William 2ND EARL OF WARREN

Male - 1138


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  • Name William 2ND EARL OF WARREN  [1, 2
    Gender Male 
    Died 11 May 1138 
    Person ID I6811  adkinshorton
    Last Modified 2 Jan 2013 

    Father William 1ST EARL OF WARREN,   d. 1088 
    Mother Gundred OF ENGLAND,   b. 1051,   d. 27 May 1087  (Age 36 years) 
    Family ID F25828  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Isabel (Elizabeth) DE VERMANDOIS,   b. 1081, Valois, Bretagne, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Feb 1131  (Age 50 years) 
    Children 
     1. Gundred DE WARENNE
    +2. Adelaide DE WARREN
     3. Ralph DE WARREN
     4. Rainald DE WARREN
     5. William DE WARREN, 3rd Earl of Warren & Surrey,   b. 1119,   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F25692  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • The name Warrene originates from the river Varenne near Dieppe. William came from France with the invasion of 1066 and was created the Earl of Surry with castles at Lewes, Castle Acre and Reigate. He was granted the Wakefiled estates by his father-in-law. William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (died 1138), was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He is more often referred to as Earl Warenne or Earl of Warenne than as Earl of Surrey.

      William de Warren II, 2nd Earl of Warren and 2nd Earl of Surrey, joined Robert de Belesme, Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury, in favor of Robert Curthose, against King Henry I., and in consequence forfeited his English earldom and estates; but those were subsequently restored to him, and he was ever afterwards a good and faithful subject to King Henry. He married Isabel Vermandois, Countess of Leicester, daughter of Hugh the Great, Earl of Vermandois, and Alice, his wife, daughter of Hubert, 4th Count de Vermandois, son of Henry, 3rd Count de Vermandois, by his wife, Edgina, daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England, son of Alfred the Great, King of England. Isabel was also the widow of Robert, Earl of Mellent, and granddaughter of King Henry I of France.

      In January 1091, William assisted Hugh of Grantmesnil (d.1094) in his defense of Courcy against the forces of Robert de Belleme and Duke Robert. Sometime around 1093 he tried to marry Matilda (or Edith), daughter of king Malcolm III of Scotland. She instead married Henry I of England, and this may be the cause of William's great dislike of Henry I, which was to be his apparent motivator in the following years. He accompanied Robert Curthose (Duke Robert) in his 1101 invasion of England, and afterwards lost his English lands and titles and was exiled to Normandy. There he complained to Curthose that he expended great effort on the duke's behalf and had in return lost most of his possessions. Curthose's return to England in 1103 was apparently made to convince his brother to restore William's earldom. This was successful, though Curthose had to give up all he had received after the 1101 invasion, and subsequently William was loyal to Henry. To further insure William's loyalty Henry considered marrying him to one of his many illegitimate daughters. He was however dissuaded by Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, for any of the daughters would have been within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. The precise nature of the consanguinous relationship Anselm had in mind has been much debated, but it is most likely he was referring to common descent from the father of duchess Gunnor.
      William was one of the commanders on Henry's side (against Robert Curthose) at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. Afterwards, with his loyalty thus proven, he became more prominent in Henry's court. In 1110, Curthose's son William Clito escaped along with Helias of Saint-Saens, and afterwards Warenne received the forfeited Saint-Saens lands, which were very near his own in upper Normandy. By this maneuver king Henry further assured his loyalty, for the successful return of Clito would mean at the very least Warenne's loss of this new territory.
      He fought at the Battle of Bremule in 1119, and was at Henry's deathbed in 1135. William's death is recorded as 11-May-1138 in the register of Lewes priory and he was buried with his father at the chapter-house there.

  • Sources 
    1. [S18795] w.

    2. [S18797] .


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