William III of Ponthieu ( – 1172) also called William (II; III) Talvas.

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 histor ...

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, ...

.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 churches ...

. 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 No ...

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 of

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 ar ...

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

Family

He married, abt. 1115, Helie of Burgundy, daughter of Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy. The '' Gesta Normannorum Ducum'' 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, married Beatrix d'Anjou, daughter of Elias II, Count of Maine and Philippa, daughter of Rotrou III, Count of Perche. * Clemence married (abt. 1189) Juhel, son of Walter of Mayenne. * Adela (aka Ela) married William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey. She married, secondly,

Patrick of Salisbury Patrick of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Salisbury ( 11221168) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and the uncle of the famous William Marshal. His parents were Walter of Salisbury and Sibyl de Chaworth. Before 1141, Patrick was constable of Salisbury, a ...

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