• General Notes

  NOTE:
  http://www.ott.igs.net/~rhmallett/families/fip00994.htm
  According to Crispin and Macary, "William (Guillaume) Malet de Graville stands out as one of the most imposing figures at the Conquest. There can be no doubt about his presence there, which is subscribed to by William of Poitiers, Guy of Amiens, Orderic Vital, and all the historians of this epoch. So much has been placed on record concerning him that just a few facts of his life will be recited here. 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. Robert, the eldest son, occurs in a document of about 990 in Normandy. On his mother's side William Malet was of Anglo-Saxon origin, for she was probably the daughter of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Godwa or Godgifu, the supposed sister of Thorold the Sheriff in the time of Edward the Confessor, and therefore the aunt of Edwin and Morcar, Earls of Northumberland. He was nearly killed in the battle of Hastings but was rescued by the sire de Montfort and William of Vieuxpont, and was appointed 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 sister of Algar II., 7th Earl of Mercia, who was the father of Alditha, wife of Harold. He accompanied King William at the reduction of Nottingham and York in 1068, for which he was rewarded with the shreivalty of land in that county. Gilbert de Gand and Robert Fitz Richard were also commanders in this expedition. The following year he 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 that "William Malet was seized of this place (Cidestan, Co. Suffolk), where he proceeded on the King's service where he died," would indicate that his death occurred during the compilation of that book. He was witness to a charter of King William to the church of St. Martin-le-Grand, in London, and is there styled "princeps," which title, however, was honorary and not hereditary, having ceased with his death."
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  William Malet, or Guillaume, as he may have been called, "Sire de Graville", came from Graville Sainte Honorine between Le Havre and Harfleur, in what is today the French province of Normandy. He is said to have had a Norman father and a Saxon (read English) mother, and had some sort of association with King Harold of England before the conquest. William, through his Saxon mother, may actually have been related to King Harold, and also to the well known Lady Godiva. It is also possible that William and Harold were both God fathers of Duke William of Normandy's daughter, Abela.
  The Malet Castle at Graville Sainte Honorine had an important strategic location, 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 wall with 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 the town of Le Havre. Though William Malet had connections to both sides in the conflict to come, his main allegiance was to Duke William of Normandy.
  William fought with distinction at Hastings, as the following Excerpt from Wace's "Roman de Rou" attests:
  William whom they call Mallet,
  Boldly throws himself among them;
  With his flashing sword
  Against the English he makes furious onset;
  But his shield they clove

Details of (Baron) William *'s family with Hesilia CRISPIN