Raoul II of Tosny
Raoul II de Tosny[lower-alpha 1] (1027 - died 9 April 1102), lord of Conches-en-Ouche, was a Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny, son of Roger I of Tosny and older brother of Robert de Stafford / Tosny.[1][2] He was active in Normandy, England and Wales.
Hastings in 1066
He is one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.[3] Tradition says he gave up the role of standard bearer, his hereditary office, to Walter Giffard, in order to be able to fight closer to William, duke of Normandy.
Feud
Raoul became embroiled in a feud with William, Count of Évreux due to a disagreement between William's wife Helvise de Nevers and his wife, Isabel.[4] This came to open war in 1091–92, when William attacked Conches. A settlement was reached.[5] They later co-operated in attacking Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester's county of Meulan.
Raoul had widely spread holdings, his seat was at Flamstead in Hertfordshire, while he held lands in western Gloucestershire.[6] He was granted Clifford Castle,[6] and it is also believed that he held assets in the village of Hose, Leicestershire, which was split into two manors, Tosny's and that of the title holder of the Norman Belvoir Castle.
Family
Raoul married Isabel de Montfort, daughter of Simon I de Montfort.[7] They had:
- Roger, died young.[8]
- Raoul IV de Conches,[8] married Alice of Huntingdon, daughter of Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, and Judith of Lens.
- Godehilde married Baldwin I of Jerusalem[9] Other sources also say she married Robert de Neubourg, son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick - William of Jumièges mentions this marriage and states that she was the daughter of 'Raoul II' de Tosny. Perhaps she married both men, unless William of Jumièges and others have made a mistake[10]
Notes
- Ralph Tosny, Ralph de Toeni, Ralph de Tonei, Ralph de Tony, Ralph de Toni, Ralph de Todeni, Ralph de Tosney, Raoul de Conches, Raoul de Toeny, Raf Thoney, Rafe de Tosny.
References
Citations
- Falconer Madan M.A. - The Gresleys of Drakelow, Toeni pedigree page 223 and Chapter 2, page 16 (Oxford, 1899)
- Mason 1979, p. 209.
- Mason 1979, p. 124.
- Johns 2003, p. 14.
- Barlow 1983, p. 286.
- Lewis 1985, p. 208.
- Châtelain 1983, p. 86.
- Mason 1979, p. 125.
- Murray 2000, p. 31.
- William of Jumièges - Histoire des Normands, par Guillaume de Jumiège. — Vie de Guillaume-Le-Conquérant, par Guillaume de Poitiers. — published in 1826 within Collection des Mémoires Relatifs à l’histoire De France. Depuis la Fondation de la Monarchie Française jusqu’au 13e Siècle, by M. Guizot, Professeur D’histoire Moderne A L’académie De Paris (Chez J.-L.-J. Brière, Libraire, Rue Saint-André-Des-Arts, No. 68). Page 308: "Il prit pour femme la sœur de Roger du Ternois, fille de Raoul II, nommée Godechilde" (Note: William of Jumièges used the spelling 'de Ternois' and 'de Toëni' for the 'de Tosny' family)
Sources
- Barlow, Frank (1983). William Rufus. University of California Press.
- Châtelain, André (1983). Châteaux forts et féodalité en Ile de France, du XIème au XIIIème siècle (in French). Nonette.
- Johns, Susan M. (2003). Noblewomen, aristocracy and power in the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman realm. Manchester University Press.
- Lewis, Christopher (1985). "The Norman Settlement of Herefordshire under William I". In Brown, Reginald Allen (ed.). Anglo-Norman Studies VII: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1984. Vol. VII. The Boydell Press.
- Mason, Emma (1979). "Magnates, curiales, and the Wheel of Fortune". In Brown, Reginald Allen (ed.). Proceedings of the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies: 1979. Vol. II. The Boydell Press.
- Murray, Alan V. (2000). The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History 1099-1125. Prosopographica et Genealogica.