de Falaise, Herleve Arlette

1003 - 1050  (46 years)

• Name	de Falaise, Herleve Arlette
  Birth	9 Jun 1003	Falaise,Normandy,France.
  Gender	Female
  Death	1050	Eure,Normandy,France
  Person ID	I2587	Wilkinson
  Last Modified	18 May 2021

  
  

  Father	de Falaise, Fulbert,   b. 987, Falaise,Normandy,France. d. 1017 (Age 30 years)
  Mother	of Scotland, Doda,   b. 982, Glamis,Forfar,Scotland. d. 1003, Falaise,Normandy,France. (Age 21 years)
  Family ID	F2535	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	of Normandy, Robert I 6th Duke of Normandy,   b. 22 Jun 1000, Normandy,France d. 2 Jul 1035, Nicaea,Turkey. (Age 35 years)
  Children	1. de Lacy, Hugh,   b. 1020, Laci,Normandy d. Jan 1050, Burrow,Wexford,England (Age 30 years)   2. of Normandy, William I King,   b. 14 Oct 1024, Normandy,France. d. 9 Sep 1087 (Age 62 years)   3. of Normandy, Adelaide Princess of Normandy,   b. 1026, Falaise,Normandy,France. d. 1082, Aumale,Normandy,France. (Age 56 years)
  Family ID	F870	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	de Wrenroc, Randulph,   b. 1009, Powys,Montgomery,Wales.
  Children	1. Peverel, Ranulph,   b. 1030, Vengeons,Normandy,France d. 1072, Hatfield,Sussex,England (Age 42 years)
  Family ID	F2859	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 3	de Conteville, Herluin Comte de Conteville,   b. 3 Sep 1001, Conteville,Normandy,France d. 1 May 1072, Mortain,Normandy,France (Age 70 years)
  Marriage	1031
  Children	1. de Conteville, Odo   d. 1097   2. de Conteville, Robert Count   d. 1095   3. de Copello, Muriel,   b. 1041, Conteville,Normandy,France d. 1076, St Edmunds,Suffolk,England (Age 35 years)   4. de Conteville, Maude,   b. 1015, Normandy,France
  Family ID	F1005	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  BIOGRAPHY: Herleva (c. 1003 ? c. 1050) also known as Herleue,[1] Arlette,[2] Arletta[3] and Arlotte,[4] was the mother of William I of England. She had two other sons, Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain, who became prominent in William's realm. BIOGRAPHY: Family background BIOGRAPHY: The background of Herleva and the circumstances of William's birth are shrouded in mystery. The written evidence dates from a generation or two later, and is not entirely consistent. The most commonly accepted version says that she was the daughter of a tanner named Fulbert from the town of Falaise, in Normandy. Translation being somewhat uncertain, Fulbert may instead have been a furrier, embalmer, apothecary, or a person who laid out corpses for burial.[5] It is argued by some that Herleva's father was not a tanner but rather a member of the burgher class.[6] The idea is supported by the fact that her brothers appear in a later document as attestors for an under-age William. Also, the Count of Flanders later accepted Herleva as a proper guardian for his own daughter. Both facts would be nearly impossible if Herleva's father (and therefore her brothers) was a tanner, which would place his standing as little more than a peasant. Orderic Vitalis described Herleva's father Fulbert as being the Duke's Chamberlain (cubicularii ducis).[7][8] BIOGRAPHY: Relationship with Robert the Magnificent BIOGRAPHY: According to one legend, still recounted by tour guides at Falaise, it all started when Robert, the young Duke of Normandy saw Herleva from the roof of his castle tower. The walkway on the roof still looks down on the dyeing trenches cut into stone in the courtyard below, which can be seen to this day from the tower ramparts above. The traditional way of dyeing leather or garments was for individuals to trample barefoot on the garments which were awash in the dyeing liquid in these trenches. Herleva, legend goes, seeing the Duke on his ramparts above, raised her skirts perhaps a bit more than necessary in order to attract the Duke's eye. The latter was immediately smitten and ordered her brought in (as was customary for any woman that caught the Duke's eye) through the back door. Herleva refused, saying she would only enter the Duke's castle on horseback through the front gate, and not as an ordinary commoner. The Duke, filled with lust, could only agree. In a few days, Herleva, dressed in the finest her father could provide, and sitting on a white horse, rode proudly through the front gate, her head held high. This gave Herleva a semi-official status as the Duke's mistress. She later gave birth to his son, William, in 1027 or 1028, and probably a daughter, Adelaide, in 1030. BIOGRAPHY: Marriage to Herluin de Conteville BIOGRAPHY: Herleva later married Herluin de Conteville in 1031. Some accounts however, maintain that Robert always loved her, but the gap in their social status made marriage impossible, so, to give her a good life, he married her off to one of his favourite noblemen. Another source suggests that Herleva did not marry Herluin until after Robert died because there is no record of Robert ensuing another relationship, whereas Herluin married another woman, Fredesendis, by the time he founded the abbey of Grestain.[9] From her marriage to Herluin she had two sons: Odo, who later became Bishop of Bayeux, and Robert, who became Count of Mortain. Both became prominent during William's reign. They also had at least two daughters, Emma, who married Richard LeGoz (de Averanches), and a daughter of unknown name who married William, lord of la Fert?-Mac?.[10] BIOGRAPHY: Death BIOGRAPHY: According to Robert of Torigni, Herleva was buried at the abbey of Grestain, which was founded by Herluin and their son Robert around 1050. This would put Herleva in her forties around the time of her death. However, David C. Douglas suggests that Herleva probably died before Herluin founded the abbey because her name does not appear on the list of benefactors, whereas the name of Herluin's second wife, Fredesendis, does.[11] BIOGRAPHY: References ^ Douglas, David C. William the Conqueror (1964), p. 15 ^ Freeman, Edward A. The History of the Norman Conquest (1867), p. 530 ^ Palgrave, Sir Francis. The History of Normandy and of England (1864), p. 145 ^ Abbott, Jacob. William the Conqueror (1903), p. 41 ^ van Houts, Elisabeth M. C., 'The Origins of Herleva, Mother of William the Conqueror', English Historical Review, vol. 101, pp. 399-404 (1986) ^ McLynn, Frank. 1066: The Year of the Three Battles. pp. 21-23 (1999) ISBN 0-7126-6672-9 ^ van Houts, Elisabeth M. C., 'The Origins of Herleva, Mother of William the Conqueror', English Historical Review, vol. 101, pp. 399-404 (1986) ^ Crouch, David 'The Normans- The History of a Dynasty' Hambledon 2002 at pp 52-53 and p58 ^ "Norman Nobility". Medieval Lands Project. Retrieved on 2009-07-30. ^ Douglas 1964, p. 381 ^ Douglas 1964, p. 382 BIOGRAPHY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herleva ------------------------------------------------------