william the conqueror gray family

These controversies have led to William being seen by some historians either as one of the creators of England's greatness or as inflicting one of the greatest defeats in English history. Marcher Lords. in Northumberland. [83] Harold had taken a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill (present-day Battle, East Sussex), about 6 miles (9.7 kilometres) from William's castle at Hastings. Others, such as H. G. Richardson and G. O. Sayles, see the changes brought about by the Conquest as much less radical than Southern suggests. During the Bretons' flight, rumours swept through the Norman forces that the duke had been killed, but William succeeded in rallying his troops. de Gray, who was in high favor with King Richard I and King John. William I the Conqueror King of England (1028-1087) FamilySearch Conan's death in 1066 further secured William's borders in Normandy. worldwide traders. had two sons, both named John. Although Orderic Vitalis describes it as starting with a quarrel between Robert and his two younger brothers, William and Henry, including a story that the quarrel was started when William and Henry threw water at Robert, it is much more likely that Robert was feeling powerless. He died in September 1087 while leading a campaign in northern France, and was buried in Caen. Suffolk, all of that surname derived from the honor and Castle of Gray, The funeral, attended by the bishops and abbots of Normandy as well as his son Henry, was disturbed by the assertion of a citizen of Caen who alleged that his family had been illegally despoiled of the land on which the church was built. The lands around Rouen became the core of the later duchy of Normandy. The first being that about 5 million people are descended from William the Conqueror so establishing myself as the true heir to the British throne could be tricky. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. town report or directory are about all there is. [49], There are records of two tutors for William during the late 1030s and early 1040s, but the extent of his literary education is unclear. So I'm related to William the Conqueror - and David Cameron [109] Ralph was at least part Breton and had spent most of his life prior to 1066 in Brittany, where he still had lands. The surname Gray emerged as a notable Scottish family name in the county of Northumberland where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated with manor and estates in that shire. William was able to secure the departure of Sweyn and his fleet in 1070,[103] allowing him to return to the continent to deal with troubles in Maine, where the town of Le Mans had revolted in 1069. Robert also married his half-sister Bertha to King Philip I of France, who was opposed to Norman power. William I - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help [97], Early in 1069, Edgar the theling rose in revolt and attacked York. Earl Edwin was betrayed by his own men and killed, while William built a causeway to subdue the Isle of Ely, where Hereward the Wake and Morcar were hiding. [71], Harold was crowned on 6 January 1066 in Edward's new Norman-style Westminster Abbey, although some controversy surrounds who performed the ceremony. English resistance had also begun, with Eadric the Wild attacking Hereford and revolts at Exeter, where Harold's mother Gytha was a focus of resistance. A further blow was the death of Queen Matilda on 2 November 1083. themselves in politics, literature, and the learned professions and still The Grays were not restored to their rights and court favor until the [146], William and his wife Matilda had at least nine children. They were among the Pilgrims of New England, the Quakers The town held out for 18 days, and after it fell to William he built a castle to secure his control. By 1060, following a long struggle to establish his throne, his hold on Normandy . An Angevin attack on Maine was defeated in late 1076 or 1077, with Count Fulk le Rechin wounded in the unsuccessful attack. [41], One factor in William's favour was his marriage to Matilda of Flanders, the daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders. By Easter, William was at Winchester, where he was soon joined by his wife Matilda, who was crowned in May 1068. There were farmers, fishermen and tradesmen. William responded swiftly, ignoring a continental revolt in Maine, and symbolically wore his crown in the ruins of York on Christmas Day 1069. and enlisted the sympathies of the world. [73][m] King Harald Hardrada of Norway also had a claim to the throne as the uncle and heir of King Magnus I, who had made a pact with Harthacnut in about 1040 that if either Magnus or Harthacnut died without heirs, the other would succeed. Gray Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History Medieval writers criticised William for his greed and cruelty, but his personal piety was universally praised by contemporaries. captured Reginald. [121], Sources for William's actions between 1082 and 1084 are meagre. from Rollo (born 860 A.D.). http://members.aol.com/rinewpor/famhist.html. Wikimedia Commons. England was divided into shires or counties, which were further divided into either hundreds or wapentakes. died January 1, 1515. [2] William then marched to Southwark, across the Thames from London, which he reached in late November. [144] The historian Eleanor Searle describes William's invasion as "a plan that no ruler but a Scandinavian would have considered". [e] His mother Herleva was a daughter of Fulbert of Falaise; he may have been a tanner or embalmer. Ralph also requested Danish aid. He enjoyed excellent health until old age, although he became quite fat in later life. Who Was The Real William The Conqueror? - YouTube Although this was William's first defeat in battle, it did little to change things. Another Tiverton Gray, Pardon Gray was active during the war also. Next, he led his forces around the south and west of London, burning along the way. [2], There is no evidence of any illegitimate children born to William. By the time of William's death in 1087, around 500 castles had been built across England and Wales. To deal with Norman affairs, William put the government of Normandy into the hands of his wife for the duration of the invasion. Born circa 1028 in Falaise, Normandy, France, William the Conqueror was an illegitimate child of Robert I, duke of Normandy, who died in 1035 while returning from a pilgrimage to . Six of the names in the John Gray He was the second of a series of incidents that brought about the Boston Massacre later that Members of the Gray or de Gray family later ride with William the Conqueror to defeat the Brittish at the Battle of Hastings(1066). He then proceeded to buy off the Danes. Towns were listed separately. [2] Orderic Vitalis records that William tried to learn to read Old English late in life, but he was unable to devote sufficient time to the effort and quickly gave up. Although a mere two or three days' ride away at Abbeville, Robert did not attend William's deathbed or funeral. Famous Descendants of William the Conqueror of England Gilbert was killed within months, and another guardian, Turchetil, was also killed around the time of Gilbert's death. William also required his newly created magnates to contribute fixed quotas of knights towards not only military campaigns but also castle garrisons. [67] Some sources claim that Harold took part in William's Breton campaign of 1064 and swore to uphold William's claim to the English throne at the end of the campaign,[65] but no English source reports this trip, and it is unclear if it actually occurred. support the effort with food, money and work in recruiting and organization. The soldier took offense and went at Sam William's son Robert, still allied with the French king, appears to have been active in stirring up trouble, enough so that William led an expedition against the French Vexin in July 1087. [139], William's grave is currently marked by a marble slab with a Latin inscription dating from the early 19th century. He celebrated Christmas at Winchester and dealt with the aftermath of the rebellion. Mary was the widow of King Louis XII of France, who had [57], In 1051 the childless King Edward of England appears to have chosen William as his successor. The Gray family history is a long and distinguished one. [126], At first, most of the newly settled Normans kept household knights and did not settle their retainers with fiefs of their own, but gradually these household knights came to be granted lands of their own, a process known as subinfeudation. William I (c. 1028 - 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman monarch of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087.A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. It was said that Walter, William's maternal uncle, was occasionally forced to hide the young duke in the houses of peasants,[23] although this story may be an embellishment by Orderic Vitalis. Norwich was besieged and surrendered, with the garrison allowed to go to Brittany. 2, 1589 and married on October 6, 1606 to Elizabeth Ward. Edgar, having lost much of his support, fled to Scotland,[98] where King Malcolm III was married to Edgar's sister Margaret. William's government blended elements of the English and Norman systems into a new one that laid the foundations of the later medieval English kingdom. Richilde proposed marriage to William fitzOsbern, who was in Normandy, and fitzOsbern accepted. Several unsuccessful rebellions followed, but William's hold was mostly secure on England by 1075, allowing him to spend the greater part of his reign in continental Europe. This lone relic was reburied in 1642 with a new marker, which was replaced 100 years later with a more elaborate monument. [38] William met the invasion by dividing his forces into two groups. William was the son of the Norman Duke Robert the Magnificent and the unnamed daughter of a tanner. William I, the first Norman King of England, ascended to the throne in 1066 shortly after the death of his second cousin, Edward the Confessor. It was during this exile that Edward offered the throne to William. by purchase from the Indians. [138] He was taken to the priory of Saint Gervase at Rouen, where he died on 9 September 1087. [33] Geoffrey attempted to expand his authority into the county of Maine, especially after the death of Hugh IV of Maine in 1051. [107] He left England in the hands of his supporters, including Richard fitzGilbert and William de Warenne,[108] as well as Lanfranc. Henry led the main thrust through the county of vreux, while the other wing, under the king's brother Odo, invaded eastern Normandy. He overthrew the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold II, to seize the throne, earning the title William the Conqueror. It resulted in a work now known as the Domesday Book. coin. [9][g] Robert I also had a daughter, Adelaide, by another mistress. There were other potential claimants, including the powerful English earl Harold Godwinson, whom Edward named as king on his deathbed in January 1066. Mortemer thus marked another turning point in William's growing control of the duchy,[39] although his conflict with the French king and the Count of Anjou continued until 1060. It appears that the Gray family was from Harwich, Essex, as a John and Family legend says that he and brother [3] Normandy may have been used as a base when Scandinavian attacks on England were renewed at the end of the 10th century, which would have worsened relations between England and Normandy. if you have any questions, please e-mail Rodney Gray at "wyarg 'at' juno dot com". At first, Alan of Brittany had custody of the duke, but when Alan died in either late 1039 or October 1040, Gilbert of Brionne took charge of William. [94] Both men were also named to earldoms fitzOsbern to Hereford (or Wessex) and Odo to Kent. [2] She later married Herluin de Conteville, with whom she had two sons Odo of Bayeux and Count Robert of Mortain and a daughter whose name is unknown. at Salem, Boston, Plymouth and Yarmouth and in the provinces of Connecticut William, son of Ellery, who were obscure, possibly intentionally leaving This could have been either the When he died in June, 1681, he left the largest estate The tragic fate of their daughter, Lady Jane Gray, [54] The duke travelled constantly around the duchy, confirming charters and collecting revenues. [2] At an ecclesiastical council held in Lillebonne in 1080, he was confirmed in his ultimate authority over the Norman church. of Croy. The second, which included some who became William's firm supporters, such as Robert, Count of Eu, Walter Giffard, Roger of Mortemer, and William de Warenne, faced the other invading force. [61] By 1050, however, relations between the king and the earl had soured, culminating in a crisis in 1051 that led to the exile of Godwin and his family from England. 1. life and of her heroic death will long illuminate the pages of one of the to that King, receiving possessions in Roufield shire of Roxburgh. Some appear to have been reluctant to take up lands in a kingdom that did not always appear pacified. These dates would [112] Roger was a Norman, son of William fitzOsbern, but had inherited less authority than his father held. Dorset branch of the Gray family. [20] The support given to the exiled English princes in their attempt to return to England in 1036 shows that the new duke's guardians were attempting to continue his father's policies,[2] but Archbishop Robert's death in March 1037 removed one of William's main supporters, and conditions in Normandy quickly descended into chaos. Ecclesiastical offices continued to be held by the same bishops as before the invasion, including the uncanonical Stigand. Sam is supposed to be buried at the old Granery Burying Ground near He escaped and, by traveling Then the king returned to Normandy late in 1068. [63] No English source mentions a supposed embassy by Archbishop Robert to William conveying the promise of the succession, and the two Norman sources that mention it, William of Jumiges and William of Poitiers, are not precise in their chronology of when this visit took place. It is to be presumed [131], After 1066, William did not attempt to integrate his separate domains into one unified realm with one set of laws. According to the historian David Bates, this probably means that little of note happened, and that because William was on the continent, there was nothing for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to record. This second force defeated the invaders at the Battle of Mortemer. The family of Gray or Grey, says Burke in his peerages, claims descent The Vexin was a buffer state between Normandy and the lands of the French king, and Simon had been a supporter of William. The first, which he led, faced Henry. After further military efforts, William was crowned king on Christmas Day, 1066, in London. [128] William granted some lands to his continental followers from the holdings of one or more specific Englishmen; at other times, he granted a compact grouping of lands previously held by many different Englishmen to one Norman follower, often to allow for the consolidation of lands around a strategically placed castle. From the Charleton family it passed by marriage in 1421 to John Grey. Holland, in 1622. The difficulties over the succession led to a loss of authority in Normandy, with the aristocracy regaining much of the power they had lost to the elder William. [106], William returned to England to release his army from service in 1073 but quickly returned to Normandy, where he spent all of 1074. William Conqueror Family Tree With Complete Detail [109] William returned to England later in 1075 to deal with the Danish threat, leaving his wife Matilda in charge of Normandy. In 1066, following the death of Edward the Confessor, William invaded England, leading an army of Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest. The listing for each county gives the holdings of each landholder, grouped by owners. [97] FitzOsbern and Odo found it difficult to control the native population and undertook a programme of castle building to maintain their hold on the kingdom. [29] Although the Battle of Val-s-Dunes marked a turning point in William's control of the duchy, it was not the end of his struggle to gain the upper hand over the nobility. The list below shows descent from William the Conqueror (see Descendants of William I of England for another list). Waltheof, the earl of Northumbria, although one of William's favourites, was also involved, and there were some Breton lords who were ready to rebel in support of Ralph and Roger. William then moved to Hastings, a few miles to the east, where he built a castle as a base of operations. His marriage in the 1050s to Matilda of Flanders provided him with a powerful ally in the neighbouring county of Flanders. Two further Norman retreats were feigned, to once again draw the English into pursuit and expose them to repeated attacks by the Norman cavalry. There were apparently no Grays on the Mayflower. [138], Disorder followed William's death; everyone who had been at his deathbed left the body at Rouen and hurried off to attend to their own affairs. Most leave the usual trail. [60], Count Herbert II of Maine died in 1062, and William, who had betrothed his eldest son Robert to Herbert's sister Margaret, claimed the county through his son. Tostig appears to have received little local support, and further raids into Lincolnshire and near the River Humber met with no more success, so he retreated to Scotland, where he remained for a time. A John Gray was buried May 28, 1658. Robert raided into Lothian and forced Malcolm to agree to terms, building a fortification (the 'new castle') at Newcastle upon Tyne while returning to England. Robert was accused by some writers of killing Richard, a plausible but now unprovable charge. He did not try to integrate his domains into one empire but continued to administer each part separately. Most of the lands of the New Forest are poor agricultural lands, and archaeological and geographic studies have shown that it was likely sparsely settled when it was turned into a royal forest. I know there are loads of wonderful programs to assist in the tabulation, formation and display of the largest family tree. Walcher was killed on 14 May 1080, and the king dispatched his half-brother Odo to deal with the rebellion. Following his arrival back on the continent he married his daughter Constance to Duke Alan of Brittany, in furtherance of his policy of seeking allies against the French kings. near the throne. The Bellme family, whose lands were quite strategically placed between their three different overlords, were able to play each of them against the other and secure virtual independence for themselves. Whatever Edward's wishes, it was likely that any claim by William would be opposed by Godwin, Earl of Wessex, a member of the most powerful family in England. at night, was able to get to the coast and over to France where he got Although he led an expedition into Maine, the result was instead a negotiated settlement arranged by a papal legate. William the Conqueror - Ancestry.com By 1060, following a long struggle to establish his throne, his hold on Normandy was secure. [54] To oversee his expanded domain, William was forced to travel even more than he had as duke. [122] In 1082 William ordered the arrest of his half-brother Odo. After a long effort, the duke succeeded in exiling Guy in 1050. Edward had no heir, but requested William to be his heir apparent to the throne. King Philip of France later relieved the siege and defeated William at the Battle of Dol in 1076, forcing him to retreat back to Normandy. The listings describe the holding, who owned the land before the Conquest, its value, what the tax assessment was, and usually the number of peasants, ploughs, and any other resources the holding had. In the 1050s and early 1060s, William became a contender for the throne of England held by the childless Edward the Confessor, his first cousin once removed. [5], Danish raids on England continued, and thelred sought help from Richard, taking refuge in Normandy in 1013 when King Swein I of Denmark drove thelred and his family from England. was too old to go to war, but he used his extensive farm and fortune to They were John, Elizabeth, Edward, Sarah, Thomas and Rebecca. land company which eventually formed Tiverton and Little Compton, RI. [64] William appointed a Norman to the bishopric of Le Mans in 1065. After entrusting England to his second son, the elder William sent the younger William back to England on 7 or 8 September, bearing a letter to Lanfranc ordering the archbishop to aid the new king. [120] William also visited Wales in 1081, although the English and the Welsh sources differ on the exact purpose of the visit. Also, in England, no other coinage was allowed, while on the continent other coinage was considered legal tender. Its effect, though, was to destabilise Brittany, forcing the duke, Conan II, to focus on internal problems rather than on expansion. Gray Family History - Brigham Young University [78] William of Poitiers also relates that the duke obtained the consent of Pope Alexander II for the invasion, along with a papal banner. Modern historians have come to the conclusion that the New Forest depopulation was greatly exaggerated. This would have been considered tampering with the king's authority over his vassals, which William would not have tolerated. The chronicler also claimed that the duke secured the support of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and King Sweyn II of Denmark. William placed supporters in charge of these new fortifications among them William Peverel at Nottingham and Henry de Beaumont at Warwick. 2. The remaining earls Edwin (of Mercia), Morcar (of Northumbria), and Waltheof (of Northampton) were confirmed in their lands and titles. Edward IV married Elizabeth Gray, the widow of Sir John [142], The impact on England of William's conquest was profound; changes in the Church, aristocracy, culture, and language of the country have persisted into modern times. [115], In late 1077 or early 1078 trouble began between William and his eldest son, Robert. that Edward and Thomas were to inherit. Valiant service during a 1066 expedition to England with William the Conqueror earned the Grays high position in political circles. [117] William's forces were forced to lift the siege, and the king returned to Rouen. His lands were divided after his death: Normandy went to Robert, and England went to his second surviving son, William Rufus. [2] William assumed power in Normandy, and shortly after the battle promulgated the Truce of God throughout his duchy, in an effort to limit warfare and violence by restricting the days of the year on which fighting was permitted. The information that follows was researched and kindly provided by Rodney of the same family, which had emigrated to this country and made their 10711087)", "Robert, duke of Normandy (b. in or after 1050, d. 1134)", "Les femmes dans l'histoire du duch de Normandie (Women in the history of ducal Normandy)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_the_Conqueror&oldid=1152709080, This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 21:01. [16][17][h] He enjoyed the support of his great-uncle, Archbishop Robert, as well as King Henry I of France, enabling him to succeed to his father's duchy. Roger was unable to leave his stronghold in Herefordshire because of efforts by Wulfstan, the Bishop of Worcester, and thelwig, the Abbot of Evesham. Before he became a monk, Simon handed his county of the Vexin over to King Philip. [82] Although Harold attempted to surprise the Normans, William's scouts reported the English arrival to the duke. [55] Most of the income came from the ducal lands, as well as from tolls and a few taxes. The soldier The corpse was too large for the space, and when attendants forced the body into the tomb it burst, spreading a disgusting odour throughout the church. During his childhood and adolescence, members of the Norman aristocracy battled each other, both for control of the child duke, and for their own ends. William was unhorsed by Robert and was only saved from death by an Englishman, Toki son of Wigod, who was himself killed. The snub may not have been deliberate: he might have . children: Richard, baptized August 1608, buried October 9, 1613. [20], The anarchy in the duchy lasted until 1047,[21] and control of the young duke was one of the priorities of those contending for power. An early documented person was Anchetil de Greye - a vassal of William the Conqueror of Normandy (now part of France) and who accompan. Although Simon was a supporter of William, the Vexin was actually under the overlordship of King Philip, which is why Philip secured control of the county when Simon became a monk. John Gray was married before going to Stapleford, and In 1058, William invaded the County of Dreux and took Tillires-sur-Avre and Thimert. of Gray have sprung, (IV) William de Grey and (V) Henry de Grey. Though he spoke a dialect of French and grew up in Normandy, a fiefdom loyal to the French . The English dead, who included some of Harold's brothers and his housecarls, were left on the battlefield. He made arrangements for the governance of England in early 1067 before returning to Normandy. Hereward escaped, but Morcar was captured, deprived of his earldom, and imprisoned. His The story of her pure and beautiful William's final years were marked by difficulties in his continental domains, troubles with his son, Robert, and threatened invasions of England by the Danes. Edward was ailing, and he died on 5 January 1066. . [52] William's main hobby appears to have been hunting. France in the 9th century with his Norwegian followers and established The trouble in 1077 or 1078 resulted in Robert leaving Normandy accompanied by a band of young men, many of them the sons of William's supporters. Birth, marriage and death Henry was still a minor, however, and Sweyn was more likely to support Harold, who could then help Sweyn against the Norwegian king, so these claims should be treated with caution. [f] One of Herleva's brothers, Walter, became a supporter and protector of William during his minority. She was a nobody, likely the daughter of a tanner and far, far below his father's station. of Hastings, and was recorded in the Domesday Book (a record complied by The historian Eleanor Searle speculates that William was raised with the three cousins who later became important in his career William fitzOsbern, Roger de Beaumont, and Roger of Montgomery. [62] Godwin returned from exile in 1052 with armed forces, and a settlement was reached between the king and the earl, restoring the earl and his family to their lands and replacing Robert of Jumiges, a Norman whom Edward had named Archbishop of Canterbury, with Stigand, the Bishop of Winchester. Earl of Kent, Chief of the ancient and illustrious house of Gray, so dignified The name has various spellings and includes GRAY and GREY - sometimes different spellings occur in the same generation of a single family.The first Gray to arrive in the United States was John Gray in about 1620.The origins of the name would seem to be multiple. [105] William then turned his attention to the continent, returning to Normandy in early 1073 to deal with the invasion of Maine by Fulk le Rechin, the Count of Anjou. The exact reasons are unclear, as no contemporary author recorded what caused the quarrel between the half-brothers. All the English counties south of the River Tees and River Ribble are included, and the whole work seems to have been mostly completed by 1 August 1086, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that William received the results and that all the chief magnates swore the Salisbury Oath, a renewal of their oaths of allegiance. In that year he gave Rhuthun to Reginald de Grey. For example, England continued the use of writs, which were not known on the continent. [7][c], William was born in 1027 or 1028 at Falaise, Duchy of Normandy, most likely towards the end of 1028. [2] Even after the younger William's death in 1100 and the succession of his youngest brother Henry as king, Normandy and England remained contested between the brothers until Robert's capture by Henry at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. [133][u] Government was still centred on William's household; when he was in one part of his realms, decisions would be made for other parts of his domains and transmitted through a communication system that made use of letters and other documents. all apparently descended from one parent stock and one origin. Norsemen first began raiding in what became Normandy in the late 8th century. According to stories that may have legendary elements, an attempt was made to seize William at Valognes, but he escaped under cover of darkness, seeking refuge with King Henry. The Grays were closely allied with the Royal house of England and were . who reigned briefly as an unwilling Queen, has attracted the attention
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