William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel

William d'Aubigny
Earl of Lincoln
Earl of Arundel
Died12 Oct 1176
BuriedWymondham Abbey
Noble familyHouse of Mowbray
Spouse(s)Adeliza of Louvain
IssueWilliam d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel
Reynor d'Aubigny
Henry d'Aubigny
Geoffrey d'Aubigny
Alice d'Aubigny
Olivia d'Aubigny
Agatha d'Aubigny
FatherWilliam d'Aubigny
MotherMaud Bigod
OccupationMaster butler of the Royal household

William d'Aubigny (c. 1109 – Unknown), also known as William d'Albini, William de Albini and William de Albini II,[1] was an English nobleman. He was son of William d'Aubigny and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod of Norfolk.

William fought loyally for King Stephen of England, who created him first Earl of Arundel (more precisely, Earl of Sussex) and then Earl of Lincoln. In 1153 he helped arrange the truce between Stephen and Henry Plantagenet, known as the Treaty of Wallingford, which brought an end to The Anarchy. His first known appearance as "earl" was at Christmas 1141.[2] When Henry Plantagenet ascended the throne as Henry II, he confirmed William's earldom and gave him direct possession of Arundel Castle (instead of the possession in right of his wife (died 1151) he had previously had). He remained loyal to the king during the 1173 revolt of Henry the Young King, and helped defeat the rebellion.

In 1143, as Earl of Lincoln, he made two charters confirming a donation of land around Arundel in Sussex to the abbey of Affligem in Brabant, with William's brother, Olivier, present.

He was the builder of the castle at Castle Rising, Norfolk.[3]

William is the first proven English supporter of the crusader Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem and before 1146 had granted them land at Wymondham and built a Leper Hospital near his castle in Norfolk.[4][dead link‍] His wife, Adeliza, was also a major benefactor to leper hospitals at Wilton, Wiltshire and Arundel[4][dead link‍] and his cousin, Roger de Mowbray and his family, were to become the most significant patrons of the Order's headquarters at Burton Lazars Hospital.[5][6]

Marriage

Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's article about William de Albini (Pincerna).

William was an important member of Henry I of England's household, and after the king's death he married Henry's widow, Queen Adeliza of Louvain, in 1138. William and Adeliza were parents to the following children:

References

  1. ^ Brown, p.9.
  2. ^ Round, John Horace (1911). "Arundel, Earldom of" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 705–706.
  3. ^ Brown, R. Allen (1989). Castles From the Air. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-521-32932-3.
  4. ^ a b David Marcombe, David Marcombe (2003). Leper Knights. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 34. ISBN 1-84383-067-1.
  5. ^ Nichols, John (1795). The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester. Leicester: John Nichols.
  6. ^ Bourne, Terry; Marcombe, David, eds. (1987). The Burton Lazars Cartulary: A Medieval Leicestershire Estate. Nottingham: University of Nottingham.

Sources

  • Brown, R. Allen (1988). Castle Rising Castle. London, UK: English Heritage. ISBN 185074159X.
  • Remfry, Paul Martin. Buckenham Castles, 1066 to 1649. ISBN 1-899376-28-3.
  • Weis, Frederick Lewis (2004). Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 (8th ed.). Lines 1-22, 18A-22, 139-26, 149-25, 149-26. ISBN 0-8063-1752-3.
Peerage of England
New creation Earl of Lincoln
1141–1143 		Succeeded by
Earl of Arundel
c. 1143 – 1176 		Succeeded by