Dear List Concerning the parentage of Hawise, the wife of Sir Philip Basset there seem to be two accounts and I would like to call for opinions. I note from a quick archives search that her descendancy if interest to many followers of this list. Well known sources such as Weis (Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists) and ODNB say that her father must have been Mathew de Louvain (giving her interesting Carolingian ancestry!). But I became aware of another interpretation of what I think is the only evidence being used for both positions. The excellent article by Clarence-Smith used very detailed analysis of the records to resolve many of the questions about the difficult Hastings family of Little Easton in Essex, of whom Matthew was an heir, especially concerning the property involved in this record. Following through what became of that family he notes that Matthew's Hastings mother still had an uncle, Ralph de Hastings, holding the manor of Wix - a manor which had special importance to the family it seems. Ralph was very active in official affairs of the family, continuing into the times of Mathew's father, Geoffrey de Louvain. Clarence-Smith then said that: "He was dead by Michaelmas 1210, leaving a daughter under age whose custody and marriage had been granted to Alan Bassett for 100 marks. It is not therefore surprising to find at the death of Sir Philip Basset of Wycombe, younger son of this Alan, in 1271, that he held under Sir Matthew de Lovaine the manor of Wix 'by courtesy of England of the inheritance of Helewisia his wife'." Her heir was Aline who married twice, to Hugh le Dispencer and to Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk, and Aline's heir, also named Hugh le Dispencer, was a famous favourite to King Edward II, and "Wix was forfeited with the rest of his possessions on his execution in 1326". Source: Clarence Smith J. A., (1966), "Hastings of Little Easton (part 1)", Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society. Vol. 2, Part 1. As far as I can see, all sources which claim Mathew as the father of Hawise are taking the same document and presuming that the father must be the overlord of Wix, ignoring the possibility that the family had enfeoffed a cadet branch which evidently was expected to inherit. Am I missing anything or should standard pedigrees be corrected or at least considered uncertain? Are there any other documents relevant to the case? Best Regards Andrew Lancaster