*Roger De Mortimer
died after 1074 bef 1086
father:
*William
De Warenne
born Abt 0950 Normandy, France
mother:
*wife of
Gautier De St. Martin (niece of *Duchess Gunnora of Crepon)
born Abt 0930
Of, Normandy, France
(end of information)
siblings:
*Ralph
(Raoul) De Warenne born Abt 0998 France
spouse:
*Hawisa
(De Valois)
children:
*Ralph (Raoul)
De Mortimer
born Normandie died aft 1104
biographical and/or anecdotal:
Roger
de Mortimer, the first of this name upon record is deemed by some to have been
the son of William de Warren, and by others, of Walter de St. Martin, brother of
that William. Which Roger was the founder of the abbey of St. Victor, in Normandy.
"It is reported," says Dugdale, "that in the year 1054 (which was
twelve years before the Norman Conquest), when Odo, brother of Henry, King of France,
invaded the territory of Evreux, Duke William sent this Roger, then his general (with
Robert, Earl of Ewe, and other stout soldiers), to resist his attempts; who meeting
with Odo near to the castle of Mortimer, gave him battle, and obtained a glorious
victory. It is further observable of this Roger, that he was by consanguity allied
to the Norman duke (Afterwards King, by the name of William the Conqueror), his mother
being niece to Gunnora, wife of Richard, Duke of Normandy, great grandmother to the
Conqueror." The presumed son of this Roger, was Ralph de Mortimer.
The family
of Mortemer derives its name from Mortemer (Mortuo-Mari) in Pays-de-Caux at the source
of the Eaulne River. The castle of St. Victor-en-Caux was the chief barony of the
family, which is said to have sprung from a marriage of Walter de St. Martin and
a niece of the Duchess Gonnor. It was possessed by Roger de Mortemer in 1054, on
which date he was one of the commanders of Duke William's forces at the battle of
Mortemer. He sheltered in his castle, after the battle, his father-in-law, Raoul
III. the Great, Comte de Valois and d'Amiens, by Oderic Vital called de Montdidier,
one of the French commanders, until he was able to conduct him safely to his own
territories three days later. For this reason Roger was banished by Duke William
and his estates confiscated. He was later pardoned and his possessions returned with
the exception of the castle of Mortemer, which the Duke had given to Roger's brother,
William de Warren I. He contributed sixty vessals to the fleet of Duke William and
it is generally conceded that he was too old to have been present at Senlac, although
he made a donation to the abbey of St. Ouen in 1074 and died prior to the compilation
of the General Survey. Wace mentions "Hue de Mortemer" as having taken
part in the battle. Many commentators believe this to be an error, contending that
Wace should have chronicled Roger or his son, Ralph, or both, because the only recorded
Hugh was the son of Ralph and therefore too young to have participated in this event.
There is no proof, however, that if not of this branch of the family, a Hugh could
not have sprung from another. Eyton says, "There is evidence that Roger had
two sons in addition to Ralph, namely, Hugh and William." Nevertheless, Ralph
was certainly Roger's heir, and if the son of Hawisa, the only known wife of Roger,
he must have been young at the time he attended the Conquest. He possessed at the
compilation of Domesday 123 manors, in addition to the castle of Wigmore, in Herefordshire,
which was the chief seat of his barony. In 1088 Ralph was opposed to William Rufus
in favor of Robert Curthose (Courteheuse), but two years later, being pardoned, he
accompanied Robert, Count of Eu, and Walter Giffard to Normandy, where they arrayed
themselves against Duke Robert. In 1100 he founded the priory of Wigmore, at which
time it was stated that Roger de Mortemer, descended from his family. Ralph, by his
wife Millicent, had issue, Hugh, who succeeded him, William, to whom his brother
gave Chelmarsh and who was ancestor of the Mortimers of Attleborough and Hawise,
who married Stephen, Comte of Aumale. From this family descended the Lords of Wigmore,
Earls of March, Lords Mortimer of Richard's Castle, etc. (Reference: Crispin &
Macary, "Falaise Rolls").
It has recently been suggested that William
de Warenne was son of Ralph (Ranulf), husband of Emma, and that Ralph, along with
Roger de Mortimer, were in turn sons of another Ralph, the husband of Beatrice (with
Beatrice the descendant of Gunnora's clan). At least as explained in the argument,
the dual (actually triple, counting William's brother) Ralphs seem to better fit
the available data. The discussion of the connection of Beatrice to Gunnora's family
is confused and confusing in this source which at one point shows Beatrice's supposed
brother as the husband of Gunnora's niece (which would negate a supposed descent),
while later shows the father's wife as the niece.
The most current, though still
unproven, theory is that Roger was the brother of RUDOLPHUS, SIRE DE WARENNE
The
family of Mortemer derives its name from Mortemer (Mortuo-Mari) in Pays-de-Caux at
the source of the Eaulne River. The castle of St. Victor-en-Caux was the chief barony
of the family, which is said to have sprung from a marriage of Walter de St. Martin
and a niece of the Duchess Gonnor.
notes or source:
LDS