Roger de Montgomery (died 7 February 1055), was seigneur of Montgomery,

vicomte A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

of the

Hiémois Exmes is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gouffern en Auge.House of Montgomerie.

Life

No near-contemporary source gives Roger's parentage. The younger

Roger de Montgomery 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 ...

, actually son of this Roger, was instead said by chronicler

Robert of Torigni Robert of Torigni (also known as Roburtus de Monte) (c. 1110–1186) was a Norman monk, prior, abbot and twelfth century chronicler. Religious life Robert was born at Torigni-sur-Vire, Normandy c. 1110 most probably to an aristocratic family but ...

to have been born to a Hugh de Montgomery by Josseline, niece of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy. One possible interpretation of this clear misstatement is that a generation has been dropped, and that it was the elder Roger who was son of Hugh and Josseline, though others conclude that Josseline's husband was the elder Roger, the assignment of the name Hugh to her husband being the error. Though Robert de Torigni calls Josceline daughter of Wevia, sister of Gunnor, a letter from the reign of

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

states she was daughter of another sister, Senfria. Roger held the lands of

Saint-Germain-de-Montgommery Saint-Germain-de-Montgommery () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Val-de-Vie.Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery, both of which show traces of early castles. He acquired the office of vicomte of the Hiémois probably about the time Robert I became Duke in 1027.Douglas dates Roger I being vicomte of the Hiémois to an earlier period under duke Richard II when Robert I was given the countship of Hiémois. See David Douglas, The Earliest Norman Counts, ''EHR'', 61-240 (1946) 146 n. 1. In he witnessed a charter to the abbey of St. Wandrille by

Robert I, Duke of Normandy Robert the Magnificent (french: le Magnifique;He was also, although erroneously, said to have been called 'Robert the Devil' (french: le Diable). Robert I was never known by the nickname 'the devil' in his lifetime. 'Robert the Devil' was a fic ...

as vicomte. Like Duke Robert, Roger began acquiring church properties, among these, , half the town of Bernay.Kathleen Thompson, 'The Norman Aristocracy before 1066; The Example of the Montgomerys', ''Historical research; the Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research'', Vol. 60, Issue 123 (October 1987), p. 255 He took over a wood at 'Crispus Fagidus' which belonged to

Jumièges Abbey Jumièges Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery, situated in the commune of Jumièges in the Seine-Maritime ''département'', in Normandy, France. History Around 654 the abbey was founded on a gift of forested land belonging to the royal fisc ...

in the 1030s. He suppressed a market held by the same abbey and transferred it into his own domain.Cassandra Potts, ''Monastic revival and regional identity in early Normandy'' (Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press, 1997), p. 121 He later returned the market to the abbey and paid restitution for their losses. In 1035 at Robert I's death, his great uncle, Robert Archbishop of Rouen ruled Normandy as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. Roger seems to have lost favor with the young duke as well as his vicomte office as he signed an early charter of Duke William simply as Roger of Montgomery. At the archbishop’s death in 1037, anarchy broke out in Normandy and among the rebels was Roger de Montgomery, formerly one of Duke Robert's closest companions, who, after being defeated in his own territory, fled to the court of Henry I of France. Roger had been forced into exile by Osbern the Steward who was afterwards killed by William de Montgomery, Roger's son.Kathleen Thompson, 'The Norman Aristocracy before 1066; The Example of the Montgomerys', ''Historical research; the Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research'', Vol. 60, Issue 123 (October 1987), pp. 257-58 Roger died on February 7, 1055 in exile in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. In 1068 his wife was still holding lands at Bures and

Saint-Pair Saint-Pair is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 528 communes of the Calvados department of Fra ...

Family

Interpolating

William of Jumièges William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 - died after 1070) (french: Guillaume de Jumièges) was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only ...

provides the names of their five sons:George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and all its Members from the Earliest Times'', Volume XI, ed. Geoffrey H. White ( London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1949), pp. 683-84 n. (d) * Hugh de Montgomery * Robert de Montgomery * Roger II de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury * William de Montgomery killed during the minority of duke William * Gilbert de Montgomery who in 1063 was claimed by Orderic to have been poisoned by

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 daught ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Roger De, vicomte of the Hiesmois Medieval French nobility 11th-century Normans Viscounts of France 11th-century French people Clan Montgomery