General Notes

After discussing with Betty Knoche, the various opinions from different sources about the mistresses and illegitimate children of Henry I (who probably had more than any other English monarch), I discovered an Appendix D in Volume XI of The Complete Peerage which lists all of the "known" children and connects them, where possible, with the known mistresses.  I have scanned the text and included it in the notes below.  Please excuse any errors in scanning/translating the text.

HENRY I'S ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN (According to the Complete Peerage)

Henry I and Charles II were the only Kings of England to beget a large brood of bastards. Charles IIís children have already been catalogued in vol. VI, Appendix F; from which it appears that Charles, who had no legitimate issue, is credited with 8 sons and 6 daughters, but that the paternity of one of those sons is not certain. This record is easily beaten  by Henry I. Besides his 2, or possibly 3, legitimate children, it seems fairly certain that he was the father of at least 9 sons and 11 daughters.  Moreover it is possible that one of the 9 sons really represents brothers of the same name; and finally it remains doubtful whether a certain unnamed daughter of the King was identical with one of the 11 or was yet another addition to his extensive family.

No complete catalogue of Henryís bastards is given by any contemporary writer. However, Robert de Torigny, in his additions to the Gesta Normannoram Ducum of William de Jumieges, enumerates 6 sons, mentioning the marriage of the first, gives the marriages of 6 daughters, of whom he names only three, and refers to another daughter, also unnamed, who was still unmarried when he wrote.  Particulars of Henryís other children have to be collected from different sources.

It is impossible to set out the names of the children in the order in which they were born, as the date of birth is not known for any of them; nor is it possible to arrange them according to their maternal parentage, for in most instances this is not recorded.  Indeed, Robert de Torigny does not name the mother of any of the 13 children whom he enumerates except the unmarried daughter, although his omissions may occasionally be made good from other sources.

The sons were as follows, nos. 1 to 6 being those named by Robert de Torigny.  He states that no. 1 was the eldest son, and it is certain from other evidence that no. 2 was the 2nd son ; but it is doubtful how far the others follow any chronological or other order. It seems likely that no. 6 was 3rd of the six, because when Robert wrote, probably not earlier than 1142, nos. 3, and 5 were still young and unmarried (or so he says); but no. 6 had died soon after his father, being then a married man, leaving issue.  Where the 3 remaining sons should be inserted is again uncertain; but no. 8 should probably follow no. 2, and no. 9 come after no. 3, each pair being apparently children of the same mother. On the other hand, it is possible that Henry had two or more mistresses
simultaneously.

(1) ROBERT the King's Son, styled also De Caen (e), the name and identity of whose mother are uncertain (f); b. probably circa 1090; cr. in 1122 (June-Sep.) EARL OF GLOUCESTER; m. Maud (named also Mabel and Sibyl) (g), da. and h. of Robert FitzHamon, LORD of GLAMORGAN, by Sibyl, da. of Roger (de Montgomery), 1st EARL of SHREWSBURY; d. 31 Oct. 1147 at Bristol; bur. at the Priory of St. James, Bristol.  For fuller particulars of Robert and for his issue, see ante, vol. v, pp. 683-86, sub Gloucester.  [Note: According to "Corrections and Additions to CP", another source indicates his mother is Nest verch Rhys, which is also discounted.  Volume V of CP, published in 1926 indicates the mother was "Sibyl, daughter of Robert Corbet a burgess in Caen", but Volume XI, published in 1949, discounts that in note "f" below.  The mother is officially unknown.  Many say that the mother of Robert was a French woman and that he was born in Caen.]

(e) He attested charters regularly as Robert "filius, Regis"; but he is twice styled Robert de Caen (de Cadomo) by Orderic (ed. Le Prevost), vol. v, pp. 121, 122.  The statement in the Dict. Nat. Biog. that Robert was born at Caen, citing Orderic, seems to be a deduction from these passages. That he was "known ... as Robert 'de Caen' from his birthplace" is also amassed by Round, Family Origins, p. 214.

(f) The statement by Pezet, cited ante, vol. v, p. 683, that she was Sibyl, dau.. of Robert Corbet, a burgess of Caen, seems to arise from confusion with Henry Iís mistress Sibyl, dau. of Robert Corbet of Alcester (see below).

(g) Her name seems to have been Maud (Round, Cal. Docs., no. 799; Orderic, vol. iii, p. 318); but she is called Mabel by William of Malmesbury, Hist. Nevella (Rolls Ser.), pp. 529, 587, and by Robert of Gloucester (Rolls Ser.), II 8876, 8883, and Sibyl by Robert de Torigny, in his additions to Will. de Jumieges, p. 306.  As Earl Robert claimed to be a banner-bearer (signifer) of the see of Bayeux by hereditary right (Rec. des Hist. de France, vol. xxiii, p. 700), that office was probably hereditary in his wifeís family, and may have been appurtenant to the lands which she inherited.

(2) RICHARD, whose mother was Ansfride, a lady of unknown parentage, widow of Anskiill, a knight who was a tenant of Abingdon Abbey. He was b. ante 1101 ; served against the French in 1119, and was captured at Los Andelys, but was set free with his comrades by King Louis, because they had taken sanctuary in the church of N.D. du Grand Andely; was with his father at the siege of Evreux and the battle of Bremule, 20 Aug. 1119; and in Sep. was sent to raise the siege of Breteuil. He was betrothed to Amice, da. of Ralph de Gael, LORD of  MONTFORT in Brittany and BRETEUIL in Normandy, with whom he was to receive all her fatherís Norman lands; but he d. s.p. immediately afterwards, being drowned in the wreck of the White Ship, 25 Nov. 1120 (h), and Amice m. Robert, 2nd EARL of LEICESTER. (see ante vol. vii, pp. 529-30, sub Leicester).

(h) His body was washed up many days later, far from the scene of the shipwreck.

(3) RAINALD of DUNSTANVILLE, whose mother was Sibyl, named also Adela and Lucy, da. and in her issue coh. of Robert Corbet, of Alcester, co. Warwick, and Longden, Salop; which Sibyl, after her liaison with Henry I, m. Herbert FitzHerbert.  Rainald held land in Wiltshire in 1130.  He was cr., circa Apr. 1141, EARL OF CORNWALL, by his half-sister the Empress Maud.  He m. Beatrice, da. and h. of William FitzRichard. He d. spms. leg. 1 July 1175 at Chertsey, Surrey, when his Earldom reverted to the Crown, and was bur, at Reading Abbey. For fuller particulars see ante, vol. iii, p. 429, sub Cornwall.

(4) ROBERT the Kingís son, whose mother Ede or Edith was apparently da. of Forn, probably identical with Forn Sigulfson, lord of Greystoke (Cumberland) and a tenant-in-chief in co. York; which Edith, after her liaison with Henry I, m. Robert de Oilli, a royal Constable and constable of Oxford Castle. Robert held land in Devonshire in 1130. He supported his half-sister, the EMPRESS Maud, in the Civil War. He was a great tenant-in-chief, his servitium debitum being 100 knights. He m. Maud, dame du Sap in Normandy, widow of William de Courcy, and da. and h. of Robert de Avranches, by whom he had an only daughter.  He d. 31 May 1172.

(5) GILBERT, still young and unmarried in (?) 1142. Nothing more is known of him.

(6) WILLIAM de Tracy or Tracey, whose mother is unknown, and who d. soon after his father, leaving (by an unknown wife) a daughter and heir (l).

(l) Grace, who m. John de Sudeley, of Sudeley Castle and Toddington, co. Gloucester, 3rd s. of Harold de Ewias, lord of Ewias (co. Hereford) and Sudeley, s. and h. of Ralph, Earl of Hereford, s. of Dreu, Count of the French Vexin, by Godgifu, sister of Edward the Confessor.  The 1st son, Ralph de Sudeley, suc. his father at Sudeley; the 2nd son, William of Toddington, took his mother's name of Tracy or Tracey; hence Ralph de Sudeley confirmed a gift of his brother William de Tracy to Gloucester Abbey.  The direct line of Tracy of Toddington became extinct on the death of Henry (Tracy), 8th Viscount Tracy, in 1797; but cadets of this very ancient house may still exist.  [Note: According to Ancestral Roots (line 222-27), Grace was not a daughter of William, but of unknown parents; and Grace's son John was b. bef 1114 ("of age by 1135", admittedly from a "bef 1130" marriage, but there is no way Grace fits as daughter of William "b. c 1190" with a son born that early.  Therefore I have Grace's father as an unknown Henry de Tracy.]

(7) Henry the King's son, whose mother was Nest, da. of Rhys ap TEWDWR, Prince of South Wales where Henry was born, and wife of Gerald de Windsor. He was slain during Henry IIís invasion of Anglesey in 1157, leaving (by an unknown wife) 2 sons.

(8) FULK the King's son, and Richard the tutor, witnessed a gift to Abingdon Abbey by William, s. of Anskill and Ansfride, the mother of Henry Iís s. Richard, all abovenamed; the gift being made in consideration of his mother having been bur, in the abbey. The obvious inference is that Folk was a yr. s. of Henry and Ansfride, and was being brought up at the abbey in charge of his tutor.  In any event he must have been a son of Henry I. Fulk probably became a monk at Abingdon or d. young.

(9) WILLIAM, brother of the Queen [Sibyl of Scotland], who was one of Henry Iís illegitimate daughters (see below), was presumably a son of Sibyl Corbet, and may be supposed to have accompanied his sister to Scotland. As ìWillelmensus frater reginaeì, his name occurs among those of the witnesses to the foundation-charter (of doubtful authenticity) of Scone Priory, issued by Alexander I and Queen Sibyl, circa 1120; and again to a charter of Alexander for Scone in 1124.  Sibyl had d. s.p. in 1122 and Alexander d. s.p. in 1124, and as there is no more trace of William in Scotland, it is likely that he returned to England.  Probably he is William the Kingís son who attested a charter of Robert de Toni, 1129-33. In 1166 William frater comitis Reginaldi was holding half a knightís fee in Devonshire under Robert the Kingís son, and 4 fees in Cornwall, as William frater Comitis, under Earl Rainald of Cornwall. Earl Rainaldís brother attested 2 charters of the earl as ìWillelmo fratre meo." and issued a charter as "Willelmus de Marisco frater Reginaldi comitis Cornubie," in which he mentions his wife Alice.  He was living in 1187.

The daughters were as follows, the first 7 being in the same order as in the list of Robert de Torigny; who gives the marriages of nos. 1 to 6, but omits the Christian names of 4, 5, 6 and 7.

(1) MAUD, whose mother was Edith, of whom nothing is known (b).  She m. in 1103, Rotrou, COUNT of Perche, styled the Great, s. and h. of Geoffrey, Count of Perche, by Beatrice, da. of Hilduin, Count of Montdidier and  (jure uxoris) Count of Roucy.  Rotrou had gone on the 1st Crusade in 1096.  In 1105 and 1114 he went to Spain, to help his cousin Alfonso I, King of Navarre and Aragon, against the Moors.  In 1114 he assisted Henry I at the siege of Belleme, which he had long before claimed as his hereditary right. The King granted him the Belleme fiefs.  He was present at the death of his royal father-in-law in 1135. In 1137 Stephen gave him Moulins; but in 1141 he made terms with Geoffrey Plantagenet.  Maud was drowned in the wreck of the White Ship, 25 Nov. 1120, leaving 2 daughters. Rotrou m., 2ndly, before 1127, Hawise, da. of Walter de Salisbury, and sister of Patrick, 1st EARL OF Salisbury. He d. in 1144 at the siege of the Tower of Rouen (20 Jan. to 23 Apr.) by Geoffrey Plantagenet, and his widow m., as his 2nd wife, Robert, 1st Count of Dreux, 3rd s. of Louis VI (Le Gros), King of France; which Robert styled himself Count of Perche and lord of Belleme during the minority of his stepson.

(b) As her daughter married in 1103, she cannot be the daughter of Forn.

(2) MAUD, who m. Conan III, Duke of Brittany, s. of Alan Fergant, Duke of Brittany, by his 2nd wife, Ermengard, da. of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou.  Maud had 1 son and 2 daughters.

(3) JULIANE, who m. in 1103, Eustace de Pacy, styled also de Breteuil. Lord of Breteuil and Pacy, illegitimate son of William on Breteuil, 1st s. of William (FitzOsbern), 1st EARL OF HEREFORD (ante, vol. vi, p. 449, note "c", sub Hereford).  In 1119 Eustace took part in the rebellion against Henry I, who besieged Juliane in Breteuil. She fled to Pacy, and in the autumn of 1119 she and her husband were pardoned by the King. A few years later she became a nun at Fontevrault. Eustace d. at the beginning of Lent, 1136. They had issue 2 sons and 2 daughters.

(4) ?Eustacie? (k) who m. William Gouet III, LORD or MONTMIRAIL and other fiefs in that part of Perche which, at a much later date, became known as Perche-Gouet; who was 2nd but 1st surv. s. and h. of William Gouet II, LORD of Montmirail and Chateau-du-Loir, and (jure matris) of Alluye and Brou, by his wife Eustache, and was b. ante 1080.  His elder br. Hugh having d. v.p. he became the heir, and joined with his father and mother Eustache, and his brothers Robert and Matthew, in the foundation of the Priory of St. Gilles des Chateigniers as a cell of Tiron.  In 1114, as William Gouet junior (juvenem), he was one of the nobles (optimates) of Theobald, Count of Chartres, whom the Count called in to advise him. In 1116, with his father and mother, he gave judgement in a dispute between the abbey of Marmoutier and Gaston de Brou. He suc. his father, probably about 1117. He has been confused with his father, and with his s. and h., William Gouet IV, with whom the line ended.  [Note: "Correction and Additions to CP" indicates that her name is Mabel.]

(k) R. de Torigny does not name her, and Marx does not try to ascertain her name; nor has it been found in charters.  She is called Eustacie by Ramsay, presumably through confusion with her mother-in-law.

(5) CONSTANCE, named also MAUD, who m. Roscelin de Beaumont, hereditary vicomte of Maine, styled Vicomte de Beaumont, Lord of Beaumont-le-Vicomte (alias Beaumont-sur-Sarthe), Fresnay and Ste.-Suzanne, s. of Ralph de Beaumont, by sister of Guy de Laval.  Henry I gave South Tawton (Devon), to Roscelin de Beaumont in marriage with his da. Constance. They had 2 sons.

(6) ALICE, named also ALINE, who m. Matthew de Montmorenci, 1st s. and h. of Bouchard de Montmorenci, by his 1st wife, Agnes, da. of Yves II, Count of Beaumont-sur-Oise.  She d. after having sons by Matthew, who m. 2ndly, Adelaide, widow of Louis VI (Le Gros), King of France, da. of Humbert II, Count of Savoy, by Gisele, da. of William, Count of Burgundy; by whom he had no issue. Matthew was Constable of France.

(7) ISABEL, whose mother was Isabel (or Elizabeth), da. of Robert (de Beauchamp), Count or Meulan and 1st Earl of Leicester, by Isabel (or Elizabeth), da. of Hugh the Great, Count of Vermandois; which last-named Isabel m., 2ndly, William (de Warenne), 2nd Earl of Surrey (see ante, vol. vii, p. 526, sub Leicester). The youngest of the Isabels was still unmarried when Robert de Torigny wrote, and so far as is known she never married. Her mother m. Gilbert (FitzGilbert, styled also de Clare), 1st Earl of Pembroke, and she seems to have lived with her mother during the life and after the death of her stepfather (see ante, vol. x, Appendix H, p. 102).

(8) SIBYL, whose mother was probably Sibyl Corbet. She m. Alexander I, King of Scotland, with whom she is said to have been joint founder of Scone Priory.  She gave ìBeeth," a valuable property in Fifeshire, to the abbey of Dunfermline. She d. s.p., suddenly, 12 or 13 July 1122, on the island of Loch Tay. Alexander d. s.p. 23 Apr. 1124 and was bur. at Dunfermline Abbey, being suc, by his br. David.

(9) MAUD, abbess of Montivilliers, is called a sister of the Empress Mood by the Valasse Chronicle. Traditionally she was identified with Henry lís daughter by Isabel de Beaumont, doubtless because Isabelís daughter was the only one in Robert de Torignyís list not recorded to be married to another person. The compilers of Gallia Christiana seem somewhat sceptical of Maudís royal parentage; but this appears to be unreasonable, as the writer of the Valasse Chronicle was a contemporary.

(10) GUNDRED, The Pipe Roll of 130 mentions Gundred, sister of Rainald de Dunstanville. Nothing more is known of her.  [Note: "Corrections and Additions to CP" indicates that the Rainald referred to here is not the illegitimate son of Henry I, but another Rainald de Dunstanville, and therefore Gundred is not an illegitimate daughter of Henry I either.]

(11) ROHESE, who m., not later than 1146, Henry de la Pomerai, a great Devonshire baron, s. and h. of Joscelin de la Pomerai. He fought for Henry I in the rebellion of 1123, and in the Kingís later years was a deputy or assistant Constable in his Household. In 1136 he was one of Stephenís commanders in Normandy.  He prospered under Henry II. He was dead in 1167. His wife was probably living in 1175 or 1176. They left sons, Henry and Joscelin.  [Note: Ancestral Roots argues that Rohese was daughter of Sybil Corbet, but by her husband Herbert FitzHerbert, pointing out that her daughter married William de Tracy, who would have been the daughter's 1st cousin, if she were also descended from Henry I.]

(12) Finally there is the question of the identity of the unnamed daughter whom Henry I had agreed to give to William de Warenne. The King asked Anselm what he ought to do, seeing that the parties were related in the 4th generation on one side and in the sixth on the other. There is no evidence as to whether the girl was one of the 11 daughters already enumerated or another. The archbishop protested against the marriage and it never took place. William de Warenne was probably the 2nd Earl of Surrey, the only man of that name known to be living at the time, who was 4th in descent from the common ancestors: the parents of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy.

Henry was evidently devoid of racial prejudices in the choice of his mistresses. Of the six whose names are known, the 2 Ediths must have been English; Ansfride and Sibyl Corbet were presumably Norman.  Nest was Welsh; Isabel de Beaumont was Norman on one side, French on the other.

Henry I has been credited with 2 more daughters, for whom he was not responsible:

(i) In the Index to Le Prevost's edition of Ordericís Historia Ecclesiastica, under "Helie de Saint-Saens," there are the entries: "Epouse Ia fille naturelle de Robert Courte-Heuse Ensuite Ia fille naturelle de Henri Ire. IV, 232"; and under ìHenri Ire": ìUne de ses filles naturelles epouse Helie de SaintóSums. IV, 232."  However, the compiler has misunderstood the passage cited, which refers to Helie's marriage with a daughter of Duke Robert. The alleged 2nd marriage and the Kingís alleged daughter are alike fictitious.

(ii) Orderic, in his -account of the war between Henry I of England and Louis VI of France, speaks of William de Chaumont as the Kingís son-in-law.  This has been misunderstood as referring to the King of England, and Williamís wife is included among Henry lís daughters by Ramsay; but charter evidence proves that she was the daughter of the King of France.

Henryís benefactions to the Church caused the monkish historians to palliate his sins and to find excuses for his lust; but they could not avert the fatal consequence.  When the White Ship was wrecked on the deadly rock, a boat was launched and the Kingís only legitimate son and heir was being rowed to safety. It was the cries of his illegitimate half-sister, the Countess of Perche, which induced him to return to the wreck, where they sank together.  [THE COMPLETE PEERAGE, Volume XI, Appendix D, pp. 105-121]

----------------------------------------

Henry I was born in the year 1068---a factor he himself regarded as highly significant, for he was the only son of the Conqueror born after the conquest of England, and to Henry this meant he was heir to the throne. He was not an attractive proposition: he was dissolute to a degree, producing at least a score of bastards; but far worse he was prone to sadistic cruelty---on one occasion, for example, personally punishing a rebellious burgher by throwing him from the walls of his town.

At the death of William the Conqueror, Henry was left no lands, merely 5,000 pounds of silver. With these he bought lands from his elder brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, only to see them taken back again a few years later by Robert, in unholy alliance with his brother William Rufus.

Henry could do little to avenge such treatment, but in England he found numerous barons who were tired of the exactions and ambitions of their king. He formed alliances with some of these, notably with the important de Clare family. He and some of the de Clares were with William Rufus on his last hunting expedition, and it is thought that the king's death was the result of Henry's plotting.

Certainly he moved fast to take advantage of it; leaving Rufus's body unattended in the woods, he swooped down on Winchester to take control of the treasury. Two days later he was in Westminster, being crowned by the Bishop of London. His speed is understandable when one realises that his elder brother, Robert [Curthose], was returning from the crusade, and claimed, with good reason, to be the true heir.

Henry showed great good sense in his first actions as King. He arrested Ranulph Flambard, William's tax-gatherer, and recalled Anselm, the exiled Archbishop. Furthermore, he issued a Charter of Liberties which promised speedy redress of grievances, and a return to the good government of the Conqueror. Putting aside for the moment his many mistresses, he married the sister of the King of Scots, who was descended from the royal line of Wessex; and lest the Norman barons should think him too pro-English in this action, he changed her name from Edith to Matilda. No one could claim that he did not aim to please.

In 1101 Robert Curthose invaded, but Henry met him at Alton, and persuaded him to go away again by promising him an annuity of £2,000. He had no intention of keeping up the payments, but the problem was temporarily solved.

He now felt strong enough to move against dissident barons who might give trouble in the future. Chief amongst these was the vicious Robert of BellÍme, Earl of Shrewsbury, whom Henry had known for many years as a dangerous troublemaker. He set up a number of charges against him in the king's court, making it plain that if he appeared for trial he would be convicted and imprisoned. Thus Robert and his colleagues were forced into rebellion at a time not of their own choosing, were easily defeated and sent scuttling back to Normandy.

In Normandy Robert Curthose began to wreak his wrath on all connected with his brother, thus giving Henry an excellent chance to retaliate with charges of misgovernment and invade. He made two expeditions in 1104-5, before the great expedition of 1106 on which Robert was defeated at the hour-long battle of Tinchebrai, on the anniversary of Hastings. No one had expected such an easy victory, but Henry took advantage of the state of shock resulting from the battle to annex Normandy. Robert was imprisoned (in some comfort, it be said); he lived on for 28 more years, ending up in Cardiff castle whiling away the long hours learning Welsh. His son William Clito remained a free agent, to plague Henry for most of the rest of his reign.

In England the struggle with Anselm over the homage of bishops ran its course until the settlement of 1107. In matters of secular government life was more simple: Henry had found a brilliant administrator, Roger of Salisbury, to act as Justiciar for him. Roger had an inventive mind, a keen grasp of affairs, and the ability to single out young men of promise. He quickly built up a highly efficient team of administrators, and established new routines and forms of organisation within which they could work. To him we owe the Exchequer and its recording system of the Pipe Rolls, the circuits of royal justiciars spreading the king's peace, and the attempts at codification of law. Henry's good relationships with his barons, and with the burgeoning new towns owed much to skilful administration. Certainly he was able to gain a larger and more reliable revenue this way than by the crude extortion his brother had used.

In 1120 came the tragedy of the White Ship. The court was returning to England, and the finest ship in the land was filled with its young men, including Henry's son and heir William. Riotously drunk, they tried to go faster and faster, when suddenly the ship foundered. All hands except a butcher of Rouen were lost, and England was without an heir.

Henry's only legitimate child was Matilda, but she was married to the Emperor Henry V of Germany, and so could not succeed. But in 1125 her husband died, and Henry brought her home and forced the barons to swear fealty to her---though they did not like the prospect of a woman ruler. Henry then married her to Geoffrey of Anjou, the Normans' traditional enemy, and the barons were less happy---especially when the newly-weds had a terrible row, and Geoffrey ordered her out of his lands. In 1131 Henry, absolutely determined, forced the barons to swear fealty once more, and the fact that they did so is testimoney of his controlling power. Matilda and Geoffrey were reunited, and in 1133 she produced a son whom she named for his grandfather. If only Henry could live on until his grandson was old enough to rule, all would be well.

But in 1135, against doctor's orders, he ate a hearty meal of lampreys, got acute indigestion, which turned into fever, and died. He was buried at his abbey in Reading---some said in a silver coffin, for which there was an unsuccessful search at the Dissolution. [Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]