Amaury III de Montfort ( † April 18 or 19, 1137) was a French nobleman, the

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

Montfort-l'Amaury Montfort-l'Amaury () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region, north central France. It is located north of Rambouillet. The name comes from Amaury I de Montfort, the first ''seigneur'' (lord) of Montfort. Geogra ...

Épernon Épernon () is a French commune in the Eure-et-Loir department, Centre-Val de Loire. It lies some northeast of Chartres, at the confluence of the Drouette and the Guesle. History Épernon was originally the home of the counts of Montfort and ...

, and

Houdan Houdan () is a commune of the Yvelines department west of Paris in the north of France. History The name has evolved from the Saxon "Hoding," meaning "settlement on the hill". Houdan is thought to have been inhabited since the 5th century. B ...

in the

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

(1101–) and

Count of Évreux The Count of Évreux was a French noble title and was named for the county of Évreux in Normandy. It was successively used by the Norman dynasty, the Montfort-l'Amaury family, the Capetians as well as the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. The title i ...

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 ...

(1118–).

Life

Amaury was the son of

Simon I Simon I may refer to: * Simon I (High Priest) (310–291 or 300–270 BCE) * Simon I de Montfort (1025–1087) * Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton (died c. 1111) * Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (1076–1138) * Simon I, Count of Saarbrü ...

, seigneur de Montfort, and his wife Agnès d'Évreux, daughter of

Richard, Count of Évreux Richard, Count of Évreux (c.1015–1067) was a powerful Norman nobleman during the reign of William Duke of Normandy. Life Richard was the eldest son of Robert II Archbishop of Rouen and Count of Évreux and Herleva. Richard donated a mill at ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1989), Tafel 642 In 1098,

William Rufus 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 ...

was campaigning in France and crossed into the French Vexin. One of the first castles Rufus attacked was that of Houdan which Amaury III defended.Frank Barlow, ''William Rufus'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), p. 393 But Amaury quickly surrendered and joined William's army. He then aided William II against his brother

Simon II de Montfort Simon II de Montfort (, Montfort l'Amaury, Ile de France, France – 25 September 1104) was the son of Simon I de Montfort (c. 1025–1087) and Agnès d'Évreux (c. 1030–c. 1087). He succeeded his brother Richard de Montfort in 1092 as lord ...

's castles of Montfort-l'Amaury and

.George Edward Cokayne, ''The complete peerage; or, a history of the House of lords and all its members from the earliest times'', eds. H. A. Doubleday; Howard de Walden, Vol. VII (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1929), p. 713 Simon and the other

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

s successfully defended themselves against the forces of William Rufus until a truce was called and William returned to England. When Simon II died , Amaury succeeded him as seigneur de Montfort. When his maternal uncle

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 ...

died in 1118, he left no direct heirs so

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 ...

seized his lands.François Neveux, ''A Brief History of The Normans'', trans. Howard Curtis (London: Constable & Robinson, Ltd., 2008), p. 178 Amaury was Henry's most detested enemy.C. Warren Hollister, ''Henry I'' (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2003), p. 248 His sister was the notorious Bertrade de Montfort, his nephew was Fulk V of Anjou, and his kinsman 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 ...

was related to him by marriage. Amaury had induced his nephew Fulk V to attack Henry's territories in the past while the French and English kings were at odds again. Amaury was the last person he wanted holding a countship in the center of Normandy. After complaining to Louis VI the French king granted the countship of Évreux to Amaury. For six months Henry kept Amaury out of Évreux and denied him the county by keeping the castle garrisoned with his own troops until his constable, William Pointel, turned the castle over to his longtime friend Amaury while Henry was in Rouen. Finally Henry offered Amaury the countship of Évreux if he would surrender the castle.Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', trans. Thomas Forester, Vol. III (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), p. 471 Amaury refused and the rebellion continued with Amaury now encouraging more Normans to defy Henry.C. Warren Hollister, ''Henry I'' (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2003), p. 261 In 1119 Henry besieged the castle of Évreux anew, but

Theobald II, Count of Champagne Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tybal ...

, Henry's nephew, negotiated a truce between them. Amaury surrendered the castle to the King and on doing so was confirmed as count of Évreux by Henry. The following year Amaury fought at the battle of Bourgtheroulde supporting

William Clito William Clito (25 October 110228 July 1128) was a member of the House of Normandy who ruled the County of Flanders from 1127 until his death and unsuccessfully claimed the Duchy of Normandy. As the son of Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William ...

against Henry I but was captured fleeing the field by William de Grandcourt. Rather than turn over his prisoner to Henry, however, William decided to go into exile with Amaury. Amaury made peace with the King later that same year and for the rest of Henry's reign remained on good terms with him.

Marriages and children

He married firstly, Richilde de Hainaut, daughter of Baudouin II, comte de Hainaut but repudiated her in 1118. In 1118 he remarried, to Agnès de Garlande, daughter of Anseau de Garlande, Count de

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

. Their children were: * Amaury IV ( † 1140), Count of Évreux * Simon III ( † 1181), lord of Montfort and Count of Évreux, whose daughter Bertrade married

Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester Hugh of Cyfeiliog, 5th Earl of Chester (1147 – 1181), also written Hugh de Kevilioc, was an Anglo-French magnate who was active in England, Wales, Ireland and France during the reign of King Henry II of England. Origins Born in 1147, he was ...

. * Agnès ( † 1181), Dame de

Gournay-sur-Marne Gournay-sur-Marne (, literally ''Gournay on Marne'') is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Heraldry Transport Gournay-sur-Marne is served ...

, married

Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, Earl of Worcester (1104 – 9 April 1166, in Preaux), was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois, and the twin brother of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leice ...

( † 1166)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amaury III of Montfort Anglo-Normans 1137 deaths Year of birth unknown Seigneur of Montfort