Count William III Talvas & Countess Helen of Burgundy

 378236486. Count William III Talvas & 378236487. Countess Helen of Burgundy

~1087, Helen, born in Burgundy, France, d/o 756472974. Eudes of Burgundy & 756472975. Sibylle de Bourgogne. (S) FMG.

Aft. 1092, William born in France, s/o 756472972. Robert de Belleme & 756472973. Agnes of Ponthieu.

[––Helen––]

6/1095, Helie married to Bertrand de Toulouse. (S) FMG.

8/5/1100, Henry I crowned King of England.

1102, King Henry banished William’s father from England. [William’s father had supported King Henry’s brother’s invasion of England.]

3/23/1103, Helen’s father died.

~1105, William’s mother died.

3/1106, Robert de Belleme and his son William issued a charter to the monks of Mormoutiers. (S) Families, Friends, and Allies:, Tanner, 2004, P146.

8/3/1108, Louis VI crowned King of France.

3/25/1110-3/24/1111, William Talvas, count of Ponthieu, issued a charter to St. Peter’s, Abbeville. (S) Families, Friends, and Allies:, Tanner, 2004, P146.

4/21/1112, Helie’s husband Bertrand died. (S) FMG.

[––William & Helen––]

~1112, William married Helen.

11/1112, William’s father imprisoned by King Henry I of England [never to be released.] William, now Count of Ponthier, Montresuil-sur-Mer, and Alencon.

1113, ‘Wilelmus comes Pontivi’ confirmed the donation of the church of Saint-Léonard de Bellême to Marmoutier. (S) FMG.

5/3/1113, William lost the castle at Belleme.

1113, King Henry seized William’s lands of Bellemois.

1118, After Alencon revolted against King Henry I, Count Fulk of Anjou successfully reinstalled William Talvas as the town’s lord.

6/1119, Some of William’s Norman lands restore in a peace agreement between Fulk V of Anjou and King Henry of England. (S) Anglo-Norman Studies, 1990, P279.

1124, William and his brother-in-law, Hugh of Burgundy, sent troops to Reims in support of King Louis of France against Emperor Henry V of Germany.

1125, William began to concentrate on his Norman lands.

1126, William resigned the rule Ponthieu to his son Guy. (S) FMG. [But is still referred to by this title in later records.]

1127, ‘Gulielmus comes Pontivorum’ donated property to the abbey of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte for the souls of his predecessors earl Roger and Mabel his wife, count Guy and Adda his wife, his father Robert de Belesmo and his mother Agnes and … Ela his wife and of their sons, two of them called Robert, and two William, and two Enguerrand, and Mabel his daughter. (S) FMG.

7/1128, William’s son-in-law Juhel of Mayenne, daughter Clementia [Juhel’s wife], and their son Geoffrey, ratified William’s act in favor of Mont Saint-Michel.

4/1129, A notice of Count William of Ponthieu in favour of the abbey of Troarn, concerning an agreement over his Norman lands. (S)

1130, William Talvas, count of Ponthieu and Sees, endowed the church of St Andre de Gouffern. (S) Anglo-Norman Studies, Brown, 1988, P132.

1131-33, King Henry I had his forces occupy Conches when Roger de Toeny, in association with William Talvas, did not appear before the court. (S) History of Normandy, V4, P562.

9/1135, William Talvas, again in conflict with King Henry, retreated to his castles in Maine and supported Geoffrey of Anjou’s expeditions into Normandy.

12/1135, Empress Matilda, d/o deceased King Henry I, arrived in Normandy and was escorted to her dowry castles by her husband Geoffrey, and by William Talvas. [Property which King Henry had taken from William’s father was restored about this time.]

12/22/1135, Stephen crowned king of England.

7/1136, William repelled an attack by supporters of King Stephen at Exmes.

1136, William’s lands put under an interdict by the Bishop of Sees.

9/1136, Waleran de Beaumont repelled an invasion in Normandy by Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou, supported by William Talvas. [Geoffrey ended the campaign when he received a foot wound.]

8/1/1137, Louis VII succeeded as king of France.

2/28/1141, Helen died.

[––William––]

1141-44, William Talvas and Rotrou of Perche supported Geoffrey of Anjou’s campaigns in Normandy. [Which united Normandy and Maine under one ruler.]

1143, William Talvas, count of Ponthieu and Sees, dedicated the church of St Andre de Gouffern. (S) Anglo-Norman Studies, Brown, 1988, P132.

1144, Geoffrey of Anjou completed his subjugation of Normandy with the capture of Rouen.

1145, William founded the Cistercian abbey of Perseigne.

1147, William’s eldest son Guy died on crusade.

1148-49, William wrote to his grandson, John (94555164), s/o Guy, advising him to restore property to the priory of Abbeville for the sake of the soul of his father Guy.

1149, William Talvas, count of Ponthieu, confirmed gifts to the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Martin de Sees.

1150, Geoffrey, duke of Normandy, came to the aid of William Talvas.

9/7/1151, Geoffrey, having ceded Normandy to his son Henry [II], died.

12/19/1154, Henry II, duke of Normandy, crowned king of England.

1/1157, During assizes held at Caen, Normandy, a judgement between the abbot of Mont St. Michel and Jordan de Sackville was witnessed by William Tellevac, earl of Ponthieu.

3/1157 at Caen, William, Compte of Ponthieu, witnessed a royal charter to St. Stephens abbey.

5/15/1165, King Henry left Queen Eleanor at Angers as regent of Maine and Anjou when he returned to England. Eleanor would have trouble from William Talvas, comte of Seez; and John, son of Guy of Ponthieu.

3/1166, King Henry landing in Normandy marched into Maine where he reduced 2 castles [Alencon & La-Roche-Mabile] held by William Talvas, Comte of Seez; John his son; and John, son of Guy Comte de Pontieu, grandson of William; who had been rebelling against the authority of Queen Eleanor who had been appointed Regent.

2/1167 at Caen, King Henry II confirmed multiple grants including one of William, comte of Ponthieu, to St. Stephen’s abbey at Caen.

1168, William, comte of Ponthieu, founded the abbey of St. Audre-en-Gouffern.

2/10/1171 at Argentan, King Henry II confirmed a donation of William, comte of Ponthieu, to the abbey of St. Audre-en-Gouffern.

6/30/1171, William de Montgomery died; succeeded by ‘Johannes nepos suus … ex Guidone primogenito suo.’ (S) FMG.

(S) Conqueror’s Son, Lack, 2007. (S) Court, Household, and Itinerary of King Henry II, Eyton, 1878. (S) Norman Frontier, Power, 2004. (S) England and Normandy, Bates, 1994.

Family notes:

During this period of the increasing power and influence of France, many nobles of France began to take on the names of their wives, or of maternal ancestors. (S) Tretise of Orders and Plain Dignities, Loyseau, 1994, P144. [William’s paternal grandparents were ‘Montgomery’ and ‘Talvas’.]

Children of William and Helen:

i. Guy de Montgomerie (189110328), born ~1112 in France.

ii. John Talvas, born ? in France.

John married Beatrice, niece of Geoffrey of Anjou.

1149, John lost the castle of La Nue to Count Robert of Perche.

1150, A fued between John and Bernard, Seigneur de Saint Valerie, ended with a treaty.

1166, John lost his English lands in the rebellion of his family.

1168, John confirmed the founding of his father, William, comte of Ponthieu, of the abbey of St. Audre-en-Gouffern.

1174, John, supporting the revolt of Henry the young King, was driven from Sees.

iii. Adela Talvas (79959357), born ~1117 in Pontgieu, France.