Richard I Fearless Normandy

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: Abt 952, , Basse-Normandie, France

Notes:

Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: Richard Sans-Peur; Old Norse: Jarl Richart), was the Count of Rouen or Jarl of Rouen from 942 to 996. Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum" (Latin, "On the Customs and Deeds of the First Dukes of Normandy"), called him a Dux. However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility. Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it. By the end of his reign, the most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure.

Richard was born to William Longsword, princeps (chieftain or ruler) of Normandy, and Sprota. His mother was a Breton concubine captured in war and bound to William by a more danico marriage. He was also the grandson of the famous Rollo. William was told of the birth of a son after the battle with Riouf and other Viking rebels, but his existence was kept secret until a few years later when William Longsword first met his son Richard. After kissing the boy and declaring him his heir, William sent Richard to be raised in Bayeux. Richard was about ten years old when his father was killed on 17 December 942. After William was killed, Sprota became the wife of Esperleng, a wealthy miller. Rodulf of Ivry was their son and Richard's half-brother.

With the death of Richard's father in 942, King Louis IV of France installed the boy, Richard, in his father's office. Under the influence of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, the king took him into Frankish territory and placing him in the custody of the count of Ponthieu before the king reneged and seized the lands of the Duchy of Normandy. He then split up the duchy, giving its lands in lower Normandy to Hugh the Great. Louis IV thereafter kept Richard in close confinement at Lâon, but the youth escaped from imprisonment with assistance of Osmond de Centville, Bernard de Senlis, Ivo de Bellèsme, and Bernard the Dane.

In 946, at the age of 14, Richard allied himself with the Norman and Viking leaders in France and with men sent by King Harold of Denmark. A battle was fought after which Louis IV was captured. Hostages were taken and held until King Louis recognised Richard as Duke, returning Normandy to him. Richard agreed to "commend" himself to Hugh, the Count of Paris, Hugh resolved to form a permanent alliance with Richard and promised his daughter Emma, who was just a child, as a bride; the marriage would take place in 960.

Louis, working with Arnulf, persuaded Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor to attack Richard and Hugh. The combined armies of Otto, Arnulf, and Louis were driven from the gates of Rouen, fleeing to Amiens and being decisively defeated in 947. A period of peace ensued, Louis dying in 954, 13 year old Lothair becoming king. The middle-aged Hugh appointed Richard as guardian of his 15-year-old son, Hugh Capet in 955.

In 962, Theobald I, Count of Blois, attempted a renewed invasion of Rouen, Richard's stronghold, but his troops were summarily routed by Normans under Richard's command, and forced to retreat before ever having crossed the Seine river. Lothair, the king of the West Franks, was fearful that Richard's retaliation could destabilize a large part of West Francia so he stepped in to prevent any further war between the two. In 987, Hugh Capet became King of the Franks.

For the last 30 years until his death in 996 in Fécamp, Richard concentrated on Normandy itself, and participated less in Frankish politics and its petty wars. In lieu of building up the Norman Empire by expansion, he stabilized the realm and reunited the Normans, forging the reclaimed Duchy of his father and grandfather into West Francia's most cohesive and formidable principality.

Richard used marriage to build strong alliances. His marriage to Emma of Paris connected him directly to the House of Capet. His second wife, Gunnor, from a rival Viking group in the Cotentin, formed an alliance to that group, while her sisters formed the core group that were to provide loyal followers to him and his successors.

His daughters forged valuable marriage alliances with powerful neighboring counts as well as to the king of England. Emma married firstly Æthelred the Unready and after his death in 1016, the invader, Cnut the Great. Her children included Edward the Confessor, Alfred Aetheling and with Cnut, Harthacnut, so completing a major link between the Duke of Normandy and the Crown of England that would add validity to the claim by William the Conqueror to the throne of England.

Richard also built on his relationship with the church, undertaking acts of piety, restoring their lands and ensuring the great monasteries flourished in Normandy. His further reign was marked by an extended period of peace and tranquility.

Richard's first marriage in 960 was to Emma, daughter of Hugh the Great, and Hedwige of Saxony. They were betrothed when both were very young. She died after 19 March 968, with no issue.

According to Robert of Torigni, not long after Emma's death, Duke Richard went out hunting and stopped at the house of a local forester. He became enamored with the forester's wife, Seinfreda, but she was a virtuous woman and suggested he court her unmarried sister, Gunnor, instead. Gunnor became his mistress and her family rose to prominence. Her brother, Herfast de Crepon, may have been involved in a controversial heresy trial. Gunnor was, like Richard, of Viking descent, being a Dane by blood. Richard finally married her to legitimize their children:

Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy[1]
Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux[1]
Mauger, Count of Corbeil[1]
Robert Danus, died between 985 and 989[23]
another son[23]
Emma of Normandy, wife of two kings of England[1]
Maud of Normandy, wife of Odo II of Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres[1]
Hawise of Normandy m. Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany[1]

Illegitimate children
Richard was known to have had several other mistresses and had children with many of them. Known children are:

Geoffrey, Count of Eu[1][24]
William, Count of Eu (ca. 972-26 January 1057/58),[24] m. Lasceline de Turqueville (d. 26 January 1057/58).
Beatrice of Normandy, Abbess of Montivilliers d.1034 m. Ebles of Turenne[1] (d.1030 (divorced)
Possible children
Muriella, married Tancred de Hauteville[1][25][26]
Fressenda or Fredesenda (ca. 995-ca. 1057), second wife of Tancred de Hauteville.[1][26][27]
Guimara (Wimarc(a)) (b. circa 986), died Abbey of Montivilliers, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, wife of Ansfred (Ansfroi) II "le Dane" le Goz, vicomte of Exmes and Falaise, mother of Robert FitzWimarc Papia

Family/Spouse: concubine of Richard I deNormandy. concubine was born in 937 in , Basse-Normandie, France; died in 1033 in Fecamp, Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Gunnora Harldsdottir Duchess Normandy De Crepon in 962 in Fecamp, Normandie, France. Gunnora was born in 936 in , Normandy, France; died in 1033 in Fecamp, Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Geoffrey of Brionne (mid-10th century – 1015), also called Godfrey was Count of Eu and Brionne in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries.

He was a son of Duke Richard I of Normandy, by an unnamed wife or concubine. The county of Eu was an appanage created for Geoffrey by his half-brother Richard II of Normandy in 996 as part of Richard's policy of granting honors and titles for cadet members of his family. The citadel of Eu played a critical part of the defense of Normandy; the castle and walled town were on the river Bresle, just two miles from the English Channel. It had long been an embarkation point for England and in time of war was often one of the first places attacked.

The castle of Brionne had been held by the Dukes of Normandy as one of their own homes but Richard II also made a gift of Brionne to his half-brother Geoffrey, who held it for life passing it to his son Gilbert and was only returned to the demesne of the Duke after his murder.

Both Geoffrey and his son Gilbert are styled counts in a diploma to Lisieux given by Duke Richard II, but without territorial designations. Geoffrey died c. 1010.

Geoffrey was married but the name of his wife is unknown. He was the father of:
Gilbert, Count of Eu and Brionne
Upon his death, Geoffrey was succeeded as Count of Eu and Count of Brionne by his son Gilbert.

While there is little doubt Geoffrey (Godfrey) was Count of Eu, there is an open question as to whether Geoffrey was ever "Count" of Brionne. See: Douglas, Earliest Norman Counts, EHS 61, No. 240 (1946), p.134.

The early Normans followed the Viking custom of marriage called mos danicus that they considered a legitimate form of marriage. It was the Church that considered this the same as concubinage. Legitimacy would not have been an issue at this time.

Orderic in a speech attributed to Roger, Count of Mullent to Robert II, Duke of Normandy, in asking for the castle of Brionne stated that it was Duke Richard the elder (I) who gave Brionne to his son Geoffrey (Godfrey). See Ordericus Vitalis, Ecclesiastical History, Trans. Forester, Vol. II (1854),

Family/Spouse: Geoffrey Countess Brionne. Geoffrey was born in 958 in , Normandy, France; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Richard II (died 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: Le Bon), was the eldest son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnor. He was a Norman nobleman of the House of Normandy. He was the paternal grandfather of William the Conqueror. Richard succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 996. During his minority, the first five years of his reign (suggesting he was born between 980 and 990), his regent was Count Rodulf of Ivry, his uncle, who wielded the power and put down a peasant insurrection at the beginning of Richard's reign.

Richard had deep religious interests and found he had much in common with Robert II of France, who he helped militarily against the duchy of Burgundy. He forged a marriage alliance with Brittany by marrying his sister Hawise to Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany and by his own marriage to Geoffrey's sister, Judith of Brittany.

In 1000–1001, Richard repelled an English attack on the Cotentin Peninsula that was led by Ethelred II of England. Ethelred had given orders that Richard be captured, bound and brought to England. But the English had not been prepared for the rapid response of the Norman cavalry and were defeated at the Battle of Val-de-Saire.

Richard attempted to improve relations with England through his sister Emma of Normandy's marriage to King Ethelred. This marriage was significant in that it later gave his grandson, William the Conqueror, the basis of his claim to the throne of England. The improved relations proved to be beneficial to Ethelred when in 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard invaded England. Emma with her two sons Edward and Alfred fled to Normandy followed shortly thereafter by her husband king Ethelred. Soon after the death of Ethelred, Cnut, King of England forced Emma to marry him while Richard was forced to recognize the new regime as his sister was again Queen. Richard had contacts with Scandinavian Vikings throughout his reign. He employed Viking mercenaries and concluded a treaty with Sweyn Forkbeard who was en route to England.

Richard II commissioned his clerk and confessor, Dudo of Saint-Quentin, to portray his ducal ancestors as morally upright Christian leaders who built Normandy despite the treachery of their overlords and neighboring principalities. It was clearly a work of propaganda designed to legitimize the Norman settlement, and while it contains numerous historically unreliable legends, as respects the reigns of his father and grandfather, Richard I and William I it is basically reliable.

In 1025 and 1026 Richard confirmed gifts of his great-grandfather Rollo to Saint-Ouen at Rouen. His other numerous grants to monastic houses tends to indicate the areas over which Richard had ducal control, namely Caen, the Éverecin, the Cotentin, the Pays de Caux and Rouen.

Richard II died 28 Aug 1026. his eldest son, Richard becoming the new duke.

He married first, around 1000, Judith (982–1017), daughter of Conan I of Brittany, with whom he had the following children:

Richard (c. 997/1001), duke of Normandy[1]
Robert (1000), duke of Normandy[1]
Alice of Normandy (c. 1003/5), married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy[1]
William (c. 1007/9), monk at Fécamp, d. 1025, buried at Fécamp Abbey[1][15]
Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033. She died young and unmarried.[16]
Second he married Poppa of Envermeu, and they had the following children:

Mauger (c. 1019), Archbishop of Rouen
William (c. 1020/5), count of Arques

Richard married Judith De Bretagne about 1000 in , Normandy, France. Judith was born in 982 in , , Bretagne, France; died on 16 Jun 1017 in , Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Pope (Papie) Duchess Of Normandy about 1024 in , Normandy, France. Pope was born about 997 in , Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Archbishop married Havlive De Rouen on Yes, date unknown. Havlive was born about 968 in , Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Havoise married Geoffrey I de Bretagne, S1015 in 996 in , Normandy, France . Geoffrey (son of Conan I de Bretagne and Ermangarde de Anjou) was born in 980 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; died on 20 Nov 1008 in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Emma married Ethelred II King of England in 1002 in , Normandy, France. Ethelred was born about 968 in Wessex, England; died on 23 Apr 1016 in London, London, England; was buried in Saint Pauls Cathedral, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Gilbert (or Giselbert) de Brionne, Count of Eu and of Brionne (c. 1000 – c. 1040), was an influential nobleman in the Duchy of Normandy in Northern France. He was one of the early guardians of Duke William II in his minority, and a first cousin to William's father Duke Robert. Had Lord Brionne not been murdered, the senior house of de Clare would probably have been titled de Brionne. Lord Brionne was the first to be known by the cognomen Crispin because of his hair style which stood up like the branches of a pine tree.

Gilbert de Brionne was son of Geoffrey, Count of Eu (otherwise cited as 'Godfrey'), who was an illegitimate child of Richard I of Normandy. He inherited Brionne, becoming one of the most powerful landowners in Normandy. Gilbert was a generous benefactor to Bec Abbey founded by his former knight Herluin in 1031. When Robert I died in 1035, his illegitimate son William inherited his father's title and several powerful nobles, including Gilbert of Brionne, Osbern the Seneschal and Alan of Brittany, became William's guardians.

A number of Norman barons, including Ralph de Gacé, refused to accept William as their leader. In 1040 an attempt was made to kill William but the plot failed. Gilbert however was murdered while he was peaceably riding near Eschafour. It is believed two of his killers were Ralph of Wacy and Robert de Vitot. This appears to have been an act of vengeance for the wrongs inflicted upon the orphan children of Giroie by Gilbert, and it is not clear what Ralph de Gacé had to do in the business. Fearing they might meet their father's fate, Gilbert's sons Richard and Baldwin were conveyed by their friends to the court of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. Gilbert's children would accompany Duke William on his conquest of England and his descendants would become one of the most powerful noble families in the British isles. They would rule over vast lands in modern-day Ireland, Scotland, and England and become powerful Marcher Lords.

The name of the wife of Gilbert de Brionne is not known; however, they were known to have the following children:
Sir Richard fitz Gilbert (Richard de Clare) (bef. 1035 – c. 1090), m. Rohese Giffard (1034 – aft. 1113), daughter of Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville[9]
Baldwin FitzGilbert (d. 1090)[5]
William (died after 29 August 1060)
Adela (died August 1092), m. Neel II, Viscount of Cotentin (fr)
Emma, m. Hugh de Waft[10]
Hesilia, m. William Malet, Honour of Eye[11]
Through his eldest son, Gilbert was ancestor of the English house of de Clare, of the Barons FitzWalter, and the Earls of Gloucester and Hertford. After Gilbert's death, his uncle William I became Count of Eu whereas Brionne reverted to duke.

Gilbert and an unknown woman had the following children:
Osbern of Cailly (c. 1020 – c. 1090), m. Hildeburge of Beaudemont[b]

Gilbert married Gunnora D'aunou, , , England. Gunnora was born about 984 in , , , France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Mrs. Richard-Iii, Concubine Of Normandie. Mrs. was born about 1000 in , Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Robert the Magnificent (French: le Magnifique;[a] 22 June 1000 – 1–3 July 1035), was the Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035.

Owing to uncertainty over the numbering of the Dukes of Normandy he is usually called Robert I, but sometimes Robert II with his ancestor Rollo as Robert I. He was the son of Richard II and brother of Richard III, who preceded him as the Duke. Less than a year after his father's death, Robert revolted against his brother's rule, but failed. He would later inherit Normandy after his brother's death. He was succeeded by his illegitimate son, William the Conqueror who became the first Norman king of England in 1066, following the Norman conquest of England.

Robert was the son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith, daughter of Conan I, Duke of Brittany. He was also grandson of Richard I of Normandy, great-grandson of William I of Normandy and great-great grandson of Rollo, the Viking who founded Normandy. Before he died, Richard II had decided his elder son Richard III would succeed him while his second son Robert would become Count of Hiémois. In August 1026 their father, Richard II, died and Richard III became duke, but soon afterwards Robert rebelled against his brother, was subsequently defeated and forced to swear fealty to his older brother Richard.

When Richard III died a year later, there were suspicions that Robert had something to do with his death. Although nothing could be proved, Robert had the most to gain. The civil war Robert I had brought against his brother Richard III was still causing instability in the duchy. Private wars raged between neighbouring barons. This resulted in a new aristocracy arising in Normandy during Robert’s reign. It was also during this time that many of the lesser nobility left Normandy to seek their fortunes in southern Italy and elsewhere. Soon after assuming the dukedom, possibly in revenge for supporting his brother against him, Robert I assembled an army against his uncle, Robert, Archbishop of Rouen and Count of Évreux. A temporary truce allowed his uncle to leave Normandy in exile but this resulted in an edict excommunicating all of Normandy, which was only lifted when Archbishop Robert was allowed to return and his countship was restored. Robert also attacked another powerful churchman, his cousin Hugo III d'Ivry, Bishop of Bayeux, banishing him from Normandy for an extended period of time. Robert also seized a number of church properties belonging to the Abbey of Fecamp.

Despite his domestic troubles Robert decided to intervene in the civil war in Flanders between Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and his father Baldwin IV whom the younger Baldwin had driven out of Flanders. Baldwin V, supported by king Robert II of France, his father-in-law, was persuaded to make peace with his father in 1030 when Duke Robert promised the elder Baldwin his considerable military support. Robert gave shelter to Henry I of France against his mother, Queen Constance, who favored her younger son Robert to succeed to the French throne after his father Robert II. For his help Henry I rewarded Robert with the French Vexin. In the early 1030s Alan III, Duke of Brittany began expanding his influence from the area of Rennes and appeared to have designs on the area surrounding Mont Saint-Michel. After sacking Dol and repelling Alan's attempts to raid Avranches, Robert mounted a major campaign against his cousin Alan III. However, Alan appealed to their uncle, Archbishop Robert of Rouen, who then brokered a peace between Duke Robert and his vassal Alan III. His cousins, the Athelings Edward and Alfred, sons of his aunt Emma of Normandy and Athelred, King of England had been living at the Norman Court and at one point Robert, on their behalf, attempted to mount an invasion of England but was prevented in doing so, it was said, by unfavorable winds, that scattered and sank much of the fleet. Robert made a safe landing in Guernsey. Gesta Normannorum Ducum stated that King Cnut sent envoys to Duke Robert offering to settle half the Kingdom of England on Edward and Alfred. After postponing the naval invasion he chose to also postpone the decision until after he returned from Jerusalem.

Robert's attitude towards the Church had changed noticeably certainly since reinstating his uncle's position as Archbishop of Rouen. In his attempt to reconcile his differences with the Church he restored property that he or his vassals had confiscated, and by 1034 had returned all the properties he had earlier taken from the abbey of Fecamp.

After making his illegitimate son William his heir, he set out on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to the Gesta Normannorum Ducum he travelled by way of Constantinople, reached Jerusalem, fell seriously ill and died on the return journey at Nicaea on 2 July 1035. His son William, aged about eight, succeeded him.

According to the historian William of Malmesbury, decades later his son William sent a mission to Constantinople and Nicaea, charging it with bringing his father's body back to Normandy for burial. Permission was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia (Italy) on the return journey, the envoys learned that William himself had meanwhile died. They then decided to re-inter Robert's body in Italy.

By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise, he was father of:
William the Conqueror (c. 1028–1087).

By Herleva or possibly another concubine, he was the father of:
Adelaide of Normandy, who married firstly, Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu. She married secondly, Lambert II, Count of Lens, and thirdly, Odo II of Champagne.

Robert married Harlette De Falaise about 1023. Harlette was born about 1003 in Falaise, Calvados, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Adelais married Renaud I Count Palatine Of Burgundy in 1023 in , , , France. Renaud (son of Otto Guillaume Count Of Burgundy and Ermentrude (Irmtrude) Countess Of Rheims) was born about 986 in Burgundy, Marne, Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France; died on 4 Sep 1057 in , , , France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Guillaume married Daughter De Ponthieu on Yes, date unknown. Daughter was born about 1029 in Ponthieu, Picardie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard, married Adaele Mrs De Toni, Countess Of Evreux before 1030. Adaele was born about 1004 in , Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Odo of Rennes (Medieval Breton: Eudon Pentevr, Modern Breton: Eozen Penteur, Latin: Eudo, French: Eudes/Éon de Penthièvre) [a] (999–1079), Count of Penthièvre, was the youngest of the three sons of Duke Geoffrey I of Brittany and Hawise of Normandy, daughter of Richard I of Normandy. Eozen married Agnes of Cornouaille (Orguen Kernev), the daughter of Alan Canhiart, Count of Cornouaille and sister of Hoel II, Duke of Brittany who was married in 1066 to Eozen's niece Hawise, Duchess of Brittany.

Role in Governance of Brittany
When Eozen's father Duke[b] Geoffrey I died on 20 November 1008, both Eozen and his older brother Alan were minors.

Duke Geoffrey had initiated a dynastic double marriage with Richard II, Duke of Normandy by marrying Hawise of Normandy, one of Richard's sisters, in 996; this was followed by the marriage of Geoffrey's sister Judith of Brittany to Richard around the year 1000. Alan and Eozen were thus double-first cousins of Duke Richard II's children, including Richard III, Duke of Normandy and Robert I, Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror's father), nephews of Emma of Normandy, and first cousins of Emma's children Edward the Confessor, Harthacnut, Goda of England, Gunhilda of Denmark and Alfred Aetheling.

At Geoffrey's death, Alan became de jure Duke, as Alan III, Duke of Brittany,[c] Hawise took on the role of Regent, and Richard asserted the role of Guardian of Brittany, an arrangement reciprocated on the death of Robert I, Duke of Normandy in 1035.

Also in 1035, after a dispute between Eozen and Duke Alan III, their uncle Judicaël Bishop of Vannes arbitrated, and Alan III gave Eozen the bishoprics of Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Malo, Tréguier and Dol-de-Bretagne, as well as the counties and baronies of Penthièvre, Goëlo, Avaugour and Lamballe. Eozen placed his capital at Lamballe, where he began issuing coins in his own name.

Following the death of his brother Duke Alan III in 1040, Eozen ruled as regent of Brittany in the name of his nephew Conan II, holding Conan in custody. Conan was freed by his supporters in 1047. Eozen's regency should have ended when Conan reached his majority (circa 1054), but Eozen refused to relinquish control of the Duchy.

In 1054 Geoffrey, Viscount of Mayenne in Maine, affronted by William of Normandy's new fortifications at Ambrieres, "appealed to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou" who "called to his assistance Guy-William of Aquitaine and Count Eudo of Brittany"[1]

In a charter dated to 1056/1060, Eozen ("Eudo") granted land "in pago Belvacensi" (Beauvais, Picardy) to the Abbey of Angers Saint-Aubin (q.v. Albinus of Angers). Witnesses included his wife Orguen and their sons Gausfridus, Alanus Rufus, Willelmus, Rotbertus and Ricardus (Geoffrey, Alan Rufus, William, Robert and Richard).

By 1056 Conan gained the upper hand in Brittany, and in 1057 he captured his uncle Eozen and chained him in a prison cell. Eozen's eldest son Geoffrey Boterel continued to fight.

In 1062, peace was concluded between Conan and Geoffrey. Eozen, who was now free, continued the fight alone.

In histories favourable to the house of Penthièvre, Eozen is shown as effectively ruling Brittany between 1040 and 1062. In other histories his rule is shown as ending with his capture in 1057.

Conan was a legitimate contender for the title of Duke of Normandy, so he became a serious rival to Duke William.

In 1064, Eozen's liegeman Rivallon I of Dol invited Duke William to join him against Conan, thus initiating the Breton-Norman War of 1064-1065 in which Normandy, Anjou, Dol de Bretagne and the captive Harold Godwinson combined against Conan II, as depicted in three panels of the Bayeux Tapestry. Historians differ on whether William or Conan should be considered the victor in this conflict.

Involvement in the Preparations for the Norman Conquest of England
Eozen provided, trained and equipped 5000 Breton soldiers for William the Conqueror's army. Of these, 4000 were professionals, comprising light cavalry, heavy cavalry, archers, crossbowmen and axemen; he also trained 1000 levied (conscripted) spearmen. Eozen put these troops on 100 ships under the command of his sons Count Alan Rufus and Count Brian, and they sailed from Brittany to join the Norman forces gathering at Barfleur then on to William's staging point at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, in readiness to cross the Channel.

Rebellion against Hoel II of Brittany
Despite his advanced years, Eozen was involved in the failed 1075/1076 rebellion against Hoel II, Duke of Brittany, by Geoffrey Grenonat of Rennes and Ralph de Gael (fresh from his 1075 rebellion against King William). Hoel II was supported by William the Conqueror, briefly placing Eozen and William on opposing sides once again, a situation that was soon resolved when, to William's disappointment, Hoel came to terms with the rebels.

Death
On 7 January 1079, at about 80 years of age, Eozen died in Cesson-Sévigné, an eastern suburb of Rennes. He was buried in Saint-Brieuc Cathedral.

In his memory, “Comes Alanus Rufus” (Count Alan Rufus), his second son, donated property to Swavesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire, for the soul of “patris sui Eudonis comitis” (his father Count Eozen), by an undated charter witnessed by “…Ribaldus et Bardulfus fratres comitis…” (Ribald and Bardulf, brothers of Count Alan).

Family
Thomas Forester’s 1854 translation of volume 2 of Orderic Vitalis’s The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, book 5, chapter 9, section 43 and page 164, last paragraph, states concerning Eozen's sons:

“God also gave him seven sons, who became remarkable for the singular and changeable events of their lives. The studious might compose a long and pleasing history, from true accounts of their various fortunes.”

Eozen's children with Agnes include:

Adèle (born c. 1035, died after 1056/1057).[2]
Geoffrey Boterel I, count of Penthièvre (d. 24 August 1093).
Brian - Earl of Cornwall (d. after 1084) (possibly illegitimate).[d]
Alan Rufus (Latin; alternatively Alain Le Roux in French, or Alan Ar Rouz in Breton, called Count Alan in the Domesday Book, his name means "Red Deer" or "Hart") (d. between 1093 and 1098). He promoted trade at Boston, Lincolnshire, built St Mary's Abbey, York, Richmond Castle and the first castle at Middleham, and was effectively the first Earl of Richmond, though the majority of his manors were in East Anglia. Richmondshire in North Yorkshire is described in the Domesday Book as "Terra Alani Comitis" ("The Land of Count Alan") in "Eborakscire" (Yorkshire).[6] In the Rebellion of 1088, he was the first of the great magnates to support William II of England against Odo, Earl of Kent and his allies.
Alan the Black (alternatively Alain Niger, or Alan Ar Du in Breton, his name means "Black Deer") (d. between 1094 and 1098), inherited from Alan Rufus.[e]
Stephen, Count of Tréguier married Havise of Guingamp - succeeded Alan Rufus and Alan the Black as de facto Earl of Richmond. Stephen and Havise had a number of legitimate children and grandchildren, all of whom are ancestors of the current British Royal Family.
Robert, a priest in Yorkshire (d. after 1083).
Richard, a canon of Bayeux at the time when Thomas of Bayeux, Thomas's brother Samson and William de Saint-Calais were also canons there.
Guillaume or William, who came to Switzerland, entering the service of the Holy Roman Emperor; he was the suppressor of the revolt of Agaunum (today Saint-Maurice-en-Valais), and received a castle in his honour.
An unnamed daughter, who married Enisandus Musardus de Pleveno who was the Lord of Cheveley in Cambridgeshire (under Alan Rufus as tenant-in-chief) and first Constable of Richmond Castle and lord of some twenty manors in Richmondshire. Cheveley was recorded until 1457 as remaining under the overlordship of the Honour of Richmond.[7]
Sons of Eozen who were probably illegitimate include:

Ribald, who received the Lordship of Middleham from Alan Rufus.[f]
Bardolf, who moved to England where he held the lordship of Ravensworth and became the ancestor of the Fitzhugh family.
Bodin, Lord of Bedale and brother of Bardolf.
(Possibly) Derrien, Lord of La Roche-Derrien in Brittany.
At least two of Eozen's sons (Alan Rufus and Brian) were early participants in the Norman conquest of England.[8]

Eozen's descendants formed the junior branch of the Breton ducal family, which gained control of the duchy in 1156 under Conan IV of Brittany.

Notes
Odo in French is Eudes.
The title of Duke of Brittany had not yet been recognized by the King of France, although it was in use since Alan II, Duke of Brittany. Since Brittany was not in fact under the French Crown until the late 15th century, and not incorporated into the French State until the French Revolution, what the King of France thought is a moot point.
In some histories Eozen is shown co-Duke with his brother Alan, followed by a period where Alan ruled as Duke of Brittany alone. Eozen's position as co-Duke is unlikely and remains an historical uncertainty in search of documented proof. In any event Alan would go on to shed the control of Normandy circa 1026, and from this date it is clear there was no ruling role for Eozen until Alan died.
The detailed documented histories are lacking and limited. He is presumed to have been illegitimate, though his title of Count suggests that he was a legitimate son, as does the genealogy in Gale's edition of the Registry of the Honour of Richmond which gives his wife's name as Imogen. Brian participated in the conquest of England. The website of Charles Cawley reports that Brian (French: Brien; Latin: Briennius) defeated a second raid in the southwest of England, launched from Ireland by Harold's sons in 1069. Brian's forces then went north to counter the rebellion by Eadric the Wild, as William the Conqueror's army travelled west; the two armies joined and won the Battle of Stafford.[3] For a time, Brian held the Honour of Brittany, including 227 manors in Cornwall and a number in eastern England. However, he became an invalid and subsequently relinquished all his estates in south-west England (William then gave them to his own half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain), and retired to Brittany to be with his bride. He is recorded as a witness to two documents issued by Geoffrey I Boterel in 1084. He is believed to have died without offspring,[4] however Domesday Book[5] entries for the year 1086 refer to "Ralph son of Brian" (http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/418750/ralph-son-of-brian/) as holding seven properties in Essex and Suffolk, some under the Bishop of London St Paul, the others under Ranulf (Ranulph) Peverel (see William Peverel); to "William son of Brian" (http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/597200/william-son-of-brian/) as holding land under the Bishop of London St Paul at Great and Little Totham in the Hundred of Thurstable in Essex; to "Everard son of Brian" (http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/196550/everard-son-of-brian/), whose name is the first listed for the Hundred of Cheveley, as holding land, under Aubrey de Vere I in Ashley and in Saxon [Street], either side of Cheveley; and to "Brian's wife" (http://domesdaymap.co.uk/name/118700/brians-wife/) as holding property under the Bishop of London St Paul in Stepney in the Hundred of Ossulstone in Middlesex. The timing of the lives of Alan Rufus and Stephen of Tréguier suggests that Brian did not hold Richmond. It is reported elsewhere that he was an Earl of Cornwall but resigned the title and returned to Brittany; Brian's lands in England were then granted by King William I to the latter's half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain. During the Anarchy, Alan the Black II claimed Cornwall on the basis of his uncle Brian having held it; a claim that was accepted by King Stephen.
Not to be confused with Alan the Black II, the son of Stephen, Count of Tréguier, who also would inherit the Earldom, after Stephen. There is little reliable written documentation of his life save for a record of his death - possibly in the same year as his brother Alan Rufus, as he is believed to have held the Earldom for a very brief period of time before it passed to Stephen.
Middleham later passed by marriage and consequent female descent to the House of Neville.

Eudes married Agnes Canhiart De Cornouaille in 1040 in , , Bretagne, France. Agnes was born in 1018 in Cornouaille, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; died on 7 Jan 1078 in Cornouaille, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Goda married Dreux Count Of Vexin about 1025 in , , , England. Dreux was born about 1000 in Vexin, Île-de-France, France; died in 1035. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Richard fitz Gilbert (bef. 1035–c. 1090), was a Norman lord who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and was styled "de Bienfaite", "de Clare", and of "Tonbridge" from his holdings.

Biography
He was the son of Gilbert, Count of Brionne in Normandy (fitz was a variant spelling of filz > French fils, that means "son"). Gilbert was a guardian of the young duke William and when he was killed by Ralph de Wacy in 1040, his two older sons Richard and Gilbert fled to Flanders.[4] On his later return to Normandy Richard was rewarded with the lordship of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy. In 1066, Richard came into England with his kinsman William the Conqueror, and received from him great advancement in honour and possessions.

The Dictionary of National Biography and other sources are vague and sometimes contradictory about when the name de Clare came into common usage, but what we do know is that Richard fitz Gilbert (of Tonbridge), the earliest identifiable progenitor of the family, is once referred to as Richard of Clare in the Suffolk return of the Domesday Book.

Rewards
He was rewarded with 176 lordships and large grants of land in England, including the right to build the castles of Clare and of Tonbridge. Richard fitz Gilbert received the lordship of Clare, in Suffolk, where parts of the wall of Clare Castle still stand. He was thus Lord of Clare. Some contemporaneous and later sources called him Earl of Clare, though many modern sources view the title as a "styled title".

He served as Joint Chief Justiciar in William's absence, and played a major part in suppressing the revolt of 1075.

Rebel baron
On the Conqueror's death, Richard and other great Norman barons, including Odo of Bayeux, Robert, Count of Mortain, and Geoffrey of Coutances, led a rebellion against the rule of William Rufus in order to place Robert Curthose on the throne. However, most Normans in England remained loyal. William Rufus and his army successfully attacked the rebel strongholds at Tonbridge, Pevensey and Rochester.

Death and succession
He was buried in St. Neot's Priory in 1091. His widow was still living in 1113. His lands were inherited by his son, Gilbert fitz Richard.

Marriage
Richard married Rohese Giffard, daughter of Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville and Agnes Flaitel, and they had the following children:

Roger fitz Richard de Clare, received Norman lands and d. 1131, apparently without issue.
Gilbert fitz Richard, d. 1115, succeeded his father as Earl of Clare.
Walter de Clare, Lord of Nether Gwent, d. 1138.
Isabel de Clare, d. 1088, m. Humphrey d'Isle.
Richard fitz Richard de Clare, Abbot of Ely.
Robert fitz Richard, Lord of Little Dunmow, Baron of Baynard, d. 1136.
Alice (or Adeliza) de Clare, d. 1138. m. Walter Tirel.
Rohese de Clare, d. 1121, m. (ca. 1088), Eudo Dapifer.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Rohese Giffard about 1054 in , , , England. Rohese was born in 1034 in Longueville, Normandy, France; died after 1133. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alix married Ranulf Count De Bayeux, , , France. Ranulf was born about 1017 in Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Born around 1028, William was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy, and Herleve (also known as Arlette), daughter of a tanner in Falaise. Known as 'William the Bastard' to his contemporaries, his illegitimacy shaped his career when he was young.

On his father's death in 1035, William was recognised by his family as the heir - an exception to the general rule that illegitimacy barred succession. His great uncle looked after the Duchy until 1037, and his overlord, King Henry I of France, knighted him at the age of 15. From 1047 onwards, William successfully dealt with rebellion inside Normandy involving his kinsmen and threats from neighbouring nobles, including attempted invasions by his former ally King Henry I of France in 1054 (the French forces were defeated at the Battle of Mortemer) and 1057. William's military successes and reputation helped him to negotiate his marriage to Mathilda, daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders. At the time of his invasion of England, William was a very experienced and ruthless military commander, ruler and administrator who had unified Normandy and inspired fear and respect outside his duchy.

William's claim to the English throne was based on his assertion that, in 1051, Edward the Confessor had promised him the throne (he was a distant cousin) and that Harold II - having sworn in 1064 to uphold William's right to succeed to that throne - was therefore a usurper. Furthermore, William had the support of Emperor Henry IV and papal approval. William took seven months to prepare his invasion force, using some 600 transport ships to carry around 7,000 men (including 2,000-3,000 cavalry) across the Channel.

On 28 September 1066, with a favourable wind, William landed unopposed at Pevensey and, within a few days, raised fortifications at Hastings. Having defeated an earlier invasion by the King of Norway at the Battle of Stamford Bridge near York in late September, Harold undertook a forced march south, covering 250 miles in some nine days to meet the new threat, gathering inexperienced reinforcements to replenish his exhausted veterans as he marched.

At the Battle of Senlac (near Hastings) on 14 October, Harold's weary and under-strength army faced William's cavalry (part of the forces brought across the Channel) supported by archers. Despite their exhaustion, Harold's troops were equal in number (they included the best infantry in Europe equipped with their terrible two-handled battle axes) and they had the battlefield advantage of being based on a ridge above the Norman positions. The first uphill assaults by the Normans failed and a rumour spread that William had been killed; William rode among the ranks raising his helmet to show he was still alive. The battle was close-fought: a chronicler described the Norman counter-attacks and the Saxon defence as 'one side attacking with all mobility, the other withstanding as though rooted to the soil'. Three of William's horses were killed under him. William skilfully co-ordinated his archers and cavalry, both of which the English forces lacked. During a Norman assault, Harold was killed - hit by an arrow and then mowed down by the sword of a mounted knight. Two of his brothers were also killed. The demoralised English forces fled. (In 1070, as penance, William had an abbey built on the site of the battle, with the high altar occupying the spot where Harold fell. The ruins of Battle Abbey, and the town of Battle, which grew up around it, remain.)

William was crowned on Christmas Day 1066 in Westminster Abbey. Three months later, he was confident enough to return to Normandy leaving two joint regents (one of whom was his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was later to commission the Bayeux Tapestry) behind to administer the kingdom. However, it took William six years to consolidate his conquest, and even then he had to face constant plotting and fighting on both sides of the Channel.

In 1068, Harold's illegitimate sons raided the south-west coast of England (dealt with by William's local commanders), and there were uprisings in the Welsh Marches, Devon and Cornwall. William appointed earls who, in Wales and in all parts of the kingdom, undertook to guard the threatened frontiers and maintain internal security in return for land.

In 1069, the Danes, in alliance with Prince Edgar the Aetheling (Ethelred's great-grandson) and other English nobles, invaded the north and took York. Taking personal charge, and pausing only to deal with the rising at Stafford, William drove the Danes back to their ships on the Humber. In a harsh campaign lasting into 1070, William systematically devastated Mercia and Northumbria to deprive the Danes of their supplies and prevent recovery of English resistance. Churches and monasteries were burnt, and agricultural land was laid to waste, creating a famine for the unarmed and mostly peasant population which lasted at least nine years. Although the Danes were bribed to leave the north, King Sweyn of Denmark and his ships threatened the east coast (in alliance with various English, including Hereward the Wake) until a treaty of peace was concluded in June 1070. Further north, where the boundary with Scotland was unclear, King Malcolm III was encroaching into England. Yet again, William moved swiftly and moved land and sea forces north to invade Scotland. The Treaty of Abernethy in 1072 marked a truce, which was reinforced by Malcolm's eldest son being accepted as a hostage.

William consolidated his conquest by starting a castle-building campaign in strategic areas. Originally these castles were wooden towers on earthen 'mottes' (mounds) with a bailey (defensive area) surrounded by earth ramparts, but many were later rebuilt in stone. By the end of William's reign over 80 castles had been built throughout his kingdom, as a permanent reminder of the new Norman feudal order.


William and his wife Matilda of Flanders had at least nine children. The birth order of the sons is clear, but no source gives the relative order of birth of the daughters.

Robert was born between 1051 and 1054, died 10 February 1134. Duke of Normandy, married Sybilla of Conversano, daughter of Geoffrey, Count of Conversano.
Richard was born before 1056, died around 1075.
William was born between 1056 and 1060, died 2 August 1100. King of England, killed in the New Forest.]
Henry was born in late 1068, died 1 December 1135. King of England, married Edith of Scotland, daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland. His second wife was Adeliza of Louvain.
Adeliza (or Adelida, Adelaide) died before 1113, reportedly betrothed to Harold Godwinson, probably a nun of Saint Léger at Préaux.
Cecilia (or Cecily) was born before 1066, died 1127, Abbess of Holy Trinity, Caen.
Matilda was born around 1061, died perhaps about 1086. Mentioned in Domesday Book as a daughter of William.
Constance died 1090, married Alan IV Fergent, Duke of Brittany.
Adela died 1137, married Stephen, Count of Blois.
(Possibly) Agatha, the betrothed of Alfonso VI of León and Castile.

There is no evidence of any illegitimate children born to William.

Christened:
During Norman conquest, as an adult.

William married Matilda Countess Of Flanders Queen Of England in 1050 in Castle Of, Angi, Normandy, France. Matilda (daughter of Baudouin V Count of Flanders and Adaele Capet) was born in 1031 in , Flanders, Belgium; died on 2 Nov 1083 in Caen, Calvados, Normandy, France; was buried in Eglise DE La Sainte Trinitbe, Caen, Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Adbelahide married Lambert De Boulogne about 1053 in , Normandy, France. Lambert was born about 1020 in , Boulogne, France; died in 1054 in Lille, Nord, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Guillaume married Stephanie (Etiennette) Of Barcelona before 1060. Stephanie was born about 1044 in , , , France; died after 1092. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Maude Fitzwalter about 1113 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. Maude was born about 1081 in Clifford Castle, Clifford, Herefordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Agnaes married Simon I Of Montfort about 1058 in , Normandy, France. Simon was born about 1025 in Montfort-l'Amaury, Île-de-France, France; died in 1087; was buried in Epernon, Eure-et-Loir, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Near St. Edmund Church

Ribald married Beatrix DeTallebois in 1075 in Middleham, Yorkshire, England. Beatrix was born in 1054 in York, Yorkshire, England; died in 1112 in Middleham, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ralph married Gytha on Yes, date unknown. Gytha was born about 1028 in Herefordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Hugh De Dammartin. Hugh (son of Manasses De Dammartin and Constance Capet) was born in 1042 in Dammartin-En-Goele, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; died in 1103 in Dammartin-En-Goele, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gilbert married Adeliza De Clermont before 1076 in , , , England. Adeliza was born about 1058 in , Northamptonshire, England; died in , , , England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rohese married Eudo De Rie about 1088 in , , , England. Eudo was born about 1063 in , Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ranulf married Maud D' Avranches about 1069 in , Normandy, France. Maud was born about 1054 in Avranches, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gundred married William De Warren, I before 1077 in , Normandy, France. William was born about 1055 in Bellencombe, Seine-Inferieure, France; died on 24 Jun 1088 in Lewes, Sussex, England; was buried in Priory Lewes, Sussex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Concubine of Henry I King of England. Concubine was born about 1072 in , , , England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Matilda "Atheling" Princess Of Scotland on 11 Nov 1100 in Westminster, Middlesex, London, England. Matilda was born in 1079 in Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Scotland; died on 1 May 1118 in Westminster, Middlesex, London, England; was buried in Jun 1118 in Church Of St Peter, Westminster, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Judith married Waltheof Earl Of Northumberland in 1070 in Artois, France. Waltheof was born about 1046 in , Northumberland, England; died on 31 May 1076 in Winchester, Hampshire, England; was buried in Jun 1076 in Crowland, Lincolnshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gisela married Humbert II Count Of Maurienne & Savoy, Marquis Of Turin in 1090. Humbert was born about 1062 in Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 17 Oct 1103; was buried on 19 Oct 1103. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Raymond married Urraca Alfonsez Of Castile & Leon in 1087 in Toledo, Castile, Spain. Urraca (daughter of Alfonso VI "The Valiant" Of Castile & Leon and Constance Princess Of Burgundy) was born about 1082 in Burgos, Burgos, Castile, Spain; died on 8 Mar 1126 in Saldana, Palencia, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Walter married Margaret De Toni about 1135 in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, England. Margaret was born about 1118 in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, England; died in 1185; was buried in Godstow, Oxfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bertrade married Foulques IV "Rechin" Count Of Anjou in 1089 in , , , France, and was divorced. Foulques was born in 1043 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France; died on 14 Apr 1109 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Amaury married Agnes De Garlande in 1120 in Garlende, France. Agnes was born about 1095 in Garlende, France; died in 1181. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ralph married Agatha de Brus in 1120 in Givendale East Riding, Yorkshire, England. Agatha was born in 1105 in Annandale, Dumfrieshire, Scotland; died in 1142 in Middleham, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Harold married Mrs. Harold De Sudeley in 1084. Mrs. was born about 1057 in , Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pierre married Eustachia De Dampmartin in 1088. Eustachia was born in 1076 in Dammartin-En-Goele, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Adeliza married Aubrey De Vere, II about 1102 in , Suffolk, England. Aubrey was born about 1082 in Hedingham, Essex, England; died on 15 May 1141 in London, London, England; was buried in Colne Priory, Earls Colne, Essex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Alice (Adeliza) De Meschines before 1116. Alice (daughter of Ranulph "De Briquessart" Le Meschin, Earl Of Chester and Lucy Countess Of Chester) was born about 1094 in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England; died in 1128. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rohesia married Hugh De Lacy on Yes, date unknown. Hugh was born about 1115 in Ewias Lacy, Herefordshire, England; died on 25 Jul 1186 in Durrow, Ireland; was buried in Saint Thomas Church, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gilbert married Isabel (Elizabeth) De Beaumont before 1130 in Tunbridge, Kent, England. Isabel (daughter of Robert De Beaumont and Isabel (Elizabeth) De Vermandois) was born in 1096 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England; died about 1147. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married William De Mandeville, , , England. William was born about 1054 in Great Waltham, Essex, England; died about 1130 in , , , England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ranulph married Lucy Countess Of Chester about 1097 in , , , England. Lucy was born about 1070 in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England; died about 1136. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Isabel (Elizabeth) De Vermandois before 1118 in , , , France. Isabel (daughter of Hugues "Le Grand" De France and Adelle (Adelaide) Vermandois) was born about 1085 in Valois, Isle DE France, France; died on 13 Feb 1131 in , , , England; was buried in Lewes, Sussex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Maud (Mabel) (Sibyl) Fitzhammon about 1115 in , , Gloucestershire, England. Maud was born about 1094 in , , Gloucestershire, England; died in 1157 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Maud, married Conan III "Le Gross" Duke Of Bretagne in Mar 1113 in , , , England. Conan was born in 1096 in , , Bretagne, France; died on 17 Sep 1148. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Elizabeth married Fergus Lord Of Galloway about 1124 in Carrick, Ayrshire, Scotland. Fergus was born about 1090 in Galloway, Scotland; died in 1161 in Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Edinburghshire, Scotland; was buried on 12 May 1161 in Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Edinburghshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Matilda and her brother William were possibly twins.

According to some accounts, Matilda was named Alice at birth, but herfather Henry I changed her name to honour her mother, Matilda of Scotland(who had herself changed her name to honour Henry's mother).

Matilda's marriage to Geoffrey was mostly stormy. In 1131, three yearsafter they married, Matilda returned to her father, Henry I. Then,according to Henry of Huntingdon, she was sent back to Geoffrey "andgiven a reception fitting for such a virago."

According to some sources, Matilda died in 1169.

Source: RoyaList

Matilda married Geoffrey V "Le Bon" Plantagenet on 22 May 1127 in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Geoffrey (son of Foulques V "Le Jeune" Count Of Anjou and Ermengarde (Ermentrude) Du Maine) was born on 24 Aug 1113 in Anjou, Isere, Rhone-Alpes, France; died on 7 Sep 1151 in Château-du-Loir, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Matilda married Simon De Saint Liz Or Senlis in 1090 in Huntingdonshire, England. Simon was born about 1046 in , Normandy, France; died about 1111 in La Charite-Sur-Loir, Nievre, France; was buried in Priory, Saint Neots, Huntingdonshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alice married Ralph De Toeni (De Conches) in 1103 in , , , England. Ralph was born about 1079 in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, England; died about 1126 in Conches, Seine-et-Marne, France; was buried in Conches, Seine-et-Marne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Amadeo married Maud (Mathilde) Countess Of Albon in 1120. Maud was born about 1116 in Albon, Ardeche, Rhone-Alpes, France; died after Jan 1145. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alix married Louis VI King of France in Apr 1115 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. Louis (son of Philippe I King of France and Bertha Countess Of Holland) was born about 1081 in , , , France; died on 1 Aug 1137 in Chateau DE Bethizy, Paris, Isle DE France, France; was buried in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alfonso married Ryksa Queen Of Castille before 4 Dec 1152 in Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland. Ryksa (daughter of Wladislav II "The Exile" Prince Of Poland and Agnes Princess Of Austria) was born about 1131 in Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland; died about 16 Jun 1185. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lucia married Hugh De Say about 1158 in Clifford Castle, Clifford, Herefordshire, England. Hugh was born about 1136 in Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England; died before 1191. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Fulk is said to have invented pointy-toed shoes to hide his gouty feet.

Source: RoyaList

Foulques married Ermengarde (Ermentrude) Du Maine on 11 Jul 1110 in , , , France. Ermengarde was born about 1096 in Maine, France; died in 1126 in Maine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Simon married Maud Countess Of Evreux about 1150 in , , , France. Maud was born about 1130 in , , , France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

OFFICE: Forester of Wensleydale.

RESIDENCE: Of Middleham, co. York {Middleham, Yorkshire, England}.

Family/Spouse: Hawise de Glanville. Hawise (daughter of Robert de Glanville) died on 1 Mar 1194. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Sybil Mrs Ewyas on Yes, date unknown. Sybil was born about 1101 in Sudeley, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Raes married Alix De Warfusee in 1112. Alix (daughter of Libert De Warfusee) was born in 1091; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (of the first creation), Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland (1130 – 20 April 1176), also known as Richard FitzGilbert, was an Anglo-Norman[1] nobleman notable for his leading role in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. Like his father, Richard fitz Gilbert has since become commonly known by his nickname Strongbow (Norman French: Arc-Fort), which may be a mistranscription or mistranslation of "Striguil".

His son Gilbert de Striguil (or de Strigoil) died unmarried before 1189 and the earldom passed via Richard's daughter Isabel to her spouse William Marshall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_de_Clare,_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke

Alice married Richard De Clare before 1116. Richard (son of Gilbert Fitzrichard de Clare and Adeliza De Clermont) was born in 1084 in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England; was christened in Clare, Suffolk, England; died on 15 Apr 1136 in Near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ranulph De Gernon, Earl of Chester. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Comments: "I have been trying to find accurate dates for Constance Le Gros, daughter of Conan Le Gros and Maud FitaRoy and everything I find is totally implausible. It's like peope post stuff to their family trees without even thinking. If Constance was indeed born in 1118 (which is reasonable if Conan and Maud were married around 1113 and Constance was the youngest of 3 children), how could she have born a son (Alan) in 1124 and another (Geoffrey) in 1126? Six and eight years old seems awfully young for people to have had children. Some people show Constance born in 1108, but with Conan born in 1096, which most historical sites I have examined seem to agree on, he would have only been 12 years old when she was born. I see you are listing as sources the LDS Family Search web site, which is only as accurate as the people submitting the information and a lot of people don't seem to have been looking at dates when submitting. Most historical sites I have looked at also put ! Constance's birth at 1118, and Geoffrey's at 1126 (I've only seen the earlier 1124 son Alan on one other site besides yours), but I just don't see how that is possible. Have you considered the absurdity of that information?"

Sincerely,
Sharee Hughes



Response: Well, you're right, of course. But since most genealogical data shows the dates you call into question, I'm not sure what can be done about it at this point. For my part, in my database I've added 10 years to the likely birth dates of both of Constance's children, and double-checked that both are still labeled "About" to signify that the dates are, at best, approximate. This doesn't conflict with the birth dates of Geoffrey's wife or children, and I believe it represents a good compromise, given that first hand knowledge of the specific dates are almost 900 years removed.

- Wicasta Lovelace

Notes:

MILITARY: Battles and Wars> Invaded Ireland intent on conquest, 1171; by Christmas 1171, Waterford, Wexford, Limerick, and Cork were in his hands and all the Irish princes, except the King of Connaught, gave him hostages and promised tribute.

HONORS: Knighted, 1149.
TITLES: Succeeded 1st cousin one time removed Stephen, King of England, in 1154 as King of England, crowned 19 Dec 1154, reigned 25 Oct 1154-1189.
TITLES: Became Duke of Normandy et of Maine, and Count of Anjou by inheritance from his mother and father.
TITLES: In right of his wife, Duke of Aquitaine.

PROBATE: Died testate.

King Henry was styled as, "Rex Angliae, Dux Normaniae et Aquitaniae et Comes Andigaviae". This appears to be the first official use of the title, "King of England", rather than "King of the English", although modern historians give the title to all sovereigns from William the Conqueror.

Crowned by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Henry supported a petition to Rome to make Edward the Confessor a saint. Edward was canonized in 1161, and on 13 October 1163, Henry was present at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey at which Archbishop Thomas Becket elevated Edward's remains. Henry was known for his excellent memory, as well as for his occasional fits of bad temper, which involved rolling on the floor and biting furniture. It was said that Henry could speak every language used in Europe, from France to the Holy Land--but he probably could not speak English. Henry was very interested in learning. Peter of Blois said, "With the King of England, it is school every day; there is always conversation with learned men and discussion of learned problems". Traditionally, Henry's dying words are supposed to have been, "Shame, shame on a conquered king", referring to his sons' insurrections.

Name: King Henry II
Born: March 5, 1133 at Le Mans, France
Parents: Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Empress Matilda
Relation to Elizabeth II: 22nd great-grandfather
House of: Angevin
Ascended to the throne: October 25, 1154 aged 21 years
Crowned: December 19, 1154 at Westminster Abbey
Married: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine
Children: Five sons including Richard I and John, three daughters and several illegitimate children
Died: July 6, 1189 at Chinon Castle, Anjou, aged 56 years, 4 months, and 1 day
Buried at: Fontevraud, France
Reigned for: 34 years, 8 months, and 11 days
Succeeded by: his son Richard

King of England 1154-89. The son of Matilda and Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, he succeeded King Stephen (c. 1097-1154). He curbed the power of the barons, but his attempt to bring the church courts under control was abandoned after the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. The English conquest of Ireland began during Henry's reign. On several occasions his sons rebelled, notably 1173-74. Henry was succeeded by his son Richard (I) the Lionheart.

Henry was lord of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and Count of Anjou, Brittany, Poitou, Normandy, Maine, and Gascony. He claimed Aquitaine through marriage to the heiress Eleanor in 1152. Henry's many French possessions caused him to live for more than half his reign outside England. This made it essential for him to establish a judicial and administrative system which would work during his absence. His chancellor and friend, Becket, was persuaded to become archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 in the hope that he would help the king curb the power of the ecclesiastical courts. However, once consecrated, Becket felt bound to defend church privileges, and he was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 1170 by four knights of the king's household.

In 1171 Henry invaded Ireland and received homage from the King of Leinster. In 1174 his three sons Henry, Richard and Geoffrey led an unsuccessful rebellion against their father.

Quotes:
Here I am, not a traitor of the king, but a priest of God. Why do you want me?' - Thomas Becket addressing his murderers, 29 December 1170

Timeline for King Henry II
Year Event
1154 Henry II accedes to the throne at the age of 21 upon the death of his second cousin, Stephen.
1154 Pope Adrian IV (born Nicholas Breakspear) becomes the first English Pope 1154-1159.
1155 Henry appoints Thomas a Becket as Chancellor of England, a post that he holds for seven years.
1155 Pope Adrian IV issues the papal bull Laudabiliter, which gives Henry dispensation to invade Ireland and bring the Irish Church under the control of the Church of Rome.
1162 On the death of Archbishop Theobald, Henry appoints Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury in the hope that he will help introduce Church reforms.
1164 Henry introduces the Constitutions of Clarendon, which place limitations on the Church's jurisdiction over crimes committed by the clergy. The Pope refuses to approve the Constitutions, so Thomas Becket refuses to sign them.
1166 The Assize of Clarendon establishes trial by jury for the first time.
1166 Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster in Ireland, appeals to Henry to help him oppose a confederation of other Irish kings. In response to the appeal, Henry sends a force led by Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, thereby beginning the English settlement of Ireland.
1168 English scholars expelled from Paris settle in Oxford, where they found a university.1170Pope Alexander III threatens England with an interdict and forces Henry to a formal reconciliation with Becket. However, the two of them quarrel again when Becket publishes papal letters voiding Henry's Constitutions of Clarendon.
1170 Becket is killed in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December by four of Henry's knights.
1171 Henry invades Ireland and receives homage from the King of Leinster and the other kings. Henry is accepted as Lord of Ireland.
1171 At Cashel Henry makes Irish clergy submit to the authority of Rome.
1173 Canonization of Thomas Becket.
1173 Eleanor of Aquitaine and her sons revolt unsuccessfully against her husband Henry II.
1174 Henry's sons Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey lead an unsuccessful rebellion against their father.
1176 Henry creates a framework of justice creating judges and dividing England into six counties.
1185 Lincoln cathedral is destroyed by an earthquake.
1189 Henry dies at Chinon castle, Anjou, France

Family/Spouse: Ida de Tosny. Ida (daughter of Ralph V de Conches de Toeni, baron of Flamstead and Margaret of Leicester) was born in 1156; died in 1226. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Eleonore Princess Of Aquitaine on 11 May 1152 in Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitaine, France. Eleonore (daughter of Guillaume X Duke Of Aquitaine and Elbeanor De Chatellerault) was born in 1121 in Chcateau DE Belin, Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France; died on 31 Mar 1204 in Poitiers, Aquitaine, France; was buried in Abbaye DE Fontevrault, Fontevrault, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Simon II de Senlis, 4th Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton (c. 1098–1153) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He was the son of Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton and Maud, Countess of Huntingdon. He married Isabel, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester.

He was prominent in The Anarchy, fighting for Stephen of England in 1141 at the Battle of Lincoln. He continued to support Stephen's side; R. H. C. Davis calls him 'staunch' and 'consistently loyal'[1] and surmises that Simon calculated that if the Empress Matilda won, his earldom of Northampton would be taken over by David of Scotland.[2]

Simon was rewarded by becoming Earl of Huntingdon. He died in 1153 just before Henry II of England took over, whereupon the King restored the Earldom of Huntingdon-Northampton to his ally Malcolm IV of Scotland [3]

Notes:
1. King Stephen (1967) p.112, p.135.
2. p.70.
3. Crouch, David (2005). The Image of Aristocracy: In Britain, 1000-1300. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-134-97794-9.

Notes:

Geoffrey was knighted by King Henry I on 10 June 1128, in Rouen.

Geoffrey's habit of wearing a sprig of broom plant (planta genesta) inhis hat is the origin of the name "Plantagenet."

Source: RoyaList

Geoffrey married Matilda (Maud) Empress Of Germany on 22 May 1127 in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Matilda (daughter of Henry I King of England and Matilda "Atheling" Princess Of Scotland) was born on 7 Feb 1102 in London, London, England; died on 10 Sep 1169 in Notre Dame, Rouen, Normandy, France; was buried in Bec Abbey, Le Bec-Hellouin, Eure, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• UID: E398E2DC9C894045B44A8B0E7FBC277D59E9

Other Events and Attributes:

• AFN: FL8W-FG
• UID: 845921ECC8344002A2B69D90A0FA3934B40B

Notes:

KINSHIP: 3rd son.
KINSHIP: Brother and heir of Ralph fitz Robert.

BIRTH: Date Calculated> A minor 1198/1199; came of age in 1206.

OFFICE: Justice.

RESIDENCE: Of Middleham, co. York {Middleham, Yorkshire, England}.
RESIDENCE: Of Spennithorne, co. York {Spennithorne, Yorkshire, England}.
RESIDENCE: Of Houghton on the Hill, Norfolk {Houghton-on-the Hill, Norfolk, England}.

Of Middleham and Spennithorne, Yorkshire

Third son of Robert FitzRalph of Middleham, Forester of Wensleydale and Hawise de Glanville.

Husband of Mary le Bigod, the daughter of Roger le Bigod and his wife, Ida. Her maritagium included the manor of Menthorpe, Yorkshire. They married in 1199 and had two sons; Ralph and Ranulph.

As a minor, he was in the custody of the Archbishop and heir to his brother, Ralph FitzRobert. Ranulph held six knight's fees of the honour of Richmondshire and six in Norfolk. He died before 07 Dec 1252.

Ranulf Fitz Robert, 4th Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, Died before December 7, 1252, buried at CoverhamAbbey, Co. York. Married Mary Bigod, heriess of Menethorpe, Co. York to her husband in gift of frank-marriage, whichlands had previously been held by her father Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk and a Magna Carta Surety. Ranulf Fitz Rob-ert held 6 knights fees in the honour of Richmond. He bore the arms of his grandfather Glanville, "Argent, a chief indentedazure, Crest on a chapeau or turned up a wivern of the last." Ralph, the eldest son of Ranulf, born ca 1218, died 31 March1270, married Anastacia, d/o of William de Percy and left only daughters of whom the eldest, Mary, married Robert deNeville of Raby and conveyed her father's land to the Nevilles. Therefore the male line of the Fitz Randolph family lost in-heritance to Middleham. (Randolph 1980 p-583)

Ranulf TAILBOYS
Born: ABT 1188
Died: BEF 7 Dec 1252
Father: Robert TAILBOYS
Mother: Helewise GLANVILLE
Married: Mary BIGOD
Children:
1. Ralph TAILBOYS
Ranulf Fitz Robert held 6 knights fees in the honor of Richmond.
He was also known as Ranulpus.
1214 - Translated the Monks of Swainby, which monastery was established by his mother, to Coverham, near Middleham. Conferred on them the church of Coverham and many lands and tenements.
He bore the arms of his grandfather Glanville: "Argent, a chief indented azure. Crest, on a chapeau or turned up a wivern of the last".
Brought his mother's bones from Swainby and buried them in the Chapter House at Coverham.

Information Source:

1. Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. II, 1897.
________________
http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p506.htm#i15219
'Ranulf FitzRobert, Lord Middleham
'M, b. circa 1185, d. before 7 December 1252
Father Robert Taylbois, Lord Middleham b. c 1145
Mother Helewise Glanville
' Ranulf FitzRobert, Lord Middleham was born circa 1185 at of Middleham & Spennithorne, Yorkshire, England; Came of age in 1206. He married Mary Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod, Magna Carta Surety, 4th Earl Norfolk and Ida de Tony, circa 1199. Ranulf FitzRobert, Lord Middleham died before 7 December 1252; Buried at Coverham Abbey, Yorkshire.
'Family Mary Bigod b. c 1180
Children
◦Sir Ralph FitzRandolph, Lord Middleham+ b. c 1218, d. 31 Mar 1270
◦Sir Ranulf FitzRanulf, Lord Spennithorne+ b. bt 1220 - 1225, d. bt 1287 - 1294
_________________
'The Magna Charta sureties, 1215: the barons named in the Magna Charta, 1215 ... By Frederick Lewis Weis, Walter Lee Sheppard, William

http://books.google.com/books?id=59XcwoRK9jkC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Edward+FitzRandolph+1565&source=bl&ots=KGhipz7S8p&sig=fdJHr8FP7z8wU_zIi8MRSG_07HM&hl=en&ei=QaZ9TcT8MM_0rAHBmt3uBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=Edward%20FitzRandolph%201565&f=false
Pg. 193-196
1. ROGER BIGOD (3-1), 2nd Earl of Norfolk, Magna Charta Surety, 1215, b. c. 1150, d. 1221; m. Ida. (CP IX, 586-589).
'2. MARY BIGOD, heiress of Menethorpe, co. York; prob. m. Ranulf fitz Robert, lord of Middleham, co. York, to which he succeeded by 1206, d. bef. 7 Dec. 1252, bur. at Coverham Abbey, co. York; held 6 knights' fees in the honour of Richmond, co. York, and 6 in Norfolk, the latter acquired presumably from the Bigods. (Clay, Early Yorkshire Charters, V:303; The Genealogist, n.s. 3:33; Feudal Aids 6: 156; VCH, North Riding of York, 1: 254).
3. RANULF fitz RANULF, lord of Spennithorne, co. York, b. c. 1220/5, d. bef. 1294; m. Bertrama, widow of Sir Roger de Ingoldsby. (VCH cit. 1: 258).
4. RALPH fitz RANULF, lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1250/60, d. bef. 1316; m. Theophania (or Tiffany) de Lascelles, dau. and coheiress of Sir Roger de Lascelles (IV) of Kirkby-under-Knowle, co. York, who is now considered by legal fiction to have been 1st Baron Lascelles. (VCH cit. 1: 258; Clay, Early Yorkshire Charters, "Lascelle Fee", V 182-186; CP VII, 446-449)
5. RANULF fitz RALPH, lord of Spennithorne, sometimes called Ranulf de Lascelles, b. c. 1300, d. aft. 1343; m. Isabel. (VCH cit., 1: 258; Feet of Fines for co. of York, 1327-1347, p.166).
6. JOHN fitz RANULF, lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1325, d. bef. 1369; m. by Oct. 1343, Maud "de Campania," who m. (2) Robert de Hilton, lord of Swine. (VCH Cit., 1: 259; Feet of Fines for co. of York, loc. cit.: Yorks Archaeol. Journal, 25: 174).
7. RANDALL (or RANULF) fitz JOHN, lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1345, d. aft. 1388. (VCH cit. 1: 259).
8. SIR JOHN RANDALL (or FITZ RANDOLPH), KNT., lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1374, beheaded, 1405 for taking part in the rebellion of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York, and other northern magnates. (VCH cit. 1: 259; C.W.C. Oman, Political History of England, 1377-1485, pp. 194-198; see Close Rolls, 17 Feb. 1407, for lands of which Sir John was seised at time of his death).
9. SIR RALPH FITZ RANDALL (or FITZ RANDOLPH), KNT., lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1398, under age in 1407, will dated 20 Jan. 1457/8, pr. ult. Jan. 1457/8; m. Elizabeth. (VCH cit. 1: 259; Sir Ralph's Will is printed in Surtees Soc. Publ., 26: 4).
10. JOHN FITZ RANDOLPH (or FITZ RANDOLPH), ESQ., lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1420, d. 5 Mar. 1474/5; m. Joan Conyers, eldest dau. of Sir Christopher Conyers, Knt., of Hornby Castle, co. York. b. c. 1380. d. aft. 1462, m. (1) bef. Sept. 1415 Ellen, b. c. 1399, d. 6 Aug. 1444, dau. of Thomas Rolleston of Mablethorp, co. Lincoln, Esq., by Beatrice Haulay his wife, heiress of Ingleton, co. York. (VCH cit. 1: 259: J.W. Clay, Extinct & Dormant Peerages of the Northern Counties of England, 32-33; Yorks Arch. Soc. Record Series, 59: 105, Inq.p.m. of Thomas Rolleston).
11. JOHN FITZ RANDOLPH, b. perhaps 1455/60, prob. d. bef. 1514, presumed to have been third or fourth son of John Fitz Randolph and Joan Conyers, and brother of Sir Ralph Fitz Randolph of Spennithorne (c. 1444-1517) and of Christopher Fitz Randolph, parson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham (d 1516). See note to this pedigree; Fitz Randolph pedigree in British Museum Add. Mss. 6705, f58b, begins with this John).
12. CHRISTOPHER FITZ RANDOLPH, b. c. 1495, d. sh. bef. 26 Apr. 1670 (adminstration granted on that date to his widow Jane and eldest son Thomas); doubtless came to Kirkby-in-Ashfield, co Nottingham, because of his uncle Christopher Fitz Randolph, parson of that place, who d. 1516 leaving a will dated 1 Jun 1516 of which the nephew Christopher was named as one of the executors; m. by contract dated 1514 to Jane (or Joan) Langton, dau. and heiress of Cuthbert Langton of Langton Hall in the parish of Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Jane was b. c. 1499, d. betw. 30 July 1573 (date of will) and 2 Apr. 1574 (probate). (NEHGR, 97: 296, 99: 335-336; Brit. Museum Add. Mss. 6705: f58b; Add. Mss. 6707: v1O2; Harl. Mss. 1400: 58, 58b; Thoroton, Antiquities of Nottinghamshire, 2: 296; Harl. Soc. Publ., 4: 187. L.V.F. Randolph, FitzRandolph Traditions, mentions Christopher Fitz Randolph and Jane Langton many times, but this book regrettably contains many errors; Whitaker, Richmondshire II, p. 46).
13. CHRISTOPHER FITZ RANDOLPH, b. c. 1530, bur. at Sutton-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, 28 June 1588 (this is the correct date of burial from original paper Parish Register of Sutton-in-Ashfield. The date was incorrectly copied as "7 Jun 1589" in late parchment copy of original Register, and wrong date from copy was unfortunately printed in the NEHGR, 97: 298). Christopher was his parents' fourth son, and was named in his mother's will, dated 30 July 1573. His own will, dated 20 June 1588, was proved 1 Apr. 1589 in the Peculiar Court of the Manor of Mansfield (Notts. County Record Office, D.D.P. 17/69). Christopher's wife, who predeceased him, was not named in his will. He had four sons, James, Anthony, Edward and Christopher, named in the will.
14. EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH, b. c. 1565, d. betw. 13 Aug. 1647 (dated of will) and 27 Oct. 1647 (probate). He was prob. b. at Hucknall-under-Huthwaite in the parish of Sutton-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, and moved aft. 1621 to Kirsall in the Parish of Kneesall, co. Nottingham, where he died. He was the 3rd son named in his father's will, and was prob. the nephew Edward named in the will of his uncle Thomas Fitz Randolph, 21 May 1600. (NEHGR, 97: 297). He m. (1) at Sutton-in-Ashfield, 16 Nov. 1589, Alice Tompson, bur. there 27 Dec. 1604. He m. (2) at Sutton-in-Ashfield, 17 Dec. 1605, Frances Howls, apparently a native of the parish of Kneesall, co. Nottingham, bur. at Kneesall 7 June 1631 (NEHGR 97: 298; Transcript of the Parish Registers of Kneesall; original will of Edward Fitz Randolph at York Probate Registry, in which he bequeathed ten pounds sterling to his son Edward "if he cum to demand it.")
15. EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH (son of the 2nd marriage), the emigrant to New England and eventual settler in New Jersey, bp. at Sutton-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, 5 July 1607, emigrated 1630 to Scituate, Mass., then moved to Barnstable, Cape Cod, and finally to Piscataway, N.J., where he d. c. 1684/5. He m. at Scituate, 10 May 1637, Elizabeth Blossom, b. at Leyden, Netherlands, 1620, d. at Piscataway, c. 1713, having remarried, 30 June 1685, Capt. John Pike. (NEHGR 97: 275-276, 298; 99: 335-336; Louise Aymar Christian and Howard Stelle Fitz Randolph, Fitz Randolph Genealogy, 5).
Note: Although this line is probably sound, attention should be drawn to other evidences. C.T. Clay, Early Yorkshire Charters, 5: 303, say that Ranulf Fitz Robert "is said to have married Mary daughter of Roger Bigod earl of Norfolk" (see above, Generation 2). Mary definitely brought the lands of Menethorpe, co York, to her husband in gift of frank-marriage, which lands had previously been held by Roger Bigod (ibid., footnote 4 and authorities there cited). Moreover, the careful pedigree in the Genealogist, n.s., 3: 33, gives Mary as daughter of Roger Bigod.
The weakest link is that which connects Generations 10 and 11 (above). John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10) was succeeded at Spennithorne by his eldest son Sir Ralph Fitz Randolph (b.c. 1444, d. 1517) who married Elizabeth Scrope, daughter of Sir Thomas Scrope, 5th Lord Scrope of Masham. They had a son John Fitz Randolph (who d. in 1517 shortly after his father, and was the last of the Fitz Randolphs of Spennithorne), and five daughters, Elizabeth, Alice, Mary, Dorothy, and Agnes, who were coheiresses of their brother John at his death in 1517 (Surtees Soc. Publ., 133: 24). In 1514 Christopher Fitz Randolph (Generation 12) was married by contract to Jane Langton. Two of the feoffees of the marriage contract were John Fitz Randolph, heir of Spennithorne, mentioned above, and his brother-in-law Sir Nicholas Strelley of Linby, co. Nottingham, husband of Elizabeth Fitz Randolph, the eldest of the five Spennithorne coheiresses. It is presumed that John Fitz Randolph and Strelley were feoffees because the bride-groom, Christopher Fitz Randolph, was John's first cousin and Strelley's first-cousin-in-law (see discussion by Anthony R. Wagner, Richmond Herald, in NEHGR 99: 335-336).
We also know that Christopher Fitz Randolph (Generation 12) had an uncle, Christopher Fitz Randolph, parson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, who was presented to that living 3 Mar. 1489/90 by Sir John Conyers, Knt., of Hornby Castle, co. York, who had acquired the advowson. Christopher Fitz Randolph, the parson made a will dated 1 June 1516, proved 17 July 1516, of which his nephew Christopher (Generation 12) was one of the executors. Christopher the parson unfortunately did not mention his kinsmen of the Spennithorne line in this will.
We further know that John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10) married Joan Conyers, eldest daughter of Sir Christopher Conyers, Knt., lord of Hornby Castle, co. York (Raine, Testamenta Eboracenses, 3: 228; Conyers pedigree in J.W. Clay, Extinct and Dormant Peerages of the Northern Counties of England, 32-33). Joan (Conyers) Fitz Randolph was living, a widow, 22 June 1483, when she was named in the will of that date of her brother Christopher Conyers, Rector of Rudby, co. York (Raine, Test. Ebor., 3: 287). We think (but cannot prove) that John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10) and his wife Joan Conyers had, in addition to their eldest son and heir Sir Ralph, younger sons named Richard, John, and Christopher, and a daughter Margery who married John Burgh of East Hawkswell, co. York (for the Burghs, see Whitaker, Richmondshilre, 347). Of the above-named three younger sons, we suppose that John was the John Fitz Randolph (Generation 11), while Christopher was the parson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, named for his grandfather and uncle, each named Christopher Conyers. If this connection be correct, as we believe, it would explain why Sir John Conyers of Hornby (eldest son of Sir Christopher and brother of Joan (Conyers) Fitz Randolph) acquired the advowson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield and presented Christopher Fitz Randolph (whom we believe to have been Sir John's nephew) to that living. It may be noted in passing that the given name Christopher entered the Fitz Randolph family through the marriage to Joan Conyers in the fifteenth century and continued as a given name in that family for over two centuries. Edward[1] Fitz Randolph's (Generation 15) eldest surviving son Nathaniel[2] had an eldest son John[3] who had an eldest son Christopher[4], b. at Woodbridge, N.J., 23 Feb. 1682 (L.A. Christian and H.S.F. Randolph, FitzRandolph Genealogy, 9).
Bearing in mind the possibilities that Mary Bigod (Generation 2) may not have been the wife of Randulf fitz Robert, and that John Fitz Randolph Generation 11) may not have been a younger son of John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10), even though we think that those connections are correct, we have presented the above pedigree.
John Insley Coddington
_______________
'Fitz Randolph Traditions: A Story of a Thousand Years (1907)

http://www.archive.org/stream/fitzrandolphtra00randgoog#page/n153/mode/1up
CHAPTER IX
Review of Line of Descent from Rolf the Norseman to Edward the Pilgrim
Here, then, once more the writer pauses to recapitulate his ascertainments and conclusions. To the following ancestral story - here given in merest outlne - any American Fitz Randolph, who has been at the trouble of tracing his lineage back to Edward the Pilgrim, may, we believe, safely and reasonably link his line.
(1) ROLF - The norseman Conqueror. Born about A.D. 860. Died A.D. 932. Married Gisela, daughter of King Charles of France.
(2) WILLIAM, "Longsword" - Duke of Normandy. Died about 943.
(3) RICHARD, "The Fearless" - Duke of Normandy. Reigned more than half a century. Died A.D. 996.
(4) RICHARD, "The Good" - Duke of Normandy. Died A.D. 1026.
(5) RICHARD - Duke of Normandy. Whose wife was Judith. He died A.D. 1028. [He was father of Robert "The Magnificent," whose son was William "The Conqueror," and he was brother of Avicia, who married Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany.]
(6) GEOFFREY, AVICIA.
(7) EUDO - Duke of Brittany. Married Agnes, daughter of Alan, and died in 1079.
(8) RIBALD - Lord of Middleham. [Brother to Alan Rufus, Duke of Richmond, and to Stephen and to Bardolf.] Married Beatrix, and spent his last days in retirement at St. Mary's Abbey, York.
(9) RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Married Agatha, daughter of the first Robert of Bruce.
(10) ROBERT FITZ RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Who built the Castle of Middleham and married Helewisa de Glanville.
'(11) RANDOLPH FITZ RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Married Mary, daughter of Roger Bigot, Duke of Norfolk.
(12) RANDOLPH FITZ RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Who married Anastasia, daughter of William, Lord Percy.
(13) MARY FITZ RANDOLPH. Daughter of Randolph and Anastasia, a rich, religious and benevolent woman who married Robert de Neville. She died A.D. 1320, having survived her husband 49 years.
(14) RANDOLPH DE NEVILLE - Lord of Middleham. Whose second wife was Margaret, daughter of Marmaduke Thweng. Died 1332.
(15) RANDOLPH DE NEVILLE - Lord of Middleham. Who married Alicia, daughter of Hugo de Audley. Died 1358.
(16) JOHN DE NEVILL - Lord of Middleham. Who married Matilda Percy.* Died 1389.
(17) RANDOLPH DE NEVILLE - Lord of Middleham and first Earl of Westmorland. Whose first wife was Margaret (daughter of Hugo), Lady Stafford - descended from Edward I - and whose second wife was Joan of Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and granddaughter of Edward III. He died in 1435. By his second wife his posterity runs into and adown the English royal line. See page 36. We now follow the posterity of the Earl of Westmoreland by his first wife, Lady Stafford.
(18) JOHN (the children of whose brother Randolph were all daughters) married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Holland, Earl of Canterbury. He died two years before his father, in 1433.
(19) JOHN, heir presumptive f to the dukedom of Westmoreland. Was hero of the battle of Towton, in the year 1461, and bravely lost his life there on the Lancastrian side. He had married Anna, the widow of John de Neville.
(20) RANDOLPH - Duke of Westmoreland. (Son of John and Anna) married Margaret, daughter of Booth de Barton of Lancaster.
(21) RANDOLPH, Heir presumptive. Died during his father's lifetime; married Edith, daughter of the Earl of Sandwich.
(22) RANDOLPH - Duke of Westmoreland. (Son of Randolph and Edith), married Catherine, daughter of Edward, Duke of Buckingham.* Died 1524.
(23) RANDOLPH - fifth son of Randolph and Catherine. The first son being Henry, whose son Charles was the last in the line of these dukes of Westmoreland, and the other sons being Thomas, Edward, Christopher and Cuthbert. Died probably about 1565.
(24) CHRISTOPHER FITZ RANDOLPH (son of Randolph, fifth son of Duke of Westmoreland). Married Joan, daughter and heiress of Cuthbert Langton of Langton Hall. Died 1588.
(25) EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH of Langton Hall. With whom was found and in whom was confirmed by the "Visitation" of 1614 the Fitz Randolph Arms substantially as borne by the Lords of Middleham and by the Spennithorne branch of Fitz Randolph. Died probably about 1635.
(26) EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH - Pilgrim. Married May 10, 1637, at Scituate, Mass., to Elizabeth Blossom, daughter of Thomas and Anne Blossom. Moved to Piscataway, N. J., 1669. Died 1675.
___________________
About history Ranulf Fitz Robert, 4th Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, Died before December 7, 1252, buried at CoverhamAbbey, Co. York. Married Mary Bigod, heriess of Menethorpe, Co. York to her husband in gift of frank-marriage, whichlands had previously been held by her father Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk and a Magna Carta Surety. Ranulf Fitz Rob-ert held 6 knights fees in the honour of Richmond. He bore the arms of his grandfather Glanville, "Argent, a chief indentedazure, Crest on a chapeau or turned up a wivern of the last." Ralph, the eldest son of Ranulf, born ca 1218, died 31 March1270, married Anastacia, d/o of William de Percy and left only daughters of whom the eldest, Mary, married Robert deNeville of Raby and conveyed her father's land to the Nevilles. Therefore the male line of the Fitz Randolph family lost in-heritance to Middleham. (Randolph 1980 p-583)

Ranulf TAILBOYS
Born: ABT 1188
Died: BEF 7 Dec 1252
Father: Robert TAILBOYS
Mother: Helewise GLANVILLE
Married: Mary BIGOD
Children:
1. Ralph TAILBOYS
Ranulf Fitz Robert held 6 knights fees in the honor of Richmond.
He was also known as Ranulpus.
1214 - Translated the Monks of Swainby, which monastery was established by his mother, to Coverham, near Middleham. Conferred on them the church of Coverham and many lands and tenements.
He bore the arms of his grandfather Glanville: "Argent, a chief indented azure. Crest, on a chapeau or turned up a wivern of the last".
Brought his mother's bones from Swainby and buried them in the Chapter House at Coverham.

Information Source:

1. Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. II, 1897.

________________ http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p506.htm#i15219 'Ranulf FitzRobert, Lord Middleham 'M, b. circa 1185, d. before 7 December 1252 Father Robert Taylbois, Lord Middleham b. c 1145 Mother Helewise Glanville ' Ranulf FitzRobert, Lord Middleham was born circa 1185 at of Middleham & Spennithorne, Yorkshire, England; Came of age in 1206. He married Mary Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod, Magna Carta Surety, 4th Earl Norfolk and Ida de Tony, circa 1199. Ranulf FitzRobert, Lord Middleham died before 7 December 1252; Buried at Coverham Abbey, Yorkshire. 'Family Mary Bigod b. c 1180 Children ◦Sir Ralph FitzRandolph, Lord Middleham+ b. c 1218, d. 31 Mar 1270 ◦Sir Ranulf FitzRanulf, Lord Spennithorne+ b. bt 1220 - 1225, d. bt 1287 - 1294 _________________ 'The Magna Charta sureties, 1215: the barons named in the Magna Charta, 1215 ... By Frederick Lewis Weis, Walter Lee Sheppard, William

http://books.google.com/books?id=59XcwoRK9jkC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Edward+FitzRandolph+1565&source=bl&ots=KGhipz7S8p&sig=fdJHr8FP7z8wU_zIi8MRSG_07HM&hl=en&ei=QaZ9TcT8MM_0rAHBmt3uBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=Edward%20FitzRandolph%201565&f=false Pg. 193-196 1. ROGER BIGOD (3-1), 2nd Earl of Norfolk, Magna Charta Surety, 1215, b. c. 1150, d. 1221; m. Ida. (CP IX, 586-589). '2. MARY BIGOD, heiress of Menethorpe, co. York; prob. m. Ranulf fitz Robert, lord of Middleham, co. York, to which he succeeded by 1206, d. bef. 7 Dec. 1252, bur. at Coverham Abbey, co. York; held 6 knights' fees in the honour of Richmond, co. York, and 6 in Norfolk, the latter acquired presumably from the Bigods. (Clay, Early Yorkshire Charters, V:303; The Genealogist, n.s. 3:33; Feudal Aids 6: 156; VCH, North Riding of York, 1: 254). 3. RANULF fitz RANULF, lord of Spennithorne, co. York, b. c. 1220/5, d. bef. 1294; m. Bertrama, widow of Sir Roger de Ingoldsby. (VCH cit. 1: 258). 4. RALPH fitz RANULF, lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1250/60, d. bef. 1316; m. Theophania (or Tiffany) de Lascelles, dau. and coheiress of Sir Roger de Lascelles (IV) of Kirkby-under-Knowle, co. York, who is now considered by legal fiction to have been 1st Baron Lascelles. (VCH cit. 1: 258; Clay, Early Yorkshire Charters, "Lascelle Fee", V 182-186; CP VII, 446-449) 5. RANULF fitz RALPH, lord of Spennithorne, sometimes called Ranulf de Lascelles, b. c. 1300, d. aft. 1343; m. Isabel. (VCH cit., 1: 258; Feet of Fines for co. of York, 1327-1347, p.166). 6. JOHN fitz RANULF, lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1325, d. bef. 1369; m. by Oct. 1343, Maud "de Campania," who m. (2) Robert de Hilton, lord of Swine. (VCH Cit., 1: 259; Feet of Fines for co. of York, loc. cit.: Yorks Archaeol. Journal, 25: 174). 7. RANDALL (or RANULF) fitz JOHN, lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1345, d. aft. 1388. (VCH cit. 1: 259). 8. SIR JOHN RANDALL (or FITZ RANDOLPH), KNT., lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1374, beheaded, 1405 for taking part in the rebellion of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York, and other northern magnates. (VCH cit. 1: 259; C.W.C. Oman, Political History of England, 1377-1485, pp. 194-198; see Close Rolls, 17 Feb. 1407, for lands of which Sir John was seised at time of his death). 9. SIR RALPH FITZ RANDALL (or FITZ RANDOLPH), KNT., lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1398, under age in 1407, will dated 20 Jan. 1457/8, pr. ult. Jan. 1457/8; m. Elizabeth. (VCH cit. 1: 259; Sir Ralph's Will is printed in Surtees Soc. Publ., 26: 4). 10. JOHN FITZ RANDOLPH (or FITZ RANDOLPH), ESQ., lord of Spennithorne, b. c. 1420, d. 5 Mar. 1474/5; m. Joan Conyers, eldest dau. of Sir Christopher Conyers, Knt., of Hornby Castle, co. York. b. c. 1380. d. aft. 1462, m. (1) bef. Sept. 1415 Ellen, b. c. 1399, d. 6 Aug. 1444, dau. of Thomas Rolleston of Mablethorp, co. Lincoln, Esq., by Beatrice Haulay his wife, heiress of Ingleton, co. York. (VCH cit. 1: 259: J.W. Clay, Extinct & Dormant Peerages of the Northern Counties of England, 32-33; Yorks Arch. Soc. Record Series, 59: 105, Inq.p.m. of Thomas Rolleston). 11. JOHN FITZ RANDOLPH, b. perhaps 1455/60, prob. d. bef. 1514, presumed to have been third or fourth son of John Fitz Randolph and Joan Conyers, and brother of Sir Ralph Fitz Randolph of Spennithorne (c. 1444-1517) and of Christopher Fitz Randolph, parson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham (d 1516). See note to this pedigree; Fitz Randolph pedigree in British Museum Add. Mss. 6705, f58b, begins with this John). 12. CHRISTOPHER FITZ RANDOLPH, b. c. 1495, d. sh. bef. 26 Apr. 1670 (adminstration granted on that date to his widow Jane and eldest son Thomas); doubtless came to Kirkby-in-Ashfield, co Nottingham, because of his uncle Christopher Fitz Randolph, parson of that place, who d. 1516 leaving a will dated 1 Jun 1516 of which the nephew Christopher was named as one of the executors; m. by contract dated 1514 to Jane (or Joan) Langton, dau. and heiress of Cuthbert Langton of Langton Hall in the parish of Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Jane was b. c. 1499, d. betw. 30 July 1573 (date of will) and 2 Apr. 1574 (probate). (NEHGR, 97: 296, 99: 335-336; Brit. Museum Add. Mss. 6705: f58b; Add. Mss. 6707: v1O2; Harl. Mss. 1400: 58, 58b; Thoroton, Antiquities of Nottinghamshire, 2: 296; Harl. Soc. Publ., 4: 187. L.V.F. Randolph, FitzRandolph Traditions, mentions Christopher Fitz Randolph and Jane Langton many times, but this book regrettably contains many errors; Whitaker, Richmondshire II, p. 46). 13. CHRISTOPHER FITZ RANDOLPH, b. c. 1530, bur. at Sutton-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, 28 June 1588 (this is the correct date of burial from original paper Parish Register of Sutton-in-Ashfield. The date was incorrectly copied as "7 Jun 1589" in late parchment copy of original Register, and wrong date from copy was unfortunately printed in the NEHGR, 97: 298). Christopher was his parents' fourth son, and was named in his mother's will, dated 30 July 1573. His own will, dated 20 June 1588, was proved 1 Apr. 1589 in the Peculiar Court of the Manor of Mansfield (Notts. County Record Office, D.D.P. 17/69). Christopher's wife, who predeceased him, was not named in his will. He had four sons, James, Anthony, Edward and Christopher, named in the will. 14. EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH, b. c. 1565, d. betw. 13 Aug. 1647 (dated of will) and 27 Oct. 1647 (probate). He was prob. b. at Hucknall-under-Huthwaite in the parish of Sutton-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, and moved aft. 1621 to Kirsall in the Parish of Kneesall, co. Nottingham, where he died. He was the 3rd son named in his father's will, and was prob. the nephew Edward named in the will of his uncle Thomas Fitz Randolph, 21 May 1600. (NEHGR, 97: 297). He m. (1) at Sutton-in-Ashfield, 16 Nov. 1589, Alice Tompson, bur. there 27 Dec. 1604. He m. (2) at Sutton-in-Ashfield, 17 Dec. 1605, Frances Howls, apparently a native of the parish of Kneesall, co. Nottingham, bur. at Kneesall 7 June 1631 (NEHGR 97: 298; Transcript of the Parish Registers of Kneesall; original will of Edward Fitz Randolph at York Probate Registry, in which he bequeathed ten pounds sterling to his son Edward "if he cum to demand it.") 15. EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH (son of the 2nd marriage), the emigrant to New England and eventual settler in New Jersey, bp. at Sutton-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, 5 July 1607, emigrated 1630 to Scituate, Mass., then moved to Barnstable, Cape Cod, and finally to Piscataway, N.J., where he d. c. 1684/5. He m. at Scituate, 10 May 1637, Elizabeth Blossom, b. at Leyden, Netherlands, 1620, d. at Piscataway, c. 1713, having remarried, 30 June 1685, Capt. John Pike. (NEHGR 97: 275-276, 298; 99: 335-336; Louise Aymar Christian and Howard Stelle Fitz Randolph, Fitz Randolph Genealogy, 5). Note: Although this line is probably sound, attention should be drawn to other evidences. C.T. Clay, Early Yorkshire Charters, 5: 303, say that Ranulf Fitz Robert "is said to have married Mary daughter of Roger Bigod earl of Norfolk" (see above, Generation 2). Mary definitely brought the lands of Menethorpe, co York, to her husband in gift of frank-marriage, which lands had previously been held by Roger Bigod (ibid., footnote 4 and authorities there cited). Moreover, the careful pedigree in the Genealogist, n.s., 3: 33, gives Mary as daughter of Roger Bigod. The weakest link is that which connects Generations 10 and 11 (above). John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10) was succeeded at Spennithorne by his eldest son Sir Ralph Fitz Randolph (b.c. 1444, d. 1517) who married Elizabeth Scrope, daughter of Sir Thomas Scrope, 5th Lord Scrope of Masham. They had a son John Fitz Randolph (who d. in 1517 shortly after his father, and was the last of the Fitz Randolphs of Spennithorne), and five daughters, Elizabeth, Alice, Mary, Dorothy, and Agnes, who were coheiresses of their brother John at his death in 1517 (Surtees Soc. Publ., 133: 24). In 1514 Christopher Fitz Randolph (Generation 12) was married by contract to Jane Langton. Two of the feoffees of the marriage contract were John Fitz Randolph, heir of Spennithorne, mentioned above, and his brother-in-law Sir Nicholas Strelley of Linby, co. Nottingham, husband of Elizabeth Fitz Randolph, the eldest of the five Spennithorne coheiresses. It is presumed that John Fitz Randolph and Strelley were feoffees because the bride-groom, Christopher Fitz Randolph, was John's first cousin and Strelley's first-cousin-in-law (see discussion by Anthony R. Wagner, Richmond Herald, in NEHGR 99: 335-336). We also know that Christopher Fitz Randolph (Generation 12) had an uncle, Christopher Fitz Randolph, parson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, co. Nottingham, who was presented to that living 3 Mar. 1489/90 by Sir John Conyers, Knt., of Hornby Castle, co. York, who had acquired the advowson. Christopher Fitz Randolph, the parson made a will dated 1 June 1516, proved 17 July 1516, of which his nephew Christopher (Generation 12) was one of the executors. Christopher the parson unfortunately did not mention his kinsmen of the Spennithorne line in this will. We further know that John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10) married Joan Conyers, eldest daughter of Sir Christopher Conyers, Knt., lord of Hornby Castle, co. York (Raine, Testamenta Eboracenses, 3: 228; Conyers pedigree in J.W. Clay, Extinct and Dormant Peerages of the Northern Counties of England, 32-33). Joan (Conyers) Fitz Randolph was living, a widow, 22 June 1483, when she was named in the will of that date of her brother Christopher Conyers, Rector of Rudby, co. York (Raine, Test. Ebor., 3: 287). We think (but cannot prove) that John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10) and his wife Joan Conyers had, in addition to their eldest son and heir Sir Ralph, younger sons named Richard, John, and Christopher, and a daughter Margery who married John Burgh of East Hawkswell, co. York (for the Burghs, see Whitaker, Richmondshilre, 347). Of the above-named three younger sons, we suppose that John was the John Fitz Randolph (Generation 11), while Christopher was the parson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, named for his grandfather and uncle, each named Christopher Conyers. If this connection be correct, as we believe, it would explain why Sir John Conyers of Hornby (eldest son of Sir Christopher and brother of Joan (Conyers) Fitz Randolph) acquired the advowson of Kirkby-in-Ashfield and presented Christopher Fitz Randolph (whom we believe to have been Sir John's nephew) to that living. It may be noted in passing that the given name Christopher entered the Fitz Randolph family through the marriage to Joan Conyers in the fifteenth century and continued as a given name in that family for over two centuries. Edward[1] Fitz Randolph's (Generation 15) eldest surviving son Nathaniel[2] had an eldest son John[3] who had an eldest son Christopher[4], b. at Woodbridge, N.J., 23 Feb. 1682 (L.A. Christian and H.S.F. Randolph, FitzRandolph Genealogy, 9). Bearing in mind the possibilities that Mary Bigod (Generation 2) may not have been the wife of Randulf fitz Robert, and that John Fitz Randolph Generation 11) may not have been a younger son of John Fitz Randolph (Generation 10), even though we think that those connections are correct, we have presented the above pedigree. John Insley Coddington _______________ 'Fitz Randolph Traditions: A Story of a Thousand Years (1907)

http://www.archive.org/stream/fitzrandolphtra00randgoog#page/n153/mode/1up CHAPTER IX Review of Line of Descent from Rolf the Norseman to Edward the Pilgrim Here, then, once more the writer pauses to recapitulate his ascertainments and conclusions. To the following ancestral story - here given in merest outlne - any American Fitz Randolph, who has been at the trouble of tracing his lineage back to Edward the Pilgrim, may, we believe, safely and reasonably link his line. (1) ROLF - The norseman Conqueror. Born about A.D. 860. Died A.D. 932. Married Gisela, daughter of King Charles of France. (2) WILLIAM, "Longsword" - Duke of Normandy. Died about 943. (3) RICHARD, "The Fearless" - Duke of Normandy. Reigned more than half a century. Died A.D. 996. (4) RICHARD, "The Good" - Duke of Normandy. Died A.D. 1026. (5) RICHARD - Duke of Normandy. Whose wife was Judith. He died A.D. 1028. [He was father of Robert "The Magnificent," whose son was William "The Conqueror," and he was brother of Avicia, who married Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany.] (6) GEOFFREY, AVICIA. (7) EUDO - Duke of Brittany. Married Agnes, daughter of Alan, and died in 1079. (8) RIBALD - Lord of Middleham. [Brother to Alan Rufus, Duke of Richmond, and to Stephen and to Bardolf.] Married Beatrix, and spent his last days in retirement at St. Mary's Abbey, York. (9) RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Married Agatha, daughter of the first Robert of Bruce. (10) ROBERT FITZ RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Who built the Castle of Middleham and married Helewisa de Glanville. '(11) RANDOLPH FITZ RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Married Mary, daughter of Roger Bigot, Duke of Norfolk. (12) RANDOLPH FITZ RANDOLPH - Lord of Middleham. Who married Anastasia, daughter of William, Lord Percy. (13) MARY FITZ RANDOLPH. Daughter of Randolph and Anastasia, a rich, religious and benevolent woman who married Robert de Neville. She died A.D. 1320, having survived her husband 49 years. (14) RANDOLPH DE NEVILLE - Lord of Middleham. Whose second wife was Margaret, daughter of Marmaduke Thweng. Died 1332. (15) RANDOLPH DE NEVILLE - Lord of Middleham. Who married Alicia, daughter of Hugo de Audley. Died 1358. (16) JOHN DE NEVILL - Lord of Middleham. Who married Matilda Percy.* Died 1389. (17) RANDOLPH DE NEVILLE - Lord of Middleham and first Earl of Westmorland. Whose first wife was Margaret (daughter of Hugo), Lady Stafford - descended from Edward I - and whose second wife was Joan of Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and granddaughter of Edward III. He died in 1435. By his second wife his posterity runs into and adown the English royal line. See page 36. We now follow the posterity of the Earl of Westmoreland by his first wife, Lady Stafford. (18) JOHN (the children of whose brother Randolph were all daughters) married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Holland, Earl of Canterbury. He died two years before his father, in 1433. (19) JOHN, heir presumptive f to the dukedom of Westmoreland. Was hero of the battle of Towton, in the year 1461, and bravely lost his life there on the Lancastrian side. He had married Anna, the widow of John de Neville. (20) RANDOLPH - Duke of Westmoreland. (Son of John and Anna) married Margaret, daughter of Booth de Barton of Lancaster. (21) RANDOLPH, Heir presumptive. Died during his father's lifetime; married Edith, daughter of the Earl of Sandwich. (22) RANDOLPH - Duke of Westmoreland. (Son of Randolph and Edith), married Catherine, daughter of Edward, Duke of Buckingham.* Died 1524. (23) RANDOLPH - fifth son of Randolph and Catherine. The first son being Henry, whose son Charles was the last in the line of these dukes of Westmoreland, and the other sons being Thomas, Edward, Christopher and Cuthbert. Died probably about 1565. (24) CHRISTOPHER FITZ RANDOLPH (son of Randolph, fifth son of Duke of Westmoreland). Married Joan, daughter and heiress of Cuthbert Langton of Langton Hall. Died 1588. (25) EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH of Langton Hall. With whom was found and in whom was confirmed by the "Visitation" of 1614 the Fitz Randolph Arms substantially as borne by the Lords of Middleham and by the Spennithorne branch of Fitz Randolph. Died probably about 1635. (26) EDWARD FITZ RANDOLPH - Pilgrim. Married May 10, 1637, at Scituate, Mass., to Elizabeth Blossom, daughter of Thomas and Anne Blossom. Moved to Piscataway, N. J., 1669. Died 1675.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=shannon50&id=I08472
ID: I08472 Name: Ranulf 4th Lord of Middleham FitzRobert 1 Sex: M Birth: 1180 in Middleham, Yorkshire, England Death: 7 DEC 1251

Father: Robert "3rd Lord of Middleham" FitzRalph b: 1110 in Middleham, Yorkshire, England Mother: Helewisa De Glanville

Marriage 1 Mary Bigod b: 1196 in Thetford, Norfolk, England Children Has Children Ranulph "Lord of Spennithorne" FitzRanulph b: 1220 in Middleham, Yorkshire, England

Sources: Title: http://www.public.asu.edu/~bgertz/family/d0015/g0000037.html#I992 Text: Ranulf FITZ ROBERT 4th Lord of Middleham ABT 1180 - 7 Dec 1251 BIRTH: ABT 1180, Middleham, Yorkshire, England DEATH: 7 Dec 1251 Father: Robert FITZ RALPH 3rd Lord of Middleham Mother: Helewisa DE GLANVILLE

Family 1 : Mary BIGOD +Ralph FITZ RANULPH 5th Lord of Middleham +Ranulph FITZ RANULPH Lord of Spennithorne

Bill Gertz at gertz@asu.edu

Ranulf FitzRobert, 4th Lord Middleham and Spennithorne's Timeline
1180
Birth of Ranulf
Middleham, North Riding Yorkshire, England
1220
December 25, 1220
Age 41
Birth of Lord Ranulf FitzRanulf, Sir., Lord of Spenn...
Middleham, North Riding, Yorkshire, England
1252
December 7, 1252
Age 72
Death of Ranulf at Middleham, North Riding Yorkshire...
Middleham, North Riding Yorkshire, England
December 1252
Age 72
Burial of Ranulf
Coverham Abbey, North Riding, Yorkshire, England
????
Ranulf worked at 4th Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne
4th Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne

Ranulf married Mary le Bigod in 1198-1199. Mary (daughter of Roger le Bigod, Earl of Norfolk and Ida de Tosny) and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ela of Salisbury. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

King John was styled as, "Joannes Rex Angliae et Dominus Hiberniae, DuxNormaniae et Aquitaniae et Comes Andigaviae."

Crowned by Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury.

John's first marriage was an"ed on the grounds of consanguinity.

John was not particularly religious, even before being excommunicated.Once while John was hunting, a large stag was killed. "What a fine lifethat animal has had, and yet it has never heard holy Mass."

John had a drooping left eye, as did his son Henry III, and grandsonEdward I.

Died of dysentery.

King John was, of course, the title character in Shakespeare's play KingJohn, which is better theatre than history but much better history thanhis Richard III. King Philip of France says to John, during a parley:"But thou from loving England art so far That thou hast under-wrought hislawful king, Cut off the sequence of posterity, Outfaced infant state,and done a rape Upon the maiden virtue of the crown." King John Act 2,scene 1

Portrayed by Claude Rains in the 1938 film, "The Adventures of RobinHood."

Portrayed by Guy Rolfe in the 1952 film, "Ivanhoe."

Portrayed, as Prince John, by Hubert Gregg in the 1952 film, "The Storyof Robin Hood and His Merrie Men."

Portrayed by Hubert Gregg, Brian Haines, and Donald Pleasance in the1955-58 television series, "The Adventures of Robin Hood."

Portrayed by Nigel Terry in the 1968 film, "Lion in Winter".

Portrayed by John Duttine in the 1978 BBC-2 series, "The Devil's Crown."

Source: RoyaList

King John I
John, King of England
John (24 December 1166 – 18/19 October 1216), also known as John Lackland or Softsword, was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death. During John's reign, England lost the duchy of Normandy to King Philip II of France, which resulted in the collapse of most of the Angevin Empire and contributed to the subsequent growth in power of the Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the signing of the Magna Carta, a document often considered to be an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.John, the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, was at first not expected to inherit significant lands. Following the failed rebellion of his elder brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henry's favourite child. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. John's elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young; by the time Richard I became king in 1189, John was a potential heir to the throne. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richard's royal administrators whilst his brother was participating in the Third Crusade. Despite this, after Richard died in 1199, John was proclaimed king of England, and came to an agreement with Philip II of France to recognise John's possession of the continental Angevin lands at the peace treaty of Le Goulet in 1200.When war with France broke out again in 1202, John achieved early victories, but shortages of military resources and his treatment of Norman, Breton and Anjou nobles resulted in the collapse of his empire in northern France in 1204. John spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. John's judicial reforms had a lasting, positive impact on the English common law system, as well as providing an additional source of revenue. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to John's excommunication in 1209, a dispute finally settled by the king in 1213. John's attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over John's allies at the battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, who were unhappy with his fiscal policies and his treatment of many of England's most powerful nobles. Although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France. It soon descended into a stalemate. John died of dysentery contracted whilst on campaign in eastern England during late 1216; supporters of his son Henry III went on to achieve victory over Louis and the rebel barons the following year.Contemporary chroniclers were mostly critical of John's performance as king, and his reign has since been the subject of significant debate and periodic revision by historians from the 16th century onwards. Historian Jim Bradbury has summarised the contemporary historical opinion of John's positive qualities, observing that John is today usually considered a "hard-working administrator, an able man, an able general". Nonetheless, modern historians agree that he also had many faults as king, including what historian Ralph Turner describes as "distasteful, even dangerous personality traits", such as pettiness, spitefulness and cruelty. These negative qualities provided extensive material for fiction writers in the Victorian era, and John remains a recurring character within Western popular culture, primarily as a villain in films and stories depicting the Robin Hood legends. Early life (1166–89) Childhood and the Angevin inheritance The Angevin continental empire (in buff and orange) in the late 12th century

Main article:
Angevin Empire
John was born to Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine on 24 December 1166. Henry had inherited significant territories along the Atlantic seaboard – Anjou, Normandy and England – and expanded his empire by conquering Brittany. Henry married the powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine, who reigned over the Duchy of Aquitaine and had a tenuous claim to Toulouse and Auvergne in southern France, in addition to being the former wife of Louis VII of France. The result was the Angevin Empire, so called because of the Count of Anjou's traditional seat in the city of Angers. The Angevin Empire of Henry II was inherently fragile: although all the lands owed allegiance to Henry, the disparate parts each had their own histories, traditions and governance structures. As one moved south through Anjou and Aquitaine, the extent of royal power in the provinces diminished considerably, scarcely resembling the modern concept of an empire at all. Some of the traditional ties between parts of the empire such as Normandy and England were slowly dissolving over time. It was unclear what would happen to the empire on Henry's death. Although the tradition of primogeniture, under which an eldest son would inherit all his father's lands, was slowly becoming more widespread across Europe, it was less popular amongst the Norman kings of England. Most believed that Henry would divide the empire, giving each son a substantial portion, hoping that his children would then continue to work together as allies after his death. To complicate matters, much of the Angevin empire was technically owned by Henry only as a vassal of the King of France of the rival line of the House of Capet. Henry had often allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperor against France, making the feudal relationship even more challenging.Shortly after his birth, John was passed from Eleanor into the care of a wet nurse, a traditional practice for medieval noble families. Eleanor then left for Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, and sent John and his sister Joan north to Fontevrault Abbey. This may have been done with the aim of steering her youngest son, with no obvious inheritance, towards a future ecclesiastical career. Eleanor spent the next few years conspiring against her husband Henry and neither parent played a part in John's very early life. John was probably, like his brothers, assigned a magister whilst he was at Fontevrault, a teacher charged with his early education and with managing the servants of his immediate household; John was later taught by Ranulph Glanville, a leading English administrator. John spent some time as a member of the household of his eldest living brother Henry the Young King, where he probably received instruction in hunting and military skills. John would grow up to be around 5 ft 5 in high (1.62 m), relatively short for royalty of the day, with a "powerful, barrel-chested body" and dark red hair; he appeared to contemporaries to look like an inhabitant of Poitou. John enjoyed reading and, unusual for the period, built up a travelling library of books. He enjoyed gambling, in particular on backgammon, and was an enthusiastic hunter, even by medieval standards. He liked music, although not songs. John would become a "connoisseur of jewels", building up a large collection, and became famous for his opulent clothes and also, according to French chroniclers, for his fondness for bad wine. As John grew up, he became known for sometimes being "genial, witty, generous and hospitable"; at other moments, he could be jealous, over-sensitive and prone to fits of rage, "biting and gnawing his fingers" in anger. Early lifeDuring John's early years, Henry attempted to resolve the question of his succession. Henry the Young King had been crowned King of England in 1170, but without being given any formal powers by his father, and was also promised Normandy and Anjou as part of his future inheritance. Richard was to be appointed the Count of Poitou and would be given control of Aquitaine, whilst Geoffrey was to become the Duke of Brittany. At this time it seemed unlikely that John would ever inherit substantial lands, and John was jokingly nicknamed "Lackland" by his father. Henry II wanted to secure the southern borders of Aquitaine and decided to betroth his youngest son to Alais, the daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy. As part of this agreement John was promised the future inheritance of Savoy, Piemonte, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert. For his part in the potential marriage alliance, Henry II transferred the castles of Chinon, Loudun and Mirebeau into John's name; as John was only five years old his father would continue to control them for practical purposes. Henry the Young King was unimpressed by this; although he had yet to be granted control of any castles in his new kingdom, these were effectively his future property and had been given away without consultation. Alais made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry II's court, but she died before marrying John, which left the prince once again without an inheritance. In 1173 John's elder brothers, backed by Eleanor, rose in revolt against Henry in the short-lived rebellion of 1173 to 1174. Growing irritated with his subordinate position to Henry II and increasingly worried that John might be given additional lands and castles at his expense, Henry the Young King travelled to Paris and allied himself with Louis VII. Eleanor, irritated by her husband's persistent interference in Aquitaine, encouraged Richard and Geoffrey to join their brother Henry in Paris. Henry II triumphed over the coalition of his sons, but was generous to them in the peace settlement agreed at Montlouis. Henry the Young King was allowed to travel widely in Europe with his own household of knights, Richard was given Aquitaine back, and Geoffrey was allowed to return to Brittany; only Eleanor was imprisoned for her role in the revolt. John had spent the conflict travelling alongside his father and was given widespread possessions across the Angevin empire as part of the Montlouis settlement; from then onwards, most observers regarded John as Henry II's favourite child, although he was the furthest removed in terms of the royal succession. Henry II began to find more lands for John, mostly at various nobles' expense. In 1175 he appropriated the estates of the late Earl of Cornwall and gave them to John. The following year, Henry disinherited the sisters of Isabelle of Gloucester, contrary to legal custom, and betrothed John to the now extremely wealthy Isabelle. In 1177, at the Council of Oxford, Henry dismissed William FitzAldelm as the Lord of Ireland and replaced him with the ten-year-old John. Henry the Young King fought a short war with his brother Richard in 1183 over the status of England, Normandy and Aquitaine. Henry II moved in support of Richard, and Henry the Young King died from dysentery at the end of the campaign. With his primary heir dead, Henry rearranged the plans for the succession: Richard was to be made King of England, albeit without any actual power until the death of his father; Geoffrey would retain Brittany; and John would now become the Duke of Aquitaine in place of Richard. Richard refused to give up Aquitaine; Henry II was furious and ordered John, with help from Geoffrey, to march south and retake the duchy by force. The two attacked the capital of Poitiers, and Richard responded by attacking Brittany. The war ended in stalemate and a tense family reconciliation in England at the end of 1184. In 1185 John made his first visit to Ireland, accompanied by three hundred knights and a team of administrators. Henry had tried to have John officially proclaimed King of Ireland, but Pope Lucius III would not agree. John's first period of rule in Ireland was not a success. Ireland had only recently been conquered by Anglo-Norman forces, and tensions were still rife between Henry II, the new settlers and the existing inhabitants. John infamously offended the local Irish rulers by making fun of their unfashionable long beards, failed to make allies amongst the Anglo-Norman settlers, began to lose ground militarily against the Irish and finally returned to England later in the year, blaming the viceroy, Hugh de Lacy, for the fiasco. The problems amongst John's wider family continued to grow. His elder brother Geoffrey died during a tournament in 1186, leaving a posthumous son, Arthur, and an elder daughter, Eleanor. The duchy of Brittany was given to Arthur rather than John, but Geoffrey's death brought John slightly closer to the throne of England. The uncertainty about what would happen after Henry's death continued to grow; Richard was keen to join a new crusade and remained concerned that whilst he was away Henry would appoint John his formal successor. Richard began discussions about a potential alliance with Philip II in Paris during 1187, and the next year Richard gave homage to Philip in exchange for support for a war against Henry. Richard and Philip fought a joint campaign against Henry, and by the summer of 1189 the king made peace, promising Richard the succession. John initially remained loyal to his father, but changed sides once it appeared that Richard would win. Henry died shortly afterwards. Richard's reign (1189–99)When John's elder brother Richard became king in September 1189, he had already declared his intention of joining the Third Crusade. Richard set about raising the huge sums of money required for this expedition through the sale of lands, titles and appointments, and attempted to ensure that he would not face a revolt while away from his empire. John was made Count of Mortain, was married to the wealthy Isabel of Gloucester, and was given valuable lands in Lancaster and the counties of Cornwall, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Nottingham and Somerset, all with the aim of buying his loyalty to Richard whilst the king was on crusade. Richard retained royal control of key castles in these counties, thereby preventing John from accumulating too much military and political power. In return, John promised not to visit England for the next three years, thereby in theory giving Richard adequate time to conduct a successful crusade and return from the Levant without fear of John seizing power. Richard left political authority in England – the post of justiciar – jointly in the hands of Bishop Hugh de Puiset and William Mandeville, and made William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely, his chancellor. Mandeville immediately died, and Longchamp took over as joint justiciar with Puiset, which would prove to be a less than satisfactory partnership. Eleanor, the queen mother, convinced Richard to allow John into England in his absence. The political situation in England rapidly began to deteriorate. Longchamp refused to work with Puiset and became unpopular with the English nobility and clergy. John exploited this unpopularity to set himself up as an alternative ruler with his own royal court, complete with his own justiciar, chancellor and other royal posts, and was happy to be portrayed as an alternative regent, and possibly the next king. Armed conflict broke out between John and Longchamp, and by October 1191 Longchamp was isolated in the Tower of London with John in control of the city of London, thanks to promises John had made to the citizens in return for recognition as Richard's heir presumptive. At this point Walter of Coutances, the Archbishop of Rouen, returned to England, having been sent by Richard to restore order. John's position was undermined by Walter's relative popularity and by the news that Richard had married whilst in Cyprus, which presented the possibility that Richard would have legitimate children and heirs. The political turmoil continued. John began to explore an alliance with the French king Philip II, freshly returned from the crusade. John hoped to acquire Normandy, Anjou and the other lands in France held by Richard in exchange for allying himself with Philip. John was persuaded not to pursue an alliance by his mother. Longchamp, who had left England after Walter's intervention, now returned, and argued that he had been wrongly removed as justiciar John intervened, suppressing Longchamp's claims in return for promises of support from the royal administration, including a reaffirmation of his position as heir to the throne. When Richard still did not return from the crusade, John began to assert that his brother was dead or otherwise permanently lost. Richard had in fact been captured en route to England by the Duke of Austria and was handed over to Emperor Henry VI, who held him for ransom. John seized the opportunity and went to Paris, where he formed an alliance with Philip. He agreed to set aside his wife, Isabella of Gloucester, and marry Philip's sister, Alys, in exchange for Philip's support. Fighting broke out in England between forces loyal to Richard and those being gathered by John. John's military position was weak and he agreed to a truce; in early 1194 the king finally returned to England, and John's remaining forces surrendered. John retreated to Normandy, where Richard finally found him later that year. Richard declared that his younger brother – despite being 27 years old – was merely "a child who has had evil counsellors" and forgave him, but removed his lands with the exception of Ireland. For the remaining years of Richard's reign, John supported his brother on the continent, apparently loyally. Richard's policy on the continent was to attempt to regain the castles he had lost to Philip II whilst on crusade through steady, limited campaigns. He allied himself with the leaders of Flanders, Boulogne and the Holy Roman Empire to apply pressure on Philip from Germany. In 1195 John successfully conducted a sudden attack and siege of Évreux castle, and subsequently managed the defences of Normandy against Philip. The following year, John seized the town of Gamaches and led a raiding party within 50 miles (80 km) of Paris, capturing the Bishop of Beauvais. In return for this service, Richard withdrew his malevontia, or ill-will, towards John, restored him to the county of Gloucestershire and made him again the Count of Mortain. Early reign (1199–1204)Accession to the throne, 1199After Richard's death on 6 April 1199 there were two potential claimants to the Angevin throne: John, whose claim rested on being the sole surviving son of Henry II, and young Arthur of Brittany, who held a claim as the son of Geoffrey, John's elder brother. Richard appears to have started to recognise John as his legitimate heir in the final years before his death, but the matter was not clear-cut and medieval law gave little guidance as to how the competing claims should be decided. With Norman law favouring John as the only surviving son of Henry II and Angevin law favouring Arthur as the heir of Henry's elder son, the matter rapidly became an open conflict. John was supported by the bulk of the English and Norman nobility and was crowned at Westminster, backed by his mother, Eleanor. Arthur was supported by the majority of the Breton, Maine and Anjou nobles and received the support of Philip II, who remained committed to breaking up the Angevin territories on the continent. With Arthur's army pressing up the Loire valley towards Angers and Philip's forces moving down the valley towards Tours, John's continental empire was in danger of being cut in two. Warfare in Normandy at the time was shaped by the defensive potential of castles and the increasing costs of conducting campaigns. The Norman frontiers had limited natural defences but were heavily reinforced with castles, such as Château Gaillard, at strategic points, built and maintained at considerable expense. It was difficult for a commander to advance far into fresh territory without having secured his lines of communication by capturing these fortifications, which slowed the progress of any attack. Armies of the period could be formed from either feudal or mercenary forces. Feudal levies could only be raised for a fixed length of time before they returned home, forcing an end to a campaign; mercenary forces, often called Brabançons after the Duchy of Brabant but actually recruited from across northern Europe, could operate all year long and provide a commander with more strategic options to pursue a campaign, but cost much more than equivalent feudal forces. As a result commanders of the period were increasingly drawing on larger numbers of mercenaries. After his coronation, John moved south into France with military forces and adopted a defensive posture along the eastern and southern Normandy borders. Both sides paused for desultory negotiations before the war recommenced; John's position was now stronger, thanks to confirmation that Count Baldwin of Flanders and Renaud of Boulogne had renewed the anti-French alliances they had previously agreed to with Richard. The powerful Anjou nobleman William de Roches was persuaded to switch sides from Arthur to John; suddenly the balance seemed to be tipping away from Philip and Arthur in favour of John. Neither side was keen to continue the conflict, and following a papal truce the two leaders met in January 1200 to negotiate possible terms for peace. From John's perspective, what then followed represented an opportunity to stabilise control over his continental possessions and produce a lasting peace with Philip in Paris. John and Philip negotiated the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet; by this treaty, Philip recognised John as the rightful heir to Richard in respect to his French possessions, temporarily abandoning the wider claims of his client, Arthur. John, in turn, abandoned Richard's former policy of containing Philip through alliances with Flanders and Boulogne, and accepted Philip's right as the legitimate feudal overlord of John's lands in France. John's policy earned him the disrespectful title of "John Softsword" from some English chroniclers, who contrasted his behaviour with his more aggressive brother, Richard.

Le Goulet peace, 1200–02
The new peace would only last for two years; war recommenced in the aftermath of John's decision in August 1200 to marry Isabella of Angoulême. In order to remarry, John first needed to abandon Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, his first wife; John accomplished this by arguing that he had failed to get the necessary papal permission to marry Isabel in the first place – as a cousin, John could not have legally wed her without this. It remains unclear why John chose to marry Isabella of Angoulême. Contemporary chroniclers argued that John had fallen deeply in love with Isabella, and John may have been motivated by desire for an apparently beautiful, if rather young, girl. On the other hand, the Angoumois lands that came with Isabella were strategically vital to John: by marrying Isabella, John was acquiring a key land route between Poitou and Gascony, which significantly strengthened his grip on Aquitaine. Unfortunately, Isabella was already engaged to Hugh de Lusignan, an important member of a key Poitou noble family and brother of Raoul de Lusignan, the Count of Eu, who possessed lands along the sensitive eastern Normandy border. Just as John stood to benefit strategically from marrying Isabella, so the marriage threatened the interests of the Lusignans, whose own lands currently provided the key route for royal goods and troops across Aquitaine. Rather than negotiating some form of compensation, John treated Hugh "with contempt"; this resulted in a Lusignan uprising that was promptly crushed by John, who also intervened to suppress Raoul in Normandy.Although John was the Count of Poitou and therefore the rightful feudal lord over the Lusignans, they could legitimately appeal John's actions in France to his own feudal lord, Philip. Hugh did exactly this in 1201 and Philip summoned John to attend court in Paris in 1202, citing the Le Goulet treaty to strengthen his case. John was unwilling to weaken his authority in western France in this way. He argued that he need not attend Philip's court because of his special status as the Duke of Normandy, who was exempt by feudal tradition from being called to the French court. Philip argued that he was summoning John not as the Duke of Normandy, but as the Count of Poitou, which carried no such special status. When John still refused to come, Philip declared John in breach of his feudal responsibilities, reassigned all of John's lands that fell under the French crown to Arthur – with the exception of Normandy, which he took back for himself – and began a fresh war against John.

Loss of Normandy, 1202–04
John initially adopted a defensive posture similar to that of 1199: avoiding open battle and carefully defending his key castles. John's operations became more chaotic as the campaign progressed, and Philip began to make steady progress in the east. John became aware in July that Arthur's forces were threatening his mother, Eleanor, at Mirebeau Castle. Accompanied by William de Roches, his seneschal in Anjou, he swung his mercenary army rapidly south to protect her. His forces caught Arthur by surprise and captured the entire rebel leadership at the battle of Mirebeau. With his southern flank weakening, Philip was forced to withdraw in the east and turn south himself to contain John's army. John's position in France was considerably strengthened by the victory at Mirebeau, but John's treatment of his new prisoners and of his ally, William de Roches, quickly undermined these gains. De Roches was a powerful Anjou noble, but John largely ignored him, causing considerable offence, whilst the king kept the rebel leaders in such bad conditions that twenty-two of them died. At this time most of the regional nobility were closely linked through kinship, and this behaviour towards their relatives was regarded as unacceptable. William de Roches and other of John's regional allies in Anjou and Brittany deserted him in favour of Philip, and Brittany rose in fresh revolt. John's financial situation was tenuous: once factors such as the comparative military costs of materiel and soldiers were taken into account, Philip enjoyed a considerable, although not overwhelming, advantage of resources over John. Further desertions of John's local allies at the beginning of 1203 steadily reduced John's freedom to manoeuvre in the region. He attempted to convince Pope Innocent III to intervene in the conflict, but Innocent's efforts were unsuccessful. As the situation became worse for John, he appears to have decided to have Arthur killed, with the aim of removing his potential rival and of undermining the rebel movement in Brittany. Arthur had initially been imprisoned at Falaise and was then moved to Rouen. After this, Arthur's fate remains uncertain, but modern historians believe he was murdered by John. The annals of Margam Abbey suggest that "John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when John was drunk he slew Arthur with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine." Rumours of the manner of Arthur's death further reduced support for John across the region. Arthur's sister, Eleanor, who had also been captured at Mirebeau, was kept imprisoned by John for many years, albeit in relatively good conditions. In late 1203, John attempted to relieve Château Gaillard, which although besieged by Philip was guarding the eastern flank of Normandy. John attempted a synchronised operation involving land-based and water-borne forces, considered by most historians today to have been imaginative in conception, but overly complex for forces of the period to have carried out successfully. John's relief operation was blocked by Philip's forces, and John turned back to Brittany in an attempt to draw Philip away from eastern Normandy. John successfully devastated much of Brittany, but did not deflect Philip's main thrust into the east of Normandy. Opinions vary amongst historians as to the military skill shown by John during this campaign, with most recent historians arguing that his performance was passable, although not impressive. John's situation began to deteriorate rapidly. The eastern border region of Normandy had been extensively cultivated by Philip and his predecessors for several years, whilst Angevin authority in the south had been undermined by Richard's giving away of various key castles some years before. His use of routier mercenaries in the central regions had rapidly eaten away his remaining support in this area too, which set the stage for a sudden collapse of Angevin power. John retreated back across the Channel in December, sending orders for the establishment of a fresh defensive line to the west of Chateau Gaillard. In March 1204, Gaillard fell. John's mother Eleanor died the following month. This was not just a personal blow for John, but threatened to unravel the widespread Angevin alliances across the far south of France. Philip moved south around the new defensive line and struck upwards at the heart of the Duchy, now facing little resistance. By August, Philip had taken Normandy and advanced south to occupy Anjou and Poitou as well. John's only remaining possession on the Continent was now the Duchy of Aquitaine.

John as king
Kingship and royal administration
The nature of government under the Angevin monarchs was ill-defined and uncertain. John's predecessors had ruled using the principle of vis et voluntas, or "force and will", taking executive and sometimes arbitrary decisions, often justified on the basis that a king was above the law. Both Henry II and Richard had argued that kings possessed a quality of "divine majesty"; John continued this trend and claimed an "almost imperial status" for himself as ruler. During the 12th century, there were contrary opinions expressed about the nature of kingship, and many contemporary writers believed that monarchs should rule in accordance with the custom and the law, and take council with the leading members of the realm. There was as yet no model for what should happen if a king refused to do so. Despite his claim to unique authority within England, John would sometimes justify his actions on the basis that he had taken council with the barons. Modern historians remain divided as to whether John suffered from a case of "royal schizophrenia" in his approach to government, or if his actions merely reflected the complex model of Angevin kingship in the early 13th century. John inherited a sophisticated system of administration in England, with a range of royal agents answering to the Royal Household: the Chancery kept written records and communications; the Treasury and the Exchequer dealt with income and expenditure respectively; and various judges were deployed to deliver justice around the kingdom. Thanks to the efforts of men like Hubert Walter, this trend towards improved record keeping continued into his reign. Like previous kings, John managed a peripatetic court that travelled around the kingdom, dealing with both local and national matters as he went. John was very active in the administration of England and was involved in every aspect of government. In part he was following in the tradition of Henry I and Henry II, but by the 13th century the volume of administrative work had greatly increased, which put much more pressure on a king who wished to rule in this style. John was in England for much longer periods than his predecessors, which made his rule more personal than that of previous kings, particularly in previously ignored areas such as the north. The administration of justice was of particular importance to John. Several new processes had been introduced to English law under Henry II, including novel disseisin and mort d'ancestor. These processes meant the royal courts had a more significant role in local law cases, which had previously been dealt with only by regional or local lords. John increased the professionalism of local sergeants and bailiffs, and extended the system of coroners first introduced by Hubert Walter in 1194, creating a new class of borough coroners. John worked extremely hard to ensure that this system operated well, through judges he had appointed, by fostering legal specialists and expertise, and by intervening in cases himself. John continued to try relatively minor cases, even during military crises. Viewed positively, Lewis Warren considers that John discharged "his royal duty of providing justice ... with a zeal and a tirelessness to which the English common law is greatly endebted". Seen more critically, John may have been motivated by the potential of the royal legal process to raise fees, rather than a desire to deliver simple justice; John's legal system also only applied to free men, rather than to all of the population. Nonetheless, these changes were popular with many free tenants, who acquired a more reliable legal system that could bypass the barons, against whom such cases were often brought. John's reforms were less popular with the barons themselves, especially as they remained subject to arbitrary and frequently vindictive royal justice.

Economy
One of John's principal challenges was acquiring the large sums of money needed for his proposed campaigns to reclaim Normandy. The Angevin kings had three main sources of income available to them, namely revenue from their personal lands, or demesne; money raised through their rights as a feudal lord; and revenue from taxation. Revenue from the royal demesne was inflexible and had been diminishing slowly since the Norman conquest. Matters were not helped by Richard's sale of many royal properties in 1189, and taxation played a much smaller role in royal income than in later centuries. English kings had widespread feudal rights which could be used to generate income, including the scutage system, in which feudal military service was avoided by a cash payment to the king. He derived income from fines, court fees and the sale of charters and other privileges. John intensified his efforts to maximise all possible sources of income, to the extent that he has been described as "avaricious, miserly, extortionate and moneyminded". John also used revenue generation as a way of exerting political control over the barons: debts owed to the crown by the king's favoured supporters might be forgiven; collection of those owed by enemies was more stringently enforced.The result was a sequence of innovative but unpopular financial measures. John levied scutage payments eleven times in his seventeen years as king, as compared to eleven times in total during the reign of the preceding three monarchs. In many cases these were levied in the absence of any actual military campaign, which ran counter to the original idea that scutage was an alternative to actual military service. John maximised his right to demand relief payments when estates and castles were inherited, sometimes charging enormous sums, beyond barons' abilities to pay. Building on the successful sale of sheriff appointments in 1194, John initiated a new round of appointments, with the new incumbents making back their investment through increased fines and penalties, particularly in the forests. Another innovation of Richard's, increased charges levied on widows who wished to remain single, was expanded under John. John continued to sell charters for new towns, including the planned town of Liverpool, and charters were sold for markets across the kingdom and in Gascony. The king introduced new taxes and extended existing ones. The Jews, who held a vulnerable position in medieval England, protected only by the king, were subject to huge taxes; £44,000 was extracted from the community by the tallage of 1210; much of it was passed on to the Christian debtors of Jewish moneylenders. John created a new tax on income and movable goods in 1207 – effectively a version of a modern income tax – that produced £60,000; he created a new set of import and export duties payable directly to the crown. John found that these measures enabled to him to raise further resources through the confiscation of the lands of barons who could not pay or refused to pay. At the start of John's reign there was a sudden change in prices, as bad harvests and high demand for food resulted in much higher prices for grain and animals. This inflationary pressure was to continue for the rest of the 13th century and had long-term economic consequences for England. The resulting social pressures were complicated by bursts of deflation that resulted from John's military campaigns. It was usual at the time for the king to collect taxes in silver, which was then re-minted into new coins; these coins would then be put in barrels and sent to royal castles around the country, to be used to hire mercenaries or to meet other costs. At those times when John was preparing for campaigns in Normandy, for example, huge quantities of silver had to be withdrawn from the economy and stored for months, which unintentionally resulted in periods during which silver coins were simply hard to come by, commercial credit difficult to acquire and deflationary pressure placed on the economy. The result was political unrest across the country. John attempted to address some of the problems with the English currency in 1204 and 1205 by carrying out a radical overhaul of the coinage, improving its quality and consistency.

Royal household and ira et malevolentia
John's royal household was based around several groups of followers. One group was the familiares regis, John's immediate friends and knights who travelled around the country with him. They also played an important role in organising and leading military campaigns. Another section of royal followers were the curia regis; these curiales were the senior officials and agents of the king and were essential to his day-to-day rule. Being a member of these inner circles brought huge advantages, as it was easier to gain favours from the king, file lawsuits, marry a wealthy heiress or have one's debts remitted. By the time of Henry II, these posts were increasingly being filled by "new men" from outside the normal ranks of the barons. This intensified under John's rule, with many lesser nobles arriving from the continent to take up positions at court; many were mercenary leaders from Poitou. These men included soldiers who would become infamous in England for their uncivilised behaviour, including Falkes de Breauté, Geard d'Athies, Engelard de Cigongé and Philip Marc. Many barons perceived the king's household as what Ralph Turner has characterised as a "narrow clique enjoying royal favour at barons' expense" staffed by men of lesser status. This trend for the king to rely on his own men at the expense of the barons was exacerbated by the tradition of Angevin royal ira et malevolentia – "anger and ill-will" – and John's own personality. From Henry II onwards, ira et malevolentia had come to describe the right of the king to express his anger and displeasure at particular barons or clergy, building on the Norman concept of malevoncia – royal ill-will. In the Norman period, suffering the king's ill-will meant difficulties in obtaining grants, honours or petitions; Henry II had infamously expressed his fury and ill-will towards Thomas Becket; this ultimately resulted in Becket's death. John now had the additional ability to "cripple his vassals" on a significant scale using his new economic and judicial measures, which made the threat of royal anger all the more serious.John was deeply suspicious of the barons, particularly those with sufficient power and wealth to potentially challenge the king. Numerous barons were subjected to John's malevolentia, even including William Marshal, a famous knight and baron normally held up as a model of utter loyalty. The most infamous case, which went beyond anything considered acceptable at the time, proved to be that of William de Braose, a powerful marcher lord with lands in Ireland. De Braose was subjected to punitive demands for money, and when he refused to pay a huge sum of 40,000 marks (equivalent to £26,666 at the time), his wife and one of his sons were imprisoned by John, which resulted in their death. De Braose died in exile in 1211, and his grandsons remained in prison until 1218. John's suspicions and jealousies meant that he rarely enjoyed good relationships with even the leading loyalist barons.

Personal life
John's personal life impacted heavily on his reign. Contemporary chroniclers state that John was sinfully lustful and lacking in piety. It was common for kings and nobles of the period to keep mistresses, but chroniclers complained that John's mistresses were married noblewomen, which was considered unacceptable. John had at least five children with mistresses during his first marriage to Isabelle of Gloucester, and two of those mistresses are known to have been noblewomen. John's behaviour after his second marriage to Isabella is less clear, however. None of John's known illegitimate children were born after he remarried, and there is no actual documentary proof of adultery after that point, although John certainly had female friends amongst the court throughout the period. The specific accusations made against John during the baronial revolts are now generally considered to have been invented for the purposes of justifying the revolt; nonetheless, most of John's contemporaries seem to have held a poor opinion of his sexual behaviour. The character of John's relationship with his second wife, Isabella of Angoulême, is unclear. John married Isabella whilst she was relatively young – her exact date of birth is uncertain, and estimates place her between at most 15 and more probably towards nine years old at the time of her marriage. Even by the standards of the time, Isabella was married whilst very young. John did not provide a great deal of money for his wife's household and did not pass on much of the revenue from her lands, to the extent that historian Nicholas Vincent has described him as being "downright mean" towards Isabella. Vincent concluded that the marriage was not a particularly "amicable" one. Other aspects of their marriage suggest a closer, more positive relationship. Chroniclers recorded that John had a "mad infatuation" with Isabella, and certainly John had conjugal relationships with Isabella between at least 1207 and 1215; they had five children. In contrast to Vincent, historian William Chester Jordan concludes that the pair were a "companionable couple" who had a successful marriage by the standards of the day. John's lack of religious conviction has been noted by contemporary chroniclers and later historians, with some suspecting that John was at best impious, or even atheistic, a very serious issue at the time. Contemporary chroniclers catalogued his various anti-religious habits at length, including his failure to take communion, his blasphemous remarks, and his witty but scandalous jokes about church doctrine, including jokes about the implausibility of the Resurrection. They commented on the paucity of John's charitable donations to the church. Historian Frank McLynn argues that John's early years at Fontevrault, combined with his relatively advanced education, may have combined to turn him against the church. Other historians have been more cautious in interpreting this material, noting that chroniclers also reported John's personal interest in the life of St Wulfstan of Worcester and his friendships with several senior clerics, most especially with Hugh of Lincoln, who was later declared a saint. Financial records show a normal royal household engaged in the usual feasts and pious observances – albeit with many records showing John's offerings to the poor to atone for routinely breaking church rules and guidance.

Later reign (1204–14)
Continental policy
During the remainder of his reign, John focused on trying to retake Normandy. The available evidence suggests that John did not regard the loss of the Duchy as a permanent shift in Capetian power. Strategically, John faced several challenges: England itself had to be secured against possible French invasion, the sea-routes to Bordeaux needed to be secured following the loss of the land route to Aquitaine, and his remaining possessions in Aquitaine needed to be secured following the death of his mother, Eleanor, in April 1204. John's preferred plan was to use Poitou as a base of operations, advance up the Loire valley to threaten Paris, pin down the French forces and break Philip's internal lines of communication before landing a maritime force in the Duchy itself. Ideally, this plan would benefit from the opening of a second front on Philip's eastern frontiers with Flanders and Boulogne – effectively a re-creation of Richard's old strategy of applying pressure from Germany. All of this would require a great deal of money and soldiers. John spent much of 1205 securing England against a potential French invasion. As an emergency measure, John recreated a version of Henry II's Assize of Arms, with each shire creating a structure to mobilise local levies. When the threat of invasion faded, John formed a large military force in England intended for Poitou, and a large fleet with soldiers under his own command intended for Normandy. To achieve this, John reformed the English feudal contribution to his campaigns, creating a more flexible system under which only one knight in ten would actually be mobilised, but would be financially supported by the other nine; knights would serve for an indefinite period. John built up a strong team of engineers for siege warfare and a substantial force of professional crossbowmen. The king was supported by a team of leading barons with military expertise, including William Longespée, William the Marshal, Roger de Lacy and, until he fell from favour, the marcher lord William de Braose. John had already begun to improve his Channel forces before the loss of Normandy and he rapidly built up further maritime capabilities after its collapse. Most of these ships were placed along the Cinque Ports, but Portsmouth was also enlarged. By the end of 1204 he had around 50 large galleys available; another 54 vessels were built between 1209 and 1212. William of Wrotham was appointed "keeper of the galleys", effectively John's chief admiral. Wortham was responsible for fusing John's galleys, the ships of the Cinque Ports and pressed merchant vessels into a single operational fleet. John adopted recent improvements in ship design, including new large transport ships called buisses and removable forecastles for use in combat. Baronial unrest in England prevented the departure of the planned 1205 expedition, and only a smaller force under William Longespée deployed to Poitou. In 1206 John departed for Poitou himself, but was forced to divert south to counter a threat to Gascony from Alfonso VIII of Castile. After a successful campaign against Alfonso, John headed north again, taking the city of Angers. Philip moved south to meet John; the year's campaigning ended in stalemate and a two-year truce was made between the two rulers. During the truce of 1206–1208, John focused on building up his financial and military resources in preparation for another attempt to recapture Normandy. John used some of this money to pay for new alliances on Philip's eastern frontiers, where the growth in Capetian power was beginning to concern France's neighbours. By 1212 John had successfully concluded alliances with Renault of Dammartin, who controlled Boulogne, and Count Ferdinand of Flanders, as well as Otto IV, a contender for the crown of Holy Roman Emperor in Germany; Otto was also John's nephew. The invasion plans for 1212 were postponed because of fresh English baronial unrest about service in Poitou. Philip seized the initiative in 1213, sending his son, Prince Louis, to invade Flanders with the intention of next launching an invasion of England. John was forced to postpone his own invasion plans to counter this threat. He launched his new fleet to attack the French at the harbour of Damme. The attack was a success, destroying Philip's vessels and any chances of an invasion of England that year. John hoped to exploit this advantage by invading himself late in 1213, but baronial discontent again delayed his invasion plans until early 1214, in what would prove to be his final Continental campaign.

Scotland, Ireland and Wales
In the late 12th and early 13th centuries the border and political relationship between England and Scotland was disputed, with the kings of Scotland claiming parts of what is now northern England. John's father, Henry II, had forced William of Scotland to swear fealty to him at the Treaty of Falaise in 1174. This had been rescinded by Richard I in exchange for financial compensation in 1189, but the relationship remained uneasy. John began his reign by reasserting his sovereignty over the disputed northern counties. He refused William's request for the earldom of Northumbria, but did not intervene in Scotland itself and focused on his continental problems. The two kings maintained a friendly relationship, meeting in 1206 and 1207, until it was rumoured in 1209 that William was intending to ally himself with Philip II of France. John invaded Scotland and forced William to sign the Treaty of Norham, which gave John control of William's daughters and required a payment of £10,000. This effectively crippled William's power north of the border, and by 1212 John had to intervene militarily to support the Scottish king against his internal rivals, this time marrying his daughter Joan to William's son, Alexander II. John made no efforts to reinvigorate the Treaty of Falaise, though, and both William and Alexander remained independent kings, supported by, but not owing fealty to, John. John remained Lord of Ireland throughout his reign. He drew on the country for resources to fight his war with Philip on the continent. Conflict continued in Ireland between the Anglo-Norman settlers and the indigenous Irish chieftains, with John manipulating both groups to expand his wealth and power in the country. During Richard's rule, John had successfully increased the size of his lands in Ireland, and he continued this policy as king. In 1210 the king crossed into Ireland with a large army to crush a rebellion by the Anglo-Norman lords; he reasserted his control of the country and used a new charter to order compliance with English laws and customs in Ireland. John stopped short of actively applying this charter to the native Irish kingdoms, but historian David Carpenter suspects that he might have done so, had the baronial conflict in England not intervened. Simmering tensions remained with the native Irish leaders even after John left for England. Royal power in Wales was unevenly applied, with the country divided between the marcher lords along the borders, royal territories in Pembrokeshire and the more independent native Welsh lords of North Wales. John took a close interest in Wales and knew the country well, visiting every year between 1204 and 1211 and marrying his illegitimate daughter, Joan, to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great. The king used the marcher lords and the native Welsh to increase his own territory and power, striking a sequence of increasingly precise deals backed by royal military power with the Welsh rulers. A major royal expedition to enforce these agreements occurred in 1211, after Llywelyn attempted to exploit the instability caused by the removal of William de Braose, through the Welsh uprising of 1211. John's invasion, striking into the Welsh heartlands, was a military success. Llywelyn came to terms that included an expansion of John's power across much of Wales, albeit only temporarily.

Dispute with the Pope
When Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III that would lead to the king's excommunication. The Norman and Angevin kings had traditionally exercised a great deal of power and autonomy over the church within their territories. From the 1040s onwards, however, successive popes had put forward a reforming message that emphasised the importance of the church being "governed more coherently and more hierarchically from the centre" and established "its own sphere of authority and jurisdiction, separate from and independent of that of the lay ruler", in the words of historian Richard Huscroft. After the 1140s, these principles had been largely accepted within the English church, albeit with an element of concern about centralising authority in Rome. These changes brought the customary rights of lay rulers such as John over ecclesiastical appointments into question. Pope Innocent was, according to historian Ralph Turner, an "ambitious and aggressive" religious leader, insistent on his rights and responsibilities within the church. John wanted John de Gray, the Bishop of Norwich and one of his own supporters, to be appointed Archbishop of Canterbury after the death of Walter, but the cathedral chapter for Canterbury Cathedral claimed the exclusive right to elect Walter's successor. They favoured Reginald, the chapter's sub-prior. To complicate matters, the bishops of the province of Canterbury also claimed the right to appoint the next Archbishop. The chapter secretly elected Reginald and he travelled to Rome to be confirmed; the bishops challenged the appointment and the matter was taken before Innocent. John forced the Canterbury chapter to change their support to John de Gray, and a messenger was sent to Rome to inform the papacy of the new decision. Innocent disavowed both Reginald and John de Gray, and instead appointed his own candidate, Stephen Langton. John refused Innocent's request that he consent to Langton's appointment, but the pope consecrated Langton anyway in June 1207. John was incensed about what he perceived as an abrogation of his customary right as monarch to influence the election. He complained both about the choice of Langton as an individual, as John felt he was overly influenced by the Capetian court in Paris, and about the process as a whole. He barred Langton from entering England and seized the lands of the archbishopric and other papal possessions. Innocent set a commission in place to try to convince John to change his mind, but to no avail. Innocent then placed an interdict on England in March 1208, prohibiting clergy from conducting religious services, with the exception of baptisms for the young, and confessions and absolutions for the dying. John treated the interdict as "the equivalent of a papal declaration of war". He responded by attempting to punish Innocent personally and to drive a wedge between those English clergy that might support him and those allying themselves firmly with the authorities in Rome. John seized the lands of those clergy unwilling to conduct services, as well as those estates linked to Innocent himself; he arrested the illicit concubines that many clerics kept during the period, only releasing them after the payment of fines; he seized the lands of members of the church who had fled England, and he promised protection for those clergy willing to remain loyal to him. In many cases, individual institutions were able to negotiate terms for managing their own properties and keeping the produce of their estates. By 1209 the situation showed no signs of resolution, and Innocent threatened to excommunicate John if he did not acquiesce to Langton's appointment. When this threat failed, Innocent excommunicated the king in November 1209. Although theoretically a significant blow to John's legitimacy, this did not appear to greatly worry the king. Two of John’s close allies, Emperor Otto and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, had already suffered the same punishment themselves, and the significance of excommunication had been somewhat devalued. John simply tightened his existing measures and accrued significant sums from the income of vacant sees and abbeys: one 1213 estimate, for example, suggested the church had lost an estimated 100,000 marks (equivalent to £66,666 at the time) to John. Official figures suggest that around 14% of annual income from the English church was being appropriated by John each year. Innocent gave some dispensations as the crisis progressed. Monastic communities were allowed to celebrate mass in private from 1209 onwards, and late in 1212 the viaticum for the dying was authorised. The rules on burials and lay access to churches appear to have been steadily circumvented, at least unofficially. Although the interdict was a burden to much of the population, it did not result in rebellion against John. By 1213, though, John was increasingly worried about the threat of French invasion. Some contemporary chroniclers suggested that in January Philip II of France had been charged with deposing John on behalf of the papacy, although it appears that Innocent merely prepared secret letters in case Innocent needed to claim the credit if Philip did successfully invade England. John finally negotiated terms for a reconciliation, and the papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213 at the Templar Church at Dover. As part of the deal, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to the papacy for a feudal service of 1,000 marks (equivalent to £666 at the time) annually: 700 marks (£466) for England and 300 marks (£200) for Ireland, as well as recompensing the church for revenue lost during the crisis. The agreement was formalised in the Bulla Aurea, or Golden Bull. This resolution produced mixed responses. Although some chroniclers felt that John had been humiliated by the sequence of events, there was little public reaction. Innocent benefited from the resolution of his long-standing English problem, but John probably gained more, as Innocent became a firm supporter of John for the rest of his reign, backing him in both domestic and continental policy issues. Innocent immediately turned against Philip, calling upon him to reject plans to invade England and to sue for peace. John paid some of the compensation money he had promised the church, but he ceased making payments in late 1214, leaving two-thirds of the sum unpaid; Innocent appears to have conveniently forgotten this debt for the good of the wider relationship. Failure in France and the First Barons' War (1215–16)Tensions and discontentTensions between John and the barons had been growing for several years, as demonstrated by the 1212 plot against the king. Many of the disaffected barons came from the north of England; that faction was often labelled by contemporaries and historians as "the Northerners". The northern barons rarely had any personal stake in the conflict in France, and many of them owed large sums of money to John; the revolt has been characterised as "a rebellion of the king's debtors".Many of John's military household joined the rebels, particularly amongst those that John had appointed to administrative roles across England; their local links and loyalties outweighed their personal loyalty to John. Tension also grew across North Wales, where opposition to the 1211 treaty between John and Llywelyn was turning into open conflict. For some the appointment of Peter des Roches as justiciar was an important factor, as he was considered an "abrasive foreigner" by many of the barons. The failure of John's French military campaign in 1214 was probably the final straw that precipitated the baronial uprising during John's final years as king; James Holt describes the path to civil war as "direct, short and unavoidable" following the defeat at Bouvines. Failure of the 1214 French campaignIn 1214 John began his final campaign to reclaim Normandy from Philip. John was optimistic, as he had successfully built up alliances with the Emperor Otto, Renaud of Boulogne and Count Ferdinand of Flanders; he was enjoying papal favour; and he had successfully built up substantial funds to pay for the deployment of his experienced army. Nonetheless, when John left for Poitou in February 1214, many barons refused to provide military service; mercenary knights had to fill the gaps. John's plan was to split Philip's forces by pushing north-east from Poitou towards Paris, whilst Otto, Renaud and Ferdinand, supported by William Longespée, marched south-west from Flanders. The first part of the campaign went well, with John out-manoeuvring the forces under the command of Prince Louis and retaking the county of Anjou by the end of June. John besieged the castle of Roche-au-Moine, a key stronghold, forcing Louis to give battle against John's larger army. The local Angevin nobles refused to advance with the king; left at something of a disadvantage, John retreated back to La Rochelle. Shortly afterwards, Philip won the hard-fought battle of Bouvines in the east against Otto and John's other allies, bringing an end to John's hopes of retaking Normandy. A peace agreement was signed in which John returned Anjou to Philip and paid the French king compensation; the truce was intended to last for six years. John arrived back in England in October.

Pre-war tensions and Magna Carta
Within a few months of John's return, rebel barons in the north and east of England were organising resistance to his rule. John held a council in London in January 1215 to discuss potential reforms and sponsored discussions in Oxford between his agents and the rebels during the spring. John appears to have been playing for time until Pope Innocent III could send letters giving him explicit papal support. This was particularly important for John, as a way of pressuring the barons but also as a way of controlling Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the meantime, John began to recruit fresh mercenary forces from Poitou, although some were later sent back to avoid giving the impression that the king was escalating the conflict. John announced his intent to become a crusader, a move which gave him additional political protection under church law. Letters of support from the pope arrived in April but by then the rebel barons had organised. They congregated at Northampton in May and renounced their feudal ties to John, appointing Robert fitz Walter as their military leader. This self-proclaimed "Army of God" marched on London, taking the capital as well as Lincoln and Exeter. John's efforts to appear moderate and conciliatory had been largely successful, but once the rebels held London they attracted a fresh wave of defectors from John's royalist faction. John instructed Langton to organise peace talks with the rebel barons. John met the rebel leaders at Runnymede, near Windsor Castle, on 15 June 1215. Langton's efforts at mediation created a charter capturing the proposed peace agreement; it was later renamed Magna Carta, or "Great Charter". The charter went beyond simply addressing specific baronial complaints, and formed a wider proposal for political reform, albeit one focusing on the rights of free men, not serfs and unfree labour. It promised the protection of church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, new taxation only with baronial consent and limitations on scutage and other feudal payments. A council of twenty-five neutral barons would be created to monitor and ensure John's future adherence to the charter, whilst the rebel army would stand down and London would be surrendered to the king. Neither John nor the rebel barons seriously attempted to implement the peace accord. The rebel barons suspected that the proposed baronial council would be unacceptable to John and that he would challenge the legality of the charter; they packed the baronial council with their own hardliners and refused to demobilise their forces or surrender London as agreed. Despite his promises to the contrary, John appealed to Innocent for help, observing that the charter compromised the pope's rights under the 1203 agreement that had appointed him John's feudal lord. Innocent obliged; he declared the charter "not only shameful and demeaning, but illegal and unjust" and excommunicated the rebel barons. The failure of the agreement led rapidly to the First Barons' War.

War with the barons
The rebels made the first move in the war: they seized the strategic Rochester Castle, owned by Langton but left almost unguarded by the archbishop. John was well-prepared for a conflict. He had stockpiled money to pay for mercenaries and ensured the support of the powerful marcher lords with their own feudal forces, such as William Marshal and Ranulf of Chester. The rebels lacked the engineering expertise or heavy equipment necessary to assault the network of royal castles that cut off the northern rebel barons from those in the south John's strategy was to isolate the rebel barons in London, protect his own supply lines to his key source of mercenaries in Flanders, prevent the French from landing in the south-east, and then win the war through slow attrition. John put off dealing with the badly deterio

Family/Spouse: Isabella Countess of Angoulême. Isabella was born in 1186; died on 4 Jun 1246. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

MILITARY: Battles and Wars> Invaded Ireland intent on conquest, 1171; by Christmas 1171, Waterford, Wexford, Limerick, and Cork were in his hands and all the Irish princes, except the King of Connaught, gave him hostages and promised tribute.

HONORS: Knighted, 1149.
TITLES: Succeeded 1st cousin one time removed Stephen, King of England, in 1154 as King of England, crowned 19 Dec 1154, reigned 25 Oct 1154-1189.
TITLES: Became Duke of Normandy et of Maine, and Count of Anjou by inheritance from his mother and father.
TITLES: In right of his wife, Duke of Aquitaine.

PROBATE: Died testate.

King Henry was styled as, "Rex Angliae, Dux Normaniae et Aquitaniae et Comes Andigaviae". This appears to be the first official use of the title, "King of England", rather than "King of the English", although modern historians give the title to all sovereigns from William the Conqueror.

Crowned by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Henry supported a petition to Rome to make Edward the Confessor a saint. Edward was canonized in 1161, and on 13 October 1163, Henry was present at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey at which Archbishop Thomas Becket elevated Edward's remains. Henry was known for his excellent memory, as well as for his occasional fits of bad temper, which involved rolling on the floor and biting furniture. It was said that Henry could speak every language used in Europe, from France to the Holy Land--but he probably could not speak English. Henry was very interested in learning. Peter of Blois said, "With the King of England, it is school every day; there is always conversation with learned men and discussion of learned problems". Traditionally, Henry's dying words are supposed to have been, "Shame, shame on a conquered king", referring to his sons' insurrections.

Name: King Henry II
Born: March 5, 1133 at Le Mans, France
Parents: Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Empress Matilda
Relation to Elizabeth II: 22nd great-grandfather
House of: Angevin
Ascended to the throne: October 25, 1154 aged 21 years
Crowned: December 19, 1154 at Westminster Abbey
Married: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine
Children: Five sons including Richard I and John, three daughters and several illegitimate children
Died: July 6, 1189 at Chinon Castle, Anjou, aged 56 years, 4 months, and 1 day
Buried at: Fontevraud, France
Reigned for: 34 years, 8 months, and 11 days
Succeeded by: his son Richard

King of England 1154-89. The son of Matilda and Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, he succeeded King Stephen (c. 1097-1154). He curbed the power of the barons, but his attempt to bring the church courts under control was abandoned after the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. The English conquest of Ireland began during Henry's reign. On several occasions his sons rebelled, notably 1173-74. Henry was succeeded by his son Richard (I) the Lionheart.

Henry was lord of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and Count of Anjou, Brittany, Poitou, Normandy, Maine, and Gascony. He claimed Aquitaine through marriage to the heiress Eleanor in 1152. Henry's many French possessions caused him to live for more than half his reign outside England. This made it essential for him to establish a judicial and administrative system which would work during his absence. His chancellor and friend, Becket, was persuaded to become archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 in the hope that he would help the king curb the power of the ecclesiastical courts. However, once consecrated, Becket felt bound to defend church privileges, and he was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 1170 by four knights of the king's household.

In 1171 Henry invaded Ireland and received homage from the King of Leinster. In 1174 his three sons Henry, Richard and Geoffrey led an unsuccessful rebellion against their father.

Quotes:
Here I am, not a traitor of the king, but a priest of God. Why do you want me?' - Thomas Becket addressing his murderers, 29 December 1170

Timeline for King Henry II
Year Event
1154 Henry II accedes to the throne at the age of 21 upon the death of his second cousin, Stephen.
1154 Pope Adrian IV (born Nicholas Breakspear) becomes the first English Pope 1154-1159.
1155 Henry appoints Thomas a Becket as Chancellor of England, a post that he holds for seven years.
1155 Pope Adrian IV issues the papal bull Laudabiliter, which gives Henry dispensation to invade Ireland and bring the Irish Church under the control of the Church of Rome.
1162 On the death of Archbishop Theobald, Henry appoints Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury in the hope that he will help introduce Church reforms.
1164 Henry introduces the Constitutions of Clarendon, which place limitations on the Church's jurisdiction over crimes committed by the clergy. The Pope refuses to approve the Constitutions, so Thomas Becket refuses to sign them.
1166 The Assize of Clarendon establishes trial by jury for the first time.
1166 Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster in Ireland, appeals to Henry to help him oppose a confederation of other Irish kings. In response to the appeal, Henry sends a force led by Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, thereby beginning the English settlement of Ireland.
1168 English scholars expelled from Paris settle in Oxford, where they found a university.1170Pope Alexander III threatens England with an interdict and forces Henry to a formal reconciliation with Becket. However, the two of them quarrel again when Becket publishes papal letters voiding Henry's Constitutions of Clarendon.
1170 Becket is killed in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December by four of Henry's knights.
1171 Henry invades Ireland and receives homage from the King of Leinster and the other kings. Henry is accepted as Lord of Ireland.
1171 At Cashel Henry makes Irish clergy submit to the authority of Rome.
1173 Canonization of Thomas Becket.
1173 Eleanor of Aquitaine and her sons revolt unsuccessfully against her husband Henry II.
1174 Henry's sons Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey lead an unsuccessful rebellion against their father.
1176 Henry creates a framework of justice creating judges and dividing England into six counties.
1185 Lincoln cathedral is destroyed by an earthquake.
1189 Henry dies at Chinon castle, Anjou, France

Family/Spouse: Ida de Tosny. Ida (daughter of Ralph V de Conches de Toeni, baron of Flamstead and Margaret of Leicester) was born in 1156; died in 1226. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Eleonore Princess Of Aquitaine on 11 May 1152 in Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitaine, France. Eleonore (daughter of Guillaume X Duke Of Aquitaine and Elbeanor De Chatellerault) was born in 1121 in Chcateau DE Belin, Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France; died on 31 Mar 1204 in Poitiers, Aquitaine, France; was buried in Abbaye DE Fontevrault, Fontevrault, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• UID: 6812F3CDCC4742FEA2DFE3781401617B5AC3

Notes:

RESIDENCE: Of Middleham, Durham {now Middleham, Yorkshire, England}.

Family/Spouse: Anastasia de Percy. Anastasia and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]