Person Page - 1351

     Empress Matilda, also known as Matilda of England or Maude (c. 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167) was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood. Her brother died in the White ship disaster, making Matilda the last heir from the paternal line of her grandfather William the Conqueror.

As a child, Matilda was betrothed to and later married Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, acquiring the title Empress. The couple had no known children. When widowed, she was married to Geoffrey of Anjou, with whom she had three sons, the eldest of whom became King Henry II of England.

Matilda was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of England. However, the length of her effective rule was brief — a few months in 1141. She was never crowned and failed to consolidate her rule (legally and politically). For this reason, she is normally excluded from lists of English monarchs, and her rival (and cousin) Stephen of Blois is listed as monarch for the period 1135-1154. Their rivalry for the throne led to years of unrest and civil war in England that have been called The Anarchy. She did secure her inheritance of the Duchy of Normandy — through the military feats of her husband, Geoffrey —and campaigned unstintingly for her oldest son's inheritance, living to see him ascend the throne in 1154.

Matilda was the first of two children born to Henry I of England and his wife Matilda of Scotland (also known as Edith).

Her maternal grandparents were Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Margaret was daughter of Edward the Exile and granddaughter of Edmund II of England. (Most historians believe Matilda was born at Winchester, but one, John Fletcher (1990), argues for the possibility of the royal palace at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire.).¹

     Henry V (8 November 1086 – 23 May 1125) was King of Germany (from 1098 - 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1106 - 1125), the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor. By the settlement of the Concordat of Worms, he surrendered to the demands of the second generation of Gregorian reformers.

He was a son of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Savoy. His maternal grandparents were Otto of Savoy and Adelaide of Susa.

On 6 January 1099, his father Henry IV had him crowned King of Germany at Aachen in place of his older brother, the rebel Conrad. He promised to take no part in the business of the Empire during his father's lifetime, but was induced by his father's enemies to revolt in 1104, and some of the princes did homage to him at Mainz in January 1105. Despite the initial setbacks of the rebels, Henry IV was forced to abdicate and died soon after. Order was soon restored in Germany, the citizens of Cologne were punished with a fine, and an expedition against Robert II, Count of Flanders, brought this rebel to his knees.

In 1107, Henry undertook a campaign to restore Borivoi II in Bohemia, which was only partially successful. Henry summoned Svatopluk the Lion, who was had captured Duke Borivoi. Borivoi was released at the emperor's command and made godfather to Svatopluk's new son. Nevertheless, on Svatopluk's return to Bohemia, he assumed the throne. In 1108, Henry went to war with Coloman of Hungary on behalf of Prince Álmos. An attack by Boleslaus III of Poland and Borivoi on Svatopluk forced Henry to give up his campaign. Instead, he invaded Poland to compel them to renew their accustomed tribute, but was defeated at the Battles of Glogów and the Hundsfeld. In 1110, he succeeded in securing the dukedom of Bohemia for Ladislaus I.¹

     William fitz Geoffrey de Mandeville (died 1227) was the third Earl of Essex of the second creation from 1216 to his death. He was the second son of Geoffrey fitz Peter and Beatrice de Say and he succeeded his elder brother Geoffrey fitz Geoffrey as earl and inheritor of the Mandeville barony. He was married to Christina, a daughter of Robert Fitzwalter, but died without heirs and the earldom went extinct.¹

     Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex and 6th Earl of Gloucester (died 1216) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords. He was an opponent of King John.

He inherited the Earldom of Essex in 1213 from Geoffrey Fitzpeter, 1st Earl of Essex and the Earldom of Gloucester in 1213 from Amaury VI of Montfort-Évreux.

He was succeeded by his brother, William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex.¹

     Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, d. 15 April 1136. was a Norman nobleman, the son of Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare and Adeliza de Claremont. He founded the priory of Tonbridge.

Richard held the Lordship of Ceredigion in Wales. A Welsh revolt against Norman rule had begun in south Wales where, on 1 January 1136 the Welsh won a victory over the local Norman forces between Loughor and Swansea.

Richard had been away from his lordship in the early part of the year. Returning to the borders of Wales in April, he ignored warnings of the danger and pressed on toward Ceredigion with only a small force. He had not gone far when on 15 April he was ambushed and killed by the men of Gwent under Iorwerth ab Owain and his brother Morgan, grandsons of Caradog ap Gruffydd, in a woody tract called "the ill-way of Coed Grano", near Llanthony Abbey, north of Abergavenny.¹

     Richard fitz Gilbert (c. 1030 - 1091), was a Norman lord who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066. He was also known as "de Bienfaite", "de Clare", and "de Tonbridge".[1]

According to the medieval chronicler Gerald of Wales, the first of this great family, Richard de Clare, was the eldest son of Gilbert, surnamed Crispin, Count of Brionne, in Normandy. This Richard fitz-Gilbert came into England with William the Conqueror, and received from him great advancement in honour and possessions.[2]

DNB and other sources are vague and sometimes contradictory about when the name de Clare came into common usuage, but what we do know is that Richard fitz Gilbert (of Tonbridge) is once referred to as Richard of Clare in the Suffolk return of the Domesday Book.[3]

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.[4] 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". See: Style (manner of address)

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

On William's death, Richard and other great Norman barons, including Odo of Bayeux, Robert, Count of Mortain , William fitz Osbern 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.[5]

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.

He was the son of Gilbert "Crispin", Count of Brionne, grandson of Richard I of Normandy. In spite of this, sources as far back as the Annals of the Four Masters claim that Richard's great-grandson, Richard "Strongbow", was the direct descendant of Robert "the Devil", father of William the Conqueror.

Richard married Rohese Giffard, daughter of Sir Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville and Agnes Flaitel, and had 7 children.¹

     Lord of Longueville.

     William d'Aubigny (after 1148), was an itinerant justice under King Henry I of England. He was commonly known by the appellation Brito.

William was a son of Main d'Aubigny, Breton lord of Saint-Aubin-d'Aubigné (now in Ille-et-Vilaine department) and Adelaide de Bohun[1]. He fought at the Battle of Tinchebray (1106) and was high in Henry I's favor[1]. He was allowed to marry Cecily, the elder daughter of Roger Bigod, sheriff of Norfolk. Through her, he acquired a part of the honour of Belvoir in Leicestershire - his castle became the centre of the family estates - after his mother-in-law, who had been the heir of Robert de Tosny, lord of Belvoir, died about 1130[1]. The couple had four or five sons and two daughters[1]. His heir was William, who married Maud Fitz Robert, daughter of Robert Fitz Richard. The Magna Carta surety, William d'Aubigny, was their son[2].¹

     Robert Fitz Richard (1064–1136), titled Robert Fitz Richard, Lord of Little Dunmow, Baron of Baynard, was a Norman landowner in England. His estates near Little Dunmow are said[1] to have been given to him after confiscation from Ralph Baynard, who had them earlier.[2]

He was steward under Henry I of England[3] and under Stephen of England.[4] He served for a period as High Sheriff of Yorkshire.

He was the son of Sir Richard Fitz Gilbert, Lord of Clare and Tonbridge (c. 1035–1090) and Rohese Giffard, (b. c. 1034), daughter of Sir Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville,[5] and Agnes Flatel.[6]

He married (c. 1114), Maud de St. Liz, daughter of Sir Simon de St Liz, Earl of Northampton, and Maud de Huntingdon.

Children were:

Sir Walter Fitz Robert, (b. c. 1124).
Maud Fitz Robert, (b. c. 1132), Essex, who married (c. 1146, William d'Aubigny, son of Sir William d'Aubigny, Lord of Belvoir, and Cecily Bigod.¹

     William d'Aubigny or D'Aubeney or d'Albini, Lord of Belvoir (died 1 May 1236) was a prominent member of the baronial rebellions against King John of England.

William was the son of William d'Aubigny of Belvoir and grandson of William d'Aubigny (Brito), and was heir to Domesday Book landholder Robert de Todeni, who held many properties, possibly as many as eighty, among them was one in Leicestershire, where he built Belvoir Castle. This was his family's home for many generations.[1]

William stayed neutral at the beginning of the troubles of King John's reign, only joining the rebels after the early success in taking London in 1215. He was one of the twenty-five sureties or guarantors of the Magna Carta. In the war that followed the signing of the charter, he held Rochester Castle for the barons, and was imprisoned (and nearly hanged) after John captured it. He became a loyalist on the accession of Henry III, and was a commander at the Second Battle of Lincoln in 1217.

He died on 1 May 1236, at Offington, Leicestershire, and was buried at Newstead Abbey and "his heart under the wall, opposite the alter at Belvoir Castle".[1] He was succeeded by his son, another William d'Aubigny, who died in 1247 and left only daughters. One of them was Isabel, a co-heiress, who married Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros (c. 1212-1301), thus adding the Aubigny co-guarantor of the Magna Carta to the pedigree of George Washington, 1st president of the USA.¹