Hugues de Grandmesnil

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Hugues de Grandmesnil (also Hugh and Hugo , as well as Grentmesnil and Grentemesnil , * probably 1025; † February 22, 1098 in England) is one of 15 proven companions (proven companions of William the Conqueror ), whose participation in the Battle of Hastings 1066 is known . In the wake of the Norman conquest of England he became a large landowner.

Until the battle of Hastings

Hugues was the older son of Robert de Grandmesnil and Havoise d'Échauffour. After taking power in England, William the Conqueror gave him 100 goods for his services, 65 of them in Leicestershire . He was appointed Sheriff of Leicestershire and Governor of Hampshire . His possessions are detailed in the Domesday Book .

After the death of his father in 1036, Hugues and his brother Robert (II.) Shared the inheritance among themselves. Robert entered church service and eventually became Archbishop of Messina , while Hugues chose the military route. He was among the founders of the old Abbaye d'Ouche under the name of Saint-Évroult Abbey , which was re-established in 1050.

At the court of Duke Wilhelm of Normandy, Hugues de Grandmesnil exercised power for a long time until the Duke expelled him and Raoul II de Tosny after a dispute from the country (probably 1059/61), but probably brought them back in 1063 and called him in the same year Captain of the castle of Neufmarché en Lyons installed . In 1066 he was entrusted with command of the cavalry for the invasion of England .

There is a popular story that Hugues de Grandmesnil nearly died at the Battle of Hastings. During the fight, Hugues' horse jumped into a bush during an attack with the cavalry when his bridle tore. Hugues, who could hardly stay in the saddle and had no control over his horse, was dismayed to find that he was all alone and racing towards a group of Englishmen. As Hugues was preparing to die, his enemies uttered a cry of triumph. Hugue's horse shied and went in the opposite direction. The stallion carried his helpless rider away from the Anglo-Saxons to the safety of his own lines.

Leicestershire

Hugues became one of the main pillars of Wilhelm in England. In 1067 he formed the government of England with William Fitz Osbern and Odo von Bayeux , while William was in Normandy. He was also one of the Norman nobles who intervened with the conqueror on behalf of his son Robert Curthose and achieved a temporary reconciliation.

When Leicester was conquered in 1068, a large part of the city was destroyed along with St. Mary's Church. The king passed the rule of Leicester to Hugues de Grandmesnil. In addition, Hugues received 100 estates for his services, including 65 in Leicestershire , and was appointed High Sheriff of that Shire and governor of Hampshire . Probably 1068/69 he returned to his family in Normandy.

marriage and family

He married probably before 1060 Adeliza de Beaumont (* probably before 1045), daughter of Ivo III, Earl of Beaumont-sur-Oise , whereby he acquired goods in Herefordshire and three lordships in Warwickshire . Adeliza died on July 11, 1091 in Rouen and was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Évroult . They had ten children, five sons (Robert, William, Hugh, Ivo , Aubrey) and five daughters (Adeline, Hawise, Rohais, Matilda, Agnes).

After the death of William the Conqueror, also in 1087, the Grandmesnils, like most Norman barons, became embroiled in the civil war that broke out between his three surviving sons. Now the estates in Normandy and England had two different liege lords when Robert Curthose became Duke of Normandy and Wilhelm Rufus became King of England. Quarrels within the royal families jeopardized luck when the barons backed the wrong side, and so was the Grandmesnil family's fate ultimately, as they tended to support the fickle Duke of Normandy against the English king, even though the duties of the subjects constantly changed .

Courcy

Around 1090, Hugh de Grandmesnil was still defending his land in Normandy. Hugues talked with his friend Richard de Courcy at the castle in Courcy up when Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury , besieged in 1091 after being in the area of his force Orne River had led other barons joined the fight and yet he was unable to completely enclose the castle. He set about building a wooden siege machine, a large tower called a belfry , that could be rolled up against the castle walls. Every time the tower was rolled forward, Grandmesnil made a sortie and attacked a different part of the enemy lines, so the soldiers occupying the belfry were badly needed elsewhere to repel Grandmesnil's attack. These skirmishes were often wild and bloody. In one of these attacks, William de Ferrers, son of Henry de Ferrers , and William de Rupiere of Grandmesnil were captured and released for a small fortune in ransom. Conversely, Ivo de Grandmesnils, Hugue's son, and Richard Fitz Gilbert were picked up by the besiegers. Ivo was later released, but Fitz Gilbert did not survive imprisonment.

As the siege dragged on, a deadly ritual was played out. The Courcy residents had built their oven outside the castle's fortress walls, and it was now halfway between the main gate and the opposing belfry. The men of Courcy therefore took up arms and stormed out of the castle to move the oven around so that the baker could do his job: this is where they wanted to defend their bread, as the attackers would try to carry it away. This often resulted in a general skirmish as each side brought in more troops. On one occasion, Grandmesnil's attack was so violent that the men of Bellême were dispersed. Courcy's men overran the siege engine and burned it down. This success was short-lived, however, as Duke Robert sided with Bellême: things now looked bad for Grandmesnil and Courcy. It was only when Willhelm Rufus approached his brother that the Duke and Bellême broke off the siege and withdrew.

Hugues' death

In 1094 Hugues de Grandmesnil was back in England, worn out with age and frail. When he fell ill, he took the monk's habit - a common practice at the time - and died six days later, on February 22, 1094. His body, preserved in salt and sewn into the skin of an ox, was brought to the valley of the Ouche in by two monks brought to Normandy. Like his wife, he was laid to rest in the Abbey of Saint-Évroult and buried by Abbot Roger on the south side of the chapter house near the grave of Abbot Mainer.

progeny

Hugue's eldest son, Robert III. de Grandmesnil, inherited the property in Normandy (i.e. in the valley of the Ouche), the younger, Ivo de Grandmesnil, became sheriff of Leicester and lord of Earl Shilton Manor. The daughter Adeline married Roger d'Ivry († 1079), the daughter Rohese married Robert de Courcy, the son of Hugues' friend Richard de Courcy .

literature

Web link

  • Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Grantmesnil ( online )

Remarks

  1. ↑ Schwennicke noted: February 22, 1093.
  2. ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration . London: Penguin, 2003, ISBN 0-14-143994-7 , pp. 652-6
  3. ^ Robert von Torigni , De Immutatione Ordinis Monachorum , Volume 2, p. 196
  4. ↑ Ordericus Vitalis (Edition Prévost, Volume 2, Book III, V., p. 81 or p. 93)
  5. ↑ Ordericus Vitalis (Prévost edition), Volume 2, Book IV, p. 186
  6. ↑ Ordericus Vitalis states that she died seven years before her husband (Ordericus Vitalis (Prévost edition), Volume 3, Book VIII, XXVIII, pp. 454–455)
  7. ↑ Mondes-Normands
  8. ^ Ordericus Vitalis (Prévost edition) Volume 3, Book VIII, XXVIII, p. 453
personal data
SURNAME Hugues de Grandmesnil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hugh de Grentemesnil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION norman nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH February 22, 1098
Place of death England