Juhel de Totnes (died 1123/30) (''alias'' Juhel fitz Alfred, Juhel de

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...

, Judel, Judhel, Judael, Judhael, Joel, Judhel de Totenais), Latinised to Judhellus filius Aluredi, "Juhel son of Alured") was a soldier and supporter 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 ...

(1066–1087). He was the first feudal baron of Totnes and

feudal baron of Barnstaple From AD 1066, the feudal barony of Barnstaple was a large feudal barony with its caput at the town of Barnstaple in north Devon, England. It was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire which existed in the Middle Ages. In 1236 it comprised ...

, both in Devon.

Origins

He originated either in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

or in

, in the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, as his surname of ''de Mayenne'' given in an early charter suggests. He was the son of a certain Alfred, Latinised to ''Aluredus'', expressed in Anglo-Norman French as ''fitz Alfred'' (i.e. Latin ''filius'', modern French ''fils de'', "son of"). He had a brother named Robert (Latin: ''Rotbertus'') named in the foundation charter of

Totnes Priory Totnes Priory was a priory at Totnes in south Devon, England. It was founded by Juhel de Totnes, feudal baron of Totnes. Foundation charter The foundation charter dated circa 1087 is held at the Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter under reference ...

, c. 1087.

Career

In 1069 Juhel was one of the leaders of the Breton forces on the Norman side, fighting against the remaining forces that had been loyal to King Harold. He had been granted by William the Conqueror the feudal barony of Totnes, Devon, and held many manors in south-west England, at the time of 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 ...

of 1086, including

Clawton Clawton is a village and civil parish in the far west of Devon, England. It forms part of the local government district of Torridge. The village lies about three miles south of the town of Holsworthy on the A388 road. The parish is surrounded c ...

, Broadwood Kelly,

Bridford Bridford is a village and civil parish in south west England, located in the Teign Valley, Devon on the edge of Dartmoor. The parish is surrounded (clockwise from the north) by the parishes of Dunsford, Doddiscombsleigh, Christow, and Moretonha ...

and

Cornworthy Cornworthy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams, Devon, England. The hamlet of East Cornworthy lies due east of the village at . The nearby Cornworthy Priory, originally established for nuns of the order of St. Austin, is now a G ...

. However,

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...

names him as one of two Breton noblemen who held land in England prior to Norman Conquest. In about 1087, he founded

. He was expelled from the barony of Totnes shortly after the death of King William I in 1087. According to the historian Frank Barlow (1983), King William II "replaced the Breton Judhel, whom he expelled from Totnes at the beginning of his reign for an unknown reason, with his favourite, Roger I of Nonant". However at some time before 1100 Juhel was granted the large

feudal barony of Barnstaple From AD 1066, the feudal barony of Barnstaple was a large English feudal barony, feudal barony with its Caput baroniae, caput at the town of Barnstaple in north Devon, England. It was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire which existed i ...

, Devon.

Progeny

Juhel had two daughters; also a son named Alfred who died without progeny before 1139. Alfred's two sisters, one of whom was called Aenor while the name of the other is unknown, were his co-heiresses, each inheriting a

moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

of the barony of Barnstaple. The unnamed sister married Henry de Tracy whilst Aenor married

Philip de Braose Philip de Braose, 2nd Lord of Bramber ( 1070 – c. 1134) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Marcher Lord. Origins Philip was born about 1070 to 1073, the son of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber (d. 1093/96) by his wife Eve de Boissey or A ...

(d. 1134/55), feudal baron of

Bramber Bramber is a former manor, village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It has a ruined mediaeval castle which was the ''caput'' of a large feudal barony. Bramber is located on the northern edge of the South Downs ...

, Sussex and a

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...

. son of William I de Braose (d. 1093/6). In 1206 Juhel's great-grandson William III de Braose (1140/50–1211) regained control of half the barony of Totnes.

Death

Juhel was still living in 1123 but had died before 1130.Sanders, p.104

Origins

Career

Progeny

Death

References

Further reading