Mabel de Bellême
| Mabel de Bellême | |
|---|---|
| Spouse(s) |
Roger II de Montgomery, later 1st Earl of Shrewsbury Gisle of Montfort-sur-Risle |
| Noble family | House of Bellême |
| Father | William I Talvas |
| Mother | Hildeburg |
| Died | 1079 Bures, Orne, Normandy |
Roger II de Montgomery, later 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
Mabel de Bellême (a.k.a. Mabel Talvas) (died 1079), Dame de Alençon, de Séez, and Bellême, Countess of Shrewsbury and Lady of Arundel. She was a member of the House of Bellême.
Mabel was the daughter of William I Talvas and his first wife Hildeburg. She was the heiress of her father’s estates, her half-brother Oliver apparently being excluded. She also inherited the remainder of the Belleme honor in 1070 at the death of her uncle Yves, Bishop of Séez and Lord of Bellême. When their father was exiled by her brother Arnulf in 1048 she accompanied him until both were taken in by the Montgomery family. Between 1050-1054 she married Roger II de Montgomery, later 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. Roger II de Montgomery was already a favorite of Duke William and by being given the marriage to Mabel it increased his fortunes even further.
Her husband Roger had not participated in the Norman conquest of England but had remained behind in Normandy as co-regent along with William's wife, Matilda of Flanders. He had also contributed 60 ships to Duke William's invasion force. He joined the king in England in 1067 and was rewarded with the earldom of Shropshire and a number of estates to the point that he was one of the largest landholders in the Domesday Book.
She and her husband Roger transferred the church of Saint-Martin of Séez to Evroul and petitioned her uncle, Yves, Bishop of Séez to build a monastery there on lands from her estates. The consecration was in 1061 at which time Mabel made additional gifts.
Of all of Orderic’s female subjects Mabel was the most cunning and treacherous; if not entirely for her own misdeeds then as the mother of Robert de Bellême, who had a reputation for savagery as well as cruelty. In one passage Orderic describes her as "small, very talkative, ready enough to do evil, shrewd and jocular, extremely cruel and daring."
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