Biography of Waleran Beaumont 1st Earl of Worcester Count Meulan 1104-1166

Paternal Family Tree: Beaumont

Maternal Family Tree: Adela Valois Countess Blois and Vermandois

In 1096 [his father] Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan (age 56) and [his mother] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 11) were married. She by marriage Countess of Leicester. The difference in their ages was 45 years. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Hugh "Great" Capet (age 39) and [his grandmother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois.

In 1104 Waleran Beaumont 1st Earl of Worcester Count Meulan was born to [his father] Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan (age 64) and [his mother] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 19).

In 1107 [his father] Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan (age 67) was created 1st Earl of Leicester.

On 5th June 1118 [his father] Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan (age 78) died. His son [his brother] Robert (age 14) succeeded 2nd Earl of Leicester. [his future sister-in-law] Amice Gael Countess Leicester by marriage Countess of Leicester. His son Waleran (age 14) succeeded Count Meulan.

Before 1119 [his step-father] William Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey and [his mother] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 33) were married. She by marriage Countess Surrey. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Hugh "Great" Capet and [his grandmother] Adelaide I Countess Vermandois. He the son of William Warenne 1st Earl of Surrey and Gundred Countess of Surrey.

In 1121 [his brother] Robert Beaumont 2nd Earl of Leicester (age 17) and [his sister-in-law] Amice Gael Countess Leicester were married. He the son of [his father] Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan and [his mother] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 36). They were fourth cousin once removed.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1123. Then went the king (age 55) thence to Portsmouth, Hampshire [Map], and lay there all over Pentecost week. Then, as soon as he had a fair wind, he went over into Normandy; and meanwhile committed all England to the guidance and government of the Bishop Roger of Salisbury. Then was the king all this year¹⁵⁰ in Normandy. And much hostility arose betwixt him and his thanes; so that the Earl Waleram of Mellent (age 19), and Hamalric, and Hugh of Montfort (age 48), and William of Romare, and many others, went from him, and held their castles against him. And the king strongly opposed them: and this same year he won of Waleram his castle of Pont-Audemer, and of Hugh that of Montfort; and ever after, the longer he stayed, the better he sped.

Note 150. The writer means, "the remainder of this year"; for the feast of Pentecost was already past, before the king left England.

1124 Battle of Bourgtheroulde

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 26th March 1124. All this year was the King Henry (age 56) in Normandy. That was for the great hostility that he had with the King Louis of France (age 42), and with the Earl of Anjou (age 35), and most of all with his own men. Then it happened, on the day of the Annunciation of St. Mary, that the Earl Waleram of Mellent (age 20) went from one of his castles called Belmont to another called Watteville. With him went the steward of the King of France, Amalric, and Hugh (age 26) the son of Gervase (age 54), and Hugh of Montfort (age 49), and many other good knights. Then came against them the king's knights from all the castles that were thereabout, and fought with them, and put them to flight, and took the Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase, and Hugh of Montfort, and five and twenty other knights, and brought them to the king. And the king committed the Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase, to close custody in the castle at Rouen; but Hugh of Montfort he sent to England, and ordered him to be secured with strong bonds in the castle at Glocester [Map]. And of the others as many as he chose he sent north and south to his castles in captivity.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. After 26th March 1124. After this went the king (age 56), and won all the castles of the Earl Waleram (age 20) that were in Normandy, and all the others that his enemies held against him. All this hostility was on account of the son of the Earl Robert (age 73) of Normandy, named William (age 21). This same William had taken to wife the younger daughter (age 12) of Fulke, Earl of Anjou (age 35): and for this reason the King of France (age 42) and all the earls held with him, and all the rich men; and said that the king held his brother Robert wrongfully in captivity, and drove his son William unjustly out of Normandy.

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke

Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.

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Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1126. All this year was the King Henry (age 58) in Normandy-all till after harvest. Then came he to this land, betwixt the Nativity of St. Mary [8th September 1126] and Michaelmas [29th September 1126]. With him came the queen (age 23), and his daughter (age 23), whom he had formerly given to the Emperor Henry of Lorrain to wife. And he brought with him the Earl Waleram (age 22), and Hugh, the son of Gervase (age 28). And the earl he sent to Bridgenorth [Map] in captivity: and thence he sent him afterwards to Wallingford, Oxfordshire [Map]; and Hugh to Windsor Castle [Map], whom he ordered to be kept in strong bonds.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1129. Afterwards came the king (age 61) to England within the harvest: and the earl (age 25) came with him: and they became as good friends as they were foes before.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1129. In this year sent the King to England (age 61) after the Earl Waleram (age 25), and after Hugh, the son of Gervase (age 31). And they gave hostages for them. And Hugh went home to his own land in France; but Waleram was left with the king: and the king gave him all his land except his castle alone.

In 1131 Maud Queen Consort Scotland (age 57) died. Her son [his future brother-in-law] Henry (age 17) succeeded 3rd Earl Huntingdon, 3rd Earl of Northampton. [his half-sister] Ada Warenne Countess Huntingdon and Northumbria (age 11) by marriage Countess Huntingdon.

On 13th February 1131 [his mother] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey (age 46) died.

Death of King Henry I

The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy by Orderic Vitalis. Lastly, this catholic prince besought all persons to preserve peace and protect the poor. Then, after having made his confession, he received penance and absolution from the priests, and receiving extreme unction, and being strengthened by the holy eucharist, commended himself to God, and departed this life on the calends of December [1st December [1135]], being Sunday, early in the night. There were then assembled five counts, Robert of Gloucester (age 36), [his step-father] William de Warrenne, Rotrou of Mortain (age 55), Waleran of Mellent (age 31), and [his brother] Robert of Leicester (age 31),¹ besides several other lords, captains, and noble castellans: all of whom were entreated by Hugh the archbishop, and Ouen, bishop of Evreux, not to forsake their master's corpse unless by common consent, but to conduct it to the sea side, all together, in an honourable escort.

Note 1. Robert, earl of Gloucester, the king's natural son; William de Warrenne, earl of Surrey, probably the third of that name, as his father William had died in the course of the year; Rotrou II., Count du Perche; Waleran, count, or earl, of Mellent; and Robert the Hunchback, earl of Leicester.

Around March 1136 Waleran Beaumont 1st Earl of Worcester Count Meulan (age 32) and Matilda Blois Countess of Worcester (age 3) were married. She by marriage Countess Worcester. The difference in their ages was 29 years. She the daughter of King Stephen I England (age 42) and Matilda Flanders (age 31). He the son of Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan and Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey. They were third cousin once removed.

Before 1137 [his half-brother] William Warenne 3rd Earl of Surrey (age 17) and [his sister-in-law] Adela Montgomery Countess of Salisbury and Surrey were married. She the daughter of William "Talvas" Montgomery III Count Ponthieu (age 43) and Helie Burgundy Countess Ponthieu (age 56). He the son of [his step-father] William Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey and [his mother] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey. They were third cousin once removed.

In 1137 [his wife] Matilda Blois Countess of Worcester (age 4) died.

In 1138 [his brother] Hugh Beaumont (age 32) was created 1st Earl Bedford. There is some doubt as to whether this creation existed.

In 1138 Waleran Beaumont 1st Earl of Worcester Count Meulan (age 34) was created 1st Earl Worcester.

William of Worcester's Chronicle of England

William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.

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After 1138 [his brother] Hugh Beaumont (deceased) died. Earl Bedford extinct.

On 11th May 1138 [his step-father] William Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey died. His son [his half-brother] William (age 19) succeeded 3rd Earl Surrey and inherited his estates including Conisbrough Castle [Map]. [his sister-in-law] Adela Montgomery Countess of Salisbury and Surrey by marriage Countess Surrey.

Before 1139 [his brother-in-law] Henry Dunkeld 3rd Earl Huntingdon 1st Earl of Northumbria (age 24) and [his half-sister] Ada Warenne Countess Huntingdon and Northumbria (age 18) were married. She the daughter of [his step-father] William Warenne 2nd Earl of Surrey and [his mother] Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey. He the son of King David I of Scotland (age 54) and Maud Queen Consort Scotland. They were half sixth cousins.

In 1139 [his brother-in-law] Henry Dunkeld 3rd Earl Huntingdon 1st Earl of Northumbria (age 25) was created 1st Earl of Northumbria. [his half-sister] Ada Warenne Countess Huntingdon and Northumbria (age 19) by marriage Countess of Northumbria.

In 1142 Waleran Beaumont 1st Earl of Worcester Count Meulan (age 38) and Agnes Elizabeth Montfort Countess Worcester were married. She by marriage Countess Worcester. She the daughter of Amaury Montfort Count Évreux. He the son of Robert Beaumont 1st Earl of Leicester Count Meulan and Elizabeth Capet Countess Leicester, Meulan and Surrey. They were fourth cousin once removed.

Around 1142 [his son] Robert Beaumont Count Meulan was born to Waleran Beaumont 1st Earl of Worcester Count Meulan (age 38) and [his wife] Agnes Elizabeth Montfort Countess Worcester. He married before 1204 his fourth cousin Maud FitzRoy de Dunstanville of Cornwall, daughter of Reginald de Dunstanville Fitzroy 1st Earl Cornwall and Mabel Fitzrichard, and had issue.

On 6th January 1148 [his half-brother] William Warenne 3rd Earl of Surrey (age 29) died. His daughter [his niece] Isabella (age 11) succeeded 4th Countess Surrey and inherited his estates including Conisbrough Castle [Map].

On 9th April 1166 Waleran Beaumont 1st Earl of Worcester Count Meulan (age 62) died. Earl Worcester extinct. His son Robert (age 24) succeeded Count Meulan.