General Notes

Nickname:<NICK> "The Carpenter"


1   William De Melun, Lord of Melun, Knight - nick named "the Carpenter".William the Carpenter b. abt 1098 of Melun, Seine-Et--Marne, France[Guillaume] - Film #: 170395, Page #: 134, Ordinance #: 4799 (Bap. 11Feb. 1908 Manti - Pre 1970 ordinances)
Related Family Association:
that he is not doing any more research). "My British Genealogy of theNew England English Carpenter Family has descent due to our threecross-crosslets Coat of Arms from Viscount William (Carpenter surname) deMelune, a Norman Knight in the First Crusade, 1098 A.D., at the siege ofAntioch, Syria. He was "nicknamed, Carpenter, from the weighty strokesof his battle axe" in battle because the axe and great strength wereassociated with the carpenter's trade. This family is from Melun,Seine-et-Oise, France."
the Carpenter who fought in the First Crusade was not born about 1098 ADbut about 1065 (if he was 33 when he got his nickname). This wouldexplain the duplicative French record of Marne et Daniel of William, LordWilliam and William the Carpenter. IE William the Carpenter (born about1065 who fought at Atioch) who had a son named William (born about 1090)and another son, Godwin, who was of age in Suffolk, England in 1121 AD.Godwin to be of age then would have been over 21 years of age or bornbefore 1100.
Carpenter is likely. From Maurice upto the 1400s is most probable thenthe records become more tangible. The best documentation starts on the"Bevis" in 1638 and continues onward to our time. Due to the lack ofrecords, and name changes when titles were given, it is difficult topiece a record together of the CARPENTER Family in this part of history.Often the "Best Guess" is all what we can do until another record isfound.
0-312-57776-1 940.17 Brown Page 130 and 131: At the Seige of Antioch,Syria about Feburary 1098 - "Nevertheless, as the seige wore interminablyon and conditions worsened, and as the expectation of another relievingarmy under the powerful Kerbogha, 'atabeg' of Mosul, increased, moralebegan to crack in certain quarters and divisions to appear amongst theChristian leaders. There were desertions, real and suspected, bothbefore and after the battle of the Lake of Antioch. Amongst them werePeter the Hermit (of all people) and William 'the Carpenter' (so called -he was a knight and Lord of Melun) who slipped away in January
nephew. The "Gesta Francorum" gives us a military scene, timeless acrossthe ages, as the wretched William stood in Bohemond'd tent at firstlight, to have strip after strip torn off him by his commanding officer -'You wretched disgrace to the whole Frankish army -- you dishonourableblot on all the people of Gaul!
54 refers to a note on page 185: "54 Gesta Francorum, p. 33. William hadevidently deserted once before, on an expedition against the Moors inSpain, an incident of which he was now forcefully reminded by theoutraged Bohemond."