1564109

"A decade ago, Charles Evans brought to the attention of the greater genealogical community a pair of charters in which William Longespee specifically names his mother as "Countess Ida". In light of this clear documentary evidence of the name of his mother, all other speculation (which had no such documentary basis) must be rejected. Who was "Countess Ida"? Recently the speculation has been published that she was the future wife of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, and supporting this identification is the fact that William Longespee was appointed guardian for Roger Bigod, who would have been his nephew. Questions of Ida's identity aside, there can be no doubt that Ida was mother of William Longespee.

Date of Import: 14 Mar 1999

Date of Import: 16 Mar 1999

did not marry