On 9/05/2017 10:47 AM, Douglas Richardson wrote: > Dear Greg ~ > > Thank you for your post. You've asked an excellent question. > > You're correct that there is a pedigree of the Earls of Leicester included in the foundation narrative of Hospital of St. Leonard, Leicester. This material was published by Dugdale many years ago and reads as follows: > > “Robertus oves les Blanc Meins, Comes Leicestrensis tertius, post conquestum, desponsavit Petronillam filiam Hugonis Grantmenyl, cum qua accepit totum honorem de Hincley unà cum senescatu Angliæ, ex dono ejusdem Hugonis, &c. Hic genuit de dictâ Petronillâ, Robertum dictum filium Petronillæ hæredem; Rogerum, S. Andreæ in Scotiâ episcopum, et Willielmum leprosum, fundatorem hospitalis S. Leonardi Leicestriæ; Amiciam desponsatam Simoni de Monteforti, et Margaretam desponsatam Saiero de Quinci, &c.” Reference: Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum 6(2) (1846): 686 (ped. of founders of Hospital of St. Leonard, Leicester). > > We see here that Pernel, wife of Robert, Earl of Leicester, is specifically called the daughter of Hugh de Grandmesnil ["filiam Hugonis Grantmenyl"]. The implication is made that she was an heiress, although this is not directly stated. > > The foundation narrative was the source for the following statement in a well written article on the early Earls of Leicester in the Genealogist n.s. 10 (1893): 1–16. This sentence reads as follows: > > “[Robert, Earl of Leicester] had married Petronilla, dau. and most probably sole heiress of Hugh de Grentemesnil. It is said that she was heiress of Hinckley, and that to this manor was attached the Stewardship of England.”). > > You're correct that Countess Pernel issued a charter to the Abbey of Saint Evroul, which charter was granted for her soul, and for the souls of William her father and all her ancestors. This charter was first noticed by the historian, David Crouch, in his book, Beaumont Twins (1986): 91. If I understand the Latin of this charter correctly, Countess Pernel also confirmed the previous gifts to Saint Evroul of her great-grandfather ["pro avi"], Hugh de Grantemesnil [Reference: Cartulaire de l’Abbaye de Saint-Evroul, dioc. de Lisieux, Latin 11055, fol. 33v–35v.]. The surname of Pernel's father is not given in this record, and it has been assumed that he was a male member of the Grandmesnil family. While I think this is probably a correct assumption, this may or may not be right. > > The noted medieval historian Mr. Round saw the original of another charter issued by the same countess to the same abbey, which charter had a fragment of a seal still attached to it [see transcript below]. He states that this charter was granted for the "weal" of the Countess' soul and "those of all her predecessors and successors." No mention is made of her father being named William in this record, nor is there any mention of her great-grandfather, Hugh de Grandmesnil. This charter was presumably issued about the same time as the other charter, as both are witnessed by her chaplains, Gregory and William, and William de Seneville. > > Insofar as the names of Countess Pernel's parents are concerned, this is a matter of ongoing research. Keats-Rohan, Domesday People I (1999): 263 states that Pernel de Grandmesnil’s father, William, was the son of Robert de Grandmesnil by Emma d’Estouteville, but no evidence is cited for this relationship. > > Charles Cawley in his online Medlands database states that inasmuch as Countess Pernel brought the honour of Grantmesnil in Normandy to her husband, her father, William/Guillaume, "must have been senior heir of the Grantmesnil family." > That is likely correct, but it deserves further study. Having said that, Mr. Cawley has suggested three different possibilities for the identification of Countess Pernel's father William and his place in the Grandmesnil family: > > (1) The ancient necrology of the royal abbey of St. Denys records the deaths “V. Non. October" [3 October] [year not stated] of "Vuillelmus de Grandmesnil & uxore ejus Agatha” (i.e., William/Guillaume de Grandmesnil and his wife, Agatha”) [Reference: Felibien, Histoire de l’Abbaye Royale de Saint-Denys en France (1706): ccxvi]. Cawley suggests that this couple may be the parents of Countess Pernel. > > (2) Mr. Cawley suggests that Countess Pernel's father, William, may be the William (or Guglielmo) de Grandmesnil, signore of Oriolo in Italy, who issued a charter in 1117 with his widowed mother, Countess Mabel, to Cava. References: Il monastero di S. Elia di Carbone e il suo territorio dal Medioevo all'età moderna (1996): 123; Monasteri, principi, aristocrazie: la Trinità di Cava nei secoli XI e XII (2008): 75. > > (3) Mr. Cawley suggests that Countess Pernel's father, William, could have been the grandson of Hugh de Grandmesnil [died 1098] by a younger son or one of his daughters. This statement suggests that Countess Pernel's father, William, may or may not have been a male member of the Grandmesnil family. > > What is my take of all of this? I think the charter evidence cited by Mr. Crouch is sufficient to accept that Countess Pernel's father was named William. Whoever this William was, he appears not to have lived in England. My guess is that he may not even have resided in Normandy. As such I'm attracted to Mr. Cawley's Italian alternative (Cawley Theory No. 2 above), but would like to know more about the Grandmesnil family in Italy before proceeding further. This is a blind alley - the heir of the William of Grandmesnil who occurs in a charter with his mother in 1117 was his younger brother Robert. This William died some time between August 1122 (when he occurs in another charter with his mother) and 1129 (when Robert held the fief of their father, but abandoned it following a dispute with his mother's cousin Roger II). There is no evidence that either of these men ever married. Peter Stewart