Wilhelm de Rumar

William was the son of Roger Fitz-Gerald (d. 1098), a Norman knight and seigneur Rumard , a small estate northwest of Rouen . Wilhelm's mother, a certain Lucy, came from a noble Anglo-Saxon family and had substantial land holdings in Lincolnshire .

During the reign of Henry I, Wilhelm de Rumar was the commandant of the castle of Neuvmarsh on the border of Normandy and Ile de France , which he successfully defended during the uprising of the Norman barons 1118 - 1119 . It is also known that William participated in the Battle of Bremul in 1119 , fighting in the armies of Henry I against the army of the French king Louis VI . According to legend, in 1120, Wilhelm was supposed to sail from Normandy with the other nobles on the White Ship , but at the last moment he went ashore, which saved him from death in a shipwreck. ^[one]

Soon, relations between William de Rumar and King Henry I deteriorated, probably due to the inheritance of his mother's Lincolnshire possessions: Ranulf le Meschen , the third husband of William's mother, ceded her land to the king in exchange for the county of Chester . Already in 1122, Rumar joined the new rebellion of the Norman aristocrats led by Amory III de Montfort and Galerand de Beaumont against the king and continued the fighting until Henry I transferred most of the lands of his mother to William. Over the following years, Rumar remained a loyal companion of the king, often accompanied Henry I on his trips to the Anglo-Norman monarchy and served as Justiciary of Normandy.

After the death of Henry I in 1035, William supported the accession to the throne of Stefan Bloisch , and after the outbreak of the civil war he was engaged in the defense of Normandy from the troops of Empress Matilda , claiming the English crown. However, the transfer of the title of Earl of Lincoln to Wilhelm d'Aubigny by the king led to Rumar’s break with Stefan Bloischi. In 1140 , together with his half-brother Ranulf de Jernon , Earl of Chester , Wilhelm de Rumar plotted against Heinrich of Scotland , to whom the king transferred vast possessions in the North English counties. Although the conspiracy failed, Wilhelm and Ranulf managed to capture the city and Lincoln Castle by cunning. Stefan Bloisky, who arrived in Lincoln in December 1140, was forced to make concessions: Ranulf de Jernon received administrative power over Lincolnshire , as well as Lincoln and Derby castles, and William de Rumar was granted the title of Earl of Lincoln. However, in January 1141, with an unexpected attack, the king captured the city of Lincoln and besieged the castle. This caused the passage of Ranulf de Jernon to the side of Empress Matilda. On February 2, 1141, the troops of Ranulf and Robert of Gloucester defeated the royal army at the battle of Lincoln and captured Stephen.

The captivity of the king lasted until November 1141, when he was exchanged for Robert of Gloucester, who was captured at the Battle of Winchester . After the liberation of Stephen, Wilhelm de Rumar apparently reconciled with the king, as his title of Earl of Lincoln was confirmed. William soon went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela . In 1143 , the Earl founded the Cistercian monastery in Rivesby , Lincolnshire, rector of which was Aylred , future abbot of Rivo , writer and Catholic saint . At the end of his life, Wilhelm de Rumar also retired to the Rivesby Monastery, where he died, probably around 1161 . The title of Earl of Lincoln was confiscated and transferred to Gilbert de Gund , a faithful ally of King Stephen, during the uprising of Ranulf de Jernon in 1147 .

Wilhelm de Rumar was married to Havis de Revrier (d. After 1161), the sister of Baldwin de Revrier , Count of Devon , and daughter of Richard, the lord de Revrier , and Adeleise Peverel. Their children:

• Wilhelm II de Rumar (c. 1117–1151), married (after 1143) to Agness Omalsky, daughter of Stephen Omalsky and Havisa de Mortimer. Their children:
  • Wilhelm III de Rumar (d. 1198), possibly from 1160 to 1166 bore the title of Earl of Lincoln , married the first marriage to a certain Alice, the second marriage to Philip of Alencon (d. 1223), daughter of Jean I , Earl of Alencon ;
  • Robert
  • Roger
• Havisa de Rumar (b. C. 1117), possibly married to Gilbert de Gund , Earl of Lincoln .

• Genealogy of the House de Rumar
• Roger Fitz-Gerald de Rumar and the Norman Conquest of England

• Bradbury J. Stephen and Matilda: The Civil War of 1139-53. - Stroud, 1996
• Crouch D. The Reign of King Stephen, 1135-1154. - L. , 2000
• Poole AL From Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087-1216. - Oxf. 1956.