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About William "Longsword"
Robert / Rollo & his wife POPPA, had two children, one of whom was:
GUILLAUME (Rouen [900/05]-murdered Pequigny 17 Dec 942, bur ---, transferred [1064] to Rouen Cathedral[47]). Guillaume de Jumièges records that Rollo captured “Baiocasensem urbem” [Bayeux] along with "nobilissimam puellam...Popam filiam...Berengarii illustris viri" whom he married “more Danico” and by whom he had “Willelmum...filiamque...Gerloc”[48]. However, the Planctus for William Longsword[49], composed shortly after the murder of Guillaume, states that he had a Christian mother of overseas origin. Orderic Vitalis names "Willelmum cognomento Longam-Spatam" as the son of “Rollo dux” by his wife “Berengarium comitem...Popam...filiam eius”[50]. Dudo of Saint-Quentin states that he was born in Rouen and, in a later passage, describes him as a "young man" one year before his father's death[51]. His birth date is estimated based on the estimated birth date of his own son. His father chose him as heir one year before his death[52]. Flodoard records that "filius Rollonis" did homage to ex-king Charles III "le Simple" at "castellum…Auga" in 927[53]. He succeeded his father in [928/33] as GUILLAUME I "Longuespee" Comte [de Normandie]. Flodoard names "Willelmus princeps Nortmannorum" in 933[54]. Dudo of Saint-Quentin records that he quelled a rebellion led by the Viking chief Riulf after the latter besieged Rouen[55]. In return for swearing allegiance to Raoul King of France, Guillaume appears to have been granted rights to further territory along the coast in 933, maybe the Cotentin and Avranchin. If this is correct, it would have created rivalry with the dukes of Brittany. Dudo of Saint-Quentin describes Comte Guillaume's invasion of Brittany shortly after his accession to quell a rebellion against him, and his defeat of the rebels at Bayeux[56]. Responding to raids by Comte Guillaume, Arnoul I Count of Flanders invaded Ponthieu and in 939 captured Montreuil from Herluin Comte de Ponthieu, although it was recaptured by Comte Guillaume's forces. Guillaume of Jumièges records that “Arnulfus Flandrensis comes” captured "castrum...Monasteriolum" from “comiti...Herluino”, who sought help from “Normanniæ dominum” who recaptured the castle for Herluin[57]. In 939, Guillaume joined the alliance against Louis IV King of France which was led by Otto I "der Große" King of Germany who raided Frankish territory. Comte Guillaume, however, met King Louis at Amiens, receiving a confirmation of the grant of his lands in Normandy. Guillaume of Jumièges records that “Arnulfus Flandrensis” tricked "duci Willelmo" into a meeting to settle the dispute concerning Montreuil “apud Pinchiniacum”, where Guillaume was killed by “Henricus necnon Balzo, Robertus quoque atque Ridulphus quatuor diaboli filii” on “XVI Kal Jan” 943[58]. Orderic Vitalis records that "Willelmus dux" was killed in 942 “fraude Arnulphi Flandrensis satrapæ”[59]. The Annalibus Rotomagensibus record that "Willermus dux Normannorum filius Rollonis" was killed "943 XVI Kal Jan"[60]. The Brevis Relatio de Origine Willelmi Conquestoris records that "Rollo et Willelmus filius eius" were buried "apud Rothomagum in ecclesia beatæ Mariæ"[61]. Orderic Vitalis implies that the transfer of his body to Rouen Cathedral took place after the "the ninth year" in office of Archbishop Maurilius, who had succeeded Mauger de Normandie[62], which would date the event to [1064]. [m] firstly SPROTA, daughter of ---. Guillaume of Jumièges records that, after the rebel “Riulfus” was defeated at the battle of "Pratum-belli", a messenger arrived “a...Fiscannensis castri” and reported to Guillaume the birth of his son to “nobilissima puella Danico more sibi iuncta...Sprota”[63]. This passage suggests that Sprota was Count Guillaume's concubine rather than wife, particularly as no reference has been found to a dissolution of any marriage before she married Esperleng or before Guillaume married his second wife. She married Esperleng de Pîtres. Guillaume of Jumièges records that “Richardus I filius Willelmi Longæspatæ...mater eius Sprota” and “Asperlengi” had “filium Rodulphum...et filias plures”[64]. m secondly ([935]%29 as her first husband, LUITGARDIS de Vermandois, daughter of HERIBERT [II] Comte de Vermandois & his wife Adela [Capet] (before 925-14 Nov after 985, bur Chartres, Abbaye de Saint-Père). Rodulfus Glauber refers to the wife of Comte Guillaume as "sororem [Heribertum Trecorum comitem]", specifying that she was childless by her first husband, when recording her second marriage to "Tetbaldus"[65]. Guillaume of Jumièges records the marriage of “Normannorum Dux” and "Herbertus...filiam suam", encouraged by “Hugone Magno”, after the marriage of Guillaume´s sister Gerloc [which would date the marriage to [935] if that report is accurate][66]. She married secondly Thibaut [I] Comte de Blois. "Hugonis ducis, Odonis comitis, Hugonis sanctæ Bituricensis archipræsulis, Letgardis comitissæ, Bertæ comitissæ, Gauzfridi vicecomitis…" subscribed the charter dated 985 under which "Robertus" donated property to "Sancti Petri Carnotensis", on the advice of "Odonem, simul cum sua matre Ledgarde, pariterque dominam meam Bertam, ipsius æque coniugem"[67]. The necrology of Chartres cathedral records the death "XVIII Kal Dec" of "Letgardis comitissa"[68]. Guillaume & his first [wife] had one child:
a) RICHARD (Fécamp [932]-20 Nov 996, bur Fécamp). Guillaume of Jumièges records that, after the rebel “Riulfus” was defeated at the battle of "Pratum-belli", a messenger arrived “a...Fiscannensis castri” and reported the birth of his son to “nobilissima puella Danico more sibi iuncta...Sprota” to Guillaume who ordered him to be sent immediately to “Baiocas...episcopo Henrico” for baptism as “Richardum”[69]. He succeeded his father as RICHARD I "Sans Peur" Comte [de Normandie].
https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMANDY.htm#RobertIdied928
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Longsword
GUILLAUME I "Longuespee" Comte de Normandie
content to clean up
Vilhjalm 'Langaspjót' Hrólfsson (Old Norse) Guillaume 'Longue-Épée' de Normandie (French)
- Parents: Rollo (Gange-Hrolfr) & Poppa
- 1. Wife: Sprota de Senlis
- Child: Richard 'Sans-Peur'
- 2. Wife: Luitgardis de Vermandois
NOTE
Vilhjalm 'Langaspjót' Hrólfsson is the most correct name as it is known that William here spoke Old Norse. French name is the alternative: Guillaume 'Longue-Épée' de Normandie. He was NOT a duke, his son Richard was the first to use that title.
WIKIPEDIA (Eng) William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was count of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
Vilhelm I av Normandie, også kalt for Vilhelm Langsverd på norrønt Vilhjálm Langaspjót, på fransk Guillaume Longue Épée (død 17. desember 942), var jarl av Normandie og sønn av vikinghøvdingen Rollo.
Det er få opplysninger om Vilhelms første år. Den noe tvilsomme kilden Dudo av Saint-Quentin, som skrev Gesta Normannorum (Normannernes historie), forteller at hans mor het «Poppa», at hun var av frankisk opprinnelse, og datter av en ellers ukjent hertug Bérenger. Et Planctus (sørgedikt) skrevet kort tid etter at Vilhelm Langsverd døde nevner ikke morens navn, men at hun var kristen og ble mor av en hedning, til Vilhelm som ble født oversjøisk. En annen kilde bestrider at moren var datter av Bérenger, men isteden var en Papia (Poppa) av Senlis, født i 848.
De noe uklare kildene mener at Vilhelm ikke ble født i Normandie, og da er mulighetene mange: de britiske øyer, Irland, og Norge, eller på en av norrøne øyene som Orknøyene, Hebridene, og Man. Selv om det ikke er urimelig er det ikke sannsynlig om opplysningen om en frankisk mor er riktig. Gange-Rolf var i Normandie på slutten av 880-tallet, og selv om han fortsatt var ute og seilte, synes det som om han har bosatt seg for godt i Normandie etter år 900, omtrent på den tiden som Vilhelm kanskje ble født.
I henhold til sørgediktet ble han døpt som kristen, og han fikk også et frankisk navn, noe som ville ha vært usannsynlig i de norrøne områdene, men tillegget om dåpen kan være en anakronistisk antagelse av poeten.
Vilhelm Langsverd var sønn av Rollo som grunnla et dynasti som skulle ende opp med å erobre England i 1066. På Vilhelms dager var det lite som tydet på dette. Hans jarldømme, som han arvet fra faren rundt 928 (Rollo dør ca 932), besto av et skjørt område sentrert rundt Rouen og neppe lengre vest elven Seine.
Vilhelm kommer inn fra historiens mørke på slutten av 930-tallet. Tilsynelatende hadde han i følge Dudo klart å slå ned et opprør fra normanniske og norrøne bosetningen som mislikte hans føydale tilnærming: En norrøn leder ved navn Riulf (Rolf?) gjør opprør ved å hevde at Vilhelm er blitt for frankisk, at hans hensikt er å berike seg selv og sin ætt og frankiske venner på bekostning av andre. Riulf sender bud om at han krever «alt land opp til Risle». Vilhelm svarer at han ikke kan gi Riulf landet, men tilbyr Riulf medstyre, om enn i navnet. Riulf svarer med å flytte hæren mot Rouen, krysser Seine og slår leir utenfor byen. Vilhelm tilbyr da Riulf land, «ikke bare opp til Risle, men alt hele vegen til Seine». Riulf lukter feighet og avslår tilbudet. Istedenfor for å møte Riulf i åpen kamp overfaller Vilhelm leirplassen i et regelrett snikangrep, dreper for fote og driver Riulf og resten på flukt.
I 939 er Vilhelm involvert i en krig med Arnulf I av Flandern som angikk det frankiske kongedømmet. Vilhelm støttet den frankiske kong Ludvig IV (936-954), sønn av Karl den enfoldige, på en tid da Ludvig var i vanskeligheter. I desember 942 da Vilhelms forhold til kongen var på sitt beste kalte Arnulf på en fredskonferanse med Vilhelm. Under fredssamtalene ble Vilhelm drept av tilhengere av Arnulf, kanskje på befaling av Arnulf selv.
Det forræderiske mordet må ha vært et sjokk på Vilhelms tilhengere. Sørgediktet ble diktet kort tid etter hans død av en ukjent poet, og selv om diktet har overlevd i to utgaver, begge ødelagte og usammenhengende, preget av hagiografi i sitt innhold, men er uansett en viktig kilde for tidlig normannisk historie. Det er det aller første, kjente skrift skrevet om normannere fra deres egen synsvinkel.
Vilhelms sønn Rikard I av Normandie etterfulgte ham som jarl i Normandie.
WIKIPEDIA (fr.) Guillaume Ier de Normandie (av. 910-942), dit Guillaume « Longue-Épée », est le fils naturel de Rollon et de Poppa de Bayeux. Il est considéré comme étant le deuxième duc de Normandie, bien que ce titre n'existe pas encore à cette époque. Il est avant tout jarl des Normands de la Seine.
Le successeur de Rollon Un poème écrit peu après la mort de Guillaume Longue-Épée révèle qu'il est né outre-mer, d'une mère chrétienne et d'un père encore païen. Ce dernier, Rollon, n'était pas à ce moment le jarl de la future Normandie. C'était encore un chef viking qui parcourait les mers à la recherche de quelque terre à piller.
Une fois Rollon installé par le roi Charles le Simple en Normandie (911), Guillaume devenait l'héritier naturel de ce territoire. Dudon de Saint-Quentin explique que vers 927 Rollon n'était plus en état de gouverner. Une assemblée de Normands et de Bretons élit Guillaume à leur tête. À peine élu, il se recommande au roi Charles le Simple.
Il est assez difficile de brosser un portrait du nouveau jarl des Normands de la Seine. En effet, le récit de Dudon de Saint-Quentin, notre principal informateur, tend parfois à l'hagiographie. Néanmoins, il est indiscutable que Guillaume fut un vrai chrétien à la différence de son père. Après 935, il épousa chrétiennement Liégarde, fille d'Herbert II, comte de Vermandois. Le jarl fit différentes donations aux chanoines du Mont-Saint-Michel et restaura l'abbaye de Jumièges dans laquelle il songea à se retirer.
Le principat de Guillaume correspond à une consolidation de la jeune Normandie. Dudon présente le jarl comme un restaurateur de la paix et de l'ordre. Beaucoup plus récemment, Lucien Musset le décrit comme le « principal artisan de la réussite normande. C'est à lui qu'on doit attribuer le succès définitif de la greffe scandinave sur le tronc romano-franc, qui permit à l'État fondé en 911 de traverser victorieusement la crise générale que connut dans les années 940 le monde scandinave d'Occident ». Guillaume et les Bretons
Vers 931, la Bretagne, occupée par les Normands de la Loire, traversait une période délicate. Les Bretons se révoltèrent contre les occupants. Guillaume Longue Épée (appuyé par les Normands de la Loire ?) envahit la Bretagne. Les chefs bretons Alain « Barbe-Torte » et Juhel Bérenger de Rennes furent battus. Le premier fuit outre-Manche ; l'autre se réconcilia avec le Normand.
Mais quelles sont les conséquences de la victoire de Guillaume ? Dudon de Saint-Quentin répète à l'envi que Guillaume Longue Épée était « duc des Normands et des Bretons ». D'ailleurs, on a retrouvé au Mont-Saint-Michel une pièce qui le désigne comme duc des Bretons. Ces derniers apparaissent à plusieurs reprises dans l'entourage du jarl[5]. Comme si la Bretagne faisait désormais partie des terres sous la domination de Guillaume. Plutôt qu'une conquête, Musset suggère un protectorat de la Normandie sur la Bretagne.
En 933, Guillaume rendit hommage au roi Raoul pour « la terre des Bretons située sur le rivage de la mer ». Il ne s'agit pas de la Bretagne car le souverain n'avait plus aucun droit sur ce territoire. Les historiens traduisent habituellement cette concession par le Cotentin et l'Avranchin, régions cédées aux Bretons par un roi carolingien soixante-six ans plus tôt. En 933, la Normandie avait ainsi quasiment atteint son extension définitive.
Toutefois, Karl-Ferdinand Werner prévient que nous n'avons aucune preuve que le deuxième jarl de Rouen maîtrisait effectivement ces confins occidentaux. La concession du roi Raoul - formelle car il ne contrôlait pas lui-même cette partie de la Normandie - invitait surtout Guillaume à soumettre les Bretons du Cotentin et ainsi à les intégrer à son royaume par l'intermédiaire de l'hommage du jarl.
La révolte de Rioulf Vers 934, Guillaume se trouva confronté à une révolte de Normands commandés par Rioulf (Herjólfr). L'origine géographique de la rébellion reste incertaine. Guillaume de Jumièges parle de « l'intérieur de la Normandie ». Le chroniqueur du XIIe siècle Orderic Vital écrit que Rioulf venait de l'Évrecin alors que Lucien Musset pense que les Normands révoltés partaient de l'ouest. Étaient reprochés au jarl son origine franque (par sa mère) et sa politique trop favorable aux Francs. Rioulf conduisit les révoltés jusque sous les murs de Rouen mais Guillaume sortit de la ville et écrasa les adversaires.
L'épisode n'a pas manqué d'être interprété par les historiens. Ils y voient la révolte de Vikings établis dans l'ouest ou au milieu de la Normandie et peu soumis à l'autorité des jarls de Rouen. Bref, cet événement conforterait la thèse d'une Normandie imparfaitement contrôlée par le descendant de Rollon. Rioulf serait l'exemple d'un de ces chefs de bande viking, indépendant du pouvoir de Rouen.
Le guet-apens de Picquigny Avec Arnoul de Flandre, Herbert II de Vermandois et Hugues le Grand, Guillaume faisait partie du petit groupe de princes qui joua un rôle prépondérant dans le nord du royaume. Tantôt alliés, tantôt ennemis, ils soutinrent ou s'opposèrent au roi.
Dans les années 935/40, le jarl épousa chrétiennement Liutgarde de Vermandois, fille d'Herbert II, comte de Vermandois. En 936, selon Dudon de Saint-Quentin, le soutien normand se révèla décisif pour rétablir sur le trône de Francie le prétendant carolingien Louis d'Outremer. Par contre, en 940, Guillaume prit le parti du duc des Francs Hugues le Grand et de Herbert II de Vermandois contre le roi et Arnoul de Flandre. Ils les assista aux sièges de Reims et de Laon, jusqu'à l'obtention d'un accord avec Louis d'Outremer.
L'état des relations entre la Normandie et la Flandre était changeant. En 925, alors que Rollon était encore le jarl des Normands, Arnoul Ier avait pris la forteresse d'Eu mais en 939, Guillaume et lui prêtèrent serment ensemble au roi Otton de Germanie contre le roi des Francs. En 938/939, Herluin, comte de Montreuil, ayant perdu sa ville de Montreuil-sur-Mer, prise par Arnoul Ier, comte de Flandre (et d'Artois), en appela à Guillaume Longue-Épée. Les Normands finirent par intervenir. Selon Richer et Dudon de Saint-Quentin, le jarl de Rouen y combattit personnellement. Montreuil fut reprise en 939. Ayant récupéré son bien, Herluin rendit hommage de fidélité à Guillaume pour le Ponthieu. Les Normands contrôlèrent ainsi la Picardie maritime et contrarièrent de cette façon l'expansion de la principauté flamande vers le sud. La statue funéraire de Guillaume Longue Épée, dans la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen
L'affaire de Montreuil explique peut-être la fin tragique de Guillaume Longue Épée. Le 17 décembre 942, ce dernier est invité par Arnoul de Flandre à une entrevue, manigancée par les principaux princes francs, hostiles à la montée en puissance de la Normandie, au prétexte d'un accord, dans un lieu nommé Picquigny. À peine la paix signée par les deux princes, sur une île de la Somme, il est traîtreusement assassiné, vraisemblablement par Baudoin, fils du comte de Cambrai, sur ordre d'Arnoul Ier.
Ses fidèles récupérèrent son corps. On retrouva sur lui une clef, clef ouvrant un coffre renfermant une bure, la bure des moines. Son tombeau se trouve en la cathédrale de Rouen.
Famille et descendance Parents :
* Rollon, premier jarl des Normands de Rouen
* Popa, fille de Bérenger II de Neustrie ou de Guy de Senlis
Femmes :
* Liégarde, fille Herbert II, comte de Vermandois. Mariage chrétien, sans descendance. Veuve, elle se remarie avec Thibaud le Tricheur, comte de Blois
* Sprota, bretonne épousée more danico ("à la manière danoise"), mariée ensuite à Esperlenc.
==links==
- http://www.friesian.com/flanders.htm#norman
- http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00020058&tree=LEO
Sœur :
* Gerloc (Adèle), épouse de Guillaume Tête d'Étoupe, comte de Poitou.
Enfants :
* Richard Ier de Normandie
Notes et références
1. ↑ nommé Viljâlmr Langaspjôt dans les sagas scandinaves
2. ↑ La Complainte de Guillaume Longue Épée
3. ↑ Pour l'historien anglais D. C. Douglas, Rollon était probablement mort. C. D. Douglas, « Rollo of Normandy », The English Historical Review, vol. 57, n°228, oct. 1942, p434-435.
4. ↑ Lucien Musset, « Naissance de la Normandie », Michel de Bouärd (dir.), Histoire de la Normandie, Privat, Toulouse, 1970, p.109
5. ↑ Pour faire reconnaître son fils Richard Ier de Normandie, Guillaume « appela auprès de lui tous les chefs normands et bretons ». Guillaume de Jumièges, Histoire des Normands, Livre III, éd. Guizot, 1826, p.71. Lorsque Guillaume fut assassiné, les chefs bretons Alain « Barbe-Torte » et Juhel Bérenger de Rennes l'accompagnaient
6. ↑ Karl-Ferdinand Werner, « Quelques observations au sujet des débuts du duché de Normandie. Droits privés et institutions régionales », in Droit privé et Institutions régionales. Études historiques offertes à Jean Yver, Paris, PUF, 1976, p.701
7. ↑ Guillaume de Jumièges, ibid, p.62
8. ↑ Lucien Musset, ibid, p.109
9. ↑ Pierre Bauduin, la Première Normandie (Xe-XIe siècle), Presses Universitaires de Caen, 2002, p.80
William, surnamed Longa Spatha, Long sword, Duke of Normandy, had been carefully educated by the priests. His height was majestic, his features beautiful, his complexion being pure and delicate as a maiden's, his strength gigantic. He married Adela, daughter of Hubert. Count of Senlis. (Kin of Mellcene Thurman Smith, page 278)
Notes for William "Longsword" Of Normandy Duke Of Normandy Per Weis' "Ancestral Roots . . ." (121E:19): "WILLIAM I, "Longsword", b. ca. 891, prob. Rouen, ca. 927 succ. to Duchy of Normandy, ca. 930 the Bretons rebelled, he subdued them, taking Brittany, the Channel Islands, the Contentin, and the Averanchin; killed in treacherous ambush 17 Dec. 942 by servants of THEOBALD OF BLOIS (RIN 1645) and ARNULF OF FLANDERS (RIN 2173) 17 dec 942. ... He m. (1) (Danish wife) SPROTA, a Breton; m. (2) LUITGARDE DE VERMANDOIS ..., n.i., killed 942 by LOUIS, s. of CHARLES III "the Simple:, dau. HERBERT II, Count of Vermandois and Troyes. " Also mentioned (49:19).
Stuart's "Royalty For Commoners" (166:34).
It is interesting to note that THEOBALD later married William's widow, LUITGARDE and that ARNULF married LUITGARDE's sister, ALIX.
Per Rosamond McKitterick's, "The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians 751-987", London & NY (Longman) 1983, p 238: "William Longsword, ROLLO's son and successor, was the principal architect of Normandy's development. He married the daughter of HERBERT OF VERMANDOIS but his children were born of a Breton concubine. William had supported LOUIS IV (RIN 1617) and attempted to establish his protection over Brittany, gaining at least the Cotentin and Avranchin in 933. There remains some doubt about William's claim to the whole Breton peninsula. When in 942 William was murdered at the instigation of COUNT ARNULF OF FLANDERS, his son Richard, still a minor, succeeded him."
[source unrecorded]: ROLLO died in 927, and was succeeded by his son William "Long Sword" born of his union 'more danico' with POPPA, daughter of COUNT BERENGER; he showed some attachment to the Scandinavian language, for he sent his son William to Bayeux to learn Norse. The first two dukes also displayed a certain fidelity to the Carolingian dynasty of France, and in 936 William "Long-Sword" did homage to LOUIS IV d'Outremer. He died on 17th of December 942, assassinated by the COUNT OF FLANDERS.
Quoted from the book, "Life in a Medieval Castle" by Joseph and Frances Gies. "William Longsword, ancestor of William the Conqueror, on succeeding his father as Duke of Normandy in 927, "committed him self into the King's hands," according to the chronicler Richer, and "promised him fealty and confirmed it with an oath."
http://genealogy.wikia.com/wiki/William_Longsword,_2nd_Duke_of_Normandy_(893-942) http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/documents/planctus/planctus/Sources.html
[S03660] thePeerage.com. William I 'Longsword' de Normandie, 2nd Duc de Normandie1 (M) b. circa 900, d. 17 December 942, #104762 Pedigree Last Edited=15 Jun 2003 William I 'Longsword' de Normandie, 2nd Duc de Normandie was the son of Robert of Norway Ragnvaldsson, 1st Duc de Normandie and Poppa of Normandy de Valois.1 He was born circa 900. He married Luitgarda de Vermandois in 935.1 He died on 17 December 942 murdered.1 He gained the title of 2nd Duc de Normandie in 932.1 Children of William I 'Longsword' de Normandie, 2nd Duc de Normandie and Sprota of Senlis: Raoul d'Ivry Richard I de Normandie, 3rd Duc de Normandie+ b. 933, d. 20 Nov 996 Citations [S106] Royal Genealogies Website (ROYAL92.GED), online . Hereinafter cited as Royal Genealogies Website.
http://jliptrap.us/gen/Charlemagne.htm
Sprota de Vermandois married Duke Guillaume "Longue Epee" (William Longsword) (900-942) son of Duke Rollo Rognvaldsson and Duchess Poppa de Valois
http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/documents/planctus/planctus/index.html The Planctus William Longsword was the son of Rollo, founder of the Rollonid dynasty that would become dukes of Normandy and after 1066, kings of England. In William's day, however, the Rollonid principality was still a fragile entity centered around Rouen and, in terms of Realpolitik, not extending far west of the Seine. Most of William's career was spent in relative obscurity, but in the late 930s he suddenly emerged onto the stage of Frankish royal politics, first because of his war with Arnulf of Flanders, and then because of his support for King Louis IV (d'Outremer) at a time when Louis' star seemed to be fading. In December 942, at the peak of his good relations with Louis, Arnulf called for a peace conference with William; there, William was murdered (traditionally, Arnulf is said to have arranged the murder; some day I will argue that he did not). A Planctus (mourning poem) was composed probably shortly after; Jules Lair suggests plausibly if not definitively that it was in 943. (Catalog references: Chevalier 10576; Walther 10205; Schaller & Ewald Könsgen 8813; Yearley L81.) This poem, although it survives only in corrupt and incomplete versions and is largely hagiographic in content, nevertheless is a critical source for early Norman history. It is by far the earliest work written about the Normans from a Norman point of view, and some historical nuggets can be gleaned from it.
Jarl de los normandos del Sena. Un poema escrito poco después de que muriera Guillermo I pone de manifiesto que éste nació en ultramar, de una madre cristiana y de un padre que era, todavía, pagano. Éste último Rollon no era, en aquel momento el Jarl de la futura Normandía. Era todavía un jefe vikingo que recorría los mares a la búsqueda de algunas tierras susceptibles de ser saqueadas.
Una vez instalado por Carlos el Simple en Normandía (911), Guillermo pasó a ser el heredero natural de este territorio.
(French Wikipedia states: A poem written shortly after the death of William Longsword revealed him to have been born overseas to a Christian mother and a father who was still a pagan. The latter was Rollo, who was not at the time yet the Jarl of future Normandy. He was still a Viking chief who traveled the seas in search of lands to plunder.)
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927.
(French Wikipedia states: Once King Rollo had been installed in Normandy by Charles the simple in 911, Guillaume became the natural heir of the territory. Duda of St-Quentin said that Rollo was no longer able to govern in 927. A meeting of Normans and Bretons elected William as their head. At his election he was recommended by King Charles the Simple.)
It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure.
(French Wikipedia states: It is quite difficult to paint a portrait of the new Jarl of the Normans of the Seine. Indeed, the story painted by Dudo of St-Quentin, our main informant, sometimes has a tendency to be a hagiography. However, it is undeniable that William was a real Christian, unlike his father. After 935 he married Liegard Christian, daughter of Herbert II, Comte de Vermandois. The Jarl made various donations to the canons of Mont-St-Michel and restored the Abbey Jumieges, in which he thought of retiring.)
(William as prince represented the consolidation of the newly-created Normandy. Dudo called this Jarl a restorer of peace and order. Much more recently, Lucien Musset described him as a "principal architect of the success of Normandy. To him we must attribute the ultimate success of this Scandinavian graft on the trunk of Roman France, which allowed the state to be founded in 911 that successfully crossed the general crisis that gripped in 940 both Scandinavia and the world of the West.")
(Around 931, Brittany was occupied by Normans from the Loire, and going through a difficult period. The Bretons rebelled against their occupiers. William Longsword, perhaps supported by the Normans of the Loire, invaded Brittany. The Breton chiefs Alan Barbetorte and Juhel Berenger of Rennes were defeated. Alan fled across the Channel while Juhel Berenger reconciled with the Normans.)
(But what were the consequences of William's victory? Dudo of St-Quentin repeated that William Longsword was the "Duke of the Normans and the Bretons." Moreover, Mont-Saint-Michel wrote a peace that described him as the Duke of Brittany. The entourage of the Jarl appears repeatedly as if Brittany were already a part of the lands under William's rule. Rather than a conquest, Musset suggests that Brittany was a Norman protectorate.)
(In 933, William paid tribute to King Raoul for "the land of the Bretons located on the shore of the sea." This was not Brittany, because the sovereign had no further claim on that territory. Historians usually consider this the concession by Cotentin and Avranches, areas ceded to the Bretons by a Carolingian king 66 years earlier. In 933, Normandy had almost reached its maximum extension.)
(However, Karl Ferdinand Werner warned that we have no evidence that the second Duke of Normandy actually mastered his western borders. The charter of King Raoul - for a land not under his formal control in Normandy - William especially invited to submit Cotentin and Brittany, and to integrate them into his kingdom through the tribute of the Jarl.)
(In 934, William faced a revolt led by a Norman named Rioulf, or Herjolfr. The geographic start of this rebellion remains uncertain. William Jumieges spoke of it being "inside Normandy." A writer of the12th century Orderic Vitalis wrote of Rioulf's rebellion that it began in Evrecin, while Lucien Musset thinks the rebels were from beyond the Norman west. The Jarl appeared to have gone over too much to his Frankish origins through his mother and his policy seemed too favorable to the Franks. Rioulf led rebels under the walls of Rouen, but William left the city and crushed his opponents.)
(The episode did not fail to be interpreted by historians. They saw the revolt of the Vikings settled in the west or middle of Normandy, and considered them resistant to the authority of the Jarls of Rouen. In short, this event would consolidate the position of Normandy, imperfectly controlled by the descendants of Rollo. Rioulf was an example of one of the Viking ringleaders that were independent of Rouen.)
In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV.
He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
French Wikipedia section on the Ambush of Picquigny
Along with Arnulf of Flanders, Herbert II of Vermandois, and Hugh the Great, William was among the small group of princes who played a leading role in the northern kingdom. Sometimes as allies, sometimes as enemies, they supported and opposed the King.
In the year 935/940, the Jarl married Christian Liutgard of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert II, Comte de Vermandois. In 936, according to Dudo of St-Quentin, this support proved decisive for Normandy during the reign of the Carolingian pretender to Francia Louis d'Outremer. In 940, William joined the Duke of Franks Hugh the Great and Herbert II of Vermandois against the King and Arnulf of Flanders. They occupied Rheims and Laon until they could get an agreement with Louis d'Outremer.
The state of relations between Normandy and Flanders was changing. In 925, while Rollo was still the Jarl of Normandy, Arnulf I had taken the fortress of Eu, but in 939, William took an oath to Otto, King of All Germany, against the King of the Franks. In 938/939, Herluin, Comte de Montreuil, having lost the city of Montreuil-sur-Mer to Arnulf I, Comte de Flandres (and Artois) appealed to William Longsword. The Normans finally intervened. According to Richer and Dudo of St-Quentin, the Duke of Normandy fought there personally. Montreuil was restored in 939. Having recovered his property, Herluin praised the loyalty of William de Ponthieu. The Normans controlled maritime Picardie and thwarted the expansion of Flandres to the south.
The situation in Montreuil serves as the background of the tragic death of William Longsword. On December 17, 942, he was requested by Arnulf of Flanders, the main Frankish prince hostile to the rise of Normandy, to meet on the pretext of working out a peace treaty in a place called Picquigny. Just as the treaty was signed by the two princes on an island in the Somme River, he was treacherously murdered, presumably by Baldwin, son of the Comte de Cambrai, on orders from Arnold I.
His followers recovered his body. They found on him a key for opening a chest containing a hair-shirt, a garment for monnks. His tomb is in the Cathedral of Rouen.
Family and Children:
His parents were Rollo, first Norman Jarl of Rouen, and Poppa, daughter of Berengar II of Neustria or Guy of Senlis
Wives
Liegard, daughter of Herbert II, Comte de Vermandois. Christian marriage, childless. Widowed, she married Theobold the Cheater, Comte de Blois
Sprot of Brittany, married "more danico" (in the Danish style). Later she married Esperlenc.
Sister
Gerloc (Adele), wife of William the Towhead, Comte de Poitou (OUR ANCESTOR)
Children
Richard I of Normandy
- William Longsword Duke of Normandy born 0876 Normandie, Neustria died 0942 France
father:
- Rollo "the Dane"(Hrolf the Ganger) Rognaldsson Duke of Normandy born 0846 died 0932
mother:
- Papia de Senlis born 0848
siblings:
- Adáele (Gerloc) of Normandy born Abt 0897 Of, Normandie, Neustria died Aft 14 Oct 0942
children:
- Raoul Count of Bayeux & Ivry
spouse (2nd):
- Espriota de Bretagne born abt 0910 married Abt 932 Of, Normandy, France
children:
- Richard I Duke of Normandy born 0933 died 0996
biographical and/or anecdotal: 2nd Duke of Normandy from 927 to 943, was also Duke of Aquitaine and died in 942, slain by Arnulf of Flanders with whom he had in good faith gone to confer. First wife *Ledgarde Duchess of Normandy
William I* (2nd Duke de Normandy) [314] ABT 0893 - 17 Dec 0942
* TITLE: 2nd Duke de Normandy
* BIRTH: ABT 0893, Normandy,France
* DEATH: 17 Dec 0942, France
Father: Rolf* RAGNVALDSSON Mother: Poppa* DE VALOIS
Family 1 : Espriota* DE ST. LIZ BALL
http://www.afn.org/~lawson/d0004/g0000070.html#I1954
1. +Richard I** DE NORMANDY
2. Rodulf D'Ivry, Count of IVRY
3. +Adela* OF NORMANDY
Family 2 : Ledgarde* OF VERMANDOIS
* MARRIAGE: ABT 0935
1. +Odo Eudes I* BLOIS
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót) (893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Biography Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV.
He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
William Longsword
(from Wikipedia)
William Longsword (in French, Guillaume Longue-Épée, in old scandinavian languages, Viljâlmr Langaspjôt) (born 893, in Normandy, France died December 17, 942, in Normandy) was jarl (ruler) of Normandy. He is considered as the second duke of Normandy, even if this title did not exist at the time. Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen. His parents were Rollo and Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of what (Brittania Nova) became Normandy. According to the Planctus, he was baptized a Christian. William succeeded Rollo sometime around 928. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Frankified. The following years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts of the reign of Louis IV of France. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard I of Normandy succeeded him.
William I Longsword (French : Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin : Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian : Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count). Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes , the previous lord of Brittania Nova , which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus , he was baptised a Christian. William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans </wiki/Normans> who felt he had become too Gallicised . Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders , which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV . He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless , child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
William I Longsword (French : Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin : Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian : Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count). Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes , the previous lord of Brittania Nova , which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus , he was baptised a Christian. William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans </wiki/Normans> who felt he had become too Gallicised . Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders , which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV . He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless , child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Viljâlmr Langaspjôt; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retrospectively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
William "Long Sword," was also known as Guillaume "Longue-Épée," Princeps Nortmannorum.
He was born say 892, "overseas" (not on the European mainland, and therefore possibly in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, or one of the islands held by Vikings, such as the Orkneys, Hebrides, Man, etc.--all plausible places for the son of a Viking to be born.
He subdued a rebellion by the Bretons, which gained him Brittany, the Channel Islands, the Contentin, and the Averanchin, in 930.
He is often given the anachronistic title of "duke of Normandy" though no contemporary source gives him even the title of count.
He was killed on 17 December 942 in France in a treacherous ambush by Theodore of Blois and Arnulf of Flanders.
See "My Lines" ( http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p320.htm#i5199 ) from Compiler: R. B. Stewart, Evans, GA ( http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/index.htm )
William I, Duke of Normandy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Statue of William Longsword, part of the "Six Dukes of Normandy" series in Falaise. This article is about the Norman duke. For others of the same name, see William Longsword.
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Viljâlmr Langaspjôt; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retrospectively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 928. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Normandy
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
REF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Normandy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Normandy
More info at http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/15196.htm
William I Longsword was born in 893 and was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count). Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian. William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Normandy
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
DEATH: A treacherous ambush by servants of Theobald of Blois and Arnulf of Flanders.
Occupation: Count of Normandy
William I, "Longsword", b. ca. 891 probably Rouen, c. 927 succeeded to Duchy of Normandy, c. 930 the Bretons rebelled, he subdued them, taking Brittany, the Channel Islands, the Contentin, and the Averanchin; killed in treacherous ambush 17 Dec 942 by servants of Theobald of Blois and Arnulf of Flanders. He m. (1) (Danish wife) Sprota, a Breton; m. (2) Luitgarde de Vermandois, n.i. [no issue], killed 942 by Louis, son of Charles III "the Simple", daughter of Herbert II, Count of Vermandois and Troyes. [Ancestral Roots]
Note: There is an apparent error in Luitgarde's death date of 942. See notes under her. I think the clause ",killed 942 by Louis, son of Charles III "the simple" belongs to William's death and not to Luitgarde's, even though she is the subject of the sentence before & after the clause. I am going to remove the death date as a sourced alternative. It is an obvious error.
# Note: Assassinated by Arnulf/Arnulph/Arnoul "The Old", Count of Flanders, in 942, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1961 ed., Vol. 16, pg. 493, Article: NORMANDY
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót) (893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Biography
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927 and, early in his reign, faced a rebellion from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised and also from Bretons. According to Orderic Vitalis, the leader was Riouf of Evreux[1].
After putting down the rebellion, William attacked Breton and ravaged the territory. Resistance to the Normans was led by Alan Wrybeard and Beranger but shortly ended with the Wrybeard fleeing to England and Beranger seeking reconciliation. However, it was not through invasion that he gained Breton territory but by politics, receiving Contentin and Avranchin as a gift from the Rudolph, King of France.
In 935, William married Luitgarde, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois whose dowry gave him the lands of Longueville, Coudres and Illiers l'Eveque. His expansion northwards, including the fortress of Montreuil brought him into conflict with Arnulf I of Flanders.
In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. It began with Herluin appealing to William for help to regain the castle of Montreuil from Arnulf. Losing the castle was a major setback in Arnulf's ambitions and William's part in it gained him a deadly enemy. He was ambushed and killed by followers of Arnulf on 17 December 942 at Picquigny on the Somme while at a meeting to settle their differences.
His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him.
William Longsword was a Duke of Normandie. More here: http://bit.ly/gRKOZ0.
2nd Duke of Normandy. Born in Rouen, died in Picardy, France. He succeeded to the duchy about 927. About 930 the Bretons rebelled. He subdued them, taking Brittany, the Channel Islands, the Cotentin, and the Avranchin. He was killed in a treacherous ambush by servants of Theobald of Blois and Arnulf of Flanders. Also called William Longsword (in English), Guillaume Longue-épée (in French). He sought continually to expand his territories either by conquest or by exacting new lands from the French king for the price of homage. In 939 he allied himself with Hugh the Great in the revolt against King Louis IV; through the mediation of the pope, the war ended, and Louis renewed William's investiture of Normandie (940). William, however, continued his territorial ambitions, especially northward. Drawn to a conference on an island in the Somme River, he was assassinated on the orders of the count of Flanders, Arnulf I.
Also known as Guillaume I "Longue Epbee" or "Longue-Épée" Duke Of NORMANDY
2nd Duke de Normandie
"The territory handed over to the authority of Count Robert (Rollo) was not to have a destiny of any certainty. It could have been the same as that of the Normans installed on the Loire in the same period, who were finally eliminated from the area between 937 and 939. Rollo's successors managed, however, to establish themselves as the dominant princes of this kingdom. William Longsword succeeded Rollo in 933. He was the son of one of Rollo's Frankish Christian concubines, Popa, the daughter of the vanquished Count of Bayeux, and was himself, therefore, an example of the rapid assimilation of the conquerors. In 933, William managed to take back Cotentin and Avranchin from the Bretons. King Ralph (923-936) helped him in this enterprise and in exchange received the homage due from a vassal. However, it was the Count of Rouen who actually held the power in the vanquished territories. At the same time William needed to confirm his control over the Irish-Norwegian elements established in Cotentin and Bessin. It would appear that the rebels were keen to retain their peaceful roots, and the Scandinavian traditions of organisation based on a land holding free of the control of a political authority. They were thus ill-disposed to enter into the bonds of dependency which were developing in Frankish society and which the new count did not hesitate to turn to his own advantage. In the Frankish kingdom William became involved in the conflicts facing the leaders of the aristocracy and the Carolingian King Louis IV (936-954) under the gaze of the powerful king of Germany, Otto. The Count of Rouen played on the competition between the two authorities to which, in theory, he was answerable, the King of France, and his direct overlord Hugh the Great, heir to the prerogatives of the Marquis of Neustria, Duke of the Franks. In general William allied himself with Hugh the Great, but in 940 he provisionally changed sides and obtained from Louis IV the renewal of the concession granted to Rollo. In 942 he was killed in an ambush set by the Count of Flanders who was hostile to the rise in Norman power. From the second generation, William Longsword had been the first authentically Christian Norman prince, notably supporting the restoration of the abbey of Jumièges. He won the hand in marriage of the daughter of the Count of Vermandois and thus entered into the society of the most powerful lords of the kingdom."
Ref: http://ancestoranecdotes.blogspot.com/2010/07/rollo-rolf-aka-robert...
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen. According to the William's planctus, he was baptized a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign; from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Ier_de_Normandie
Murdered by servants of Theobald de Blois and Arnulf of Flanders
William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Old Norse: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót) (c. 900 – 942) was the second "Duke of Normandy" until his assassination.[1] The title duke (dux) was not in use at the time and has been retrospectively applied to early Norman rulers.[2][3] William was known at the time by the title count (comes) of Rouen[4] although Flodoard, always detailed about titles, consistently referred to both Rollo and his son William as princeps (chieftains) of the Norse.[5]
Birth
William was born 'overseas'[6][a] to Rollo, while he was still a pagan, and his Christian wife Poppa of Bayeux.[7][8] Dudo of Saint-Quentin in his panegyric of the Norman dukes describes Poppa as the daughter of a count Beranger, the dominant prince of that region.[9] In the 11th century Annales Rouennaises (Annals of Rouen), she is called the daughter of Guy, Count of Senlis,[10] otherwise unknown to history.[b] Despite the uncertainty of her parentage she was undoubtedly a member of the Frankish aristocracy.[11] According to the William's planctus, he was baptized a Christian probably at the same time as his father,[12] which Orderic Vitalis stated was in 912 and by Franco, Archbishop of Rouen[13][14] [edit]Life
William succeeded Rollo (who was still alive) in 927[15] and, early in his reign, faced a rebellion from Normans[16] who felt he had become too Gallicised and too soft.[17] According to Orderic Vitalis, the leader was Riouf of Evreux.[17][18][19] At the time of this rebellion William sent his pregnant wife Sprota to Fécamp where their son Richard was born.[20] In 933, William I Longsword recognized Raoul as King of Western Francia, who was struggling to assert his authority in Northern France. In turn Raoul gave him lordship over much of the lands of the Bretons including Avranches and the Cotentin.[21][22] Resistance to the Normans was led by Alan Wrybeard, Duke of Brittany and Count Berenger of Rennes but ended shortly with Alan fleeing to England and Beranger seeking reconciliation.[23] In 935, William contracted a marriage between his sister Adela (Gerloc was her Norse name) and William, count of Poitou with the approval of Hugh the Great.[24] At the same time William married Luitgarde,[1] daughter of count Herbert II of Vermandois whose dowry gave him the lands of Longueville, Coudres and Illiers l'Eveque.[19] In addition to supporting king Raoul, he was now a loyal ally of his father-in-law, Herbert II, both of whom his father Rollo had opposed.[25] William Longsword attacked Flanders in 939 whereas Arnulf I, Count of Flanders and Louis IV, King of France retaliated by attacking Normandy. Arnulf captured the castle of Montreuil-sur-Mer expelling Herluin, Count of Ponthieu, who, along with William Longsword took it back.[26][27] For his part in attacking and destroying several estates belonging to Arnulf, William was excommunicated.[28]
The funerary monument of William Longsword in the cathedral of Rouen, France. The monument is from the XIVth century. William met with king Louis IV in 940 and pledged loyalty for which he was confirmed in lands that had been given his father, Rollo.[29] Three years later William Longsword was ambushed and killed by followers of Arnulf on 17 December 942 at Picquigny on the Somme while at peace conference to settle their differences.[27][30]
William I Longsword (French 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count). Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes , the previous lord of Brittania Nova , which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus , he was baptised a Christian. William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised . Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders , which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV . He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless , child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
Duke of Normandy
Duke Guillaume "Longue Epbee" (William Longsword) (900-942) son of Duke Rollo Rognvaldsson and Duchess Poppa de Valois
http://www.celtic-casimir.com/webtree/3/3648.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I,_Duke_of_Normandy
William was born 'overseas'[a][6] to the Viking Rollo, while he was still a pagan, and his Christian wife Poppa of Bayeux.[7][8] Dudo of Saint-Quentin in his panegyric of the Norman dukes describes Poppa as the daughter of a count Beranger, the dominant prince of that region.[9] In the 11th century Annales Rouennaises (Annals of Rouen), she is called the daughter of Guy, Count of Senlis,[10] otherwise unknown to history.[b] Despite the uncertainty of her parentage she was undoubtedly a member of the Frankish aristocracy.[11] According to the William's planctus, he was baptized a Christian probably at the same time as his father,[12] which Orderic Vitalis stated was in 912 and by Franco, Archbishop of Rouen[13]
William succeeded Rollo (who was still alive) in 927[14] and, early in his reign, faced a rebellion from Normans[15] who felt he had become too Gallicised and too soft.[16] According to Orderic Vitalis, the leader was Riouf of Evreux.[16][17][18] At the time of this rebellion William sent his pregnant wife Sprota to Fécamp where their son Richard was born.[19]
In 933, William I Longsword recognized Raoul as King of Western Francia, who was struggling to assert his authority in Northern France. In turn Raoul gave him lordship over much of the lands of the Bretons including Avranches and the Cotentin.[20][21] Resistance to the Normans was led by Alan Wrybeard, Duke of Brittany and Count Berenger of Rennes but ended shortly with Alan fleeing to England and Beranger seeking reconciliation.[22]
In 935, William contracted a marriage between his sister Adela (Gerloc was her Norse name) and William, count of Poitou with the approval of Hugh the Great.[23] At the same time William married Luitgarde,[1] daughter of count Herbert II of Vermandois whose dowry gave him the lands of Longueville, Coudres and Illiers l'Eveque.[18] In addition to supporting king Raoul, he was now a loyal ally of his father-in-law, Herbert II, both of whom his father Rollo had opposed.[24]
William Longsword attacked Flanders in 939 and Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, and Louis IV, King of France, retaliated by attacking Normandy. Arnulf captured the castle of Montreuil-sur-Mer expelling Herluin, Count of Ponthieu. Herluin and William Longsword cooperated to retake the castle.[25][26] William was excommunicated for his actions in attacking and destroying several estates belonging to Arnulf.[27]
William pledged his loyalty to King Louis IV when they met in 940 and, in return, he was confirmed in lands that had been given to his father, Rollo.[28] Almost three years later, on 17 December 942 at Picquigny on the Somme, William Longsword was ambushed and killed by followers of Arnulf while at a peace conference to settle their differences.[18][26] He had no children with his wife Luitgarde.[29] After William's death she married Theobald I, Count of Blois and had at least three children with him.[29]
William fathered his son, Richard the Fearless, with Sprota[c] who was a Breton captive and his concubine.[30] Richard succeeded him.[29]
Guillaume Longue Épeé. Ermordet 17. December 942. Jarl der Normannen.
Vilhjalm (Longsword) Hrolfsson, (Longue-Épée)
Vilhjalm 'Langaspjót' Hrólfsson (Old Norse) Guillaume 'Longue-Épée' de Normandie (French)
Parents: Rollo (Gange-Hrolfr) & Poppa 1. Wife: Sprota de Senlis Child: Richard 'Sans-Peur' 2. Wife: Luitgardis de Vermandois NOTE
Vilhjalm 'Langaspjót' Hrólfsson is the most correct name as it is known that William here spoke Old Norse. French name is the alternative: Guillaume 'Longue-Épée' de Normandie. He was NOT a duke, his son Richard was the first to use that title.
LINKS
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMANDY.htm#RobertIdied928 http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Ier_de_Normandie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Normandy
MEDIEVAL LANDS GUILLAUME (Rouen [900/05]-murdered Pequigny 17 Dec 942, bur ---, transferred [1064] to Rouen Cathedral[47]). Guillaume de Jumièges names "Guillaume et…Gerloc" as children of Rollo and Poppa[48]. However, the Planctus for William Longsword[49], composed shortly after the murder of Guillaume, states that he had a Christian mother of overseas origin.
Dudo of Saint-Quentin states that he was born in Rouen and, in a later passage, describes him as a "young man" one year before his father's death[50]. His father chose him as heir one year before his death[51]. Guillaume de Jumièges records that he was born before his father's marriage to Gisela and his remarriage with Popa after Gisela's death[52]. Flodoard records that "filius Rollonis" did homage to ex-king Charles III "le Simple" at "castellum…Auga" in 927[53]. He succeeded his father in [928/33] as GUILLAUME I "Longuespee" Comte [de Normandie].
Flodoard names "Willelmus princeps Nortmannorum" in 933[54]. He quelled a rebellion by the Viking chief Riulf after the latter besieged Rouen[55]. In return for swearing allegiance to Raoul King of France, he appears to have been granted rights to further territory along the coast in 933, maybe the Cotentin and Avranchin. If this is correct, it would have created rivalry with the dukes of Brittany.
Dudo of Saint-Quentin describes Comte Guillaume's invasion of Brittany shortly after his accession to quell a rebellion against him, and his defeat of the rebels at Bayeux[56]. Responding to raids by Comte Guillaume, Arnoul I Count of Flanders invaded Ponthieu and in 939 captured Montreuil from Herluin Comte de Ponthieu, although it was recaptured by Comte Guillaume's forces. In 939, Guillaume joined the alliance against Louis IV King of France which was led by Otto I "der Große" King of Germany who raided Frankish territory. Comte Guillaume, however, met King Louis at Amiens, receiving a confirmation of the grant of his lands in Normandy. Guillaume de Jumièges records that Guillaume was tricked into a meeting on the river Seine at Pecquigny by Arnoul Count of Flanders to settle their dispute over the castle of Montreuil, but was murdered on Count Arnoul's orders, recording his death on 17 Dec[57].
The Annalibus Rotomagensibus record that "Willermus dux Normannorum filius Rollonis" was killed "943 XVI Kal Jan"[58]. Orderic Vitalis implies that the transfer of his body to Rouen Cathedral took place after the "the ninth year" in office of Archbishop Maurilius, who had succeeded Mauger de Normandie[59], which would date the event to [1064]. [m] firstly SPROTA, daughter of ---. Guillaume de Jumièges records that Guillaume married "une très-noble jeune fille Sprota…selon l'usage des Danois"[60]. From Brittany. It is possible that Sprota was Count Guillaume's concubine rather than wife, particularly as no reference has been found to a dissolution of any marriage before she married Esperleng. She married Esperleng de Pîtres, by whom she had Rodulf [Raoul] Comte d'Ivry.
m secondly ([940]%29 as her first husband, LUITGARDIS de Vermandois, daughter of HERIBERT II Comte de Vermandois & his wife Adela [Capet] (before 925-14 Nov after 985, bur Chartres, Abbaye de Saint-Père). Rodulfus Glauber refers to the wife of Comte Guillaume as "sororem [Heribertum Trecorum comitem]", specifying that she was childless by her first husband, when recording her second marriage to "Tetbaldus"[61]. Guillaume de Jumièges records the marriage of Guillaume and the daughter of Heribert, specifying that it was arranged by Hugues "le Grand"[62]. The source which confirms her name has not yet been identified. She married secondly Thibaut I Comte de Blois. "Hugonis ducis, Odonis comitis, Hugonis sanctæ Bituricensis archipræsulis, Letgardis comitissæ, Bertæ comitissæ, Gauzfridi vicecomitis…" subscribed the charter dated 985 under which "Robertus" donated property to "Sancti Petri Carnotensis", on the advice of "Odonem, simul cum sua matre Ledgarde, pariterque dominam meam Bertam, ipsius æque coniugem"[63]. The necrology of Chartres cathedral records the death "XVIII Kal Dec" of "Letgardis comitissa"[64].
Guillaume & his first wife had one child:
a) RICHARD (Fécamp [932]-20 Nov 996, bur Fécamp). Guillaume de Jumièges names Richard as son of Guillaume and Sprota, recording that news of his birth was brought to his father when he was returning from his victory against the rebels led by "Riulf"[65]. After the death of Richard's father, Louis IV "d'Outremer" King of the West Franks briefly controlled Rouen, and kept Richard prisoner, before the latter was able to escape, whereupon he succeeded as RICHARD I "Sans Peur" Comte [de Normandie].
------------------------------ WIKIPEDIA (Eng) William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was count of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).
Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.
WIKIPEDIA (fr.) Guillaume Ier de Normandie (av. 910-942), dit Guillaume « Longue-Épée »[1], est le fils naturel de Rollon et de Poppa de Bayeux. Il est considéré comme étant le deuxième duc de Normandie, bien que ce titre n'existe pas encore à cette époque. Il est avant tout jarl des Normands de la Seine.
Le successeur de Rollon Un poème[2] écrit peu après la mort de Guillaume Longue-Épée révèle qu'il est né outre-mer, d'une mère chrétienne et d'un père encore païen. Ce dernier, Rollon, n'était pas à ce moment le jarl de la future Normandie. C'était encore un chef viking qui parcourait les mers à la recherche de quelque terre à piller.
Une fois Rollon installé par le roi Charles le Simple en Normandie (911), Guillaume devenait l'héritier naturel de ce territoire. Dudon de Saint-Quentin explique que vers 927 Rollon n'était plus en état de gouverner[3]. Une assemblée de Normands et de Bretons élit Guillaume à leur tête. À peine élu, il se recommande au roi Charles le Simple.
Il est assez difficile de brosser un portrait du nouveau jarl des Normands de la Seine. En effet, le récit de Dudon de Saint-Quentin, notre principal informateur, tend parfois à l'hagiographie. Néanmoins, il est indiscutable que Guillaume fut un vrai chrétien à la différence de son père. Après 935, il épousa chrétiennement Liégarde, fille d'Herbert II, comte de Vermandois. Le jarl fit différentes donations aux chanoines du Mont-Saint-Michel et restaura l'abbaye de Jumièges dans laquelle il songea à se retirer.
Le principat de Guillaume correspond à une consolidation de la jeune Normandie. Dudon présente le jarl comme un restaurateur de la paix et de l'ordre. Beaucoup plus récemment, Lucien Musset le décrit comme le « principal artisan de la réussite normande. C'est à lui qu'on doit attribuer le succès définitif de la greffe scandinave sur le tronc romano-franc, qui permit à l'État fondé en 911 de traverser victorieusement la crise générale que connut dans les années 940 le monde scandinave d'Occident »[4]. Guillaume et les Bretons [modifier]
Vers 931, la Bretagne, occupée par les Normands de la Loire, traversait une période délicate. Les Bretons se révoltèrent contre les occupants. Guillaume Longue Épée (appuyé par les Normands de la Loire ?) envahit la Bretagne. Les chefs bretons Alain « Barbe-Torte » et Juhel Bérenger de Rennes furent battus. Le premier fuit outre-Manche ; l'autre se réconcilia avec le Normand.
Mais quelles sont les conséquences de la victoire de Guillaume ? Dudon de Saint-Quentin répète à l'envi que Guillaume Longue Épée était « duc des Normands et des Bretons ». D'ailleurs, on a retrouvé au Mont-Saint-Michel une pièce qui le désigne comme duc des Bretons. Ces derniers apparaissent à plusieurs reprises dans l'entourage du jarl[5]. Comme si la Bretagne faisait désormais partie des terres sous la domination de Guillaume. Plutôt qu'une conquête, Musset suggère un protectorat de la Normandie sur la Bretagne.
En 933, Guillaume rendit hommage au roi Raoul pour « la terre des Bretons située sur le rivage de la mer ». Il ne s'agit pas de la Bretagne car le souverain n'avait plus aucun droit sur ce territoire. Les historiens traduisent habituellement cette concession par le Cotentin et l'Avranchin, régions cédées aux Bretons par un roi carolingien soixante-six ans plus tôt. En 933, la Normandie avait ainsi quasiment atteint son extension définitive.
Toutefois, Karl-Ferdinand Werner[6] prévient que nous n'avons aucune preuve que le deuxième jarl de Rouen maîtrisait effectivement ces confins occidentaux. La concession du roi Raoul - formelle car il ne contrôlait pas lui-même cette partie de la Normandie - invitait surtout Guillaume à soumettre les Bretons du Cotentin et ainsi à les intégrer à son royaume par l'intermédiaire de l'hommage du jarl.
La révolte de Rioulf Vers 934, Guillaume se trouva confronté à une révolte de Normands commandés par Rioulf (Herjólfr). L'origine géographique de la rébellion reste incertaine. Guillaume de Jumièges parle de « l'intérieur de la Normandie »[7]. Le chroniqueur du XIIe siècle Orderic Vital écrit que Rioulf venait de l'Évrecin alors que Lucien Musset pense que les Normands révoltés partaient de l'ouest[8]. Étaient reprochés au jarl son origine franque (par sa mère) et sa politique trop favorable aux Francs. Rioulf conduisit les révoltés jusque sous les murs de Rouen mais Guillaume sortit de la ville et écrasa les adversaires.
L'épisode n'a pas manqué d'être interprété par les historiens. Ils y voient la révolte de Vikings établis dans l'ouest ou au milieu de la Normandie et peu soumis à l'autorité des jarls de Rouen. Bref, cet événement conforterait la thèse d'une Normandie imparfaitement contrôlée par le descendant de Rollon. Rioulf serait l'exemple d'un de ces chefs de bande viking, indépendant du pouvoir de Rouen[9].
Le guet-apens de Picquigny Avec Arnoul de Flandre, Herbert II de Vermandois et Hugues le Grand, Guillaume faisait partie du petit groupe de princes qui joua un rôle prépondérant dans le nord du royaume. Tantôt alliés, tantôt ennemis, ils soutinrent ou s'opposèrent au roi.
Dans les années 935/40, le jarl épousa chrétiennement Liutgarde de Vermandois, fille d'Herbert II, comte de Vermandois. En 936, selon Dudon de Saint-Quentin, le soutien normand se révèla décisif pour rétablir sur le trône de Francie le prétendant carolingien Louis d'Outremer. Par contre, en 940, Guillaume prit le parti du duc des Francs Hugues le Grand et de Herbert II de Vermandois contre le roi et Arnoul de Flandre. Ils les assista aux sièges de Reims et de Laon, jusqu'à l'obtention d'un accord avec Louis d'Outremer.
L'état des relations entre la Normandie et la Flandre était changeant. En 925, alors que Rollon était encore le jarl des Normands, Arnoul Ier avait pris la forteresse d'Eu mais en 939, Guillaume et lui prêtèrent serment ensemble au roi Otton de Germanie contre le roi des Francs. En 938/939, Herluin, comte de Montreuil, ayant perdu sa ville de Montreuil-sur-Mer, prise par Arnoul Ier, comte de Flandre (et d'Artois), en appela à Guillaume Longue-Épée. Les Normands finirent par intervenir. Selon Richer et Dudon de Saint-Quentin, le jarl de Rouen y combattit personnellement. Montreuil fut reprise en 939. Ayant récupéré son bien, Herluin rendit hommage de fidélité à Guillaume pour le Ponthieu. Les Normands contrôlèrent ainsi la Picardie maritime et contrarièrent de cette façon l'expansion de la principauté flamande vers le sud. La statue funéraire de Guillaume Longue Épée, dans la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen
L'affaire de Montreuil explique peut-être la fin tragique de Guillaume Longue Épée. Le 17 décembre 942, ce dernier est invité par Arnoul de Flandre à une entrevue, manigancée par les principaux princes francs, hostiles à la montée en puissance de la Normandie, au prétexte d'un accord, dans un lieu nommé Picquigny. À peine la paix signée par les deux princes, sur une île de la Somme, il est traîtreusement assassiné, vraisemblablement par Baudoin, fils du comte de Cambrai, sur ordre d'Arnoul Ier.
Ses fidèles récupérèrent son corps. On retrouva sur lui une clef, clef ouvrant un coffre renfermant une bure, la bure des moines. Son tombeau se trouve en la cathédrale de Rouen.
Famille et descendance Parents :
- Rollon, premier jarl des Normands de Rouen * Popa, fille de Bérenger II de Neustrie ou de Guy de Senlis Femmes :
- Liégarde, fille Herbert II, comte de Vermandois. Mariage chrétien, sans descendance. Veuve, elle se remarie avec Thibaud le Tricheur, comte de Blois * Sprota, bretonne épousée more danico ("à la manière danoise"), mariée ensuite à Esperlenc. Sœur :
- Gerloc (Adèle), épouse de Guillaume Tête d'Étoupe, comte de Poitou. Enfants :
- Richard Ier de Normandie Notes et références
1. ↑ nommé Viljâlmr Langaspjôt dans les sagas scandinaves 2. ↑ La Complainte de Guillaume Longue Épée 3. ↑ Pour l'historien anglais D. C. Douglas, Rollon était probablement mort. C. D. Douglas, « Rollo of Normandy », The English Historical Review, vol. 57, n°228, oct. 1942, p434-435. 4. ↑ Lucien Musset, « Naissance de la Normandie », Michel de Bouärd (dir.), Histoire de la Normandie, Privat, Toulouse, 1970, p.109 5. ↑ Pour faire reconnaître son fils Richard Ier de Normandie, Guillaume « appela auprès de lui tous les chefs normands et bretons ». Guillaume de Jumièges, Histoire des Normands, Livre III, éd. Guizot, 1826, p.71. Lorsque Guillaume fut assassiné, les chefs bretons Alain « Barbe-Torte » et Juhel Bérenger de Rennes l'accompagnaient 6. ↑ Karl-Ferdinand Werner, « Quelques observations au sujet des débuts du duché de Normandie. Droits privés et institutions régionales », in Droit privé et Institutions régionales. Études historiques offertes à Jean Yver, Paris, PUF, 1976, p.701 7. ↑ Guillaume de Jumièges, ibid, p.62 8. ↑ Lucien Musset, ibid, p.109 9. ↑ Pierre Bauduin, la Première Normandie (Xe-XIe siècle), Presses Universitaires de Caen, 2002, p.80 ---------------------------------------------------- Vilhelm I av Normandie, også kalt for Vilhelm Langsverd, fransk Guillaume Longue Épée (død 17. desember 942), var jarl av Normandie og sønn av vikinghøvdingen Rollo.
Det er få opplysninger om Vilhelms første år. Den noe tvilsomme kilden Dudo av Saint-Quentin, som skrev Gesta Normannorum (Normannernes historie), forteller at hans mor het «Poppa», at hun var av frankisk opprinnelse, og datter av en ellers ukjent hertug Bérenger. Et Planctus (sørgedikt) skrevet kort tid etter at Vilhelm Langsverd døde nevner ikke morens navn, men at hun var kristen og ble mor av en hedning, til Vilhelm som ble født oversjøisk. En annen kilde bestrider at moren var datter av Bérenger, men isteden var en Papia (Poppa) av Senlis, født i 848.
De noe uklare kildene mener at Vilhelm ikke ble født i Normandie, og da er mulighetene mange: de britiske øyer, Irland, og Norge, eller på en av norrøne øyene som Orknøyene, Hebridene, og Man. Selv om det ikke er urimelig er det ikke sannsynlig om opplysningen om en frankisk mor er riktig. Gange-Rolf var i Normandie på slutten av 880-tallet, og selv om han fortsatt var ute og seilte, synes det som om han har bosatt seg for godt i Normandie etter år 900, omtrent på den tiden som Vilhelm kanskje ble født.
I henhold til sørgediktet ble han døpt som kristen, og han fikk også et frankisk navn, noe som ville ha vært usannsynlig i de norrøne områdene, men tillegget om dåpen kan være en anakronistisk antagelse av poeten.
Vilhelm Langsverd var sønn av Rollo som grunnla et dynasti som skulle ende opp med å erobre England i 1066. På Vilhelms dager var det lite som tydet på dette. Hans jarldømme, som han arvet fra faren rundt 928 (Rollo dør ca 932), besto av et skjørt område sentrert rundt Rouen og neppe lengre vest elven Seine.
Vilhelm kommer inn fra historiens mørke på slutten av 930-tallet. Tilsynelatende hadde han i følge Dudo klart å slå ned et opprør fra normanniske og norrøne bosetningen som mislikte hans føydale tilnærming: En norrøn leder ved navn Riulf (Rolf?) gjør opprør ved å hevde at Vilhelm er blitt for frankisk, at hans hensikt er å berike seg selv og sin ætt og frankiske venner på bekostning av andre. Riulf sender bud om at han krever «alt land opp til Risle». Vilhelm svarer at han ikke kan gi Riulf landet, men tilbyr Riulf medstyre, om enn i navnet. Riulf svarer med å flytte hæren mot Rouen, krysser Seine og slår leir utenfor byen. Vilhelm tilbyr da Riulf land, «ikke bare opp til Risle, men alt hele vegen til Seine». Riulf lukter feighet og avslår tilbudet. Istedenfor for å møte Riulf i åpen kamp overfaller Vilhelm leirplassen i et regelrett snikangrep, dreper for fote og driver Riulf og resten på flukt.
I 939 er Vilhelm involvert i en krig med Arnulf I av Flandern som angikk det frankiske kongedømmet. Vilhelm støttet den frankiske kong Ludvig IV (936-954), sønn av Karl den enfoldige, på en tid da Ludvig var i vanskeligheter. I desember 942 da Vilhelms forhold til kongen var på sitt beste kalte Arnulf på en fredskonferanse med Vilhelm. Under fredssamtalene ble Vilhelm drept av tilhengere av Arnulf, kanskje på befaling av Arnulf selv.
Det forræderiske mordet må ha vært et sjokk på Vilhelms tilhengere. Sørgediktet ble diktet kort tid etter hans død av en ukjent poet, og selv om diktet har overlevd i to utgaver, begge ødelagte og usammenhengende, preget av hagiografi i sitt innhold, men er uansett en viktig kilde for tidlig normannisk historie. Det er det aller første, kjente skrift skrevet om normannere fra deres egen synsvinkel.
Vilhelms sønn Rikard I av Normandie etterfulgte ham som jarl i Normandie. -------------------- William, surnamed Longa Spatha, Long sword, Duke of Normandy, had been carefully educated by the priests. His height was majestic, his features beautiful, his complexion being pure and delicate as a maiden's, his strength gigantic. He married Adela, daughter of Hubert. Count of Senlis. (Kin of Mellcene Thurman Smith, page 278) -------------------- Notes for William "Longsword" Of Normandy Duke Of Normandy Per Weis' "Ancestral Roots . . ." (121E:19): "WILLIAM I, "Longsword", b. ca. 891, prob. Rouen, ca. 927 succ. to Duchy of Normandy, ca. 930 the Bretons rebelled, he subdued them, taking Brittany, the Channel Islands, the Contentin, and the Averanchin; killed in treacherous ambush 17 Dec. 942 by servants of THEOBALD OF BLOIS (RIN 1645) and ARNULF OF FLANDERS (RIN 2173) 17 dec 942. ... He m. (1) (Danish wife) SPROTA, a Breton; m. (2) LUITGARDE DE VERMANDOIS ..., n.i., killed 942 by LOUIS, s. of CHARLES III "the Simple:, dau. HERBERT II, Count of Vermandois and Troyes. " Also mentioned (49:19).
Stuart's "Royalty For Commoners" (166:34).
It is interesting to note that THEOBALD later married William's widow, LUITGARDE and that ARNULF married LUITGARDE's sister, ALIX.
Per Rosamond McKitterick's, "The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians 751-987", London & NY (Longman) 1983, p 238: "William Longsword, ROLLO's son and successor, was the principal architect of Normandy's development. He married the daughter of HERBERT OF VERMANDOIS but his children were born of a Breton concubine. William had supported LOUIS IV (RIN 1617) and attempted to establish his protection over Brittany, gaining at least the Cotentin and Avranchin in 933. There remains some doubt about William's claim to the whole Breton peninsula. When in 942 William was murdered at the instigation of COUNT ARNULF OF FLANDERS, his son Richard, still a minor, succeeded him."
[source unrecorded]: ROLLO died in 927, and was succeeded by his son William "Long Sword" born of his union 'more danico' with POPPA, daughter of COUNT BERENGER; he showed some attachment to the Scandinavian language, for he sent his son William to Bayeux to learn Norse. The first two dukes also displayed a certain fidelity to the Carolingian dynasty of France, and in 936 William "Long-Sword" did homage to LOUIS IV d'Outremer. He died on 17th of December 942, assassinated by the COUNT OF FLANDERS. ---------------------- Quoted from the book, "Life in a Medieval Castle" by Joseph and Frances Gies. "William Longsword, ancestor of William the Conqueror, on succeeding his father as Duke of Normandy in 927, "committed him self into the King's hands," according to the chronicler Richer, and "promised him fealty and confirmed it with an oath." -------------------- http://genealogy.wikia.com/wiki/William_Longsword,_2nd_Duke_of_Normandy_(893-942) http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/documents/planctus/planctus/Sources.html
[S03660] thePeerage.com. William I 'Longsword' de Normandie, 2nd Duc de Normandie1 (M) b. circa 900, d. 17 December 942, #104762 Pedigree Last Edited=15 Jun 2003 William I 'Longsword' de Normandie, 2nd Duc de Normandie was the son of Robert of Norway Ragnvaldsson, 1st Duc de Normandie and Poppa of Normandy de Valois.1 He was born circa 900. He married Luitgarda de Vermandois in 935.1 He died on 17 December 942 murdered.1 He gained the title of 2nd Duc de Normandie in 932.1 Children of William I 'Longsword' de Normandie, 2nd Duc de Normandie and Sprota of Senlis: Raoul d'Ivry Richard I de Normandie, 3rd Duc de Normandie+ b. 933, d. 20 Nov 996 Citations [S106] Royal Genealogies Website (ROYAL92.GED), online . Hereinafter cited as Royal Genealogies Website.
http://jliptrap.us/gen/Charlemagne.htm
Sprota de Vermandois married Duke Guilla
Project MedLands, NORMANDY
[ROLLO [Hrolf "Ganger/the Walker'"] (-[928]).
Orkneyinga Saga names “Hrolf who conquered Normandy” as son of “Earl Rognwald” and his wife “Ragnhild the daughter of Hrolf Nose”, adding that he was so big that no horse could carry him, giving rise to his name “Göngu-Hrolf”. Snorre names "Rolf and Thorer" as the two sons of "Earl Ragnvald" and his wife Hild, recording that Rolf was banished from Norway by King Harald and travelled to the Hebrides, settling first in Orkney before moving southwards through Scotland, and eventually conquering Normandy. The Historia Norwegie records that, after Orkney was conquered by "principi Rogwaldi" and his followers, "de quorum collegio…Rodulfus" captured Rouen in Normandy, commenting that he was known as "Gongurolfr" because he was obliged to walk as he was too large to travel on horseback. This source makes no reference to any blood relationship between Rollo and "principi Rogwaldi".
According to Dudo of Saint-Quentin, Rollo arrived in northern France in 876, although there is some debate about being a more likely date. William of Jumièges records that Rollo was chosen by lot to be leader of the Viking colonists. Viking raids intensified in northern France. Although they were defeated after raiding Chartres , Charles III "le Simple" King of the West Franks granted the Normans land around Rouen in which to settle[. The uncertain nature of the demise was the source of future problems between the French crown, which claimed that it was an enfeofment for which the ruler owed allegiance, and the later Dukes of Normandy who claimed it was an unconditional allod for which no allegiance was owed. A charter dated 14 Mar 918 which granted land to the monastery of Saint-Germain-des-Prés "except that part…which we have granted to the Normans of the Seine, namely to Rollo and his companions". He was later known as ROBERT I Comte [de Normandie]. ROLLO [ Ganger Hrolf], son of [RAGNVALD "the Wise" Jarl of Möre in Norway & his wife Ragnhild ---] (-Rouen [928/33], bur ---, transferred [1064] to Rouen Cathedral. The parentage of Rollo/Rolf is uncertain and the chronology of his life confused. Richer names "Rollone filio Catilli" as leader of the Vikings who raided along the Loire and against whom "Robertus Celticæ Galliæ dux" campaigned. No further reference has been found to "Catillus/Ketel". Flodoard provides no information on Rollo´s ancestry. The early 12th century William of Malmesbury states that "Rollo…[was] born of noble lineage among the Norwegians, though obsolete from its extreme antiquity" and adds that he was "banished by the king´s command from his own country"[8]. The later Orkneyinga Saga is more specific, naming “Hrolf who conquered Normandy” as son of “Earl Rognwald” and his wife “Ragnhild the daughter of Hrolf Nose”, adding that he was so big that no horse could carry him, giving rise to his name “Göngu-Hrolf”. Snorre names "Rolf and Thorer" as the two sons of "Earl Ragnvald" and his wife Hild, recording that Rolf was banished from Norway by King Harald and travelled to the Hebrides, settling first in Orkney before moving southwards through Scotland, and eventually conquering Normandy. The Historia Norwegie records that, after Orkney was conquered by "principi Rogwaldi" and his followers, "de quorum collegio…Rodulfus" captured Rouen in Normandy, commenting that he was known as "Gongurolfr" because he was obliged to walk as he was too large to travel on horseback[. This source makes no reference to any blood relationship between Rollo and "principi Rogwaldi". Guillaume de Jumièges accords a Danish origin to Rollo, stating that his father "possédant presque en totalité le royaume de Dacie, conquit en outre les territoires limitrophes de la Dacie et de l´Alanie" and left "deux fils…l´aîné Rollon et le plus jeune Gurim". He records that the king of Denmark defeated the two brothers and killed Gorm, and that Rollo fled the country, first landing in England, where he made peace with "le roi…Alstem". If this refers to Æthelstan King of Wessex, the account must be confused given King Æthelstan´s succession in 924. Freeman suggests that Guillaume de Jumièges must be referring to "Guthrum-Æthelstan of East-Anglia", although this does not resolve the chronological problems assuming that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is correct in recording Guthrum´s death in 890[15]. After recording Rollo´s expeditions in Frisia, Guillaume de Jumièges states that Rollo landed at Jumièges after sailing up the Seine in 876[16], another suspect date which Houts suggests should be corrected to . Guillaume de Jumièges records that Rollo defeated "Renaud duc de toute la France", captured "le château de Meulan", defeated and killed Duke Renaud in another campaign, besieged Paris, captured Bayeux, and attacked Paris again while his other troops devastated Evreux where they killed "son évêque…Sibor". Guillaume de Jumièges records that Rollo attacked Chartres but withdrew after being defeated by "Richard duc de Bourgogne" and "Anselme l évêque". William of Malmesbury records that "Rollo…experienced a check at Chartres" but escaped the "plentiful slaughter" of the Vikings by the townspeople, before capturing Rouen "in 876"[. Guillaume of Jumièges records that Charles III "le Simple" King of the West Franks granted Rollo "tout le territoire maritime qui s´étend depuis la rivière d´Epte jusqu´aux confines de la Bretagne" together with "sa fille…Gisèle", that "les princes de cette province…Béranger et Alain" swore allegiance to Rollo, and that Rollo was baptised in 912 by "l´archévêque Francon", adopting the name ROBERT after "le duc Robert" who acted as his sponsor. William of Malmesbury records that "it was determined by treaty, that [Rollo] should be baptised, and hold the country of the king as his lord" The charter which confirms the original grant (assuming that there was such a document) has not survived. However, the grant of land is inferred from a charter dated 14 Mar 918, under which land was donated to the monastery of Saint-Germain-des-Prés specifying that the donation excluded "that part…which we have granted to the Normans of the Seine, namely to Rollo and his companions". The uncertain nature of the demise was the source of future problems between the French crown, which claimed that Normandy was an enfeofment for which the ruling duke owed allegiance, and the later dukes of Normandy, who claimed that it was an unconditional allod for which no allegiance was owed. The version of events recorded by Flodoard provides a different slant and names two Viking leaders. Firstly, Flodoard records that in 923 "Ragenoldus princeps Nortmannorum" who occupied "in fluvio Ligeri" devastated "Franciam trans Isaram", that "Nortmanni" made peace in 924 "cum Francis", that King Raoul granted them "Cinomannis et Baiocæ" [Maine and Bayeux], but that "Raginoldus cum suis Nortmannis" devasted the land between the Loire and the Seine. This passage makes no mention of the supposed earlier grant of land along the shore. Secondly, the same source records that "Raginoldus cum suis Nortmannis" devasted Burgundy in 925, that Héribert [II] Comte de Vermandois besieged Norman castles "super Sequanam", that "Nortmanni" devastated "pagum Belvacensem atque Ambianensem" [Beauvais and Amboise], while Comte Héribert and Arnoul Count of Flanders forced "Rollo princeps" from his strongholds. Thirdly, Flodoard states that "Hugo filius Rotberti et Heribertus comes" campaigned against "Nortmannos" in 927, that "filius Rollonis" did homage to ex-king Charles at "castellum…Auga", and that "Rollo" held "filius Heriberti Odo" as a hostage in 928, which suggests some sort of alliance between Rollo and Comte Héribert. William of Malmesbury records that Rollo died at Rouen. The date of his death is uncertain: Flodoard names Rollo as living in 928 (see above) but the same source names "Willelmus princeps Nortmannorum" in 933. Orderic Vitalis implies that the transfer of Robert's body to Rouen Cathedral took place after the "the ninth year" in office of Archbishop Maurilius, who had succeeded Mauger de Normandie, which would date the event to [1064]. He is known to history as ROBERT I Comte [de Normandie], although no early source has been identified which refers to him by this name or title.
[m] [firstly] ---. The identity of Rollo´s first wife or concubine is not known.
married [secondly] or after, repudiated, remarried after 912) POPPA, daughter of BERENGAR Comte de Bayeux & his wife ---. Guillaume of Jumièges records that Rollo took "Popa, fille de Bérenger, homme illustre" when he captured Bayeux and "s´unit avec elle, à la manière des Danois". According to Orderic Vitalis, Rollo "stormed and captured Bayeux, slew its count Berengar and took to wife his daughter Poppa". In another passage, the same source records that Rollo besieged Paris, captured Bayeux, killed "Berengarium comitem" and married his daughter Popa, in 886, although this date appears early in light of the likely birth date range of the couple's son Guillaume. The Chronico Rotomagensis records that "mortua a Gisla, accepit Rollo propriam uxorem filiam comitis Silvanectensis Widonis". Robert of Torigny combines the information, recording that "Rollo dux Northmannorum" married "Popam prius repudiatam uxorem…filiam…Berengarii comitis Baiocensis neptem vero Widonis comitis Silvanectensis". The Historia Norwegie records that, after capturing Rouen, "Rodulfus" married the daughter of its deceased count by whom he was father of "Willelmum…Longosped". Guillaume de Jumièges records that "le comte Bernard" welcomed "son neveu Richard" (grandson of Rollo) at Senlis after his escape from captivity, although in another passage he describes how Rollo captured Bayeux and took "une très-noble jeune fille Popa, fille de Bérenger" in the town, marrying her "à la manière des Danois", in a later passage adding that Rollo married Poppa, whom he had previously repudiated, a second time after the death of his wife. It would be possible to reconcile the different versions if Comte Bernard's mother was married twice, her first husband being Bérenger Comte de Bayeux.
married thirdly (912) GISELA, daughter of CHARLES III "le Simple" King of the West Franks & his first wife Frederuna --- ([908/16]-before her husband). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Hyrmintrudim, Frederunam, Adelheidim, Gislam, Rotrudim et Hildegardim" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex Frederuna regina". Guillaume of Jumièges records that Charles III "le Simple" King of the West Franks granted Rollo "tout le territoire maritime qui s´étend depuis la rivière d´Epte jusqu´aux confines de la Bretagne" together with "sa fille…Gisèle", and their marriage which took place after Rollo´s baptism[. Her marriage is recorded in the Norman annals for 912, which state that she died without issue, presumably soon after the marriage when Gisla must still have been an infant. The chronicle of Dudo of Saint-Quentin describes her as of "tall stature, most elegant…", which is of course inconsistent with her supposed birth date range. The Liber Modernorum Regum Francorum records the marriage of "filiam suam [=rex Karolus] nomine Gillam" to "Rollo". Settipani considers that the marriage did not occur, and that the Norman sources confused it with the marriage of Gisela, daughter of Lothaire II King of Lotharingia, to the Viking leader Gotfrid.
Rollo & his [first wife] had two children:
- 1. [KADLINE . Her parentage and marriage are confirmed by the Landnáma-Boc which records that "son of Oht-here…Helge" captured and married [her daughter] "Nidh-beorg, daughter of king Beolan and Cadh-lina, daughter of Walking-Rolf (Gongo-Hrólfs)" when he "harried in Scotland", and also records their descendants. No other record has been found of "king Beolan" and the accuracy of this report is unknown. m BEOLAN King [in Scotland].]
- 2. [NIEDERGA . Niederga is shown in Europäische Stammtafeln as the second daughter of Rollo by his first wife but the primary source on which this is based has not been identified.]
Robert & his [second] wife POPPA had two children:
- 3. GUILLAUME (Rouen [900/05]-murdered Pequigny 17 Dec 942, bur ---, transferred [1064] to Rouen Cathedra
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William "Longsword"'s Timeline
| 891 |
891
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Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France
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| 928 |
928
- 942
Age 37
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Normandie, France
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| 933 |
August 28, 933
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Fécamp, Normandie, France
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