House of Bellême

* This article is based in part on a translation of the article from the on 19 July 2012.

House of Bellême also referred to as the Family of Bellême was an important seigneurial family during the 10th through the 12th centuries. Members of this family held the important castles of Bellême, Alençon, Domfront and Sées as well as extensive lands in France, Normandy and Maine.

The first known progenitor of this family is Yves de Bellême who was probably the son of Yves de Creil, The caput of the lordship was the castle of Bellême, constructed "a quarter of a league from the old dungeon of Bellême" in Maine. The second lord, William of Bellême, with the consent of Richard I, Duke of Normandy constructed two castles, one at Alençon and the other at Domfront, the caput of the lordship remained the castle of Bellême. Yet in a charter to the abbey of Lonlay of the lands of Neustria Pia, he describes himself as William princeps and provinciae principatum gerens indicating he considered himself an independent ruler or prince of his own domains. His sons Fulk and Warin died in his lifetime leaving Robert as his heir. Robert de Bellême died a prisoner leaving the fourth son, Ives as lord of Bellême, who shortly thereafter became Bishop of Séez. William Talvas, held the lands of Bellême in right of his brother Bishop Ives who retained the Lordship himself until his death at which time William came into possession of the lands of Bellême, Domfront and Alençon. After the infamous incident (see below) with William fitz Giroie, his kinsmen sacked and destroyed the lands of William Talvas who would not face them in the field. In turn Talvas' son Arnulf rebelled and exiled his father, now reviled by everyone. He wandered until he was taken in by the de Montgomery family whose son Roger agreed to marry his daughter Mabel in return for the lands William lost. Mabel inherited all the vast estates of her father (and in 1079 those of her uncle Bishop Ives) and married the heir of one of the most prominent families in Normandy, Roger de Montgomery, who became the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.

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