This part was too long for the server. Here is the last part. So our ancestor, about 1104 to 1109 AD, who gave the name Carpenter to our family from the French family passed on to the great battlefield in the sky. What had he been doing between fighting? It would seem he spent his time between Melun in France and his estates in England, bringing up a family as the records following show. All William's assets were passed down to his eldest son. One can assume that the other sons had to find their fortunes elsewhere. From the details below we can see that the family must have moved to England some time after 1066. All the children were born in France, but Rayner, Stephen, and Durand died in England. They were shown in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Landholders. The lands in England given by the King to William Count of Melun and Thorkill of Arden were in Warwickshire. Worcester, Gloucester, Wiltshire, Herefordshire and Dorset. Each had its own castle, and with the surrounding lands owned by the owner of the castle, could explain the large spread of the Family in later years. This leads us to the descendants of William the Carpenter. Before we leave William let us imagine what he looked like, We know how he was dressed for battle but he had to take off his chain mail sometimes. The History of Dress tells that he probably wore a Tunic, the richness of design depended on the work of female relations. The more wealthy you were, the better the quality of cloth and colour. The sleeves of the tunic were long and tight-fitting pushed up to show a series of folds to the biceps. Sometimes the tunic was split up the sides, and always finished with a band of embroidery. He also wore Brais and hose, the brais [or breeches] were like our pyjama trousers, but slightly closer at the ankle and made of linen, they were sometimes bound with cross gartering or worn with short hose from ankle to knee. The hose had no foot unless they happened to be leather or felt then they resembled a tight fitting boot. Shoes were made of flexible leather, worn over the bare foot. [see illustration] What did they eat? The peasants lived on a coarse bread made of wholemeal bread or maslin [wheat and rye or beans]. They would consume up to five pounds of bread a day together, when it was available, with some meat, vegetables, cheese, milk and butter, washed down with quantities of weak ale, which might explain why the English still enjoy their real ale today. William would also be able to have venison, birds and fish, a far better diet. Honey was used for sweetening. The supply of food depended on so many things, the weather, price of wheat, and his Lordship's generosity. Stealing was a hanging offence even if you were starving. I believe that people, through their ancestors develop genetically to thrive on food that is common to their native country. Bread and Ale through to Roast Beef and Beer, staple food of my time. My mother could make the Sunday joint of Beef feed us for three days. Sunday Dinner was of course the main family meal of the week. Roast Beef, Roast potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding, seasonal vegetables. Monday would feature Cold beef with possibly Bubble and squeak, a mixture of the vegetable leftovers with potatoes fried as a mash. The concocted meal was made easy as Monday was traditionally "wash day" when the week's laundry was the main chore of the day. Tuesday's dinner was cottage pie, minced left over beef with a potato topping, cooked in the oven. I can recommend this diet to my American cousins, but I might be too late to save them from the dreaded burger. All new food was introduced slowly, as it was largely controlled by price and availability. This is not so now. Over the last twenty years, our supermarkets have been able to import new foods within days, and by so doing have revolutionised the diet of generations. As soon as new fashionable foods are available, they are on the shelves. There is no such thing as a vegetable or a fruit "in season". I am not too sure if this is such a good thing. The first English strawberries of the season used to be a special treat, now if we wish it, we can eat imported strawberries at Christmas, though the flavour is not the same. Descendants of William "the Carpenter" DE Melun WILLIAM "THE CARPENTER" DE4 MELUN (URSION I DE3, HERVE DE2, JOSSELIN I DE1) was born Abt. 1042 in of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Ile De France, France, and died Abt. 1104/1109 in the Ile De France region of France. Children of WILLIAM "THE CARPENTER" DE MELUN are: i. RAYNER CARPENTER, b. Abt. 1060, of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Ile De France, France; d. of, Herefordshire, England. ii. STEPHEN CARPENTER, b. Abt. 1062, of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Ile De France, France; d. of, Wiltshire, England. iii. DURAND CARPENTER, b. Abt. 1064, of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Ile De France, France; d. of, Dorsetshire, England. iv. URISON II DE5 MELUN, b. Abt 1066/67 of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Ile De France, France. v. WILLIAM CARPENTER, b. Abt 1066/68 of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Ile De France, France; d. France. William Carpenter - The youngset son William the Carpenter's son, William the Carpenter (Guilaume de Charpentier) is sometimes confused with the orginal William the Carpenter. These two were very different. The older William was very supportive of the King of France and the son, William, was not. The son William had been raised mostly in Normandy as a hostage. It was common practice to to hold a child of one of your leaders to help insure loyalty. Unlike the modern practices, the hostage then was well treated and fed. William the son was educated and trained to be a knight. Under this form of "adoption" he became quite loyal to William the Conqueor, King of England and Normandy. It is not suprising that the son William fought against the King of France. French history desrcibes the son William as a braggart and as a thief against the Royal Family in France. No one was safe from his treachery. When arrows pierced his breast and killed him, the French Royals and thier people shouted for joy! The area of France that had been under his control (as a loyal subject to the King of England) was now free. William the son had at least two male children. For safety they seemed to have moved to the present area of Du Nord (the north) of France which was then the Kingdom of Flanders. It is his line that the Du Nord Carpentiers descend from. Urison II - Lord of Melun Another son of William the Carpenter was named Urison. Urison inheritted the title of Lord of Melun (taking the title of Urison the second) and was loyal to the French Crown. He apparently either survived his older brothers or was the most loyal to continue the Lordship of Melun. His direct male line continued until 1856 and included many great and military and civil leaders of the French Crown. to be continued ...