward's career in northern England spanned the reigns of four different monarchs. It began during the reign of Cnut, and lasted through those of Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut into the early years of Edward the Confessor. Most important was the reign of Cnut, in which so many new political figures rose to power that some historians think it comparable to the Norman conquest five decades later. These "new men" were military figures, usually with weak hereditary links to the West Saxon royal house that Cnut had deposed. As Cnut ruled several Scandinavian kingdoms in addition to England, power at the highest level was delegated to such strongmen. In England, it fell to a handful of newly promoted "ealdormen" or "earls", who ruled a shire or group of shires on behalf of the king. Siward was, in the words of historian Robin Fleming, "the third man in Cnut's new triumvirate of earls", the other two being Godwine, Earl of Wessex and Leofwine, Earl of Mercia.

    Northern England in the 11th-century was a region quite distinct from the rest of the country. The former kingdom of Northumbria stretched from the Humber and Mersey estuaries, northward to the Firth of Forth, where, passing the western Kingdom of Strathclyde, it met the Kingdom of Alba (Scotland). Northumbria had been united with the West Saxon English kingdom only in the 950s, by King Eadred, and subsequent control was exerted through the agency of at least two ealdormen, one to the north and one to the south of the river Tees. The former is associated with the stronghold of Bamburgh, while the latter is associated with the great Roman city of York. It was a politically fragmented region. The western part, from Lancashire to Cumberland, was heavily settled by Norse-Gaels, while in the rest of Northumbria English and Anglo-Scandinavian regional magnates—thegns, holds and high-reeves—exercised a considerable degree of independence from the ealdormen. One such example was the magnate Thurbrand, a hold in Yorkshire, probably based in Holderness, whose family were frequently at odds with the ruling earls at Bamburgh.

    Ancestry
    Historians generally claim Siward to be of Scandinavian origin, a conclusion supported by the Vita Ædwardi Regis, which states that Siward was "[called] Digri in the Danish tongue" (Danica lingua Digara). Legendary material incorporated in the Vita et passio Waldevi comitis (or simply Vita Waldevi), the hagiographic biography of Siward's son Waltheof, states that Siward was the son of a Scandinavian earl named Bjorn and provides a genealogy claiming that he was the descendant of a polar bear, a commonplace piece of Germanic folklore.

    Historian Timothy Bolton has recently argued that the similarities between these genealogies is evidence of a shared family tradition between the descendants of Siward and Thorgil Sprakling. Bolton hypothesized that Siward's alleged father Bjorn was probably a historical figure, a brother of Thorgil Sprakling. Siward would then have been first cousin to Earl Ulf, the earl of Denmark who married Cnut's sister Estrith and founded the dynasty of Danish monarchs that eventually succeeded Cnut's. Bolton argued that the Sprakling family had only recently risen to prominence in Scandinavia, and so Siward's career in England was another indication of that family's success in Scandinavian politics.

    The Vita Waldevi provides further legendary detail of Siward's journey from Scandinavia to England. According to the Vita, Siward passed through Orkney, killing a dragon there before moving on to Northumbria. There he encountered another dragon, before meeting an Oðinn-like old man on a hill, who handed him a raven banner and instructed him to proceed to London to receive the patronage of the king of England.

    Career under Cnut, Harold and Harthacnut
    The exact date and context of Siward's arrival in England are unknown, though the Vita Waldevi offers a legendary account. Charters dating to 1019, 1024, 1032, 1033 and 1035 mention a Si[ge]ward Minister, "the thegn Siward", but it is impossible to securely identify any of these names with the man who became Earl of Northumbria.[28] The earliest certain contemporary record of Siward occurs in a charter of King Cnut to Ælfric Puttoc, Archbishop of York, in 1033. This charter attestation can be identified as Siward the earl because he is styled dux ("earl").

    Although it is clear that Siward was earl by 1033, he may have attained the position somewhat earlier. His predecessor Erik of Hlathir last appeared in the historical sources in 1023, leaving a ten-year gap during which Siward could have taken the position. Although William of Malmesbury asserted that Erik was driven back to Scandinavia, Scandinavian tradition firmly maintained he died in England. Historian William Kapelle believed that Erik ceased to be earl in or soon after 1023, and that Carl son of Thurbrand was appointed hold or high-reeve (heahgerefa) for the king in Yorkshire. Carl retained this position, it was argued, even after Siward was installed as earl a few years later, but from then on he acted as a deputy to the earl rather than to the king. Richard Fletcher remained agnostic on the point, although he did argue that Erik must have been dead by 1028. Timothy Bolton, although rejecting Kapelle's argument concerning Carl son of Thurbrand, believed Erik died c. 1023 and that the earldom may have remained vacant for a period. Bolton argued that Cnut left the earldom of Northumbria empty and appears to have paid it little attention until the last years of his reign, and another northerner Ealdred son of Uhtred rose to power in the political vacuum.

    When Cnut died in 1035, there were a number of rival claimants for his throne. These included his son Harthacnut, and the nobleman Harold Harefoot, as well as Alfred Ætheling and Edward (later, King Edward the Confessor), the exiled sons of Æthelred the Unready. Isolated in Scandinavia, Harthacnut was unable to prevent Harold Harefoot seizing the crown for himself. Ruling England from 1035, Harold died in 1040 just as Harthacnut was preparing an invasion. Arriving soon after Harold's death, Harthacnut reigned in England only two years before his own death in 1042, a death that led to the peaceful succession of Edward. Frank Barlow speculated on Siward's political stance, guessing that during these upheavals Siward assumed "a position of benevolent or prudent neutrality".

    Siward is found in 1038, as Sywardus Comes ("Earl Siward"), witnessing a charter of King Harthacnut to the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. He witnessed a confirmation granted by Harthacnut to Fécamp Abbey, between 1040 and 1042, of an earlier grant made by Cnut. In 1042, he witnessed grants by Harthacnut to Abingdon Abbey and to Ælfwine, Bishop of Winchester.

    Siward was, at some stage, married to Ælfflæd, daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh, and granddaughter of Uhtred the Bold. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' asserts that, in 1041 Eadulf, Earl of Bamburgh, was "betrayed" by King Harthacnut. The "betrayal" seems to have been carried out by Siward; since when the Libellus de Exordio and other sources write about the same event, they say that Siward attacked and killed Eadulf. It was thus that Siward became earl of all Northumbria, perhaps the first person to do so since Uhtred the Bold. It is possible that Siward used Ælfflæd's lineage to claim the earldom of Bamburgh for himself, although it is unclear whether the marriage took place before or after Siward killed Eadulf. Kapelle has pointed out that no ruler of Bamburgh after Uhtred is attested at the English royal court, which he argued "must mean they were in revolt" against the monarchy, and that Siward's attack may therefore have been encouraged by a monarch wishing to crush a rebellious or disloyal vassal. Siward however probably had his own interests too. Killing Eadulf eliminated his main rival in the north, and the marriage associated him with the family of Uhtred the Bold, and with Uhtred's surviving son Gospatric.

    There may nonetheless be a connection between the murder of Eadulf and events further south. For the same year the Chronicle of John of Worcester related that, because of an attack on two of Harthacnut's tax-collectors there, Siward took part in a reprisal on the city and monastery of Worcester. Harthacnut reigned only another year, dying on 8 June 1042. He was succeeded by the exiled English ætheling Edward. As an ætheling, a royal prince with a present or likely future claim on the throne, Edward appears to have been invited back by Harthacnut in 1041, fortuitously smoothing over the coming change in ruler. Edward was crowned king on Easter Day, 3 April 1043.

    English affairs under Edward the Confessor
    Relations between Siward and King Edward appear to have been good. Neither Siward nor any associates of Siward were punished by Edward in later years. In fact, Siward appears to have been one of Edward's most powerful supporters. On 16 November 1043, Siward, along with Earls Godwine of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia, marched with King Edward against Queen Emma, helping the king to deprive the queen of her huge treasury. Edward then accused Emma of treason and deposed Stigand, Bishop of Elmham from his position "because he was closest to his mother's counsel".

    The Norman propagandist and historian, William of Poitiers, claimed that Siward was among those who had sworn an oath to uphold Edward the Confessor's alleged declaration that William, Duke of Normandy (later King William I), was to be his heir. Others said to have made that oath were Earls Godwine of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia, along with Stigand, who had been pardoned in 1044, and raised to Bishop of Winchester in 1047. If this did happen, it was probably during or a little before spring 1051, when Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, was journeying to Rome for his pallium.

    In 1051 Siward, along with Earls Leofric and Ralph the Timid, mobilised forces in defence of the king against a rebellion by Earl Godwine and his sons. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates that although Siward had to call up reinforcements, King Edward was successful and Earl Godwine was temporarily exiled. Earl Godwine remained a threat in exile, and the continued "belligerent support" of Siward and Leofric was thus vital to King Edward's safety. It was apparently, however, the reluctance of these two earls to fight Earl Godwine that contributed to Godwine's re-establishment in England in 1052.

    There is evidence to suggest that Siward extended his power southward, bringing the shire of Northampton into his control in the 1040s and the shire of Huntingdon in the 1050s. The evidence comes from royal writs addressed to Siward as earl in these shires. Siward's predecessors as earl in these areas were other Scandinavians, Thuri and Bjorn son of Earl Ulf; the former was styled "earl of the Midlanders" (comes mediterraneorum), showing that this earldom represented the earlier polity of the Middle Angles of Mercia. It was this area, rather than Northumbria, to which Siward's descendants were most attached.

    Likewise, it has been argued that Siward brought Cumberland, thought by some historians to have been lost to Strathclyde, back under Northumbrian lordship. The evidence comes from a document known to historians as "Gospatric's Writ".[66] This is a written instruction, issued either by the future Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria or Gospatric, son of Earl Uhtred) that was addressed to all Gospatric's kindred and to the notables dwelling in the "all the lands that were Cumbrian" (on eallun þam landann þeo C?mbres); it ordered that one Thorfinn mac Thore be free in all things (þ Thorfynn mac Thore beo swa freo in eallan ðynges) in Allerdale, and that no man is to break the peace which was given by Gospatric and Earl Siward. Historians such as Charles Phythian-Adams believed that such phraseology indicated that Siward conquered the region from its previous rulers, although others, like William Kapelle, believed that the region had come, were it ever lost, back into English power before Siward's time.

    A little can be said about Siward's relations with the Northumbrian church, in particular with regard to his relations with Durham. As a result of Siward's marriage to Ælfflæd, Siward gained possession of a group of estates in Teesside claimed by the bishops of Durham. Acquisition of these estates might have brought opposition from the Bishop of Durham, but Æthelric the incumbent had been expelled by the clergy of Durham in either 1045 or 1046 and, according to the Libellus de Exordio, only returned by bribing Siward. According to the Libellus, the clergy were "terrified and overwhelmed by the fearful power of the earl" and "were compelled willy nilly to be reconciled to the bishop, and to admit him into his episcopal see". Despite this, Siward escaped censure in the writings of later Durham monks, something which suggests relations between Siward and Durham were probably good in general.

    Siward can be found witnessing numerous charters during Edward's reign, though not as many as the Godwinsons; Siward usually comes third in lists of earls, behind Godwine and Leofric but ahead of Godwine's sons and the other earls. He witnessed at least seven, possibly nine, extant charters in 1044, six or seven in 1045, two in 1046, one in 1048 and one in 1049. A Dux ("earl") named Sihroþ and Sihroð witnessed two charters in 1050, and this may be Siward. There is another attestation in 1050, and his name appears in two dubious witness lists attached to charters dating to 1052 and 1054.[79] Possibly Siward's last historical appearance in English legal documents is in the agreement made—probably at Lincoln—between Wulfwig, Bishop of Dorchester, and Earl Leofric, dating to between 1053 and 1055.

    Expedition against the Scots
    Siward is perhaps most famous for his expedition in 1054 against Macbeth, King of Scotland, an expedition that cost Siward his eldest son, Osbjorn. The origin of Siward's conflict with the Scots is unclear. According to the Libellus de Exordio, in 1039 or 1040, the Scottish king Donnchad mac Crínáin attacked northern Northumbria and besieged Durham. Within a year, Mac Bethad had deposed and killed Donnchad. The failed siege occurred a year before Siward attacked and killed Earl Eadulf of Bamburgh, and though no connection between the two events is clear it is likely that they were linked.

    The Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham, written in the early 12th-century, relate under the year 1046 that "Earl Siward with a great army came to Scotland, and expelled king Mac Bethad, and appointed another; but after his departure Mac Bethad recovered his kingdom". Historian William Kapelle thought that this was a genuine event of the 1040s, related to the Annals of Tigernach entry for 1045 that reported a "battle between the Scots" which led to the death of Crínán of Dunkeld, Donnchad's father; Kapelle thought that Siward had tried to place Crínán's son and Donnchad's brother Maldred on the Scottish throne. Another historian, Alex Woolf, argued that the Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham entry was probably referring to the invasion of Siward in 1054, but misplaced under 1046.

    During the invasion of 1054, a battle was fought somewhere in Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, a battle known variously as the "Battle of the Seven Sleepers" or the "Battle of Dunsinane". The tradition that the battle actually took place at Dunsinane has its origins in later medieval legend. The earliest mention of Dunsinane as the location of the battle is in the early 15th-century by Andrew of Wyntoun.

    The earliest contemporary English account of the battle is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

    At this time earl Siward went with a great army into Scotland, with both fleet and a land-force; and fought against the Scots, and put to flight the king Mac Bethad, and slew all that were best in the land, and brought thence much war-spoil, such as no man obtained before; ac his sunu Osbarn, 7 his sweostor suna Sihward, 7 of his huscarlum 7 eac þæs cynges wurdon þær ofslægene on þone dæg Septem Dormientium..      And there were slain his son Osbjorn, and his sister's son Siward, and some of his housecarls, and also of the king's, on the day of the Seven Sleepers (July 27).

    John of Worcester, using a related version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, adds that Normans named Osbern Pentecost and Hugh, who had joined Mac Bethad earlier after fleeing from England, were killed in the battle. The battle is mentioned in the Irish annals too, briefly in the Annals of Tigernach and more extensively in the Annals of Ulster:
    A battle [was fought] between the men of Scotland and the English; and in it fell three thousand of the men of Scotland, and one thousand five hundred of the English, including Dolfin, Finntur's son; Dolfin is unidentified, but may have been a relation of Mac Bethad's enemy Crínán of Dunkeld, on the basis that some of Crínán's descendants may have borne this name.

    The purpose of Siward's invasion is unclear, but it may be related to the identity of the "Máel Coluim" (Malcolm) mentioned in the sources. The early 12th-century chronicle attributed to John of Worcester, probably using an earlier source, wrote that Siward defeated Mac Bethad and made "Máel Coluim, son of the king of the Cumbrians" a king (Malcolmum, regis Cumbrorum filium, ut rex jusserat, regem constituit) The identity of Máel Coluim and the reasons for Siward's help are controversial. The traditional historical interpretation was that "Máel Coluim" is Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, known sometimes today as Malcolm III or Malcolm Canmore, and that Siward was attempting to oust Mac Bethad in his favour.

    The traditional historical interpretation that "Máel Coluim" is Máel Coluim mac Donnchada derives from the Chronicle attributed to the 14th-century chronicler of Scotland, John of Fordun, as well as from earlier sources such as William of Malmesbury. The latter reported that Mac Bethad was killed in the battle by Siward, but it is known that Mac Bethad outlived Siward by two years. A. A. M. Duncan argued in 2002 that, using the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry as their source, later writers innocently misidentified Máel Coluim "son of the king of the Cumbrians" with the later Scottish king of the same name. Duncan's argument has been supported by several subsequent historians specialising in the era, such as Richard Oram, Dauvit Broun and Alex Woolf. It has also been suggested that Máel Coluim may have been a son of the Strathclyde British king Owen the Bald, perhaps by a daughter of Máel Coluim II, King of Scotland.

    Duncan in fact believes that the Battle of the Seven Sleepers did not lead directly to a change of leadership in the Kingdom of Scotland. It has been suggested that the chief consequence of Siward's expedition was not the overthrow of Mac Bethad, but the transfer of British territory—perhaps previously lying under Scottish suzerainty—to Northumbrian overlordship. Alex Woolf has posited that, in such a context, Máel Coluim might have been a discontented Cumbrian prince who had been forced to "put himself under English protection". Evidence for Northumbrian control of Strathclyde in this period includes 11th-century Northumbrian masonry found at the site of Glasgow Cathedral as well as early 12th-century claims from the archbishopric of York that Archbishop Cynesige (1051–1060) had consecrated two Bishops of Glasgow.

    Death and legacy
    The 12th-century historian, Henry of Huntingdon, in his Historia Anglorum, relates that when Siward was attacked by dysentery, fearing to die "like a cow" and wishing rather to die like a soldier, he clothed himself in armour and took to hand an axe and shield. Ennobled in such a manner, Siward died. This anecdote is of doubtful historicity, and is thought to be derived from the saga devoted to Earl Siward, now lost. The Vita Ædwardi Regis states that Siward died at York and was buried in "the monastery of St Olaf" at Galmanho, a claim confirmed by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, John of Worcester, and the Historia Regum.

    Material incorporated in two surviving sources is thought by some to attest to the existence of a lost saga or some other kind of literary tradition concerning Siward's life. The first source is the Vita et Passio Waldevi, a hagiographic history of Siward's cult-inspiring son Waltheof. This text contains an account of Waltheof's paternal origin, and in the process recounts certain adventures of his father Siward (see boxes throughout article). The second major witness of the tradition is Henry of Huntingdon's Historia Anglorum, which contains extracts of saga-like material relating to Siward's invasion of Scotland (1054) and his death (1055). The Anglo-Saxonist Frank Stenton declared that Siward was "not a statesman, but a Danish warrior of the primitive type". Writers in the half-century after his death remembered Siward as a strong ruler who brought peace and suppressed brigandage.

    Siward died more than a decade before the death of Edward the Confessor, but despite this the Domesday Book recorded 4 manors, 3 in Yorkshire and 1 in Derbyshire, owned directly by Earl Siward in 1066, all of them subsequently held by Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester. This land was stated to have been worth £212, while his son Waltheof was said to have held £136 worth of land across 9 counties. Domesday records give an incomplete picture of Siward's holdings. In total it recorded property worth £348 for Siward and his son, which on its own would compare poorly with the £2493 in value recorded to have been held by the family of the earls of Mercia. Of the latter, however, Morcar of Mercia, Earl of Northumbria on the day of King Edward's death, possessed land worth £968, while Tostig, exiled earl at the time, had land worth £491; both may have come into possession of some of Siward's land in the course of becoming Earls of Northumbria. Moreover, the counties that would become Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland were largely omitted from the survey, while, besides being only very poorly documented, the lands in Yorkshire had been severely devastated and devalued during the Harrying of the North.

    Siward is said to have built a church dedicated to St Olaf at Galmanho, York. The record of his burial in this church is the only notice of a non-royal lay burial inside a church in pre-Norman England. Siward's Howe, i.e., Heslington Hill near York, was most likely named after Earl Siward, although probably because Siward held popular courts there rather than because it was his burial place.

    One of Siward's sons is known to have survived him, Waltheof, whose mother was Ælfflæd. Waltheof later rose to be an earl in the East Midlands before becoming Earl of Northumbria. When Waltheof rebelled against William the Conqueror, however, the act led to his execution and to his subsequent veneration as a saint at Crowland Abbey. Waltheof's daughter married David I, King of the Scots, and through this connection Siward became one of the many ancestors of the later Scottish and British monarchs.

    Besides Ælfflæd, Siward is known to have been married to a woman named Godgifu, who died before Siward. The marriage is known from a grant she made of territory around Stamford, Lincolnshire, to Peterborough Abbey. Although no surviving children are attested, and no source states the name of Osbjorn's mother, this marriage has nonetheless raised the possibility that Waltheof and Osbjorn were born to different mothers, and William Kapelle suggested that Siward may have originally intended Osbjorn to inherit his southern territories while Waltheof inherited those territories in the north associated with the family of his mother Ælfflæd.5,3

Family 1:

Family 2: Aetheldryth (?) b. c 1025

  • Last Edited: 24 May 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10670.htm#i106697
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10288.htm#i102880
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siward,_Earl_of_Northumbria.
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10670.htm#i106697
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p449.htm#i4484
  5. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p449.htm#i4483

Ealdgyth (?)1

F, #7587, b. circa 992

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Ealdgyth (?) was born circa 992 in England.1,2
  • Marriage*: She married Edmund II Ironside (?) King of England, son of Aethelred II (?) King of England and Aelfgifu (?) of York, in August 1015 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England.3
  • Biography*: She was also known as Eldgith. She was also known as Edith.

    Ealdgyth (circa 992 - after 1016), modern English Edith, born c. 992, may have been the name of the wife of Sigeferth son of Earngrim, thegn of the Seven Burghs, and later of King Edmund Ironside. She was probably the mother of Edmund's sons Edward the Exile and Edmund Ætheling.

    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Sigeferth and his brother Morcar, described as "foremost thegns of the Seven Burghs" were killed at an assembly of the English nobility at Oxford. Ealdorman Eadric Streona is said to have killed them "dishonourably" after having invited them to his rooms. The Seven Burghs, otherwise unknown, are presumed to have been the Five Burghs and Torksey and York. Following the killings, King Æthelred the Unready had the property of Sigeferth and Morcar seized and ordered that Sigeferth's widow, whose name the Chronicle does not record, should be detained at Malmesbury Abbey. The chronicle of John of Worcester calls her Ealdgyth.

    In the late summer of 1015, at some time between 15 August and 8 September, Edmund Ironside raised a revolt against his father King Æthelred. Either then, or perhaps even earlier, he removed Sigeferth's widow from Malmesbury, against his father's wishes, and married her. Sigeferth and Morcar's friends and allies supported Edmund after this. While two charters issued by Edmund which mention his wife survive from about this time, neither of them contain her name in the surviving texts.

    It is generally, but not universally, supposed that Ealdgyth, if that was her name, was the mother of Edmund Ironside's sons. These were Edmund, who died young in exile, and Edward the Exile, who returned to England late in the reign of his uncle King Edward the Confessor and died soon afterwards. Whether she went into exile with her children following Edmund's death in 1016 is unknown.

    One reason advanced for supposing that John of Worcester may have been mistaken in naming this woman Ealdgyth is that Sigeferth's brother Morcar had also been married to a woman named Ealdgyth. This Ealdgyth was the daughter of Ælfthryth, and niece of Ælfhelm, Ealdorman of York and Wulfric Spot. While Ealdgyth is a common female name in the period, this coincidence has raised the suspicion that the Worcester chronicler has confused Sigeferth's widow with his sister-in-law.4,2

Family: Edmund II Ironside (?) King of England b. bt 988 - 993, d. 30 Nov 1016

  • Last Edited: 10 Jan 2016

Aethelred II (?) King of England1

M, #7588, b. between 966 and 969, d. 23 April 1016

Ethelred II, King of England

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Aethelred II (?) King of England was born between 966 and 969 in England.1
  • Marriage*: He married Aelfgifu (?) of York, daughter of Thored of Northumbria Ealdorman of York and Hilda (?), between 980 and 985 in England.1
  • Death*: Aethelred II (?) King of England died on 23 April 1016 in London, England; Murdered.1
  • Burial*: He was buried after 23 April 1016 in St. Paul's Cathedral, The City, London, England.1
  • Biography*: He succeeded to the title of King Æthelred II of England on 18 March 978. He was crowned King of England on 4 April 978 at Kingston-upon-Thames, London, England. He abdicated as King of England in 1013. He succeeded to the title of King Æthelred II of England on 3 February 1014.

    Ethelred was the son of King Edgar and began to reign when only 11 years old. He was a weakling, totally unable to withstand the Danish onslaught that re-started on his accession. He continually attempted to buy off the Danes - Danegeld - as when he lost the Battle of Maldon in 991. In a state of near panic he ordered the slaughter of all Danes whether peaceful settlers or not and this foul deed was put in hand on St. Brices Day 13 Nov 1002. Among the victims was the sister of Sweyn, King of Denmark. The Norsemen were furious and ravaged the country from Cornwall to Kent and from South Wales to East Anglia. By 1013, Sweyn, who was accompanied by his son Canute, was proclaimed King but he died soon afterwards. Ethelred fled to Normandy when Sweyn's rule prevailed and then on Sweyn's death he returned but the English lords placed severe restrictions on him. The Danes led by Canute returned in 1015 and landing at Poole they crossed the Thames at Cricklade.1,4

Family: Aelfgifu (?) of York b. c 963, d. Feb 1002

  • Last Edited: 16 Apr 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10218.htm#i102175
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10243.htm#i102421
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfthryth,_wife_of_Edgar.
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelred_the_Unready
  5. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10241.htm#i102402

Aelfgifu (?) of York1

F, #7589, b. circa 963, d. February 1002

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Aelfgifu (?) of York was born circa 963 in Yorkshire, England*.3
  • Marriage*: She married Aethelred II (?) King of England, son of Edgar 'The Peaceful' (?) King of England and Ælfthryth (?) Queen of England, between 980 and 985 in England.1
  • Death*: Aelfgifu (?) of York died in February 1002 in England*.2
  • Biography*: Ælfgifu of York (fl. c. 970 – 1002) was the first wife of Æthelred the Unready (r. 968–1016), by whom she bore many offspring, including Edmund Ironside. It is most probable that she was a daughter of Thored, Earl of southern Northumbria.

    Identity and background
    Her name and paternity do not surface in the sources until sometime after the Conquest. The first to offer any information at all, Sulcard of Westminster (fl. 1080s), merely describes her as being “of very noble English stock” (ex nobilioribus Anglis), without naming her, while in the early 12th century, William of Malmesbury has nothing to report. All primary evidence comes from two Anglo-Norman historians. John of Worcester, also writing in the early 12th century, states that Æthelred's first wife was Ælfgifu, daughter of the nobleman Æthelberht (comes Agelberhtus) and the mother of Edmund, Æthelstan, Eadwig and Eadgyth. Writing in the 1150s, Ailred of Rievaulx identifies her as a daughter of earl (comes) Thored and the mother of Edmund, though he supplies no name. Ailred had been seneschal at the court of King David I of Scotland (r. 1124–53), whose mother Margaret descended from King Æthelred and his first wife. Although his testimony is late, his proximity to the royal family may have given him access to genuine information.

    Problem of fatherhood
    These two accounts are irreconcilable at the point of ascribing two different fathers to Æthelred's first wife (in both cases, Edmund's mother). One way out of it would be to assume the existence of two different wives before the arrival of Queen Emma, Æthelred's Norman wife, although this interpretation presents difficulties of its own, especially as the sources envisage a single woman. Historians generally favour the view that John of Worcester was in error about the father's name, as Æthelberht's very existence is under suspicion: if Latin comes is to be interpreted as a gloss on the office of ealdorman, only two doubtful references to one or two duces (ealdormen) of this name can be put forward that would fit the description. All in all, the combined evidence suggests that Æthelred's first wife was Ælfgifu, the daughter of Earl Thored. This magnate is likely to have been the Thored who was a son of Gunnar and earl of (southern) Northumbria.

    Marriage and children
    Based largely on the careers of her sons, Ælfgifu's marriage has been dated approximately to the (mid-)980s. Considering Thored's authority as earl of York and apparently, the tenure of that office without royal appointment, the union would have signified an important step for the West-Saxon royal family by which it secured a foothold in the north. Such a politically weighty union would help explain the close connections maintained by Ælfgifu's eldest sons Edmund and Æthelstan with noble families based in the northern Danelaw.

    The marriage produced six sons, all of whom were named after Æthelred's predecessors, and an unknown number of daughters. The eldest sons Æthelstan, Ecgberht, Eadred and Edmund first attest charters in 993, while the younger sons Eadwig and Edgar first make an appearance in them in 997 and 1001 respectively. Some of these sons seem to have spent part of their childhood in fosterage elsewhere, possibly with Æthelred's mother Ælfthryth.

    Out of Ælfgifu's six sons, only Edmund Ironside outlived his father and became king. In 1016 he suffered several defeats against Cnut and in October they agreed to share the kingdom, but Edmund died within six weeks and Cnut became king of all England. Æthelred gave three of his daughters in marriage to ealdormen, presumably in order to secure the loyalties of his nobles and so to consolidate a defence system against Viking attacks.

    Sons
    Æthelstan (born before 993, d. 1014)
    Ecgberht (born before 993, d. 1005)
    Edmund (II) Ironside (born before 993, d. 1016)
    Eadred (d. 1012 x 1015)
    Eadwig (born before 997, exiled and killed 1017)
    Edgar (born before 1001, d. 1012 x 1015)

    Daughters
    Eadgyth (born before 993), married Eadric Streona, ealdorman of Mercia.
    Ælfgifu, married ealdorman Uhtred of Northumbria.
    (possibly) Wulfhild, who married Ulfcytel (Snillingr) (d. 1016), apparently ealdorman of East Anglia.
    possibly an unnamed daughter who married the Æthelstan who was killed fighting the Danes at the Battle of Ringmere in 1010. He is called Æthelred's aðum, meaning either son-in-law or brother-in-law. Ann Williams, however, argues that the latter meaning is the appropriate one and refers to Æthelstan as being Ælfgifu's brother.
    possibly unnamed daughter, who became abbess of Wherwell.

    Life and death
    Unlike her mother-in-law, Ælfthryth, Ælfgifu was not anointed queen and never signed charters. She did, however, make at least some impression on the contemporary record. In a will issued between 975/980 and 987, the thegn Beorhtric and his wife bequeathed to their “lady” (hlæfdige) an armlet worth 30 gold mancuses and a stallion, calling upon her authority to oversee the implementation of the arrangements set out by will. In a will of later date (AD 990 x 1001), in which she is addressed as “my lady” (mire hlæfdian), the noblewoman Æthelgifu promised a bequest of 30 mancuses of gold. Just as little is known of Ælfgifu's life, so the precise date and circumstances of her death cannot be recovered. In any event, she appears to have died by 1002, possibly in childbirth, when Æthelred took to wife Emma, daughter of Count Richard of Rouen, who received or adopted her predecessor's Anglo-Saxon name, Ælfgifu.2,4

Family: Aethelred II (?) King of England b. bt 966 - 969, d. 23 Apr 1016

  • Last Edited: 16 Apr 2017

Edgar 'The Peaceful' (?) King of England1

M, #7590, b. between 942 and 944, d. 8 July 975

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Edgar 'The Peaceful' (?) King of England was born between 942 and 944 in England.1
  • Marriage*: He married Ælfthryth (?) Queen of England, daughter of Ordgar (?) Ealdorman of Devon, circa 965 in England.2
  • Death*: Edgar 'The Peaceful' (?) King of England died on 8 July 975 in Winchester, Hampshire, England.1
  • Biography*: Edgar the Peaceful

    Accession
    His cognomen, "The Peaceable", was not necessarily a comment on the deeds of his life, for he was a strong leader, shown by his seizure of the Northumbrian and Mercian kingdoms from his older brother, Eadwig, in 958. A conclave of nobles held Edgar to be king north of the Thames, and Edgar aspired to succeed to the English throne.

    Government
    Though Edgar was not a particularly peaceable man, his reign was a peaceful one. The Kingdom of England was at its height. Edgar consolidated the political unity achieved by his predecessors. By the end of Edgar's reign, England was sufficiently unified that it was unlikely to regress back to a state of division among rival kingships, as it had to an extent under Eadred's reign.

    Edgar and Dunstan
    Upon Eadwig's death in October 959, Edgar immediately recalled Dunstan (eventually canonised as St. Dunstan) from exile to have him made Bishop of Worcester (and subsequently Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury). Dunstan remained Edgar's advisor throughout his reign.

    Dead Man's Plack
    In 963 he reputedly killed his rival in love, Earl Æthelwald, near present-day Longparish, Hampshire, an event commemorated in 1825 by the erection of Dead Man's Plack. Edward Augustus Freeman debunks the Æthelwald story as a "tissue of romance" in his Historic essays, but his arguments were in turn refuted by the naturalist William Henry Hudson in his 1920 book Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn.

    Benedictine Reform
    The Monastic Reform Movement that restored the Benedictine Rule to England's undisciplined monastic communities peaked during the era of Dunstan, Æthelwold, and Oswald. (Historians continue to debate the extent and significance of this movement.)

    Coronation at Bath (AD 973)
    Edgar the Peaceful sits aboard a barge manned by eight kings, as it moves up the River Dee.
    Edgar was crowned at Bath and anointed with his wife Ælfthryth, setting a precedent for a coronation of a queen in England itself. Edgar's coronation did not happen until 973, in an imperial ceremony planned not as the initiation, but as the culmination of his reign (a move that must have taken a great deal of preliminary diplomacy). This service, devised by Dunstan himself and celebrated with a poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, forms the basis of the present-day British coronation ceremony. The symbolic coronation was an important step; other kings of Britain came and gave their allegiance to Edgar shortly afterwards at Chester. Six kings in Britain, including the King of Scots and the King of Strathclyde, pledged their faith that they would be the king's liege-men on sea and land. Later chroniclers made the kings into eight, all plying the oars of Edgar's state barge on the River Dee. Such embellishments may not be factual, but the main outlines of the "submission at Chester" appear true.

    Death (AD 975)
    Edgar died on 8 July 975 at Winchester, and was buried at Glastonbury Abbey. He left two sons, the elder named Edward, who was probably his illegitimate son by Æthelflæd (not to be confused with the Lady of the Mercians), and Æthelred, the younger, the child of his wife Ælfthryth. He was succeeded by Edward. Edgar also had a daughter, possibly illegitimate, by Wulfryth, who later became abbess of Wilton. She was joined there by her daughter, Edith of Wilton, who lived there as a nun until her death. Both women were later regarded as saints.
    From Edgar’s death to the Norman Conquest, there was not a single succession to the throne that was not contested. Some see Edgar’s death as the beginning of the end of Anglo-Saxon England, followed as it was by three successful 11th-century conquests — two Danish and one Norman.3

Family: Ælfthryth (?) Queen of England b. c 945, d. c 1000

  • Last Edited: 14 Oct 2015