William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel (c. 1109 – 25 September 1176), also known as William d'Albini, was son of William d'Aubigny, 'Pincerna' (Master Butler of the Royal household) of Old Buckenham Castle

Buckenham Castle

At Buckenham, Norfolk there are the remains of two castles: .-Old castle:All that remains today of what was a Norman castle are the remnants of the earthworks and some traces of a stone curtain wall...

 in Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk

Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk

Roger Bigod was a Norman knight who came to England in the Norman Conquest. He held great power in East Anglia, and five of his descendants were Earl of Norfolk. He was also known as Roger Bigot, appearing as such as a witness to the Charter of Liberties of Henry I of England.-Biography:Roger came...

.

Marriage and Issue

The younger William was an important member of Henry I of England

Henry 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...

's household. After Henry's death, William married his widow Queen

Queen consort

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...

 Adeliza

Adeliza of Louvain

Adeliza of Louvain, sometimes known in England as Adelicia of Louvain, also called Adela and Aleidis; was queen consort of the Kingdom of England from 1121 to 1135, the second wife of Henry I...

 in 1138. He and Adeliza were parents to seven children:

Reynor,
Henry,
Geoffrey,
Alice (d. 11 Sep 1188),
Olivia,
Agatha, and
William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel

William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel

William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel was the son of William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel and Adeliza of Louvain, widow of Henry I of England....

 b. 1150, d. 24 Dec 1193.

Titles

He was loyal to Stephen of England

Stephen of England

Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...

, who made him first Earl of Lincoln

Earl of Lincoln

Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First Creation :*William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First...

 and then Earl of Arundel

Earl of Arundel

The title Earl of Arundel is the oldest extant Earldom and perhaps the oldest extant title in the Peerage of England. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. It was created in 1138 for the Norman baron Sir William d'Aubigny...

 (more precisely, Earl of Sussex

Earl of Sussex

Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel were often also called Earls of Sussex....

).

In 1143, as Earl of Lincoln

Earl of Lincoln

Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First Creation :*William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First...

 he made two charters confirming a donation of land around Arundel

Arundel

Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...

 in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

 to the abbey of Affligem in Brabant

Brabant (landgraviat)

The Landgraviat of Brabant must be distinguished from the Duchy of Brabant. The Duchy of Brabant was initially a feudal elevation of the landgraviat, but its name was applied to the entire country under the control of the Dukes of Brabant, from the 13th century on.This imperial fief was assigned to...

 (representing his wife Adeliza of Louvain

Adeliza of Louvain

Adeliza of Louvain, sometimes known in England as Adelicia of Louvain, also called Adela and Aleidis; was queen consort of the Kingdom of England from 1121 to 1135, the second wife of Henry I...

), with William's brother, Olivier, present.

Mediator

He fought loyally for King Stephen, but in 1153 helped arrange the truce between Stephen and Henry Plantagenet, known as the Treaty of Wallingford

Treaty of Wallingford

The Treaty of Wallingford of 1153, aka Treaty of Winchester or as the Treaty of Westminster, was an agreement that effectively ended the civil war known as the Anarchy, caused by a dispute between Empress Matilda and her cousin King Stephen of England over the English crown...

, which brought an end to The Anarchy

The Anarchy

The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...

.

When the latter ascended the throne as 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...

, he confirmed William's Earldom and gave him direct possession of Arundel Castle

Arundel Castle

Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror...

 (instead of the possession in right of his wife he had previously had). She had died in 1151. He remained loyal to the king during the 1173 revolt 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...

, and helped defeat the rebellion.

He was the builder of the castle of Castle Rising

Castle Rising

Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is best known as the location of Castle Rising Castle, which dominates the village...

in Norfolk.

Sources

• England, Earls Created 1138-1143
• Weis, Frederick Lewis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, 8th Ed., Lines 1-22, 18A-22, 139-26, 149-25, 149-26. (ISBN 0-8063-1752-3)
• Remfry, P.M., Buckenham Castles, 1066 to 1649 (ISBN 1-899376-28-3)