Biography of William Clito Count Flanders 1102-1128

Paternal Family Tree: Norman

1127 Oath of Allegiance to Empress Matilda

Before 25th October 1102 [his father] Robert Curthose III Duke Normandy (age 51) and [his mother] Sybilla Conversano Duchess Normandy were married. She by marriage Duchess Normandy. He the son of [his grandfather] King William "Conqueror" I of England and [his grandmother] Matilda Flanders Queen Consort England.

On 25th October 1102 William Clito Count Flanders was born to [his father] Robert Curthose III Duke Normandy (age 51) and [his mother] Sybilla Conversano Duchess Normandy. He a grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy. When he was returning from the journey to Jerusalem, he took [his mother] Sibylla as his wife, the sister of William, Count of Conversano, and from her he begot one son, named William. The aforesaid countess was beautiful in face, modest in her conduct, endowed with wisdom, and when the duke was sometimes absent, she herself arranged the affairs of the province, both private and public, better on her own than he would have done had he been present. She lived only a short time in Normandy, having been deceived by the envy and intrigue of certain noblewomen¹. The aforesaid William, son of Duke Robert, later became Count of Flanders. How this came about we shall explain briefly.

Cum autem rediret de via Hierusalem accepit Sibyllam in uxorem, sororem Willelmi comitis Conversanæ, de qua genuit unum filium, nomine Willelmum. Fuit autem prædicta comitissa pulchra facie, honesta moribus, sapientia prædita et aliquando absente duce ipsa melius per se negotia provinciæ tam privata quam publica disponebat, quam ipse faceret si adesset. Vixit autem in Northmannia parvo tempore, invidia et factione quarumdam nobilium feminarum decepta. Prædictus vero Willelmus filius Roberti ducis procedenti tempore comes fuit Flandrensis. Quod quomodo acciderit, paucis aperiamus.

Note 1. Sybilla de Conversano died, or was murdered, on 18th March 1103.

Battle of Bremule

On 20th August 1119 at the Battle of Bremule at Gaillardbois Cressenville [his uncle] King Henry I "Beauclerc" England (age 51) and his son William Adelin Duke Normandy (age 16) defeated the army of Louis VI King of the Franks (age 37) who had invaded Normandy in support of William Clito Count Flanders (age 16) who claimed the Duchy of Normandy.

In 1123 William Clito Count Flanders (age 20) and Sibylla Anjou Countess Essex (age 11) were married. She the daughter of Fulk "Young" King Jerusalem (age 34) and Ermengarde of Maine Countess of Anjou. He the son of Robert Curthose III Duke Normandy (age 72) and Sybilla Conversano Duchess Normandy. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

In 1124 William Clito Count Flanders (age 21) and Sibylla Anjou Countess Essex (age 12) were divorced.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. After 26th March 1124. After this went the [his uncle] 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 [his father] Earl Robert (age 73) of Normandy, named William (age 21). This same William had taken to wife the younger [his former wife] daughter (age 12) of [his former father-in-law] 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.

In 1127 William Clito Count Flanders (age 24) and Joanna Monferrat Countess Essex and Flanders were married. She by marriage Countess Essex. She the daughter of Rainier Aleramici Marquis of Monferrat (age 43) and Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy (age 57). He the son of Robert Curthose III Duke Normandy (age 76) and Sybilla Conversano Duchess Normandy. They were third cousins. He a grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

1127 Oath of Allegiance to Empress Matilda

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1127. This year held the [his uncle] King Henry (age 59) his court at Christmas in Windsor. There was David the king of the Scots (age 43), and all the head men that were in England, learned and lewd. And there he engaged the archbishops, and bishops, and abbots, and earls, and all the thanes that were there, to swear England and Normandy [Map] after his day into the hands of his daughter Athelicia (age 24), who was formerly the wife of the Emperor of Saxony. Afterwards he sent her to Normandy; and with her went her brother Robert, Earl of Glocester (age 28), and Brian, son of the Earl Alan Fergan (age 27);¹⁵⁴ and he let her wed the son (age 13) of the [his former father-in-law] Earl of Anjou (age 38), whose name was Geoffry Martel. All the French and English, however, disapproved of this; but the king did it for to have the alliance of the Earl of Anjou, and for to have help against his nephew William (age 24).

Note 154. See an account of him in "Ord. Vit." 544. Conan, another son of this Alan, Earl of Brittany, married a daughter of Henry I.

Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes

Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.

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Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1127. And the King of France (age 45) brought William (age 24), the son of the [his father] Earl of Normandy (age 76), and gave him the earldom; and the people of that land accepted him. This same William had before taken to wife the [his former wife] daughter (age 15) of the Earl of Anjou; but they were afterwards divorced on the plea of consanguinity. This was all through the [his uncle] King Henry (age 59) of England. Afterwards took he to wife the [his wife] sister¹ of the king's wife of France; and for this reason the king gave him the earldom of Flanders.

Note. Maternal half-sister; their mother [his mother-in-law] Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy (age 57).

On 2nd March 1127 Charles I Count Flanders (age 43) was murdered at Church of St Donatian. His second cousin William (age 24) succeeded Count Flanders. [his wife] Joanna Monferrat Countess Essex and Flanders by marriage Countess Flanders.

In 1128 [his wife] Joanna Monferrat Countess Essex and Flanders died.

The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy. So then, to the aforementioned Robert, Count of Flanders, Henry, king of the Saxons and emperor of the Romans, granted the County of Cambrai, and Robert did homage to him for it. This Robert begot two sons, Robert and Philip. Robert, who was called the Jerusalemite because he was present when Jerusalem was taken by the Christians, begot Baldwin, who succeeded him. But Baldwin died from a wound that he had received in a certain battle near the castle of Auc in Normandy. After him, Charles his kinsman succeeded. And when this Charles was treacherously killed, as has already been said, William (age 25), the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, received the county of Flanders, as stated above. But he lived only a short time afterward, for while assaulting a certain town he was struck by a mortal wound. He died on the sixth day before the Kalends of August [27th July], in the year of the Lord 1128¹. He was buried in the church of Saint Bertin the Confessor, and Thierry (age 29) of Alsace, a kinsman of the preceding counts, succeeded him. To this Thierry, Henry, king of the English, gave in marriage the sister [Sibylla²] of Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou.

Igitur prædicto Roberto comiti Flandriæ Henricus rex Saxonum et imperator Romanorum, dedit comiD talum Cameracensem et ipse fecit ei inde fidelitatem. Genuit autem idem Robertus duos filios, Robertum et Philippum. Robertus vero Hierosolymitanus cognominatus, quia interfuit, dum Hierusalem a Christianis caperetur, genuit Balduinum qui ei successit. Eodem vero Balduino mortuo ex vulnere, quod in conflicta quodam apud Aucum castrum quoddam Northmanniæ acceperat, Carolus cognatus ipsius ei successit Quo per traditionem occiso, sicut jam dictum est, cumdem comitatum Flandriæ, sicut superius diximus, Willelmus filius Roberti ducis Northmanniæ habuit. Sed parvo tempore supervixit, in cujusdam oppidi assultu appetitus lethali vulnere. Decessit vero 6 Kal. Aug. anno ab incarnatione Domini 1188. Sepultus est autem in ecclesia Sancti Bertini confessoris et successit ei Terricus de Avseis, congnatus præcedentium comitum. Huic Henricus rex Anglorum copulavit sororem Gaufridi Martelli comitis Andegavorum.

Note 1. The manuscript here has erroneously 1188.

Note 2. [his former wife] Sibylla (age 16), around 1112-1165, daughter of Fulk of Anjou and Ermengarde de la Flèche. Her brother was Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, father of King Henry II of England; he is not known to have been given the nickname 'Martel' i.e. 'Hammer' although he is referred to as such in this text. Her uncle Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, who was known as 'Martel'. She married 1 in 1123 William "Clito", annulled 1124, and 2 in 1134 Thierry, Count of Flanders.

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1128 Battle of Axspoele

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. All this year was the [his uncle] King Henry (age 60) in Normandy, on account of the hostility that was between him and his nephew (age 25), the Earl of Flanders (age 29). But the earl [William] was wounded in a fight¹ by a swain; and so wounded he went to the monastery of St. Bertin; where he soon became a monk, lived five days afterwards, then died, and was there buried. God honour his soul. That was on the sixth day before the calends of August [27th July 1128].

Note 1. The Battle of Axspoele was fought on 21st June 1128.

Chronicon ex Chronicis by Florence and John of Worcester. William (age 25), count of Flanders, surnamed The Sad, falling into an ambush, was wounded by his enemies, and, his sufferings increasing, died, amidst universal lamentations, on the sixth of the calends of August [27th July 1128], and was buried at St. Bertin.

After 1132 Thierry Count Flanders (age 33) and [his former wife] Sibylla Anjou Countess Essex (age 20) were married. She by marriage Countess Flanders. She the daughter of [his former father-in-law] Fulk "Young" King Jerusalem (age 43) and [his former mother-in-law] Ermengarde of Maine Countess of Anjou. He the son of Theodoric "Valiant" Metz II Duke Lorraine and Gertrude Flanders Duchess Lorraine. They were fifth cousins.