Herluin de Conteville
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Herluin de Conteville (1001–1066), also sometimes listed as Herlwin of Conteville, was the stepfather of
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
, and the father of
Odo of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England. Early life Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...
and
Robert, Count of Mortain Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastin ...
, both of whom became prominent during William's reign. He died in 1066, the year his stepson conquered England.


Conteville and Sainte-Mère-Église

No contemporary record provides the parentage for Herluin, although much later sources have assigned him parents (such as the otherwise unknown Jean de Conteville (965) and Harlette de Meulan). Herluin was a lord of moderate income and some land on the south side of the river
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...
. He was viscount of Conteville, probably so created by his stepson, and held the honour of Sainte-Mère-Église, a portion of the
county of Mortain The County of Mortain was a medieval county in France centered on the town of Mortain. A choice landholding, usually either kept within the family of the duke of Normandy (or the king of France) or granted to a noble in return for service and fa ...
. There he founded
Grestain Abbey Grestain Abbey (or ''Grestein'' Abbey, french: Abbaye Notre-Dame de Grestain) was an 11th-Century Benedictine monastery near the town of Fatouville-Grestain, which is located in the modern-day Eure ''département'' of Upper Normandy, France. The a ...
around 1050 with his son
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
.


Herluin's marriage to Herleva

In the mid-11th century, Conteville and its dependencies appear to have been in the hands of Herluin, whose wife
Herleva Herleva ( 1003 – c. 1050) was an 11th-century Norman woman known for having been mother of William the Conqueror, born to an extramarital relationship with Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and also of William's prominent half-brothers Odo of Bayeux ...
was previously the mistress of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and mother of his only son, William, (later called
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
). Herluin and Herleva had two sons, Odo or Eudes, who became
Bishop of Bayeux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is ...
, and
Robert, Count of Mortain Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastin ...
. Both were prominent in the reign of their half-brother William. They also had several daughters, including Emma, who married
Richard le Goz, Viscount of Avranches Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
, and one of unknown name, sometimes called Muriel in modern genealogies, who married Guillaume, Seigneur de
la Ferté-Macé LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
. Herluin is said to have loyally borne William's body to his grave at
Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Mantes Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subpre ...
; however, that was in 1087, well after Herluin's death in 1066.


Herluin's marriage to Fredesendis

After Herleva's death, Herluin remarried to Fredesendis, who appears as a benefactorDavid C. Douglas, ''William the Conqueror'' (1964), p. 382 of
Grestain Abbey Grestain Abbey (or ''Grestein'' Abbey, french: Abbaye Notre-Dame de Grestain) was an 11th-Century Benedictine monastery near the town of Fatouville-Grestain, which is located in the modern-day Eure ''département'' of Upper Normandy, France. The a ...
, and as Herluin's wife in the confirmation charter of the abbey, dated 1189. The abbey was founded by Herluin himself around 1050, in hopes of achieving a cure to his
leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
or some similar disease. Little is known of the children of Herluin and Fredesendis. A son Jean de Conteville appears to have died young. A Ralph de Conteville appearing in the ''
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
'' holding land in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
and
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, has been identified as another son, though others derive that man from the
Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
,Elisabeth van Houts, ''Domesday People'', (The Boydell Press, 1999), 331 and hence not of this family.


References

*Bates, David (1973) "Notes sur l'aristocratie normande: Hugues, évêque de Bayeux (1011 env. - 1049) et Herluin de Conteville et sa famille." ''Annales de Normandie'' 23 (1973): 7-38. {{DEFAULTSORT:De Conteville, Herluin 1001 births 1066 deaths Conteville Medieval French nobility 11th-century French people