Simon II de Senlis (or Senliz, St. Liz, etc.), 4th
Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton ( 1098–1153) was an
Anglo-Norman nobleman. He was the son of
Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton and
Maud, Countess of Huntingdon. He married Isabel, daughter of
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1104 – 5 April 1168) was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.
The surname "de Beaumont" was given to him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robe ...
and they had a son
Simon.
He was prominent in
the Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...
, fighting for
Stephen of England
Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 113 ...
in 1141 at the
Battle of Lincoln. He continued to support Stephen's side;
R. H. C. Davis calls him 'staunch' and 'consistently loyal' and surmises that Simon calculated that if the
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...
won, his earldom of Northampton would be taken over by her uncle
David I of Scotland
David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...
.
Simon was rewarded by becoming
Earl of Huntingdon. He died in 1153 just before
Henry II of England
Henry II () was King of England
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...
took over, whereupon the king restored the Earldom of Huntingdon-Northampton to his ally
Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV (; ), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 1141 – 9 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest son of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon and Northumbria (died 1152) and Ada de War ...
. His widow, Countess Isabel de Beaumont, remarried to baron
Gervase Paganell.
[Hemingway, John (2006). An Illustrated Chronicle of the Castle and Barony of Dudley 1070-1757. Dudley: The Friends of Dudley Castle. pp. 21–28.]
References
Source
* K. Stringer, 'Senlis, Simon (II) de, earl of Northampton and earl of Huntingdon (d. 1153)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004)
accessed 20 May 2007
, -
1090s births
1153 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Anglo-Normans
People of The Anarchy
Earls of Northampton
Earls of Huntingdon (1065 creation)
{{England-earl-stub