Adeliza de Tosny

• Preferred Name: Adeliza de Tosny^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}
  
• Alternate Name: Adeliza de Toeni
  
• Gender: F
  
• Occupation: Heiress of Belvoir
  
• Death: AFT 1136 in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England at LATI: N2.8951 LONG: E0.7823 with note: Medieval Lands Project - see tagged source Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England
  
• FSID: MHQ8-C73
  
• LdsBaptism: 19 OCT 1939 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• LdsEndowment: 5 FEB 1940 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Birth: ABT 1064 in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, Manche, Lower Normandy, France at LATI: N9.3846 LONG: E1.5324
  
• Burial: 1136 in Lyre Abbey At la Vieille-Lyre, Eure, Normandie, France at LATI: N9.1667 LONG: E0
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  ADELISE de Tosny (-after 1136).
  Her parentage is indicated by the 1130 Pipe Roll which records "Adeliz uxor Rogi Big…tra patris sui de Belueder" in Lincolnshire[1488], which also indicates that Adelise succeeded her sister Albreda in the Belvoir estates of their father. It is also indicated by the charter dated 23 Apr [1430] under which her descendant “Thomas dominus de Ros, de Hamelake, de Trussebout et de Beavoir” confirmed the possessions of Belvoir priory, Lincolnshire made by "antecessores nostros…Robertum de Toteneio, Willielmum de Toteneyo filium suum, Agnetem de Toteneio filiam dicti Roberti de Toteneyo, Henricum de Rya filium Huberto de Rya, Agnetem de Toteneyo, Willielmum de Albeneio primum, Willielmum de Albeneio secundum, Willielmum de Albeneio tertium, Willielmum de Albeneio quartum, Ywynum de Albeneyo, Heliam de Albeneyo et uxores eorundem, Isabellam filiam domini Willielmi de Albeneio quæ fuit uxor domini de Ros, domini de Beauvoire et de Hamelake"[1489], the connection between Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir, father of Adelise, being established through the marriage of her daughter Cecilia to William de Albini Brito. "Rogerius Bigot…et uxoris mee Adalicie" donated the church of Thetford to Cluny dated [1100][1490]. “Rogerus Bygot” founded Thetford Priory, with the advice of “…uxoris meæ Adeliciæ”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[1491].
  
  m (before [1100]) as his second wife, ROGER Bigod, son of ROGER Bigod & his wife --- (-8 or 15 Sep 1107, bur Thetford).
  
  http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMANDY%20NOBILITY.htm#AliceTosnyBelvoirMRogerBigod
  
  Adeliza de Tosny
  Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony/Toni), Heiress Of Belvoir, was the daughter of Robert de Toeni, Lord of Belvoir and Adeliza FitzOsulf du Plessis, Heiress of Belvoir. It is believed that she was born i
  
  Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony/Toni) - Heiress of Belvoir
  Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony/Toni), Heiress Of Belvoir, was the daughter of Robert de Toeni, Lord of Belvoir and Adeliza FitzOsulf du Plessis, Heiress of Belvoir. It is believed that she was born i
  
  Royal Family of Toney
  Foreword for The Royal Family of Toney
  
  The Toney Family book by Constance Demaine Saunders was published by the Walthamstow Antiquarian Society and was originally intended to explain the first of a
  
  Family History
  Two brothers, one sister, parents not known:
  1. ROGER Bigod (-1107, bur Thetford[763]). Domesday Book records “Roger Bigod” holding numerous properties in Norfolk and Suffolk[764]. "…Rogeru
  
  BIO
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMAN%20NOBILITY.htm#AliceTosnyBelvoirMRogerBigod as of 3/12/2016
  
  ADELISE de Tosny (-after 1136[2976]). Her parentage is indicated by the 1130 Pipe Roll w
  
  === M E Sorley: The Sorley Pedigrees P. 12, ===
  M E Sorley: The Sorley Pedigrees P. 12, 49
  
  === My PAF Notes ===
  from thepeerage.com, 2/2009: (nothing more on wife, Alice)
  Roger le Bigod1
  M, #116472, b. before 1071, d. 8 September 1107
  Last Edited=13 Mar 2008
  Roger le Bigod was born before 1071.2 He married, secondly, Alice de Tosny , daughter of William de Tosny, Lord of Belvoir .3 He died on 8 September 1107 at Earsham, Norfolk, England .4 He was also reported to have died on 15 September 1107.4
  Children of Roger le Bigod and Alice de Tosny
  Maud le Bigod + 1
  Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk + b. c 1095, d. b 9 Mar 1176/775
  Citations
  [S6 ] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 233. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
  [S6 ] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 575.
  [S2 ] Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 37. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage, Volume XIV.
  [S6 ] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 578.
  [S6 ] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 579.
  
  === V M Norr: Some Early English Pedigrees ===
  V M Norr: Some Early English Pedigrees P. 25
  
  === J P Yeatman: The History of the House of ===
  J P Yeatman: The History of the House of Arundel pp. 20, 154
  
  === J P Yeatman: The History of the House of ===
  J P Yeatman: The History of the House of Arundel P. 155
  
  === She was the daughter of ROBERT de Tosny ===
  She was the daughter of ROBERT de Tosny (-1088), Lord of Belvoir.
  
  --------------------
  http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMAN NOBILITY.htm
  
  ROBERT de Tosny (-1088). Europäische Stammtafeln shows Robert de Tosny unaffiliated with the other members of this family. Although his ancestry is unknown, it is likely that he was a member of this family. He founded Marmoutier in 1063[1594]. Lord of Belvoir 1086. m ---. The name of Robert's wife is not known. Robert & his wife had [three] children:
  
  a) GUILLAUME (-[1130]). Lord of Belvoir.
  
  b) ALICE . The primary source which confirms her parentage has not yet been identified. "Rogerius Bigot…et uxoris mee Adalicie" donated the church of Thetford to Cluny dated [1100][1595]. Lady of Belvoir [1130]. Living in 1136[1596]. m (before [1100]) as his second wife, ROGER Bigod, son of ROGER Bigod & his wife --- (-8 or 15 Sep 1107, bur Thetford[1597]).
  
  c) [ALBREDE . “H comes Norfulc” confirmed property to the monks of Kirkstall, for the soul of “Albrede de Insula amite mee”, by charter dated to [1154/76][1598]. If amita is translated strictly in this document, Albredewas the sister of Earl Hugh´s mother. However, it cannot be excluded that she was in fact his paternal aunt. m --- de l´Isle, son of ---.]
  
  -------------------
  A good article by Judith Green about the complexities of the honour of Belvoir (incl Belvoir castle) which was held by the de Tosny family then inherited through Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony) who married Roger Bigod, and who was the mother of both Maud Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Pincerna" or the Butler) and Cecily Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Brito" the Breton, and who inherited Belvoir and passed it along to her d'Aubigny descendants....
  
  http://users.ox.ac.uk/~prosop/prosopon/issue10-2.pdf
  
  Prosopon Newsletter
  Copyright © Judith A. Green, 1999
  
  The Descent of Belvoir.1
  Judith A. Green (The Queen’s University of Belfast)
  
  The history of the important honour of Belvoir in the Norman period has been discussed by several historians, most recently by K.S.B. Keats-Rohan.2 Missing pieces of the jigsaw have been filled in and, though gaps remain, most notably about the basis of Ranulf II earl of Chester’s claim in Stephen’s reign, the picture is now much clearer. It highlights the crucial role of women in the descent of honours, bringing us to the heart of politics and patronage under the Norman kings, and the crucial question of how much manoeuvre the king had in deciding in favour of one claimant rather than another.3
  
  In 1086 Belvoir was held by Robert de Tosny. He is known to have had three sons. One, Berengar, is recorded in Domesday Book both as his father’s under-tenant and as a tenant-in-chief.4 Berengar inherited his father’s estates in Normandy and it seems that William inherited Belvoir (the fate of the third son Geoffrey is not recorded).5 By the date of the Lindsey Survey, which was probably drawn up in summer or autumn 1115,6 some of the Lincolnshire estatesheld at Domesday by Robert de Tosny had passed to his son-in-law Robert de Insula, husband of Albreda.7 Keats-Rohan has demonstrated that Albreda was the sister and not the widow of Berengar de Tosny as was previously thought.8 Albreda had at least two sisters, Adeliza, the wife of Roger Bigod, and Agnes, the wife first of Ralph de Belfou and secondly of Hubert de Ryes.9
  The next reference to Belvoir seems to be that in the 1130 Pipe Roll, when Adeliza accounted for an outstanding debt for her father’s land of Belvoir.10 The charters for Belvoir Priory suggest that the lords of the honour were Robert de Tosny, his son William, and William d’Aubigny the Breton.11 There survives a survey of (part of) Leicestershire which is thought to have been very close in date to the pipe roll.12 Most of Robert de Tosny’s lands, includingthe manor of Bottesford on which Belvoir was situated, were at the time of the survey in the hands of William d’Aubigny (the Breton), whilst other estates were held either by Robert de Insula, or were held of Belvoir, or were inunidentified hands. This evidence, if interpreted literally (i.e. if names were all recorded at the same date), suggests that Robert de Insula was still living and in possession of some Tosny estates, and others were held by William d’Aubigny the Breton by virtue of his marriage to Cecily, Adeliza Bigod’s daughter. Those held of Belvoir’ could have been held by Adeliza herself, or they were in the king’s hands. The danegeld pardon of six shillings in castello de Belveder in the 1130 Pipe Roll might well indicate the latter. This would not preclude William holding the castle as the king’s castellan.13
  The third sister, Agnes, may well have been still living, as she and Adeliza Bigod witnessed the charter by which William d’Aubigny the butler, the latter’s son-in-law, gave the manor of Happisburgh to Wymondham priory on the dayof his wife’s burial.14 Agnes’s share of her father’s lands seems to have been limited to a marriage portion at Aslackby where she gave land to Belvoir Priory, later confirmed by her son Henry de Ryes.15
  
  William d’Aubigny the Breton was a man who rose to prominence under Henry I. He is thought to have been the son of Main, probably Main of Saint Aubin d’Aubigné.16 Father and son are mentioned in the Liber Vitae of Thorney Abbey.17The early stages of William’s career are obscure. Belvoir priory was a dependency of St Albans abbey, and the tradition recorded there was that William had distinguished himself at the battle of Tinchebrai in 1106, which is by nomeans improbable.18 William seems to begin to witness royal charters frequently after about 1120, but it may be that he had some earlier involvement with Belvoir, because he may have been the William d’Aubigny who attested two royal notifications dealing with the honour.19 In the first of these, addressed to Ralph de Watnevilla, Ralph de Bosco Rohard, and Hugh de Hottot, the king gave the churches of Uffington and Barkestone to Robert bishop of Lincoln. The dating limits are 1107 and 1116 because of the attestations of William de Tancarville and Queen Matilda and the reference to the king’s crossing. William only began to attest for Henry after the battle of Tinchebrai and the king’s last crossing to Normandy before the queen's death was in 1116. The second, addressed to Ralph de Rehart [sic] and his associates, ordered him to put the bishop in seisin of Barkestone and Uffington. The address suggests thatthe honour was in the king’s hands at the time, possibly after the death of William de Tosny, and the attestation of William d’Aubigny (if this is the Breton) perhaps points to him as custodian. The advowson and parsonage of Uffington as of her own inheritance’ were subsequently given by Cecily and her husband to Belvoir Priory.20 William next occurred as the sole witness of the king’s charter for St Dogmael’s.21 In 1130 he held at farm Rutland, which mayhave been in the king’s hands since the death of Queen Matilda, and the lands (here unidentified) formerly held by Otuel FitzCount, who had been drowned in the White Ship, plus Ketton, and Geddington.22
  Adeliza was the mother of Hugh Bigod, for Hugh is known to have inherited the Yorkshire lands of Berengar de Tosny, which must have come to him through his mother’s family.23 She may have been the mother of Roger Bigod’s other children, as Keats-Rohan has also suggested, and if she was, the singling out of Cecily as her heiress was noteworthy.24 How and when did this happen? We have seen that some of the Belvoir lands had passed to her sister and her sister’s husband by 1115, and it would appear from the Leicestershire Survey that Robert de Insula was still living after the marriage of Cecily and William. Hugh Bigod inherited his father’s estates, Robert de Tosny’s Norman estates,and the English estates of his uncle, Berengar, but he was not to inherit Belvoir, where the claim of his sister was preferred. We cannot be certain of the exact timing and order of events, but it looks as though Adeliza was substituted as the principal heiress of Belvoir, perhaps with the intention of making her daughter Cecily, and Cecily’s husband, the next heirs. Yet in the Leicestershire Survey Robert de Insula held land at Muston and Stathern which in 1086 had been held by Robert de Tosny. Robert de Insula also held land at Eaton (probably omitted from Domesday Book) and Eastwell (held in 1086 by Aschill the king’s serjeant) which were subsequently held by Albreda’s successors, the count of Aumale and Hugh Bigod.25
  
  How did Hugh Bigod feel about the fact that his claim to Belvoir had been sidelined? If it was the norm for a mother’s land to be used to endow a daughter in this way, then arguably Hugh had little ground for complaint. Yet, as Andrew Wareham has pointed out, Hugh’s paternal estates had already been diminished to provide a generous marriage portion for Matilda, wife of William d’Aubigny the butler, and the shrievalties of Norfolk and Suffolk, which had been held by Roger Bigod, had passed out of the family’s control by the middle years of Henry I’s reign.26
  
  When he succeeded his brother William, Hugh had reason to hope both that his losses would be made good and for further advancement, but as Henry I died and was succeeded by Stephen, neither was forthcoming. Yet Stephen had good reason to be grateful to Hugh who had sworn that on his deathbed Henry I had nominated Stephen as his heir.27 In 1140 Hugh is recorded as having rebelled twice.28 Stephen may have granted him the title of earl, though it is not until the following year, when Hugh was found at the Empress’s court, that he attested with this rank.29
  
  William d’Aubigny the Breton was and remained a loyal supporter of king Stephen, who presumably confirmed him in succession of Belvoir when his mother-in-law finally died. It used to be thought that the castle of Galclint which Count A
  
  === Sources: Norr, p25; Kraentzler 1412; AF. ===
  Sources: Norr, p25; Kraentzler 1412; AF. Norr has Adalaide, no surname, as first wife of Roger Bigot (Bigod).AF has Adeliza de Grantmesnil as his wife. Am hoping they are the same woman. In Kraentzler line 1412 there is an Adeliza de Grentmesnil, died 1111,who married Roger d'Albini; lists her father as Hugh de Grentmesnil andmother as Adeliza de Beaumont. K: Adeliza de Grentmesnil. K: Mother of William. But Castle Rising Castle booklet indicates Amice was the mother ofWilliam, and the Falaise Roll says the same.
  === Life Sketch ===
  ADELISE de Tosny (-after 1136).
  Her parentage is indicated by the 1130 Pipe Roll which records "Adeliz uxor Rogi Big…tra patris sui de Belueder" in Lincolnshire[1488], which also indicates that Adelise succeeded her sister Albreda in the Belvoir estates of their father. It is also indicated by the charter dated 23 Apr [1430] under which her descendant “Thomas dominus de Ros, de Hamelake, de Trussebout et de Beavoir” confirmed the possessions of Belvoir priory, Lincolnshire made by "antecessores nostros…Robertum de Toteneio, Willielmum de Toteneyo filium suum, Agnetem de Toteneio filiam dicti Roberti de Toteneyo, Henricum de Rya filium Huberto de Rya, Agnetem de Toteneyo, Willielmum de Albeneio primum, Willielmum de Albeneio secundum, Willielmum de Albeneio tertium, Willielmum de Albeneio quartum, Ywynum de Albeneyo, Heliam de Albeneyo et uxores eorundem, Isabellam filiam domini Willielmi de Albeneio quæ fuit uxor domini de Ros, domini de Beauvoire et de Hamelake"[1489], the connection between Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir, father of Adelise, being established through the marriage of her daughter Cecilia to William de Albini Brito. "Rogerius Bigot…et uxoris mee Adalicie" donated the church of Thetford to Cluny dated [1100][1490]. “Rogerus Bygot” founded Thetford Priory, with the advice of “…uxoris meæ Adeliciæ”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[1491].
  
  m (before [1100]) as his second wife, ROGER Bigod, son of ROGER Bigod & his wife --- (-8 or 15 Sep 1107, bur Thetford).
  
  http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMANDY%20NOBILITY.htm#AliceTosnyBelvoirMRogerBigod
  
  Adeliza de Tosny
  Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony/Toni), Heiress Of Belvoir, was the daughter of Robert de Toeni, Lord of Belvoir and Adeliza FitzOsulf du Plessis, Heiress of Belvoir. It is believed that she was born i
  
  Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony/Toni) - Heiress of Belvoir
  Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony/Toni), Heiress Of Belvoir, was the daughter of Robert de Toeni, Lord of Belvoir and Adeliza FitzOsulf du Plessis, Heiress of Belvoir. It is believed that she was born i
  
  Royal Family of Toney
  Foreword for The Royal Family of Toney
  
  The Toney Family book by Constance Demaine Saunders was published by the Walthamstow Antiquarian Society and was originally intended to explain the first of a
  
  Family History
  Two brothers, one sister, parents not known:
  1. ROGER Bigod (-1107, bur Thetford[763]). Domesday Book records “Roger Bigod” holding numerous properties in Norfolk and Suffolk[764]. "…Rogeru
  
  BIO
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMAN%20NOBILITY.htm#AliceTosnyBelvoirMRogerBigod as of 3/12/2016
  
  ADELISE de Tosny (-after 1136[2976]). Her parentage is indicated by the 1130 Pipe Roll w
  
  === J P Yeatman: The History of the House of ===
  J P Yeatman: The History of the House of Arundel pp. 20, 154
  
  === She was the daughter of ROBERT de Tosny ===
  She was the daughter of ROBERT de Tosny (-1088), Lord of Belvoir.
  
  --------------------
  http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMAN NOBILITY.htm
  
  ROBERT de Tosny (-1088). Europäische Stammtafeln shows Robert de Tosny unaffiliated with the other members of this family. Although his ancestry is unknown, it is likely that he was a member of this family. He founded Marmoutier in 1063[1594]. Lord of Belvoir 1086. m ---. The name of Robert's wife is not known. Robert & his wife had [three] children:
  
  a) GUILLAUME (-[1130]). Lord of Belvoir.
  
  b) ALICE . The primary source which confirms her parentage has not yet been identified. "Rogerius Bigot…et uxoris mee Adalicie" donated the church of Thetford to Cluny dated [1100][1595]. Lady of Belvoir [1130]. Living in 1136[1596]. m (before [1100]) as his second wife, ROGER Bigod, son of ROGER Bigod & his wife --- (-8 or 15 Sep 1107, bur Thetford[1597]).
  
  c) [ALBREDE . “H comes Norfulc” confirmed property to the monks of Kirkstall, for the soul of “Albrede de Insula amite mee”, by charter dated to [1154/76][1598]. If amita is translated strictly in this document, Albredewas the sister of Earl Hugh´s mother. However, it cannot be excluded that she was in fact his paternal aunt. m --- de l´Isle, son of ---.]
  
  -------------------
  A good article by Judith Green about the complexities of the honour of Belvoir (incl Belvoir castle) which was held by the de Tosny family then inherited through Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony) who married Roger Bigod, and who was the mother of both Maud Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Pincerna" or the Butler) and Cecily Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Brito" the Breton, and who inherited Belvoir and passed it along to her d'Aubigny descendants....
  
  http://users.ox.ac.uk/~prosop/prosopon/issue10-2.pdf
  
  Prosopon Newsletter
  Copyright © Judith A. Green, 1999
  
  The Descent of Belvoir.1
  Judith A. Green (The Queen’s University of Belfast)
  
  The history of the important honour of Belvoir in the Norman period has been discussed by several historians, most recently by K.S.B. Keats-Rohan.2 Missing pieces of the jigsaw have been filled in and, though gaps remain, most notably about the basis of Ranulf II earl of Chester’s claim in Stephen’s reign, the picture is now much clearer. It highlights the crucial role of women in the descent of honours, bringing us to the heart of politics and patronage under the Norman kings, and the crucial question of how much manoeuvre the king had in deciding in favour of one claimant rather than another.3
  
  In 1086 Belvoir was held by Robert de Tosny. He is known to have had three sons. One, Berengar, is recorded in Domesday Book both as his father’s under-tenant and as a tenant-in-chief.4 Berengar inherited his father’s estates in Normandy and it seems that William inherited Belvoir (the fate of the third son Geoffrey is not recorded).5 By the date of the Lindsey Survey, which was probably drawn up in summer or autumn 1115,6 some of the Lincolnshire estatesheld at Domesday by Robert de Tosny had passed to his son-in-law Robert de Insula, husband of Albreda.7 Keats-Rohan has demonstrated that Albreda was the sister and not the widow of Berengar de Tosny as was previously thought.8 Albreda had at least two sisters, Adeliza, the wife of Roger Bigod, and Agnes, the wife first of Ralph de Belfou and secondly of Hubert de Ryes.9
  The next reference to Belvoir seems to be that in the 1130 Pipe Roll, when Adeliza accounted for an outstanding debt for her father’s land of Belvoir.10 The charters for Belvoir Priory suggest that the lords of the honour were Robert de Tosny, his son William, and William d’Aubigny the Breton.11 There survives a survey of (part of) Leicestershire which is thought to have been very close in date to the pipe roll.12 Most of Robert de Tosny’s lands, includingthe manor of Bottesford on which Belvoir was situated, were at the time of the survey in the hands of William d’Aubigny (the Breton), whilst other estates were held either by Robert de Insula, or were held of Belvoir, or were inunidentified hands. This evidence, if interpreted literally (i.e. if names were all recorded at the same date), suggests that Robert de Insula was still living and in possession of some Tosny estates, and others were held by William d’Aubigny the Breton by virtue of his marriage to Cecily, Adeliza Bigod’s daughter. Those held of Belvoir’ could have been held by Adeliza herself, or they were in the king’s hands. The danegeld pardon of six shillings in castello de Belveder in the 1130 Pipe Roll might well indicate the latter. This would not preclude William holding the castle as the king’s castellan.13
  The third sister, Agnes, may well have been still living, as she and Adeliza Bigod witnessed the charter by which William d’Aubigny the butler, the latter’s son-in-law, gave the manor of Happisburgh to Wymondham priory on the dayof his wife’s burial.14 Agnes’s share of her father’s lands seems to have been limited to a marriage portion at Aslackby where she gave land to Belvoir Priory, later confirmed by her son Henry de Ryes.15
  
  William d’Aubigny the Breton was a man who rose to prominence under Henry I. He is thought to have been the son of Main, probably Main of Saint Aubin d’Aubigné.16 Father and son are mentioned in the Liber Vitae of Thorney Abbey.17The early stages of William’s career are obscure. Belvoir priory was a dependency of St Albans abbey, and the tradition recorded there was that William had distinguished himself at the battle of Tinchebrai in 1106, which is by nomeans improbable.18 William seems to begin to witness royal charters frequently after about 1120, but it may be that he had some earlier involvement with Belvoir, because he may have been the William d’Aubigny who attested two royal notifications dealing with the honour.19 In the first of these, addressed to Ralph de Watnevilla, Ralph de Bosco Rohard, and Hugh de Hottot, the king gave the churches of Uffington and Barkestone to Robert bishop of Lincoln. The dating limits are 1107 and 1116 because of the attestations of William de Tancarville and Queen Matilda and the reference to the king’s crossing. William only began to attest for Henry after the battle of Tinchebrai and the king’s last crossing to Normandy before the queen's death was in 1116. The second, addressed to Ralph de Rehart [sic] and his associates, ordered him to put the bishop in seisin of Barkestone and Uffington. The address suggests thatthe honour was in the king’s hands at the time, possibly after the death of William de Tosny, and the attestation of William d’Aubigny (if this is the Breton) perhaps points to him as custodian. The advowson and parsonage of Uffington as of her own inheritance’ were subsequently given by Cecily and her husband to Belvoir Priory.20 William next occurred as the sole witness of the king’s charter for St Dogmael’s.21 In 1130 he held at farm Rutland, which mayhave been in the king’s hands since the death of Queen Matilda, and the lands (here unidentified) formerly held by Otuel FitzCount, who had been drowned in the White Ship, plus Ketton, and Geddington.22
  Adeliza was the mother of Hugh Bigod, for Hugh is known to have inherited the Yorkshire lands of Berengar de Tosny, which must have come to him through his mother’s family.23 She may have been the mother of Roger Bigod’s other children, as Keats-Rohan has also suggested, and if she was, the singling out of Cecily as her heiress was noteworthy.24 How and when did this happen? We have seen that some of the Belvoir lands had passed to her sister and her sister’s husband by 1115, and it would appear from the Leicestershire Survey that Robert de Insula was still living after the marriage of Cecily and William. Hugh Bigod inherited his father’s estates, Robert de Tosny’s Norman estates,and the English estates of his uncle, Berengar, but he was not to inherit Belvoir, where the claim of his sister was preferred. We cannot be certain of the exact timing and order of events, but it looks as though Adeliza was substituted as the principal heiress of Belvoir, perhaps with the intention of making her daughter Cecily, and Cecily’s husband, the next heirs. Yet in the Leicestershire Survey Robert de Insula held land at Muston and Stathern which in 1086 had been held by Robert de Tosny. Robert de Insula also held land at Eaton (probably omitted from Domesday Book) and Eastwell (held in 1086 by Aschill the king’s serjeant) which were subsequently held by Albreda’s successors, the count of Aumale and Hugh Bigod.25
  
  How did Hugh Bigod feel about the fact that his claim to Belvoir had been sidelined? If it was the norm for a mother’s land to be used to endow a daughter in this way, then arguably Hugh had little ground for complaint. Yet, as Andrew Wareham has pointed out, Hugh’s paternal estates had already been diminished to provide a generous marriage portion for Matilda, wife of William d’Aubigny the butler, and the shrievalties of Norfolk and Suffolk, which had been held by Roger Bigod, had passed out of the family’s control by the middle years of Henry I’s reign.26
  
  When he succeeded his brother William, Hugh had reason to hope both that his losses would be made good and for further advancement, but as Henry I died and was succeeded by Stephen, neither was forthcoming. Yet Stephen had good reason to be grateful to Hugh who had sworn that on his deathbed Henry I had nominated Stephen as his heir.27 In 1140 Hugh is recorded as having rebelled twice.28 Stephen may have granted him the title of earl, though it is not until the following year, when Hugh was found at the Empress’s court, that he attested with this rank.29
  
  William d’Aubigny the Breton was and remained a loyal supporter of king Stephen, who presumably confirmed him in succession of Belvoir when his mother-in-law finally died. It used to be thought that the castle of Galclint which Count A
  
  === J P Yeatman: The History of the House of ===
  J P Yeatman: The History of the House of Arundel P. 155
  
  === Sources: Norr, p25; Kraentzler 1412; AF. ===
  Sources: Norr, p25; Kraentzler 1412; AF. Norr has Adalaide, no surname, as first wife of Roger Bigot (Bigod).AF has Adeliza de Grantmesnil as his wife. Am hoping they are the same woman. In Kraentzler line 1412 there is an Adeliza de Grentmesnil, died 1111,who married Roger d'Albini; lists her father as Hugh de Grentmesnil andmother as Adeliza de Beaumont. K: Adeliza de Grentmesnil. K: Mother of William. But Castle Rising Castle booklet indicates Amice was the mother ofWilliam, and the Falaise Roll says the same.
  
  === V M Norr: Some Early English Pedigrees ===
  V M Norr: Some Early English Pedigrees P. 25
  
  === M E Sorley: The Sorley Pedigrees P. 12, ===
  M E Sorley: The Sorley Pedigrees P. 12, 49
  
  === My PAF Notes ===
  from thepeerage.com, 2/2009: (nothing more on wife, Alice)
  Roger le Bigod1
  M, #116472, b. before 1071, d. 8 September 1107
  Last Edited=13 Mar 2008
  Roger le Bigod was born before 1071.2 He married, secondly, Alice de Tosny , daughter of William de Tosny, Lord of Belvoir .3 He died on 8 September 1107 at Earsham, Norfolk, England .4 He was also reported to have died on 15 September 1107.4
  Children of Roger le Bigod and Alice de Tosny
  Maud le Bigod + 1
  Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk + b. c 1095, d. b 9 Mar 1176/775
  Citations
  [S6 ] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 233. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
  [S6 ] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 575.
  [S2 ] Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 37. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage, Volume XIV.
  [S6 ] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 578.
  [S6 ] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 579.

• m. ABT 1080
• m. 1081 in Carlton, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom

1. Maud le Bigod, b. ABT 1085 in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England     d. BEF 1129
2. Cecily Bigod, b. 1090 in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England     d. AFT 1134 in Belvoir, Leicestershire, England
3. Gunnora of Essex , b. ABT 1086 in Belvoir, Leicestershire, England     d. 1129 in Essex, England
4. Hugh Bigod 1st Earl of Norfolk, b. 1095 in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England     d. ABT 9 MAR 1176 in Palestina

1. Title: William and Hamo de Saint Clair in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy ~http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/enguntps.htm#HamonStClairdiedafter1139 [See document in the Memories section]
   Author: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
   Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/enguntps.htm#HamonStClairdiedafter1139;
   Note: William and Hamo de Saint Clair in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy [See document in the Memories section]
   Page: William and Hamo de Saint Clair in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy [See document in the Memories section]
   
2. Title: Roger Bigod and descendants in Dugdale’s The Baronage of England, pg. 133 [See document in the Memories section]
   Author: Dugdale’s The Baronage of England, pg. 133
   Note: Roger Bigod and descendants in Dugdale’s The Baronage of England, pg. 133 [See document in the Memories section]
   Page: Roger Bigod and descendants in Dugdale’s The Baronage of England, pg. 133 [See document in the Memories section]
   
3. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Alice Toeni - birth: 1064;
   Author: 160010.GED, Not Given
   Note: birth: 1064; Source Media Type: Other death: Source Media Type: Other Source Media Type: Other
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2737222791
   
4. Title: Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-Current
   Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/9289/records/6815376;
   
5. Title: Ancestry Family Trees
   Author: Ancestry Family Tree
   
6. Title: The Medieval Lands Project, "ADELISE de Tosny"
   Author: Online.
   Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMANDY%20NOBILITY.htm#AliceTosnyBelvoirMRogerBigod;
   Note: Cites primary .
   
7. Title: British History Online
   
8. Title: Millennium File
   Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/7249/records/10154273;
   
9. Title: Roger Bigod of Norfolk in Wikipedia ~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bigod_of_Norfolk [See document in the Memories section]
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bigod_of_Norfolk;
   Note: Roger Bigod of Norfolk in Wikipedia ~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bigod_of_Norfolk [See document in the Memories section] Roger Bigod (died 1107) was a Norman knight who travelled to England in the Norman Conquest. After Ralph de Gael's fall in 1074, Roger was appointed sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and acquired many of the dispossessed earl's estates. For this reason he is sometimes counted as Earl of Norfolk, but he probably was never actually created earl. (His son Hugh acquired the title earl of Norfolk in 1141.) He died on 9 September 1107 and is buried in Norwich. For some time he was thought to have two wives, Adelaide/Adeliza and Alice/Adeliza de Tosny. It is now believed these were the same woman, Adeliza (Alice) de Tosny (Toeni, Toeny). He was succeeded by his eldest son, William Bigod, and, after William drowned in the sinking of the White Ship, by his second son, Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk. He also had three daughters: Gunnor, who married Robert fitz Swein of Essex, Lord of Rayleigh; Cecily, who married William d'Aubigny "Brito"; and Maud, who married William d'Aubigny "Pincerna",
   Page: Roger Bigod of Norfolk in Wikipedia ~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bigod_of_Norfolk [See document in the Memories section]
   
10. Title: Roger Bigod & Toni in Family Group Records Collection, Archives Section, 1942-1969; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89QR-7RM?cc=2060211&wc=WWNV-N28%3A352088201%2C353191201
    Author: "Family Group Records Collection, Archives Section, 1942-1969," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89QR-7RM?cc=2060211&wc=WWNV-N28%3A352088201%2C353191201 : 20 May 2014), B > Biggs, Edward (1637) - Bijmholt, Geert > image 744 of 1406; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, compiler, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
    Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89QR-7RM;
    Note: Roger Bigod (1068-1107) married Adeliza de Toni and had children according to research before 1950
    Page: Names, dates, locations, and relationships match research
    
11. Title: Wikipedia, "Robert de Todeni"
    Author: Wikipedia.org
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Todeni;
    Note: Biography.
    
12. Title: Web: International, Find A Grave Index
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/70699/records/4167488;
    
13. Title: Roger Bigod and descendants in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy ~http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL.htm#RogerBigoddied1107 [See document in the Memories section]
    Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL.htm#RogerBigoddied1107;
    Note: Roger Bigod and descendants in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy ~http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL.htm#RogerBigoddied1107 [See document in the Memories section]
    Page: Roger Bigod and descendants in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy ~http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL.htm#RogerBigoddied1107 [See document in the Memories section]
    
14. Title: OneWorldTree
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/7438/records/19684691;
    
15. Title: International, Find A Grave Index for Select Locations, 1300s-Current
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/60541/records/2010967;