William De Warenne

• General Notes
  • William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
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    For other persons of the same name, see William de Warenne.
    Window stain of William de Warenne.
    
    William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, (died 1088) was one of the Norman nobles who fought at the Battle of Hastings and became great landowners in England.
    Contents
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    * 1 Life
    * 2 Family
    * 3 Children of William and Gundred
    * 4 Landholdings in the Domesday Book of William de Warenne
    * 5 Notes
    * 6 References
    
    Life
    
    He was a son of Rodulf II de Warenne and Emma and a grandnephew of duchess Gunnor, wife of duke Richard I of Normandy. The de Warenne surname derives from the hamlet named Varenne located on the river Varenne, which flows through the territory William acquired in Upper Normandy[1] in the region today called Bellencombre.
    
    As a young man, William played a prominent role in protecting the Norman realm of the future William the Conqueror's from a major invasion by the King of France in February 1054 at the Battle of Mortemer.[2] After this battle Roger de Mortemer forfeited most of his lands, and the duke gave them to William.[3]
    
    William was one of the nobles who advised duke William when the decision to invade England was being considered. He is said to have fought at Hastings,[4] and afterwards received the Rape of Lewes in Sussex,[1] and subsequently lands in twelve other shires. He built castles at Lewes (Sussex), Reigate (Surrey), Castle Acre (Norfolk) and Conisbrough in Yorkshire.[1] By the time of the Domesday survey he was one of the wealthiest landholders in England with holdings in 12 counties.[5]
    
    He fought against rebels at the Isle of Ely in 1071 where he showed a special desire to hunt down Hereward the Wake who had murdered his brother the year before.[1]
    
    William was loyal to William II,[1] and it was probably in early 1088 that he was created Earl of Surrey.[6] He died shortly afterwards of wounds he received while helping suppress the rebellion of 1088.