Gerbod the Fleming, of Oosterzele, 1st

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...

, was a hereditary advocate of the Abbey of Saint Bertin at

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...

, Flanders (now France) and Earl of Chester in 1070.David C. Douglas, ''William The Conqueror'' (University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1964), p. 267

Life

Gerbod of

Oosterzele Oosterzele () is a municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of , , , , Oosterzele proper and . In 2021, Oosterzele had a total population of 13,740. The total area is 43.12&nbs ...

was the son of another Gerbod, hereditary advocate of the abbey of Saint-Bertin.E. Warlop, ''The Flemish Nobility Before 1300'', Part II Annexes, Volume 2 (G. Desmet-Huysman, Belgium, 1976) p. 1021Heather J. Tanner, ''Families, Friends and Allies: Boulogne and Politics in Northern France and England c.879-1160'' (Brill, Leiden, 2004), p. 83 n. 55 Among the fourteen tenants-in-chief from Flanders, Gerbod the Fleming was one of the most prominent. His family held the lordships of Oosterzele and Scheldewindeke, the overlordship of Arques and territorial rights in Saint-Omer. In 1066 he was in the service of William the Conqueror, most probably at the battle of Hastings, and between 1067 and 1070 was created

, holding a large portion of that county along with the city of Chester forming the

county palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating to ...

of Chester. His brother Frederic was a tenant-in-chief in East Anglia and his sister

Gundred Gundred or Gundreda (Latin: Gundrada) (died 27 May 1085)G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', vol. xii/1 (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1953), p. 494 was the Flemish-born wife of an early Norman baron, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surr ...

married William I de Warenne, later 1st Earl of Surrey, whose

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