Judith d'Évreux (

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...

1076) was a Norman noblewoman and Countess of Sicily. Judith was the daughter of William d'Évreux and Hawise de Giroie, widow of Robert I de Grantmesnil.Detlev Schwennicke, ''

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for tho ...

: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 79 She was second cousin of

William the Conqueror 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 The monarchy of the United Kingdom, ...

her father being the son of Robert II Archbishop of Rouen, while her mother was the daughter of

Giroie, Lord of Échauffour Giroie ( la, Geroianus, a.k.a. Géré) ( † 1033), Lord of Echauffour and Montreuil-l'Argillé, was a knight from Brittany who became a Norman nobleman and the progenitor of a large family in Normandy, England, and Apulia. Career Giroie was the s ...

, a wealthy Norman baron.Orderic stated that her mother had only one daughter by her second marriage to William d'Évreux while several sources claim she had a sister Emma. See ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', trans. by Thomas Forester, Vol. I (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853), p. 395; Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln'', II (1984), 79. While Norwich in ''The Normans in the South'' (1981) mentions a sister, he does not name her. Her half-brother

Robert de Grandmesnil Robert de Grantmesnil (de Grandmesnil) also known as Robert II, was a Norman nobleman; a member of a prominent Norman family. He first became a monk, then abbot at the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in Normandy and later Bishop of Troina in the Norman King ...

, abbot of the Norman

Abbey of Saint-Evroul The Abbey of Saint-Evroul or Saint-Evroul-sur-Ouche (''Saint-Evroult-sur-Ouche, Saint-Evroul-en-Ouche, Saint-Evroult-en-Ouche, Abbaye de Saint-Evroult, Sanctus Ebrulphus Uticensis '') is a former Benedictine abbey in Normandy, located in the present ...

, was her guardian.John Julius Norwich, ''The Normans in the South 1016–1130'' (London: Solitaire Books, 1981), pp. 146–47 After quarreling with Duke William in January 1061, Robert fled Normandy with Judith, her brother and sister, to Rome. Eventually he turned to

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calab ...

, Duke of Calabria, who treated the abbot with great respect and invited him and his monks to settle in Calabria. The Duke's brother

Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Roger Bosso and The Great, was a Norman nobleman who became the first Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was a member of the ...

had known Judith from Normandy, and his status and fortunes had now changed considerably. No longer the poor son of a lesser Norman family, when Count Roger heard that Judith was in Calabria he went to meet her. They were married immediately and he took his bride to

Mileto Mileto ( Calabrian: ; grc, Μίλητος, translit=Míletos) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about south of Vibo Valentia. Mileto is ...

where the marriage was celebrated. Roger soon left Judith in Mileto and returned to his campaigns in Sicily. The following summer he joined Judith and brought her with him to Sicily where he and his army of three hundred went to

Troina Troina ( Sicilian: ''Traina'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. It is located in the Nebrodi Park. History Excavations have proved that the area of Troina was settled as early as the 7 ...

. Leaving Judith in the care of his garrison he continued his campaign.John Julius Norwich, ''The Normans in the South 1016–1130'' (London: Solitaire Books, 1981), p. 151 Greek residents then attacked his fortifications attempting to take Countess Judith prisoner and ransom her in exchange for the Norman's leaving Troina. The garrison held out until Roger returned and rescued Judith and the troops guarding her. For four more months the Normans fought the Greeks who had now joined forces with the Arabs. Judith shared the hardships with her husband and the Norman troops living in the cold with little food. Finally Roger was able to overcome the Arabs and regain control of Troina. Roger needed to return to the mainland to replenish their horses and supplies and left Judith once again.John Julius Norwich, ''The Normans in the South 1016–1130'' (London: Solitaire Books, 1981), p. 156 This time Judith took command of the citadel herself until Roger returned. Judith died, still a young woman,ohn Julius Norwich, ''The Normans in the South 1016–1130'' (London: Solitaire Books, 1981), p. 278 in Sicily in 1076.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 206 Judith bore Roger a daughter, who married Hugh of Jarzé (

1076). Other children of Judith were: * Matilda (1062–before 1094), who married firstly (repudiated before 1080)

Robert, Count of Eu Robert, Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings (d. between 1089-1093), son of William I, Count of Eu, and his wife Lesceline. Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings. Robert commanded 60 ships in the fleet supporting the landing of William I of England and ...

; married secondly (1080)

Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), sometimes called Raymond of Saint-Gilles or Raymond I of Tripoli, was a powerful noble in southern France and one of the leaders of the First Crusade (1096–1099). He was the Count of ...

* Adelisa, wife of

Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo Henry (died probably 21 December 1102A necrology of Montecassino dates his death to 21 December in an uncertain year. He is known to have been dead by August 1103.) was the Count of Monte Sant'Angelo, with his seat at Foggia, from November 1081. ...

* Emma (–aft. 1119), wife of

Rudolf, Count of Montescaglioso Rudolf (also ''Rudolph'', ''Ralph'', or ''Raoul'', called ''Maccabeus'', ''Maccabeo'', or ''Maccabees''; died 1108) was the second Norman count of Montescaglioso from the death of his father Robert in 1080. During the three-year period between the ...

Notes

Volume 1 of the Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy by Orderic Vitalis states that Emma was Judith's aunt (mother's sister). In Judith's mother's generation, the daughters were Heremburge (1), Hawise (2), and Emma (3). Judith was Hawise's daughter. Judith had 3 brothers--Hugh (1), Robert (2), and Arnold (3)--and three half-sisters (unfortunately all unnamed), all from her mother's first marriage to Robert de Grandmesnil. In this section, Oderic makes no mention of any full siblings. However, later on after depicting the row between Judith's half-brother Robert and Duke William, Orderic mentions Judith having a sister, alternatively named Anna and Emma (p. 439, vol 1). However, it's unclear whether Emma was a Grantmesnil or d'Evreux. Source: Translation by Thomas Forester, 1853.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:dEvreux, Judith 1076 deaths Italo-Normans Year of birth unknown House of Normandy Hauteville family 11th-century Norman women Devereux family 11th-century French people 11th-century French women 11th-century Normans 11th-century Italian nobility 11th-century Italian women Women in 11th-century warfare Women in medieval European warfare