The Norwegian Roots of the Dukes of Normandy
Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewski, B.F.A.

Halfdan the Old was a Norwegian Noble (b. 730)

Ivar Uppland

Eystein Glumra

Rognvald the Mighty, Earl of More, Earl of Shetland and Orkney.

His Legitimate Sons:

.....Ivan
.....Thorir, "the silent"
.....Hrolf, "the ganger," Duke of Normandy

His Illegitimate Sons:

.....Hallad was the next earl, then Einar became the earl of Orkney.
.....Hrollaug

Rognvald's brother was called Sigurd.

.....Einar.

The Duchy of Normandy and the House of Wessex:

GENERATION ONE:

Rollo/Hrolf the Ganger (b. 850) (reigned 911-925) was a Norwegian Viking chieftain, he seized Rouen in 876. He invested in land on the lower Siene circa 911. He was at the castle of St. Clair-sur-Epte. Hrolf was Rollo, in Latin. He married Gisele, the daughter of the King of France. Rollo was baptized a Christian in a fountain fed by a spring names in honor of Saint Clair, who was martyred in 884. Rollo's second wife was Popee, the daughter of the Count of Bayeaux. Popee's son was William Longsword.

GENERATION TWO:

William I (925-942), "Longsword," was the son of Rollo.

.....Edgar (b. 943)was known as "the Peaceful." He was King of Mercia and Northumbria (973-975). Edgar was crowned in Bath Abbey on May 11, 973. He was the brother of Eadwig and son of Edmund I. Edgar died on July 8, 975 (age 32) and is buried in Glastonbury Abbey.

GENERATION THREE:

Richard I (942-966) known as "the Fearless," was the Duke of Normandy. He married Gunnor of Denmark. Richard was the son of William I.

.....Athelred II, "the Unready" (b. 968), was the son of Edgar and Elfrida. He died on April 23, 1016, in London (at age 48), and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral. Athered married (1) Elgiva (463-1002) (2) Emmas (985-1052).

GENERATION FOUR:

Richard II (996-1026), "The Good." Richard II was the son of Richard I.

.....St. Edward II, the Martyr (963-975), who was murdered by his stepmother, Queen Elfrida. Edward's father was Edgar the Peaceful (957-975). Edward's son was Edmund II, "Ironsides.".

GENERATION FIVE:

Richard III (1036-1027). Duke of Normandy, was the son of Richard III.

..... Edmund II Ironside (989-1016), King of England, married Algitha in 1016, widow of Sigfrid, thane of East Anglia, a Danish noble. Edward was the son of Ethered II (966-979). Edward fled to Normandy. Edward's son was known as Edward the Exiled. Edmund died on November 30, 1016 (at age 27) and was buried in Old St. Paul's Cathedral. Edmund was the son of Athelred II.

GENERATION SIX:

Richard III (1036-1027), Duke of Normandy, was the son of Richard II.

Robert I (1027-1035), "the Magnificent," was the brother of Richard III. He died while returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035.
Arlette, the daughter of the tanner of Falaise was the mother of William II of Normandy (William I of England).

..... Edward the Exiled (1017-1057) married Agatha of Germany, daughter of Conrad II of Franconia, Holy Roman Emperor. Edward's most famous daughter was St. Margaret of Scotland.

GENERATION SEVEN:

..... St. Margaret (1045-1093) married Malcolm III "Canmore," King of the Scots, (1058-1093), in 1069. Malcolm III was the eldest son of Duncan I (1034-1040) of Scotland. Margaret was Malcolm's second wife. Malcolm was crowned, King of the Scots, in Scone Abbey on April 25, 1058.

THE CHILDREN OF MALCOLM III WERE:

.....Duncan died in 1094. Duncan was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Ingibiorg, daughter of Finn Arnesson, Jarl of Holland/Earl of Orkney.
.....Edward died in 1093.
.....Edgar (1097-1107), King of Scots (1074-1107) Edgar was the son of Malcolm II of Scotland and Margaret.
.....Alexander I (1077-1124), King of Scots (1107-1124)was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret. Alexander married Sybilla (d. 1122), natural daughter of Henry I, King of England.
.....St. David I (1085-1153), King of Scots (1124-1153)was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret. David married Matilda (d. 1130), daughter of Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon.
*****Matilda (1079-1118), daughter of Malcolm III and Margaret of Scotland. She married Henry I, King of England (1068-1135) in 1100.
.....Mary (d. 1116) married Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, in 1102.

William II, the Conqueror was born in 1027 in Falaise. He was the Duke of Normandy (1035-1087), was the son of Robert I. He was William I (1066-1087), King of England. He married Matilda (d. 1083), daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, in 1050. William built the abbey church of Jumieges; the abbey aux Hommes (St. Etienne), which was begun in 1068; and the abbey aux Dames (La Trinite).

The children of William I of England (1066-1087) and Matilda of Flanders were:
• Robert, Duke of Normandy married Sibyl of Conversano in Italy. No issue.
• William II "Rufus," King of England (1087-1100) ruled the Duchy of Normandy. He died August 2, 1100, leaving no issue.
• Adela married Stephen, Count of Blois.
• Henry I, King of England (1100-1135) received his mother's land in Cotentin, Normandy. Henry married Matilda, daughter of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots and Margaret, daughter of Edgar Atheling, and great-grand-daughter of Edmund Ironsides.

GENERATION EIGHT:

Robert II (1087-1106), "Curthose," the Duke of Normandy was the son of William II. Robert was deposed, and died in 1134.

Wiliam II (b. 1057), King of England ("Rufus") (1087-1100) was the son of William the Conqueror.

Henry I, King of Normandy (1100-1135) was the brother of Robert II , King of England (1106-1135). Henry married Edith/Matilda (1079-1118), daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland, son of Duncan I, King of Scots in 1034. Duncan was murdered in 1040. Matilda's mother was St Margaret, daughter of Edward the Exile (1017-1057) and Agatha.

THE CHILDREN OF HENRY I AND MATILDA WERE:

.....William (d. 1120) was born February 23, 1103.
.....Matilda, the Empress was born February 7, 1102, and died September 10, 1167. She is buried in the Abbey church of Bec-Holloui. She married (1) Henry V on November 23, 1133, at Le Mans. Henry V was King of Worms in 1106. (2) Geoffrey of Anjou (b. 1134)

CHILDREN OF GEOFFREY AND MATILDA WERE:

.....William was born July 22, 1136.
.....Henry II, King of England (1154-1189) who married Eleanor of Acquitane.

Matilda was only eight years old when she married. She was raised buy her aunt Christina, the abbess of Wilton.

GENERATION NINE:

Geoffrey Plantagenet, "the Fair" was the 10th Count of Anjou(1149-1150). Geoffrey adicated and died in 1151. Count of Maine (1129) and Duke of Normandy (1144-1149), was the son of Fulk V (1109-1129), the younger, King of Jerusalem (1131-1143). Geoffrey married Matilda (1103-1167), Queen of England, in 1141, daughter of Henry I. Henry I died of lamprey eel poisoning.

.....Henry II,Duke of Normandy and King of England (1151-1189) was the son of Matilda, duaghter of Henry I and Geoffrey. Henry married Eleanor of Aquitane (1122-1204), daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine (1126-1137).

THE CHILDREN OF HENRY II AND ELEANOR WERE:

.....William (1153-1156).
.....Henry (1155-1183)
.....Matilda (1156-1189)
.....Richard (1157-1199)
.....Geoffrey (1158-1186)
.....Eleanor (1163-1215)
.....Joan (1165-1199)
.....John (1167-1216). In 1215, the barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, the charter that said that kings were not above the law.

GENERATION TEN:

Robert II of Dreux who married Alix, daughter of Constance and Guy of Thouars. Alix was regent from 1221-1237. Alix (1203-1221) was from the Plantagenet line. Robert died in 1250

At this time, the French believed their kings could heal the skin disease scrofula by touch alone. Scrofula is a disorder characterized by grandular swelling.

GENERATION ELEVEN:

......Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (1166-1186), was the son of Henry II of England. He married Constance, daughter of Conan IV, Earl of Richmond in 1181. Conan (1156-1166), the younger was the son of Bertha and Alan of Richmond; who was desposed and died in 1171. His son was Arthur I (1187-1203).

GENERATION TWELVE:

-----John of England (1167-1216) took his throne in 1199. He married Isabella (d. 1246) the daughter of Aimar Tsilifer, Count of Angouleme. Isabella married (2) to Hugh de Lusignan, the Count of Marche, in 1220. John descends from William I, the Conqueror. John's son was King Henry III (1207-1272), who took the throne in 1216. (Louda, Table 2).

> SOURCES:

Ashley, Mike. British Knights and Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1998.

Bouchard, Constance Brittain. Strong of Body, Brave, and Noble. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998.

Cannon, John & Ralph Griffiths. Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Chibnall, Marjorie. The Empress Matilda. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1995.

Jallam, Elizabeth. Chronicle of the Crusades. New York: Welcome Rain, 2000>

Louda, Jiri and Michael MacLagan. Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe. New Tork: Barnes & Noble Books, 2002.

Markale, Jean. Cathedral of the Black Madonna. Rochester, VT.: Inner Traditions, 1998.

Morby, John E. Oxford Dynasties of the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Roach, Marilynne. The Salem With Trials. New York: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2002.

Smith, Elsdon C. New Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Gramercy Publishing Company, 1988.

View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook

You are the visitor since November 20, 2005

This page is hosted by