Grayson family

Notes


Earl Of Northampton And Northumbria Waltheof II


Beheaded in Winchester,England for conspiring against the Normans

   [CALDWELL.GED]

   The parish of Brigham (which includes ten townships) lies on the south side of the River Derwent, spanned by a fine bridge, whose opposite shore was the site of a Roman fortress. The locality is a few miles west of Cockermouth, and a few east of Workington (its seaport), being in Allerdale ward, and the archdeaconry of Richmond. It is about five and one-half miles in extent, north and south, and four miles east and west.

   Soon after "The Conquest," this locality passed from William de Meschines to Waldeof, who, it is believed, built here a great castle, which became the baronial seat of his successors, the lords of Allerdale. Situated upon "The Marches," between two hostile nations (Scotland and England), these lords were courted by both great powers, and almost continually at war in behalf of that kingdom to which might temporarily be owed a changeful allegiance.

   (*) Published authorities: Nicholson & Burns Hist. Westmoreland &
   Cumberland, Vol. II, p. 59; Hutchinson's Hist. Cumberland, Vol. II, p.
   104; Carlisle's Topographical Dict. of England; Lewis' Top. & Hist. Dict.
   of England., p. 232; Magna Britania; Annals of the Caledonians, Picts &
   Scots, (Ribson, Edby., 1828), Vol. II, p. 228; Cronicon Cumbriae.


6th Duke Of Normandy Robert Theodocia Magnificent

   Robert contributed to the restoration of Henry King of France to his throne, and received from the gratitude of that monarch, the Vexin, asan additional to his patrimonial domains. In the 8th year of his reign,curiosity or devotion induced him to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where the fatigues of the journey and the heat of the climate so impaired his consitution he died on his way home.


King Of England William The Conqueror

William I (of England), called The Conqueror (1027-1087), first Norman king of England (1066-1087), who has been called one of the first modern kings and is generally regarded as one of the outstanding figures in western European history. Born in Falaise, France, William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy. Upon Robert's death, the Norman nobles accepted William as his successor. During a visit in 1051 to his childless cousin, Edward the Confessor, king of England, William is said to have obtained Edward's agreement that he should succeed to the English throne. When King Edward died, however, the witenagemot (royal council) elected Harold, earl of Wessex, as king. William secured the sanction of Pope Alexander II for a Norman invasion of England.
The duke and his army landed at Pevensey on September 28, 1066. On October 14, the Normans defeated the English forces at the Battle of Hastings, in which Harold was slain. William proceeded to London and was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey. William met opposition with strong measures. By 1070 the Norman conquest of England was complete. William invaded Scotland in 1072 and forced the Scottish king Malcolm III MacDuncan to pay him homage. During the succeeding years the Conqueror crushed insurrections among his Norman followers. One feature of William's reign as king was his reorganization of the English feudal and administrative systems. In 1087, during a campaign against King Philip I of France, William's horse fell in the vicinity of Mantes, fatally injuring him.