Rollo or Rolf "the Ganger",
1st Duke of Normandy became the
duke in 911 was born circa
850, at Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway, the son of Ragnvald
'the Wise'
Eysteinson and his second wife, Hiltrude
(Ragnhild) Hrolfsdottir. Rolf married 1st, in
886 to Poppa
de
Valois a granddaughter of Seineur
Pepin of Peronne, who was a great grandson of Charlemagne.
He turned over governance to his son, William I
Longsword about in 928.
Statue of Rollo in Rouen, France (right)
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William
I "Longsword" Duke of Normandy was born
901 and died 942. He took over from his father in 928. He
was
faced with opposition early in his reign. He was married twice,
firstly to Sprota
(Adela)
of Senlis, a daughter of Hubert,
Count of
Senlis and Vermandois
which produced Richard
"he Fearless Duke of Normandy". He was married
for a second time in 935 to Luitgarda of Vermandois,
a niece of his first wife Sprota. In 939 William Longsword
became involved in a conflict with Arnulf I
of Flanders. He was killed on December 17, 942 by Arnulf's supporters
in the course of a meeting to discuss the conflict.
Statue of William "Longsword"
in Falaise, France (right)
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| Richard
I "the Fearless" Duke
of Normandy was was born in Fecamp, France in 933. Richard was
the oldest son of William Longsword. He was
still a boy when his father died in 942. Richard's mother was a Breton
concubine bound to William Longsword by a Danish marriage.
After William died, Sprota became the wife of Esperling, a
wealthy miller. Normandy was seized by Louis IV of France and
Richard subjected to confinement. He succeeded in escaping his
captors and regained Normandy. He was responsible for
introducing the feudal system into his dominion. Richards first wife, Emma of
Paris who died in 962, the marriage produced no children.
Secondly, he married his mistress, Gunnor
of Crêpon, to legitimatize their 8
children, the first being Richard II "the Good" Duke of
Normandy.
Statue
of Richard I "the Fearless" in Falaise France (right)
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Richard
II "the Good" Duke
of Normandy was born 23 August 963 AD
in Normandy, France. He married Judith
of Brittany, born 982 AD
and died 1107, daughter of Conan the Crooked,
Duke of
Brittany. Richard
III,
5th Duke of Normandy was
born of
a mistress and was allegedly poisoned in 1028. Richard II and Judith
had a son, Robert
I,
Duke of Normandy, born in Normandy, France.
Richard II died 28 August 1027 in Fecamp, Normandy,
France.
Statue of Richard II "the Good " in Falaise, France (right)
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Robert
I "the Devil" Duke of Normandy was
born circa 999 AD in Normandy, France.
Sometimes, he is referred to as Robert II, as
Rollo or Rolf "the Ganger" was baptized "Robert (I)" in the year 911.
Robert
was referred to as "the devil" due to accusations he may have
been involved in "poisoning " his brother, Richard III. Robert
was
first, Count of Hiémois after
his father died; he became Duke of Normandy upon his brother's demise.
He had a mistress, Herleva
"Arlette" de Falaise, a daughter of Fulbert de
Falaise a tanner, and Doda.
When
they were both twenty or younger she became
pregnant with their
first child, destined to be a
son, William
"the
Conqueror" of Normandy. Although
they had a long relationship, the gap in their social standing
rendered marriage out of the question and Herleva was married off to
one of Robert's vassals, Herluin,
a knight. After he made his illegitimate
son, William his heir, Duke Robert
embarked on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem late in 1034 or, early in 1035 to
expiate his sins. He
died about 3 July 1035 in Nicaea, Bihynia, Turkey, about 65 miles
southeast of Constantinople. Robert "the Devil" was also also referred
to
as "Robert
"the Magnificent". Robert
(I) or II was succeeded by his
illegitimate son William, who was to go down in history as William I
the
Conqueror, King of England.
Statue of Robert "the
Magnificent" or "the Devil" in Falaise, France (right)
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William I
"the Conqueror" King of England was born about 1028
and died 9
September 1087. He married Matilda (Maud)
in
the Cathedral of
Notre Dame of Eur., Normandy. Matilda (Maud) was a daughter of Baldwin V,
born 1012
and died 1 September 1067 and Adele,
born
1009, died 8 January 1079. Matilda (Maud) was born about
1031
and died 2 November 1083. Queen Matilda, was descended from Alfred the Great
(but not through the main West Saxon Royal line:
They had a son, Henry I,
born about
September 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire, England. So much has been written
about William the Conqueror, we suggest the reader check any good
encyclopedia, history book about this era, or web pages concerning
this period. William invaded England and won the battle of
Hastings, and became the ruler of England. The "Doomsday
Book," actually "Domesday" Book, the record of a British census and
land survey of two parts, done in 1085 and 1086, ordered by King
William I "the Conqueror".
Portrait of
William "the Conqueror," King of England (right)
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Henry
I "Beauclerc"
King of England the fourth son of William the
Conqueror was born about September 1068 in
Selby, Yorkshire, England, and died 1 December 1135 in At.
Denis-le-Fermont, near Gisors. Henry I succeeded his elder
brother William
II (killed by an arrow in a hunting accident) as King of England
in 1100 and defeated his brother, Robert Curthose,
to become Duke of Normandy in 1106. On 11 November 1100 Henry married Edith of Scotland,
daughter of King
Malcolm III of Scotland. Since Edith was also the niece of Edgar Atheling
and the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside
(the half-brother of Edward the
Confessor)
the marriage united the Norman line with the old English line of Kings.
The marriage greatly displeased the Norman barons. As a concession to
their sensibilities she changed her name to Matilda (Edith) upon
becoming
Queen. The other side of the coin, was that Henry, because of
his marriage, became more acceptable to the Anglo-Saxon
populace. Henry I was called "Beauclerc" for his scholarly
interests, and also "Lion of Justice" for refinements he
brought about in the administrative and legislative machinery of his
time.
Portrait of
King Henry I King of England (right)
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Matilda
(Maud) daughter of King Henry I and
Queen
Edith Matilda, was born about 7 February 1102 and died 10
September 1187 in Abbey of Notre Dame des Preès, Ruen, France.
She was called Empress Matilda, and also known as
Matilda of England or Maud. As a child, Matilda was betrothed to
and later married Henry V, Holy
Roman Emperor, acquiring the title Empress. The couple had no
known children. When widowed, she was married to Geoffrey Plantagenet de Anjou,
17 June 1126, with whom she had three sons, the eldest of
whom became King Henry II England.
Matilda
was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of England. However, the
length of her effective rule was brief, just a few months in 1141. She
was never crowned and failed to consolidate her rule (legally and
politically). For this reason, she is normally excluded from lists of
English monarchs; her rival (and cousin) Stephen of Blois
is listed as monarch for the period 1135-1154. Their
rivalry for the throne led to years of unrest and civil war in England
that have been called The Anarchy. She did secure her inheritance of
the Duchy of Normandy through the military feats of her husband,
Geoffrey, and campaigned copiously for her
oldest son's inheritance, living to see him ascend the throne in 1154.
A scene with
Matilda (Maud) at Oxford (right)
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