Parents: Robert de Toeni, Lord of Belvoir (1030 - 1088) & Adeliza FitzOsulf du Plessis, Heiress of Belvoir (1027 - 1088)

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http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMAN NOBILITY.htm

ROBERT de Tosny (-1088). Europäische Stammtafeln shows Robert de Tosny unaffiliated with the other members of this family. Although his ancestry is unknown, it is likely that he was a member of this family. He founded Marmoutier in 1063[1594]. Lord of Belvoir 1086. m ---. The name of Robert's wife is not known. Robert & his wife had [three] children:

a) GUILLAUME (-[1130]). Lord of Belvoir.

b) ALICE . The primary source which confirms her parentage has not yet been identified. "Rogerius Bigot…et uxoris mee Adalicie" donated the church of Thetford to Cluny dated [1100][1595]. Lady of Belvoir [1130]. Living in 1136[1596]. m (before [1100]%29 as his second wife, ROGER Bigod, son of ROGER Bigod & his wife --- (-8 or 15 Sep 1107, bur Thetford[1597]).

c) [ALBREDE . “H comes Norfulc” confirmed property to the monks of Kirkstall, for the soul of “Albrede de Insula amite mee”, by charter dated to [1154/76][1598]. If amita is translated strictly in this document, Albrede was the sister of Earl Hugh´s mother. However, it cannot be excluded that she was in fact his paternal aunt. m --- de l´Isle, son of ---.]

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A good article by Judith Green about the complexities of the honour of Belvoir (incl Belvoir castle) which was held by the de Tosny family then inherited through Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony) who married Roger Bigod, and who was the mother of both Maud Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Pincerna" or the Butler) and Cecily Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Brito" the Breton, and who inherited Belvoir and passed it along to her d'Aubigny descendants....

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~prosop/prosopon/issue10-2.pdf

Prosopon Newsletter Copyright © Judith A. Green, 1999

The Descent of Belvoir.1 Judith A. Green (The Queen’s University of Belfast)

The history of the important honour of Belvoir in the Norman period has been discussed by several historians, most recently by K.S.B. Keats-Rohan.2 Missing pieces of the jigsaw have been filled in and, though gaps remain, most notably about the basis of Ranulf II earl of Chester’s claim in Stephen’s reign, the picture is now much clearer. It highlights the crucial role of women in the descent of honours, bringing us to the heart of politics and patronage under the Norman kings, and the crucial question of how much manoeuvre the king had in deciding in favour of one claimant rather than another.3

In 1086 Belvoir was held by Robert de Tosny. He is known to have had three sons. One, Berengar, is recorded in Domesday Book both as his father’s under-tenant and as a tenant-in-chief.4 Berengar inherited his father’s estates in Normandy and it seems that William inherited Belvoir (the fate of the third son Geoffrey is not recorded).5 By the date of the Lindsey Survey, which was probably drawn up in summer or autumn 1115,6 some of the Lincolnshire estates held at Domesday by Robert de Tosny had passed to his son-in-law Robert de Insula, husband of Albreda.7 Keats-Rohan has demonstrated that Albreda was the sister and not the widow of Berengar de Tosny as was previously thought.8 Albreda had at least two sisters, Adeliza, the wife of Roger Bigod, and Agnes, the wife first of Ralph de Belfou and secondly of Hubert de Ryes.9 The next reference to Belvoir seems to be that in the 1130 Pipe Roll, when Adeliza accounted for an outstanding debt for her father’s land of Belvoir.10 The charters for Belvoir Priory suggest that the lords of the honour were Robert de Tosny, his son William, and William d’Aubigny the Breton.11 There survives a survey of (part of) Leicestershire which is thought to have been very close in date to the pipe roll.12 Most of Robert de Tosny’s lands, including the manor of Bottesford on which Belvoir was situated, were at the time of the survey in the hands of William d’Aubigny (the Breton), whilst other estates were held either by Robert de Insula, or were held of Belvoir, or were in unidentified hands. This evidence, if interpreted literally (i.e. if names were all recorded at the same date), suggests that Robert de Insula was still living and in possession of some Tosny estates, and others were held by William d’Aubigny the Breton by virtue of his marriage to Cecily, Adeliza Bigod’s daughter. Those held of Belvoir’ could have been held by Adeliza herself, or they were in the king’s hands. The danegeld pardon of six shillings in castello de Belveder in the 1130 Pipe Roll might well indicate the latter. This would not preclude William holding the castle as the king’s castellan.13 The third sister, Agnes, may well have been still living, as she and Adeliza Bigod witnessed the charter by which William d’Aubigny the butler, the latter’s son-in-law, gave the manor of Happisburgh to Wymondham priory on the day of his wife’s burial.14 Agnes’s share of her father’s lands seems to have been limited to a marriage portion at Aslackby where she gave land to Belvoir Priory, later confirmed by her son Henry de Ryes.15

William d’Aubigny the Breton was a man who rose to prominence under Henry I. He is thought to have been the son of Main, probably Main of Saint Aubin d’Aubigné.16 Father and son are mentioned in the Liber Vitae of Thorney Abbey.17 The early stages of William’s career are obscure. Belvoir priory was a dependency of St Albans abbey, and the tradition recorded there was that William had distinguished himself at the battle of Tinchebrai in 1106, which is by no means improbable.18 William seems to begin to witness royal charters frequently after about 1120, but it may be that he had some earlier involvement with Belvoir, because he may have been the William d’Aubigny who attested two royal notifications dealing with the honour.19 In the first of these, addressed to Ralph de Watnevilla, Ralph de Bosco Rohard, and Hugh de Hottot, the king gave the churches of Uffington and Barkestone to Robert bishop of Lincoln. The dating limits are 1107 and 1116 because of the attestations of William de Tancarville and Queen Matilda and the reference to the king’s crossing. William only began to attest for Henry after the battle of Tinchebrai and the king’s last crossing to Normandy before the queen's death was in 1116. The second, addressed to Ralph de Rehart [sic] and his associates, ordered him to put the bishop in seisin of Barkestone and Uffington. The address suggests that the honour was in the king’s hands at the time, possibly after the death of William de Tosny, and the attestation of William d’Aubigny (if this is the Breton) perhaps points to him as custodian. The advowson and parsonage of Uffington as of her own inheritance’ were subsequently given by Cecily and her husband to Belvoir Priory.20 William next occurred as the sole witness of the king’s charter for St Dogmael’s.21 In 1130 he held at farm Rutland, which may have been in the king’s hands since the death of Queen Matilda, and the lands (here unidentified) formerly held by Otuel FitzCount, who had been drowned in the White Ship, plus Ketton, and Geddington.22 Adeliza was the mother of Hugh Bigod, for Hugh is known to have inherited the Yorkshire lands of Berengar de Tosny, which must have come to him through his mother’s family.23 She may have been the mother of Roger Bigod’s other children, as Keats-Rohan has also suggested, and if she was, the singling out of Cecily as her heiress was noteworthy.24 How and when did this happen? We have seen that some of the Belvoir lands had passed to her sister and her sister’s husband by 1115, and it would appear from the Leicestershire Survey that Robert de Insula was still living after the marriage of Cecily and William. Hugh Bigod inherited his father’s estates, Robert de Tosny’s Norman estates, and the English estates of his uncle, Berengar, but he was not to inherit Belvoir, where the claim of his sister was preferred. We cannot be certain of the exact timing and order of events, but it looks as though Adeliza was substituted as the principal heiress of Belvoir, perhaps with the intention of making her daughter Cecily, and Cecily’s husband, the next heirs. Yet in the Leicestershire Survey Robert de Insula held land at Muston and Stathern which in 1086 had been held by Robert de Tosny. Robert de Insula also held land at Eaton (probably omitted from Domesday Book) and Eastwell (held in 1086 by Aschill the king’s serjeant) which were subsequently held by Albreda’s successors, the count of Aumale and Hugh Bigod.25

How did Hugh Bigod feel about the fact that his claim to Belvoir had been sidelined? If it was the norm for a mother’s land to be used to endow a daughter in this way, then arguably Hugh had little ground for complaint. Yet, as Andrew Wareham has pointed out, Hugh’s paternal estates had already been diminished to provide a generous marriage portion for Matilda, wife of William d’Aubigny the butler, and the shrievalties of Norfolk and Suffolk, which had been held by Roger Bigod, had passed out of the family’s control by the middle years of Henry I’s reign.26

When he succeeded his brother William, Hugh had reason to hope both that his losses would be made good and for further advancement, but as Henry I died and was succeeded by Stephen, neither was forthcoming. Yet Stephen had good reason to be grateful to Hugh who had sworn that on his deathbed Henry I had nominated Stephen as his heir.27 In 1140 Hugh is recorded as having rebelled twice.28 Stephen may have granted him the title of earl, though it is not until the following year, when Hugh was found at the Empress’s court, that he attested with this rank.29

William d’Aubigny the Breton was and remained a loyal supporter of king Stephen, who presumably confirmed him in succession of Belvoir when his mother-in-law finally died. It used to be thought that the castle of Galclint which Count Alan seized in 1140 and which was taken from him by Earl Ranulf could have been Belvoir, but recently Paul Dalton has argued persuasively that Galclint was a castle of William count of Aumale in Yorkshire.30 Nevertheless at some point Ranulf of Chester began to lay claim to Belvoir, a castle of strategic importance close to the earl’s territorial interests. A grant of the castle, the honour, and all the land of William d’Aubigny was included in Stephen’s charter for Ranulf. The timing of the charter is hard to establish, but there are reasons for dating it to 1140 rather than 1146.31 No hereditary basis for Ranulf’s claim to Belvoir has been clearly established, and from the terminology used in the charter it may well have been the case that Ranulf was asserting personal overlordship over William d’Aubigny the Breton. The earl also asserted a claim to act as advocate and defender of Pipewell abbey, four miles north of Rockingham, and twenty-four miles south of Belvoir, founded in part on land belonging to Belvoir.32 His position was strengthened by the appearance of a key member of his following, Robert Basset, at Redmile near Belvoir. Robert gave the church of Redmile for the foundation of a priory there, which Earl Ranulf confirmed.33

As Edmund King has shown the earl may never have ousted William d’Aubigny the Breton, an impression strengthened by the terminology used in the charter Henry FitzEmpress issued in the Ranulf’s favour in 1153, when Henry promised to do Ranulf right concerning Belvoir as soon as he could as if it were of his inheritance’.34 Belvoir thereafter descended to the son of William and Cecily.

On at least two occasions in the early twelfth century Belvoir passed via women. On the first occasion Albreda succeeded to the lands of her brother Berengar, and, for a time at least, to William de Tosny’s land. The former passed to her nephew Hugh Bigod, and the second occasion the latter ultimately passed to her niece Cecily. A third sister, Agnes, had only a restricted inheritance from her father. Although at first sight the descent of Belvoir and the marriage or marriages of Roger Bigod might be dismissed as technicalities, the issues they raise provide important illustrations of the circumstances in which women inherited, and of the amount of land assigned to daughters in the Norman period.

NOTES 1 The original stimulus for this article was K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, Belvoir: the heirs of Robert and Berengar de Tosny’, Prosopon, 9 (July 1998), pp. [1-2]. She has been particularly helpful in supplying references and comments on earlier drafts; thanks also to Andrew Wareham for his comments on an earlier draft. 2 J. H. Round, who calendared the documents at Belvoir castle for the Historical Manuscripts Commission, supplied a pedigree of the family: see The Manuscripts of His Grace the Duke of Rutland, 4 vols (1888-1905), IV, pp. 106-7. Round pointed out that the Leicestershire Survey showed William d’Aubigny the Breton in possession of Belvoir land before the death of Adeliza Bigod. 3 This ground was also covered in J. A. Green, Aristocratic women in early twelfth century England’, in Anglo-Norman Political Culture And the Twelfth Century Renaissance, ed. C. Warren Hollister (Woodbridge, 1997), pp. 70-1; see also, my The Aristocracy of Norman England (Cambridge, 1997), ch. 11. 4 Berengar was a tenant-in-chief in Oxfordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and an under-tenant in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: DB, I, 159, 291b, 314-314b, 352-353b. 5 Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, III, 289. 6 For a revised date of the Lindsey Survey, see T. Foulds, The Lindsey Survey and an unknown precept of king Henry I’, Historical Research, 59 (1986), pp. 212-5. 7 Lindsey Survey, 3/8, 4/3, 6/5, 7/5, 10/1. 8 Keats-Rohan, ‘Belvoir’. 9 Adeliza Bigod was addressed in writs of Henry I and Stephen concerning tithes at Bradley, Suffolk: Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum, II, nos 1485, 1495; III, no. 82. Agnes confirmed land and tithes at Aslackby de matrimonio suo: Mon.Ang., III, 289; see Keats-Rohan, ‘Belvoir’. 10 PR 31 Henry I, p. 114. 11 See the charter of Henry I and the confirmation of Pope Adrian IV: HMC Rutland, IV, pp. 109-10. Cf. the charter of Cecily de Belveir’ daughter of Roger Bigod, confirming an advowson and parsonage to Belvoir Priory for the souls of King Henry I, Robert de Tosny her grandfather, William d’Aubigny her husband and William her son: ibid., p. 144. 12 The Leicestershire Survey, ed. C.F. Slade, Univ. of Leicester Dept. of English Local History, Occasional Papers, 7 (1956), p. 12. 13 PR 31 Henry I, p. 121. 14 Mon.Ang., III, 330. This grant was confirmed by Henry I: RRAN, II, no. 1481. 15 Mon.Ang., III, 290. 16 Round pointed out that one of William’s tenants came from Chauvigné near Saint Aubin d’Aubigné, HMC Rutland, IV, p. 107. 17 C. Clark, British Library Additional MS. 40,0000 ff. 1v-12r’, Anglo-Norman Studies, 7 (1984), p. 55. 18 Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, ed. H.R. Luard, 7 vols, RS (London 1872-83), II, p. 132. 19 RRAN, II, nos 1152-3. 20 HMC Rutland, IV, p. 144. 21 RRAN, II, no. 1223. 22 PR 31 Henry I, pp. 133-4. The lands of Otuel FitzCount included the manor of Sawbridgeworth, the church of which was granted to Westminster abbey: see Westminster Abbey Charters 1066-c. 1214, ed. E. Mason, London Record Society, 25 (1988), no. 469. 23 Early Yorkshire Charters, I, pp. 466, 507-8. 24 Keats-Rohan, ‘Belvoir’; cf. Complete Peerage, IX, 578. Roger Bigod’s charter for Rochester cathedral priory referred to his wife Adeliza and his sons and daughters. The charter was witnessed by William Bigod our son’, Humfrey Bigod, and Gunnora and Matilda our daughters’. There was no mention here of Hugh and Cecily, nor of another unnamed child, parent of Roger FitzRichard, lord of Warkworth: C.T. Clay, The ancestry of the early Lords of Warkworth’, Archaeologia Aeliana, 4th ser., 32 (1954), 68. Hugh and Cecily were clearly the children of Adeliza de Tosny as each inherited Tosny estates, but was the latter a second identically named wife? Hugh described Gunnora as his sister in a charter for Norwich cathedral priory, Complete Peerage, IX, 578. Matilda could have had a claim on the honour of Belvoir, because her son William II d’Aubigny the butler for a short time held the title earl of Lincoln, a county where he otherwise had no interests, R.H.C. Davis, King Stephen, 3rd edn (London, 1990), p. 134. Keats-Rohan argued that Hugh was provided for from the Bigod lands which he inherited after the death of his brother William in the White Ship, plus, at some stage, the Tosny lands of his uncle Berengar, and that Gunnora and Matilda had been provided for on marriage so that the honour of Belvoir could be used to endow Cecily, the youngest daughter. In Aristocratic women’ (pp. 70-1), I accepted the likelihood that Roger married twice, basically because this seemed to make better sense of the fact that Hugh and Cecily but not their siblings inherited Tosny lands: see also Green, Aristocracy, pp. 374-5. After discussion with Keats-Rohan, I can see that the charter evidence is inconclusive, and if anything the presumption must be slightly in favour of one wife, not two, in which case the descent of Belvoir to Cecily is more striking. 25 Leicestershire Survey, p. 51; HMC Rutland, IV, 3-7; for the contested succession to Hugh Bigod, see J.C. Holt, Politics and property in early medieval England’, which originally appeared in Past and Present and has since been been reprinted, most recently in Colonial England 1066-1215 (London, 1997), pp. 151-2. 26 A. Wareham, The motives and politics of the Bigod family, c. 1066-1177’, Anglo-Norman Studies, 17 (1994), pp. 223-42. 27 Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, ed. D. Greenway (Oxford, 1996), pp. 728-30 and n.; Histora Pontificalis, ed. M.M. Chibnall, corrected edn (Oxford, 1986), p. 84. 28 ‘Annals of Waverley’, in Annales Monastici, ed. H.R. Luard, 5 vols, RS (London, 1864-9), II, 228. 29 Wareham, ‘Motives’, p. 234, reviews the evidence; also Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, ed. Greenway, p. 730n. 30 John of Hexham, Symeon of Durham, Opera Omnia, ed. T. Arnold, 2 vols, RS 2 vols (London, 1882-5), II, 306, 308-9; P. Dalton, Conquest Anarchy and Lordship. Yorkshire 1066-1154 (Cambridge, 1994), pp. 164-5. 31 E. King, The foundation of Pipewell abbey, Northamptonshire’, Haskins Society Journal, 2 (1990), 167-77 (p. 171n). 32 Ibid. 33 HMC Rutland, IV, 146; King, Foundation’, p. 176. Robert Basset witnessed nine times for Ranulf II: Green, Aristocracy, p. 213. 34 RRAN, III, no. 180.

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Two brothers, one sister, parents not known:

1. ROGER Bigod (-1107, bur Thetford[905]). Domesday Book records “Roger Bigod” holding numerous properties in Norfolk and Suffolk[906]. "…Rogerus Bigotus…" subscribed a charter dated Sep 1101 under which Bishop Herbert donated property to Norwich priory[907]. "…Rogeri de Bigot…" subscribed a charter dated 14 Sep 1101 under which Henry I King of England donated property to Bath St Peter[908]. “Rogerus Bygot” founded Thetford Priory, with the advice of “…uxoris meæ Adeliciæ”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[909]. The Annals of Bermondsey which record the death in 1107 of “Rogerus Bigod, principalis fundator monasterii Beatæ Mariæ Thetfordiæ”[910].

[m firstly ADELAIS, daughter of ---. The Liber Vitæ of Durham lists (in order) "Rodgerus Bigodus, Atheles uxor eius, Willelmus filius eorum"[911]. “Willielmus Bigot, dapifer regis Anglorum” donated property to Thetford Priory, for the souls of “patris mei Rogerii Bigoti et matris meæ Adelidis” and for the salvation of “fratris mei Hugonis et sororum mearum”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[912]. The Complete Peerage[913] states that the wording of this charter shows that Adelais, mother of William, was deceased at the time, and must therefore have been a different person from Adelise de Tosny, Roger Bigod's [second] wife, who was recorded as alive in 1136. However, the question is open to debate as “pro anima” clauses are often difficult to interpret accurately.]

m [secondly] (before [1100]%29 ADELISE de Tosny, daughter of ROBERT de Tosny Lord of Belvoir & his wife Adelais --- (-after 1136[914]). Her parentage is indicated by the 1130 Pipe Roll which records "Adeliz uxor Rogi Big…tra patris sui de Belueder" in Lincolnshire[915], which also indicates that Adelise succeeded her sister Albreda in the Belvoir estates of their father. It is also indicated by the charter dated 23 Apr [1430] under which her descendant “Thomas dominus de Ros, de Hamelake, de Trussebout et de Beavoir” confirmed the possessions of Belvoir priory, Lincolnshire made by "antecessores nostros…Robertum de Toteneio, Willielmum de Toteneyo filium suum, Agnetem de Toteneio filiam dicti Roberti de Toteneyo, Henricum de Rya filium Huberto de Rya, Agnetem de Toteneyo, Willielmum de Albeneio primum, Willielmum de Albeneio secundum, Willielmum de Albeneio tertium, Willielmum de Albeneio quartum, Ywynum de Albeneyo, Heliam de Albeneyo et uxores eorundem, Isabellam filiam domini Willielmi de Albeneio quæ fuit uxor domini de Ros, domini de Beauvoire et de Hamelake"[916], the connection between Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir, father of Alice, being established through the marriage of her daughter Cecilia to William de Albini Brito. "Rogerius Bigot…et uxoris mee Adalicie" donated the church of Thetford to Cluny dated [1100][917]. “Rogerus Bygot” founded Thetford Priory, with the advice of “…uxoris meæ Adeliciæ”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[918].

Roger & his [first] wife had one child:
a) WILLIAM Bigod (-drowned off Barfleur, Normandy 25 Nov 1120). The Liber Vitæ of Durham lists (in order) "Rodgerus Bigodus, Atheles uxor eius, Willelmus filius eorum"[919]. He succeeded his father in 1107 as Lord of Framlingham, Suffolk. “Willielmus Bigot, dapifer regis Anglorum” donated property to Thetford Priory, for the souls of “patris mei Rogerii Bigoti et matris meæ Adelidis” and for the salvation of “fratris mei Hugonis et sororum mearum”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[920]. Sheriff of Suffolk 1116. The Continuator of Florence of Worcester names "…Willelmus Bigod…" among those drowned in the sinking of the White Ship[921].

Roger & his [second] wife had five children:

b) HUGH Bigod ([1095]-1177 before 9 Mar). “Willielmus Bigot, dapifer regis Anglorum” donated property to Thetford Priory, for the souls of “patris mei Rogerii Bigoti et matris meæ Adelidis” and for the salvation of “fratris mei Hugonis et sororum mearum”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[922]. The Complete Peerage states that he was William’s brother “presumably of the half-blood”, the basis for the statement being explained on the previous page[923]. He succeeded his [half-]brother as Lord of Framlingham. King Stephen created him Earl of Norfolk in [Dec 1140/Jan 1141]. - see below.

c) HUMPHREY Bigod (-after [1112/13]). Royal chaplain of King Henry I and prebendary of Totenhall 1101 to [1112/13][924].

d) GUNNOR Bigod (-before [1137]). A charter of Hugh Bigod for Norwich Priory refers to property given by “his sister Gunnor”[925]. “Robert de Essex and Gunnora his wife, daughter of Roger Bigod” donated Fremingham church to Thetford priory, Norfolk for the souls of their ancestors and of "their son Henry on his birth-day"[926]. It is not clear from this extract whether Gunnor’s father was named in the original document. Her first marriage is indicated by the charter of King Henry II which confirmed donations to Thetford Priory, including the donation by “Gunnoræ matris Henrici de Exessa”[927]. “Rob Waster” donated "duos partes totius decimæ meæ de Wereslai" to St Neot’s, Huntingdonshire, for the soul of “Soeni de Essessa” and for the health of "domini mei Roberti filii prædicti Soeni…Gunnor uxoris suæ…uxoris meæ et Willielmi filii Gerei patris sui", by undated charter[928]. “Hamo de Sancto Claro” donated “ecclesie Sancte Marie Walcre” to Colchester St. John, for the souls of King Henry I, Queen Matilda, “Eudonis dapiferi et...mee et uxoris mee Gunnoris et anime Huberti filii mei”, by undated charter (dated to before 1119), witnessed by “Willelmo de Sancto Claro, Huberto de Sancto Claro...”[929]. Her second husband confirmed grants of her marriage portion in Brome for her soul[930]. m firstly ROBERT FitzSwein Lord of Rayleigh, Essex son of SWEIN FitzRobert & his wife --- (-[1132/40][931]). [932]m secondly as his first wife, HAMON de Saint-Clair, son of --- (-after 1139).

e) MATILDA Bigod (-[1121/33][933]). “Willielmus de Albeneyo, pincerna Henrici regis Anglorum” donated property to Wymondham priory, assisted by “uxoris suæ Matilidis filiæ…Rogeri Bigot” by undated charter, witnessed by “filii…eiusdem Willielmi, Nigellus et Oliverus”[934]. m GUILLAUME d'Aubigny "Pincerna", son of ROGER d'Aubigny & his wife Amice --- (-1139).

f) CECILY Bigod (-after 1136). Her parentage is indicated by the charter dated 23 Apr [1430] under which her descendant “Thomas dominus de Ros, de Hamelake, de Trussebout et de Beavoir” confirmed the possessions of Belvoir priory, Lincolnshire made by "antecessores nostros…Robertum de Toteneio, Willielmum de Toteneyo filium suum, Agnetem de Toteneio filiam dicti Roberti de Toteneyo, Henricum de Rya filium Huberto de Rya, Agnetem de Toteneyo, Willielmum de Albeneio primum, Willielmum de Albeneio secundum, Willielmum de Albeneio tertium, Willielmum de Albeneio quartum, Ywynum de Albeneyo, Heliam de Albeneyo et uxores eorundem, Isabellam filiam domini Willielmi de Albeneio quæ fuit uxor domini de Ros, domini de Beauvoire et de Hamelake"[935], the connection with Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir, her maternal grandfather, being established through her marriage. She inherited Belvoir from her mother. "…Willelmu[us] de Albinioc, Cecilia uxor eius, filii eius Willelmus, Rogerius, Matildis filia eius" are listed in the Liber Vitæ of Thorney abbey[936]. "Willielmus de Albeneio Brito…et Ceciliam uxorem meam et Willielmum filium meum" donated land to Thorney monastery, Cambridgeshire by undated charter, witnessed by "Rogero et Roberto filiis meis et Warino Ridel et Olivero et Iwan et Gaufrido nepotibus meis et Roberto Brito…”[937]. "Willielmus de Albenei Brito" donated "terram de Pipewell…de feodo de Bellovidere" to Thorney monastery, Cambridgeshire, with the consent of "Ceciliæ uxoris meæ et Willelmi filii mei", by undated charter, witnessed by "…tres nepotes mei, Oliverus filius Galfridi et Iwanus et Gaufridus de Cabivin…”[938]. "Willielmus de Albineio" donated "ecclesiam de Redmelina" to Belvoir monastery, Lincolnshire, with the consent of "Willielmi filii et hæredis mei et Matildis uxoris meæ et Ceciliæ matris meæ, necnon et Radulphi de Albinei fratris mei", by undated charter[939]. “Willielmus de Albineio” confirmed the possessions of Belvoir priory, Lincolnshire, with the consent of "Willielmi filii et hæredis mei et Matildis uxoris meæ et Ceciliæ matris meæ, necnon de Radulphi de Albineio fratris mei", by undated charter[940]. m WILLIAM de Albini Brito, son of MAIN & his wife Adelisa [de Bohun] (-after 1148). He owned part of the fee of Belvoir before Cecily's mother held it, the Complete Peerage concluding therefore that the marriage may have been arranged to settle rival claims[941].

Siblings of Roger:

2. WILLIAM Bigod (-after [1091]). Domesday Book records that the king gave land in Horsey, Norfolk to “Roger Bigod...when his brother William came from Apulia with Geoffrey Ridel”[942]. “Willelmus Bigut...” witnessed a charter dated to [1091] records the settlement of a challenge by "Ricardi fratris Widonis de Rupe", represented by "miles…nepos Gisleberti de Marlo…Compains", to the donation by "Hugo comes de Domno Martino" of "feodum…Vuidonis de Rupe" to the priory of Saint-Leu d’Esserent[943]. “Willelmi Bigot” donated “medietate terre de Fraituilla” to Saint-Wandrille, with the consent of “Guidone de Roca et filio eius Widone”, by charter dated to [1091/1120], witnessed by “Hugone sororio suo de Hosdenc et Ricardo Oliuier...”[944].

3. MATILDA (-after [1107]). “Willielmus Bigot, dapifer regis Anglorum” confirmed donations to Thetford Priory, including the donations of “terræ in Daneseia, de maritagio prædictæ Matildis” made by “Hugo de Hosdene et uxor eius Matildis”, by undated charter dated to the reign of King Henry I[945]. Her parentage is confirmed by the charter dated to [1091/1120] which records the donation made to Saint-Wandrille by “Willelmi Bigot”, witnessed by “Hugone sororio suo de Hosdenc...”[946]. The Complete Peerage dates this charter to [1107][947]. m HUGUES de Hosdenc, son of --- (-after [1107]).

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http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p225.htm#i26070 Adelicia de Tosny of Belvoir1 b. circa 1070? Adelicia de Tosny of Belvoir|b. c 1070?|p225.htm#i26070|Robert de Tosny of Belvoir|b. c 1020?|p225.htm#i26071|Adelais (?)||p243.htm#i27462||||||||||||| Father Robert de Tosny of Belvoir2,1,3 b. circa 1020? Mother Adelais (?)3

    Adelicia de Tosny of Belvoir was daughter and eventual heiress of Robert de Tosny of Belvoir.1 She was born circa 1070?. She was the daughter of Robert de Tosny of Belvoir and Adelais (?).2,1,3 Adelicia de Tosny of Belvoir married Roger "the Sheriff" le Bigod, son of Robert le Bigod.2,1,4 Adelicia de Tosny of Belvoir became the heiress to Belvoir on the death without issue of her eldest sister Albreda, some time between 1115/18 and 1129.3 She occurs as lady of Belvoir on the Pipe Roll in 1129/30.5 She appeared in a writ of King Stephen circa 1136.5 Family 	Roger "the Sheriff" le Bigod b. circa 1060?, d. 1107 Children	

* Maud Bigod+ b. c 1090?6,3

   * Gunnor Bigod+ b. c 10923

   * William Bigod b. c 1095, d. 26 Nov 11193

   * Cicely de Belvoir+ b. c 1105?2

   * Hugh le Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk+ b. b 1107, d. 1177

Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For some time he was thought to have two wives, Adelaide/Adeliza and Alice de Tosny. It is now believed these were the same woman, Adeliza(Alice) de Tosny(Toeni,Toeny). She was the sister and coheiress of William de Tosny, Lord of Belvoir.

• Adeliza De Toni born Abt 1064 Of St Saveur, France died Aft 1135

father:

• Robert De Toeni born Abt 1038 Of, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England died Aug 1088 buried Belvoir, Leicestershire, England

mother:

• Adeliza wife of Robert De Toeni born Abt 1035 Of Leicestershire, England died Bef 1088 (end of information)

siblings: William De Tosny born Abt 1060 Of, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England Beringar (Berenger) De Toeni born Abt 1066 Of Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England died Abt 1116 Geoffry De Toeni born Abt 1068 Of Belvoir Castle , Leicestershire, England Robert De Toeni born Abt 1071 Of Belvoir Castl, , Leicestershire, England William Toeni born Abt 1072 Of Belvoir Castl, , Leicestershire, England Agnes De Toeni born Abt 1074 Of Belvoir Castl, , Leicestershire, England Eudo De Toeni born Abt 1078 Of Belvoir Castle, , Leicestershire, England

spouse:

• Roger Bigod born Abt 1060 Of, St Saveur, Normandy, France or Norfolk Co., England christened Of Framlingham, Suffolk, England died 8 or 15 Sept 1107 Egersham, Norfolk, England buried Thetford, Norfolk, England married Abt 1098 Of Leicestershire, England

children:

• Gunnor or Gunnora Bigod born Abt 1096 Of Norfolk, England
• Hugh Bigod born Abt 1095 Of, Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England christened Of, Framlingham, Suffolk, England died Bef 6 Mar 1176 Thetford Abbey, Norfolk, England buried Thetford Abbey, Norfolk, England
• Maud (Mary) Bigod born Abt 1080 Of Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England Cicely Bigod born Abt 1106 Of, Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England

biographical and/or anecdotal:

notes or source: LDS

Adelicia de Tosny of Belvoir became the heiress to Belvoir on the death without issue of her eldest sister Albreda, some time between 1115/18 and 1129. She occurs as lady of Belvoir on the Pipe Roll in 1129/30. She appeared in a writ of King Stephen circa 1136.

Adelicia was our ancestor through three distinct descent lines--through her daughter Maud, he daughter Gunnor, and her son Hugh.

See "My Lines" ( http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p225.htm#i26070 ) from Compiler: R. B. Stewart, Evans, GA ( http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/index.htm )

An excellent article by Judith Green about the complexities of the honour of Belvoir (including Belvoir castle) which was held by the de Tosny family and then inherited through Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony) who married Roger Bigod, and who was the mother of both Maud Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Pincerna" or the Butler) and Cecily Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Brito" the Breton), and who inherited Belvoir and passed it along to her d'Aubigny descendants, can be read at:

The Descent of Belvoir By Judith A. Green (The Queen's University of Belfast) Prosopon Newsletter Copyright © Judith A. Green, 1999 WEBSITE: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~prosop/prosopon/issue10-2.pdf

Find A Grave:[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=86018923]

Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony/Toni), Heiress Of Belvoir, was the daughter of Robert de Toeni, Lord of Belvoir and Adeliza FitzOsulf du Plessis, Heiress of Belvoir. It is believed that she was born in circa 1064 at either Belvoir in Leicestershire, England, or Saint-Sauveur in Calvados, Normandy, France.

An excellent article by Judith Green about the complexities of the honour of Belvoir (including Belvoir castle) which was held by the de Tosny family and then inherited through Adeliza de Tosny (de Toeni/Tony) who married Roger Bigod, and who was the mother of both Maud Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Pincerna" or the Butler) and Cecily Bigod (who married William d'Aubigny "Brito" the Breton), and who inherited Belvoir and passed it along to her d'Aubigny descendants, can be read at:

The Descent of Belvoir By Judith A. Green (The Queen's University of Belfast) Prosopon Newsletter Copyright © Judith A. Green, 1999 WEBSITE: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~prosop/prosopon/issue10-2.pdf

Family links:

Parents:

 Robert De Todeni (____ - 1088)

Spouse:

 Roger de Bigod (1066 - 1107)

Children:

 Maud Bigod D'Aubigny*

 Hugh Bigod (1095 - 1175)*

*Calculated relationship www.findagrave.com

Adeliza De Tosny, Heiress Of Belvoir
BIRTH 1064
DEATH 1135 (aged 70–71)
Belvoir, Melton Borough, Leicestershire, England
BURIAL
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Lyre
La Vieille-Lyre, Departement de l'Eure, Haute-Normandie, France
MEMORIAL ID 86018923

Family Members
Parents

Robert de Todeni
unknown–1093
Adeliza FitzOsulf Du Plessis De Todeni
1027–1088

Spouse
Roger de Bigod
unknown–1107

Children
Maud Bigod D'Aubigny
1083–1136
Cecilia Bigod d'Aubigny
1093–1135
Hugh Bigod
1095–1175
William Bigod
1101–1120
Burial: Lyre Abbey La Vieille-Lyre Departement de l'Eure Haute-Normandie, France