Marguerite’s father is William fitz Robert, a knight who’s father (Robert fitz Rainulf) came to Britain with William the Conqueror’s army. Robert fitz Rainulf was knighted and given three parcels of land (one in the Forest of Dean, one outside of Oxford and the third in the Welsh Marches) as a reward for his efforts.
Her mother was Nest verch Hywel Ddu, the only surviving child of Hywel Ddu a breyr in the cwmwd of Uwch Mynydd in the cantref of Elfael.
Her parents’ marriage was an alliance between neighboring Norman and Welsh nobility during the Norman rule of the Marches during the reign of Henri I. Since the two had been on friendly terms since childhood (Nest’s brother, Rhys had been a friend of William), it was a happy marriage.
Marguerite, the third of three children (she had two older brothers, William and Robert) was born on Midsummer day in the 33rd year of the reign of Henri I at her grandfathers’ manor of Pantyceffyl in the Cantref of Elfael on the Welsh Marches. It was her mother’s family’s tradition that one daughter would hold the position of anchoress in a small nearby chapel. As her grandparents’ only granddaughter she was chosen to succeed her grandfather’s sister in this position. As a result, her great aunt (the current anchoress) schooled her in reading (Latin, Welsh, French, and Greek), also in writing (even though her aunt pronounced her writing to resemble the scratching of barn fowl), mathematics, logic, and herb lore (many of the locals relied on the anchoress for physicks).
In the 12th year of the reign of King Stephen, the Pope, Eugene III, issued a Papal Bull calling for a crusade to free Jerusalem from the Saracens. Since she was destined to become an anchoress it was decided that Marguerite would accompany her father and brothers on the pilgrimage to free Jerusalem, her mother also went to act as chaperone for the 14 year old Marguerite. Her grandmother (also named Marguerite) secured a position for them, through a cousin serving in the court at Poitiers, with the Poitivin party accompanying Eleanore of Aquitaine, Louis the VII’s Queen. Just before sailing to Poitiers their party was joined by a group of archers and men-at-arms from Dublin, led by a distant cousin. When they arrived in Poitiers the troop of fighting men were gladly accepted into the fighting force of Poitivins. Marguerite and her mother took places with Queen Eleanore’s ladies.
When they finally reached Jerusalem, the depredations of the journey had taken its toll and both of her bothers died, leaving Marguerite as the sole surviving child.
They continued with the Queen’s party until her meeting with Pope Eugene III at Tusculum, where they gathered up the remnants of their original party and began their homeward journey.
Marguerite’s life took a major turn when the party arrived home. Now that she was the sole surviving child she found herself as the heir of her grandfather’s land in Wales as well as her father’s lands under Norman rule. Her parents and grandfather took counsel together and with William’s widowed mother, Marguerite (who had acted as chatelaine while William and his family were on pilgrimage). Their first decision was that Marguerite’s cousin, Angharad, would have to replace her as the apprentice anchoress as all were determined to see their lands pass on to Marguerite and her children.
That was the next point, a husband. They couldn't choose a Cymry because then Marguerite would become part of his family and lose her claims to her grandfathers’ lands and a Norman would likely antagonize the Cymru who lived on her grandfathers’ lands, most of whom weren't serfs but distant kin (and a Flemish or Saxon husband was completely out of the question). They finally decided on Bjorn, one of the Irishmen who had traveled to the Holy Land with them. As the younger son of a noble Norman-Irish family he satisfied William. And as distant kin (Bjorn was related to Marguerite through his maternal grandmother - nearly close enough to himself be considered a potential heir) he satisfied Hywell, and the gwelly respected him for his fighting skills.
Marguerite (39 years old) is now the Lady of Pantyceffyl and she and her husband act as stewards for her father’s lands (her father, although very aged is still alive - he lives with them at Pantyceffyl). She has three sons; the two eldest William and Robert are currently somewhere in France serving the Young King (Henri II’s eldest son), Leo, the youngest, has taken his placed in the hall of Einion Clud, Prince Elfael.
Note: I have not cited any of my bibliography in this section as I found myself gleaning material from a wide base of sources many of which reinforced the information that I had found in previous material. Instead I am merely listing those sources that I found the most useful.
Bibliography:
Bagley, John J. Life in Medieval England. London: Batsford, 1961.
Barber, Richard. Pilgrimages. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1991.
—. The Reign of Chivalry. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980.
Bartlett, Robert. England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings, 1075-1225. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Brooke, Christopher. A History of England. Vols. From Alfred to Henry III, 871-1272, Volume II. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1961. V vols.
Carpenter, David A. The Stuggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1284. London: Penguin Books, 2004.
Carr, Anthony D. Medieval Wales. Houndmills, Basinstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan Press, 1995.
Davies, John. A History of Wales. London: Penguin Books, 1990.
Evans, Rev. John, B.A. A Popular History of the Ancient Britons or the Welsh People - From the Earliest Time to the End of the Nineteenth Century. London: Elliot Stock, 1901.
Gerald of Wales, (Giraldus Cambrensis). A Journey Through Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
—. The Description of Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
Gravett, Christopher. The World of the Medieval Knight. New York, New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1996.
Hallam, Elizabeth, ed. The Plantagenet Chronicles. New York, New York: Weidefeld & Nicolson, 1986.
Hinds, Kathryn. Medieval England. New York: Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, 2002.
Hodgson, Natasha R. Women, Crusading and in the Holy Land in Historical Narrative. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2007.
Holmes, Urban Tigner. Daily Living in the Twelfth Century. University of Wisconsin Press, 1966.
Hywel. The Law of Hywell Dda: Texts from Medieval Wales, Trans. D. Jenkins. Gomer Press, 2004.
Jones, David E. Women Warriors: A History. Washigton DC: Brassey's, 1997.
Kelly, Amy. Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950.
Kerr, Nigel and Mary. A Guide to Medieval Sites in Britain. London: Paladin-Grafton Books, 1989.
King, Edmund. Medieval England: 1099-1485. Oxford: Phaidon, 1988.
Loyn, H.R. The Making of the English Nation: From the Anglo-Saxons to Edward I. London: Thames and Hudson, 1991.
Malmesbury, William of. Chronicle of the Kings of England, from the earliest period to the reign of King Stephen. Trans. J.A., D.C.L. Giles. London: Henry G Bohn, 1947.
Morris, Jan. The Matter of Wales: Epic Views of a Small Country. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Ohler, Norbert. The Medieval Traveller. Trans. Caroline Hillier. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2010.
Poole, Austin Lane. From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087-1216. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955.
—. Medieval England Vol I. Vol. I. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958.
—. Medieval England Vol II. Vol. II. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958.
Rees, William. An Historical Atlas of Wales - From Early to Modern Times. London: Faber and Faber, 1972.
Rhys, John and David Brynmor-Jones. The Welsh People; Chapters on thier Origin, History, Laws, Language, Literature and Characteristics. New York, New York: Haskell House, 1969.
Rosenthal, Joel Thomas. Angles, Angels and Conquerors. New York: Knopf, 1973.
Round, John Horace. Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. London: Allen & Uwin, 1964.
Rowley, Trevor. The Norman Heritage, 1055-1200. London: Rourledge & Kegan Paul, 1983.
Ruby, Jennifer. Medieval Times. London: B.T. Batsford, Ltd., 1989.
Saul, Nigel, ed. England in Europe, 1066-1453. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.
Stark, Rodney. God's Batallions: The Case for the Crusades. New York, New York: HarperOne, 2009.
Tomkeieff, Olive G. Life in Norman England. London: B.T. Batsford, Ltd., 1966.
Tyerman, Christopher. England and the Crusades, 1095-1588. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Walker, David. Medieval Wales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
William of Newburgh, Trans. J. Stevenson. Book 1 Seeley's London 1861. "William of Newburgh: History." 1996. Medeival Sourcebook. Fordham University. 12 July 2008 <http://fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html>.
Williams, Gwyn A. When Was Wales?: A History of the Welsh. London: Black Raven Press, 1985.
Her mother was Nest verch Hywel Ddu, the only surviving child of Hywel Ddu a breyr in the cwmwd of Uwch Mynydd in the cantref of Elfael.
Her parents’ marriage was an alliance between neighboring Norman and Welsh nobility during the Norman rule of the Marches during the reign of Henri I. Since the two had been on friendly terms since childhood (Nest’s brother, Rhys had been a friend of William), it was a happy marriage.
Marguerite, the third of three children (she had two older brothers, William and Robert) was born on Midsummer day in the 33rd year of the reign of Henri I at her grandfathers’ manor of Pantyceffyl in the Cantref of Elfael on the Welsh Marches. It was her mother’s family’s tradition that one daughter would hold the position of anchoress in a small nearby chapel. As her grandparents’ only granddaughter she was chosen to succeed her grandfather’s sister in this position. As a result, her great aunt (the current anchoress) schooled her in reading (Latin, Welsh, French, and Greek), also in writing (even though her aunt pronounced her writing to resemble the scratching of barn fowl), mathematics, logic, and herb lore (many of the locals relied on the anchoress for physicks).
In the 12th year of the reign of King Stephen, the Pope, Eugene III, issued a Papal Bull calling for a crusade to free Jerusalem from the Saracens. Since she was destined to become an anchoress it was decided that Marguerite would accompany her father and brothers on the pilgrimage to free Jerusalem, her mother also went to act as chaperone for the 14 year old Marguerite. Her grandmother (also named Marguerite) secured a position for them, through a cousin serving in the court at Poitiers, with the Poitivin party accompanying Eleanore of Aquitaine, Louis the VII’s Queen. Just before sailing to Poitiers their party was joined by a group of archers and men-at-arms from Dublin, led by a distant cousin. When they arrived in Poitiers the troop of fighting men were gladly accepted into the fighting force of Poitivins. Marguerite and her mother took places with Queen Eleanore’s ladies.
When they finally reached Jerusalem, the depredations of the journey had taken its toll and both of her bothers died, leaving Marguerite as the sole surviving child.
They continued with the Queen’s party until her meeting with Pope Eugene III at Tusculum, where they gathered up the remnants of their original party and began their homeward journey.
Marguerite’s life took a major turn when the party arrived home. Now that she was the sole surviving child she found herself as the heir of her grandfather’s land in Wales as well as her father’s lands under Norman rule. Her parents and grandfather took counsel together and with William’s widowed mother, Marguerite (who had acted as chatelaine while William and his family were on pilgrimage). Their first decision was that Marguerite’s cousin, Angharad, would have to replace her as the apprentice anchoress as all were determined to see their lands pass on to Marguerite and her children.
That was the next point, a husband. They couldn't choose a Cymry because then Marguerite would become part of his family and lose her claims to her grandfathers’ lands and a Norman would likely antagonize the Cymru who lived on her grandfathers’ lands, most of whom weren't serfs but distant kin (and a Flemish or Saxon husband was completely out of the question). They finally decided on Bjorn, one of the Irishmen who had traveled to the Holy Land with them. As the younger son of a noble Norman-Irish family he satisfied William. And as distant kin (Bjorn was related to Marguerite through his maternal grandmother - nearly close enough to himself be considered a potential heir) he satisfied Hywell, and the gwelly respected him for his fighting skills.
Marguerite (39 years old) is now the Lady of Pantyceffyl and she and her husband act as stewards for her father’s lands (her father, although very aged is still alive - he lives with them at Pantyceffyl). She has three sons; the two eldest William and Robert are currently somewhere in France serving the Young King (Henri II’s eldest son), Leo, the youngest, has taken his placed in the hall of Einion Clud, Prince Elfael.
Note: I have not cited any of my bibliography in this section as I found myself gleaning material from a wide base of sources many of which reinforced the information that I had found in previous material. Instead I am merely listing those sources that I found the most useful.
Bibliography:
Bagley, John J. Life in Medieval England. London: Batsford, 1961.
Barber, Richard. Pilgrimages. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1991.
—. The Reign of Chivalry. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980.
Bartlett, Robert. England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings, 1075-1225. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Brooke, Christopher. A History of England. Vols. From Alfred to Henry III, 871-1272, Volume II. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1961. V vols.
Carpenter, David A. The Stuggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1284. London: Penguin Books, 2004.
Carr, Anthony D. Medieval Wales. Houndmills, Basinstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan Press, 1995.
Davies, John. A History of Wales. London: Penguin Books, 1990.
Evans, Rev. John, B.A. A Popular History of the Ancient Britons or the Welsh People - From the Earliest Time to the End of the Nineteenth Century. London: Elliot Stock, 1901.
Gerald of Wales, (Giraldus Cambrensis). A Journey Through Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
—. The Description of Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
Gravett, Christopher. The World of the Medieval Knight. New York, New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1996.
Hallam, Elizabeth, ed. The Plantagenet Chronicles. New York, New York: Weidefeld & Nicolson, 1986.
Hinds, Kathryn. Medieval England. New York: Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, 2002.
Hodgson, Natasha R. Women, Crusading and in the Holy Land in Historical Narrative. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2007.
Holmes, Urban Tigner. Daily Living in the Twelfth Century. University of Wisconsin Press, 1966.
Hywel. The Law of Hywell Dda: Texts from Medieval Wales, Trans. D. Jenkins. Gomer Press, 2004.
Jones, David E. Women Warriors: A History. Washigton DC: Brassey's, 1997.
Kelly, Amy. Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950.
Kerr, Nigel and Mary. A Guide to Medieval Sites in Britain. London: Paladin-Grafton Books, 1989.
King, Edmund. Medieval England: 1099-1485. Oxford: Phaidon, 1988.
Loyn, H.R. The Making of the English Nation: From the Anglo-Saxons to Edward I. London: Thames and Hudson, 1991.
Malmesbury, William of. Chronicle of the Kings of England, from the earliest period to the reign of King Stephen. Trans. J.A., D.C.L. Giles. London: Henry G Bohn, 1947.
Morris, Jan. The Matter of Wales: Epic Views of a Small Country. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Ohler, Norbert. The Medieval Traveller. Trans. Caroline Hillier. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2010.
Poole, Austin Lane. From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087-1216. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955.
—. Medieval England Vol I. Vol. I. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958.
—. Medieval England Vol II. Vol. II. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958.
Rees, William. An Historical Atlas of Wales - From Early to Modern Times. London: Faber and Faber, 1972.
Rhys, John and David Brynmor-Jones. The Welsh People; Chapters on thier Origin, History, Laws, Language, Literature and Characteristics. New York, New York: Haskell House, 1969.
Rosenthal, Joel Thomas. Angles, Angels and Conquerors. New York: Knopf, 1973.
Round, John Horace. Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. London: Allen & Uwin, 1964.
Rowley, Trevor. The Norman Heritage, 1055-1200. London: Rourledge & Kegan Paul, 1983.
Ruby, Jennifer. Medieval Times. London: B.T. Batsford, Ltd., 1989.
Saul, Nigel, ed. England in Europe, 1066-1453. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.
Stark, Rodney. God's Batallions: The Case for the Crusades. New York, New York: HarperOne, 2009.
Tomkeieff, Olive G. Life in Norman England. London: B.T. Batsford, Ltd., 1966.
Tyerman, Christopher. England and the Crusades, 1095-1588. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Walker, David. Medieval Wales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
William of Newburgh, Trans. J. Stevenson. Book 1 Seeley's London 1861. "William of Newburgh: History." 1996. Medeival Sourcebook. Fordham University. 12 July 2008 <http://fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html>.
Williams, Gwyn A. When Was Wales?: A History of the Welsh. London: Black Raven Press, 1985.