Roger de Montgomery et Vicomté de Hiémois

  General Notes:

~Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, 8th Edition, 185:1¹⁶⁰, Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, Viscount of Hiesmois, Seigneur of Montgomeri in Normandy, was married to Mabel Talvas, daughter and heir of William Talvas, lord of Bellême, Seigneur of Alencon.

~Schwennicke's ES 3:637-41. Before the conquest, Roger was known as "de Monte Comerico", which was anglicized to Montgomery.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information: ⁴⁸⁹
Roger succeeded his father as Seigneur de Montgommery, Vicomte d'Hiémois. He remained in Normandy at the time of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 to assist Duchess Mathilde to govern the duchy but accompanied King William I to England in Dec 1067. King William gave him "first of all Arundel castle and the town of Chichester", afterwards creating him Earl of Shrewsbury [1/4] Dec 1074, presumably with the intention of strengthening the defence of the western part of the country against Welsh incursions. As "Rogerus comes Salosberiensis" he witnessed a charter of King William I giving the barony of Plessis to the church of Bayeux dated 24 Dec 1074. Sire d'Alençon. Earl of Shropshire and Shrewsbury. He allied himself with Robert Duke of Normandy at the time of the latter's rebellion against King William II in 1089.

• Web Reference: Castle Builder in Wales Roger Montgomery.

• Background Information: ¹⁴¹
Roger de Montgomery, in right of his 1^st wife, Mabel de Bellême, daughter of William Talvast, was Lord of Alençon Seez, and others, in Normandy. During the invasion of England, he remained, as regent, in Normandy, came to England, for the first time, with King William, in December 1067. At the Christmas festival, was created an Earl, receiving, among other large grants from the Conqueror, about one third of the county of Sussex, including the city of Chichester and the Castle of Arundel. By this last grant he may be considered to have become Earl of Arundel. At all events he was frequently so styled, though, occasionally, he is styled Earl of Chichester. Dugdale and many later writers consider him to have been Earl of Sussex as well. On the dismemberment of Mercia, in 1070, another Earldom was conferred on him, by the grant of nearly the whole of Shropshire (with, apparently, Palatine authority), together with the Castles of Shrewsbury and Montgomery, and the Lordship of the West Marches. He was thenceforth generally known as Earl of Shrewsbury, though occasionally (according to modern views, more correctly) as the Earl of Shropshire. He is the written as "Comes Rogierus" "in the Domesday survey, where, of course, no local designation is attributed to him. He died 27 Jul 1094.

~Cockayne's Complete Peerage, (Arundel), Vol. I, pp. 230-233

Roger de Montgomery, most likely the 3^rd but 1^st surviving son and heir of Roger I de Montgomery by Josceline, a niece of the duchess Gunnor, succeed his father as seigneur of Montgomery and vicomté of Hiesmois. His name is often found in Duke William's entourage, the earliest instance was Christmas 1053. About 1061, he and his wife, Mabel, were high in William's favor. He was with William in 1066, while preparations were in progress for the invasion of England, and came to England later, first assisting the duchess in the governing of the duchy. In 1079/80, he exerted himself to bring about a peace between William and Fulk, comté de Anjou, and in 1079, with other magnates he assisted in effecting reconciliation between the King and his son Robert. In the summer of 1080, he executed a charter making gifts to Troarn for the soul of his wife Mabel, lately deceased.

From the charters that he witnesses, it seems that through the reign of William the Conqueror, Roger was a constant attendant of the Court. He built the caste of Montgomery sometime before 1086. It seems that Roger sympathized with Robert Curthose, regarding him as the right heir to the English throne. Three of his sons, including Robert de Bellême, were among those who held Rochester for Robert Curthose against the royal forces in the late summer. Later, in 1088, he crossed to Normandy and levied war against Duke Robert, who had imprisoned Robert de Bellême, on his return, after the surrender of Rochester. Roger was at the court at Gloucester in 1093, when he witnessed a royal charter.

Roger married, 1^st, probably between 1050 and 1054, Mabel, daughter and heir of William Talvas (William
Talvas was the 5^th son of William de Bellême, seigneur of Bellême and Alençon), by his 1st wife, Hildeburg, daughter of Arnulf, who has not been identified. Mabel she died 2 Dec 1079, being murdered at Bures by Hugh Bunel, son of Robert de "Jalgeio", from whom she had taken the "castrum quod in rupe Jalgeii situm est", and was buried 5 Dec 1079 at Troarn. Roger married, 2^nd, Adelaide, daughter of Everard de Puiset. Roger died 27 Jul 1094 at Shrewsbury and having been clothed as a monk three days before his death was buried there in the abbey, which he had founded.

children of Roger and Mabel were:

Roger, who died young
Robert, 2^nd Earl of Shrewsbury
Hugh, 3^rd Earl of Shrewsbury
Roger "the Poitevin," married to Almodis, sister and heir of Boso, comté de Marche en Poitou
Philip, called the Clerk or grammaticus, who went on crusade and died at the siege of Antioch in 1099, according to Orderic.
Arnulf, who obtained the "comiatus" of Pembroke, but who apparently, was not an earl. In 1102, he joined his brother, Robert's rebellion and was banished from England.
Emma, abbess of Almenèches
Maude, married to Robert, comté de Mortain and Earl of Cornwall
Mabel, wife of Hugh, lord of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais.
Sybil, wife of Robert Fitz Hamon.

The children of Roger and his second wife:

Everand, chaplain both to William Rufus and Henry I, is generally said to have become bishop of Norwich in 1121.

~Cockayne's Complete Peerage, (Shrewsbury), Vol. XI, pp. 683-687

Roger married Mabel de Bellêsme Dame d'Alençon, daughter of Guillaume de Talvas Comté de Bellême et Seigneur d'Alençon and Hildeburge.⁷³⁷ (Mabel de Bellêsme Dame d'Alençon was born in 1015-1026 in Alençon, Normandy, France, died on 2 Dec 1079 in Château de Burres, Eure, Normandy, France ⁴¹¹ and was buried on 5 Dec 1079 in Convent of Troarn, Eure, Normandy, France ⁷¹⁹.)