General Notes

[Direct Linage1.FTW]

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Earl D'Eu, Guardian of William The Conqueror during his minority.

Giselbert (Gilbert) Crispin, also known as Crespin or the Latinized Crispinus, incorrectly referred to as Earl Of Brionne, in Normandy.

According to Crispin and Macary, "Falaise Roll", pg. 27-29, the following is recorded:

"Concerning his ancestry, different theories have been advanced one of which claims that he descended from Rongwald, the Norwegian Viking, father of Duke Rollo the Dane, through Hrolf Turstan (living in 920), the former's grandson. Hrolf followed Rollo to Neustria, where he married Gerlotte, daughter of Thibaud I. Le Tricheur, Count Of Blois, Chartres and Tours, and became to ancestor of the powerful Norman houses of Avranches, Briquebec, Crispin, and Montfort-Sur-Risle. This opinion is expressed by d'Anisy and De St. Marie in their "Recherches Sur Le Domesday, " wherein they are supported by "Norman People, Cleveland, and partially by Planche, but the two generations immediately preceding Gilbert need clarification and substantiation."

"Mr. Stacy Grimalsi records his descent from Crispina, a supposed daughter of Duke Rollo the Dane and others accord him Roman descent which he may have had from some     ancestor."

The generally accepted opinion that Gilbert I. was descended from the ducal family of Normandy possibly through one of the numerous children of Richard I., Duke of Normandy, or a female offspring of William Longswood (Longsword), second duke, persists, in which event he married a near relative. The many historical references to his lofty ancestry, the important fortresses which he possessed in heredity, his vast domains and the high esteem in which he was held by duke Robert I., signifies a very close connection. Certain it is, however, that his children were descended from Richard I. since Gilbert's wife Gonnor (Gunnor) was the daughter of Baldric the Teuton, and a niece of Gilbert, Count of Brionne. This fact and the names of his immediate family and descendants have been historically recorded. St. Anselme confirms it by referring to one of his grandsons as of the "first blood of Normandy." They had issue, Gilbert II., hereditary custodian of Tillieres, William, Count of Vexin, Robert, who distinguished himself in Constantinople, where he was a famous general and greatly honored by the emperor, on which account he was poisoned through jealousy by the Greeks before 1073, leaving no issue."

Vol II File 10: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~pmcbride/james/f027.htm#I475X4