Ives I de Creil was ''regis balistarius'' to the King of France, in the 10th century.Geoffrey H. White was certain that Yves de Creil and Yves de Bellême, though often confused, were not one and the same person. While the French writers accepted that Yves de Creil was the father of Yves de Bellême, there remains ''some'' question they were even of the same family. See White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''TRHS'', 22, pp. 69-70. Alternatively see: Henri Prentout, ''Études sur quelques points d'histoire de Normandie''(Impr. Lanier, Caen, 1926, p. 89.

Life

His parentage is unknown but by his name he was associated with

Creil Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction. History Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to ...

, a small town in the territory belonging to Bernard, Count of Senlis.Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 69 It is known that he served king

Louis IV d'Outremer Louis IV (September 920 / September 921 – 10 September 954), called ''d'Outremer'' or ''Transmarinus'' (both meaning "from overseas"), reigned as King of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son o ...

about 945 in the somewhat ambiguous capacity of a royal ''balistarius'' (Latin meaning variously

crossbowman An arbalist, also spelled arbelist, is one who shoots a crossbow. Background An extensive list of archaic words for medieval crossbowmen is given by Payne-Gallwey. Richardson, in his 1839 dictionary, did not make specific reference to the cross ...

, operator of a

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while oth ...

, or as one in charge of siege equipment). In 942 his actions helped save the life of Richard, Duke of Normandy, who was effectively held a prisoner by King Louis IV of France at Laon. The king was planning to kill or mutilate the young Richard so as to take control of Normandy himself. Yves de Creil learned of the plot and passed the information to the boy's tutor, Osmund, who then took Richard secretly to the safety of the castle of Coucy, held by Bernard of Senlis. While his later career is obscure there are charter evidences regarding a Yves de Creil. In a diploma of St. Dennis dated 18 March 968 a signatory is an Ivonis whom Stapleton identifies as Yves de Creil. Along with Bishop Seinfroy (whose sister married

Yves de Bellême Yves d'Alençon (died c. 1005), Seigneur de Bellême, the first known progenitor of the House of Bellême. Life Yves was probably the son of Yves de Creil,Yves de Criel and Yves de Bellême are confused by several sources and thought to be the same ...

) an Yves attested a charter of the Abbey of St. Julian of Tours dated February 970/1. Another charter by Hugh,

Archbishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Ar ...

to abbot Galon of Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (979-89) contained, among the attesters, "S. Ivonis, Item S. Ivonis" who Prentout thought to be Yves de Creil and his son Yves de Belleme. Yet another charter, this by Hugh, Duke of France, in 981 contains the mention of a gift by "Yves and his wife Geile" with the consent of Yves his son and his unnamed wife (the wife of Yves de Bellême was named Godeheut). The last (and undated) charter contains the name "Ivo ''veteranus''", presumed to be Ives de Creil by Stapleton and Yves de Bellême by Prentout, is for

Marmoutier Abbey, Tours Marmoutier Abbey — also known as the Abbey of Marmoutier or Marmoutiers — was an early monastery outside Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France. In its later days it followed the Benedictine order as an influential monastery with many dependencies. Hi ...

Family Connections

While the French writers, including Prentout, accepted that Yves de Criel was the father of

, Geoffrey H. White was of the opinion that, while ''probable'', it should not be stated as fact.Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), pp. 70-1

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yves de Creil 10th-century Normans