Adelaide of Normandy
Posts about Adelaide of Normandy written by judywork1957
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Time Slips
Many of you who follow this blog know that besides following the fictional history, I am also following my personal path through history. I have been doing this family history for many years and often the path just seems to plod along towards a dead end path. I remind myself the search, the journey of discovery is more important and gratifying than the end destination and then go on to explore some other branch of the family. I’ve already shared some of that journey with you here… you may remember our past trip to Pennsylvania where we found Mary Polly Owen who led us back to Wales- eventually, we will get back to that particular path. You might also recall our more recent trip to Germany’s history with my Mother’s Meyer and Pfeiffer ancestors.

Mary Polly Owen’s story is here:

https://timeslipsblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/family-history-because-our-lives-are-stories-waiting-to-be-told/

German ancestry and history:

https://timeslipsblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/search-for-ancestors-led-to-prussia-saxony-and-to-roland-part-1/

Lately, I have been trying to fill in gaps and add to my Father’s ancestry. My Father’s path has already been well traced back to the Netherlands and to England so I really was not expecting much more than that. My main intent this time around was to fill in some of those gaps and just sort of refresh myself on some basic information. I was not expecting to veer from our rather mundane and ordinary but still interesting history. I did not foresee any twists or turns in the already fairly well set path of Protestants and Puritans leaving England, traveling to Holland and then embarking on their journies to America. I knew before hand that at some point in the 1500s, my Workman ancestor left England for Holland on this journey. I decided to take one last look at that earliest Workman ancestor just to remind myself of where he was in England before making that fateful decision. That was when fate intervened and I discovered a new and as yet untraveled path.

My earliest Workman ancestor was a man named Nicholas Workman who lived in Kings Stanley, Gloucestershire, England. We know little about him other than that he was born in 1500, died in 1543. He was married to a woman named Julyann Gyllian and at his death, left a will mentioning his wife and children.

Although nothing is known about Nicholas Workman, some history of Kings Stanley, Gloucestershire states that it was an important wool manufacturing center and a large number of Flemish families immigrated to the area in the early 1300s. We might assume that possibly Nicholas was a merchant or man of some moderate wealth, and in some good standing with the Catholic Church during that time.

It is with Nicholas’s son Humphrey that our somewhat average and ordinary path through history takes a turn. I mentioned that Nicholas may have been a man of some standing or wealth because his son, Humphrey was able to make what would seem to be a fairly good marriage. Humphrey Workman married a young woman by the name of Joan Hathaway, and that is where our trip through history takes a turn for the more interesting!

Joan Hathaway was my 12th Great Grandmother and we can follow her history back on a path through England, Normandy, Scotland, Northumbria and eventually to a history that involves the family of Uhtred the Bold! Joan was born to Robert Hathaway and wife, Catherine in 1536. She was married to Humphrey in about 1546- yes, she was extremely young at the time but we need to give or take a few years either way as far at dates. And, there may have been some reason she was married off so young. Her Father Robert Hathaway died in 1545 and she was the youngest child with a number of older brothers who may have decided to marry her off quickly after the Father’s death. What ever the reason for it, she was married to Humphrey Workman and began the connection between Workman and Hathaway lines.

There is little information about Joan’s parents. Her Father was Robert Hathaway, born 1500 at Gloucestershire and died in 1545 at same location. His wife is listed only as Catherine. I can only assume that during this period of time, the family was living a fairly quiet but comfortable life. They were most likely modestly well off and possibly within the edges of nobility but not at the center… which, realistically is usually a good place to be! They may also have been trying to keep a somewhat low profile so as not to involve themselves or draw attention to their family in light of some earlier events in the family history. We need to go back a few generations to discover some of those events…

If we look at Robert Hathaway’s family history, it takes us back to one William XII Hathaway who married a woman named Joan Maud Wydville. This William was born in 1390 at Monmouth Castle in Gloucestershire. Little is documented or known about him but we do know a slight bit more about wife Joan. Joan Maud Wydville was born in 1410 at Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire. She was the daughter of Richard Woodville/DeWydville. If we’re keeping track here, Joan was my 16th great grandmother… so her Father, Richard Woodville would have been my 18th grandfather. Yes, this part of the more infamous Woodville family involved in the War of the Roses! Richard was executed in 1441 during the War of the Roses for his participation and involvement in the events. This Richard is not the one married to Jaquetta of Luxembourg, but more likely a close relative… this is a portion of the cursed ancestry that has been muddied so much that it’s difficult to wade through it!

Our Hathaway line comes to and end during these years at but we can follow Joan’s path back further through some of her Woodville connections and others. I know you’re all thinking, Enough of this- get to the good stuff already! I will do that now- I just wanted to give you some sort of path to follow with me.

We can follow Joan Maud Wydville’s path back through the Wydvilles and Lyons families to a family by the name and title of De St. Elizabeth or St. Liz. The St. Elizabeth family line takes us all the way back to France, Normandy, Scotland and Northumbria during and before William the Conqueror. What is interesting is that we always seemed to be that one step away from the actual Royal lines… maybe that’s how we survived, We were seldom in the direct line of fire… other than those years of the Woodville’s involvement in that War of the Roses. With that all being said, we can look at the stories and history of this St. Elizabeth family that takes us back to France and Normandy, as well as England and Scotland.

Our St. Elizabeth family line goes back to William the Conqueror by way of his sister, Adelaide (Alix/Alixia) who was a daughter of Robert “The Devil” of Normandy. Adelaide was married three times. From her marriage to Ranulf “The Rich” De Bayeaux Meschines Senlis she had a son, Simon I, 2nd Earl Huntingdon Northampton De Senlis aka De St. Liz who began the St. Elizabeth line which I eventually descended from. For Vikings saga fans, Yes this means that having William, Adelaide and Robert as my ancestors also means that I can claim Rollo as an ancestor!

Adelaide was born around 1030 to Robert and mistress or concubine, Herleva of Falaise. There is some debate over whether Herleva was the Mother of all the children or if the other children including Adelaide might have been from some other concubine or mistress. Robert was never married to any of the Mothers.

Adelaide’s first marriage to Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu potentially gave then Duke William a powerful ally in upper Normandy. But at the Council of Reims in 1049, when the marriage of Duke William with Matilda of Flanders was prohibited based on consanguinity, so were those of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne and Enguerrand of Ponthieu, who was already married to Adelaide. Adelaide’s marriage was apparently annulled c.1049/50 and another marriage was arranged for her, this time to Lambert II, Count of Lens, younger son of Eustace I, Count of Boulogne forming a new marital alliance between Normandy and Boulogne. Lambert was killed in 1054 at Lille, aiding Baldwin V, Count of Flanders against Emperor Henry III. Now widowed, Adelaide resided at Aumale, probably part of her dower from her first husband, Engurerand, or part of a settlement after the capture of Guy of Ponthieu, her brother-in-law. As a dowager Adelaide began a semi-religious retirement and became involved with the church at Auchy presenting them with a number of gifts. In 1060 she was called upon again to form another marital alliance, this time to a younger man Odo, Count of Champagne. Odo seems to have been somewhat of a disappointment as he appears on only one of the Conqueror’s charters and received no land in England; his wife being a tenant-in-chief in her own right.

In 1082 King William and Queen Matilda gave to the abbey of the Holy Trinity in Caen the town of Le Homme in the Cotentin with a provision to the Countess of Albamarla (Aumale), his sister, for a life tenancy. In 1086, as Comitissa de Albatnarla, as she was listed in the Domesday Book, was shown as having numerous holdings in both Suffolk and Essex, one of the very few Norman noblewomen to have held lands in England at Domesday as a tenant-in-chief. She was also given the lordship of Holderness which was held after her death by her 3rd husband, Odo, the by then disinherited Count of Champagne; the lordship then passed to their son, Stephen. Adelaide died before 1090.

While Simon St. Elizabeth is the direct ancestor, I was more interested in the story of one of Adelaide’s other children. For all of those waiting impatiently for this to get interesting, this is the story that takes us to Northumbria and to an involvement with Uhtrect the Bold.

Before we begin this story, I just need to add a few thoughts on this line of events. These thoughts have to do with my personal beliefs in fate, destiny, and how our ancestors remain a guiding force in our lives whether we realize it or not. I believe that our past is part of our present and future. We are all here because of those past ancestors and in some ways, I do believe in some sort of collective shared consciousness or set of memories that we carry with us. Whether it be in the form of past lives, or of those ancestors guiding us, pointing us by signs or subtle (ok, sometimes not so subtle) messages, I believe there is some greater connection between us here and those forgotten voices of the past. When I am researching parts of my family history, I often feel like I am being led or guided by someone who wants their life, their story shared for some reason. I have learned over the years to follow those small sometimes faint clues and signs in my search. I firmly believe that my family history is such an important part of who I am, of what part of my purpose in this life is. I read a book a long time ago that talked about listening to your soul, finding your soul purpose in life. In that book, it was mentioned that some of us are here as record keepers, story tellers. It made profound sense to me at the time and I completely understood then that this is part of my soul’s purpose or role here.

Now, when I am working on our family history, I make it a point to listen and look for those smaller sometimes insignificant details down to even something like a name. Sometimes name throughout our family history are so important that they keep repeating themselves as if to give us a clear signal that we are part of this group’s history. Our ancestors felt a need to mark themselves as connected that they passed those names down through the centuries like markers or bread crumbs for later generations to follow. My Mother’s family was one such family, using Susanna, Catherine, Elizabeth and Margaret to mark each generation…until My Mother’s generation broke the chain and decided to go the more popular route with names. My Father’s Workman ancestors did much the same with Amos, Abraham, Isaac, William and David marking their generations…until once again, my Father’s generation broke that chain as well. Names are important, they have some meaning or importance (or they should!) in marking us, in connecting us and in beginning our own story. When I was born, my parents broke the chain but did not do it with a necessarily popular trendy name. They named me Judith, which of course did get shortened to the more popular trend of Judy. I hated the name as a child, would have much preferred the short version of just Judy. Over the years, I have grown comfortable with the more traditional version of Judith. I asked my Mother once why she chose Judith… her answer was she didn’t really know but it just felt right to her. I now feel that way as well, it just feels right to me. It is part of me and I often feel like it has been with me for more than just this life.

When I look through my vast family history, I very rarely ever come across the name Judith. It is just not a common name that runs through any of our history, recent or otherwise. I was surprised when it showed up in my recent search, of course, I was intrigued and curious about this Judith and her story. Once I read her story, I was immediately drawn into it and it spoke to me on a number of levels besides just the history involved.

Here is the story of Judith of Lens and her involvement in events of Northumbria. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Judith of Lens van Boulogne was the daughter of Adelaide of Normandy and her husband, Lambert II Count of Lens. She was the niece of William the Conqueror and was born in 1054 before her uncle’s conquest of England. William conquered England in 1066 and thereafter rewarded those who supported him with lands and marriages which would them loyal to him. Much of the time, his female relatives were used and traded as those rewards. Judith was no exception, being his niece, she would have been looked at as a valuable commodity during this time. The timing of her birth in relation to his rise in power put her as prime marriage material.

In the year 1070 at about the age of 15, she was married to the new Earl of Northumbria who had submitted and sworn loyalty to William after the battle of Hastings. Waltheof was the second son of Siward, Earl of Northumbria. His mother was Aelfflaed, daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bernicia, son of Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria. In 1054, Waltheof’s brother, Osbearn, who was much older than he, was killed in battle, making Waltheof his father’s heir. Siward himself died in 1055, and Waltheof being far too young to succeed as Earl of Northumbria, King Edward appointed Tostig Godwinson to the earldom. He was said to be devout and charitable and was probably educated for a monastic life. In fact around 1065 he became an earl, governing Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire. Following the Battle of Hastings he submitted to William and was allowed to keep his pre-Conquest title and possessions. He remained at William’s court until 1068 where he may have been initially introduced to Judith. William should probably have kept him at his court longer. In 1069, Waltheof returned to his home in Northumbria and joined Edgar the Aetheling along with the Danes in an attack on York. He would again make a fresh submission to William after the departure of the invaders in 1070. He was restored to his earldom, and went on to marry William’s niece, Judith of Lens. In 1072, he was appointed Earl of Northampton.

In 1072, William expelled Gospatric from the earldom of Northumbria. Gospatric was Waltheof’s cousin and had taken part in the attack on York with him, but like Waltheof, had been pardoned by William. Gospatric fled into exile and William appointed Waltheof as the new earl. Waltheof had many enemies in the north. Amongst them were members of a family who had killed Waltheof’s maternal great-grandfather, Uchtred the Bold, and his grandfather Ealdred. This was part of a long-running blood feud. In 1074, Waltheof moved against the family by sending his retainers to ambush them, succeeding in killing the two eldest of four brothers.

I am including this prior history of Uhtred the Bold because I know there will Last Kingdom fans interested in it! Hmmmm, if you look at Waltheof’s family history, you see that he is a descendent of Uhtred the Bold… and since part of my line goes back to Waltheof and Judith’s daughter Maud with her marriage to Simon St. Liz and their children, hey I guess that means I could count Uhtred as one of those ancient ancestors as well? No wonder I like him so much!

Uchtred or Uhtred, called the Bold, (d. 1016) was the ealdorman of all Northumbria from 1006 to 1016, when he was assassinated. He was the son of Waltheof I, ealdorman of Bamburgh, whose ancient family had ruled from the castle of Bamburgh on the Northumbrian coast. In 995, according to Symeon of Durham, when the remains of St Cuthbert were transferred from Chester-le-Street to Durham, Uhtred helped the monks clear the site of the new cathedral. The new cathedral was founded by Bishop Aldhun, and Uhtred married Aldhun’s daughter, Ecgfrida, probably at about this time. From his marriage he received several estates that had belonged to the church.

In 1006 Malcolm II of Scotland invaded Northumbria and besieged the newly founded episcopal city of Durham. At that time the Danes were raiding southern England and King Ethelred was unable to send help to the Northumbrians. Ealdorman Waltheof was too old to fight and remained in his castle at Bamburgh. Ealdorman Ælfhelm of York also took no action. Uhtred, acting for his father, called together an army from Bernicia and Yorkshire and led it against the Scots. The result was a decisive victory for Uhtred. Local women washed the severed heads of the Scots, receiving a payment of a cow for each, and the heads were fixed on stakes to Durham’s walls. Uhtred was rewarded by King Ethelred II with the ealdormanry of Bamburgh even though his father was still alive. In the mean time, Ethelred had had Ealdorman Ælfhelm of York murdered, and he allowed Uhtred to succeed Ælfhelm as ealdorman of York, thus uniting northern and southern Northumbria under the house of Bamburgh. It seems likely that Ethelred did not trust the Scandinavian population of southern Northumbria and wanted an Anglo-Saxon in power there.

After receiving these honours Uhtred dismissed his wife, Ecgfrida, and married Sige, daughter of Styr, son of Ulf. Styr was a rich citizen of York. It appears that Uhtred was trying to make political allies amongst the Danes in Deira. Through Sige, Uhtred had two children, Eadulf, later Eadulf III, and Gospatric. This Gospatric’s grandson was the infamous Eadwulf Rus who murdered Bishop Walcher. In 1013 King Sweyn of Denmark invaded England, sailing up the Humber and Trent to the town of Gainsborough. Uhtred submitted to him there, as did all of the Danes in the north. In the winter of 1013 Ethelred was forced into exile in Normandy. After London had finally submitted to him, Sweyn was accepted as king by Christmas 1013. However he only reigned for five weeks, for he died at, or near, Gainsborough on 2 February 1014. At Sweyn’s death, Ethelred was able to return from exile and resume his reign. Uhtred, along with many others, transferred his allegiance back to Ethelred, on his return. Uhtred also married Ethelred’s daughter Ælfgifu about this time.

In 1016 Uhtred campaigned with Ethelred’s son Edmund Ironside in Cheshire and the surrounding shires. While Uhtred was away from his lands, Sweyn’s son, Cnut, invaded Yorkshire. Cnut’s forces were too strong for Uhtred to fight, and so Uhtred did homage to him as King of England. Uhtred was summoned to a meeting with Cnut, and on the way there, he and forty of his men were murdered by Thurbrand the Hold, with assistance from Uhtred’s own servant, Wighill and with the connivance of Cnut. Uhtred was succeeded in Bernicia by his brother Eadwulf Cudel. Cnut made the Norwegian, Eric of Hlathir, ealdorman (“earl” in Scandinavian terms) in southern Northumbria.

The killing of Uhtred by Thurbrand the Hold started a blood feud that lasted for many years. Uhtred’s son Ealdred subsequently avenged his father by killing Thurbrand, but Ealdred in turn was killed by Thurbrand’s son, Carl. Eadred’s vengeance had to wait until the 1070s, when Waltheof, Eadred’s grandson had his soldiers kill most of Carl’s sons and grandsons. This is an example of the notorious Northumbrian blood feuds that were common at this time. Uhtred’s dynasty continued to reign in Bernicia through Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh (killed 1038) his son from his marriage to Ecgfrida, and Eadulf (killed 1041) his son from his marriage to Sige, and briefly Eadulf’s son Osulf held the earldom of northern Northumbria 1067 until he too was killed. Uhtred’s marriage to Ælfgifu produced a daughter, Ealdgyth, who married Maldred, brother of Duncan I of Scotland and who gave birth to a son, Gospatric, who was Earl of Northumbria from 1068 to 1072.

William most probably assumed that the marriage of Waltheof to Judith would keep him loyal in the future… unfortunately, this was not the case. In 1075 Waltheof joined the Revolt of the Earls against William. His motives for taking part in the revolt are unclear, as is the depth of his involvement. However he repented, confessing his guilt first to Archbishop Lanfranc and then in person to William, who was at the time in Normandy. He returned to England with William but was arrested, brought twice before the king’s court and sentenced to death. He spent almost a year in confinement before being beheaded on May 31, 1076 at St. Giles’s Hill, near Winchester. He was said to have spent the months of his captivity in prayer and fasting. Many people believed in his innocence and were surprised when the execution was carried out. His body was initially thrown in a ditch, but was later retrieved and was buried in the chapter house of Croyland Abbey.

Judith herself had no part in her husband’s revolt, in fact it was she who betrayed Waltheof to William. It could have been a case of Judith knowing full well her Uncle’s power and not wanting to incur any death sentence for herself or her children. Had William found any evidence of her own involvement in any such act, she most likely have met the same end as her husband. It could be said that perhaps she was just blindly and devoutly loyal to her uncle but her next actions would prove that she was not quite so blindly loyal and that she would stand up for herself if need be and not be used as a continuing pawn by William. William should have realized early on that Waltheof would not remain loyal to him. He had already proven he could not be trusted more than once. What this did was put Judith in the middle of a potential disaster from the beginning. She was placed in the marriage with the intent of keeping the man loyal, and yes even possibly the intent for her to keep any eye on him or spy for William. She was 15 at the time and expected to carry out this role for her Uncle. It had to have been a difficult situation to say the least for this girl. William was not above using her as his means of controlling both her and the Northumbrians.

After Waltheof’s execution, William did attempt to use her again… he betrothed her to Simon I of St. Liz, 1st Earl of Northampton. Judith refused to marry Simon and she fled the country to avoid William’s anger. William then temporarily confiscated all of Judith’s English estates. Simon, later, married, as his second wife, Judith’s daughter, Maud, as her first husband. Yes, Simon would be the Simon of my St. Elizabeth or St. Liz ancestors. So, it does all connect back to me again anyway through those many intersecting threads of lineage and breeding among the Nobles! I do need to add here that there was a great deal of marrying within those supposed boundaries and degrees of separation that were set by the Church in order to specifically avoid the whole issue of inter marrying within bloodlines so the lines often got crossed and it is often difficult to sort those family lines out!

Judith did eventually return to England where she founded Elstow Abbey in Bedfordshire around 1078. She also founded churches at Kempston and Hitchin. In the Domesday book written after 1085, she is listed as having holdings of her own.

Countess Judith holds POTONE herself. It answers for 10 hides. Land for 12 ploughs. In lordship 3½ hides; 3 ploughs there. 18 villagers and 2 Freemen with 8 ploughs; a ninth possible. 13 smallholders and 3 slaves. 1 mill, 5s; meadow for 12 ploughs; pasture for the village livestock. In total, value £12; when acquired 100s; before 1066 £13. King Edward held this manor; it was Earl Tosti’s. There were 4 Freemen who had 1 hide and 1 virgate; they could grant to whom they would.

In (Cockayne) HATLEY Countess Judith holds 3 hides and 2½ virgates as one manor. Land for 6½ ploughs. In lordship 1 hide and ½ virgate; 2 ploughs there. 8 villagers with 4½ ploughs; woodland, 4 pigs. Value £6 5s; when acquired 100s; before 1066 £6. Earl Tosti held this manor. It lies in Potton, the Countess’ own manor. A Freeman had 1 virgate; he could grant and sell, and withdraw to another lord.

Judith died some time after 1086 and no other marriages are documented for her. So, what she did was survive William’s years of control and ravaging of England even if it meant that she had to betray her husband in order to manage that for herself and her children. She went on to win her own personal battle against him and set her own terms for the remainder of her life. She turned down a marriage demand… I am quite sure that it was not just a suggestion or request on William’s part, and then had to suffer the consequence of seeing her daughter married to that same man. I am also reasonably certain that she most likely had no choice or say in that matter either but her daughter did go on to eventually become a Queen of Scotland.

Judith’s daughter, Maud Countess of Huntingdon was born in 1074 and married Simon St. Liz in about 1090. Her first husband died some time after 1111 and Maud next married David, the brother-in-law of Henry I of England, in 1113. Through the marriage, David gained control over his wife’s vast estates in England, in addition to his own lands in Cumbria and Strathclyde. They had four children (two sons and two daughters):

Malcolm (born in 1113 or later, died young)

Henry (c.1114 – 1152)

Claricia (died unmarried)

Hodierna (died young and unmarried)

In 1124, David became King of Scots. Maud’s two sons by different fathers, Simon and Henry, would later vie for the Earldom of Huntingdon. She died in 1130 or 1131 and was buried at Scone Abbey in Perthshire, but she appears in a charter of dubious origin dated 1147.

As one last note on this… my ancestors were as usual on the sidelines of this royalty! My ancestors were from Maud’s first marriage to Simon St. Liz, thereby missing out on the Royal lineage but still managing to gain some benefit from the association… Our ancestral motto should read something like “Keep your head low, Survive and reap the rewards!”