Alberic (Aubry) de Mello (d. after 1162),

Count of Dammartin The Counts of Dammartin were the rulers of the county of Dammartin, based in the current commune of Dammartin-en-Goële as early as the 10th century. Located at the central plain of France, the county controlled the roads of Paris to Soissons and L ...

, based on his marriage to Adela, daughter of

Hugh I, Count of Dammartin Hugh I (died after 1093), Count of Dammartin and Seigneur de Bulles, son of Manasses, Count of Dammartin, and Constance of France. Hugh's maternal grandfather was Robert the Pious, King of France, and his paternal great-grandfather was Hilduin I ...

. It is believed that Aubry was the son of Gilbert de Mello and Richilde de Clermont, daughter of

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvais, (d. 1101) and Margaret, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Roucy.

Biography

The precise history of Aubry de Mello is difficult to trace due to the large number of nobility of the same name in both France and England at the time. It is useful to look at the full history of the Count of Dammartin to try to understand the different options. Renaud II, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvasis, first married

Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois Adelaide of Vermandois (died 23 Sep 1120) was ''suo jure'' Countess of Vermandois and Valois from 1080 to 1120. Adelaide was the daughter of Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois and Adele of Valois. By 1080, Adelaide married Hugh, son of the Capeti ...

, and second Clémence, the widow of

Alberic II, Count of Dammartin Alberic II (died 1183) was the Count of Dammartin, possibly the son of Aubry de Mello, Count of Dammartin, and Adela, daughter of Hugh I, Count of Dammartin.Mathieu, J. N. (1996). ''Recherches sur les premiers Comtes de Dammartin'' What little i ...

. Shortly after the death of Renaud II, Louis VII the Younger, King of France, assumed direct control over the county of Dammartin. This is indicated by a charter dated 1176, under which King Louis VII exchanged property with Paris Hôtel-Dieu and had later returned the castle and grange of Dammartin to Alberic II (''postquam vero Alberico predictum castrum cum predicta grangia reddidimus''). The precise circumstances and dating of the king's acquisition of Dammartin are unknown, but it may have been triggered by a disputed succession. Renaud had presumably retained the county for life (''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...

''), but his sons by Clémence would have had no right to it. The heir to the county appears to have been Adela, widow of Lancelin, Lord of Dammartin. A charter dated 1175 hints that the inheritance of Dammartin was disputed. The question remains as to why was Alberic was chosen to receive the County of Dammartin. Mathieu suggests that he was the king's candidate and belonged to the Dammartin line in order to prevail over challenges from other claimants. His theory is that Aubry de Mello was the same person as the English Aubry I de Dammartin, son of Odo I de Dammartin who had emigrated to England. He bases this on the charter dated March 1187, under which

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

granted ''manerium de Norton'' to ''comiti Alberico de Dammartin et Reginaldo filio suo'', as the same property had been granted to other members of the English Dammartin family by his predecessor

Henry Beauclerc Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

. In addition, the sources quoted below indicate that Aubry held other English properties which were previously associated with the English Dammartin family. Aubrey and Adela had at least one son: *

Aubry may be the same person as Albéric I de Mello and Dammartin, Grand Chambrier de France (

Grand Chamberman of France The Great Officers of the Crown of France (french: Grands officiers de la couronne de France) were the most important officers of state in the French royal court during the ''Ancien Régime'' and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the ...

) from 1122 to 1129 under Louis VI the Fat. Others characterize Albéric as Aubry's son (but not the same person as Alberic II, Count of Dammartin). Aubry was succeeded as Count of Dammartin by his son Alberic.

References

* Mathieu, J. N., ''Recherches sur les premiers Comtes de Dammartin'', Mémoires publiés par la Fédération des sociétés historiques et archéologiques de Paris et de l'Ile-de-France, 1996 * Bury, J. B. (editor), ''The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume V, Contest of Empire and Papacy'', Cambridge at the University Press, 1926 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Aubry de, Count of Dammartin 12th-century deaths Counts of Dammartin Medieval French nobility House of Dammartin