William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
Encyclopedia
Bellencombre
Bellencombre is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A forestry and farming village situated by the banks of the Varenne River in the Pays de Bray, some south of Dieppe at the junction of the D151, D154 and D48...
, Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, died in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, 24 May or 24 June 1099) is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror
Companions of William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins in France, under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, along with others completing his Norman conquest of England until after the Harrying of the North and before the Anarchy....
known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
in 1066. Subsequently he became a great landowner in England.
Life
He was a son of Rodulf de Warenne and a grandnephew of duchess GunnorGunnora, Duchess of Normandy
Gunnora was the wife and consort of Richard I of Normandy. Her parentage is unknown, earliest sources reporting solely that she was of Danish ancestry and naming siblings including brother Herfast de Crepon who is sometimes erroneously given as her father.She was living with her sister Seinfreda,...
, wife of duke Richard I of Normandy
Richard I of Normandy
Richard I of Normandy , also known as Richard the Fearless , was the Duke of Normandy from 942 to 996; he is considered the first to have held that title.-Birth:He was born to William I of Normandy, ruler of Normandy, and Sprota...
. The de Warenne surname derives from the hamlet named Varenne located on the river Varenne
Varenne River
The Varenne is a river of Normandy, France, in length, flowing through the department of Seine-Maritime and it is a tributary of the Arques River.- Geography :...
, which flows through the territory William acquired in Upper Normandy in the region today called Bellencombre
Bellencombre
Bellencombre is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A forestry and farming village situated by the banks of the Varenne River in the Pays de Bray, some south of Dieppe at the junction of the D151, D154 and D48...
. An elder brother, Rodulf, inherited their father's lands, suggesting William was a younger son.
As a young man, William played a prominent role in protecting the Norman realm of the future William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
's from a major invasion by the King of France in February 1054 at the Battle of Mortemer
Battle of Mortemer
For 16 years the Norman realms of the young William I of England, then known as Duke William II, were gravely threatened by other Norman barons and also by the French King. This was because William came to power at age seven....
. After this battle Roger de Mortemer forfeited most of his lands, and the duke gave them to William.
William was one of the nobles who advised duke William when the decision to invade England was being considered. He is said to have fought at Hastings, and afterwards received the Rape of Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and subsequently lands in twelve other shires. He built castles at Lewes (Sussex), Reigate
Reigate
Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
(Surrey), Castle Acre
Castle Acre
Castle Acre is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated on the River Nar some north of the town of Swaffham...
(Norfolk) and Conisbrough
Conisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
in Yorkshire. By the time of the Domesday survey he was one of the wealthiest landholders in England with holdings in 12 counties.
He fought against rebels at the Isle of Ely
Isle of Ely
The Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...
in 1071 where he showed a special desire to hunt down Hereward the Wake
Hereward the Wake
Hereward the Wake , known in his own times as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile, was an 11th-century leader of local resistance to the Norman conquest of England....
who had killed his brother the year before.
William was loyal to William II
William II of England
William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...
, and it was probably in early 1088 that he was created Earl of Surrey
Earl of Surrey
The Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England, and has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror...
. He died shortly afterwards of wounds he received while helping suppress the rebellion of 1088
Rebellion of 1088
The Rebellion of 1088 occurred after the death of William the Conqueror and concerned the division of lands in the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy between his two sons William Rufus and Robert Curthose...
.
He died in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and was buried next to his wife at the Chapterhouse
Chapterhouse
For the religious buildings, see Chapter houseChapterhouse are a British shoegazing band originally of the early 1990s, from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3...
of Lewes Priory
Lewes Priory
The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had one of the largest monastic churches in the country. It was set within an extensive walled and gated precinct laid out in a commanding location fronting the tidal shore-line at the head of the Ouse valley to the south of Lewes...
.
Family
He married twice:- First in Normandy before 1070 or in 1077, Gundred or Gundreda (Latin: Gundrada), sister of Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of ChesterEarl of ChesterThe Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
- Second, to a sister of Richard Gouet
Children of William and Gundred
- William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of SurreyWilliam de Warenne, 2nd Earl of SurreyWilliam de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He is more often referred to as Earl Warenne or Earl of Warenne than as Earl of Surrey....
(d. 1138) married Elisabeth (Isabelle) de Vermandois, widow of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of LeicesterRobert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of LeicesterRobert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.The surname "de Beaumont" is given him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robert"... - Edith de Warenne who married 1) Gerard de Gournay and 2) Drogon (Dreux), Lord of Moncy.
- Reynold de Warenne, who inherited lands from his mother in Flanders and died before 1118
- an unnamed daughter who married Ernise de Coulonces
- Gundred?