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FITZ ROBERT William "Mafonache"
Birth: ABT 23 Nov 1116 of Gloucestershire, England
Death: 23 Nov 1183
Burial: Priory, Keynsham, Somersetshire, England
Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fitz_Robert,_2nd_Earl_of_Gloucester
William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (died 1183) was the son and heir of Sir
Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and Mabel FitzRobert of Gloucester, daughter
of Robert Fitzhamon.
Lineage[edit]
William FitzRobert was the son of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of
King Henry I of England, during whose reign William was born. Thus William was a
nephew of the Empress Maud and a cousin of King Stephen, the principal combatants
of the English Anarchy period. It also meant that William is the great-grandson of the
famed William the Conqueror.
Early career[edit]
In October 1141, William looked after the Baronial estates, when his father fell into
the hands of partisans at Winchester. His father was exchanged for King Stephen,
and during his father's absence in Normandy in 1144 he served as Governor of
Wareham. In 1147, he overthrew Henry de Tracy at Castle Cary.
In 1154 he made an alliance with Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford, by which they
agreed to aid each other against all men except Henry II of England.
FitzRobert granted Neath, a town in Glamorgan, a charter. He was Lord of the manor
of Glamorgan, as well as Caerleon, residing chiefly at Cardiff Castle. It was there that
in 1158 he and his wife and son were captured by the Welsh Lord of Senghenydd, Ifor
Bach ("Ivor the Little") and carried away into the woods, where they were held as
prisoners until the Earl redressed Ivor's grievances.
Relationship with King Henry II[edit]
In 1173 the earl took the King's part against his sons, but thereafter he appears to
have fallen under suspicion, for the following year he submitted to the King, and in
1175 surrendered to him Bristol Castle. Because his only son and heir Robert died in
1166, Earl William made John, the younger son of King Henry II, heir to his earldom, in
conformity with the King's promise that John should marry one of the Earl's daughters,
if the Church would allow it, they being related in the third degree.
Earl William was present in March 1177 when the King arbitrated between the Kings of
Castile and Navarre, and in 1178, he witnessed Henry's charter to Waltham Abbey.
But during the King's struggles with his sons, when he imprisoned a number of
magnates of whose loyalty he was doubtful, Earl William was among them.
Family and children[edit]
He was married to Hawise de Beaumont of Leicester, daughter of Robert de
Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester and Amica de Gael and had children:
1.Robert fitz William (1151, Cardiff, Glamorganshire – 1166, Cardiff, Glamorganshire).
2.Mabel fitz William, married Amaury V de Montfort, her son Amaury briefly being Earl
of Gloucester
3.Amice fitz William, d. 1220. Married Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford, their
descendants eventually inherited the Earldom of Gloucester
4.Isabel, Countess of Gloucester. She was married three times: 1.Prince John
2.Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex, Earl of Gloucester
3.Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
The earl died in 1183; his wife Hawise survived him. Since their only son, Robert,
predeceased his father, their daughters became co-heirs to the feudal barony of
Gloucester.
Parents
DE CAEN Robert "The King's Son" (1090 - 31 Oct 1147)
FITZ HAMON Maud (Mabel) (Sibyl) (1090 - 29 Sep 1157)
Siblings
FITZ ROBERT William "Mafonache" (ABT 23 Nov 1116 - 23 Nov 1183)
OF GLOUCESTER Christiana (ABT 1118 - )
FITZ ROBERT Maud (1120 - 29 Jul 1189)
Marriage To OF LEICESTER Hawise "de Beaumont" (ABT 1129 - )
m.
Notes
Parents
DE BEAUMONT Robert "Bossu" (1104 - 5 Apr 1168)
DE MONTFORT Amice (ABT 1103 - ABT 31 Aug 1168)
Children by OF LEICESTER Hawise "de Beaumont" ABT 1129 -
FITZ ROBERT Amice (ABT 1155 - 1 Jan 1225)
Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017