Humphrey of Vieilles [c], Seigneur of Vieilles and Pont-Audemer, b abt 978, Normandy, d 1044, Normandy. He md Aubreye de la Haye abt 1000. She was b abt 984, d 1045.
Child of Humphrey of Vieilles and Aubreye de la Haye was:

• Sir Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan, b abt 1049. See LINE A
• Sir Henry de Newburgh, 1st Earl of Warwick, b abt 1054. See LINE B

• Adeline de Beaumont b abt 1099, of Leicestershire, England. She md Hugh de Montfort, aka Hugh de Gant, abt 1112, son of Sir Gilbert de Gant and Alice de Montfort.
• Sir Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, Justiciar of England, b 1104. See LINE A1
• Sir Waleran de Beaumont, Earl of Worcester, b 1104. See LINE A2
• Isabel de Beaumont b abt 1112, Leicestershire, England, d aft 1172. She md Gilbert Fitz Gilbert de Clare bef 1130, Tonbridge, Kent, England, son of Sir Gilbert Fitz Richard, Earl of Clare, and Adelize/Alice de Clermont.
• Maud de Beaumont b abt 1115, Leicestershire, England, d aft 1189; md William de Lovel.

LINE A1
Sir Robert de Beaumont [f], Earl of Leicester, Justiciar of England, Knight, b 1104, Beaumont, Leicestershire, England, d 5 Apr 1168. He md Amice de Montfort aft Nov 1120, daughter of Ralph de Gael de Montford.
Children of Robert de Beaumont and Amice de Montfort were:

• Sir Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, b 1121.
• Isabel de Beaumont b abt 1123, Leicestershire, England, d aft May 1188. She md Sir Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Northampton, abt 1137, son of Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton, and Maud of Huntingdon.
• Margaret de Beaumont b 1125, Leicestershire, England, d aft 1185. She md Sir Ralph V de Toeni, Lord of Flamstead, aft 1155, son of Sir Roger III de Toeni, Lord of Flamstead, and Ida of Hainault.
• Hawise de Beaumont b abt 1128, Leicestershire, England, d 24 Apr 1197. She md Sir William Fitz Robert, Earl of Gloucester, abt 1150, son of Sir Robert de Caen, Earl of Gloucester, and Maud Fitz Hamon.
Sir Robert de Beaumont [g], Earl of Leicester, b 1121, Beaumont, Leicestershire, England, d 31 Aug 1190, Durazzo, Greece. He md Petronilla de Grandmesnil [h] abt 1153, daughter of William de Grandmesnil.
Children of Robert de Beaumont and Petronilla de Grandmesnil were:

• Margaret de Beaumont b abt 1156, Hampshire, England, d 12 Jan 1234/35. She md Sir Saher de Quincy, Magna Carta Surety, Earl of Winchester, bef 1173, son of Sir Robert de Quincy, Knight, and Orabella de Leuchars.
• Amicia de Beaumont b abt 1158. She md Simon de Montfort 1173.
LINE A2
Sir Waleran de Beaumont [i], Earl of Worcester, Count of Meulan, b 1104, Meulan, Isle de France, France, d 10 Apr 1166, Normandy, France. He md Agnes/Elizabeth de Montfort abt 1140, daughter of Amauri de Montfort, Count of Evreux, and Agnes de Garlende.
Children of Waleran de Beaumont and Agnes de Montfort were:
• Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, b abt 1141.
• Isabel of Meulan b abt 1144, of Meulan, Normandy, France. She md Maurice de Craon abt 1156, son of Hugh de Craon and Isabel de Vitre.
Robert de Beaumont [j], Count of Meulan, b abt 1141, of Meulan, Normandy, France, d Oct 1207, Palestine. He md Maud Fitz Roy 1165, Cornwall, England, daughter of Sir Reginald Fitz Roy, Earl of Cornwall, and Mabel Fitz Richard.
Child of Robert de Beaumont and Maud Fitz Roy was:


Maud/Mabel de Beaumont b abt 1168, Normandy, France, d aft 1 May 1204. She md Sir William de Vernon, Earl of Devon, abt 1185, son of Baldwin de Reviers and Adelise.

Sir Roger de Newburgh [l], Earl of Warwick, b abt 1105, Warwick, Warwickshire, England, d 12 Jun 1153, Warwickshire, England. He md Gundred de Warenne bef 1130, daughter of Sir William II de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and Isabel de Vermandois.
Child of Roger de Newburgh and Gundred de Warenne was:

Sir Waleran de Newburgh [m], Earl of Warwick, b abt 1146, Warwick, Warwickshire, England, d 12 Dec 1204. He md [1] Margery de Bohun abt 1168, and [2] Alice de Harcourt abt 1185, Warwickshire, England, daughter of Sir Robert de Harcourt, Knight, and Isabel de Camville.
Child of Waleran de Newburgh and Alice de Harcourt was:

Alice de Newburgh [n] b 1198, prob Warwickshire, England, d bef 1263, of Hanslope, Buckinghamshire, England. She md Sir William Mauduit, Chamberlain of the Exchequer, abt Apr 1217, Hanslope, Buckinghamshire, England, son of Robert Mauduit and Isabel Basset.

NOTES:
Much of the pre-history of the Beaumont line derives from the writings of Robert de Torigny, who penned the genealogical account of Duchess Gunnora and her three sisters, and their descendants. While subsequent scholars to Torigny acknowledge there are errors in his accounts, his work has, nevertheless, provided valuable genealogical clues. While some of de Torigny's specific details may not have been entirely accurate, there are numerous threads of truth throughout his work, which have provided clues as to the derivations of such families as Beaumont, Harcourt, the Norman dukes, and the Giffards and Bolebecs.

It should be noted that the earliest generations of this line were not typically identified as "de Beaumont", but more often as "de Meulan."


a. Seen variously as Torf, Torulf, Thorold, his brother is believed to have been Turchetil, progenitor of the Harcourts.

b. One of the three known sisters of Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy, who was the wife of Richard I of Normandy, and grandmother of William the Conqueror. To see a notional chart of her familial connections, click HERE.

c. Seigneur of Vieilles and Pont-Audemer in Normandy, he was one of the followers of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and appears as a witness in ducal charters among the great lords of Normandy. He founded two monasteries at Preux, namely St. Pierre, for monks, before 1035, and St. Leger, for nuns, about 1040. He is said to have become a monk at St. Pierre-de Preux, where he was buried. He left three sons, Roger "de Bello Monte", Robert (to whom was given lands in the Contentin, by Duke William), and William, as well as a daughter, Dunelme.

d. Eldest son of his father, he appears to have remained faithful to Duke William during the disturbances of his early reign, during which he defeated and slew Roger de Tosny. Said to have furnished 60 ships for the invasion of England, but did not participate in such, as he remained in Normandy as the principle adviser of the Duchess Maud, to whom the government of the duchy was entrusted. Up until 1082, he constantly appears as a witness to the charters of William the Conqueror. At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, he held land in Dorset and Gloucestershire. Around 1088, he founded the collegiate church of the Holy Trinity at Beaumont-le-Roger, and was a benefactor of St. Pierre-de Preux and St. Wandrille. Shortly after 1090, Roger became a monk at the Abbey of Preux. He is known to have had two sons (Robert, Earl of Leicester, and Henry, Earl of Warwick) and one daughter, Aubreye. The day of his death was 3 December, but the year is not known.

e. He was also Seigneur of Beaumont, Pont-Audemer, Brionne, and Vatteville, in Normandy upon succession to this father. He accompanied Duke William to England, and distinguished himself at the battle of Hastings, whereupon he received large grants of lands in Warwickshire, with smaller holdings in Leicester, Northants, and Wiltshire. In 1080, he witnessed a foundation charter as Robert de Bellomonte, and the following year he inherited from his mother's family, the Comte of Meulan. After the Conqueror's death, Robert was an adherent of William Rufus, in whose court he was in high favor. With his holdings in Normandy and vast possessions in Warwick and Leicester, he was one of the most powerful vassals of the Crown. When William Rufus invaded the French Vexin in 1097, he received his troops in his fortresses from the Count of Meulan. After Rufus' death, Robert became of the chief advisors of Henry I, and upon the death, on Crusade, of Ives de Grandmesnil, Robert retained his very extensive estates, which Ives had mortgaged to him around 1102. He was present with the King's army at Tinchebrai 28 Sep 1106, and in 1110 he was besieged at Meulan by Louis VI, who took the castle by storm, whereupon the following year Robert retaliated by plundering Paris. He was buried at the Abbey of Preux with his ancestors. While he is said to have been Earl of Leicester, there is disagreement that he did, in fact, acquire the earldom.

f. Twin of Waleran, both younger sons, Robert was commonly called "Le Bossu". Both Robert and Waleran were brought up in the court of Henry I, and accompanied him at his interview of Pope Calixtus at Gisors, Nov 1119, where they "astonished the Cardinals by their learning". On 8 Sep 1131, Robert was one of the five earls who witnessed Henry's charter to Salisbury at the Norhampton Council (the others being Robert of Gloucester, William of Warenne, Ranulf of Chester, and Roger of Warwick). During the anarchy which followed Stephen's accession, Robert engaged in private warfare with his hereditary enemy Roger de Tosny, whom he, with the aid of his brother, Waleran, captured. In 1137, the twins return to England with Stephen, during which time his Norman possessions were overrun, a result of his rivalry with Roger de Tosny. In Jun 1139, the two brothers took a leading role in the seizure of the Bishops of Salisbury and Lincoln, and around this time, Robert received from Stephen a grant as Earl of Leicester, as well as to his heirs the majority of the town and castle of Hereford. But as Miles of Gloucester had already taken possession of the county for the Empress, this grant cannot have been as effectual as Stephen's intentions had intended. After Stephen's defeat 2 Feb 1141, it appears that her son, Henry II, in anticipation of his succession to the throne, gave Robert and his son, Robert, charters "restoring" to them the lands already held of Robert the elder, and granting them the Stewardship of England and of Normandy, which actions, no doubt, secured their support. Robert was with Henry at the siege of Torigny in Oct 1154, just prior to Henry's accession, and attended his coronation in Dec 1154, and afterwards rapidly rose in the King's favor. He became Steward of England and Normandy, was made Justiciar the following year, and during the King's absence from England (Dec 1158 until 25 Jan 1163/64) he acted as Viceroy, part of this time sharing these duties with Richard de Luci. He took part in the Crown's struggle with Thomas a Becket. In 1165, during the King's absence, he again acted as Viceroy, and was with the King the following Spring in Normandy, but was again in England the following October. By his marriage to the granddaughter of William Fitz Osbern, he acquired a large part of that inheritance in Normandy and England.

g. Only son, he first appears in 1153 when he received a charter from Henry, son of the Empress, "restoring" to him the lands then held by his father, as mentioned above. Additionally this charter granted to him the Dapifership of England and Normandy. Unlike his father, Robert took a rebellious course soon after succeeding his father, by supporting the cause of the "young King" Henry, son of Henry II, when the younger Henry revolted in 1173. The King immediately confiscated Robert's estates and attacked the town of Leicester, which was taken and burned 28 July, this while Robert had retreated to Normandy and taken cover in his fortress at Breteuil. On 8 Aug the King arrived in Normandy and captured Breteuil, again burning it, but not before Robert had fled to safety. Then, on 29 Sep 1173, Robert landed at Walton in Suffolk, with a force of Flemish mercenaries, where he was joined by Hugh Bigod, the Earl of Norfolk, whence their combined forces plundered Norwich. Robert's castle at Leicester had withstood the King's ravages of the town the previous July, so he endeavored to make his way there, but encountered the King's forces under Richard de Luci, at Fornham, near Bury, Suffolk. In the ensuing fight, Robert and his forces were completely defeated, and he was captured, along with his Countess. He and his wife were sent to the King in Normandy, where he imprisoned them in Falaise, and upon the King's return to England in Jul 1374, they were again brought with him. Henry then extorted from Robert the surrender of his strongholds of Leicester, Mount Sorrel, and Groby. The Earl and Countess were then taken back to Normandy 8 Aug, but the treaty of peace between the King and his sons of 30 Sep 1174, stipulated for their release. Henry, however, demolished Leicester Castle. No longer a menace, his revolt having been crushed, in Jan 1176/77, at the Council of Northampton, Robert had restored to him all of his castles, except Mount Sorrel. He went back to Normandy, and is said to have gone on pilgrimage in 1179, and does not appear in the records again until the spring of 1183, when he was once more under suspicion. While arrested and imprisoned along with his brother-in-law, the Earl of Gloucester, he was obviously released, and back in favor with the Court by late 1186. At the coronation of Richard I on 3 Sep 1189, he carried one of the Swords of State. After witnessing a chart on 1 Dec following, he then set out on Crusade to Jerusalem, but died on his way back in 1190, at Durazzo.

h. Petronilla (or Pernel), long thought to be daughter of Hugh de Grandmesnil, has recently been found to be daughter of William de Grandmesnil, son of Robert de Grandmesnil (who was his father's successor to Grandmesnil), he son of Hugh de Grandmesnil, the Domesday tenant. By this succession, she brought to her husband the honor of Grandmesnil in Normandy.

i. As mentioned above, he was twin brother to the second Earl of Leicester, both sons of Robert, Count of Meulan and his wife Isabel de Vermandois, and after their father's death in 1118, they were brought up at the Court of Henry I, "out of gratitude to their father". Besides inheriting the comte of Meulan in the French Vexin, he received his father's Norman baronies, with the castles of Pontaudemer, Brionne, and Beaumont along the valley of the Risle, and the castle of Vatteville on the Seine, as well as lands in England which had been held by his grandfather. He was a loyal supporter of King Henry I, but in 1123, Waleran, with his twin brother Robert, were drawn into a conspiracy by William Clito, the son of Robert Curthose, whence King Henry took up arms in October and captured the castle of Montfort and Pontaudemer. The following March, King Henry besieged the castle of Vatteville, when Waleran, on his way back to Beaumont, was intercepted by a royal force on 26 March. He was captured and imprisoned successively at Rouen, Bridgnorth, and Wallingford, the latter in 1129, when the King set him free, and restored to him all of his lands and castles, excepting Pontaudemer. Thereafter he appears to have stood by the monarch, and was with him at Lions castle when he died, 1 Dec 1135, whereupon Stephen hastened to secure his support. Stephen gave Waleran the castle of Montfort-sur-Risle, betrothed his 2-year-old daughter to the Count, and also gave him the city of Worcester. Waleran was with King Stephen at Westminster, Easter, 1136, after which he returned to Normandy to join his brother, Robert, in fighting their hereditary enemy, Roger de Tosny, whom they eventually captured 3 Oct 1136. Early in 1138, Waleran drove the King of Scots from the siege of Wark Castle, and in May following, he returned to Normandy, once again to fight his old enemy Roger de Tosny (who had been released by Stepehn). The Angevins having invaded Normandy in June, he marched against them in July. It was probably in the latter part of 1138 that he was created Earl of Worcester. With his brother Robert, he played a major part in the arrest of the Bishop, Roger of Salisbury. He was one of the three Earls who remained loyal to Stephen during his captivity. He joined the Queen when she recovered London in June 1140/40, but by the end of 1141, he abandoned Stephen and came terms with Geoffrey Plantagenet, who confirmed him in the possession of the castle at Montfort-sur-Risle; it is believed that he changed sides in order to protect his vast Norman estates, and also saw Stephen's cause as hopeless. Around 1144 he went on Pilgrimage to St. James of Campostela, and on Palm Sunday in 1146, he took the cross with the King of France, his half-brother (the Earl of Surrey) and many others. He set forth with the Crusaders in June 1147, of which there is no record of his deeds, but on his way home, his ship was caught in a storm and wrecked, just off the south coast of France, but he and his companions were able to make it safely to the coast on their own. In 1150, after Geoffrey Plantagenet resigned his Duchy of Normandy to his son, Henry, Waleran acted as one of the young Duke's Justiciars. In 1153 he was seized at a conference by his nephew, Robert de Montfort, who imprisoned him at Orbec, and he was compelled to surrender the castle of Monfort-sur-Risle in order to regain his freedom. His attempt to regain the castle met with defeat. There is no evidence that he ever returned to England after the accession of Henry II, nor that he held the earldom of Worcester after Henry II came to power. However he appears to have remained on good terms with the King, for he attested to several royal charters in Normandy. He was a benefactor to and founder of many religious institutions in England and Normandy, among them being Bordesley, St. Peter at Gloucester, le Valasse, Jumieges, le Bec, Preux, Lire, St. Wandrille, Gournay-sur-Marne, St. Nicaise of Meulan, St. Pere at Chartres, and Tiron. His first wife was Maud, a daughter of King Stephen, married when she was but two years of age; she died in childhood, probably in or before 1141, when he then married Agnes, daughter of Amauri de Montfort. She survived him by 15 years, he having died in 1166, shortly after becoming a monk at Preux.

j. First suriviving son and heir of Waleran, Robert was born probably about 1142. He succeeded to the comte of Meulan and his father's Norman baronies, as well as to several small estates in England. In 1173, he adhered to the young King Henry in his revolt against Henry II, but was reconciled with the King, as he witnessed the treaty of Falaise between the Kings of England and Scotland in August 1175. Holding lands in both England and Normandy, the conflict between Philip Augustus and the Kings of England placed him in a difficult position and ultimately brought about his ruin. Playing both sides in order to protect his position and estates, he made a last-ditch attempt to save them by handing all over to his daughter and her husband, the Earl of Devon, 1 May 1204. King John, however, seized all of his English estates, and Philip Augustus those in France and Normandy. By this time, all three of his sons who survived to adulthood (Waleran, Piers, and Dean) were dead. Still living were his two daughters, Mabel (who married William (de Reviers/aka Vernon), Earl of Devon, and Agnes (married Guy, Seigneur of la Roche Guyon).

k. Younger son of Roger de Beaumont by Adelise de Meulan, Henry was with the King at Caen in 1077, and in 1079, he was one of the nobles at Rouen who attempted to reconcile the King and his eldest son. He was with William in Normandy in 1080 and 1082. In 1088 he supported William Rufus against the rebels and in the same year was created Earl of Warwick. In support of the earldom, the King gave him the lands of an English thegn, Turchil. Probably around the same time, he witnessed, as Earl, a charter of Robert, Duke of Normandy. During the remainder of the King's reign, he appears not to have taken any active part in public affairs. At his father's death in 1094, he succeeded to the Norman barony of Annebecq, and he was probably in the royal hunting party when William Rufus was killed in the New Forest, 2 Aug 1100, for the following day he was present when the nobles met at Winchester to choose the King's successor, and took a leading part in the election of Henry I. He remained loyal to Henry for his entire life, and often attested royal charters. Before 1116, Henry granted him the peninsula of Gower in Glamorgan. He was a benefactor of St. Mary's Church in Warwick, and of the Abbeys of Preux and St. Taurin in Evreux. His widow, who "enjoyed a high reputation for piety and virtue" was still living in 1156.

l. Probably under age at his father's death, he obtained the Earldom in 1123. He attested charters of Henry I, and after the accession of Stephen he was at the Easter Court at Westminster, 22 Mar 1135/36. After the battle of Lincoln, he allied himself with the Empress Maud and served with her at the siege of Winchester in 1141, although he was with Stephen at Stamford in early 1142. While he does not appear to have taken an active part in the Civil War, at an unknown date he allowed Warwick Castle to be garrisoned by Stephen's troops, and in 1153 was with the King when he heard that the garrison had been tricked by Henry's Knights and the Castle surrendered. It is said that he was "so stricken with shame and grief that he died suddenly". He founded the Templar's House and St. Michael's Hospital, both in Warwick, completed the foundation of Warwick Priory, and was a benefactor to large number of religious foundations. Following his death in 1153, his widow married William de Lancaster, Lord of Kendal, and she was still living in 1166.

m. He was with Henry II at Geddington, Northants Feb 1187/88 and present 3 Sep 1189 at the Coronation of Richard I. In 1199 he swore fealty to King John and is said to have carried the right hand sword at his Coronation. He was a benefactor of the Hospital of St. Michael, and of the nuns of Pinley, both in Warwickshire. His first wife was Margery, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, and secondly Alice, widow of John Limesy, and daughter of Robert de Harcourt of Bosworth. It is said that he died 24 Dec 1203; his widow Alice was still living Sep 1212.

n. Alice's half-brother (son of her father's first wife), Henry, became their father's successor to the Earldom of Warwick, and died about 10 Oct 1229. In turn, his son and heir, Thomas, of age in 1229, became the next Earl, and died s.p. in Jun 1242. Thomas' sister and heir, Margery (or Margaret), suo jure Countess of Warwick, married John Marshal, Marshal of Ireland, but he never appears to have borne the title of Earl of Warwick, and after he died s.p. in Oct 1242, she married John du Plessis, who it appears was acknowledged as the Earl of Warwick in 1245. Both he and Margery died s.p., whence the earldom of Warwick then passed to William Mauduit, the son of William Mauduit of Hanslope by Alice de Newburgh, daughter of Waleran by his wife Alice de Harcourt.

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SOURCES:
CP Vol VII[App. I:737-741, 521-533, chart bef p 521], Vol XII/2[357-367,829-838]; AR: Line 50[24-27], Line 53[24-27], Line 63[25-26], Line 66[24-25], Line 84[25-27], Line 88[25], Line 98A[26], Line 151[25-26], Line 215[24-25]; SGM: Chris Phillips/Richard Borthwick[Keats-Rohan's Domesday People].

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