William Malet (died c. 1121) was the third of his family to hold the honour of

Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

and the lordship of in Normandy. He was either the younger brother, son, or nephew of

Robert Malet Robert Malet (c. 1050 – by 1130) was a Norman-English baron and a close advisor of Henry I. Early life Malet was the son of William Malet, and inherited his father's great honour of Eye in 1071. This made him one of the dozen or so great ...

– in other words, either a son or grandson of the first William Malet. Before 1066, the older William Malet was the Lord of Graville, in Normandy and is known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings, helping to secure the crown of England for

William, Duke of Normandy 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 Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

. The Malets were reputedly related by blood or marriage to both William the Conqueror and King Harold of England. William Malet the younger forfeited his English lands and was banished from England, some time between the older Malet's death, circa 1106, and 1113. (Several other barons lost their lands in 1110, so that year is a likely date.) The precise cause is not known, but may be connected to conflict between King

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 ...

and King

Louis VI of France Louis VI (late 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (french: link=no, le Gros) or the Fighter (french: link=no, le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Chronicles called him "King of Saint-Denis". Louis was the first member ...

. After his exile from England, Malet re-established himself in Normandy where he retained the Lordship of Graville. His descendants rose to prominence in France through their military exploits for the French crown.

References

* * * 1120s deaths Anglo-Normans Year of birth unknown {{England-bio-stub