Simon II de Senlis

Notes:

Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton.

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

His career was complicated by rivalry with the Scottish royal house over the honour of Huntingdon, the inheritance of his mother, Maud. He was a minor when his father died between 1111 and 1113, and custody of the estate, with the rank of earl, passed to Maud's second husband, David, future king of Scots. Following Maud's death in 1131, by which date Senlis had reached his majority, King David remained in control, despite Senlis's demands for justice. King Stephen then recognized Henry, son of David and Maud, as earl of Huntingdon in 1136 and again in 1139; and although Senlis had probably held the honour and earldom during Henry's temporary forfeiture (January 1138 – April 1139), it was only on the final collapse of Stephen's Scottish diplomacy in the summer of 1141 that his claims were fully realized. His comital standing remains a source of much confusion. The argument that in 1136 Northampton was 'detached from the earldom of Huntingdon and made a separate earldom for Simon' is difficult to accept. (Some modern authorities have even seen him as an earl of Northumberland — he was never such.) His earliest known appearance as earl of Northampton occurs in 1138 or early in 1139; and the evidence suggests that 'Northampton' and 'Huntingdon' were alternative names for the same earldom, which normally, though not invariably, also embraced Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. One of Stephen's foremost adherents, Senlis fought at the battle of Lincoln on 2 February 1141, and was a commander of the victorious royalist army at Winchester the following September. His comital authority extended over Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, and Bedfordshire, and within the first two shires he exercised regalian rights and assumed full responsibility for county government, clearly at Stephen's bidding. Jocelin of Furness's life of Abbot Waldef of Melrose, Senlis's younger brother, contains important information on his career and character. Henry of Huntingdon believed that he and Eustace, Stephen's eldest son, were the most uncompromising opponents of Henry Plantagenet in 1153, and that peace was possible only because of their sudden deaths. He was a major benefactor of numerous religious institutions, and founded a Cistercian abbey at Sawtry in 1146–7, as well as a Cluniac nunnery, Delapré Abbey. He married Isabella, or Elizabeth, daughter of Robert, earl of Leicester, and was Leicester's named ally in his famous treaty with the earl of Chester c. 1150. He and his wife, who as a widow married Gervase Paynel (d. 1194) of Dudley, had a son and at least one daughter: Simon (III) de Senlis (d. 1184), the last Senlis holder of the earldoms of Northampton and of Huntingdon, and Isabel, who married William Mauduit (d. 1194) of Hanslope. Simon (II) de Senlis died in August 1153 in Northampton and was buried in St Andrew's Priory, Northampton.

Simon married Isabel of Leicester before 1138. Isabel (daughter of Robert of Meulan and Amice de Gael) died after 1190. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Isabel de St. Liz.

Family/Spouse: William Mauduit. William (son of William Mauduit and Alice) was born between 1130 and 1135 in of Hanslope, Buckinghamshire, England; died on 2 Oct 1194; was buried in Waverley Abbey, Surrey, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 22 Jun 1222, of Hartley, Buckinghamshire, England

Notes:

Hereditary Chamberlain of the Exchequer. Joined the barons against John in 1215, but made his piece with Henry III in 1217.

Robert married Isabel Basset before 1194. Isabel (daughter of Thurstan Basset) was born in of Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England; died between 24 Oct 1225 and 11 Dec 1225. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1196, of Hanslope and Hawridge, Buckinghamshire, England
• Alternate death: Bef 15 Feb 1257
• Alternate death: Apr 1257
• Alternate death: 12 Apr 1257

Notes:

Hereditary Chamberlain of the Exchequer. Joined the barons against King John, causing his castle at Hanslope to be taken and destroyed. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Lincoln in 1217. He fought in France in 1242.

William married Alice de Beaumont before 3 Mar 1216. Alice (daughter of Waleran de Beaumont and Alice de Harcourt) was born about 1197 in of Warwick, Warwickshire, England; died between 1246 and 1263. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]