Henry I was Duke of Normandy from 1106-1135 and King of England from1100-1135. William I left Normandy to his oldest son Robert II Curthoseand England to his next oldest son, William II Rufus. Henry was leftgreat wealth and eventually outmanuvered his brothers to become King ofEngland in 1100 and ruled 35 years. Henry is remembered for expanding andstrengthening royal justice, integrating the Norman and Anglo-Saxon legalsystems, and laying the foundation for more centralized royal rule. "TheEncyclopedia of the Middle Ages" Norman F. Cantor, General Editor.
King of England 1100-1135; duke of Normandy 1106-35
Source: Gary Boyd Roberts, The Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants, 1993, p 396
Source: The Royal Bastards of Medieval England, London (Routledge & Kegan Paul) 1984, p 63
Source: Heraldry by Anthony R Wagner in Medieval England, Oxford, v 1, 1958 pg. 347
Source Notes: Chris Given-Wilson and Alice Curteis, The Royal Bastards of Medieval England, Routledge & Kegan Paul (London, Boston) 1984, p 60-61; Henry I was one of the most effective kings ever to wear the English crown. He was of medium height, thick-set, with black hair which was already receding from his forehead at the age of thirty, deep, bright eyes, and a voice like thunder. Despite the voice, he was a man of few words; he preferred to listen and, once he had listened, to issue commands. When he issued commands, he expected to be obeyed; when aroused by disobedience or treachery, his temper was fearsome. He was a practical statesman of the highest ability, a man noted for his inflexible enforcement of the laws, his authoritarian handling of barons, and his inveterate hoarding of money. He knew that to be successful a king must be rich, and he missed no opportunity to increase his wealth. Like his father and brother, he could be cruel to the point of savagery: he believed in ruling, at least in part, by fear. Yet he was respected as well as feared, for he maintained peace in England for most of his reign, and won a reputation as a man of learning and one who encouraged other men of learning to his court: his nickname was Beauclerc. In his private life he was methodical and, in every aspect except one, abstemious: he kept regular hours, was noted for his personal piety, never drank, and partook of a plain diet. He was, however, an incessant womaniser. He fathered, by various mistresses, at least twenty royal bastards, more than any other kind in English history. One of Henry's greatest achievements was to unite the two parts of his father's Anglo-Norman empire. William the Conqueror, at his death in 1087, had left Normandy to his eldest son, Robert Curthose, England to his second son, William Rufus, while to Henry, his third son, he left only a hoard of silver. Yet Henry was by far the ablest of the three. In 1100, after Rufus had been 'accidentally' struck by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest (there has always been a suspicion that Henry himself may have been implicated in his brother's death), Henry seized the English throne; six years later, he defeated his brother Robert at the battle of Tinchebrau and overran the duchy of Normandy. Robert Curthose was led away to prison, where he remained until his death in 1134. Thus for the last thirty years of his life, Henry I was ruler of both England and Normandy, the most powerful monarch in Western Europe. ..... (P) The contemporary historian William of Malmesbury, while recognising the often brutal character of Henry's kingship, clearly admired his king: 'Inferior in wisdom to no king of modern time, he preferred contending by counsel rather than by the sword: if he could, he conquered without bloodshed ... Throughout his life he was wholly free from impure desires. ...' In the light of his twenty known bastards, this last comment appears to come as something of a surprise, but it is worth noting how Malmesbury continues: ' ... he was wholly free from impure desires for, as we have learned from those who were well informed, he partook of female blandishments not for the gratification of his lust, but for the sake of issue; nor did he condescend to casual intercourse, unless where it might produce that effect: in this respect [he was] the master of his inclinations, not the passive slave of desire.' Malmesbury provides us here with a fascinating view of the royal bastard in medieval society: not as the unfortunate by-product of a royal affair, the regrettable misfit likely to do little more than make demands on the royal purse, but as a child who could perform a useful role in the service of the king, who could provide very positive benefits for his or her father. ..... (P) Henry's unofficial families ... generated a vast network of relations in England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany, Normandy and the French kingdom."
Source: William Richard Cutter, *New England Families*, NY 1913, p 1897-1898: "The pedigree of King Henry I. is as follows: (I) King Charles, of France, married Lady Rotrude. (II) Pepin L'Bref, married Lady Bertha de Leon. (III) Charlemagne, Emperor of the West, married Lady of Savoy. (IV) Louis I., King of France, married Lady Judith. (V) Charles II., King of France, married Lady Ermentrudic, daughter of the count of Orleans. (VI) Count Baldwin I., of Flanders, married Lady Judith [! repetition]. (VII) Count Baldwin II., of Flanders, married Lady Ethelwida. (VIII) Ardolph the Great, of Flanders, married Lady Alice, daughter of Count de Vermandois. (IX) Baldwin III., of Flanders, married Matilda of Saxony. (X) Ardolph II., of Flanders, married Lady Susanna, daughter of Duke of Italy. (XI) Baldwin IV., of Flanders, married Lady Eleanore of Normandy. (XII) Baldwin V., of Flanders, married Lady Adele, granddaughter of Hugh Capet. (XIII) Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V., married William the Conqueror, William I. of England. (XIV) Henry I., King of England, son of William the Conqueror.
"The pedigree of Edward I. is as follows:
(I) Egbert, Saxon king, first king of England, married Redburga. (II) Ethelwold, king of England, married Oshurga, daughter of the Earl of Osiac. (III) Alfred the Great of England, married Ethelbith. daughter of the Earl of Ethelran. (IV) Edward, of England, married Edgiva, daughter of Earl of Sigeline. (V) Edmund I., of England, married Elgiva. (VI) Edgar, of England, married Elfrida, daughter of Earl of Devon. (VII) Ethelred, of England, married Elgiva, daughter of Earl of Thorad. (VIII) Edmund II. of England, married Elgatha of Denmark. (IX) Prince Edward, King of England, married Agatha of Germany. (X) Princess Margaret of England, married Malcolm III., King of Scotland. (XI) Henry I., King of England, married Princess Matilda. (XII) Geoffrey, King of England, married Maud, Empress of Germany. (XIII) Henry II., King of England, married Eleanor, daughter of Duke of Aquitaine. (XIV) John, King of England, married Isabella, daughter of Count de Augouieme. (XV) Henry III., King of England, married Eleanor, daughter of Count of Provence. (XVI) Edward I., King of England, married Eleanor of Castile. (XVII) Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward I., married Humphrey, Earl of Hereford. (XVIII) William, Earl of Northampton, married Elizabeth. (XIX) Robert Fitz Alan, tenth Earl of Arundel, married Elizabeth. (XX) Sir Robert Groushill, knight, married Joan. (XXI) Thomas, first Lord Stanley, married Margaret. (XXII) Sir William Troutbeck. (XXIII) Jane Troutbeck married Sir William Griffith. (XXIV) Sir William Griffith married Jane Poleston. (XXV) Sibill Griffith married Owen ap Hugh. (XXVI) Jane Owen married Hugh Gwyn. (XXVII) Sibill Gwyn married James Powell. (XXVIII) Elizabeth Powell married Humphrey ap HUgh. (XXIX) Owen Humphrey married Jane. (XXX) Rebecca Humphrey married Robert Owen. (XXXI) Robert Owen married Susanna Hudson. (XXXII) Mary Owen married Henry Burr. (XXXIII) Rachel BUrr married Josiah Foster. (XXXIV) Mary Foster married Samuel Clement. (XXXV) Robert Wharton Clement married Sarah A. Mathis. (XXXVI) Samuel M. Clement married Annie Browning. (XXXVII) John Browning Clement.
"The pedigree of Hugh Capet is as follows: (I) Hengst, King of Saxons. (II) Hartwaker, Prince of Saxons. (III) Hattivigate, Prince of Saxons. (IV) Hulderic, King of Saxons. (V) Bodicus, King of Saxons. (VI) Berthold, King of Saxons. (VII) Sighard, King of Saxons. (VIII) Dietric, King of Saxons. (IX) Dobrogera, daughter of Dietric, King of Saxons, was son of Dobrogera. (X) Wenicke, King of Saxons, was son of Dobregera. (XI) Witekind, King of Saxons. (XII) Witekind II., Count of Wetten. (XIII) Witekind III., Count of Wetten. (XIV) Robert Fortes, Duke of France. (XV) Robert II., Duke of France. (XVI) Hugh the Great of Burgundy, Count of Paris. (XVII) Hugh Capet, King of France, married Adelia, daughter of Adelheld of Germany. (XVIII) Robert, King of France, married Constance of Provence. (XIX) Princess Adela of France married Baldwin V., of Flanders. (XX) Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V., married William the Conqueror of England. (XXI) Henry I. of England married Princess Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III., King of Scotland, and wife Princess Margaret of England."