Gerald de Windsor (1075 – 1135), ''alias'' Gerald FitzWalter, was an Cymro-Norman lord who was the first

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

Pembroke Castle Pembroke Castle () is a medieval castle in the centre of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in Wales. The castle was the original family seat of the Earl of Pembroke, Earldom of Pembroke. A Grade I listed building since 1951, it underwent major restoratio ...

in Pembrokeshire (formerly part of the Kingdom of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

). Son of the first Norman-French

Constable of Windsor Castle The Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle is in charge of Windsor Castle in England on behalf of the sovereign. The day-to-day operations are under the Superintendent, who is an officer of the Master of the Household's Department of the Roya ...

, and married to a Welsh Princess daughter of the King of

, he was in charge of the Norman forces in south-west Wales. He was also steward and governor for the Norman

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

Arnulf de Montgomery Arnulf de Montgomery (born 1066; died 1118/1122) was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman magnate. He was a younger son of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery and Mabel de Bellême. Arnulf's father was a leading magnate ...

. His descendants were the

FitzGerald dynasty The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Normans, Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. They have been Peerage of Ireland, peers of Ireland since at least the 13th centur ...

, as well as the FitzMaurice,

De Barry The de Barry family (de Barra/Barri) is a noble Cambro-Norman family which held extensive land holdings in Wales and Ireland. The founder of the de Barry family was a Norman knight, Odo, who assisted in the Norman Conquest of England and south- ...

, and Keating dynasties of Ireland, who were elevated to the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

in the 14th century. He was also the ancestor of the prominent Carew family, of

Moulsford Moulsford is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire. Before 1974, it was in the county of Berkshire, in Wallingford Rural District, but following the Berkshire boundary changes of that year it became a part of Oxfordshire. Moulsford is ...

in Berkshire, the owners of

Carew Castle Carew Castle () is a castle in the civil parish of Carew in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Carew family take their name from this site and have owned the castle for more than 900 years. It is leased to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for admi ...

in Pembrokeshire (in the Kingdom of

) and of

Mohuns Ottery Mohuns Ottery or Mohun's Ottery ( "moon's awtrey"),Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M. (1931). ''The Place-Names of Devon''. English Place-Name Society. Vol viii. Part II. Cambridge University Press. p.642 is a house and historic Manorial ...

in Devon (see Baron Carew, Earl of Totnes and

Carew baronets There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Carew, two in the Baronetage of England prior to 1707, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. Carew baronets, of Antony; created 1641, extinct 1799 In August 1641, Charle ...

Origins

Father

Gerald may have been born at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

in Berkshire, then a strategically placed

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

royal fortress and a principal royal residence, hence his sobriquet "de Windsor", although may have simply taken the name of the family seat as per tradition demonstrated by the de Barris of south Wales . He was a younger son of

Walter FitzOther Walter FitzOther ( fl. 1086; died ''after'' 1099) was a feudal baron of Eton in Buckinghamshire (now in Berkshire) and was the first Constable of Windsor Castle in Berkshire (directly across the River Thames from Eton), a principal royal re ...

(1086; died after 1099),

feudal baron A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely be ...

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

(now in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

) who was the first

Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620'', Exeter, 1895, p. 133, pedigree of Carew in Berkshire (directly across the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

from Eton), a principal royal residence of King

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, and was a

tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, a tenant-in-chief (or vassal-in-chief) was a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as opposed to holding them ...

of that king of 21 manors in the counties of

, Buckinghamshire,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, Hampshire and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, as well as holding a further 17 manors as a mesne tenant in the same counties.The Domesday Book Online
Accessed 9 January 2023.

, as his surname

Fitz Fitz (pronounced "fits") was a patronymic indicator used in Anglo-Norman England to help distinguish individuals by identifying their immediate predecessors. Meaning "son of", it would precede the father's forename, or less commonly a title held ...

asserts, was the son of Otto Gherardini (Latinized to ''Otheus''), who had been Constable of Windsor Castle during the reign of King

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

(1042–1066).

became a follower of the Norman invader King William the Conqueror (1066–1087), who appointed him as his first

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

and Keeper of the Forest of Windsor, an important royal hunting ground. Upon his father's death after 1100, Gerald's oldest brother William inherited the office of Constable of Windsor Castle; his second-oldest brother Robert inherited the nearby manor of Eton in Berkshire. Gerald's family was one of the "service families" on whom King William the Conqueror relied for his survival.

Mother and siblings

Gerald's mother was named Beatrice.Weis, Frederick Lewis, ''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonies Who Came to America before 1700'', 2002, p. 153 Gerald had three known siblings: William, Robert, and Maurice.

Career

The death in battle of Gerald's father-in-law,

Rhys ap Tewdwr Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. Following the Norman Conquest, he had to pay William the Conqueror to keep his kingdom, which lasted ...

, Prince of Wales,"Vivian, p.133" and the last king of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

("last

king of the Britons The title King of the Britons (, ) was used (often retrospectively) to refer to a ruler, especially one who might be regarded as the most powerful, among the Celtic Britons, both before and after the period of Roman Britain up until the Norman ...

"), was the opportunity for a general Norman invasion of

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

during which

, youngest son of the powerful

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 Montgomery, and was probably ...

, swept out from Shrewsbury and ravaged south into

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

, where he built

, in the form of a rudimentary fortress later described by

Giraldus Cambrensis Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

(1146 – 1223) (Gerald's grandson) as a "slender fortress of turf and stakes. When he went back to England, Arnulf left the fortress and a small garrison in the charge of Gerald of Windsor, a stalwart, cunning man, his constable and lieutenant".Giraldus Cambrensis. ''Journey Through Wales'' I.xii.ii The first Pembroke Castle was not very strong and offered little resistance. In 1096, two or three years after the establishment of Norman

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, a general uprising occurred in Wales against the Norman invasion during which Gerald's defence of Pembroke Castle excited the admiration of his contemporaries, all the more for his unique stratagems during the desperate stance. While fortress after fortress fell to the Welsh onslaught, Pembroke Castle held out, despite the rigours of a lengthy siege by Uchtryd ab Edwin and Hywel ap Goronwy, which greatly reduced Gerald's forces. Fifteen of Gerald's knights deserted at night and left by boat, on the discovery of which Gerald confiscated their estates and re-granted them to the deserters' followers whom he created knights. Giraldus Cambrensis described the events as follows: In 1094(?) in recognition of Gerald's successful defence of Pembroke, King William II rewarded Arnulf, Gerald's overlord, with the lordship of

Demetia The Kingdom of Dyfed (), one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century sub-Roman Britain in southwest Wales, was based on the former territory of the Demetae (modern Welsh ''Dyfed''). The royal line was founded by Irish se ...

, and created him

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

. In 1102, before the revolt of the Montgomery faction against King

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

(1100–1135), Gerald went to Ireland, where he negotiated the marriage of his overlord Arnulf de Montgomery with Lafracoth, daughter of the Irish king

Muircheartach Ua Briain Muirchertach Ua Briain (anglicised as Murtaugh O'Brien; c. 1050 – c. 10 March 1119), son of Toirdelbach Ua Briain and great-grandson of Brian Boru, was King of Munster and later self-declared High King of Ireland. Background and early caree ...

King of Munster The kings of Munster () ruled the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland from its establishment during the Irish Iron Age until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasions'', the earli ...

. Gerald de Windsor held the office of Constable of

from 1102. In 1108 Gerald built the castle of Little Cenarth (Cenarth Bychan) which is probably

Cilgerran Castle Cilgerran Castle () is a 13th-century ruined castle located in Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire, Wales, near Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan. The first castle on the site was thought to have been built by Gerald of Windsor around 1110–1115, and it c ...

Landholdings

Gerald received the manor of

then in Berkshire (since 1974 in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

), by grant of King Henry I. Moulsford descended to the Carew family of

in Pembrokeshire, descended from Odo de Carrio, a son of William FitzGerald, son of Gerald de Windsor.

Marriage and progeny

Gerald married

Nest ferch Rhys Nest ferch Rhys (c. 1085 – c. 1136) was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last King of Deheubarth in Wales, by his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys. Her family is of the House of Dinefwr. Nest was the wife of Gerald de Wind ...

("Nesta") a Welsh princess, daughter of

, the last king of

in Wales. Nest brought the manor of Carew as part of her dowry, and Gerald cleared the existing fort to build his own castle along Norman lines. They had five children: * William FitzGerald, Lord of Carew and Emlyn *

Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan Maurice FitzGerald ( 1105 – c. September 1176) was Lord of Maynooth, Naas and Llanstephan. He was a medieval Anglo-Norman baron and a major figure in the Norman invasion of Ireland. Cokayne 1890 Wars in Wales and Ireland A Welsh Marcher L ...

David FitzGerald David FitzGerald (sometimes David Fitz Gerald or David fitz Gerald; 1106 – 8 May 1176) was a medieval Bishop of St David's in Wales. Early life FitzGerald was the son of Gerald of Windsor and Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, and was pr ...

, Bishop of St David's * Angharad * Gwladys In 1109 his wife Nest was abducted by her second cousin

Owain ap Cadwgan Owain ap Cadwgan (died 1116) was a prince of Powys in eastern Wales. He is best known for his abduction of Nest, wife of Gerald of Windsor. Owain was the eldest son of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, prince of part of Powys. He is first recorded in 1106, w ...

. According to the ''

Brut y Tywysogion ''Brut y Tywysogion'' () is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Brut y Tywysogion'' has survived ...

'', Owain and his men entered the couple's home (assumed by historians to have been either

or Little Cenarch) and set fire to the buildings. When Gerald was awoken by the noise, Nest urged him to escape by climbing out through the drain-hole of the

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

. Owain then seized Nest and her children and carried her off. Some sources, however, suggest that she went with him willingly. Gerald's influence was such that due to Nest's abduction Owain and his father soon lost much of their territory of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

. Owain himself was obliged to go into exile in Ireland and when he returned in 1116, he was killed when his retinue of fifty men at arms was cunningly attacked by Gerald and his large cohort as they both traveled to aid the king of England. Gerald's son William had a daughter named Isabella Le Gros, who married William De Haya Walensis, by whom she had sons David Walensis and Philip Walensis. David and Philip were surnamed in Latin ''Walensis'' ("of Wales"), and were the founders of the widespread family surnamed ''Welsh'' or ''

Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters Places Australia * Mount Walsh, Mount Walsh National Park Canada * Fort Walsh, one of the first Royal Canadian Mounted ...

'' or ''

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name Wa ...

''. Philip Walensis had a son named Howell of Welsh Walensis. Nest is the female progenitor of the Fitzgerald Dynasty, and through her the Fitzgeralds are related to Welsh royalty and to the

Tudors The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Engl ...

(Tewdwrs). The Tudors are descended from Nest's father Rhys ap Tewdwr (Anglicized to "Tudor"). Henry Tudor, King of England, was a patrilineal descendant of Rhys ap Tewdwr. Consequently, Gerald and Nest's offspring, the Fitzgeralds, are distant cousins to the English Tudors.

Death

The '' Annals of Cambria'' record the date of Owain's death as 1116. As Gerald de Windsor makes no further appearance to that date in the "Annals" or in the "Chronicles of the Princes", the presumption is that he did not long survive his enemy, Owain ab Cadwgan, and that the

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

's ''Addenda'' is erroneous in putting his death as late as 1135.Rev. E. Barry, ''Records of the Barrys of County Cork from the earliest to the present time''., Cork, 1902, pg 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windsor, Gerald de Anglo-Normans in Wales Normans in Ireland People from Moulsford People from Windsor, Berkshire

Gerald Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic languages prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Gerald is a Norman French variant of the Germanic name. An Old English equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original ...

People from Pembrokeshire 1070s births 1136 deaths