William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel

William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel (c. 1109 – 12 October 1176^[1]), also known as William d'Albini, William de Albini and William de Albini II,^[2] was an English nobleman. He was the son of William d'Aubigny "Pincerna"^{[lower-alpha 1]} of Old Buckenham Castle in Norfolk, and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod of Norfolk.

Marriage and issue

The younger William was an important member of Henry I of England's household. After Henry's death, William married his widow, Queen Adeliza in 1138. William and Adeliza were parents to the following children:

• William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel (d. 24 December 1193)
• Reynor d'Aubigny
• Henry d'Aubigny
• Geoffrey d'Aubigny
• Alice d'Aubigny (d. 11 September 1188)
• Olivia d'Aubigny
• Agatha d'Aubigny

Titles

He was loyal to Stephen of England, who made him first Earl of Lincoln and then Earl of Arundel (more precisely, Earl of Sussex).

In 1143, as Earl of Lincoln, he made two charters confirming a donation of land around Arundel in Sussex to the abbey of Affligem in Brabant (representing his wife Adeliza of Louvain), with William's brother, Olivier, present.

Mediator

He fought loyally for King Stephen, but in 1153 helped arrange the truce between Stephen and Henry Plantagenet, known as the Treaty of Wallingford, which brought an end to The Anarchy.

When the latter ascended the throne as Henry II, he confirmed William's earldom and gave him direct possession of Arundel Castle (instead of the possession in right of his wife he had previously had). She had died in 1151. He remained loyal to the king during the 1173 revolt of Henry the Young King, and helped defeat the rebellion.

He was the builder of Castle Rising Castle at Castle Rising, Norfolk.

Notes

References

Sources

Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's article about William de Albini (Pincerna).

• Brown, R. Allen (1988). Castle Rising Castle. London, UK: English Heritage. ISBN 185074159X. 
• Cawley, Charles (2013-03-24). "England Earls 1138-1142". Medieval Lands. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Retrieved 2013-11-10. 
• Remfry, Paul Martin. Buckenham Castles, 1066 to 1649. ISBN 1-899376-28-3. 
• Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 (8th ed.). Lines 1-22, 18A-22, 139-26, 149-25, 149-26. ISBN 0-8063-1752-3.