William Clito
Encyclopedia
William Clito was the son of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy
, by his marriage with Sibylla of Conversano. He had a claim on both Normandy and England
, and became count of Flanders
.
His surname "Clito" was a Latin term equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon "Aetheling
", and the Germanic "Adelinus" (used to refer to his first cousin William Adelin
, the son of Henry I). Both "Clito" and "Atheling" signified "man of royal blood", or the modern equivalent "prince".
at the Battle of Tinchebrai (1106) the young William fell into the king's hands. Henry placed his nephew in the custody of Helias of Saint Saens, Count of Arques
, who had married a natural daughter of Duke Robert, his friend and patron. The decision seems to have been intended to conciliate any suspicion of the king’s intentions to his nephew. The boy William stayed in his sister’s and Helias's care until August 1110, when the king abruptly sent agents to demand the boy be handed over to him. Helias was at the time away from home, so his household concealed the boy and smuggled him to their master, who fled the duchy and lost his lands as a result.
The Norman border counts and Count Baldwin between them were too powerful for the king and seized much of the north of the duchy. But the promising campaign abruptly ended with Baldwin’s serious injury at the siege of Arques (September 1118). The next year the cause of William Clito was taken up by Louis VI of France
. He invaded the duchy down the river Seine, and on 20 August 1119 was met by the troops of King Henry at the Battle of Brémule
, where the French were decisively defeated.
William had ridden as a new knight amongst the king’s guard that day, and barely escaped capture. His cousin, King Henry’s son, William Adelin
, the next day sent him back the horse he had lost in the battle with other "necessities" in a courtly gesture. The rebellion collapsed, but William continued to find support at the French court. Louis brought his case to the pope’s attention in October 1119 at Reims
, and forced Henry I to justify his treatment of the exiled boy.
and Waleran de Beaumont, count of Meulan
.
William’s position was bolstered further by a strategic marriage to Sibylla of Anjou
, daughter of Count Fulk V of Anjou. The marriage was supposed to bring William the county of Maine
, between Normandy and Anjou, as her dowry. King Henry astutely appealed to canon law, however, and the marriage was eventually annulled in August 1124 on the grounds that the couple were within the prohibited degrees of kinship.
In the meantime, a serious aristocratic rebellion broke out in Normandy in favour of William, but was defeated by Henry’s intelligence network and the lack of organisation of the leaders, who were defeated at the battle of Bourgtheroulde in March 1124. Louis VI was distracted from active intervention as Henry I got his son-in-law, the Emperor Henry V, to threaten Louis from the east.
as a base to attack down the Seine into Normandy, and he was married to the queen’s half sister Joanna of Montferrat. The murder of Count Charles the Good of Flanders on 2 March 1127 gave King Louis an even better chance to further William’s fortunes. He marched into Flanders at the head of an army and on 30 March got the barons of the province to accept William as their new count.
Initially, William did well, securing most of the county by the end of May. But English money and the emergence of a rival in Thierry of Alsace led to a deterioration in his position. In February 1128 Saint-Omer
and Ghent
declared against him, as did Bruges
in March. In May 1128 Lille
too welcomed Thierry, leaving William controlling little more than the southern fringe of Flanders. However, he struck back at Bruges and at the battle of Axspoele south of the town on 21 June, William defeated Thierry with his Norman knights and French allies.
At this point he was joined by his father-in-law, Duke Godfrey of Brabant
, and together their armies besieged Aalst on 12 July, with the probable intention of going on from there to reduce Ghent. But during the course of the siege he was wounded in the arm in a scuffle with a foot soldier. The wound became gangrenous and William died at the age of twenty-five on 28 July 1128, attended to the end by his faithful brother-in-law, Helias of Saint Saens. William’s body was carried to the abbey of St Bertin
in St Omer and buried there. He left no children and was survived by his imprisoned father by six years.
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, by his marriage with Sibylla of Conversano. He had a claim on both Normandy and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and became count of Flanders
Count of Flanders
The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
.
His surname "Clito" was a Latin term equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon "Aetheling
Aetheling
Ætheling, also spelt Aetheling, Atheling or Etheling, was an Old English term used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship....
", and the Germanic "Adelinus" (used to refer to his first cousin William Adelin
William Adelin
William , surnamed Adelin , was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus heir-apparent to the throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis.William was born in Winchester...
, the son of Henry I). Both "Clito" and "Atheling" signified "man of royal blood", or the modern equivalent "prince".
Youth
After his father's defeat and capture by Henry I of EnglandHenry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
at the Battle of Tinchebrai (1106) the young William fell into the king's hands. Henry placed his nephew in the custody of Helias of Saint Saens, Count of Arques
Arques
Arques may refer to the following places in France:* Arques, Aude, in the Aude département* Arques, Aveyron, in the Aveyron département* Arques, Pas-de-Calais, in the Pas-de-Calais département...
, who had married a natural daughter of Duke Robert, his friend and patron. The decision seems to have been intended to conciliate any suspicion of the king’s intentions to his nephew. The boy William stayed in his sister’s and Helias's care until August 1110, when the king abruptly sent agents to demand the boy be handed over to him. Helias was at the time away from home, so his household concealed the boy and smuggled him to their master, who fled the duchy and lost his lands as a result.
First Norman Rebellion, 1118–19
William’s first refuge was with King Henry’s great enemy, Robert de Bellême, who had extensive estates south of the duchy. On Robert’s capture in 1112, William and Helias fled to the court of the young Count Baldwin VII of Flanders, William’s cousin. In 1118 a powerful coalition of Norman counts and barons were sufficiently disenchanted with King Henry to ally with Count Baldwin and rebel. They took up William Clito’s cause and commenced a dangerous rebellion.The Norman border counts and Count Baldwin between them were too powerful for the king and seized much of the north of the duchy. But the promising campaign abruptly ended with Baldwin’s serious injury at the siege of Arques (September 1118). The next year the cause of William Clito was taken up by Louis VI of France
Louis VI of France
Louis VI , called the Fat , was King of France from 1108 until his death . Chronicles called him "roi de Saint-Denis".-Reign:...
. He invaded the duchy down the river Seine, and on 20 August 1119 was met by the troops of King Henry at the Battle of Brémule
Battle of Bremule
The Battle of Brémule was fought in 1119 between Henry I of England and Louis VI the Fat of France. Henry I had to defend his holdings in Normandy several times and defeated a French invasion at the Battle of Brémule in 1119....
, where the French were decisively defeated.
William had ridden as a new knight amongst the king’s guard that day, and barely escaped capture. His cousin, King Henry’s son, William Adelin
William Adelin
William , surnamed Adelin , was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus heir-apparent to the throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis.William was born in Winchester...
, the next day sent him back the horse he had lost in the battle with other "necessities" in a courtly gesture. The rebellion collapsed, but William continued to find support at the French court. Louis brought his case to the pope’s attention in October 1119 at Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, and forced Henry I to justify his treatment of the exiled boy.
Second Norman Rebellion, 1123–24
The death by drowning of William Atheling, King Henry’s only legitimate son, on 25 November 1120 transformed William Clito’s fortunes. He was now the obvious male heir to England and Normandy, and a significant party of Norman aristocrats adopted his cause in 1122, led by Amaury de Montfort, count of EvreuxÉvreux
Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...
and Waleran de Beaumont, count of Meulan
Meulan
Meulan-en-Yvelines is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It hosted part of the sailing events for the 1900 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Paris, and would do so again twenty-four years later.-People:*Mbaye Niang footballer*Ibrahim Sacko...
.
William’s position was bolstered further by a strategic marriage to Sibylla of Anjou
Sibylla of Anjou
Sibylla of Anjou was a daughter of Fulk V of Anjou and Ermengarde of Maine, and wife of William Clito and Thierry, Count of Flanders....
, daughter of Count Fulk V of Anjou. The marriage was supposed to bring William the county of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, between Normandy and Anjou, as her dowry. King Henry astutely appealed to canon law, however, and the marriage was eventually annulled in August 1124 on the grounds that the couple were within the prohibited degrees of kinship.
In the meantime, a serious aristocratic rebellion broke out in Normandy in favour of William, but was defeated by Henry’s intelligence network and the lack of organisation of the leaders, who were defeated at the battle of Bourgtheroulde in March 1124. Louis VI was distracted from active intervention as Henry I got his son-in-law, the Emperor Henry V, to threaten Louis from the east.
Count of Flanders
Louis VI made great efforts to further William’s cause in 1127. In January he granted him the royal estates in the French VexinVexin
The Vexin is a historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank of the Seine comprising an area east-to-west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle , and north-to-south between Auneuil and the Seine near Vernon...
as a base to attack down the Seine into Normandy, and he was married to the queen’s half sister Joanna of Montferrat. The murder of Count Charles the Good of Flanders on 2 March 1127 gave King Louis an even better chance to further William’s fortunes. He marched into Flanders at the head of an army and on 30 March got the barons of the province to accept William as their new count.
Initially, William did well, securing most of the county by the end of May. But English money and the emergence of a rival in Thierry of Alsace led to a deterioration in his position. In February 1128 Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
and Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
declared against him, as did Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
in March. In May 1128 Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
too welcomed Thierry, leaving William controlling little more than the southern fringe of Flanders. However, he struck back at Bruges and at the battle of Axspoele south of the town on 21 June, William defeated Thierry with his Norman knights and French allies.
At this point he was joined by his father-in-law, Duke Godfrey of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
, and together their armies besieged Aalst on 12 July, with the probable intention of going on from there to reduce Ghent. But during the course of the siege he was wounded in the arm in a scuffle with a foot soldier. The wound became gangrenous and William died at the age of twenty-five on 28 July 1128, attended to the end by his faithful brother-in-law, Helias of Saint Saens. William’s body was carried to the abbey of St Bertin
Abbey of Saint Bertin
The Abbey of St. Bertin was a Benedictine abbey in Saint-Omer, France, now in ruins and open to the public...
in St Omer and buried there. He left no children and was survived by his imprisoned father by six years.