Rodulf II de Warenne
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William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Lord of Lewes, Seigneur de Varennes (died 1088), was a
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
nobleman created Earl of Surrey under
William II Rufus William II ( xno, Williame;  – 2 August 1100) was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns ...
. He is among the few known from documents to have fought under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, he held extensive lands in 13 counties, including the
Rape of Lewes The Rape of Lewes (also known as Lewes Rape) is one of the rapes, the traditional sub-divisions unique to the historic county of Sussex in England. Location The rape of Bramber lies to its west and the rape of Pevensey lies to its east. The n ...
, a tract now divided between the ceremonial counties of
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
and West Sussex.


Early career

William was a son of Rodulf or Ralph de Warenne and Emma, and reported to have descended from a sibling of Duchess
Gunnor Gunnor or Gunnora ( – ) was Duchess of Normandy by marriage to Richard I of Normandy, having previously been his long-time mistress. She functioned as regent of Normandy during the absence of her spouse, as well as the adviser to him and later t ...
, wife of Duke Richard I. Chronicler Robert of Torigny reported, in his additions to the '' Gesta Normannorum Ducum'' of William of Jumièges, that William de Warenne and Anglo-Norman baron Roger de Mortimer were both sons of an unnamed niece of Gunnor. Unfortunately, Robert's genealogies are somewhat confused – elsewhere he gives Roger as the son of William, and yet again makes both sons of Walter de Saint Martin – while several of Robert's stemmata seem to contain too few generations.K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, "Aspects of Torigny's Genealogy Revisited", ''Nottingham Medieval Studies'' 37:21–27
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 ...
describes William as Roger's ''consanguineus'' – literally a "cousin", more generally a term of close kinship not typically used to describe brothers – and Roger de Mortimer appears to have been a generation older than him. Charters report several earlier men associated with Warenne. A Radulf de Warenne appears in two charters, one dating between 1027 and 1035, the other from about 1050 and naming his wife, Beatrice. In 1059, a Radulf and wife Emma appear along with their sons Radulf and William. These occurrences have typically been taken to represent a single Radulf with successive wives, of which Beatrice was the mother of William and hence identical to the Gunnorid niece described by Robert de Torigny,G. H. White, "The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy", ''Genealogist'', n. s. 37:57–65. yet the 1059 charter explicitly names Emma as William's mother. Re-evaluation of surviving charters led Katherine Keats-Rohan to suggest that Robert of Torigny compressed two generations into one, as he appears to have done elsewhere, with Radulf (I) and Beatrice being parents of Radulf (II) de Warenne and of Roger de Mortimer – a Roger son of Radulf de Warenne appears in a charter dated 1040/1053 – while Radulf (II) in turn married Emma, and as attested by the 1059 charter, they had as sons Radulf (III) as the heir in Normandy, and William. Associations with the village of
Vascœuil Vascœuil () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France. The communes cooperate in ...
led to identification of the Warenne progenitrix with a widow Beatrice, daughter of Tesselin, Viscount of
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
, who appeared there in 1054–1060. Robert of Torigny shows a different Viscount of Rouen to have married a niece of Gunnor, perhaps suggesting that it was through Beatrice that William de Warenne was linked with Gunnor's family. William was from the hamlet of Varenne, near
Arques-la-Bataille Arques-la-Bataille () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. The zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (1777–1850) was born in Arques. Geography Arques is situated near the conflue ...
, Duchy of Normandy, now in the canton of Bellencombre,
Seine Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...
.K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ''Domesday People, a Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066–1166'' (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1999), p. 480. At the beginning of Duke William's reign, Radulf de Warenne was not a major landholder, while William de Warenne as a second son did not stand to inherit the family's small estates. During the rebellions of 1052–1054, the young William de Warenne proved himself loyal to the Duke and played a strong part in the Battle of Mortemer for which he was rewarded with lands confiscated from his kinsman,
Roger of Mortemer Roger I of Mortemer (Roger ''de Mortemer'', Roger ''de Mortimer'', Roger ''Mortimer'') (fl.1054 ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Vol. 39, ''Mortimer'' p. 130 - aft. 1078), founded the abbey of St. Victor en CauxBurke, J. ''A General and Herald ...
, including the Castle of Mortimer and most of its lands. At about the same time, he acquired lands at Bellencombre including the castle that became the centre of William de Warenne's holdings in Normandy.G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', Vol. XII/1 (London: The St. Catherine Press, 1953), p. 493.William Farrer, ''Early Yorkshire Charters'', Volume VIII; The Honour of Warenne (The Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1949), p. 3.


Conquest of England

William was among the Norman barons summoned to the
Council of Lillebonne The Council of Lillebonne was a meeting of the nobles and clergy of Normandy where, among other things, the expedition of William the Conqueror, then Duke of Normandy, was approved. It was held at Lillebonne, in the northeast of Normandy. Wace, the ...
by Duke William when the decision was made to oppose King Harold II's accession to the throne of England. He fought at Hastings and was rewarded with numerous holdings. Domesday records his lands stretching over 13 counties, including the important
Rape of Lewes The Rape of Lewes (also known as Lewes Rape) is one of the rapes, the traditional sub-divisions unique to the historic county of Sussex in England. Location The rape of Bramber lies to its west and the rape of Pevensey lies to its east. The n ...
in Sussex, several manors in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, the major manor of Conisbrough in Yorkshire and
Castle Acre Castle Acre is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated on the River Nar some north of the town of Swaffham. It is east of the town of King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and ...
in Norfolk, which became his headquarters or caput. He is one of few proven
companions of William the Conqueror William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conqu ...
known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He fought against rebels at the Isle of Ely in 1071, where he showed a special desire to hunt down Hereward the Wake, who had killed his brother-in-law Frederick the year before. Hereward is supposed to have unhorsed him with an arrow shot.


Later career

Sometime between 1078 and 1082, William and his wife Gundred travelled to Rome, visiting monasteries on the way. In
Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
they were halted by a war between
Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son ...
and
Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...
. They visited
Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...
and were so impressed by the monks and their dedication that they decided to found a Cluniac priory on their own lands in England, for which William restored buildings for an abbey. They sent to
Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...
, Abbot of Cluny, to staff their monastery. At first Hugh was reluctant, but he finally sent several monks, including Lazlo, who was to be the first Abbot. The house founded was Lewes Priory, dedicated to St. Pancras, England's first Cluniac priory. William supported the King in the siege of Saint-Suzanne against some rebellious lords. His loyalty to William II, led to his creation as Earl of Surrey, probably in early 1088. He was mortally wounded at the First Siege of Pevensey Castle, died on 24 June 1088 at
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
, Sussex, and was buried beside his wife, Gundred, in the chapter house of Lewes Priory.


Family

William de Warenne married first, before 1070, Gundred, Countess of Surrey, sister of Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester. William married secondly a sister of Richard Gouet, who survived him.


Issue

By Gundred, William had: *
William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (died 11 May 1138) was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He was more often referred to as ''Earl Warenne'' or ''Earl of Warenne'' than as Earl of Surrey.G. E. Co ...
(died 1138), who married Elisabeth (Isabelle) de Vermandois, widow of
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan ( – 5 June 1118), also known as Robert of Meulan, was a powerful Norman nobleman, one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England ...
*Edith de Warenne, who married first Gerard de Gournay, lord of Gournay-en-Bray, and then Drew de MonchyG. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', vol. xii/1 (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1953), p. 494 and note (b). *Reynold de Warenne, who inherited lands from his mother in Flanders and died c. 1106–1108 *A daughter of unknown name, who married Ernise de Coulonces.K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ''Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066–1166'', Vol. II (UK, Rochester, NY: Boydell & Brewer, 2002), p. 408. He had no issue by his second wife.


Landholdings in the ''Domesday Book''


See also

*
De Warenne family The de Warenne family were a noble family in England that included the first Earls of Surrey, created by William the Conqueror in 1088 for William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, who was among his companions at the Battle of Hastings. The family ...
* Rebellion of 1088


Notes


References


Sources

*L. C. Loyd, "The Origin of the Family of Warenne", ''Yorkshire Archaeological Journal'', Vol. xxxi (1933), 97–113 {{DEFAULTSORT:Surrey, William de Warenne, William, 1st Earl of 11th-century births 1088 deaths Year of birth unknown 11th-century English nobility Anglo-Normans Companions of William the Conqueror Norman warriors
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People from Lewes People from King's Lynn and West Norfolk (district) Burials at Lewes Priory William