Guillame William I Duke of Normandy the conqueror (the Bastard) King of ENGLAND
See Note Page BIOGRAPHY During the reign of Edward the Confessor, from 1042-1066, England became less and less united within itself. Edward was a monastic sort, not very interested in secular affairs, and had spent most of his childhood in Normandy. The power behind the throne was Godwin, Earl of Wessex, who had persuaded the reluctant Edward to marry his daughter. Edward introduced Normans to church and state offices, setting himself in opposition to his father-in-law. Tom make matters more volatile, he also stubbornly refused to give his wife a child, and England an heir. Godwin, in the year before his death, began to rally popular support against the Norman influence; the power of that cause then transferred to his son Harold, sometimes called Harold Godwinson. In 1027, the boy who would be William the Conqueror was born, the illegitimate son of Duke Robert the Magnificent of Normandy and a tanner's daughter. He became the Duke of Normandy at the age of seven; at a young age he married his second cousin Matilda of Flanders, who was descended on her mother's side from the House of Wessex. William was a second cousin of Edward the Confessor, who allegedly promised him the throne of England in 1051. Later, in 1064, William extorted a similar promise from Harold Godwinson, who had the bad luck to have been shipwrecked in Normandy. Nonetheless, Harold fanned the controversy over Edward's succession and built up a lobby for his own claim. When Edward died in his new palace at Westminster (built alongside his new abbey of the same name), his nearest heir was Edgar Atheling, the grandson of Edmund Ironside [# 2933]. Edgar was only a small boy, though, so the Witan (council of regional leaders) chose Harold as the new king. Harold may have been named successor by Edward on his deathbed. However, Harold's tenuous claim to the throne encouraged both Norway and Normandy to invade England. Harold II of England first fought off the Norwegian invasion, which was led in part by his own brother, Tostig. Four days after the defeat of the Scandinavian force at Stamford Bridge, William of Normandy landed at Pevensey in Sussex. The following is from Eric Delafield's book [IT:Kings & Queens of England & Great Britain:IT]: Harold and his mounted infantry headed south, reaching London in four days. Rather than wait for the unmounted infantry from the north and a force from the south to join him, Harold decided to give battle at once. Fought seven miles northwest of Hastings, the battle lasted all day and was close-run; only when a feint be the Normans induced the English to abandon their shield-ring and Harold was killed by an arrow through his eye did the invaders gain the upper hand. Harold's defeat ushered in an age that would leave none in doubt that England had become an occupied country. William's triumph over Harold was the decisive event in the conquest of England, but it was only a prelude to the country's subjugation. Even during his coronation at Westminster on Christmas Day 1066, a disturbance outside all but emptied the abbey. It took several years and campaigns of terror to subdue the whole country: after the southwest was brought to heel, two rebellions in the north, led by earls Edwin and Morcar, were successfully defeated. The second revolt, attempted after both earls had been pardoned, provoked a savage response: between York and Durham not a house or human being visible to William's soldiers was spared. When the Domesday survey was carried out seventeen years later, many villages in the area were still without an inhabitant. The last assault on Norman hegemony came from East Anglia where Hereward, a Fenman with an aptitude for guerrilla warfare in that watery landscape, held out for some time on the Isle of Ely. Once England was secure, William turned his attention to Scotland and Wales, invading the former in 1072 and compelling Malcolm III [# 2799] to do homage at Abernethy. Three years later, he visited St. David's, receiving submissions from the Welsh en route. Physical evidence of the conquest soon appeared throughout England: Saxon peasants were forced to build mounds of earth (mottes) on which fortresses of wood and later stone were erected. In London the domination of the White Tower reminded the independent Londoners of the new limitations on their freedom. From these bastions Normans enforced the confiscation of estates and their redistribution amongst those who had supported William's conquest. Feudal baronies were imposed as soon as each part of England was subjugated, resulting in some barons holding lands in different parts of the country. This had the added advantage for the monarch of preventing the consolidation of rival powers. To this end the great earldoms of late Saxon England were broken up and the shire, or county, became the principal unit of administration, superintended by sheriffs and special commissioners. Even the French-speaking barons resented the restrictions imposed on their power by William's system of government, and as early as 1075 took up arms against him: the Norman Earl of Hereford joined Ralph the Breton, Earl of East Anglia, and the Englishman Waltheof. Their rebellion was easily contained, but it was only the first of many. Even William's eldest son, Robert, challenged his father in Normandy in 1079, and William was at war with France in 1087 when his horse stumbled at Mantes, giving him a fatal injury. By his oath to observe the old Saxon laws and his imposition of Continental feudal customs, William effectively prevented the monarchy from exercising unlimited power, laying the groundwork for the development of English laws and liberties. The Church, too, stood between the king and the barons, helping to uphold a balance of power that did not infringe its own interests. Lanfranc, William's new Italian Archbishop, reorganized the English Church, and separate Church courts were established to deal with offenses under canon law, an action which was to cause much trouble for the Plantagenet kings. William the Conqueror, 'that stark man' as his subjects called him, was ruthless and cruel: although only one person was executed in his reign, thousands were mutilated - especially for breaches of the game laws. The 'New Forest' was created by him as a game park. It was said of him that 'he loved the tall, red deer, as if he were their father.' This penchant, however, was to sow the seed of trouble for centuries: in the eleventh century the Crown owned sixty-nine forests, almost a third of the whole acreage of the kingdom. Depriving those who lived in or near the forests of any rights in them caused great resentment, and the severe punishments for infringing forest law, enforced by the Forest Courts, fed through into the draconian Game Laws of later centuries. The Domesday survey, in 1086, was the most comprehensive and detailed record of a country's physical resources produced in Europe during the Middle Ages. William conceived the idea while at Gloucester for Christmas in 1085, though it was not referred to as 'Domesday' until the twelfth century, intended to signify that like the Day of Judgment, there was no appeal. Its primary purpose was to maximize tax revenues; its secondary use was to provide the necessary information for the efficient administration of the feudal system. The task of gathering the data fell to Commissioners using the shire courts and interviewing sworn juries, each made up of the priest, the reeve (the lord's manager), and six villeins. The survey covered the entire county except for Durham, Northumberland, Westmorland, Cumberland, northern Lancashire, London, Winchester and a few other towns. Its scope was exhaustive: as the Saxon chronicler recorded, 'so narrowly did he cause the survey to be made that there was not one single hide nor rood of land, nor - it is shameful to tell but he thought it no shame to do - was there an ox, cow or swine that was not set down in the writ.' The two volumes are kept in the Public Record Office at Kew, London. The [IT:Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:IT] gives a good impression of William's reign: 'He was mild to the good men that loved God, and beyond measure severe to the men that gainsaid his will... It is not to be forgotten that good peace he made in this land so that a man might go over his kingdom with his bosom full of gold... and no man durst slay another.' It is not easy, if possible at all, to isolate and define the heritage of the Norman Conquest. Edward the Confessor himself was more Norman than English. Norman speech, habits and customs were prevalent at his court. But in the century after 1066 the followers and descendants of William the Conqueror diverted the main stream of national development and added a Latin strain to the mongrel blood of Englishmen. Had the conquest never happened, England would probably have become part of the northern Scandinavian world. For all its cruelty, the conquest united England to western Europe and opened the floodgates of European culture and institutions, theology, philosophy, and science. The conquest effected a social revolution in England. The lands of the Saxon aristocracy were divided up amongst the Normans, who by about 1087 composed between 6,000 and 10,000 of a total population of about one and a half million. More important, each landowner had, in return for his land, to make an oath of allegiance to the king, and promise to provide him with mounted, armoured knights when required. This introduction of the 'feudal system,' provided the whole basis for medieval English society. The Saxon machinery of government was, in large measure, retained and immensely reinforced. As well as giving the law a reputation for impartiality, the Normans brought with them their military arts - castle-building and fighting on horseback. They also transmitted large parts of the Saxon heritage - towns and villages, shires, traditions of monarchy, the basic structure of language. They took over much that was indigenous and learned from the conquered. They created a strong monarchy which, in medieval times, was gradually to complete the unification of England and obliterate the distinction between Saxons and conquering Normans, so that only Englishmen remained. Facts about this person: Record Change November 01, 1999 Burial 1087 Caen, Normandy Also called William II of Normandy. Duke of Normandy, which led to his becoming the leader of the successful invasion of England. He reignedfrom 1066 to 1087 A.D. Sources include but are not limited to; Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints. The English House of Wessex; Including Danes and Norman descent, apart of Bloodline of the Holy Grail, by Laurence Gardner (1996) page(s) 416;ISBN 1-85230-870-2. Individual: The Oxford History of Britain by Kenneth Morgan, 1984, pp.101-144. The Kings and Queens of England by Nicholas Best, 1995, p.9. Western Europe in the Middle Ages,300-1475by Tierney, 1978,pp.178-183. (King of England, 1066-1087) France in the Middle Ages,987-1460 by George Duby,1987, chart 6. Royal Ancestors by Michel Call, 1989, Chart # 11420. Reigned 1066-1087. Duke of Normandy 1035-1087. Invaded England defeated and killed his rival Harold at the Battle of Hastings and became King. The Norman conquest of England was completed by 1072 aided by the establishment of feaudalism under which his followers were granted land in return for pledges of service and loyalty. As King William was noted for his efficient if harsh rule. His administration relied upon Norman and other foreign personnell especially Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1085 started Domesday Book. William, now known to us as The Conqueror, was known to his contemporaries as William the Bastard. His mother Herleva, bore the only son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, in the year 1028. After William's birth his mother was married to one of Robert's followers and had two more sons, Robert and Odo. Although William was illegitimate, the Duke, soon to leave on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, persuaded the barons of Normandy to recognize William's birthright. On his way home, robert was killed and at the age of seven William became Duke of Normandy. Because of William's young age, his ascenion meant unrule for approximately 10 years. Although plots to kill or capture were aloft, William survived and in the mid 1040's started to rule for himself. Normandy was constantly at war during these years, whether it be rebel bands of Normans or William's neighbors and William gained a reputation as a ruthless campaigner. It was at this time that William asked Count Baldwin of Flanders (one of William's few allies) for the hand of his daughter Matilda. The Count approved, but the Pope refused marriage on the grounds that William and Matilda were too closely related (consanguinity). But William went ahead with the marriage not only because of the important alliance with Flanders, but because he was in love. According to contemporary accounts William was never unfaithful to Matilda and she bore him nine children. They were also an odd-looking couple. The skeletal remains found in their graves show that William was about 5'10 and Matilda 4'2. In 1050 Edward the Confessor, King of England and a distant relative to William, dangled the promise of the English throne before William if he would only support Edward in his dispute with Earl Godwin, Edward's father-in-law. However, although monarchs were not yet chosen by strict rules of heredity, there were other candidates of English blood who were more closely related to Edward, namely Harold, son of Earl Godwin and brother of Edward's wife Edith. As could have been predicted, by 1066 Edward reconciled with Godwin and on his deathbed named Harold as his successor. William was incensed. Not only did Edward promise him the throne, William asserted, but Harold had sworn allegiance to him when he visited Normandy two years earlier. It was this sworn allegiance that branded Harold' a usurper and a perjurer, and William was granted papal approval to invade England and claim his rights. William's preparation for battle may have won him England before heever set foot on the island fortress. Normandy, a small duchy, could not supply all the men needed for an expedition of this size, but the prospect of invading England, with it's natural resources and wealth, was an appealing one. Soldiers and freelances from all over France and Flanders joined the campaign. William's ranks swelled, and throughout the spring and summer he built ships and gathered supplies. By August William was ready to sail, but the winds of the English Channel were against him. He waited throughout August and september, all the while cursing the weather, yet unaware that his biggest problems were being solved for him. If William had landed and managed to defeat the English army, he would have moved forward only to encounter Harold Herdrada of Norway, who arrived in September also to conquer England. Instead, as Harold waited for William to land in Penvensey, he heard of the Norse invasion and marched north to meet Harold Hardrada on 25 September. Two days later William set sail and made an unopposed landing at Pevensey. Harold Godwinsson rushed back to meet William, and the two armies met at Hastings on 14 October. The Battle of Hastings left William victor and Harold dead. With no leader, further English resistance was futile. The English barons submitted to William, and on Christmas day 1066, William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. But the English submission did not last long. Soon, after one revolt after another broke out, but each rebellion was met with swift defeat and equally swift retribution. English estates were confiscated and given to Normans. By 1071 the native English ruling class was wiped out. England was now ruled
Aka, Maud.Aka, Countess of Flanders. Sources include but are not limited to; Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints. See Note Page Facts about this person: Record Change November 01, 1999
Princess of England. Daughter of William The Conquerer, King ofEngland. Sources include but are not limited to; Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints. It was thought that Matilda (Gundred) married William de Warren, 1st Earl of Surrey. That has since been disproved. For details see Early Yorkshire Charters by C.T.Clay or Ã[per mille]tudes sur Quelques Points de l'Histoire de Guillame le Conquérant by H. Prentout described under Surrey in The Complete Peerage by G.E. Gibbs.
Source includes, but is not limited to: Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Sources include but are not limited to; Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Source includes, but is not limited to: Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Sources include but are not limited to; Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Aka, Rufus. Sources include but are not limited to; Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Source includes, but is not limited to: Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Aka,Alice. Source includes, but is not limited to: Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Source includes, but is not limited to: Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
Source includes, but is not limited to: Ancestral File and the IGI, International Genealogical Index,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
See Note Page BIOGRAPHY Eric Delderfield: The youngest and only English-born son of William the Conqueror, Henry had suffered at the hands of both his brothers by the time he took the throne of England. Though the ablest of the three, he was capable of cruelty and deceit, and his greed exceeded even that of William II. Nonetheless, he was a capable and efficient ruler, who like Rufus realized the value of English support against the barons and against his elder brother. To help secure their allegiance he wisely renounced the oppressive policies of his dead brother, issuing a charter of liberties that promised to restore the laws of his father and King Edward the Elder. Anselm was recalled to Canterbury, and Ranulf was imprisoned. And, he astutely married Matilda, the daughter of Malcolm, King of Scotland, which made for peace with Scotland and pleased the English, Matilda being the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside. Henry's promises proved as worthless as those of William II, the exigencies of his costly wars and growing bureaucracy taking precedence over the restoration of rights. Though the death penalty for crimes against property was restored and sentences were often savagely harsh, they were not arbitrary as they had been under Rufus. All was done within the law. The prospect of war with Normandy after Robert's return from the crusade was precipitated by the escape from prison of Ranulf, who persuaded Robert that the barons would support him if he invaded England. Robert landed at Portsmouth, and at Alton in Hampshire the Norman army met the local fyrd. Henry was able to prevent combat by a few promises, which he was not to keep, but Robert of Belleme, the most powerful baron in England, continued with his brothers to oppose the king and had to be defeated. In exile in Normandy, Robert of Belleme formed the nucleus of a growing band of dispossessed and disenchanted barons whom Duke Robert was powerless to control, even if he had the inclination to do so. Henry used his brother's weakness as a pretext to invade Normandy in 1105, in order to destroy the external threat posed by the barons. After a slow start and unsuccessful negotiations to avoid combat, Henry routed the Norman forces at Tinchebrai, thereby uniting England and Normandy. Henry's brother spent the rest of his life imprisoned, first at Devizes and later at Cardiff. Surprisingly, Henry did not imprison or constrain his nephew William the Clito, whom many Normans regarded as Robert's rightful successor; for the rest of Henry's reign, William provided the cause for further fighting between Normandy and rebellious barons in alliance with Louis VI, King of France. When Louis appealed to the Pope on behalf of William the Clito's claim, Henry's brilliant use of dynastic marriages paid off: the Pope was keen to make peace with the Holy Roman Emperor, to whom Henry's daughter Matilda [# 3032] was married, so he was naturally reluctant to offend his father-in-law. William the Atheling, Henry's only legitimate son and heir to the English throne, was accepted as heir to Normandy too. The conflict between king and church continued under Henry, principally over the right to appoint bishops, which both claimed. The Pope had granted William I the right to invest his own bishops, but had no wish to extend that concession to his sons. After years of negotiations in a more polite refrain than that between Anselm and William II, a compromise was reached that still left Henry with substantial influence and income from sees. A major contribution to England's institutions was Henry's reorganization of the judicial system and the methods of raising taxes. He greatly expanded the scope of the Curia Regis (King's Court), in future acting as an advisory body and as a court of law, as well as supervising taxation. Members of this court were sent out to bring even the remote districts into contact with royal taxation, as well as to make people familiar with royal justice. The extension of the Curia Regis's powes paved the way for its evolution into a Parliament, its inner members forming the Privy Council and the King's Bench. Henry's greatest agent was Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, who it is said commended himself to the king by the speed with which he could get through church services. Roger was once a poor Norman priest, and an example of the way Henry appointed humble men of ability. In 1120 Henry's legitimate son was drowned in the tragedy of the White Ship. It was expected that Henry would nominate his favorite nephew, Stephen of Blois; but instead, to English dismay, he chose as his successor his daughter Matilda, who had married as her second husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou [# 3031]. (Though Henry had remarried, no children were born.) But when Henry died in 1135 of a surfeit of lampreys, the Council, considering a woman unfit to rule, offered the throne to Stephen. Stephen reigned after Henry for 19 troublesome years. Facts about this person: Record Change October 30, 1999 REF: British Monarchy Official Website: After William's death while hunting in the New Forest in 1100, his younger brother, Henry I (reigned 1100-35), succeeded to the throne. By 1106 he had captured Normandy from his brother, Robert, who then spent the last 28 years of his life as his brother's prisoner. An energetic and decisive ruler, Henry centralised the administration of England and Normandy in the royal court, and extended royal powers of patronage. Acceded 1100-1135. Henry I William's younger brother Henry (reigned 1100-35) succeeded to the throne. He was crowned three days after his brother's death, against the possibility that his eldest brother Robert might claim the English throne. After the decisive battle of Tinchebrai in 1106 in France, Henry completed his conquest of Normandy from Robert, who then (unusually even for that time) spent the last 28 years of his life as his brother's prisoner. An energetic, decisive and occasionally cruel ruler, Henry centralised the administration of England and Normandy in the royal court, using 'viceroys' in Normandy and a group of advisers in England to act on his behalf when he was absent across the Channel. Henry successfully sought to increase royal revenues, as shown by the official records of his exchequer (the Pipe Roll of 1130, the first exchequer account to survive). He established peaceful relations with Scotland, through his marriage to Mathilda of Scotland. Henry's name 'Beauclerc' denoted his good education (as the youngest son, his parents possibly expected that he would become a bishop); Henry was probably the first Norman king to be fluent in English. In 1120, his legitimate sons William and Richard drowned in the White Ship which sank in the English Channel. This posed a succession problem, as Henry never allowed any of his illegitimate children to expect succession to either England or Normandy. Henry had a legitimate daughter Matilda (widow of Emperor Henry V, subsequently married to the Count of Anjou). However, it was his nephew Stephen (reigned 1135-54), son of William the Conqueror's daughter Adela, who succeeded Henry after his death allegedly caused by eating too many lampreys (fish) in 1135, as the barons mostly opposed the idea of a female ruler.[bellchance.ged] Contemporaries: Louis VI (Louis the Fat, King of France, 1108-1137), Roger of Salisbury, Anselm (Archbishop of Canterbury), Pope Pascal II Henry I, the most resilient of the Norman kings (his reign lasted thirty-five years), was nicknamed Beauclerc (fine scholar) for his above average education. During his reign, the differences between English and Norman society began to slowly evaporate. Reforms in the royal treasury system became the foundation upon which later kings built. The stability Henry afforded the throne was offset by problems in succession: his only surviving son, William, was lost in the wreck of the White Ship in November 1120. The first years of Henry's reign were concerned with subduing Normandy. William the Conqueror divided his kingdoms between Henry's older brothers, leaving England to William Rufus and Normandy to Robert. Henry inherited no land but received £5000 in silver. He played each brother off of the other during their quarrels; both distrusted Henry and subsequently signed a mutual accession treaty barring Henry from the crown. Henry's hope arose when Robert departed for the Holy Land on the First Crusade; should William die, Henry was the obvious heir. Henry was in the woods hunting on the morning of August 2, 1100 when William Rufus was killed by an arrow. His quick movement in securing the crown on August 5 led many to believe he was responsible for his brother's death. In his coronation charter, Henry denounced William's oppressive policies and promising good government in an effort to appease his barons. Robert returned to Normandy a few weeks later but escaped final defeat until the Battle of Tinchebrai in 1106; Robert was captured and lived the remaining twenty-eight years of his life as Henry's prisoner. Henry was drawn into controversy with a rapidly expanding Church. Lay investiture, the king's selling of clergy appointments, was heavily opposed by Gregorian reformers in the Church but was a cornerstone of Norman government. Henry recalled Anselm of Bec to the archbishopric of Canterbury to gain baronial support, but the stubborn Anselm refused to do homage to Henry for his lands. The situation remained unresolved until Pope Paschal II threatened Henry with excommunication in 1105. He reached a compromise with the papacy: Henry rescinded the king's divine authority in conferring sacred offices but appointees continued to do homage for their fiefs. In practice, it changed little - the king maintained the deciding voice in appointing ecclesiastical offices - but it a marked a point where kingship became purely secular and subservient in the eyes of the Church. By 1106, both the quarrels with the church and the conquest of Normandy were settled and Henry concentrated on expanding royal power. He mixed generosity with violence in motivating allegiance to the crown and appointing loyal and gifted men to administrative positions. By raising men out of obscurity for such appointments, Henry began to rely less on landed barons as ministers and created a loyal bureaucracy. He was deeply involved in continental affairs and therefore spent almost half of his time in Normandy, prompting him to create the position of justiciar - the most trusted of all the king's officials, the justiciar literally ruled in the king's stead. Roger of Salisbury, the first justiciar, was instrumental in organizing an efficient department for collection of royal revenues, the Exchequer. The Exchequer held sessions twice a year for sheriffs and other revenue-collecting officials; these officials appeared before the justiciar, the chancellor, and several clerks and rendered an account of their finances. The Exchequer was an ingenious device for balancing amounts owed versus amounts paid. Henry gained notoriety for sending out court officials to judge local financial disputes (weakening the feudal courts controlled by local lords) and curb errant sheriffs (weakening the power bestowed upon the sheriffs by his father). The final years of his reign were consumed in war with France and difficulties ensuring the succession. The French King Louis VI began consolidating his kingdom and attacked Normandy unsuccessfully on three separate occasions. The succession became a concern upon the death of his son William in 1120: Henry's marriage to Adelaide was fruitless, leaving his daughter Matilda as the only surviving legitimate heir. She was recalled to Henry's court in 1125 after the death of her husband, Emperor Henry V of Germany. Henry forced his barons to swear an oath of allegiance to Matilda in 1127 after he arranged her marriage to the sixteen-year-old Geoffrey of Anjou to cement an Angevin alliance on the continent. The marriage, unpopular with the Norman barons, produced a male heir in 1133, which prompted yet another reluctant oath of loyalty from the aggravated barons. In the summer of 1135, Geoffrey demanded custody of certain key Norman castles as a show of good will from Henry; Henry refused and the pair entered into war. Henry's life ended in this sorry state of affairs - war with his son-in-law and rebellion on the horizon - in December 1135. The Wreck of the White Ship On the 25th November 1120 a disaster struck in the English Channel which had a dramatic effect, not only on the families of those involved, but on the very fabric of English Government. The Norman dynasty had not long established itself on the English throne and King Henry I was eager that his line should continue to wear the crown for many generations to come. Despite having numerous bastard offspring, he had but two surviving legitimate children and his hopes for his family were firmly secured by the birth of his only son, William the Aethling: called by the Saxon princely title to stress that his parents had united both Saxon and Norman Royal Houses. William was a warrior prince who, even at the age of seventeen, fought alongside his father to reassert their rights in their Norman lands on the Continent. After the successful campaign of 1119 which culminated in King Louis VI of France's defeat and humiliation at the Battle of Brémule, King Henry and his entourage were finally preparing to return to England. Henry was offered a fine vessel, the White Ship, in which to set sail for England, but the King had already made his travelling arrangements and suggested that it would be an excellent choice for his son, William. As the rising star of the Royal Court, Prince William attracted the cream of society to surround him. He was to be accompanied by some three hundred fellow passengers: 140 knights and 18 noblewomen; his half-brother, Richard; his half-sister, Matilda the Countess of Perche; his cousins, Stephen and Matilda of Blois; the nephew of the German Emperor Henry V; the young Earl of Chester and most of the heirs to the great estates of England and Normandy. There was a mood of celebration in the air and the Prince had wine brought aboard ship by the barrel-load to help the party go with a swing. Both passengers and crew soon became highly intoxicated: shouting abuse at one another and ejecting a group of clerics who had arrived to bless the voyage. Some passengers, including Stephen of Blois, who was ill with diarrhoea, appear to have sensed further trouble and decided to take a later craft. The onboard revelries had delayed the White Ship's departure and it only finally set out to sea, after night had already fallen. The Prince found that most of the King's forces had already left him far behind yet, as with all young rabble-rousers, he wished to be first back home. He therefore ordered the ship's master to have his oarsmen row full-pelt and overtake the rest of the fleet. Being as drunk as the rest of them, the master complied and the ship soon began to race through the waves. An excellent vessel though the White Ship was, sea-faring was not as safe as it is today. Many a boat was lost on the most routine of trips and people did not travel over the water unless they really had to. With a drunken crew in charge moreover, it seems that fate had marked out the White Ship for special treatment. It hit a rock in the gloom of the night and the port-side timbers cracked wide-open to reveal a gaping whole. Prince William's quick-thinking bodyguard immediately rushed him on deck and bundled him into a small dinghy. They were away to safety even before the crew had begun to make their abortive attempts to hook the vessel off the rocks. However, back aboard ship, the Prince could hear his half-sister calling to him, begging him not to leave her to the ravages of the merciless sea. He ordered his little boat to turn round, but the situation was hopeless. As William grew nearer once more, the White Ship began to descend beneath the waves. More and more people were in the water now and they fought desperately for the safety of the Royal dinghy. T
He married Matilda Countess of Flanders Queen of England, Hrh 1050 at Castle of Angi, Normandy, France . Matilda Countess of Flanders Queen of England, Hrh was born at Flandres, France 1035 daughter of Baldwin V Flanders, Count of Flanders Sir and Adelaide (Adelex) France, Capet Havoise Countess of Auxerre Lady Princess of FranceHRH .
They were the parents of 13
children:
Gundred Matilda Princess of England, Hrh
born 1053.
Robert II Curthose Duke of Belle Normandy Prince of England, Sir
born 1054.
Richard I Duke of Bernay Prince of England, Hrh
born Abt 1054.
Adeliza a nun England
born 1055.
Cecilia of Holy TrinityAbbess of Caen Princess of England, Hrh
born Abt 1055.
Margaret I Princess of England, Hrh
born 1059.
William II Rufus King of England, Hrh
born Abt 1060.
Constance I Princess of England, Hrh
born 1061.
Adaele Princess of England, Countess of BloisHRH
born 1062.
Agatha Matilda Princess of England, Hrh
born Abt 1064.
Anna Princess of England, Hrh
born Abt 1066.
Henry I Beauclerc Plantagenet, King of England
born Sep 1068.
Blocked
Guillame William I Duke of Normandy the conqueror (the Bastard) King of England died 9 Sep 1087 at Seine et Marne, France .
Matilda Countess of Flanders Queen of England, Hrh died 2 Nov 1083 at Caen, Calvados, France .