 Abt 1062 - 1113 (51 years)
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| Name |
William Peverel |
| Birth |
Abt 1062 |
Of, Normandy, France  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
17 Apr 1113 |
England [1] |
| Person ID |
I53843 |
Cecilie Family |
| Last Modified |
8 Dec 2010 |
| Father |
Ranulph Peverel, b. 1030, Normandy, France d. 1072, Hatfield, Essex, England (Age 42 years) |
| Mother |
Maud De Ingelrica, b. 1032, St Martin's Le Grand, London, Middlesex, England d. Yes, date unknown |
| Family ID |
F30584 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Adeline (Peverel), b. Abt 1054, Of, Nottinghamshire, England d. 19 Jan 1119, England (Age 65 years) |
| Marriage |
1071 |
| Children |
| | 1. William "The Younger" , Of Nottingham Peverel, b. 1080, Nottingham Castle, Nottinghamshire, England d. 1155, Bourn, Cambridgeshire, England (Age 75 years) |
| | 2. Adelise Peverel, b. Abt 1072, Nottingham Castle, Nottinghamshire, England d. 27 May 1156 (Age 84 years) |
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| Family ID |
F22391 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
8 Dec 2010 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Death - 17 Apr 1113 - England |
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| Notes |
- Complete Peerage, IV Appendix I.
Of William Peverel of Nottingham, the elder, very little is known. He is usually said to have been an illegitimate son of the Conqueror, but as this statement cannot be traced farther back than to the time of the Tudors, it is worth little, or nothing. His wife's name was Adeline, and he had at least four children -- William, who dvp., another William, who succeeded him, and two daughters, Maud, and Adelise, wife of Richard de Reviers. The Conqueror gave him extensive possessions, afterwards known as the honour of Peverel, consisting of about 100 lordships in cos. Notts and Northants, 14 in co. Derby, and some 20 in cos. Bucks, Leicester, Oxford, Beds, Berks, and Essex. He founded the Priory of St. James at Nottingham and that of Lenton in the same county. In the foundation chater of the latter he stated that it was founded. . . He died 28 Jan 1113/4. [Complete Peerage IV:Appendix I, pp. 761-2]
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The following information was excerpted from a post-em by Curt Hofemann, curt_hofemann@yahoo.com:
The claim has been made that William Peverel was a bastard son of William the Conqueror. The source for this is an old pedigree in which Peverel appears to have been added to the family of William. There is no other documentation which presents a relationship supporting Peverel's placement as a royal bastard (there are a few grants from the king, but there is no indication that these represent anything special). In addition, William had no other documented bastards, which suggests that if he did have any, he didn't bother keeping track of them. The more recent authors that I have seen have tended not to favor such a relationship as being accurate. [Ref: TAF 15 Nov 1996]
Derbyshire and the Domesday Book in 1086
William de Peverel, the next major land holder in Derbyshire, was somewhat of a mystery. There are strong claims he was the bastard son of Duke William of Normandy in a relationship with Maud, daughter of a Saxon noble, Ingleric. Whether this lady was married to Ranulph? before or after the relationship is uncertain. The difficulty in the argument is one of timing. If he, William Peveral, appears in 1068 in charge of Nottingham Castle, he must have been at least twenty years old. That makes this liaison between Duke William and Maud somewhere around 1046 and must have been in Normandy. This is supported by both William and his half brother, Ranulf, both being of age, were recorded at the Battle of Hastings. Nevertheless, William Peveral became the holder of Nottingham Castle, and a further 162 lordships and manors throughout England and Wales, including the Peak Castle in Derbyshire, all granted by Duke William of Normandy. The grant almost blended the distinction of the two counties, Nottingham and Derby and courts of assize were held alternately between the two jurisdictions. The royal relationship of William Peveral was further clouded by Ranulph Peverel, legitmate son of Maud and Ranulph, half brother of William, possibly treated (theoretically) as a stepson? of the Duke, who, surprisingly, was granted 64 manors, almost as many as William Peverel (69 manors) in Nottingham. From Ranulph is descended the distinguished baronial family of Peverel and its many branches. William Peverel, on the other hand, married Adelina, daughter of Roger de Poitou (see Earl of Lancaster, and Lancashire and the Domesday, on this Web Site) and acquired, through her, many lordships in Lancashire, probably a few years after the Domesday around 1094 or soon after. when Roger died. William was succeeded by his second son, William Peverel.
This Peverel mystery could all be wrapped up with some small conjecture. Maud could have been a Saxon lady who was in the train of Edward the Confessor in his thirty year exile in Normandy, and, after the liaison with the Duke, Maud later married Ranulph, a Norman noble in Normandy. This latter's background is unclear, but he must obviously have made the grade at the Norman Court. Hence, both half brothers were of age, and at the Battle of Hastings with the Duke. The Duke was not without favour to both.
William Peverel Holdings; Derbyshire 1086: Abney, Bolsover Bradwell, Codnor, Glapwell, Hazlebadge, Heanor, Hucklow, Langley, Litton, Shirland, South Normanton, South Wingfield, Uftonfields [Ref: http://www.genealogyweb.com/Derbyshire.htm]
In 1086 the Doomsday book was produced and a publication on this book was produced (edited) by Thomas Hinde and published by Hutchinson, ISBN 09 161830 4... From page 338 it gives a list of major landholders and, on page 341
are two very intriguing entries :
Ranulf Peverel, married former mistress of William I (the Conqueror).
Holdings in Berks., Norfolk, Oxon. and Suffolk.
William Peverel. Perhaps illegitimate son of William I by his mistress; took name of Peverel from stepfather, who married her. Large holdings in Notts. and Derbys. Also in six other counties. [Ref: Leo van de Pas 1 Jan 2001]
William Peverel is shown in Domesday People by Keats-Rohan as Willelm Peurel de Nottingeham, where it says of him, that there is no direct evidence of any relationship with Ranulf Peverel... but it is highly likely they were related and possibly quite closely. They both held lordships in west Normandy, Ranuld at Vengeons, Manche, Sourdeval, and William at "Turgistorp". He had a brother, Robert, and by his wife Adeline, he had issue two sons named William, of whom one predeceased him, and a daughter Adeliz who married Richard I de Redvers. He died 28 Jan 1113/14.
Ranulf Peuerel was from Vengeons. His wife Athelida was a confrater of St Albans. Keats-Rohan refers to the "spurious account of this marriage, with Ranulf's wife converted into an Ingelrica, mistress of William I, as printed in Mon. Ang. iii, is unworthy of repetition". His successor was his son William, died before 1129/30. [Ref: Renia Simmonds 2 Jan 2001]
"William the Conqueror" by David C Douglas, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 1964, reprinted 1999 makes no mention of any mistress or bastard children of William the Conqueror. Neither are the Peverels mentioned.
In case anyone is still curious about the legend, a discussion of William Peverel's parentage by the Victorian herald, J.R.Planche, is on Pat Patterson's site at:
http://patpnyc.com/reading.shtml
Planche actually defends the story that William Peverel was an illegitimate son of the Conqueror, despite its having already been rejected by "Eaton" (Eyton?), and by Freeman, "with contempt and indignation". The only sources cited for the story are post-medieval, and Planche's least tenuous piece of corroborative evidence seems to be that William Peverel, when founding a priory, made no provision for his parents' souls, but did so for the souls of King William and Queen Matilda, with other members of the royal family. (If anything, this seems to be an argument in favour of his being a "legitimate" son of the Conqueror!) [Ref: Chris Phillips 2 Jan 2001]
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| Sources |
- [S1634] Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great, IV:Appendix I, 761-2 (Reliability: 3).
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