• General Notes

  [316552.ftw]
  
  MAGNA CHARTA BY WUERTS CH.4/V.1/P.52-54-CH.15/P.100
  See Historical Document.
  
  ALIA Onfroy /de Bohun/ the Old
  TITL Les Seigneurs de Bohun AUTH Jean LeMelletier PUBL Coutances, Arnaud-Bellee, 1978   UCL A Research Library   CS 439 D416L45 1978 MEDI Book
  TEXT He was a "senior citizen" by the Battle of Hastings, godfather of the Conqueror, & two e ldest sons were of age to receive inheritance by 1066.
  TITL Les Seigneurs de Bohun AUTH Jean LeMelletier PUBL Coutances, Arnaud-Bellee, 1978   UCL A Research Library   CS 439 D416L45 1978 MEDI Book
  _FA1 PLAC AKA Onfroy de Bohun, a cousin of William the Conqueror.
  _FA2 PLAC Lord of the villages of St. Andre and St. Georges de Bohon in the C\?4ntentin.
  _FA3 PLAC Rec'd. one estate in Tellesford (or Tethford or Talesford), Norfolk.
  _FA4 PLAC Modest Norman nobleman.
  _FA5 PLAC Gained a large fortune at an early age by accompanying the Conqueror to England.
  _FA6 PLAC Founded the  St. Georges de Bohon priory in Normandy.
  _FA7 PLAC Godfather of William the Conqueror.
  _FA8 PLAC Champion & defender of the throne.
  _FA9 PLAC Lord of Taterford in Norfolk.
  _FA10 PLAC Much of his wealth due to the Conqueror's goodwill & spoils of the campaigns.
  TITL Les Seigneurs de Bohun AUTH Jean LeMelletier PUBL Coutances,  Arnaud-Bellee, 1978   UCL A Research Library   CS 439 D416L45 1978 MEDI BookA cousin of William the Conqueror. Receive d one estate in Tellesford (orTethford or Talesford) Norfolk, according to db. Excerpted fro m Les Seigneurs de Bohon by Jean LeMelletier, Coutances: Arnaud-Bellee, 1978: Humphrey I, als o called The Old, was the founder of the house of Bohon. He is mainly known as a companion o f William the Conqueror at the conquest of England and as the founder of the Bohon priory. Ol d English books designate him Humfridus cum Barba or Humphrey with the Beard. His beard disti nguished him from other Norman knights of the period because they habitually shaved.  Humphre y was the godfather of William and was certainly close to him because we see the names of Wil liam, duchess Mathilde, and their children associated with Humphrey's children.  The oldest m ention of Humphrey that we know of is in William's journals. It confirms a donation made at t he abbey of St. Trinite du Mont at Rouen by Gilbert, Osbern's vassal. William's signature i s accompanied by that of Humphrey, son of Richard, listed with the rest of William's men. I n 1062 we find Humphrey again with William at the Hogue de Biville, along with Roger de Montg omery and William, son of Osbern. At a meal in the middle of the road, William said they shou ld be free like the common people of the neighboring priory of Heauville. In recounting the s tory, a monk said that a fellow diner criticized William's liberalism. Not taking too kindl y to criticism, William threatened to strike him with a shoulder of pork.  According to a pap er from about 1060, the knight Humphrey, a rich and noble man, granted the priory he founded , St. Georges de Bohon, to the abbey of St. Martin of Marmoutier. Humphrey tells us: "with th e inspiration of God and the patronage of lord earl William for the relief of my soul, and th ose of the late Richard of Mary, my father, and of the late Billeheude, my mother...in the oc tave of the Pentecost before the venerable father Geoffrey, bishop of Coutances... I protec t the abbey of St. Martin, the servants Arnouf, Heribert, and Roger, and the other people who se names are inscribed here." The authenticity of this act, of which the original documents w ere unfortunately destroyed, does not seem to bear to be contested. The latest dates propose d for the founding of the priory come from dates of estate foundings (from Martene and Miss G antier 1068; Gerville and the Bernard abbey 1092; L. Musset between 1066 & 1087). However, th e  TITLe of earl was given to William before 1066 and the founding of the priory was earlier . Originally the priory was settled by four secular canons. The act of including the priory w ith the abbey was precisely to entrust it with the lands of a knight. (A knight cared for an d protected his lands and those who lived there from thieves, warring lords, etc.)  In late r years St. Martin became very popular. It was at Marmoutier that William himself joined th e Battle Abbey, founded to commemorate the Battle of Hastings where it was fought. A documen t signed by Sir William, duke of the Normands, before 1066 shows that Humphrey de Bohon gav e a garden from his fief (holdings) in Puchay to the nuns of St. Amand in Rouen for the  se o f his soul and those of his three wives when one of his daughters became religious. The monas tery of St. Leger in Preaux was given the deeds to Barbeville, St. Marie's Church, the town o f Carentan, and the neighboring rectory. Later Humphrey bequeathed the monastery a convent th at his second daughter entered. Humphrey's sons Robert and Richard agreed with his actions. B y 1066 Humphrey had been married three times, two daughters had entered the convent, and son s Robert and Richard were old enough to assume their inheritance. Humphrey was a senior citiz en.  Wace cited among the soldiers of Hastings: E de Bohon the older Humphrey.  Humphrey's na me, a bit distorted, is seen on a majority of other lists of William's battle companions. A s Wace's poem was written more than a hundred years after the events happened, some feel tha t Humphrey was not among the people at the Battle of Hastings. Taking into account the type o f document (poem), it is very probable that Humphrey did participate in the battle. He was al so with several neighbors of Cotentin and probably vassals, whose names were associated wit h his.  On the Bayeux tapestry, in a meal scene presided over by Bishop Odo, a bearded man i s sitting to William's right. It is possible that this is Humphrey de Bohon--with the Beard-- who would occupy a place of honor at the table out of respect for his age. Ten years after Ha stings, William was in England, so Queen Mathilda was left in charge of the government in Nor mandy. We know Humphrey was also in Normandy because of the act of Cherbourg, about 1076. Und er the king's orders, he rendered justice with the monks at the Heauville priory against Bert ram de Bricquebec, viscount of Cotentin, who had levied unfair taxes on his people. Humphre y is mentioned in the Domesday Book (a great census taken of all the lands and people in Engl and as ordered by William, between 1080 and 1086) as a champion and defender of the throne, a nd as lord of Taterford in Norfolk. Much of his wealth is attributed to the goodwill of Willi am and the spoils of the campaigns, which was not a unique situation. However, the possessio n of large estates and properties in England was not all fun; they were hard to protect fro m raiders and warring lords. Humphrey probably also benefitted from Normandy's continued grow th and profits from his holdings. Humphrey's signature is on:  A treaty at Bayeaux. The kin g presided over the treaty between the abbey of Mont St. Michel and William Paynel.  Two docu ments of Boscherville on 30 January 1080, with the signatures of his son Richard, and William , Mathilda, and their two sons. One is the endowment of the church of St. Georges de Boscherv ille; the other documents a gift of St. Gervais Church and St. Portais to St. Florent de Saum ur with other revenues by William de Briouze.  A document of William the Conqueror at Caen co nfirmingthe foundation of the Lessay Abbey on 14 July 1080.  Another document for the foundat ion of the Montebourg Abbey.  Humphrey's decision to combine the priory with the abbey was co ntested by Geoffrey (son of Nervee) who reclaimed the priory. The case was settled in favor o f Humphrey by a judgment of the king's court on 27 December 1080 at Cherbourg. Among the witn esses were Humphrey de Bohon, his son Richard, and Torchetil de Bohon.  Continually Humphre y added his border lands to his holdings. In answer to his request, he received a formal dee d from King William at Bernouville, probably at the end of 1081. Other religious establishmen ts benifitted from his generosity.  Humphrey died between 1080 and 1093. He had four sons tha t we know of: Robert, Humphrey, Richard, and Enguerran, and two daughters. Robert died young , before his father. Enguerran became a monk at Marmoutier in the Bohon priory. Richard bega n another branch, whose descendents include (in France) Enjuger de Bohon and Richard de Bohon , bishop of Coutances, and (in England) the Bohons of Midhurst, Jocelin, bishop of Salisbury , and Reginald and Savary, bishops of Bath. Humphrey became the illustrious ancestor of the e arls of Hereford.

Details of Humphrey I de's family