Petronilla de Grandmesnil, countess of Leicester
Encyclopedia
Petronilla de Grandmesnil, Countess of Leicester (c. 1145—1212) was the daughter of one of three Grandmesnil brothers, William, Ivo, or Hugh, and wife of Robert de Beaumont III, earl of Leicester
, known as “Blanchmains” (d. 1190). She was buried in Leicester Abbey following her death on April 1, 1212.
The chronicler Jordan Fantosme
wrote of Earl Robert and Countess Petronilla as participants in the rebellion of Henry "the Young King"
against King Henry II
, his father. Jordan claimed that, because of grievances against the king, Earl Robert participated in the Young King's rebellion in 1173-4, and credits Countess Petronilla for dismissive remarks about the English who were fighting for Henry II: "The English are great boasters, but poor fighters; they are better at quaffing great tankards and guzzling." The countess accompanied her husband on his military campaign against those English troops, under the command of the earl of Arundel and Humphrey de Bohun. During the final showdown, she is said to have fled from the battle, only to be found in a ditch. "The earl’s wife wanted to drown herself, when Simon of Odell saw to pulling her out: ‛My lady, come away from this place, and abandon your design! War is all a question of losing and winning." Her husband was also captured, the couple were briefly in joint custody and the earl's holdings were confiscated. Countess Petronilla was released before her husband, and during the earl's continued imprisonment he wrote to her asking that she discharge the bequests stated in his father's will.
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Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.The surname "de Beaumont" is given him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robert"...
, known as “Blanchmains” (d. 1190). She was buried in Leicester Abbey following her death on April 1, 1212.
The chronicler Jordan Fantosme
Jordan Fantosme
Jordan Fantosme was an Anglo-Norman historian, chronicler, and trouvère. He was a cleric and probably the spiritual chancellor of the Diocese of Winchester. His major work is an Anglo-Norman verse chronicle of the war between Henry II of England and his son Henry the Young King and William I of...
wrote of Earl Robert and Countess Petronilla as participants in the rebellion of Henry "the Young King"
Henry the Young King
Henry, known as the Young King was the second of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine but the first to survive infancy. He was officially King of England; Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine.-Early life:Little is known of the young prince Henry before the events...
against King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, his father. Jordan claimed that, because of grievances against the king, Earl Robert participated in the Young King's rebellion in 1173-4, and credits Countess Petronilla for dismissive remarks about the English who were fighting for Henry II: "The English are great boasters, but poor fighters; they are better at quaffing great tankards and guzzling." The countess accompanied her husband on his military campaign against those English troops, under the command of the earl of Arundel and Humphrey de Bohun. During the final showdown, she is said to have fled from the battle, only to be found in a ditch. "The earl’s wife wanted to drown herself, when Simon of Odell saw to pulling her out: ‛My lady, come away from this place, and abandon your design! War is all a question of losing and winning." Her husband was also captured, the couple were briefly in joint custody and the earl's holdings were confiscated. Countess Petronilla was released before her husband, and during the earl's continued imprisonment he wrote to her asking that she discharge the bequests stated in his father's will.
Family
Countess Petronilla claimed to be the heiress of the Grandmesnil barony but the records do not record the names of her parents. The countess, married in the mid-1150s, bore at least seven children:- William (d. before 1190)
- Robert IV, 3rd earl of LeicesterRobert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of LeicesterRobert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester was an English nobleman, one of the principal followers of Henry the Young King in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against his father Henry II...
, “fitz Parnel/Petronilla” (d. 1204) married Loretta de BraoseLoretta de BraoseLoretta de Braose, Countess of Leicester, was a daughter of William de Braose, lord of Bramber in Sussex and Radnor, Abergavenny and Brecon in Wales and his wife, Maud de St. Valery. Loretta was one of at least five daughters and four sons who survived to adulthood.-Marriage:She married Robert,... - Roger, bishop of St. AndrewsRoger de Beaumont (bishop)Roger de Beaumont was Bishop of St Andrews .-Life:He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester. Roger's position as a younger son of the Earl of Leicester meant that Roger had to seek a fortune elsewhere, and did so withiin the church...
(d. 1202) - Amice married (1) Simon de Montfort III (d. 18 July before 1188), (2) William de Barres (d. 3 Sept. 1215)
- Margaret married Saher de Quincy, later earl of WinchesterSaer de Quincy, 1st Earl of WinchesterSaer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against King John of England, and a major figure in both Scotland and England in the decades around the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.Saer de Quincy's immediate background was in the Scottish...
- Hawise, who became a nun at Nuneaton Priory
- Pernel/Petronilla
- Two additional children are possible: Geoffrey, and Mabel
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