William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey

Last updated

William de Warenne
2nd Earl of Surrey
Tenure1088–1101 and 1103–1138
Predecessor William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
Successor William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey
Died(1138-05-11)11 May 1138
Buried Lewes Priory, Sussex, England
NationalityNorman
Spouse(s) Elizabeth of Vermandois
Parents William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
Gundrada
Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk Castle Acre Priory.jpg
Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk

William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (died 11 May 1138) was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He was more often referred to as Earl Warenne or Earl of Warenne than as Earl of Surrey. [1]

Contents

Life

His father, the 1st Earl, was one of the Conqueror's most trusted and most rewarded barons who, at his death in 1088, was the 3rd or 4th richest magnate in England. [2] In 1088 William II inherited his father's lands in England and his Norman estates including the castles of Mortemer and Bellencombre in Haute-Normandy. But William II was not as disposed to serve the king as his father was. [2] In January 1091, William assisted Hugh de Grandmesnil (died 1094) in his defence of Courcy against the forces of Robert de Belleme and Duke Robert of Normandy. [3] In 1093 he attempted to marry Matilda (or Edith), daughter of king Malcolm III of Scotland. [4] She instead married Henry I of England, and this may have been the cause of William's great dislike of Henry I, which motivated him in the following years. [5]

When Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy invaded England 1101 William joined him. [6] But when Curthose promptly surrendered to Henry I, William lost his English lands and titles and was exiled to Normandy. [6] There he complained to Curthose that he had expended great effort on the duke's behalf and in return lost all of his English possessions. Curthose's return to England in 1103 was apparently made to convince his brother, the king, to restore William's earldom. This was successful, though Curthose had to give up his 3000 mark annual pension he had received after the 1101 invasion, after which William's lands and titles were restored to him. [5]

To further insure William's loyalty Henry considered marrying him to one of his many illegitimate daughters. Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury forbade the marriage based on the couple being related in the 4th generation on one side, and in the 6th generation on the other. [7] William was one of the commanders on Henry's side (against Robert Curthose) at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. Afterwards, with his loyalty thus proven, he became more prominent in Henry's court. [1]

In 1110, Curthose's son William Clito escaped along with Helias of Saint-Saens, and afterwards Warenne received the forfeited Saint-Saens lands, which were very near his own in upper Normandy. In this way king Henry further assured his loyalty, for the successful return of Clito would mean at the very least Warenne's loss of this new territory. [1] [8] He fought for Henry I at the Battle of Bremule in 1119. [1] [9] William, the second Earl of Surrey was present at Henry's deathbed in 1135. [1] [10] After the king's death disturbances broke out in Normandy and William was sent to guard Rouen and the Pays de Caux. [1] [11]

William was a donor to a number of priories, with his donations being mentioned in charters issued between 1130 and 1138 to Longueville Priory near Rouen, Normandy [12] [13] and to the priory of Bellencombre (also near Rouen) in 1135. [14] His sons and his wife were witnesses to many of these charters. [12] [13]

William's death is recorded as 11-May-1138 in the register of Lewes Priory and he was buried at his father's feet at the Chapter house there. [15] His wife, the countess Elizabeth, survived him, dying before July 1147. [15]

Family

In 1118, William finally acquired the royal-blooded bride he desired when he married Elizabeth of Vermandois. [16] She was a daughter of Hugh I, Count of Vermandois and granddaughter of Henry I, King of France, as well as the widow of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester. [17]

By his wife Elizabeth, he had three sons and two daughters:

Ancestry

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tinchebray</span> 1106 battle during the invasion of Normandy by Henry I

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick</span> 12th-century Anglo-Norman nobleman

Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick or Henry de Newburgh was a Norman nobleman who rose to great prominence in the Kingdom of England.

Robert de Bellême, seigneur de Bellême, seigneur de Montgomery, viscount of the Hiémois, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Count of Ponthieu, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and one of the most prominent figures in the competition for the succession to England and Normandy between the sons of William the Conqueror. He was a member of the powerful House of Bellême.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey</span> English Earl

Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, was an Anglo-Angevin nobleman, being an elder half-brother of the first Plantagenet English monarch King Henry II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Surrey</span>

Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror. It is currently held as a subsidiary title by the Dukes of Norfolk.

William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Lord of Lewes, Seigneur de Varennes, was a Norman nobleman created Earl of Surrey under William II Rufus. He is among the few known from documents to have fought under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, he held extensive lands in 13 counties, including the Rape of Lewes, a tract now divided between the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex.

William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, member of the House of Warenne, who fought in England during the Anarchy and generally remained loyal to King Stephen. He participated in, and ultimately perished during, the Second Crusade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William III, Count of Ponthieu</span> Count of Ponthieu

William III of Ponthieu also called William Talvas. He was seigneur de Montgomery in Normandy and Count of Ponthieu.

Gundred or Gundreda was the Flemish-born wife of an early Norman baron, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey. She and her husband established Lewes Priory in Sussex.

Richard fitz Gilbert, 1st feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, 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.

Elizabeth of Vermandois, was a French noblewoman, who by her two marriages was the mother of the 1st Earl of Worcester, the 2nd Earl of Leicester, the 3rd Earl of Surrey, and of Gundred de Warenne, mother of the 4th Earl of Warwick.

William of Mortain was Count of Mortain and the second Earl of Cornwall of 2nd creation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helias of Saint-Saëns</span> Count of Arques (died 1128)

Helias of Saint Saëns (?–1128), Count of Arques was a Norman magnate of the eleventh and twelfth century, a loyal supporter of Robert Curthose and protector of his son William Clito. His support of the latter eventually brought him into conflict with Henry I of England, ending in his willing exile from Normandy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen of Aumale</span>

Stephen of Aumale was Count of Aumale from before 1089 to 1127, and Lord of Holderness.

Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey was an English peer. She was the only surviving heir of William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey, and his wife, Adela, the daughter of William III of Ponthieu.

Events from the 1100s in England.

Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville in Normandy, 1st Earl of Buckingham was an Anglo-Norman magnate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester</span>

Gerbod the Fleming, of Oosterzele, 1st Earl of Chester, was a hereditary advocate of the Abbey of Saint Bertin at Saint-Omer, Flanders and Earl of Chester in 1070.

Reginald de Warenne was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and royal official. The third son of an earl, Reginald began his career as an administrator of his brother's estates, and continued to manage them for his brother's successor, William, the second son of King Stephen. Reginald was involved in the process that led to the peaceful ascension of Henry fitzEmpress to the throne of England in 1154 and served the new king as a royal justice afterwards. He played a minor role in the Becket controversy in 1170, as a member of the party that met Becket on his return to England from exile in 1170.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warenne family</span> English noble family

The de Warenne family were a noble family in England that included the first Earls of Surrey, created by William the Conqueror in 1088 for William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, who was among his companions at the Battle of Hastings. The family originated in Normandy and, as Earls, held land there and throughout England. When the senior male-line ended in the mid-12th century, the descendants of their heiress adopted the Warenne surname and continue as Earls of Surrey for another two centuries. Several junior lines also held land or prominent offices in England and Normandy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 G. E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, Vol. XII/1 (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1953) p. 495
  2. 1 2 C. Warren Hollister, 'The Taming of a Turbulent Earl: Henry I and William of Warenne', Historical Reflections, Vol. 3 (1976), p. 87
  3. ↑ The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Vol. 2 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1990)p. 692
  4. ↑ C. Warren Hollister, Henry I (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2003)p. 340
  5. 1 2 C. Warren Hollister, 'The Taming of a Turbulent Earl: Henry I and William of Warenne', Historical Reflections. Vol. 3 (1976) p. 87
  6. 1 2 The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Vol. 2 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1990), p.785
  7. ↑ Edmund Chester Waters, 'Gundrada de Warenne', Archaeological Journal , Vol. XLI (1884), p. 303
  8. ↑ C. Warren Hollister, 'The Taming of a Turbulent Earl: Henry I and William of Warenne', Historical Reflections, Vol. 3 (1976) p. 89
  9. ↑ Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, trans. Thomas Forester, Vol. III (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854) pp. 481-2
  10. ↑ Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, trans. Thomas Forester, Vol. IV (Henry G. Bohn, London, 1856) p. 150
  11. ↑ C. Warren Hollister, Henry I (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2003)p. 375
  12. 1 2 Farrer & Clay 1949, p. 10.
  13. 1 2 Farrer & Clay 1949, p. 62, 80–81.
  14. ↑ Farrer & Clay 1949, p. 81–82.
  15. 1 2 G. E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, Vol. XII/1 (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1953) p. 496
  16. ↑ C. Warren Hollister, 'The Taming of a Turbulent Earl: Henry I and William of Warenne', Historical Reflections, Vol. 3 (1976) p. 90 n. 36
  17. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten , Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1, Herzogs und Grafenhäuser des Heiligen Römischen Reiches Andere Europäiche Fürstenhäuser (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 55
  18. ↑ G. E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, Vol. XII/1 (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1953) p. 500
  19. 1 2 3 Early Yorkshire Charters, Vol. VIII - The Honour of Warenne (The Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1949) pp. 27-8
  20. ↑ G.E.Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, Vol. VII (The St. Catherine Press, 1929), p. 142, footnote (a)
  21. ↑ Early Yorkshire Charters, Vol. VIII - The Honour of Warenne (The Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1949) pp. 33-4
  22. 1 2 Early Yorkshire Charters, Vol. VIII - The Honour of Warenne (The Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1949) pp. 10-11
  23. ↑ Elisabeth van Houts, 'The Warenne View of the Past 1066-1203', Anglo-Norman Studies XXVI, Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2003, ed. John Gillingham (Boydell Press, Woodbridge. 2004), p. 109 n. 49
  24. ↑ The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, ed. Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of Arms, Vol. I (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1904, p. 4
  25. ↑ Early Yorkshire Charters, ed: William Farrer, Charles Travis Clay, Volume VIII - The Honour of Warenne (The Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1949), p. 11

Sources

Peerage of England
Preceded by Earl of Surrey
(1st creation)
1088–1101
1103–1138 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.