General Notes

Roger de Montgomery II, Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury, wh
o was known as "The Great Earl". He commanded the vanguar
d of the Norman army that invaded England under his cousi
n William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings in 1066
. He died August 1, 1095, and is buried in Shrewsbury Abbey
, which church he founded. Roger II bore may titles: In Eng
land he was Earl of Arundel, Chichester, Shrewsbury, Marci
a and Montgomery, also Earl of Sussex and Earl of Salon. Ro
ger was married twice: first to Princess Mabile de Bellem
, daughter of Guillaume Talvas, Prince de Belleme. Mabile w
as a remarkable woman. While her husband was with the invas
ion of England, she led the armies in Normandy and was behe
aded by assassins in December 1082. After Mabile's death Ro
ger lived for a time in Normandy where he married Adelaid
e de Puiset and returned to England.
"Origin and History of the Montgomerys" by B.G. Montgomer
y of Sweden.
The question whether Roger II de Montgomery, Earl of Arunde
l and Shrewsbury, was the son or the grandson of the elde
r Roger has been the subject of much unnecessary controvers
y. With this question has been combined another: whether i
t was the elder Roger or his son Hugo who was married to Jo
sceline, niece of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy.
The cause of all this discussion is the following statemen
t by William of Jumieges (Vol. VIII, ch. 35): 'Rogerius Com
es, filius Hugonis de Monte Gomerici ... natus est ex quada
m neptium Gunnoris comitissae, scilicet ex Joscelina, fili
a Weviae.' Robert of Caen, Benoit and Francisque Michel hav
e given the same pedigree.
From his own words in the third Charter of Troarn we know
, however, that Roger II was the son of Roger I. This state
ment reads: 'Ego Rogerius, ex Normannis Normannus, magni au
tem Rogerii filius ' (Cartulary of Troarn, fol. I). After t
he discovery of this charter the question was settled.
That Josceline was married to Roger I and mother of Roger 1
1 is clear from the above statement when compared with th
e pedigree given by Ives, Bishop of Chartres, in a letter t
o Henry I. He writes: 'Gonnora et Senfria sorores fuerunt .
.. ex Senfria excivit Joscelina, ex Joscelina, Rogerius -d
e Monte Gummeri, ex Rogerio, Mabilia. soror Roberti Bellime
nsis' (Migne, Patrologia latina, CLXII, 261), This pedigre
e also informs us that Josceline was the daughter of Senfri
e, Gunnor's eldest sister, and not of Wevie as stated by Wi
lliam of Jumieges.
Roger I had by Josceline five sons: Hugo, Robert, William
, Roger and Gilbert. William, we know with certainty, was k
illed during the succession war after the death of Robert I
I. Hugo and Robert probably met with the same fate. In an
y case, they seem to have been dead in 1050 when Roger inhe
rited the feudal domains. That Hugo was older than Roger i
s proved by the fact that he signed an endowment charter o
f Jumieges together with his father. Under his signature wa
s written 'Signuin Hugonis filii ejus'(Rotuli Scacc. Norman
niae, I, 73). Gilbert was poisoned in 1063 by Mabile de Bel
leme (Ordericus Vitalis, II, 8 I, 106-7).
The first time we meet Roger II de Montgomery is during th
e siege of Domfront in 1052. Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjo
u, had attacked the Duke and by means of treachery come int
o possession of the strongly fortified castle of Domfront
. The Norman army raised in Hienois was commanded by Roge
r de Montgomery, William of Breteuil, the son of Osbern, an
d William of Talou, Count d'Arques, the son of Richard II
. The Duke decided to seize Domfront, but the garrison lef
t by Martel put up a strong defence and the siege was makin
g slow progress. Meanwhile the Duke and his companions-in-a
rms made merry by hawking in the Domfront grounds.
One day a report reached the Duke that the Count of Anjou w
as approaching with a strong army. Now the Duke suddenly fo
und himself between two fires, since the strong garrison mi
ght at any moment