Princess Of England Gundred ^2,3

  General Notes:

[Europe_New.FTW] [royalfam.ged] There was never any question of Gundred being an illegitimate daughter of William I, but rath er it was a case of a fraudulent claim that she was a legitimate daughter. The reason peopl e used to think that Gundred was a daughter of William the Conqueror was because the monks o f Lewes forged some charters which stated that. But I don't think anyone now seriously mainta ins that these charters are authentic. Gundred is known to have been a sister of Gerbod, who was briefly earl of Chester under Willi am the Conqueror. It's clear they were members of a Flemish family who were advocates of St B ertin's Abbey in St Omer, and who held Oosterzele and Scheldewindeke, although the genealog y isn't altogether clear. Chris Phillips Gundred was a sister of Gerbod the Fleming, earl of Chester, and possibly a daughter of Gerbod, hereditary advocate of the abbey of St. Bertin at St. Omer. Many sources name her as the daughter of William the Conqueror and his wife Matilda, and she has also been put forth as a daughter or stepdaughter of William the Conqueror. This, however, was shown to be false many years ago. She died in childbirth. David C. Douglas contends in "William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England" Berkeley: Univ of Calif Press, 1964: "The view once held that Matilda was already married [to Gerbod] when William sought her hand, and was then the mother of a daughter, Gundrada, later the wife of William de Warenne, has now been conclusively disproved by the researches of Chester Waters and Sir Charles Clay. There is no reason to suppose that Gundrada was the daughter of either William or Matilda." DD says: "Sister of Gerbod the Fleming,advocate of Saint-Bertin and earl of Chester in 1070, and Frederick. Wife of William I de Warenne. She died in childbirth on 27 May 1085 and was buried in Lewes priory Mon. Ang. v,12. EYC viii,pp. 6-7; A. J. Farrington, 'A note on Gherbod the Fleming, Earl of Chester', Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society li 1984." Hope this helps. Polly Zashin PLM: There is some doubt in my mind, however. Per your earlier assistance to me; I do now have "The Chartulary of the Priory of St. Pancras of Lewes", vol. I, ed. L. F. Salzman, and published by the Sussex Record Society in 1032. There is a lengthy charter by William Warrene nearly six pages in length; so I will not quote it's entirety, but this bit is curious. Page 3: "..., I have given for the welfare of my soul and that of Gundrada my wife and for the soul of my lord King William who brought me into England and by whose license I caused the monks to come and who confirmed my former gift, and for the welfare of my lady Queen Maud the mother of my wife and for the welfare of my lord King William his son after whose coming to England I made this charter and who made me Earl of Surrey,..." UNQ PLM: It is quite clear from this charter, that Gundrada is the daughter of Queen Maud, and the lack of a reference to William I being the father of Gundrada is highly significant. If I were to rely solely on this evidence, I would have to conclude that Gundrada was NOT the daughter of William I at all. People have referred to forged charters from Lewes, but what is the basis of these assertions, and which references discuss these "supposedly proven forgeries"? The premise of such an accusation appears to be up side down, in relation to the above charter. It seems illogical to forge a document that makes Gundrada the daughter of the Queen, as opposed to the King of England; which would essentially diminish her social standing, instead of elevating it, as most forgeries tend to do? Cheers, Phil

  Noted events in her life were:

• Record Change, 30 Dec 2002. ^2,3

Gundred married William De Warren before 1077 in Normandy, France ².^,3 (William De Warren was born about 1055 in Bellencombe, Seine Inferieure, France,^2,3 died on 24 Jun 1088 in Lewes, Sussex, England ^2,3 and was buried in Lewes, Sussex, England ^2,3.)