General Notes

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!Follower of William the Conquerer. [Ped. of Charlemagne]

FOSTER, NEWLIN LINE

!In 1069 Robert of Comines and his men were murdered at Durham as was Robert fitzRichard, a castellan at York.  Then Edgar came down from Scotland, rallied the Northumbrian leaders, was received in York, and attacked the royal castles. William Malet, the local commander, was in great danger; but before Easter
William I drove Edgar out again, sacked the city and left the trusted William fitzOsbern as his lieutenant.  [William I and the Norman Conquest]

!In the autumn of 1069 King Svein of Denmark invaded England's coast and ravaged from Dover to the Humber where they were joined by Edgar and other English nobles.  The combined forces took the castles at York and massacred or captured the garrison (including William Malet), while the city burned again.
[William I]

!Following the Battle of Hastings, William I had him dispose of King Harold's body. [William I]

!One of the commanders in William of Normandy's army of invasion, and appointed governor of York Castle, who was probably the brother of King Harold's wife. [Magna Charta Barons, p. 105]

Son of a dau. of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and ____ Malet who was descended from Robert, son of Maleth. Union with Asa produced Robert Malet; union with Esilia Crispin produced William Malet II, monk at Bec, and Lucia. [Falaise Roll, Table XIII]

Graville was the caput of the Malet barony in Normandy. William Malet and his son Robert Malet, the Domesday tenant-in-chief, held this barony. In 1066-78 William Malet consented to the gift to the abbey of Preaux of land held of him at Buletoth. [Anglo-Norman Families, p. 56]

One of the most imposing figures at the Conquest. Probably descended from Gerard, a Scandinavian prince and companion of Duke Rollo, which gave the name to their fief of Gerardville or Graville, near Havre. He was nearly killed in the battle of Hastings but was rescued by the Sire de Montfort and Guillaume de Vieuxpont, and was appointed by the Conqueror to take charge of the body of King Harold, probably because of his familial relationship. Malet's 1st cousin was Alditha, wife of King Harold. Malet accompanied King
William at the reduction of Nottingham and York in 1068, for which he was rewarded with the shrievalty of Yorkshire and large grants of land in that county. Gilbert de Gand and Robert Fitz Richard were also
commanders in this expedition. The following year Malet was besieged in the castle of York by Edgar, the Saxon prince, and was only saved from surrender by the timely arrival of the Conqueror. In the same year he
was attacked by the Danes, who captured the city of York with great slaughter and took William Malet, his wife and children, prisoners, but their lives were spared, as was that of Gilbert de Gand, for the sake of their
ransoms. There is evidence that he was slain in this year, but it is uncertain and the date of his death is unknown. An entry in Domesday states "William Malet was seized of this place (Cidestan, co Suffolk), where he proceeded on the King's service where he died". He m. Esilia, dau. of Gilbert Crispin I, baron of Tillieres, by whom he had a number of children. [Falaise Roll, pp. 42-3]

Rescued from death at the battle of Hastings by Hue le sire de Montfort. [Falaise Roll, p. 60]

The family of Blunden/Blundel/Blondel came to England in the train of William Malet. [Falaise Roll, p. 119]

The recorded statement of Simeon and Durham says that William Malet, with his wife and two children, were captured with him at the siege of York in 1069. These childrend would have been William, his second son, and Lucia, because at that time Robert would not have been called a child. Robert shortly after claimed some of his father's lands, which also indicates that he was then of age. William lost the office of sheriff of Yorkshire during his captivity, for an entry in Domesday shows that it was held by Hugh, the son of Baldric, which
was in 1070. [Falaise Roll, p. 157]

d. 1071; of Granville St. Honorine, Normandy; at Battle of Hastings 1066; sheriff of Yorkshire, 1068. [Ancestral Roots, p. 198]

Intellectual Property of the Michael D. Warner Family. All copyrights apply. 2000/2003

From RootsWeb/Horrocks:  Sheriff of York, Sire de Graville.  He was Sieurde Estrepagny and the Count of the Vexin. He accompanied William theConqueror to England in 1066.
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Jim Weber:  William Malet, of Granville, Normandy; also held lands inLincs before 1066 (possibly by virtue of his mother's putative status ofEnglishwoman); granted the feudal Barony of Eye, Suffolk, following theConquest, in which he was one of William I's chief lieutenants, beingallegedly given the task by William of burying Harold's body afterHastings; Sheriff of Yorks 1068; married Hesilia Crispin (living 10 86),gggdau of Rollo The Dane, Duke of Normandy, and died c 1071. [Burke'sPeerage]

According to Crispin and Macary, "William (Guillaume) Malet de Gravillestands out as one of the most imposing figures at the Conquest. There canbe no doubt about his presence there, which is subscribed to by Williamof Poitiers, Guy of Amiens, Orderic Vital, and all the historians of thisepoch. So much has been placed on record concerning him that just a fewfacts of his life will be recited here. He was probably descended fromGerard, a Scandinavian prince and companion of Duke Rollo, which gave thename of the fief of Gerardville or Graville, near Havre. Robert, theeldest son, occurs in a document of about 990 in Normandy. On hismother's side William Malet was of Anglo-Saxon origin, for she wasprobably the daughter of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Godwa or Godgifu,the supposed sister of Thorold the Sheriff in the time of Edward theConfessor, and therefoe the aunt of Edwin and Morcar, Earls ofNorthumberland. He was nearly killed in the battle of Hastings but wasrescued by the sire de Montfort and William of Vieuxpont, and wasappointed by William the Conqueror to take charge of the body of Harold,a statement that has been disputed. The consensus of opinion favors it,and it is most logical if William Malet's mother was as stated the sisterof Algar II., 7th Earl of Mercia, who was the father of Alditha, wife ofHarold. He accompanied King William at the reduction of Nottingham andYork in 1068, for which he was rewarded with the shreivalty of land inthat county. Gilbert de Gand and Robert Fitz Richard were also commandersin this expedition. The following year he was besieged in the castle ofYork by Edgar, the Saxon prince, and was only saved from surrender by thetimely arrival of the Conqueror. In the same year he was attacked by theDanes, who captured the city of York with great slaughter and tookWilliam Malet, his wife and children, prisoners, but their lives werespared, as was that of Gilbert de Gand, for the sake of their ransoms.There is evidence that he was slain in this year, but it is uncertain andthe date of his death is unknown. An entry in Domesday that "WilliamMalet was seized of this place (Cidestan, Co. Suffolk), where heproceeded on the King' s service where he died," would indicate that hisdeath occurred during the compilation of that book. He was witness to acharter of King William to the church of St. Martin-le- Grand, in London,and is there styled "princeps," which title, however, was honorary andnot hereditary, having ceased with his death."
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William Malet, or Guillaume, as he may have been called, "Sire deGraville", came from Graville Sainte Honorine between Le Havre andHarfleur, in what is today the French province of Normandy. He is said tohave had a Norman father and a Saxon (read English) mother, and had somesort of assoc iation with King Harold of England before the conquest.William, through his Saxon mother, may actually have been related to KingHarold, and also to the well known Lady Godiva. It is also possible thatWilliam and Harold were both God fathers of Duke William of Normandy'sdaughter, Abela.

The Malet Castle at Graville Sainte Honorine had an important strategiclocation, at the mouth of the Seine. It has now fallen into the sea,though some remnants of it may still be visible. A large section of wallwith large iron rings attached was still there just over 100 years ago.The Abbey church, in which some of the Malets are buried, is now in thetown of Le Havre. Though William Malet had connections to both sides inthe conflict to come, his main allegiance was to Duke William of Normandy.
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Notes for William Malet: He was probably descended from Gerard, a Scandinavian prince and companion of Duke Rollo, which gave the name of the fief of Gerardville or Graville, near Havre.   William Malet, Lord Malet, a Norman baron, one of the generals and companions of William the Conqueror, said to have been the brother of King Harold's wife, and to have been entrusted with the guard of Harold's body after he had been slain on the battlefield. After the conquest he was made Governor of York Castle and was slain in its defense about 1071. He married Hesila (Esilia) Crispin, daughter of Gilbert Crispin I, baron of Tillieres. She probably married (2) Alured de Lincoln, a great Domesday baron who attended Duke William on his expedition to England in 1066 (See Crispin and Macary, "Falaise Roll", Appendix 20, pg. 156-160).