Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester facts for kids
Waleran de Beaumont was an important noble in England and Normandy during the 1100s. He was born in 1104. He became a powerful count and earl. Waleran was known for his clever mind and his skills as a leader. He played a big part in the history of England and France during a time of great change.
Contents
Early Life
Waleran was born in 1104. He was one of twin sons. His father was Robert de Beaumont, who was the Count of Meulan. His father also became the Earl of Leicester in 1107. When their father died in 1118, King Henry I of England took care of Waleran and his brother.
In 1120, the king said they were old enough to rule their lands. Waleran received the county of Meulan. This was near the Norman border. He also got important family lands like Beaumont-le-Roger and Pont Audemer. Waleran also owned a large area in Dorset, England. This included the manor of Sturminster Marshall.
Rebellion and Imprisonment
In 1122, Waleran joined a secret plan. He worked with Amaury III of Montfort to support William Clito. William wanted to be the ruler of Normandy. But King Henry I found out about the plan. The king's army attacked the rebels first. Waleran tried to fight back from his castle of Brionne.
In October 1123, Waleran lost his castle of Pont Audemer. This happened after a siege. He had asked his French relatives for help, but it was not enough. On March 25, 1124, Waleran tried to help his castle of Vatteville. He went with his three brothers-in-law. But the king's soldiers stopped them. This happened between Bourgtheroulde and Boissy-le-Châtel.
The king's troops beat Waleran badly in the Battle of Bourgthéroulde. Waleran tried to charge with his men. But the royal soldiers shot their horses. Waleran's other castles kept fighting for a while. But on April 16, 1124, Waleran had to tell his officer to give them up. The king took Waleran's lands. Waleran was put in prison. He was held in Rouen, then Bridgnorth, and finally at Wallingford Castle.
Waleran was set free in 1129. The reason why is not known. He became active at the king's court again. He and his twin brother were with King Henry when he died. Waleran was likely part of the talks in December 1135. These talks were about who would rule Normandy and England next.
Lieutenant of Normandy
The new king, Stephen, came to power. Waleran quickly promised to support him. This was before Easter 1136. At the court, Waleran was promised to marry King Stephen's young daughter, Matilda. He also received the city and county of Worcester as her wedding gift. After Easter, Waleran went to Normandy. He had the king's permission to act as his main officer there.
In September, Waleran led an army of Norman nobles. They stopped an attack by Geoffrey of Anjou. Geoffrey was the husband of the Empress Matilda. She was King Henry I's daughter. Waleran also captured a main rebel, Roger de Toeni. Waleran stayed in Normandy until the next spring. Then he went back to England.
The next year, Waleran traveled with King Stephen in Normandy. They crossed back to England together. By this time, Waleran and his family were becoming very important at Stephen's court. They started to get most of the king's favors. This made other powerful nobles unhappy. Especially Earl Robert of Gloucester. He then supported his half-sister, the Empress Matilda.
In June 1138, Waleran was in Normandy again. He successfully fought off another attacking army. Waleran used his many connections in France. He gathered a large group of French knights to help him. It was probably in 1138 that he also became the Earl of Worcester. He started a monastery called Bordesley Abbey that year. This showed his new importance in the county. His youngest brother also became the Earl of Bedford.
Before Easter 1139, Waleran went to Paris. He was on a mission to see his cousin, King Louis VII of France. When he returned, Waleran was key in removing some powerful people from the court. These included Bishop Roger of Salisbury. The bishop and his family were arrested in June. Their money and many of their things were taken.
Civil War
In September 1139, Robert of Gloucester arrived in England. This started the civil war. It was between King Stephen and Empress Matilda's supporters. One of Gloucester's first attacks was on Waleran's base in Worcester. The city was attacked and robbed on November 7, 1139. Waleran fought back fiercely. He attacked the rebel areas of Sudeley and Tewkesbury.
Waleran was at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141. He was one of the earls who ran away when they saw the battle was lost. Waleran escaped. But the king was captured and put in prison in Bristol. Waleran kept fighting for several months. He was probably based in Worcester. There, he had to deal with his sheriff, William de Beauchamp, switching sides. Waleran may have taken over and strengthened the Herefordshire Beacon around this time.
In the late summer of 1141, Waleran gave up. He heard that his lands in Normandy were being taken by the attacking army. He surrendered to Empress Matilda. He had to accept that she took over Bordesley Abbey. But once in Normandy, Waleran was welcomed by Geoffrey of Anjou. His lands in England and Normandy were given back to him. Waleran's first wife, Matilda, had died in 1137. She was only four years old. Around 1142, Waleran married Agnes. She was the daughter of Amaury de Montfort. This marriage gave him lands in Pays de Caux. He also gained control of Gournay-sur-Marne in France. Waleran had also received his mother's lands after she died in 1139. Even with the political problems of 1141, Waleran was much richer by the end of that year.
Waleran helped Geoffrey of Anjou in the siege of Rouen in 1143-1144. During this, he captured and burned a part of the city called Emendreville. He also burned the Church of St. Sever. Many people died in the fire. Waleran became a strong leader among the Norman nobles. He made a formal agreement with his cousin, Robert du Neubourg. But Waleran also started to focus on the French court.
In 1144-1145, he went on a religious journey to Camino de Santiago. In 1146, he was at Vézelay for the start of the Second Crusade. He also went to a big meeting in Paris in 1147. There, he met the Pope and King Louis VII. On June 29, he was a leader of the Anglo-Norman crusaders. They met King Louis VII at Worms. He went with the crusades to Syria. The crusade ended badly at Damascus. Waleran was criticized for his part there. He seemed to leave the Holy Land before King Louis. He traveled home by sea. His ship was wrecked somewhere on his way back. Perhaps near Provence. He promised to build a Cistercian monastery if he survived. He later built the abbey of St Mary de Voto (Le Valasse) to keep his promise.
Political Decline
In 1149, Waleran started to lose favor with King Stephen. He slowly lost his power in Normandy. This happened as Duke Henry and Geoffrey Plantagenet grew older.
Waleran's great power in Normandy lasted until 1151. But Duke Henry's new government did not like him. Waleran made a big mistake. He worked with the French court and helped King Louis VII. This gained Waleran control of the rich county of Vermandois. But it also led to his downfall. In 1153, his nephew, Robert de Montfort, ambushed him. Robert held him captive in the castle of Orbec. This was because of Waleran's link with King Louis VII. Duke Henry's friends took Waleran's lands in Normandy and England. The earldom of Worcester was taken away. His castles in Worcestershire were destroyed in 1155.
Waleran was released, but his power in Normandy was broken. He tried to get Montfort-sur-Risle back from his nephew. But he failed badly. Waleran was not important at King Henry II's court. Between 1160 and 1162, he lost his Norman lands and castles. This was because he supported Louis VII against Henry II. In his last years, he lived as a landowner. The last record of him is from 1165. It was about his lands near Gournay-sur-Marne. Twenty days before he died, he joined the abbey of St Peter of Préaux. This was his family's old monastery. He died there as a monk on April 9 or 10, 1166. He was buried in the monastery with other family members.
Aristocrat and Scholar
Waleran was educated in many subjects. He studied liberal arts and philosophy. A poem about him by Stephen of Rouen shows that Waleran wrote Latin poems. In 1142, Waleran said he personally looked through old records. These were from the Meulan priory. He did this before confirming its lands. Like his twin brother, he also wrote many letters. Some of them still exist today. He also supported writers. For example, Geoffrey of Monmouth dedicated his book History of the Kings of Britain to Waleran in 1136.
Waleran founded Cistercian monasteries. These were at Bordesley, Worcestershire (1139), and Le Valasse, Normandy (around 1150). But in both cases, the king later took over the monasteries. He was also very generous to his family's two old Benedictine monasteries. These were Préaux (for men) and St Leger (for women). He was also accepted as a helper for the abbey of Bec-Hellouin. He supported its priory at Meulan. He also founded another one at Beaumont-le-Roger. He started a Benedictine priory at Gournay-sur-Marne. He also gave money to a large hospital at Pont Audemer. This hospital still exists today.
Family and Children
Waleran first married Matilda. She was the daughter of King Stephen of England and Matilda of Boulogne. They married around March 1136. She died in 1137 when she was only four years old.
He married a second time to Agnes de Montfort. She was the daughter of Amaury III de Montfort. They married around 1141.
Waleran and Agnes had these children:
- Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan
- Isabelle de Meulan (died May 10, 1220). She married twice:
- Around 1161, to Geoffroy, lord of Mayenne
- Around 1170, to Maurice II, lord of Craon
- Waleran de Meulan
- Amaury de Meulan, lord of Gournay-sur-Marne
- Roger de Meulan or Beaumont, viscount of Évreux
- Raoul (Ralph) de Meulan
- Etienne (Stephen) de Meulan
- Marie de Meulan, who married Hugh Talbot, Baron of Cleuville
See also
Sources
- Cokayne, G.E. and others. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed. 13 volumes. 1910–1959.
- Crouch, D. The Reign of King Stephen, 1135-1154 (London, 2000).
- Edward T. Beaumont, J.P. The Beaumonts in History. A.D. 850-1850. Oxford.
- Houth, E. 'Galeran II, comte de Meulan, catalogue de ses actes precédé d'une étude biographique', Bullétin Philologique et Historique (1961).
- King, E. 'Waleran, count of Meulan, earl of Worcester, 1104-1166', in, Tradition and Change: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Chibnall, ed. D. Greenway and others (Cambridge, 1985), 115–130.
- Remfry, P.M., 'The Herefordshire Beacon and the families of King Harold II and the Earls of Hereford and Worcester' [Malvern, 2008].
- White, Geoffrey H. 'King Stephen's Earldoms', Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Fourth Series, Vol. 13 (1930), pp. 51–82.
