Nest ferch Gruffudd (abt. 1056 - 1153)

Born about 1056 in Rhuddlan, Flintshire, Wales

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1153 at about age 97 in Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England

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Biography

This is the biography of Nest [II] the second Nest, daughter of Gruffydd ap Llewelyn and his second wife Ealdgyth of Mercia

Disambiguation

This is not the Nest I who married Trahaearn ap Caradog. "....Gruffudd also had a daughter, Nest, who married Trahaearn ap Caradog. This man, in 1075, succeeded Bleddyn ap Cynfyn as king of Powys, and probably also king of Gwynedd. Born c. 1035, Trahaearn had sons Owain and Llywarch (among others) who were born c. 1065/1070. These dates point to c. 1050 as the birthdate of Nest, with the marriage taking place shortly after Gruffudd's death in 1063. ^[1]

Birth

Nest II ferch Gruffudd was born about 1056 (Wolcott) ^[1] or in Rhuddlan 1059 (Boyer). ^[2]

Wolcott's dating of the birth of the second Nest places her as a daughter of Gruffudd and Ealdgyth. ^[1]

Parents

Nesta, according to Cawley, daughter of Gruffydd and his second wife. ^[3]

Orderic Vitalis names "Nest" as the daughter of "Edwinus…et Morcarus comites, filii Algari…Edgivam sororem eorum" and her first husband "Gritfridi…regis Guallorum"[422]. The primary source which confirms her marriage has not yet been identified.

1070 Marriage

She married OSBERN FitzRichard of Richard's Castle, son of RICHARD FitzScrob & his wife --- (-after [1087/88]). ^[3]

Nest [II] married about 1070 (possibly) Osbern fitz Richard. Wolcott notes that the husband of "this c. 1056 Nest is widely cited by modern authors as the Norman man, Osbern fitz Richard. There are, however, no ancient or even medieval manuscripts which confirm that marriage." ^[1]

Keats-Rohan, however, in Domesday Descendants shows "Nesta filia Grufydd," the daughter of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn of Deheubarth (d. 1063) as the wife of Osbern fitz Richard Scrop of Richard's Castle. ^[4]

The husband of this c. 1056 Nest is widely cited by modern authors as the Norman man, Osbern fitz Richard. There are, however, no ancient or even medieval manuscripts which confirm that marriage. The identification is made by inference alone.

Binley

The 1086 Domesday Book for Warwickshire notes that Binley (located just east of Coventry) was held by the Cathedral Priory, and that 3 hides of that land had been acquired from Osbern. And before the Conquest, those 3 hides were held by Ealdgyth wife of Gruffudd. One assumes, but cannot be certain, that Osbern had owned the land "et uxor" as the husband of the heiress daughter of Ealdgyth. This assumption is strengthened a bit by a c. 1100/20 entry in the Cartulary of Worchester Cathedral Priory wherein Hugh fitz Osbern confirms a grant made by his father "for the souls of his father Osbern and his mother Nest". Accordingly, the wife of Osbern was named Nest ferch "unknown". ^[1]

By assuming such a marrriage, the other sources we mentioned above seem to dovetail. Ealdgyth (the daughter of Earl Aelfgar) owned some land in Binley, Warwickshire. She married Gruffudd ap Llewelyn and had a daughter named Nest, her only child by him.

After the death of Ealdgyth (sometime after 1066), this land descended to her daughter Nest.

Nest married Osbern c. 1070 and he, likely late in life, gave it to the Cathedral Priory in Coventry. Of course, there are other ways in which Osbern might have acquired that land and other ladies named Nest he might have married. Thus, we label the marriage as quite possible but unproven.

Nest [II] would have been yet a child when her father was killed in 1063, and likely married at age 14 c. 1070^[1]

Richard le Scrob/Scrope, born about 1010, built Richard's Castle in Herefordshire about 1048 as a baron of King Edward the Confessor. He was the father of Osbern who married Nest [II] born about 1056.

Osbern held Stanage in Herefordshire according to the 1086 Domesday Book. Nest [II], the wife of Osbern, was probably, but not certainly, a daughter of Gruffudd ap Llewelyn.

Issue

1. Hugo. "Hugo filius Osberti" donated a saltpan at Droitwich to the monks of Worcester Cathedral priory, for the souls of "patris mei Osberti et matris mee Nest", by charter dated to [early 12th century][423]. ^[3]They had a son, Hugh, who about 1110, confirmed to the monks of Worchester Priory, his father's grant of Boraston and the church at Dodderhill "for the souls of his father, Osbern, and his mother, Nest." She is not further identified. It was common for a son to confirm grants made by his father when the father died. ^[1]
2. Nest. It is known that this second Nest was the mother of a daughter, also named Nest, who married the Norman knight Bernard Newmarch. ^[5] Nest (c1071) m c1085 the Norman knight Bernard Newmarch^[1] Nest, b. c. 1056, m Osbern Fitz Richard of Richard's Castle, Herefordshire. Boyer states is child of Gruffudd and Edith. ^[2]

Research Notes

Nest and the Scottish Stewart Legend

In stories of the legendary Banquo and his son Fleance, as recounted in Raphael Holinshead's Chronicles, ^[6] Fleance—in fear of Macbeth—flees to Wales and marries Nesta verch Gruffydd, daughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, the last native Prince of Wales.

They have a son named Walter who makes his way back to Scotland and is appointed Royal Steward. According to legend, he fathered the Stuart monarchs of England and Scotland. ^[7]

Gruffydd has a daughter, Nest -- in fact, probably two of them! They are real people, but the rest of this account has no basis in fact. Neither Banquo nor Fleance ever existed, and the Walter of this story was Walter FitzAlan, son of Alan FitzFlaald. Alan began his life in Brittany but was awarded lands by King Henry in Shropshire, adjacent to Wales. Walter grew up in Shropshire and moved on to Scotland to serve the kings there as High Steward of Scotland.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} Darrell Wolcott, Ancient Wales Studies. The Consorts and Children of Gruffudd ap Llewelyn Accessed July 8, 2015
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Carl Boyer 3rd. Medieval Welsh Ancestors of Certain Americans. By the author: Santa Clarita, California, 2004. Gruffudd ap Llywelyn is #18 on page 287.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Charles Cawley. Foundation for Medieval Genealgy. Medieval Lands Database. Wales Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyll Accessed October 23, 2018 jhd
4. ↑ K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, Domesday Descendants, Boydell Press: 2002; p. 846, citing Darlington, Cartulary of Worcester (Register I) (1962-1963), no. 148
5. ↑ Gerald's "Journey through Wales", Book 1, Chapter 2. Cited by Darrell Wolcott, Ancient Wales Studies. The Consorts and Children of Gruffudd ap Llewelyn Accessed Jan 6, 2018. jhd
6. ↑ Bevington, David. Four Tragedies. Bantam, 1988. ISBN 0-553-21283-4, p.714. Cited by Wikipedia. Fleance Accessed Feb 6, 2018. jhd
7. ↑ Shakespeare, William and Nicholas Brooke. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-283417-7, p. 68. Cited by Wikipedia. Fleance Accessed Feb 6, 2018. jhd

See also: Wikidata: Item Q75382462

• Albert F. Schmuhl. The Royal Line. First published New York City March 1929, Revised March 1980