Warren Family History Project

Warren Family History Project;
From Viking Warriors to Modern-Day America

The Family of Warenne originated from Normandy France. The de Warenne surname derives from the castle of that name on the River Varenne. which flows through the territory William acquired in Upper Normandy. Ruins of this old 11th Century castle are found today near Bellencombre, Seine-Maritime.

So far I have found no documentation of ancestors for Rodulf I de Warenne. Most genealogies have perpetuated an undocumented referense to Earl William and Walter de St Martin but this appears to be a mistake. Note that most early source docs are written in Latin.

William de Warenne, who crossed with William I. in 1066, was a distant cousin of the Conqueror, his grandmother having been the sister of Gunnora, wife of Richard I. of Normandy.

• Genealogy - The House of Warren can be traced to Hugh of Normandy, born 990, later ordained Bishop of Contances. He married a sister of Gunnora, the wife of Richard I, Duke of Normandy. Rodulf, son to Hugh, a benefactor to the Abbey of La Trinite du Mont, died c1050. He married first Beatrix and secondly Emma. Emma became the mother of his son William created Count de Warenne of Normandy and later first Earl of Surrey.

  William I de Warenne, assisted William, Duke of Normandy, when he conquered England. After Hastings he received the Castle Lewes in Sussex, and subsequently lands in twelve other shires. In addition to the cluster around Lewes, there were clusters around the castles he built at Castle Acre in Norfolk and Conisbrough in Yorkshire.

  William was loyal William II, and it was probably in early 1088 that he was created Earl of Surrey.

  10. William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey (d 1086) [NFS:KNDR-Y57]
  He was a son of Ralph de Warenne and Emma and a grandnephew of duchess Gunnor, wife of duke Richard I of Normandy. He was one of the Norman aritocrafts that greatly assisted William, Duke of Normandy in his conquest of England and thus become one of the greatest landowners in early England.

  His family became of such prominence that his heir, William II, attempted to marry directly to royal bloodlines.

  • Biography: Wikipedia - Biography
  • 1046 : Birth (Est) - b. Bellencombre, Seine-Maritime, France : Date Estimate based on young age on when he first fought for William I in the Mortemer Campaign.
  • 1052-54: Mortemer Campaign - Fought with William to secure holdings in Normandy against Roger de Mortemer whose castle was handed over to William.
  • 1064: Marriage - Gundred of Chester - - Sister of Gerbod The Fleming, Earl of Chester (resident of Flanders, France). Hence they probably married in France before the invasion of England and the birth of first son. See link for all known docs referencing Gundred and her brother Gerbod. [Genealogy Mistake #1: Gundred is NOT the daughter of William Conqueror]. Gertrude appears to have brothers named Gerbod and Arnold who made gifts to St Bertin Abbey. They are described as neices and nephews of Baldwin of Ghent.
  • 1065 : Child (est) - William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey
  • 1066-OCT-14 : Battle of Hastings - After Hastings, William built castles at Lewes (Sussex), Reigate (Surrey) and Castle Acre (Norfolk).
  • 1071 : Ilse of Ely - Fought against rebels, including one Hereward that had killed his brother.
  • 1072 : Child (Est) - Edith de Warenne - b. about 1070-1074 who married Gerard de Gournay who was born about 1060 in Gourney, Normandy, France and died about 1098 in First Crusade, Holy Land . He was the son of Hugh de Gournay III and Bastia Flaitel. Sire Gerard married Editha de Warenne. Editha was born about 1060 in Surry, Sussex, England. They have one son, Hugh de Gournay IV was born about 1090 and died in 1155. Gundred (daughter of Edith) is mother of Roger de Mowbray I (d 1188). See genealogy of the de Gournay family line.
  • 1075 : Chief Justice - During absence of king, Warenne was appoint joint chief justice. Also suppressed rebellion by the Earls of Hereford and Norfolk.
  • 1077 : Founded the Priory of St Pancras at Lewes - First house of the Cluniac order founded in England.
  • 1082 : Child (est) - Reynold de Warenne (Reginald or Rainald) - b. about 1082, he inherited lands from his mother in Flanders, fought on side of Duke Robert in 1090 and taken prisoner at Dive in 1106, and died before 1118
  • 1085 : Siege of Ste Susanne - Participated in the unsuccessful siege against Viscount Hubert de Beaumont.
  • 1085 : Death of Gundrada
  • 1085 : Second Marriage - to Sister of Richard Gouet or Perche Gouet (Eure et Loire) (C Waters - Bermondsey Annals iii 420)
  • 1087 : Title of Nobility - Designated First Earl of Surrey, probably in later part of year.
  • 1088-JUN-24 : - Death - He died shortly afterwards of wounds he received at the Siege of Pevensey while helping suppress the Rebellion of 1088. Buried at Chapter House of Lewes.

10A Gundred of Fleming, Wife of William de Warenne (1086) (d 1086)

See Early Documents of Gundred and Gerbod - for references, mostly in the chronicles of the St Bertin Abbey in St. Omer {written in Latin), for which Gundred family were key benefactors.

Following this violent consolidation of the Norman Conquest, Chester was held by Walter de Gherbaud (Gherbaud the Flemming), avoué of the abbey of St Bertin in Flanders. Confusingly, someone name Gherbaud (variously spelt Gherbod or Gerbod) appears in various charters of St Bertin from years 975 until 1096. There appear to have been at least one Gherbod the Monk and at least one Gherbod the advocate. Both Gherbod's family and his eventual fate are a source of considerable confusion and much debate.

There is some evidence that Gerbod the Fleming had a sister Gundred. The relationship is said to be evidenced by both Orderic Vitalis and by the chronicle of Hyde abbey.

• [Genealogy Mistake #1: Gundred is NOT the daughter of William Conqueror]. Although it is quite possible that Gundred is from his wife's first marriage to Gherbod the Fleming before Matilda married William Conqueror.
• Gundred IS the Daughter of William Conqueror - It has been said that Gundred was not the daughter of William I of England, the Conqueror, but that she was the daughter of Matilda of Flanders by, perhaps, a previous marriage. The Invincible Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5, p. 26, says that the inseription on Gundred's tombstone describes her as wife of William de Warren and daughter of Wm., the Conqueror. Also in Burke's Dormant and Extinct Peerage, pp. 154, 568 and 588, she is called daughter by Wm., the Conqueror, in a charter signed by Wm., William de Warren and Henry I, son of William, the Conqueror. Thus proving this much discussed question. -
• Gundreda History - = Link to Gundreda claim as daughter of William Conquerer.
• Gherbod The Fleming or Gerbod - possible brother to Gundred and Arnold. More research is needed. Gherbod was granted the Earl of Chester for helping William I, but then he returned to Flanders and was imprisoned. His Earldom was given to another.
• Abbey of St Bertin / Saint-Omer - famous in midevil times as a centre of sanctity and learning.
• 1064: Marriage of Gundred to William de Warenne - Sister of Gerbod The Fleming, Earl of Chester (resident of Flanders, France). Hence they probably married in France before the invasion of England and the birth of first son. Gundred appears to have brothers named Gerbod and Arnold who made gifts to St Bertin Abbey. They are described as neices and nephews of Arnold of Oosterzele.
• William de Warenne married first Gundred (?), daughter of Gerbod of St. Omer and Maud of Flanders.?