Varenna

Varenna
Varenna
	; Coat of arms of a house de Varennes
Title	Count Surrey
Ancestor	Wilhelm de Varenne
Homeland	Normandy
Nationality	England

Varenny ( de Warenne ; English de Warenne ) - English noble family of Norman origin in the Middle Ages . At the end of the XI - the first half of the XII century, the house of Varennes was the most noble and wealthy aristocratic family in England. Its representatives held the title of Counts of Surrey , took an active part in the Norman conquest of England , the civil war of 1135-1154 and the movements of the barons in the beginning and middle of the 13th century , and in most cases the house de Varennes spoke on the side of the ruling monarch. The main possessions of the clan were located in Norfolk . In addition, the Warennans owned the Sussex rape Lewis , lands in South Yorkshire , and later ownership was acquired in Lincolnshire and the Welsh Mark . The direct male line at home was cut short in 1147 , but somewhat later the name de Varennes was adopted by the descendants of the daughter of the last count and Gamelin Plantagenet , half-brother of King Henry II . The Plantagenet-Varennes line died out in 1347 , after which the possessions and titles of the Counts de Varennes were inherited by the Fitzalans noble house.

Content

Origin

The manors and castles of the House of Varennes in England at the end of the 11th century (according to the Doomsday Book )

The founder of the house of Varenna was Wilhelm de Varenna (d. 1088 ), the son of a Norman knight Rodulf (Ralph) and Emma, according to one version, the grandniece of Gunnora, wife of Richard I , Duke of Normandy . Wilhelm de Varenn participated in the suppression of the rebellion of the Norman barons in 1052 - 1054 , for which he received from Duke Wilhelm II significant land holdings in Upper Normandy and the Bellancombre castle on the River Varennes in the territory of the modern department of the Seine-Maritime . The Wilhelm clan got its name de Varennes along this river.

William de Warennes was a close associate of the Duke William II and took an active part in the Norman conquest of England in 1066 , as a result of which Varennes received extensive land holdings in various parts of England. According to the Doomsday Book , in 1087, William de Varennes was one of the largest landowners in the Kingdom of England. The centers of his possessions were the Lewis Castles in Sussex , Castle Acre in Norfolk and Conisborough in Yorkshire . In addition, shortly before his death, William received the title of Count Surrey , who became hereditary in the house of de Varennes. According to medieval legends, the wife of William de Varenna was Gundreda, daughter of William the Conqueror, but this version is currently rejected. ^[one]

Key Representatives

Lewis Castle, founded by William the 1st Earl de Varenne

Castle Acre Monastery, founded by William the 1st Earl de Varenne

The ruins of Sandal Castle, founded by Wilhelm, 2nd Earl of Varenna

Donjon of Conisborough Castle founded by Gamelin de Varenne

Already under Wilhelm de Varenna, 1st Earl of Surrey, the house of Varennes was one of the most powerful, noble and wealthy Anglo-Norman noble families. According to some modern estimates ^[2] , William de Varennes was the richest man in the history of Great Britain . His eldest son, Wilhelm de Varennes, 2nd Earl of Surrey (d. 1138), held prominent positions at the court of Kings William II and Henry I , participated in the battles of Tansbre ( 1106 ) and Bremule ( 1119 ) and significantly expanded the domain of the Warennes in Normandy. Moreover, in 1118 he married Elizabeth de Vermandois , the granddaughter of the French king Henry I , which significantly strengthened the prestige and influence of the de Varennes family. The daughter of the 2nd Earl of Surrey and Elizabeth de Vermandois, Ada de Varennes (d. 1178) became the wife of the Scottish prince Heinrich Huntingdon and the mother of the kings of Scotland, Malcolm IV and William I of Leo . Wilhelm de Varennes, 3rd Earl of Surrey (d. 1148), took an active part in the civil war in England between the supporters of Stephen Blois and Empress Matilda , and Varennes was one of the king's most faithful comrades-in-arms. He led one of the royal units at the Battle of Lincoln ( 1141 ), but was defeated and fled from the battlefield. Thanks to the marriage with the clan de Beaumont , whose representatives dominated the court of Stephen Blois, Varenna further strengthened their position as the leading aristocratic family in England.

In 1147 , William de Varennes, 3rd Earl of Surrey, went on a crusade to Palestine , during which he was killed by the Saracens . The heiress of the possessions and titles of the house of Varennov became his only daughter Isabella de Varennes (d. 1203). Isabella was married to King Stephen for her son Wilhelm de Blois (d. 1159), who, however, soon died without leaving offspring. Four years later, Isabella remarried, this time to Gamelin (d. 1202), the late son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and half-brother of the English king Henry II . Gamelin was proclaimed Count of Surrey and took the name de Varennes.

The descendants of Isabella de Varennes and Gamelin Plantagenet continued to bear the surname de Varennes and the title of Counts of Surrey until 1347 . After the conquest of Normandy by the French king Philip II Augustus in 1204, the Varennes lost their Norman possessions, but in compensation received new lands in England - Grantham and Stamford in Lincolnshire . Among the descendants of Gamelin, the greatest importance in English history was probably John de Varennes, 7th Earl of Surrey (d. 1304), an associate of Kings Henry III and Edward I , who fought against Simon de Montfort at Lewis ( 1264 ) and Evesham ( 1265 ) , and later led the English invasion of Wales in 1282 - 1284 . and to Scotland in 1296 - 1298 . His grandson and heir, John de Varenne, the 8th Earl of Surrey (d. 1347) participated in the movement of the barons against King Edward II and the capture of Pierce Gaveston in 1312 , but later returned to the side of the king and presided over the trial against Thomas Lancaster .

With the death of John de Varenna, the 8th Earl of Surrey, the family of the Varennes was stopped. Their land holdings passed to the house of Fitzalan , whose head, Edmund Fitzalan (d. 1326), Count Arundel , was married to Alice de Varennes (d. 1338), the sister of the last count. The coat of arms of Varennov, the golden and azure chessboard, has been preserved as part of the arms of the Fitzalans and Howards, the counts of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk .

Genealogy

House de Varennes

Rodulf ; wife: Beatrice or Emma;

Wilhelm de Varennes (d. 1088), 1st Earl of Surrey (c 1088); 1st wife (c. 1070): Gundred (d. 1085); 2nd wife (after 1085): Richard Gue's sister;
1. Wilhelm de Varenne (d. 1138), 2nd Earl of Surrey ; wife (1081): Elizabeth de Vermandois (d. 1131), daughter of Hugo the Great , Count of Vermandois ;
  1. Wilhelm de Varennes (d. 1148), 3rd Earl of Surrey ; wife: Adela de Montgomery (d. 1174), daughter of William III , Count of Pontier ;
    1. Isabella de Varennes (1137-1203), Countess Surrey ; 1st husband: Wilhelm de Blois (d. 1159), son of Stephen of Blois , king of England ; 2nd husband: Gamelin Plantagenet (d. 1202), the late son of Geoffrey Plantagenet , Count of Anjou . The descendants of Isabella and Gamelin adopted the name de Varennes. See their genealogy below: Plantagenet-Varenn Line .
  2. Reginald de Varennes (r. C. 1113), heir to the Norman possessions of the Varennovs; wife: Alice Wirmay (?);
  3. Ralph de Varennes;
  4. Gundrada de Varenne (d. After 1166); 1st husband (c. 1130): Roger de Beaumont (d. 1153), Earl of Warwick ; 2nd husband: Wilhelm, Lord Kendal;
  5. Ada de Varenne (d. 1178); husband (1139): Henry of Scotland (d. 1152), Earl of Huntingdon , son of David I , king of Scotland ;
2. Edita de Varenne (b.c. 1076); 1st husband (c. 1090): Herald de Gourne, seigneur Gourne-en-Bray (d. 1104); 2nd husband (after 1104): Dre III de Musi;
3. Reynold de Varennes (d. 1118), a probable heir to the lands in Flanders .

Plantagenet-Varenn Line

Gamelin Plantagenet (1130-1202), the second son of Geoffrey Plantagenet , Count of Anjou ; wife (1164): Isabella de Varennes (d. 1203), 4th Countess Surrey , daughter of Wilhelm de Varenna, 3rd Earl of Surrey ;

William de Varennes (1166-1240), 5th Earl of Surrey ; 1st wife: Matilda d'Aubigny (d. 1216), daughter of William d'Aubigny , Count Arundel ; 2nd wife: Maud Marshall (d. 1248), daughter of William Marshall , Earl of Pembroke ;
1. John de Varennes (1231–1304), 6th Earl of Surrey ; wife (1247): Alice de Lusignan (d. 1256), daughter of Hugo X de Lusignan , Count de la Marcha ;
  1. Eleanor de Varennes (1251-1282 / 1290); husband: Henry de Persie (d. 1272);
  2. Isabella de Varennes (1253-1296); husband (until 1281): John Balliol (d. 1313), king of Scotland ;
  3. William de Varennes (1256-1286); wife (1285): Joanna de Ver (d. before 1293), daughter of Robert de Vera , 5th Earl of Oxford ;
    1. John de Varennes (1286–1347), 7th Earl of Surrey ; wife: Jeanne de Bar (d. 1361), daughter of Henry III , Count de Bar , and Eleanor , daughter of Edward I , king of England ;
    2. Alice de Varenne (d. After 1338); husband (1305): Edmund Fitzalan (d. 1326), 9th Earl of Arundel ;
2. Isabella de Varennes (d. Before 1282); husband (1234): Hugh d'Aubigny (d. 1243), Count Arundel ;
Ela de Varenne (d. After 1220); 1st husband: Robert Newbourne; 2nd husband: William Fitz-William, Lord of Sprottborough;
Isabella de Varennes (d. Before 1234); 1st husband: Robert de Lacy (d. 1193); 2nd husband: Gilbert de l'Aigle (d. 1231), Lord Pevensi;
Matilda de Varenne (d. 1228); 1st husband: Henry , Count d'E (d. 1191); 2nd husband: Henry d'Estutville (d. Before 1236).

Notes

↑ Origin of Gundred, wife of William de Varenna
↑ W. Rubinstein, prof. History at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Archived November 29, 2007 on the Wayback Machine .

Links

[1] Origin of Gundred, wife of William de Varenna

[2] W. Rubinstein, prof. History at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth Archived November 29, 2007 on the Wayback Machine .