407:
enough to do evil, shrewd and jocular, extremely cruel and daring. Mabel was hostile to most members of the clergy; but her husband loved the monks at Saint-Evroul so she found it necessary to be more subtle. She deliberately burdened their limited resources by visiting the abbey for extended stays with a large retinue of her soldiers. When rebuked by
Theodoric the abbot for her callousness she snapped back that the next time she would visit with an even larger group. The abbot predicted that if she did not repent of her evilness she would suffer great pains and that very evening as she was coming from her bath, some knights that has crept into the castle decapitated her, bringing an end to her evil ways. In continuing her family's feud with the Giroie family she set her sights on Arnold de Echauffour, the son of William fitz Giroie who her father had mutilated at his wedding celebration. She attempted to poison Arnold of Echauffour by placing it in a glass of wine but he declined to drink. Her husband's brother, Gilbert, refreshing himself after a long ride, drank the wine and died shortly thereafter. In the end though she bribed Arnold's chamberlain providing him with the necessary poison, this time being successful. In 1077 she took the hereditary lands of
284:. William Talvas, held the lands of Bellême in right of his brother Bishop Ives who retained the Lordship himself until his death at which time William came into possession of the lands of Bellême, Domfront and Alençon. After the infamous incident (see below) with William fitz Giroie, his kinsmen sacked and destroyed the lands of William Talvas who would not face them in the field. In turn Talvas' son Arnulf rebelled and exiled his father, now reviled by everyone. He wandered until he was taken in by the de
33:
305:, who continued the aggressive policy of his mother. He built several castles to ensure control of the vast lordship of Bellême and held in total of forty castles, including those of Alençon and Bellême, defending the territory and form a barrier to any attempt to bid. In 1098 Robert's younger brother Hugh died, and Robert inherited, on payment of £3,000 in relief, the English properties that had been their father's, including the
387:
419:, and the de Bellême family. William Talvas (de Bellême), Robert's grandfather, had blinded and mutilated William fitz Giroie. Robert did at times appropriate church properties and was not a major donor to any ecclesiastical house. But Robert's attitudes toward the church are typical of many of his contemporaries; certainly no worse than the secular rulers and other magnates of his day. The assessment of William II Rufus by
51:
192:
406:
Of all of
Orderic's female subjects William's daughter Mabel was the most cunning and treacherous; if not entirely for her own misdeeds then as the mother of Robert de Bellême, who had a reputation for savagery as well as cruelty. In one passage Orderic describes her as "small, very talkative, ready
402:
to attend. Suspecting nothing, fitz Giroie, while a guest at the festivities, was suddenly seized by Talvas' men and imprisoned, then according to
Orderic horribly mutilated and blinded before being released. Somehow William Giroie survived his torture and mutilation and retired to Bec Abbey to live
292:
agreed to marry his daughter Mabel in return for the lands
William lost. Mabel inherited all the vast estates of her father (and in 1079 those of her uncle Bishop Ives) and married the heir of one of the most prominent families in Normandy, Roger de Montgomery, who became the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.
414:
But, Orderic
Vitalis may have been most strongly biased against Robert de Bellême and his treatment of that magnate belies a moral interpretation of his actions. The basis for Orderic's animosity towards Robert and his de Bellême predecessors was the longstanding and bitter feud between the Giroie
397:
The chroniclers of ducal
Normandy, William of Jumieges and Orderic Vitalis depict several members of the family as cruel and deceptive. While William Talvas was as treacherous and self-serving as any of his family before him he surpassed them in wickedness and cruelty. He had married a Hildeburg,
498:
Yves de Criel and Yves de Bellême are confused by several sources and thought to be the same person by some. Yves de Criel, who was instrumental in saving young
Richard I of Normandy would not chronologically be possible to be the same as Yves de Bellême, the subject of this article, who died c.
279:
indicating he considered himself an independent ruler or prince of his own domains. His sons Fulk and Warin died in his lifetime leaving Robert as his heir. Robert de Bellême died a prisoner leaving the fourth son, Ives as lord of Bellême, who shortly thereafter became Bishop of
499:
1005. Geoffrey White believed Yves de Criel was probably the father of Yves de Bellême, which was also accepted by all the French writers, but was of the opinion it should not be stated as fact as it was by
Prentout. See: Geoffrey H. White, The First House of Bellême,
398:
daughter of a nobleman named Arnulf, but he had his wife strangled on her way to church, according to
Orderic, because she loved God and would not support his wickedness. Then on the occasion of his second wedding, William Talvas invited one of his vassals
733:
319:; all of which combined made him the wealthiest magnate in both England and Normandy. Robert rebelled repeatedly against the King of England and Duke of Normandy. In 1112 Robert was sent as an envoy of the French king to Henry I at his court at
423:
could well apply to Robert de Bellême as well: "His life was given over to military designs, and to the raising of money to make them possible; for everything that did not minister to those ends he showed a supreme contempt".
347:
and the villa of Dissay-sue-Courcillon including all fiscal rights if he could use his influence. Geoffrey interceded with King
Lothair to obtain the see for Seinfroy who became Bishop
205:
also referred to as the Family of Bellême was an important seigneurial family during the 10th through the 12th centuries. Members of this family held the important castles of
466:
302:
289:
471:
451:
323:
whereas Henry seized Robert and imprisoned him. Robert spent the rest of his life as a prisoner; the exact date of his death is not known.
336:
119:
281:
954:
551:
411:
by force. Two years later while leaving her bath, she was decapitated by some knights that had crept into the castle.
260:
263:
constructed two castles, one at Alençon and the other at Domfront, the caput of the lordship remained the castle of
625:, Vol. II, Ed. & Trans. elisabeth M.C. Van Houts (The Clarendon Press, Oxford & New York, 1995), pp. 110-12
340:
371:
355:
919:
Kathleen Thompson, 'Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Bellême', Journal of Medieval History, Vol. 20 (1994), p. 134
441:
363:
320:
416:
654:, Volume XI, Ed. Geoffrey H. White (The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., London, 1949), p. 686 & note (j)
446:
375:
256:
652:
The Complete Peerage; or, a History of the House of Lords and all its Members from the Earliest Times
374:
were locked in a bitter and seemingly endless power struggle. At Avesgaud's death in 1036 his nephew
877:
775:
Steven Fanning, 'A Bishop and His World Before the Gregorian Reform: Hubert of Angers, 1006-1047',
462:
Mabel de Bellême, Dame de Alençon, de Séez, and Bellême, Countess of Shrewsbury and Lady of Arundel
461:
399:
103:
737:, Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1989), Tafel 636
285:
138:
114:
436:
367:
359:
268:
230:
81:
181:
176:
124:
98:
55:
513:
456:
252:
93:
623:
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni
306:
386:
214:
165:
32:
331:
Even as early as the latter half of the tenth century members of this family held the
948:
420:
332:
248:
234:
432:
The five generations of this well-known if not notorious family are represented by:
746:
309:
and the Earldom of Shrewsbury. Robert had also acquired the countship of Ponthieu
311:
709:(Brookfield, VT & Aldershot Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing, 1995), III, 25-6
408:
390:
378:, son of his sister Hildeburge de Bellême succeeded him as Bishop of Le Mans.
264:
244:
210:
206:
159:
153:
807:, Ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Volume II (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1993), P. 15
722:(Brookfield, VT & Aldershot Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing, 1995), III, 26
358:. Although their parentage is unknown, his sister, Godeheut, was the wife of
339:
and Séez. Seinfroy (Seginfredus) sought the bishopric of Le Mans and offered
734:
Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten
718:
Bernard S. Bachrach, 'Geoffrey Greymantle, Count of the Angevins, 960-987',
705:
Bernard S. Bachrach, 'Geoffrey Greymantle, Count of the Angevins, 960-987',
344:
191:
512:
For more on the feud between the Bellêmes and the Giroies see the article
316:
50:
884:(Manchester University Press, Manchester, UK, 2000), p. 276 & n. 300
868:(University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), p. 414
218:
171:
109:
558:, Tomis I (Sumptibus Soc. Antiq. Londinensis, Londini, 1840), p. lxxii
935:, Ed. Marjorie Chibnall (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1991), p. 280
354:. Geoffrey's choice of bishop proved to be a useful ally against the
933:
Anglo-Norman Studies XIII; Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1990
385:
239:
190:
766:(Poulet-Malassis, Imprimeur-Libraire, Place Bourbon, 1805), p. 24
610:(Poulet-Malassis, Imprimeur-Libraire, Place Bourbon, 1805), p. 24
692:
J. F. A. Mason, 'Roger de Montgomery and His Sons (1067-1102)',
571:, Vol. I (Macmillan and Co., New York, 1887), p. 114 & n. 1
633:
631:
271:
of the lands of Neustria Pia, he describes himself as William
819:, Ed. Anna Roberts (University Press of Florida, 1998), p. 49
670:(Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2003), p. 155
362:. He was followed as Bishop of Le Mans in 997 by his nephew,
906:
Kathleen Thompson, 'Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Bellême',
679:
Kathleen Thompson, 'Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Bellême',
221:
as well as extensive lands in France, Normandy and Maine.
452:
Ives de Bellême, Seigneur de Bellême and Bishop of Sées
931:
Kathleen Thompson, 'Robert of Bellême Reconsidered',
753:, Vol. I (Macmillan and Co., New York, 1887), p. 204.
556:
Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae sub Regibus Angliae
893:Pauline Stafford, 'Women and the Norman Conquest',
146:
132:
87:
77:
64:
41:
20:
777:Transactions of the American Philosophical Society
791:Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême',
637:Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême',
593:Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême',
580:Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême',
370:. Throughout most of his reign as bishop he and
844:Geoffrey H. White, The First House of Bellême,
828:Geoffrey H. White, The First House of Bellême,
535:Geoffrey H. White, The First House of Bellême,
618:
616:
805:The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis
229:The first known progenitor of this family is
8:
895:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
846:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
830:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
793:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
694:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
639:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
595:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
582:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
537:Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
472:Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
927:
925:
860:
858:
856:
854:
547:
545:
467:Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury
403:out the remainder of his life as a monk.
303:Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury
840:
838:
817:Violence Against Women in Medieval Texts
787:
785:
662:
660:
528:
491:
897:, Sixth Series, Vol. 4, (1994), p. 227
848:, Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 87
832:, Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 86
795:, Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 83
641:, Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 84
597:, Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 81
584:, Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 78
539:, Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 73
442:Avesgaud de Bellême, Bishop of Le Mans
17:
7:
251:from the old dungeon of Bellême" in
37:Coat of Arms of the House of Bellême
779:, Vo. 78, Part 1 (1988), pp. 132-33
243:of the lordship was the castle of
14:
720:State Building in Medieval France
707:State Building in Medieval France
696:, 5th series vol. 13 (1963) p. 24
49:
31:
751:England Under the Angevin Kings
569:England Under the Angevin Kings
301:Mabel was succeeded by her son
247:, constructed "a quarter of a
1:
447:William 'Princeps' de Bellême
415:family, patrons of Orderic's
348:
277:provinciae principatum gerens
68:
942:Medieval Norman noble family
503:, Vol. 22 (1940), pp. 70-71.
233:who was probably the son of
908:Journal of Medieval History
681:Journal of Medieval History
261:Richard I, Duke of Normandy
196:Map of the lands of Bellême
973:
341:Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou
267:. Yet in a charter to the
30:
25:
910:, Vol. 20 (1994), p. 133
683:, Vol. 20 (1994), p. 138
225:Rapid rise to prominence
650:George Edward Cokayne,
762:Jean Jacques Gautier,
606:Jean Jacques Gautier,
394:
366:, son of Godeheut and
327:Bellême family bishops
259:, with the consent of
198:
955:French noble families
882:The Normans in Europe
866:William the Conqueror
666:C. Warren Hollister,
417:Abbey of Saint-Evroul
389:
194:
731:Detlev Schwennicke,
255:. The second lord,
878:Elisabeth van Houts
400:William fitz Giroie
364:Avesgaud de Bellême
72: 10th century
864:David C. Douglas,
764:Histoire d'Alenτon
608:Histoire d'Alençon
395:
376:Gervais de Bellême
297:Apogee and decline
257:William of Bellême
199:
133:Connected families
115:Earl of Shrewsbury
104:Count of La Marche
428:Prominent members
315:and the honor of
286:Montgomery family
189:
188:
182:Carreghofa Castle
177:Bridgnorth Castle
99:Count of Ponthieu
56:Duchy of Normandy
962:
936:
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920:
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862:
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552:Thomas Stapleton
549:
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514:William I Talvas
510:
504:
496:
457:William I Talvas
353:
350:
203:House of Bellême
120:Bishop of Lemans
94:Count of Alencon
73:
70:
54:
53:
35:
18:
972:
971:
965:
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437:Yves de Bellême
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384:
372:Herbert Wakedog
368:Yves de Bellême
360:Yves de Bellême
356:counts of Maine
351:
329:
307:Rape of Arundel
299:
269:abbey of Lonlay
231:Yves de Bellême
227:
197:
82:Yves de Bellême
71:
60:
48:
36:
12:
11:
5:
970:
969:
966:
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567:Kate Norgate,
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343:the hamlet of
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125:Bishop of Séez
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421:R.W. Southern
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352: 970-71
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235:Yves de Creil
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139:de Montgomery
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29:
24:
19:
16:
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894:
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873:
865:
845:
829:
824:
816:
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804:
800:
792:
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771:
763:
758:
750:
747:Kate Norgate
742:
732:
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719:
714:
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651:
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638:
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330:
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228:
202:
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108:Seigneur de
26:Noble family
15:
312:jure uxoris
170:Chateau de
164:Chateau de
158:Chateau de
152:Chateau de
523:References
409:Hugh Bunel
393:, Normandy
333:bishoprics
321:Bonneville
288:whose son
21:de Bellême
382:Notoriety
345:Coulaines
147:Estate(s)
949:Category
317:Tickhill
273:princeps
215:Domfront
166:Domfront
668:Henry I
391:Bellême
337:Le Mans
265:Bellême
245:Bellême
211:Alençon
207:Bellême
160:Alençon
154:Bellême
110:Belleme
78:Founder
65:Founded
42:Country
249:league
237:, The
88:Titles
486:Notes
290:Roger
253:Maine
240:caput
501:TRHS
282:Séez
275:and
219:Sées
217:and
201:The
172:Sées
335:of
951::
924:^
880:,
853:^
837:^
784:^
749:,
659:^
630:^
615:^
554:,
544:^
349:c.
213:,
209:,
69:c.
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