William fitz Giroie | |
---|---|
Died | 1057 Gaeta, Italy |
Noble family | Giroie |
Spouse(s) | Hiltrude de Beine Emma de Tannei |
Father | Giroie, Lord of Échauffour |
Mother | Gisle |
William fitz Giroie ( 1057) Lord of Échauffour and Montreuil-l'Argillé. A Norman nobleman and patriarch of a large and powerful family in Normandy and Apulia.
William was the second son of Giroie, Lord of Échauffour and Gisle, daughter of Thurston de Bastembourg lord of Montfort-sur-Risle. At their father's death in 1033, those properties making up his inheritance went to the eldest son Arnold, while most of the lands Giroie had acquired went to William. When Arnold died from an accidental fall in 1041, William was his heir and, less the smaller holdings that went to his two younger brothers, he inherited most of his father's lands. From that time on William was the family patriarch and according to Orderic Vitalis governed his family well. He headed a powerful family consisting of his brothers, sons, and numerous nephews all of whom were themselves formidable warriors.
About 1050, William heard of an old fountain in the forest near a stream called Charenton and went to investigate. He discovered the ruins of an old church dedicated to St. Peter the apostle and surveyed the area for what became the restored Abbey of Saint-Evroul, so named for its original founder St. Evroul. Shortly afterwards, his two nephews, Hugh de Grandmesnil and his younger brother Robert de Grandmesnil wanted to build a monastery but the site they chose was not well suited for a religious community. William advised his nephews to work with him to restore the ancient abbey of Saint Evroul and, with generous endowments from many of the fitz Giroie family, it was completed in 1050.
In extending his family's wealth and holdings, William had become a vassal of William I Talvas, Geoffrey de Mayenne, and the dukes of Normandy. This worked until about 1044 when William fitz Giroie was defending the castle of Montaigu for Geoffrey de Mayenne against William Talvas. Unable to defeat the castle, William Talvas captured Geoffrey de Mayenne and held him prisoner until William Fitz Giroie destroyed his castle of Montaigu. William fitz Giroie immediately razed his own castle to free his lord and in return Geoffrey de Mayenne built fitz Giroie a new castle at St. Cenery on the river Sarthe. While this was a victory for William I Talvas, it also seems to have caused him great resentment against William fitz Giroie.