Matilda of Scotland, Queen Consort of England

Notes:

"Although she is usually called Matilda, she was born with the name Eadgyth (Edith), as Orderic Vitalis notes." [The Henry Project]

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

Reared at Romsey Abbey in Hampshire but never having taken religious vows, Matilda was the orphaned daughter of Malcolm III (Canmore), king of Scots (d. 1093), and his celebrated queen, the saintly Margaret (d. 1093), and, through Margaret, a direct descendant of Edmund Ironside and the West Saxon kings. Matilda's marriage to Henry would thus have pleased both Scots and Anglo-Saxons. More importantly, however, it reinforced Henry's claim to the throne by providing his children with a direct hereditary link to the old English royal line. The blood of both Alfred and William the Conqueror would flow through them. By an odd chain of circumstances, Matilda was also the god-daughter of Henry's brother, Duke Robert Curthose. [...]

She became a widely admired queen, presiding competently as regent over England during Henry's frequent sojourns in Normandy and, through her patronage, making the English royal court a centre for writers and musicians. She commissioned the writing of a history of England by the monks of Malmesbury Abbey, for example, and thus became a benefactor of the great historian William of Malmesbury. She may also have given her patronage to the unknown writer who produced the first major poem to be written in Anglo-Norman French, the Voyage of St Brendan. Moreover, as a spiritual disciple of Anselm, Matilda used her close relationships with both the archbishop and her royal husband to intervene with some effect in the complex negotiations over lay investiture. The impression conveyed by her letters is that while her love of Anselm was deep and genuine, it was exceeded by her devotion to her husband and his policies.

Matilda married Henry I, King of England on 11 Nov 1100. Henry (son of William I, King of England and Matilda of Flanders, Queen Consort of England) was born in 1068; died on 1 Dec 1135 in Lyon-la-Forêt, near Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France; was buried in Reading Abbey, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1104

Maud married Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor on 7 Jan 1114 in Mainz, Hessen, Germany. Heinrich died on 23 May 1125 in Utrecht, Netherlands. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Maud married Geoffrey V of Anjou on 22 May 1128 in Le Mans Cathedral, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays-de-la-Loire, France. Geoffrey (son of Fulk V, King of Jerusalem and Eremburge de la Flèche) was born on 24 Aug 1113; died on 7 Sep 1151 in Château-du-Loire, Pays-de-la-Loire, France; was buried in Le Mans Cathedral, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays-de-la-Loire, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 4 Mar 1133, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays-de-la-Loire, France

Notes:

Also called Henry Fitz Empress; Henry Fitz Geoffrey.

Family/Spouse: Ida de Tony. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Consort of France; Queen Consort of England on 18 May 1152 in Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, Gironde, France. Eleanor (daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aénor de Châtellerault) was born in 1122; died on 1 Apr 1204; was buried in Fontévrault Abbey, near Chinon, Anjou, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1175
• Alternate birth: Between 1175 and 1180
• Alternate birth: Abt 1176
• Alternate death: 7 Mar 1226, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

Notes:

Earl of Salisbury. Among the advisors to King John at Runnymede.

Lieutenant of Gascony 1202; Seneschal of Avranches 1203; Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports 1204-6; Sheriff of Wiltshire 1204-7, 1213-26; Lord of the Honour and Castle of Eye 1205; Cheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire 1212-21; Sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire 1223-4; Constable of Portchester, Southampton, and Winchester Castle 1224; Keeper of the March of Wales.

Yes, there really were two Ida de Longespees, and they were sisters. SGM post:

From: Douglas Richardson Subject: Parentage of Ida Longespée, wife of Walter Fitz Robert Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 08:51:45 -0700 (PDT)

There has been discussion in the past on the newsgroup regarding the placement of Ida Longespée, wife of Walter Fitz Robert, in the Longespée family tree. Complete Peerage, 5 (1926): 472 (sub FitzWalter) identifies Ida as "daughter of William (Longespée), Earl of Salisbury." The William Longespée intended here is presumably William Longespée I who died in 1226, not his son, William II, who died in 1250. If so, this would give Earl William Longespée I and his wife, Ela, two adult daughters named Ida, one of whom married Walter Fitz Robert, and the other who married William de Beauchamp. Curiously Complete Peerage, 11 (1949): 381-382 footnote k (sub Salisbury) confuses Walter Fitz Robert's wife Ida with her sister of the same name who married William de Beauchamp; it also misidentifies Walter Fitz Robert's parentage.

The identification of Ida, wife of Walter Fitz Robert, as a Longespée has traditionally rested on a pedigree of the Longespée family found in Lacock Priory cartulary. This pedigree lists the various children of William Longespée I, Earl of Salisbury, and his wife, Ela of Salisbury, including:

"Idam de Camyle, quam duxit in uxorem Walterus fil. Roberti, de qua genuit Catherinam et Loricam, quæ velatæ erant apud Lacok; Elam, quam duxit primo Guillelmus de Dodingeseles, de qua genuit Robertum") [Reference: Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, 6(1) (1830): 501].

It is not known exactly why Ida Longespée is here styled Ida de Camyle in this record. I've assumed, however, that Ida may have had a brief Camville marriage previous to her known marriage to Walter Fitz Robert. If so, a previous Camvillle marriage would explain her use of the Camville surname as a grown adult. Ida's older brother, William Longespée II, is known, for example, to have married a member of the Camville family.

There are two contemporary records which prove that Ida, wife of Walter Fitz Robert, was in fact a Longespée. The first record comes from List of Ancient Correspondence of the Chancery and Exchequer, which source contains an abstract of a letter dated 1261-1263 from Ida, widow of Walter Fitz Robert, written to Walter de Merton, the king's chancellor, in which Ida specifically styles herself Ida Longespée:

"152. Ida Longespée, widow of Walter Fitz Robert, to the same [Walter de Merton, Chancellor]: to bail two of her men appealed of homicide. [1261-1263]." [Reference: List of Ancient Correspondence of the Chancery and Exchequer (PRO Lists and Indexes 15) (1902): 107-108].

Elsewhere I find that Calendar of Liberate Rolls 5 (1961): 93 likewise refers to Ida, widow of Walter Fitz Robert, as "Ida Lungespee:"

Date: 11 May 1162 -- "Liberate to Geoffrey de Lezinan, the king's brother, 40l. in recompense of a like sum received there of the issues of the manor of Henham [Essex] by the hands of Ida Lungespee." END OF QUOTE.

To date to my knowledge no one has discovered Ida Longespée's maritagium, although she certainly had one in marriage. Recently I encountered a record which evidently concerns her maritagium. The record in question is a Wiltshire pleading which dates from 1249:

"Walter son of Robert and Ida his wife, by Ida's attorney by writ of the present king, who brought an assize of novel disseisin against William Lungepeie for holdings in Scepperingge and Heniton, Farlegh' and Bidinham, have come and withdrawn by licence. It is agreed between them that Walter and Ida had put themselves utterly in William's grace for those holdings." [Reference: Clanchy, Civil Pleas of the Wiltshire Eyre 1249 (Wiltshire Rec. Soc. 26) (1971): 152].

The lands involved in this lawsuit can be identified as Sheepbridge (in Swallowfield), Hinton (in Hurst), Farley [Hill] (in Swallowfield), and Diddenham (in Shinfield), all in modern Berkshire but formerly in Wiltshire. These lands were apparently held by William Longespée I and his wife, Countess Ela.

VCH Berkshire 3 (1923): 267-274 states that Sheepbridge "belonged with Hinton in 1236 to Ela, Countess of Salisbury." Countess Ela named here was the widow of William Longespée I. VCH's statement regarding Countess Ela's holding of these lands is based on a charter found in Calendar of Charter Rolls 1226 - 57, page 221, whereby the king confirmed a grant of Countess Ela of various lands to Lacock Abbey, in exchange for "10 l. yearly receivable ...... .of the manors of Shiperige and Henton, and the advowson of the church of Winterburn Shyreveton."

The above record may be viewed at the following weblink:

http://books.google.com/books?id=1dELAQA AIAAJ&pg=PP1&dq=Calendar+Charter+Rolls+1226&hl=en&ei=M-U4TrbTFYvXiALj163DDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=r esult&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Calendar%20Charter%20Rolls%201226&f=false

Countess Ela's charter is undated but surely must date from around 1236. My files notes show the following information:

"In Feb. 1236 her son and heir, William Longespée, guaranteed her gifts to Lacock Abbey, while she agreed to surrender all her lands, rents and rights to him on 1 Nov. following. On 25 Oct. 1236 Ela, Countess of Salisbury, reached agreement with William Longespée, her first born son, that she may grant a moiety of the manor of Heddington, Wiltshire to Lacock Priory, which property fell to her on the death of Maud de Mandeville, Countess of Essex and Hereford. In the winter 1236 - 7 she resigned her custody of the county of Wiltshire. She subsequently entered her religious foundation at Lacock, where she took the veil before spring 1238." END OF QUOTE FROM MY FILE NOTES.

Following Countess Ela's surrender of her lands to her son, William Longespée II, he in turn granted the four properties in question, namely Sheepbridge, Hinton, Farley, and Diddenham, to his seneschal, Sir Henry de la Mare. The date of this grant is sometime before 1239-40.

In that year Sir Henry de la Mare was involved in a legal action concerning these four properties. A reference to this lawsuit may be found in Maitland, Bracton's Note Book 3 (1887): 286 - 287. This may be viewed at the following weblink:

http://books.google.com/books?id=DtcQAAA AYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:LtFTiI1NIsEC&hl=en&ei=nmw5TsSXK42IsAKv3OEg&sa=X&oi=book_result &ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

So the question arises: When did Walter Fitz Robert and his wife, Ida Longespée, acquire their interest in the four properties? The answer to that question is not exact but surely it must have dated from the time that Countess Ela of Salisbury was holding these properties and before 1 Nov. 1236 when Countess Ela surrendered all her lands, rents, and rights to her son, William Longespée II. Walter and Ida can't have acquired their interest from William Longespée II, as once his mother released her lands to him, he almost immediately conveyed these four properties to his seneschal, Sir Henry de la Mare. One of these properties, Hinton, subsequently descended to Sir Henry de la Mare's daughter and heiress, Maud, wife of Peter de Montfort, and thence to her descendants [see VCH Berkshire 3 (1923): 247 - 260].

So besides knowing that Walter Fitz Robert and Ida Longespée obtained their interest in the properties before 1236, what else can we know? More specifically, why would Ida claim these lands, if her brother had granted them to his seneschal?

The answer to this question is not clear but a reasonable guess would be that these four properties were put up as Ida's maritagium when she was contracted to marry a Camville and that when the contracted Camville marriage failed to materialize or produced no issue, by the terms of the marriage contract, the lands returned to Ida's family. At that point, Ida's claim to the lands was essentially voided. This in turn would explain why Ida's brother, William Longespée II, felt free to grant these lands elsewhere to Sir Henry de la Mare.

In summary, adequate evidence has been located which indicates that Ida, wife of Walter Fitz Robert, was a Longespée. In 1249 Walter Fitz Robert and his wife, Ida, sued William Longespée II regarding four properties then in Wiltshire, but now in Berkshire. The four properties in question were apparently part of the inheritance of Ida's mother, Countess Ela, who appears to have controlled the lands until 1236, when she released her lands to her son, William Longespée II. Ida's rights must predate 1236, as William Longespée II almost immediately conveyed these properties before 1239-40 to his seneschal, Sir Henry de la Mare. Thus William Longespée II can not have offered them as Ida's maritagium. This in turn implies that Ida Longespée was the daughter of William Longespée I and his wife, Countess Ela, and not William Longespée II.

For interest's sake, the following is a list of the numerous 17th Century New World immigrants that descend from Ida Longespée, wife of Walter Fitz Robert:

Robert Abell, Dannett Abney, Elizabeth Alsop, William Asfordby, Walter Aston, Christopher Batt, Henry, Thomas & William Batte, Essex Beville, William Bladen, George & Nehemiah Blakiston, Thomas Booth, Elizabeth Bosvile, Mary Bourchier, George & Robert Brent, Thomas Bressey, Edward Bromfield, Nathaniel Browne, Obadiah Bruen, Stephen Bull, Elizabeth, John, and Thomas Butler, Charles Calvert, Edward Carleton, Kenelm Cheseldine, Grace Chetwode, Jeremy Clarke, Matthew Clarkson, St. Leger Codd, Henry Corbin, Francis Dade, Humphrey Davie, Frances, Jane & Katherine Deighton, Edward Digges, Thomas Dudley, William Farrer, John Fenwick, John Fisher, Muriel Gurdon, Katherine Hamby, Elizabeth & John Harleston, Warham Horsmanden, Anne Humphrey, Mary Launce, Hannah, Samuel & Sarah Levis, Nathaniel Littleton, Henry, Jane & Nicholas Lowe, Symon Lynde, Agnes Mackworth, Roger & Thomas Mallory, Anne, Elizabeth & John Mansfield, Anne & Katherine Marbury, Anne Mauleverer, Richard More, Joseph & Mary Need, John and Margaret Nelson, Philip & Thomas Nelson, Ellen Newton, Thomas Owsley, John Oxenbridge, Herbert Pelham, Robert Peyton, George Reade, Thomas Rudyard, Katherine Saint Leger, Richard Saltonstall, William Skepper, Diana & Grey Skipwith, Mary Johanna Somerset, John Stratton, James Taylor, Samuel & William Torrey, Margaret Touteville, Olive Welby, John West, Thomas Yale.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

William married Ela of Salisbury before Sep 1197. Ela (daughter of William fitz Patrick and Eleanor de Vitré) was born about 1191 in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England; died on 24 Aug 1261 in Lacock, Wiltshire, England; was buried in 1261 in Lacock Abbey, Lacock, Wiltshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Buried at Reading at the feet of his great-grandfather Henry I.

Notes:

Joint-king of England 1170-1183. Also Duke of Normandy; Count of Anjou and Maine. "[H]e never ruled alone because of his premature death, and he is not generally included in the list of kings (or assigned a Roman numeral) by modern historians." [The Henry Project, citation details below]

Henry married Margaret of France, Titular Queen Consort of England; Queen Consort of Hungary and Croatia on 27 Aug 1172 in Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, Hampshire, England. Margaret (daughter of Louis VII, King of France and Constance of Castile, Queen Consort of France) was born in 1157; died after 10 Sep 1197 in Acre, Palestine; was buried in Cathedral of Tyre. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 28 Jun 1189

Matilda married Heinrich of Saxony between 1167 and 1168. Heinrich (son of Heinrich of Saxony and Gertrud von Süpplinburg) was born in 1129; died on 6 Aug 1195 in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Berengaria of Navarre, Queen Consort of England on 12 May 1191. Berengaria (daughter of Sancho VI, King of Navarre and Sancha of Castile, Queen Consort of Navarre) was born between 1165 and 1170; died on 23 Dec 1230. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Constance of Brittany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Between 1161 and 1162
• Alternate birth: 1161
• Alternate death: 25 Oct 1214, Burgos, Castile, Spain

Notes:

Also called Leonor.

"Of all Eleanor of Aquitaine's daughters, her namesake was the only one who was enabled, by political circumstances, to wield the kind of influence her mother had exercised. In her own marriage treaty, and in the first marriage treaty for her daughter Berengaria, Eleanor was given direct control of many lands, towns, and castles throughout the kingdom. She was almost as powerful as Alfonso, who specified in his will in 1204 that she was to rule alongside their son in the event of his death, including taking responsibility for paying his debts and executing his will. It was she who persuaded him to marry their daughter Berengaria to Alfonso IX of León. Troubadours and sages were regularly present in Alfonso VIII's court due to Eleanor's patronage." [Wikipedia]

Eleanor married Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, Toledo, and Extramadura in Sep 1170 in Burgos, Castile, Spain. Alfonso (son of Sancho III, King of Nájera, Castile, and Toledo and Blanche of Navarre, Queen of Castile) was born on 11 Nov 1155 in Soría, Castile, Spain; died on 22 Sep 1214; was buried in Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos, Castile, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1167

Notes:

Nicknamed "Lackland".

"With regard to the birthdate of John, there have been disagreements as to the exact date and year, because of discrepancies in the sources. This was recently discussed in detail in Lewis (2002), where the conclusion was reached that 1166 was more likely than 1167. A statement in the early thirteenth century that John received that name because he was born about the time of the feast of St. John (27 December) would, if true, indicate that date as a plausible date of birth [Ex chronico anonymi canonici, ut videtur, Laudensis, RHF 13, 678-9]. However, that source only indicates a birth on about that date ('circa festum S. Johannis natus fuit'), not on it." [Stewart Baldwin, The Henry Project]

For at least part of his upbringing, he was raised in the remarkable household of his father Henry II's justiciar Ranulph de Glanville, along with, among others, the Walter brothers, nephews of Glanville's wife Bertha de Valognes. Theobald Walter would become, under John, chief butler of England and Ireland and the founder of enduring lordships in Munster and Leinster. Hubert Walter would become archbishop of Canterbury, Ranulph de Glanville's successor as justiciar of England, and then, in John's kingship, chancellor of England. Also raised and educated in the same household was Geoffrey fitz Peter, who would become John's justiciar.

Family/Spouse: Clemence. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: (Unknown daughter of William de Warenne). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: (Unknown mistress of King John). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Isabel of Gloucester on 29 Aug 1189 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Isabel (daughter of William fitz Robert and Hawise of Leicester) died on 14 Oct 1217. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Isabel of Angoulême, Queen Consort of England on 24 Aug 1200 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. Isabel (daughter of Adémar and Alix de Courtenay) died on 31 May 1246; was buried in Fontévrault Abbey, near Chinon, Anjou, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]