Gerald of Windsor

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gerald of Windsor († between 1116 and 1136) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and soldier. He was the progenitor of the Fitzgeralds, an extensive noble family in Ireland.

Origin and participation in the conquest of Wales

Gerald was believed to be a younger son of Walter, who was Norman constable of Windsor Castle in 1086 and died before 1105. He came to Wales in the service of Arnulf de Montgomery and was castellan of Pembroke Castle, which was built in 1093 after a Welsh uprising . During another uprising by the Welsh, the castle was besieged by Cadwgan ap Bleddyn of Powys in 1096, but Gerald was able to show the besiegers that he had enough soldiers and supplies to abandon the siege. In return, Gerald raided the lands of Wilfrid , the bishop of St Davids , who had supported Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, in Pebidiog in 1097.

Marriage and establishment of her own land

Around 1100 Gerald Nest married , a daughter of King Rhys ap Tewdwr von Deheubarth , who had fallen in the battle against the Normans and who had previously been a lover of King Henry I of England . He was involved in the revolt of Arnulf de Montgomery and his brother Robert of Bellême against Henry I in 1102 and traveled to Ireland to ask for support from Arnulf's father-in-law Muircheartach Ua Briain, the Irish King of Dublin. King Henry had promised the lands of Arnulf to the Welsh Iorwerth ap Bleddyn , a brother of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, as a reward for his help in suppressing the rebellion, but when the revolt was suppressed, he handed Pembroke over to the Anglo-Norman knight Saer, who did had to surrender to the king in 1105.

Robbery of Wife and Revenge of Gerald

After 1105 Gerald became royal constable of Pembroke Castle, despite his involvement in the 1102 Rebellion, and he built Carew Castle , which became the center of his family's lands. He built another castle at Cenarth Bychan, which was probably Cilgerran Castle . Presumably this castle, but perhaps also Carew Castle, was attacked by Owain ap Cadwgan of Powys in 1109 . Owain had first visited his alleged relatives Nest in the castle and was said to be so taken with their beauty that he later raided and burned the castle with his warriors. Gerald narrowly escaped, allegedly with Nest's help he escaped through the latrine shaft, but his wife and children were kidnapped by Owain to Powys. At Nest's insistence, Owain later sent Gerald's children back to their father, but Nest himself stayed with him and bore him two more children. As a result of this act, the Anglo-Normans had Owain's father, Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, expelled from his kingdom. It was not until 1116 that Gerald was able to take revenge on Owain when he met Owain with a group of Flemish settlers in the pursuit of the rebellious Gruffydd ap Rhys near Carmarthen and killed him in revenge. It is unclear whether Nest returned to Gerald after Owain's death, she later became the wife of Stephen, the constable of Cardigan Castle . Nothing is known about Gerald's further fate either; after 1116 he is no longer mentioned. His sons William and Maurice are not mentioned again until 1136 as leaders of the Anglo-Norman forces at the Battle of Crug Mawr , so that Gerald must have died between 1116 and 1136.

Family and offspring

From his marriage to Nest he had three sons and one daughter:

Maurice was one of the leaders of the first Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland . He was accompanied by his half-brother Robert FitzStephen and several of his sons and nephews who conquered extensive land holdings in Ireland. Gerald's descendants were called Fitzgerald, and their titles included that of Earl of Kildare and Earl of Desmond .

One of the sons of Angharad was Gerald of Wales , who rose to archdeacon , but was best known as a historian, folklorist and poet and wrote the history of his family.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alan Fitzgerald: Barons, rebels & romantics. The Fitzgerals first thousand years: the story of a family and its role in Irish history from the 12th century to the present. 1st Books Library, Bloomington, 2004. ISBN 978-1-4140-2028-0 , p. 10.
  2. ↑ Visit Pembrokeshire: Carew Castle and Tidal Mill. Retrieved September 5, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME Gerald of Windsor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gerald de Windsor; Gerald FitzWalter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Anglo-Norman nobleman and ancestor of the extensive Irish noble family Fitzgerald
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH between 1116 and 1136