Raoul III of Tosny (1079-1126), Lord of

Conches-en-Ouche Conches-en-Ouche (, literally ''Conches in Ouche'') is a commune in the Eure ''département'' in northern France. Geography It is located by the Rouloir river, southwest of Évreux in the Normandy region. The town is located on a plateau known ...

(A commune in the Eure département in northern France), was an

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

nobleman of the House of Tosny.

Life

Born in 1079, Raoul was the son of Raoul II of Tosny and Isabel de Montfort. Following the death of

William II of England William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

, Raoul III chose to support Henry I "Beauclerc" instead of

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...

who was on crusade. On Raoul III's father's death in 1102, he crossed the Channel to take up his father's possessions in England, rallying to Henry and thus allowing himself to make a good marriage to Adelise, daughter and heiress of the Anglo-Saxon earl

Waltheof of Northumbria Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria ( enm, Wallef, on, Valþjóf) (died 31 May 1076) was the last of the Anglo-Saxon earls and the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I. Early life Waltheof was the second son of Siwa ...

. From 1104, Raoul accompanied Henry in his campaign to conquer

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. After the

Battle of Tinchebray The Battle of Tinchebray (alternative spellings: Tinchebrai or Tenchebrai) took place on 28 September 1106, in Tinchebray (today in the Orne ''département'' of France), Normandy, between an invading force led by King Henry I of England, and th ...

(1106), the campaign led to the imprisonment of duke

and his replacement by Henry, thus re-uniting England and Normandy under one master as it had been at the time of William. Raoul III's support for Henry was confirmed during the revolt of the barons of eastern Normandy against Henry in 1118-1119. Raoul did not rally to the rebels. Throughout the revolt, if Orderic Vitalis is to be believed, he appears to have remained neutral or flexible in his allegiances. The leader of the revolt (Raoul's uncle

Amaury III of Montfort Amaury III de Montfort († April 18 or 19, 1137) was a French nobleman, the seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, Épernon, and Houdan in the Île-de-France (1101–) and Count of Évreux in Normandy (1118–). Life Amaury was the son of Simon I, se ...

) explained to king Louis VI of France that he had to attack Normandy from the southeast since Raoul III was helping them. Amaury assured him that Raoul would join his vassals with Louis's troops and open four castles to him: Conches,

Acquigny Acquigny () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories i ...

, Portes, Tosny. In autumn 1119, Louis VI decided to intervene but the events that followed showed that Raoul III was not backing up Louis's force as Amaury had hoped and was not a sure supporter of the revolt. Raoul II de Gaël, one of Henry's supporters, suspected the Lord of Tosny of wanting to capture him. On Henry's advice, he conceded him Pont-Saint-Pierre and Val de

Pîtres Pîtres (; medieval Pistres) is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in north-western France. It lies on the Seine. History Historically, it had a bridge to prevent Vikings from sailing up the river to Paris. It was here that King Char ...

to keep him loyalOrderic Vital, ''ibid'', p.319. Pont-Saint-Pierre and le Val-de-

formed part of the lands of Adelise de Conches, Raoul III's paternal aunt and the wife of

William FitzOsbern William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford ...

. These domains included the "honneur" of Breteuil. In 1119, Raoul II de Gaël obtained this "honneur" from the king. In 1123-1124, Amaury de Montfort began another revolt against the king, during which Raoul III remained loyal.

Marriage and issue

Raoul married Adelise (Alice of Northumbria), daughter of Waltheof,

earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the Norse Kingdom of York. In the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxo ...

and his wife Judith. They had: *Hugues *Margaret Isabel de Tosny, married Walter de Clifford *Roger III de Tosny (1104-1162), married Ida de Hainaut

References

Bibliography

* * *Orderic Vitalis, ''History of Normandy'', éd. Guizot, volume IV, book XII and XIII, 1826 *Lucien Musset, "Aux origines d'une classe dirigeante : les Tosny, grands barons normands du Xe au XIIe siècle", ''Sonderdruck aus Francia Forschungen zur westeuropäischen Geschichte'', Munich, 1978, p. 45-80 *Remfry. P.M., Clifford Castle, 1066 to 1299 () {{DEFAULTSORT:Raoul 03 Of Tosny Anglo-Normans Norman warriors 1126 deaths Year of birth unknown