Count William Clito Normandy FLANDERS, III

   Other names for William were "The Clito", FLANDERS Count and NORMANDY Prince.

   Ancestral File Number: 8XJ0-QM.

   General Notes:

"The Clito", Prince of NORMANDY, Count of FLANDERS.

Divorced Sybilla 1124, Killed Battle of Alost 1128.

BOOKS
Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Genealogical Chart, Anne Taute and Romilly Squire, Taute, 1990: "William The Clito, Mar =1 Sybilla Daughter of Fulk V Count of Anjou Annuled 1124, Mar =2 Joan Daughter of Rainer of Montferrat, Killed 1128 Battle of Alost."

The Political History of England, Vol II, George Burton Adams Longmans Green and Co, 1905, p146:
[1106] "Robert's young son William, known afterwards as William Clito, was captured and brought before Henry [I]. Not wishing himself to be held responsible for his safety, Henry turned him over to the guardiansip of Elias of Saint-Saens, who had married a natural daughter of Robert's..."
p155: "By August, 1111, King Henry's stay in England was over, and he crossed again to Normandy. What circumstances called him to the continent we do not know,but probably events growing out of a renewal of war with Louis VI, which seems to have been first begun early in 1109. However this may be, he soon found himself in open conflict all along his southern border with the king of France and the Count of Anjou, with Robert of Belleme and other barons of the border to aid them. Possibly Henry feared a movement in Normandy itself in favour of young William Clito, or learned of some expression of a wish not infrequent among the Norman barons in times a little later, that he might succeed to his father's place. At any rate, at this time, Henry ordered Robert of Beauchamp to seize the boy in the castle of Elias of Saint-Saens, to whom he had him committed him five years before. Theattempt failed. William was hastily carried off to France by friendly hands, in the absence of his guardian. Elias hoined him soon after, shared his long exile, and suffered confiscation of his fief in consequence..."
p172: "About the same time, Henry's old enemy, Amaury of Montfort, dislik- int the strictness of Henry's rule and the frequency of his demands for money, began to work among the barons of Normandy and with his nephew, the Count of Anjou, in favour of William Clito. It was already clear that Henry's hope of another heir was likely to be disappointed, and Normandy would naturally be more easily attracted to the son of Robert than England. The first step was one which did not violate any engagement with Henry, but which was nevertheless, a decided recognition of the claims of his nephew, and an open attack on his plans. Fulk gave his second daughter, Sibyl, in marriage to William Clito, and with her the county of Maine, which had been a part ofMatilda's dower on her marriage with Henry's son William. Under the circumstances, this was equivalent to an announcement that he expected William Clito to be the Duke of Normandy..."
p177: "Matilda's return to her father, and Henry's evident intention to make her the heir of his dominions, of Normandy as well as of England, seem to have moved King Louis to some immediate action in opposition. The separation of the duchy from the kingdom, so important for the interests of theCapetian house, could not be hoped for unless this plan was defeated. The natural policy of opposition was the support of William Clito. At a great council of his kingdom, meeting at the same time with Henry's court in which Matilda's heirshipwas recognized, the French king bespoke the sympathy and support of his barons for `William of Normandy.' The response was favourable, and Louis made him a grant of the French Vexin, a point of observation and of easy approach to Normandy. At the same time, a wife was given William in the person of Jeanne, half sister of Louis' queen, and daughter of the Marquis of Montferrat. A few weeks later William advanced with an armed force to Gisors, and made formal claim to Normandy.
"It was hardly these events, though they were equivalent to a formal notification of the future policy of the king o France, which brought Henry to a decision as to his daughter's marriage. On March 2, [1127] the Count of Flanders, Charles the Good, was foully murdered in the Church of St Donatian at Bruges. He was without children or near relatives, and several claimants forthe vacant countship at once appeared. Even Henry I is said to have presented his claim, which he would derive from his mother, but he seems never seriously to have prosecuted it. Louis, on the contrary, gave his whole support to the claim of William Clito, and suceeded with little difficulty in getting him recognized by most of the barons and towns as count. This was a new and most serious danger to Henry's plans, and he began at once to stir up troubles for the new count among his vassals, by the support of rival claimants, and in alliance with neighbouring princes..."
p179: [1127] "William Clito's tenure of his countship was of but little more than a year, and a year filled with fighting. Boulogne was a vassal county of Flanders; but the new count, Stephen, undoubtedly carrying out the directions of his uncle, refused him homage, and William endeavoured to compel his obedience by force. Insurrections broke out behind him, due in part to his own severity of rule...Louis attempted to come to his help but was checked by a forward move of Henry with a Norman army. The tide seemed about to turn in Henry's favour once more, when it was suddenly impelled that way by the death of William. Wounded in the hand by a spear, in a fight at Alost, he died a few days later. His father was still alive in an English prison, and was informed in a dream, we are told, of this final blow of fortune..."

The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, Antonia Fraser, 1975, Alfred Knopf, p24: "William III Count of Flanders 1101-1128..."

ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File Ver 4.11 8XJ0-QM, and 9HPW-HS.

   Marriage Information:

William married Countess Sibyl D' Anjou FLANDERS, daughter of Count Fulk V ANJOU and Countess Ermentrude Du Maine ANJOU, about 1122-1123. The marriage ended in divorce. (Countess Sibyl D' Anjou FLANDERS was born about 1105-1115 in , Anjou, France and died about 1165-1167.)

   Marriage Information:

William also married Joan MONTFERRAT, daughter of Marquis Rainer MONTFERRAT and Countess Gisela Bourgogne BURGUNDY, in 1127.