Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in

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 ...

in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He 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 ...

aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and through his marriage in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was the third son of

Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...

and

Mabel de Bellême Mabel de Bellême (1030s -1079) was a Norman noblewoman. She inherited the lordship of Bellême from her father and later became Countess of Shrewsbury through her husband. She was a member of the House of Bellême. Life Mabel was the daughte ...

. The appellation "the Poitevin" was for his marriage to an heiress from

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

. Roger acquired a great lordship in England, with lands in

Salfordshire The Salford Hundred (also known as Salfordshire) was one of the subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire, in Northern England (see: Hundred (county division). Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of Salford (the ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. The principal part of the Lordship was in what was then called ''inter Mersam et Ripam'', that is, "between the

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

and the Ribble" and is now divided between Lancashire, Merseyside, and Greater Manchester. After 1090, he also assumed the title 1st

Lord of Bowland The Lordship of Bowland is a feudal barony associated with the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. The lordship fell into disuse between 1885 and 2008, during which time it was widely believed to have lapsed; it was revived in 2008. In 1 ...

. Before 1086, he had married Almodis, daughter of Count Aldebert II of La Marche in Poitou, and sister and presumptive heiress of count

Boso III Boso may refer to: People *Boso of Provence (850–887), Frankish nobleman and king *Boso the Elder (c. 800–855), a Frank from the Bosonid dynasty *Boso, Margrave of Tuscany (885–936), Italian nobleman *Boso II of Arles (d. 967), Frankish count ...

who was childless and unmarried.

Roger's lordship extends beyond the Ribble as far as Cumberland

Around 1091, Roger's brother-in-law Boso died, but Roger was apparently preoccupied with Norman and English affairs, and his wife's uncle Odo became count of La Marche. In 1092 Roger acquired a large part of what is now north Lancashire. These grants gave Roger effective control of all the lands north of the River Ribble to the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and deriv ...

, which formed a natural border between the secure Norman lands in England and the strongly contested Scottish frontier lands in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. Due to long established lines of communication across

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

, Roger also assumed authority over the regions of

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

and

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, and was historically known as Kirkby in Cartmel. The village is the location of the 12t ...

; these remained a part of Lancashire until as recently as 1974. The expansion of Roger's lands followed his support of King William II Rufus's invasion of Cumbria in AD1092, where

Dolfin of Carlisle Dolfin ( fl. 1092) was an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon magnate in Northumbria. His father was probably Gospatric, one of the most powerful regional figures in the mid-11th century having been earl of Northumbria in the early years of William the Co ...

ruled, possibly as a vassal of Scottish King

Malcolm Canmore Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...

. Dolfin was driven out and the Anglo-Scottish border was established north of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. Roger also acquired the great

honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of socia ...

of Eye centered in

1088 and after

In 1088, he led a military force with

Alan Rufus Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz ( Breton), Alain le Roux ( French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II o ...

and Odo of Champagne, against

William de St-Calais William de St-Calais (died 2 January 1096) was a medieval Norman monk, abbot of the abbey of Saint-Vincent in Le Mans in Maine, who was nominated by King William I of England as Bishop of Durham in 1080. During his term as bishop, St-Calais re ...

, bishop of Durham, at the request of William Rufus when the bishop was implicated in a revolt against the king; Roger also negotiated with the bishop on the king's behalf before the bishop went to trial. Roger's father Roger de Montgomery died in 1094. In 1094 Rufus sent Roger to hold the castle at

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N ...

in Normandy, but Roger surrendered it to

Philip I of France Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...

on the first day of the siege; Roger and his men were held for ransom and purchased their freedom. Though Philip I was an ally of Curthose, it is thought that this action was less a betrayal of Rufus and more a result of Roger's dual vassalage between the King of England and the King of France. Roger did not lose his English lands as a result of this action but held no position in Rufus' government from this point. Roger continued to be loyal to Rufus but in 1102 joined his brothers' failed rebellion against

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

in favor 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. ...

. As a result Roger de Poitou lost his English holdings. The King put those in Craven into the governance of

Robert de Romille Robert de Romille (also de Rumilly) was an adventurer from Brittany who joined the Normans in their Conquest of Britain. After 1086 King William I made him lord of the estates of Bolton Abbey. Romille built the first Skipton Castle in 1090 to repe ...

. Roger then went to his wife's holdings in Poitou. Almodis's uncle Odo was ousted as count of La Marche in 1104, and subsequently the sons of Roger and Almodis are styled as count. In 1109, Roger was permitted to briefly return to England to the court of Henry I, though he did not recover his earlier English holdings. After ca. 1109, Roger appears to have either lost interest in governing in La Marche, or lost the political power itself as he is only seen once in the documents of La Marche as his wife and sons held the authority in the region.

Offspring

The children of Roger and Almodis include: * Aldebert IV of La Marche * Boso IV of La Marche * Odo II of La Marche * Pontia of La Marche, who married Wulgrin II of Angoulême

Roger's lordship extends beyond the Ribble as far as Cumberland

1088 and after

Offspring

References

Further reading