The siege of the castle at Saint-Suzanne took place in a four-year period from 1083 to 1086, when the forces of William the Conqueror attempted to quell a rebellion led by

Hubert de Beaumont-au-Maine Hubert II de Beaumont-au-Maine, also known as Hubert de Sainte-Suzanne, was a French viscount of Beaumont and Maine, and later of Vendôme. In the 11th century he held the French territories of Beaumont, Fresnay and Sainte-Suzanne. Career Huber ...

and his liege lords against the rule of William. This was the only castle in Normandy that William did not succeed in taking.Henry William Carless Davis (1911). " William I., King of England". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 28. (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press. pp. 659–661. Hubert was moved to action by the cause of

Fulk IV, Count of Anjou Fulk is an old European personal name, probably deriving from the Germanic ''folk'' ("people" or "chieftain"). It is cognate with the French Foulques, the German Volk, the Italian Fulco and the Swedish Folke, along with other variants such as Ful ...

, and

Hugh V, Count of Maine Hugh V (c. 1055/1062 – 1131) was the count of Maine from 1069 until c. 1093. Life He was the son of Margrave Albert Azzo II of Milan and Gersendis, a sister of Count Hugh IV of Maine. In 1070, the citizens of Le Mans and some of the Manceaux ...

. He was supported by Robert of Nevers, Baron of Craon, son of

Renauld I, Count of Nevers Renauld I (died 29 May 1040) was a French nobleman. He was the Count of Nevers and Count of Auxerre from 1028 until his death at the battle of Seignelay against Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. Family Renauld was the son of Landerich of Monceau and Ma ...

, and uncle of Hubert's wife Ermengarde de Nevers. During the siege, William built a huge military camp known as Beugy on the outskirts of the town, taking advantage of Roman earthworks. William's garrison was under the command of Alan Rufus from 1083 to 1085.

William, Count of Évreux William, Count of Évreux (died 16 April 1118) was a powerful member of the Norman aristocracy during the period following the Norman conquest of England. He is one of the few documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Ha ...

, participated in the siege and was taken captive in 1085. It is not clear under what terms he was released, but somewhat later he forfeited significant holdings. Richer d'Aigle, son-in-law of

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 ...

, died in the siege, mortally wounded by an arrow to the eye, and was buried at the monastery of Saint-Sulpice.

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...

records that in January 1086,

William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Lord of Lewes, Seigneur de Varennes (died 1088), was a Norman nobleman created Earl of Surrey under William II Rufus. He is among the few known from documents to have fought under William the Conqueror at ...

, wanting to avenge Richer's death, unsuccessfully attacked the castle. He was accompanied by Richer's brother Gilbert l'Aigle and Baudry II de Guitry. Robert de Vieux-Pont was also killed in the siege but it is unclear which side he supported. With the siege faltering as the castle turned out to be exceptionally well-defended, Alan Rufus eventually turned over command to another Breton who was later killed. With many knights killed or captured, William eventually came to terms with the rebels, with Hubert being restored to favor.

Sources

* Dunbabin, Jean, ''France in the Making, 843–1180, Second Edition'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005 * Forester, Thomas (Translator), ''Ordericus Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854 * Jessee, W. Scott,
Robert the Burgundian and the Counts of Anjou, ca. 1025-1098
', Catholic University Press of America, 2000 * Keats-Rohan, K, ''Domesday People: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents'', 1066-1166, Boydell Press, Suffolk, 1999

References

{{reflist, refs= William the Conqueror Anglo-Normans Duchy of Normandy 1080s conflicts