See 'Genealogy of the House of Anjou' on Page 21 'Henry Plantagenet A Biography' by Richard Barber (1964) at D.Y.Library
See "The NORMANS Descendants of Rognvald I Eysteinsson (From Orkney) at
http://members.aol.com/dwidad/normandy.html#8
Source for Reign ; 'Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards' by David Hilliam ISBN 0-7509-234-7 (920.041HIL @ DY)
Source for surname ' De Warrene' for Rufus at http://users.legacyfamilytree.com/NorthernEurope/f267.htm#f42521
Descendants of I Duke Of Normandy William at www.silcom.com/~campbell/genealogy/williamI.html
and http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~conqueror/genealogy_html
http://www.william1.co.uk/

William I the Conqueror Duke of Normandy; King of England was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. William was raised by his mother in the town of Falaise, France, as his father Robert was away fighting his enemies. Robert went off on Pilgrimage never to return and William became Duke of Normandy at the age or seven or eight. William married his cousin Matilda of Flanders, with whom he had twelve children.

William and Matilda's sons William II (Rufus) and Henry I Beauclerc (King Henry I) would become the future Monarchs of England. Their daughter, Adela married Stephen III of BLOIS [Count of Champagne, Brie and Chartres; Leader of the First Crusade]. Their firstborn, Cecilia became Abbess of the Holy Trinity and was born and died in Caen, Calvados, France at 75 years of age. Their next child Agatha married Harold II King of England. Their third child also a daughter Gundred was the Countess of Surrey. Their son William (Rufus) died in 1100. Their son Robert 'Courthouse' was the Duke of Normandy. Their daughter Constance married the Duke of Brittany and their youngest child Henry, became Henry I the future monarch of England.

The Vikings (Danes and Norwegians) had begun their raids into England in the eighth century conquering and settling in the north and east. At the end of the ninth century after the Saxon King Etheldred II fled, Sweyn Forbeard was acknowledged as King in 1013. He reigned for only a few weeks until his son Canute seized power in 1016 (crowned King in 1018) and ruled as the second Danish Monarch until 1035. His reign was followed by that of his son Harold I 'Harefoot' from 1035-1040 and then by that of Harold's half-brother Hardecanute from 1040 - 1042. On the death of Hardecanute, his half-brother Edward (the Confessor) returned from exile in Normandy and the Saxon line was restored. Edward the Confessor (Saint) reigned as King of England from 1042-1066. His reign was followed by that of Harold II the last Saxon King (1066) who was killed at the Battle of Hastings (he had been shipwreched in Normandy a few years earlier, when it is believed he was tricked into supporting the claim of William of Normandy (William the Conqueror's) claim to the throne.

William of the House of Normandy; The first Norman King; On 28 Sep 1066 William secured the sanction of Pope Alexander II for a Norman invasion of England. By 1070 the Norman conquest of England was complete. William introduced the
Continental system of feudalism; by the Oath of Salisbury of 1086 all landlords swore allegiance to William, thus establishing the precedent that a vassal's loyalty to the king overrode his fealty to his immediate lord. During a campaign against King Philip I of France, William fell from a horse and was fatally injured. He is sometimes called "William the Bastard".

At the Battle of Hastings on 14 Oct 1066 William of Normandy 'William the Conqueror' seized power (William was the nephew of Edward the Confessor) and the reign of the Norman kings of England begn with William I ruling from 1066-1087. The reign of the Norman Kings of England continued with William II (Rufus) his son from 1087-1100, Henry I , brother of Rufus 1100-1135,
Stephen nephew of Henry I from 1135-1154. Matilda, daughter of Henry I reigned for a few months in 1141 during her civil war with Stephen. After the death of Stephen in 1154 came the Plantagenet dynasty, the longest line in English history which lasted
341 years and had a reign of fourteen kings, commencing with King Henry II, son of Count Geoffrey V of Anjou and his wife Matilda, daughter of King Henry I and grandaughter of William the Conqueror.

William I's bold incursion in 1066 propelled a new dynasty to the throne of England. William the Conqueror-Duke William II of Normandy, King William I of England- was born at Falaise in 1027 or 1028, the bastard son of Robert I, sixth Duke of Normandy. He was a direct descendant of 'Rolf the Viking' of the Viking Dynasty in Gaul, who in about 911 had been recognised as a legitimate ruler in Neustria by the Emporer Charles III ('the simple') and had thereafter passed on his power in unbroken succession to son William, nicknamed 'Longsword' (died 942), to his grandson Duke Richard 1 (942-966) and to his great grandson Duke Richard II, the Conqueror's grandfather who survived until within three years of William's birth.

The Conqueror left Normandy to his eldest son, Robert Curthose, and England to his second son, William Rufus. For nine years, this resulted in many disputes in which men like his youngest son Henry, with lands in both realms, were obliged to take sides with one overlord while unintentionally antagonizing the other. Eventually, however, Robert renounced Normandy and set off on crusade, leaving Henry and the other barons to serve the monarch of a united kingdom. He was thus attending his brother, William, in the New Forest when he was accidentally (or otherwise) shot dead whilst out hunting on 2nd August 1100. Recognising the need for quick actions, the young prince left his brother’s body on the forest floor and rode straight for Winchester to secure both the treasury and his election as King by a small band of available councilors. He then left for Westminster where Bishop Maurice of crowned him in the Abbey, four days later.

During a visit in 1051 to his childless cousin, the Saxon king Edward the Confessor, in England, William is said to have obtained Edward's agreement that he should succeed to the English throne. In 1053, defying a papal ban, William married
Matilda of Flanders, daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, and a descendant of the Saxon king Alfred, thereby strengthening his claim to the crown of England. Henry I (viz, the French king), fearing the strong bond between Normandy and Flanders resulting from the marriage, attempted in 1054 and again in 1058 to crush the powerful duke, but on both occasions William defeated the French king's forces. About 1064, Harold, Earl of Wessex, later Harold II, King of England, was shipwrecked and taken prisoner by William. He secured his release by swearing to support William's claim to the English throne, When King Edward died, however, the witenagemot elected Harold king. Determined to make good his claim, William secured the sanction of Pope Alexander II for a Norman invasion of England. The duke and his army landed at Pevensey on Sept. 28, 1066. On Oct. 14, the Normans defeated the English forces at the celebrated Battle of Hastings,
in which Harold was slain; William then proceeded to London, crushing the resistance he encountered on the way. On Christmas Day he was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey
(Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, 1972, pp 128-9)]

William himself illegitimate was renowned for being a faithful husband devoted to his cousin Matilda and was severe on priests who took mistresses. In stark contrast their son King Henry is renowned for his many mistresses and illegitimate children. Although the tall William has often been considered as a remarkably faithful husband to his tiny wife Matilda he was aged 25 when they married and may have had several pre-marital illegitimate offspring, including:
Sylvia who married Louis de BOURNONVILLE, by Maud FITZINGELRIC (whom he later married off to Ranulph Peverell). William had WIilliam PEVEREL, d 1113, a companion of the Conqueror and possibly also his brother Robert Peverel.
William I was also said to have had an illegitimate son Robert Bastard, who held land in Devon 1086 and a another dau, possibly illegitimate, who married Comte Geoffrey Martel of Anjou.

The Husseys' living in England and lreland are reputed to descend from Hubert Hussey who came over from Normandy with William the Conquerer. He is thought to have married Hellen, the illegitimate daughter of William's uncle Richard Ill, 5th Duke of Normandy. Hussey families were associated with various manors in Berkshire in the time of Edward I, but were mainly in Kent, Dorset, Shropshire and Ireland.

Return to Ezzy & Ezzey Family History & Genealogy Research

• Married: 1053

1. Cecilia, dau of William I, Abbess of Holy TRINITY b: 1047 in Caen, Calvados, France
2. Agatha, dau of William I The Conqueror King of ENGLAND b: 1048 in possibly Caen, Calvados, France
3. Gundred, Countess of SURREY b: Abt 1049 in possibly Caen, Calvados, France
4. Adeliza, dau of William I The Conqueror King of ENGLAND b: 1050 in possibly Caen, Calvados, France
5. Robert III Curthose , Duke of NORMANDY b: 1051 in of Anjou
6. Richard, son of of William I The Conqueror King of ENGLAND b: 1055 in possibly Caen, Calvados, France
7. King William II (Rufus) De Warrene , Normandy King of ENGLAND b: 1057 in of Anjou
8. Adela (dau. of William I The Conqueror) Countess of BLOIS b: 1062 in Marcigny-sur, Loire, France
9. Matilda dau of William I The Conqueror King of ENGLAND b: 1065 in possibly Marcigny-sur, Loire, France
10. Constance dau. King William I the Conqueror, of NORMANDY b: 1066 in of Normandy, France
11. King Henry I (Henry I Beauclerc) Duke of Normandy and King of England \ BEAUCLERC b: SEP 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire West Riding, England

1. Author: Joanne Goodsell (nee Hissey) - Henry Marten descendant
   Note:
   Joanne is a direct descendant of John Hissey 4th (1701) who married Mary Allin, via their son John Hissey 5th (1743) and Mary Langham, via John Hissey 6th (1780) son Maurice Hissey's son, Charles Hissey Snr who married Emily Mills. (Migrated to South Australia.) Charles Hissey married Everelda nee Dawes, via their son Arthur James Hissey and Ivy Gaston.
2. Author: Medieval and Historical Literary and Heritage Books
   Note:
   *A Genealogical History of the dormant, abeyant, forfeited and extinct peerages of the British Empire*, London, 1866, by Sir Bernard Burke. *Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels*, Fuerstlichen Hauser. *The Complete Peerage, 1936*, by H.A.Doubleday & Lord Howard de Walden. *The Lineage and Ancestry of Edinburgh*, 1977, by Gerald Paget. *Cahiers de Saint Louis Magazine*, by Jacques Dupont, Jacques Saillot
   The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England by Antonia Fraser
   The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens (Mammoth Book) by Mike Ashley
   biographical information on more than 1,000 sovereigns from approximately 100 B.C. to Elizabeth II, a period of more than 2,000 years. The volume opens with "The Royal Book of Records," consisting of such lists as the longest and shortest reigns, the youngest monarchs to die, and the oldest monarchs to be married. Ashley points out that most chronologies of the British monarchy start with Egbert (802^-839).
   The Middle Ages (A Royal History of England) by John Gillingham
   Kings & Queens of England and Scotland by Plantagenet Somerset Fry
   The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy (Oxford Illustrated Histories) by John Cannon
   Edward I (The English Monarchs Series) by Michael Prestwich
   Henry I (The English Monarchs Series)
   by C. Hollister, Amanda Frost (Editor)
   Henry II (English Monarchs) by W.L. Warren
   Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings
   by Amy Ruth Kelly (Paperback
   Eleanor of Aquitaine : A Life (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by ALISON WEIR
   Eleanor of Aquitaine by Marion Meade
   Queen Eleanor : Independent Spirit of the Medieval World by Polly Schoyer Brooks
   Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady by Bonnie Wheeler
   The Book of Eleanor : A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Pamela Kaufman
   Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 (The Royal Diaries) by Kristiana Gregory
   Beloved Enemy:The Passions of Eleanor if Aquitane, A Novel by Ellen Jones
   Richard I (The English Monarchs Series)
   by John Gillingham
   King John by W. L. Warren
   The Stuarts (A Royal History of England) by Maurice Ashley
   The Tudors (A Royal History of England) by Neville Williams
   The House of Windsor (A Royal History of England) by Andrew Roberts
   The Houses of Hanover and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha by John Clarke
   William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact upon England by David C. Douglas
   William the Conqueror by Hilaire Belloc
   Alfred the Great : The King and His England by Eleanor Shipley Duckett
   Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources (Penguin)
   by John Asser, Simon Keynes
   Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford History of England) by F. M. Stenton
3. Author: MEDIEVAL FAMILIES * of LDS and others as listed in comments
   Note:
   Primary Source LDS at www.familysearch.org
   Additional data www.literaryheritage.org.uk
   BRITISH HISTORY ONLINE
   http://www.british-history.ac.uk
   UNIVERSITY OF HULL :
   http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal01268
   The PLANTAGENET II Family" at http://members.aol.com/dwidad/edwardii.html
   http://members.aol.com/dwidad/normandy.html#8
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/scots4.html#15
   http://members.aol.com/dwidad/tudor.html#4
   ROYAL CONNECTIONS :
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/chap28a.html
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/chap28.html
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/franceds.html#dfs
   http://members.aol.com/rfield/franceds.html#c6
   thePeerage.com at http://www.thepeerage.com/p10148.htm
   http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon26.html
   http://www.britannia.com/bios/azlist.html
   Royal Genealogies at
   ftp://ftp.cac.psu.edu/genealogy/public_html/royal/index.html
   http://www.britishorigins.com/
   www.berkshirehistory.com and www.earlybritishkingdoms.com ALSO:
   1. J. Hall Pleasants. The Lovelace family and Its Connections, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography Vol XXVII,.
   2. Americana Magazine Illustrated, v. 37, 1st quarter, No. 1, "Musser and Allied Families", 1943.
   3. Robert Barnes. :Ancestor Chart of Charles Gorsuch, an Early Settler of Baltimore Co., MD, Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, Vol 38 No. 1,Winter 1977.
   4. The Americana Magazine Illustrated, Vol 37, 1st Quarter, No 1 "Musser & Allied Families" 1943.
   5. J. Hall Pleasants. Gorsuch and Lovelace Famlies. Virginia HIstorical Magazine, Vols XXVI-XXVII-XVIII.
   6. J. Hall Pleasants. The Lovelace Family and Its Connections, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol XXVII
   7. Loveless & Lovelace Family at :
   http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~lovelace/index.htm
   8. 'Stray Leaves A JAMES FAMILY IN AMERICA SINCE 1650' at http://www.ericjames.org/html/fam/fam50771.htm
   9. West Kingsdown, the story of 3 villages in Kent by Zena Bamping
   10. Monarchs of Wessex Data by Brian Tompsett
   11. Directory of Royal Genealogical Data