Guillaume (Harcourt) d'Harcourt (abt. 1100 - aft. 1154)

Born about 1100 in Shenton, Leicestershire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1154 after about age 54 in Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, England

Biography

William fitz Robert de Harcourt^[1]

The 1130 Pipe Roll records William, son of Robert son of Anschetil, after the death of Robert, his brother, in Leicestershire.^[2]

"Guillaume d'Harcourt" died after 1154.^[3]

Research Notes

William was born about 1100 at Shenton, Leicestershire, England.^{[citation needed]}

Robert, William's father, died before 1118. His wife Agnes died 1148.^[4]

Braose-Harcourt Connection

Some have Agnes Braose as Robert's wife (or his mother). There appears to have been an Ivo Harcourt who may have married a Braose in 1133 (see her profile), but it seems the confusion for this generation is because William's grandmother, Eve Boissey, may have married William de Braose after Anschetil Harcourt's death.

Robert Harcourt, William's father, was the son of Anschetil d'Harcourt. Cawley notes that Anschetil's widow may have married William de Braose.^[4] "The Braose Lords of Bramber", by Lynda Denyer, says of William de Braose that he "probably married the widow of Anchetil de Harcourt, Eve de Boissey, but even this detail remains inconclusive."^[5]

A Shipley charter by Philip Harcourt names Richard Harcourt as his brother and their uncle as Philip de Braose (son of William de Braose, who is thought to have married Eve, widow of Anschetil Harcourt).

The following information is from the research and analysis of Lynda Denyer and Doug Thompson, posted on their website "The Barons of Braose": ^[6]

"Some of the earliest gifts to the Templars came from his Sussex domains. Philip de Harcourt bestowed the order with the manor and church of Shipley. (6.2) His brother, Richard de Rennesville, was a Templar. Richard's tomb has survived at the old Templar Commanderie of Saint Stephen, Rennesville."^[6]

"Philip de Harcourt describes himself as Dean of Lincoln. In 1139 he became Chancellor to King Stephen, though remaining Dean of Lincoln for some time, and in 1142 Bishop of Bayeux. He gives the gift "quit and free and absolute just as in the time of Henry the English King my brother Richard had and held all this from Philip de Braose". The words suggest that Philip de Harcourt's gift was made in the reign of Stephen and therefore after 1135. It certainly seems unlikely that such a gift would have been granted before the Knights Templar received their holy orders in 1128."^[6]

Note: Something may be off in WikiTree (as of 13 Feb. 2021): Philip and Richard of the Shipley charter are attached as sons of Anschetil Harcourt-118, son of Robert Harcourt-123 (who is son of Anschetil Harcourt-18 and Eve Boissey-1). Cawley shows Robert Harcourt-123 and his wife Agnes (unknown) with eight children, including this William ([Harcourt-121]), Philip who was Bishop of Bayeux, and a Richard (although not identified by Cawley as a Templar or "de Rennesville").^[3]

Marriage

According to Cawley, the name of Guillaume's wife is not known.^[3]

According to Burke, William de Harcourt married Hue d' Ambrose, daughter of Sulpice II, Sire d'Amboise and Agnes de Donzy. ^[7] However, Burke's Peerage is considered very unreliable for pre-1500 profiles.

Crouch does not name a wife.^[1]

Children

• Robert fitz William, eldest son, married Eva Crispin^[1][8]
  • three sons by Eva: Richard, John, and Amaury.
• Richard^[1]
• Alice, married (1) Robert de Montfort, (2) John de Lindsey, (3) Earl Waleran of Warwick^[1][9]
• Joanna^[1]

Note - Cawley states that Guillaume had just one child, Robert^[3] (died 1212), whose sons were Richard, Jean, and Amaury.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} David Crouch. The Beaumont Twins: The roots & branches of power in the Twelfth Century (Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 220 (genealogical chart of the early Harcourt Family). Information relayed in this G2G discussion (accessed 12 February 2021).
2. ↑ Pipe Roll 31 Hen I (1129/30), Leicestershire, p. 88.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Charles Cawley. Entry for Guillaume d'Harcourt under "Seigneurs d'Harcourt, Comtes d'Harcourt" (accessed 12 Feb. 2021).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} >Charles Cawley. Entry for Anschetil d'Harcourt (accessed 12 Feb. 2021).
5. ↑ Lynda Denyer. "The Braose Lords of Bramber", posted by the Steyning Museum (accessed 13 February 2021).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Lynda Denyer and Doug Thompson. "The Barons of Braose", "Crusading Spirit" (page 6) and note 6.2 (accessed 13 February 2021).
7. ↑ Burke's Peerage, 1938, p. 1219.
8. ↑ As of 12 Feb. 2021, looks like two profiles for same man: Harcourt-249 & Harcourt-401 (merge proposed).
9. ↑ Charles Cawley. Alice Harcourt (accessed 12 Feb. 2021).
10. ↑ Charles Cawley. Entry for Robert Harcourt (accessed 12 Feb. 2021).

• Cawley, Charles. "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). See also WikiTree's source page for MedLands.