This page was set up by Robert Sewell in July 2006 to show the descent of the Dukes of Normandy through to Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.  Robert Sewell graduated from McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) in 1967 with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry.  After a year of studies at the University of Toronto's College of Education, he taught high school science in Collingwood, Ontario for a year and then taught chemistry, physics and general science in Hamilton, Ontario for twenty-nine years.  Robert Sewell retired from teaching in June 1998.

Click for  PDF index

The information presented here has been taken from the following sources:
Frederick L. Weis and Walter L. Sheppard:  Ancestral Roots, 7th Edition, Baltimore, 1999
World Book Millenium 2000 Deluxe Edition, © 1999 World Book Inc., © IBM Corp.
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopædia 99, © 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation
Norman F. Cantor (ed.): The Encyclopædia of the Middle Ages, New York, 1999
Barnes and Hudson: The History Atlas of Europe, New York, 1998
Berhard Grun: The Timetables of History, New York, 1991
George Andrews Moriarty: The Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa,

Genealogy

    The Dukes of Normandy claimed an ancient origin based on Norse and Icelandic sagas; but I have elected to begin this genealogy with information from Moriarty's "Plantagenet Ancestry" and Weis' "Ancestral Roots" which are considered much more reliable. For full details, please see:

Some folks prefer to begin their genealogy with even earlier persons as mentioned in the ancient sagas of Norway and Iceland. For more, please click on Norse Sagas. 

Generations One to Four below also appear in Florence Van Rensselaer, The Livingston Family in America and Its Scottish Origins, New York, 1949, pages 55 & 56. To view this line, click HERE .

Generation One
Halfdan the Old had a son:

• Ivar Oplaendinge

• Eystein "the Noisy" Glumra

Generation Three
Eystein "the Noisy" Glumra, Earl of the Uplands
Born in 788
Eystein married to Ascrida Ragnvaldsdottir. For Acrida's descent , please click Norse Sagas.
Eystein and Ascrida had the following children:

• Ragnvald I "the Wise" Eysteinsson
• Sigurd I Riki "the Powerful" Eysteinsson, Earl of Orkney, died in 982
• Swanhilda Eysteinsdottir who married King Harald I Haarfayer (circa 848/852 - 936) Harald was King of Norway in 883 and he was deposed or abdicated in 932.

Generation Four
Ragnvald I "the Wise" Eysteinsson, Earl of More
Died about 894
Ragnvald married first to Groa and they had the following children:

• Hallad Ragnvaldsson who became Earl of Orkney circa 983.
• Turf-Einar Ragnvaldsson, Earl of Orkney
• Hrollaug Ragnvaldsson

• Ivar Ragnvaldsson
• Rolf Ragnvaldsson
• Thori "the Silent" Ragnvaldsson, Earl of More

Generation Five
Rolf Ragnvaldsson, also known as Rolf the Ganger, Rolf Wend-a-Foot, Rolf the Viking and
Rollo of Norway. He was baptized as "Robert" and became the 1st Duke of Normandy
Born circa 846/860
Died in 932

    Encyclopeadia Britannica states that Rolf was a "Scandinavian rover who founded the duchy of  Normandy. Making himself independent of King Harald I of Norway, Rolf sailed off to raid Scotland, England, Flanders, and France on pirating expeditions and, about 911, established himself in an area along the Seine River. Charles III the Simple of France held off his siege of Paris, battled him near Chartres, and negotiated the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, giving him the part of Neustria that came to be called Normandy; Rolf in return agreed to end his brigandage. He gave his son, William (I) Longsword, governance of the dukedom (927) before his death. Rolf was baptized as 'Robert' in 912 but is said to have died a pagan."

    Laying siege to Paris appears to have been a popular pastime in the late 9th and early 10th century. Asser wrote in his Life of King Alfred:  "In the year of our Lord's incarnation, 886, which was the thirty- eighth since the birth of Alfred, the (Viking) army . . . directing their ships to the river called the Seine, and sailed up it as far as the city of Paris, and there they wintered and measured out their camp. They besieged that city a whole year, as far as the bridge, that they might prevent the inhabitants from making use of it; for the city is situated on a small island in the middle of the river; but by the merciful favour of God, and the brave defence of citizens, the army could not force their way inside the walls."

Paris besieged by Rolf the Ganger who became the 1^st Duke of Normandy
The small island in the middle of the Seine was originally the entire city.

Rolf married first in 886 to Poppa, whose ancestry is uncertain. Poppa may have been a daughter of Count Berenger of Bayeux, or she may have been a granddaughter of Seigneur Pépin (II), Count of Peronne who was a great grandson of Charlemagne.  Please click on The Ancestry of Poppa for details. For her possible descent from Seigneur Pépin, please click on Count of Peronne. 

Rolf and Poppa had the following children:

• William (I) Longsword of Normandy
• Gerloc or Adela of Normandy (died after January 14, 962). Adele married in 935 to William (I) "Tête d' Etoupes", Count of Poitou (born circa 915, died April 3, 963). Adela and William had the following children:
• William (II) "Fier de Bras", Count of Poitou (born circa 937, died February 3, 995) whose great grandson was William "The Troubadour" of Poitou and Aquitaine, the first known troubadour, or lyric poet, employing the Romance vernacular called Provencal and grandfather of Eleanor of Aquitaine. (Reference: George Andrews Moriarty: The Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, Mormon Pioneer Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985, pages 35 and 36)
• Adelaide of Poitou (born circa 945 - 950, died circa 1004) who married Hugh Capet, King of France.  (Reference: George Andrews Moriarty: The Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, Mormon Pioneer Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985, pages 11 and 27)

Generation Six
William (I) Longsword, 2nd Duke of Normany
Died (murdered) on December 17, 942

Please visit the "Planctus for William Longsword" at   http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/documents/planctus/index.html
This beautiful site offers a full translation and commentary on the Planctus or Mourning Poem for William Longsword.  As well, visitors are invited to ". . . to download all the files on this site for use on your home computer."  This feature enables you to download the entire site and work through it at your leisure.

William Longsword	Effigy of William Longsword

    William Longsword was involved in a war in the late 930's against Arnolph I "the Great", Count of Flanders.  Some sources state that a peace conference was held in December 942,  and that Arnolph arranged for the murder of William Longsword at that time. Other sources state that "Arnolph waged war against William of Normandy, whom he defeated and slew".

    William married first to Sprota (Adela) of Senlis, a daughter of Hubert (I), Count of Senlis and Vermandois who was a great great grandson of Charlemagne.  Click on Count of Senlis for this descent.

William and Sprota had the following children:

• Richard (I) "the Fearless" of Normandy

Generation Seven
Richard (I) "the Fearless", 3rd Duke of Normandy
Born in 933 at Fecamp, France
Acceded: 942
Died on November 20, 996 at Fecamp, France

Richard married first in 960 to Emma of Paris (died 962), a daughter of Hugh "the Great" Capet.

    Richard married second to Gunnor of Crêpon.  It is quite probable that Richard and Gunnor had some of their children prior to Richard's marriage to Emma of Paris (960 - 962).  Richard and Gunnor married after Emma's death, thereby legitimizing all the children.
    A relative of Gunnor named Osbern was a powerful Steward or Dapifer of Normandy during the minority of William the Conqueror.  Osbern was murdered in 1040 during an attempt on the life of the young Duke William that occurred right in William's bedroom.  Osbern was almost certainly Gunnor's nephew, a son of her brother Herfast; although some sources claim Osbern was Gunnor's brother.

Richard and Gunnor had the following children:

• Richard II "the Good" of Normandy
• Mauger, Earl of Corbeil
• Robert, Count of Évreux and Archbishop of Rouen (died on March 16, 1037) who supported his young nephew Robert "the Devil" and later his son Duke William.  Despite being an Archbishop, Robert had a wife and the following sons:
• Richard, Count of Évreux
• Ralph of Gacé who is said to have arranged the murder in 1040 of his cousin Gilbert "Crispin", Count of Brionne, who was chief tutor of Duke William at the time.
• William
• Matilda
• Emma of Normandy, born circa 986, died on March 14, 1052.  Emma married first on April 5, 1002 to King Æthelred II "the Unrede" of England, and they had a son:
• St. Edward the Confessor, King of England 1042 - 1066.  See Wessex and England.
Emma married second on July 2, 1012 to Canute II, King of England and Denmark, and they had a son:
• Hardicanute, King of England 1040 - 1042
• Hedwig (Hawise) who married Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany.  Their son:
• Alan (III), Count of Brittany who was a guardian of the young Duke William and is said to have "died suddenly", probably murdered, in October 1040.
• Beatrix of Normandy
• Godfrey of Brionne & Eu.  Please click on De Clare for this line. His son,
• Gilbert "Crispin", Count of Brionne, chief tutor of Duke William for a brief period in 1040.  He is said to have been murdered on the orders of his cousin Ralph of Gacé.
• William of Hiesmes, Count of Eu

Generation Eight
Richard (II) "the Good", 4th Duke of Normany
Acceded: 996
Died on August 28, 1026

Richard married first about 1000 to Judith of Brittany, daughter of Conan the Crooked, Duke of Brittany
Richard and Judith had the following children:

Richard married second in 1017 to Estrith (Margaret) of Denmark, daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Sigrid "the Haughty"; and they had a divorce circa 1017/18.  (Estrith married Richard's son Robert "the Devil" in 1031, and they had a divorce after a year or so as well.)

Richard married third about 1024 to Papia of Envermeu and they had the following children:

• Mauger, Archbishop of Rouen
• William, Count of Arques
• Papia, said to have married "Turchetil" who may have some connection to Turchetil who was a guardian of the young William the Conqueror.

Generation Nine
Robert (I) "the Devil", 6th Duke of Normandy
Born circa 1008
Acceded on August 6, 1027
Died between July 1 and 3, 1035 at Nicaea in Bithynia while returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  Ancient Nicaea was located about 65 miles south east of Constantinople.  Referred to as Robert "the Devil" (Moriarty, Planatagent Ancestry, pg. 13), he is also known as Robert "the Magnificent".

     Robert had a girlfriend named Herleva.  Both were under twenty, possibly as young as seventeen, when Herleva became pregnant with their first child who was to become William the Conqueror.  Herleva's father was Fulbert, who was probably a tanner.  Fulbert has been described as "polinctor" which translates more readily as "embalmer", or one who prepares corpses for burial, but the traditon is strong that he was a tanner; and Falaise, Normandy was famous for its tanneries.  Apparently there were no hard feelings with regard to Robert and Herleva having a child without undergoing the formality of a church ceremony.  Fulbert was given a subordinate office at the ducal court, and Herleve's brothers, Osbert and Walter, appear as witnesses to various charters.  As well, while Walter was never an official tutor or guardian of the young Duke William, he watched over William during his perilous childhood; and on occasion saved his life by snatching the boy from his cot and carrying him for safety to spend the rest of the night in the cottage of a poor family.

    It would appear that Robert and Herleva "broke up", but once again, there do not seem to have been any hard feelings.  Herleva married to Herluin, Vicomte of Contreville, and they had two sons: Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent; and Robert, Count of Mortain; both of whom were very close to their half brother, William the Conqueror; and both of whom were present at the Battle of Hastings.

    In late 1034, curiosity or devotion induced Robert (I) "the Devil", 6th Duke of Normandy, to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where the fatigues of the journey and the heat of the climate so impaired his consitution he died at Nicaea (in the area of Iznik in modern Turkey) on his way home.

Robert and Herleva had the following children:

• William the Conqueror
• Adeliza (Adelaide) of Normandy, (1029 - 1080/85) who married perhaps two or three times:  first to Enguerrand (III) d'Aûmale, Count of Ponthieu; second (maybe) to Lambert (II) von Boulogne, Count of Lens; and third to Eudes (Odo), Count of Champagne.  Adeliza had several children, one of whom was most likely by Enguerrand (III) d'Aûmale, Count of Ponthieu:
• Judith of Normandy, born about 1054 who married Waltheof, 1st Earl of Huntingdon.  Their daughter:
• Matilda (Maud) of Huntington, born circa 1072 - 1074 who married first in 1090 to Simon de Saint Liz, Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton (died in 1111) second in 1113 to King David (I) the Saint of Scotland.

Generation Ten
William the Conqueror, King of England
Born in 1028, probably in the autumn, at Falaise, Normandy, France.
Duke of Normandy 1035-1087 and King of England 1066-1087.
Died early in the morning on Thursday, September 9, 1087 at Hermentrube, Near Rouen, France.
Interred at the Monastery of St. Stephen, Caen, Normandy which he had founded.

     William invaded England, defeated and killed his rival Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and became King. William was noted for his efficient if harsh rule. Please click on William the Conqueror for more information and links.

William married in 1053 at the Cathedral of Notre Dame d'Eu, Normandy to Matilda of Flanders.  Please click on Mathilda of Flanders for her descent from the Kings of France and Charlemagne.
William and Mathilda had the following children:

• Robert (II) Curthose, Duke of Normandy (1054 - 1134)
• Richard, Duke of Bernay (1055 - 1075, died without issue)
• Cecilia, Abbess of Holy Trinity, Caen (1056 - 1127)
• Adeliza, who became a nun (born 1055)
• William (II) Rufus, King of England from 1087 to 1100  born 1056/60
• Constance, (1066 - 1090) who married Alan IV, Count of Brittany
• Adela, (1067 - 1137) who married Stephen, Count of Blois, their son:
• Stephen, King of England 1135 - 1154 who married Matilda, a granddaughter of Malcolm III Cænmore, King of Scotland.
• Agatha (born about 1064)
• Matilda who was said by Sir Bernard Burke and possibly others as well to be the same as Gundred who married William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey but this has since been disproved. (See Burke: Dormant and Extinct Peerages, 1866, pages 568 and 569;  C.T.Clay: Early Yorkshire Charters and H. Prentout Études sur Quelques Points de l'Histoire de Guillame le Conquérant  as described under Surrey in The Complete Peerage.)
• Henry (I) Beauclerc

Generation Eleven
Henry I Beauclerc, King of England
Born about September 1068 at Selby, Yorkshire, England
Died on December 1, 1135 at St. Denis-le-Fermont, Near Gisors

     Henry reigned as King of England from 1100 until his death in 1135. In 1106 he captured his brother Robert and took over as Duke of Normandy from 1106 to 1135.  Henry was nicknamed "Beauclerc" (fine scholar) for his above average education. During his reign, the differences between English and Norman society began to slowly evaporate. His reign is notable for important legal and administrative reforms, and he proved to be a hard but just ruler. He is reputed to have died from over consumption of  lampreys, but there is a good possibility that the excess of lampreys only gave him a bad case of indigestion and that a carelessly dispensed dose of purgative was in fact the cause of his demise.

King Henry (I) Beauclerc had the following son circa 1090, said to be his eldest son. The identity of the mother is uncertain, although some sources name Sybilla (Sibyl) Corbet:

• Robert de Caen, Earl of Gloucester, born circa 1090.  Robert was the eldest of a vast number of natural (illegitimate) children of King Henry I.  Click on The Children of King Henry for details.

• Euphamia, born July 1101, died young.
• Matilda (or Maud) of England, (1103/04 - 1167) who married first Henry V of Franconia, Emperor of the West (Also referred to as Emperor of Almain and Emperor of Germany; he d.s.p. May 22 or 23, 1125.) Because of her first marriage, Matilda is sometimes referred to as "Matilda the Empress", but more frequently as "Lady of the English" or "Heiress of England", or sometimes "Queen of the English". Matilda married secondly in 1127 Geoffrey "the Fair" Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and Maine.  Click on Geoffrey Plantagenet for his descent.  Matilda and Geoffrey had a son:
• Henry (II) Curtmantle, King of England was born on March 25, 1133.  The first of the Plantagenet or Angevin Kings of England, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine and became one of the most powerful mediæval English kings and European monarchs.  For more about this king, his wife, and their descendants, click on Henry II Curtmantle.  Their  sons included:
• King Richard (I) "the Lion-Hearted"
• King John who, under considerable pressure, granted the Magna Charta and then attempted to welsh on the deal. Click on King John for details.
• William the Aetheling, born before August 5, 1103 and drowned in the sinking of the White Ship on November 25, 1120.  When the white ship was wrecked on the deadly rock a boat was launched and William, the King's only legitimate son, was rowed to safety. The cries of his half-sister Maud, Countess of Perche, induced him to return to the wreck where they sank together. This was considered by some to be punishment for Henry's sins of lust in having so many illegitimate offspring.William was married to Isabella (Matilda), but they didn't have any children.  After her husband drowned she became a Nun, and was elected abbess of Fontevrault.
• Richard (Some sources say he drowned in the sinking of the White Ship on November 25, 1120. Other sources say he died in infancy, and the Richard who drowned on the White Ship was one of Henry's vast brood of illegitimate children.  Regardless, he predeceased his father.)

Generation Twelve
Robert de Caen, Earl of Gloucester
Born circa 1090 at Caen, France
Died on October 31, 1147 at Bristol

Robert de Caen, called "the Consul", married to Mabel (Maud) Fitz Hamon, daughter and heiress of Robert Fitz Hamon, Lord of Glamorgan and his wife Sibyl who was a daughter of Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. Roger de Montgomery is shown on the Battle Abbey Roll and the Dives-sur-Mer List as having accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066. While it cannot be proven, Roger de Montgomery may have been present at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066.

Robert de Caen and Mabel Fitz Hamon had the following children:
 

Generation Thirteen
William Fitz Robert, Earl of Gloucester
Died on November 23, 1183

William married circa 1150 to Hawise de Beaumont, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester and his wife Amice de Montfort.

William and Hawise had the following children:

• Mabel
• Amicia, Countess of Gloucester
• Isabel of Gloucester who married in 1189 and divorced in 1199 to King John of England.
• Robert Fitz William (died in 1166)

Generation Fourteen
Amicia, Countess of Gloucester
Died in 1225
Amicia married circa 1180 to Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Clare who was one of the 25 Sureties of the Magna Charta. Please click on Richard de Clare for his descent.
Richard and Amica had the following children:

• Gilbert de Clare
• Richard (Roger) de Clare
• Matilda (Maud) de Clare; married William de Braiose who was murdered by King John (starved to death) in 1210 at Corfe or Windsor Castle. (See Weis, Ancestral Roots, 7th Ed. 1999, Lines 29A-28 and 63A-28)
• Rose (Joan) de Clare

Generation Fifteen
Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Gloucester, Earl of Hertford and Clare
Born circa 1180
Died on October 25, 1230 at Penros, Brittany
Gilbert de Clare was one of the 25 Sureties of the Magna Charta.  Click on Gilbert de Clare.

    Gilbert married on October 9, 1217 at Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucester to Lady Isabella Marshal, daughter of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare.  Please click on Marshal for the descent of Lady Isabella Marshal.
Gilbert and Isabella had the following children:

• Amicia de Clare who married in 1226 to Baldwin de Reviers, Earl of Devon
• Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, born on August 4, 1222
• Isabel de Clare
• Sir William de Clare born on May 18, 1228 and poisoned while eating breakfast in 1258.
• Gilbert de Clare, a Priest, born on September 12, 1229
• Agnes de Clare

Generation Sixteen
Isabel de Clare
Born on November 8, 1226
Died in 1254, after July 10
Isabel married on May 12, 1240 to Robert de Bruce, Lord of Annandale and they had a son:

• Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick

Click to contact Robert Sewell