OUR ENGLISH HERITAGE

In my last episode (see the "A Team") I left off with our many times Great Grandfather, William "The Conqueror".  I didn't mention how many times great because the number (from 23 to 30) depends on which branch is chosen, and, as of this writing, there are 25 branches that connect us.  Therefore, for purposes of this presentation I won't refer to the number of generations.  Also, unless I mention otherwise, you can assume these are all direct descendants (i.e., grandfathers or grandmothers shown in bold type).  If you want additional information on anyone I recommend Wikipedia.

In this episode I will leave William because I want to fill in the English connection.  To do that I'm going back to a person I mentioned in the last episode.  That person is William's daughter-in-law, Matilda, Princess of Scotland. Let's start with her.

I give you Matilda MacDonnchada, Princess of Scotland.  The picture, alas, is a 19th century work.  We have no idea of what she really looked like but the histories tell us she had many suitors.  I like to think she looked something like this.

Her father is Malcolm III, King of Scotland (b: 1033, d: 1093) and her mother is Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland (b: 1045, d: 1093).  On Nov. 11, 1100, she married Henry I Plantagenet, King of England.

Through her mother she was descended from Edmund "Ironside" and thus Alfred "the Great" (b: 840, d: 901) and the old line of the kings going all the way to Cerdic, King of the West Saxons (b: bef 495, d: 534).

Malcolm III is the son of King Duncan I.  Malcolm lived in exile in England during part of the reign of his father's murderer, Macbeth (yes, that Macbeth).  Malcolm killed Macbeth in battle and then ascended the throne. After the conquest of England by William the Conqueror, in 1066, Malcolm gave refuge to the Anglo-Saxon prince Edgar the Aetheling (b: 1016, d: 1057) and his sisters, one of whom, Margaret (later St. Margaret), became his second wife. Malcolm acknowledged the overlordship of William in 1072 but nevertheless soon violated his feudal obligations and made five raids into England.  During the last of these invasions he was killed by the forces of King William II Rufus (reigned 1087-1100), near Alnwick, Northumberland, England.

Malcolm's mother, Sibyl Fitzsiward (b: 1014, d: 1040), was the daughter of Siward , Earl of Northumbria and his wife Alefbed of Bernica.  It is this line that I will explore next.  As the title of the next episode implies, you are in for a surprise.  Stay tuned for the next episode I call "The Vikings."