William III of Ponthieu ( – 1172) also called William (II; III) Talvas. Orderic Vitalis and Robert de Torigny both mentioned his nickname 'Talvas' but he is not known to have used it when granting or attesting his own charters, . E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', Vol. XI (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1949) p. 697 n. (a)but in a notification by the monks of St. Michel he was styled ''Willelmus Tallevat comes Pontivi.'' 'Calendar of Documents Preserved in France'', ed. J. Horace Round (Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1899), no. 737/ref> He was seigneur de Montgomery in Normandy and Count of Ponthieu.

Life

William was son of Robert II of Bellême and

Agnes of Ponthieu Agnes of Ponthieu (c. 1080 – aft. 1105) was ruling Countess of Ponthieu from 1100. She was the daughter of Count Guy I of Ponthieu. Enguerrand, the son of Count Guy, died at a youthful age. Guy then made his brother Hugh heir presumptive, b ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4, Das Feudale Frankreich und Sien Einfluss auf des Mittelalters (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1989), Tafel 638G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', Vol. XI (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1949) p. 697 He succeeded his father as

count of Ponthieu The County of Ponthieu (, ), centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Princip ...

some time between 1105 and 1111, when he alone as count made a gift to the

abbey of Cluny 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 churche ...

. His father Robert de Bellême had turned against

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 ...

on several occasions, had escaped capture at the battle of Tinchebrai in 1106 commanding Duke Robert's rear guard and later, while serving as envoy for

King Louis King Louis may refer to: Kings * Louis I (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis II (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis III (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis IV (disambiguation), multiple ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, he was arrested by Henry I and imprisoned for life.G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', Vol. XI (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1949) pp. 693–4 William was naturally driven by this to oppose King Henry. In June 1119, however, Henry I restored all his father's lands in Normandy. Sometime prior to 1126, William resigned the county of Ponthieu to his son Guy but retained the title of count. In 1135 Henry I again confiscated all his Norman lands to which William responded by joining count

Geoffrey of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (french: link=no, le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Count of Tours, Touraine and Count of Maine, Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Nor ...

in his invasion of Normandy after Henry I's death.

Family

He married, abt. 1115,

Helie of Burgundy Helie of Burgundy ( – 28 February 1141) was the daughter of Odo I, Duke of Burgundy and Sibylla of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy. In June 1095, Helie married Bertrand of Toulouse, as his second wife. They had one son, Pons of Tripoli (–1137). ...

, daughter of Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy. The ''

Gesta Normannorum Ducum ''Gesta Normannorum Ducum'' (''Deeds of the Norman Dukes'') is a chronicle originally created by the monk William of Jumièges just before 1060. In 1070 William I had William of Jumièges extend the work to detail his rights to the throne of Engl ...

'' says that they had five children, three sons and two daughters. Europäische Stammtafeln, however, shows eleven. The five both agree on are: * Guy II. He assumed the county of Ponthieu during his father Talvas' lifetime, but died in 1147 predeceasing his father. * William, Count of Alençon. *

John I, Count of Alençon John I (Jean I) (died 24 February 1191), Count of Alençon, son of William III Talvas, Count of Ponthieu, and Helie of Burgundy. Recognized as Count of Alençon by Henry II of England, John succeeded his father in 1171. He was a supporter of the ...

, married Beatrix d'Anjou, daughter of Elias II, Count of Maine and Philippa, daughter of

Rotrou III, Count of Perche Rotrou III (bef. 1080 – 8 May 1144), called the Great (''le Grand''), was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche, and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier. He was ...

. * Clemence married (abt. 1189) Juhel, son of Walter of Mayenne. * Adela (aka Ela) married

William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey (11196 January 1148) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, member of the House of Warenne, who fought in England during the Anarchy and generally remained loyal to King Stephen. Elisabeth van Houts, 'The Warenne ...

. She married, secondly, Patrick of Salisbury.

References

Additional References

*''The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni'', edited and translated by Elisabeth M. C. Van Houts, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1995.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponthieu, William III, Count of Counts of Ponthieu 12th-century Normans 1090s births 1172 deaths Clan Montgomery