See also
| Husband: | William + of WARREN (1055-1088) | |
| Wife: | Gundred + (1063-1085) | |
| Children: | Edith + of WARREN (1076- ) | |
| Marriage | 1077 | Normandy, France1 |
| Name: | William + of WARREN | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | Rudolf III + (1020-1074) | |
| Mother: | Emma + Torta of HARCOURT (1020-1059) | |
| Birth | 1055 | Bellencombe, Seine Inferieure, France |
| Title | Earl of Surrey | |
| Occupation | First Earl of Surrey | |
| Death | 24 Jun 1088 (age 32-33) | Lewes, Sussex, England |
| Burial | Priory of Lewes, Lewes, Sussex, England | |
| Name: | Gundred + | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | William I* + of NORMANDY (1027-1087) | |
| Mother: | Mathilda * +of FLANDERS (1031-1083) | |
| Birth | 1063 | Normandy, France |
| Occupation | Princess of England | |
| Title | Princess of England | |
| Death | 27 May 1085 (age 21-22) | Castle Acre, Acre, Norfolk, England |
| Burial | Priory of Lewes, Lewes, Sussex, England | |
| Name: | Edith + of WARREN | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse: | Gerard + of GOURNAY (1066-1104) | |
| Birth | 1076 | Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, England |
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes (born in Bellencombre, Seine-Maritime, France, Lewes, died in Sussex, 24 May or 24 June 1088[1]) is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Subsequently he became a great landowner in England.
He was a son of Rodulf de Warenne and a grandnephew of duchess Gunnor, wife of duke Richard I of Normandy. The de Warenne surname derives from the hamlet named Varenne located on the river Varenne, which flows through the territory William acquired in Upper Normandy[2] in the region today called Bellencombre. An elder brother, Rodulf, inherited their father's lands, suggesting William was a younger son.
As a young man, William played a prominent role in protecting the Norman realm of the future William the Conqueror's from a major invasion by the King of France in February 1054 at the Battle of Mortemer.[3] After this battle Roger de Mortemer forfeited most of his lands, and the duke gave them to William.[4]
William was one of the nobles who advised duke William when the decision to invade England was being considered. He is said to have fought at Hastings,[5] and afterwards received the Rape of Lewes in Sussex,[2] and subsequently lands in twelve other shires. He built castles at Lewes (Sussex), Reigate (Surrey), Castle Acre (Norfolk) and Conisbrough in Yorkshire.[2] By the time of the Domesday survey he was one of the wealthiest landholders in England with holdings in 12 counties.[6]
He fought against rebels at the Isle of Ely in 1071 where he showed a special desire to hunt down Hereward the Wake who had murdered his brother the year before.[2]
William was loyal to William II,[2] and it was probably in early 1088 that he was created Earl of Surrey.[7] He died shortly afterwards of wounds he received while helping suppress the rebellion of 1088.
He died in Lewes, Sussex, and was buried next to his wife at the Chapterhouse of Lewes Priory.
[edit] FamilyHe married twice:
First in Normandy before 1070 or in 1077, Gundred or Gundreda (Latin: Gundrada), sister of Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester
Second, to a sister of Richard Gouet
[edit] Children of William and GundredWilliam de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (d. 1138) married Elisabeth (Isabelle) de Vermandois, widow of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Edith de Warenne who married 1) Gerard de Gournay and 2) Drogon (Dreux), Lord of Moncy. [8]
Reynold de Warenne, who inherited lands from his mother in Flanders and died before 1118
an unnamed daughter who married Ernise de Coulonces [9]
Gundred?
[edit] Landholdings in the Domesday Book of William de Warenne
| 1 | "US and International Marriage Records, 1550-1900" (on-line, Yates Publishing, Provo, UT). |