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William I Talvas (c. 995 – c. 1060), seigneur of
Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is fi ...
. According to Orderic Vitalis his nickname ''Talvas'' meaning shield, presumably alluded to his hardness or callousness like that of a shield. He was a member of the
House of Bellême House of Bellême also referred to as the Family of Bellême was an important seigneurial family during the 10th through the 12th centuries. Members of this family held the important castles of Bellême, Alençon, Domfront and Sées as well a ...
.


Life

He was a son of William of Bellême and Mathilde of
Condé-sur-Noireau Condé-sur-Noireau () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Condé-en-Normandie. It is situated on the River. In the fifteenth c ...
. He held lands at
Bellême Bellême () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810-1877), owner of ''Le'' ''Bon Marché'', the world's first depar ...
, Domfront and
Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is fi ...
,Jean Jacques Gautier, ''Histoire d'Alençon'' (Poulet-Malassis, Imprimeur-Libraire, Place Bourbon, 1805), p. 24 He obtained the lands of Bellême from his brother Yves de Bellême,
Bishop of Séez A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
While Orderic stated that William Talvas succeeded his brother Robert, Yves (a.k.a. Ivo) inherited the lands of Bellême at the death of Robert about two years before he became Bishop of Séez in 1035. William Talvas probably held the lands from his brother Yves while he was Bishop and recovered the other family lands on his own. William Talvas never was lord of Bellême as evidenced by his use of his nickname 'Talvas' instead of de Bellême. See Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), pp. 81-3. who held them of the King of France while Alençon was held of the Duke of Normandy and Domfront of the Count of Maine While as treacherous and self-serving as any of his family before him he surpassed them in wickedness and cruelty.Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 83 He had married Hildeburg, daughter of a nobleman named Arnulf, who bore him two children. According to Orderic, William had her strangled on her way to church, because she loved God and would not support his wickedness. William married secondly a daughter of Ralf de Beaumont, Viscount of Maine.Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 85 Among the private feuds going on during the minority of Duke William was one that erupted between William Talvas and
William fitz Giroie William fitz Giroie (died 1057), Lord of Échauffour and Montreuil-l'Argillé. A Norman nobleman and patriarch of a large and powerful family in Normandy and Apulia. Career William was the second son of Giroie, Lord of Échauffour and Gisle, da ...
. William fitz Giroie was a vassal of William Talvas and his father
Giroie, Lord of Échauffour Giroie ( la, Geroianus, a.k.a. Géré) († 1033), Lord of Echauffour and Montreuil-l'Argillé, was a knight from Brittany who became a Norman nobleman and the progenitor of a large family in Normandy, England, and Apulia. Career Giroie was the s ...
had assisted Talvas' father and uncle in the struggles against Herbert I Wake-dog, Count of Maine.For additional information on the wars between Bishop Avesguad de Belleme and Herbert I 'Wake-Dog', Count of Maine see the articles William of Bellême and
Avesgaud de Bellême Avesgaud (Latin '' Avesgaudus'') (died c. 1036) was a French nobleman, a member of the powerful House of Bellême and was the Bishop of Le Mans from 997 until his death. His episcopate was overshadowed by his ongoing wars with Herbert I, Count of M ...
.
William fitz Giroie himself had greatly assisted William Talvas in obtaining his own lands, apparently by force. But William fitz Giroie was also a vassal of Geoffrey de Mayenne, an adherent, in turn, of the Count of Maine. About 1044 William Talvas attacked the castle of Montaigu which was being defended by William fitz Giroie. Unable to defeat the castle William Talvas captured Geoffrey de Mayenne and held him prisoner until William Fitz Giroie destroyed the castle of Montaigu.Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 84 William fitz Giroie immediately razed his own castle to free his lord and in return Geoffrey de Mayenne built fitz Giroie a new castle at St. Cenery on the river
Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
.Guy Halsall, ''Violence and Society in the Early Medieval West'', (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 1998), p. 132 This apparently caused great resentment in William Talvas. On the occasion of his second wedding, William Talvas invited William fitz Giroie to attend. Suspecting nothing fitz Giroie while a guest at the festivities was suddenly seized by Talvas' men and imprisoned, then according to Orderic horribly mutilated and blinded before being released. Somehow William Giroie survived his torture and mutilation and retired to
Bec Abbey Bec Abbey, formally the Abbey of Our Lady of Bec (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec), is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure ''département'', in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay. It is located in Le Bec Hel ...
to live out the remainder of his life as a monk. To avenge this atrocity the sons and kinsmen of William fitz Giroie sacked and destroyed the lands of William Talvas who would not face them in the field.''The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni'', Vol. II, Ed. & Trans. Elisabeth M.C. Van Houts (The Clarendon Press, Oxford & New York, 1995), pp. 110-12 Finally, Talvas' son Arnulf rebelled and exiled his father, now reviled by everyone. He wandered until he was taken in by the de Montgomery family whose son
Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
agreed to marry his daughter Mabel in return for the lands William lost. It seems certain that after the death of Arnulf the following year, that William Talvas recovered his lands. William confirmed a gift to St. Aubin of Angers made by his brother Yves circa 1060-2 and after that nothing more is heard of him.


Family

By Hildeburg, his first wife, William had two children: * Arnulf de Bellême, who deprived his father of his estates and wealth and was dead by 1049. * Mabel de Bellême, who married
Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...
and was murdered 2 December 1079 His second wife, a daughter of Ralf de Beaumont, may have been the mother of his son: * Oliver who after long service in the wars, became a monk at Bec.He is considered illegitimate by some sources due to his not inheriting his father's extensive lands but Geoffrey White thinks it possible he was legitimate and excluded from inheriting due to an agreement with Roger de Montgomery. See: Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Bellême', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 85 William Talvas is said to have cursed the infant William, later to become
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
, in his cradle predicting the child would be the downfall of the house of Bellême.Edward Augustus Freeman, ''William the Conqueror''(Perkins Book Company, New York, 1902), p. 33


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External links


Seigneurs de Mayenne
{{DEFAULTSORT:William 01 Talvas Counts of Alençon 990s births 1060 deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain