Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford (c. 1056 – after 1087), succeeded in 1071 to the

earldom of Hereford Earl of Hereford is a title in the ancient feudal nobility of England, encompassing the region of Herefordshire, England. It was created six times. The title is an ancient one. In 1042, Godwin, Earl of Wessex severed the territory of Herefordshire ...

and the English estate of his father, William Fitz-Osbern. He is known to history for his role in the

Revolt of the Earls The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 was a rebellion of three earls against William I of England (William the Conqueror). It was the last serious act of resistance against William in the Norman Conquest. Cause The revolt was caused by the king's re ...

Revolt of the Earls

Roger did not keep on good terms with

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 in 1075, disregarding William's prohibition, Roger married his sister Emma to Ralph Guader, Earl of Norfolk. Immediately afterwards, the two earls rebelled. Roger, who was to bring his force from the west to join forces with those of the Earl of Norfolk, was held in check at the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

by the

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

fyrd A fyrd was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and part ...

, which the English Bishop Wulfstan, Walter de Lacy, and other Normans. Roger had been as close 'as a son' to Archbishop

Lanfranc Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was an Italian-born English churchman, monk and scholar. Born in Italy, he moved to Normandy to become a Benedictine monk at Bec. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Ste ...

of Canterbury, who sent him a number of missives deploring him to cease his actions; these were ignored, and Roger was excommunicated.

Trial, sentence, and reprieve

On the collapse of their rebellion uprising, Roger was tried for treasonPlacita Anglo-Normannica lectronic resource: Law Cases from William I to Richard I — Preserved in Historical Records (London: S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1879) p11 before the Great Council, for his role in the

. Roger was deprived of his lands and earldom in 1075, and sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. Ralph Guader and Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northumberland were charged as co-conspirators. Orderic Vitalis reports that Roger remained imprisoned following the death of William I in 1087, despite the release of his other political prisoners.

Family

Though Roger is not known to have married, he left two sons, Reginald and Roger. Living during the reign of

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

, they were described as young men of great promise, but nonetheless were excluded from succeeding to Roger's lands. This has led to disagreement among scholars as to whether or not they were of legitimate birth. Reginald fitz Count, son of Earl Roger, would marry Emmeline de Ballon, the daughter and heiress of

Hamelin de Ballon Hamelin de Ballon (or Baalun, Baalan, Balun, Balodun, Balon, etc.) (born ca. 1060, died 5 March 1105/6) was an early Norman Baron and the first Baron Abergavenny and Lord of Over Gwent and Abergavenny; he also served William Rufus.J. Horace R ...

, whose inherited land he held in her right. Their descendants, using the de Ballon surname were lords of

Much Marcle Much Marcle is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, located north-east of Ross-on-Wye. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 660. The name ''Marcle'' comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for a boundary field, ''mearc ...

.J. Horace Round, "The Family of Ballon and the Conquest of South Wales", ''Studies in Peerage and Family History'' (1901), pp. 181-215.

References

*Remfry. P.M., ''The Herefordshire Beacon and the Families of King Harold II and the Earls of Hereford and Worcester'' ()

Revolt of the Earls

Trial, sentence, and reprieve

Family

References

See also