Roger I of Tosny or Roger of Hispania [1] (died c. 1040) was a Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny who took part in the Reconquista of Iberia.
Roger I of Tosny or Roger of Hispania [1] (died c. 1040) was a Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny who took part in the Reconquista of Iberia.
Roger was the son of Raoul I of Tosny, seigneur de Conches. [2] In 1013, Roger and his father guarded the castle at Tillières for Richard II, Duke of Normandy. [3] A few years later, for an unknown reason, the pair were forced into exile and Tilliéres was taken from their custody (later given to Gilbert Crispin by Robert II). [4] While his father gained a reputation for himself in Apulia, Roger did the same fighting the Muslims in Northern Iberia, [3] where the Christian states welcomed volunteers. Roger fought for Ermesinde of Carcassonne, regent-countess of Barcelona after the death of her husband Ramon Borrell, helping her against the Muslim. Maybe Roger married Ermesinde's daughter. [5] Adémar de Chabannes gives an echo of the more or less legendary deeds of Roger in Iberia, where he gained the nickname Mangeur de Maures (Moor-Eater). Adémar recounts that Roger took his captured Saracens each day and, in front of them, cut one of their number in two, boiling the first half and giving it to the other Muslims to eat, and pretending to take the other half into his own tent for him and his companions to eat. Then Roger allowed some of these prisoners to escape, to spread these horrific rumours. [6] [7]
Before 1024, Roger and his father gained permission from Richard II to return to Normandy, and Raoul died soon afterwards.
Roger de Tosny founded Conches-en-Ouche. He built its church of Sainte-Foy [8] (before 1026) then the abbey of Saint-Pierre de Castillon (c. 1035), where monks from Fécamp Abbey were installed. This monastery was one of the first baronial foundations in Normandy, and its foundation charter reveals that the lord of Tosny gave it possessions around Conches, Tosny on the Seine and on the rivers Eure, Charentonne, Eaulne and Béthune. [9]
In 1035, Robert I's death began a troubled period in the duchy of Normandy. Civil wars multiplied and Roger was an active participant in them. According to Orderic Vitalis [10] Roger refused to serve the new duke, William II, because he was of illegitimate birth. However, according to David Bates, he simply used the opportunity to settle scores with some neighbours. [4] He took advantage of the new Duke's weakness by ravaging the lands of Humphrey of Vieilles. Around 1040, Roger and his two eldest sons (Helbert and Elinand) and his ally Robert I de Grandmesnil died in battle against Roger I de Beaumont, Humphrey's son.
Peace was re-established between the Tosny family and the neighbouring families. Roger´s widow Gotelina/Godehildis married Richard, Count of Évreux, Robert of Grandmesnil’s widow was married to William of Evreux, brother of Richard, and Adelize (Roger's daughter) married William FitzOsbern.
Only one wife of Roger of Tosny is known by name, his widow, Godehildis (or Adelaide), who married Richard, Count of Évreux after Roger's death. It is unclear if she was his only wife. Children:
The Battle of Tinchebray took place on 28 September 1106, in Tinchebray, Normandy, between an invading force led by King Henry I of England, and the Norman army of his elder brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy. Henry's knights won a decisive victory: they captured Robert, and Henry imprisoned him in England and then in Wales until Robert's death in 1134.
Hugh de Grandmesnil, , is one of the proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Subsequently, he became a great landowner in England.
Robert d'Aguiló, also known as Robert Bordet, was a Norman knight who moved from Normandy to Catalonia in the early 12th century. He was a native of Cullei, as reported by Orderic Vitalis, and his name d'Aguiló is a catalanized form of "d'Aculley" or "de Culley" that he adopted after marrying the daughter of a Catalan noble.
Isabel of Conches, wife of Ralph of Tosny, rode armed like a knight during a conflict in northern France during the late 11th century and was born in Montfort sur Risle, Eure, Normandy, in 1057.
Simon I of Montfort or Simon de Montfort was a French nobleman. He was born in Montfort l'Amaury, in the Duchy of Normandy, and became its lord. He was the son of Amaury I de Montfort and Bertrade. At his death he was buried about 20 miles (32 km) away in Épernon, because it was the site of the fortress he was instrumental in constructing.
William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conquest of England.
Robert I de Neubourg was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat.
Robert de Grantmesnil also known as Robert II, was a Norman nobleman; a member of a prominent Norman family. He first became a monk, then abbot at the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in Normandy and later Bishop of Troina in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily.
Raoul II de Tosny, lord of Conches-en-Ouche, was a Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny, son of Roger I of Tosny and older brother of Robert de Stafford / Tosny. He was active in Normandy, England and Wales.
Humphrey de Vieilles was the first holder of the "grand honneur" of Beaumont-le-Roger, one of the most important groups of domains in eastern Normandy and the founder of the House of Beaumont. He was married to Albreda or Alberée de la Haye Auberie.
The House of Tosny was an important noble family in 10th and 11th century Normandy, though it did not include any comtes or vicomtes. Its founder was Raoul I of Tosny.
Raoul III of Tosny (1079-1126), Lord of Conches-en-Ouche, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny.
Richard, Count of Évreux (c.1015–1067) was a powerful Norman nobleman during the reign of William Duke of Normandy.
The Normans were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers, West Franks, and Gallo-Romans. The term is also used to denote emigrants from the duchy who conquered other territories such as England and Sicily. The Norse settlements in West Francia followed a series of raids on the French northern coast mainly from Denmark, although some also sailed from Norway and Sweden. These settlements were finally legitimized when Rollo, a Scandinavian Viking leader, agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia following the siege of Chartres in 911. The intermingling in Normandy produced an ethnic and cultural "Norman" identity in the first half of the 10th century, an identity which continued to evolve over the centuries.
Rotrou III, called the Great, was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche, and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier. He was a notable Crusader and a participant in the Reconquista in eastern Spain, even ruling the city of Tudela in Navarre from 1123 to 1131. He is commonly credited with introducing Arabian horses to the Perche, giving rise to the Percheron breed. By his creation of a monastery at La Trappe in memory of his wife, Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, in 1122 he also laid the foundations of the later Trappists.
Richard of Montfort or Richard de Montfort was a French nobleman from the House of Montfort who briefly ruled as lord of Montfort (1089–1091) in Normandy. He took the part of Count William of Évreux during his private war with Raoul II, lord of Conches. As Richard had no children at the time of his death, the lordship passed to his brother Simon II.
William of Évreux or William d'Évreux was a member of the House of Normandy who played an influential role during the Norman conquest of England, one of the few Norman aristocrats documented to have been with William I at Hastings. He was the count of Évreux in Normandy as well as additional lands and expanded his holdings by consenting to the marriage of his young ward and niece Bertrade to Fulk the Rude of Anjou, whose support against the Manceaux rebels was important for William's liege Robert Curthose. A feud between William's wife Helvise or Heloise of Nevers and Isabel of Conches, the wife of Raoul II of Tosny, led to open war between the two men. Helvise also governed Évreux in William's infirm old age until her own death. Having no children of his own, William was succeeded at Évreux by his sister's son Amaury of Montfort.
Hugh of Eu(Hugues, Hugo) was Bishop of Lisieux from 1049 to 1077.
The Council of Lillebonne was a meeting of the nobles and clergy of Normandy where, among other things, the expedition of William the Conqueror, then Duke of Normandy, was approved. It was held at Lillebonne, in the northeast of Normandy. Wace, the 12th-century historian, wrote of the council, convened shortly before the actual invasion, likely in January 1066. William of Poitiers, a chronicler of the Norman invasion, claims that the duke also obtained the consent of Pope Alexander II for the invasion, along with a papal banner.
The Domesday Book of 1086 AD lists King William the Conqueror's tenants-in-chief in Snotinghscire (Nottinghamshire), following the Norman Conquest of England: