Arnulf of Montgomery

Background

Arnulf was likely born in the late 1060s, possibly about 1066. He was a younger son of Roger de Montgomery, Vicomte of the Hièmois (died 1094) and Mabel de Bellême (died 1077). Arnulf's parents likely married in about 1050. His mother was a daughter of, and eventual heiress of, William de Bellême, Lord of Alençon (died c.1063). Arnulf's father, an apparent kinsman and close companion of William II, Duke of Normandy (died 1087), was an eminent magnate in Normandy. As tutor to Matilda, Duchess of Normandy (died 1083), Roger and his eldest sons did not embark on the 1066 Norman invasion of England. When William returned to Normandy as king in 1067, Roger accompanied him back to England, and was granted extensive lands, including the Sussex rapes of Arundel and Chichester, followed by the county of Shropshire. Soon afterwards, Roger was made Earl of Shrewsbury. By 1086, he was one of the wealthiest tenants-in-chief in England. Arnulf makes his first appearance in the historical record at about this time when he and his elder brother, Roger de Poitou (died before 1140), witnessed William's confirmation of their father's grant to the Norman abbey of Troarn in 1082/1083.

In 1088, Roger and at least three of his sons participated in plot to eject William Rufus, King of England (died 1100) from the throne with the intent to replace him with Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy (died 1134), William Rufus' elder brother. This rebellion is documented by several sources, such as the ninth–twelfth-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the twelfth-century texts Chronicon ex chronicis, Gesta regum Anglorum, and Historia Anglorum. According to the "E" version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle—the only strictly contemporary source of the four—Robert Curthose's followers captured Odo, Bishop of Bayeux (died 1097) and thereby gained control of the castle of Rochester. This source identifies several leading members of the insurrection, including three unnamed sons of Roger. Whilst it is possible that these brothers were Roger's eldest sons Robert de Bellême (died 1130×), Hugh de Montgomery (died 1098), and Roger de Poitou, it is not impossible that the latter took no part in the rising, and that the third brother was in fact Arnulf himself. Although the rebellion was an ultimate failure, the king imposed no penalty upon Roger, and allowed Roger de Poitou to be reinstated with most of the lands that the eleventh-century Domesday Book shows he previously held.

Rise

Arnulf's father was one of three close supporters of the king who were settled along the Anglo-Welsh border, in a region known as the Welsh marches. Although the first real penetration of Anglo-Norman power occurred in the 1070s, it wasn't until the last decade of the eleventh century that more permanent marcher settlements were envisaged in Wales. In 1093, encroaching marcher lords engaged and slew Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of Deheubarth in Brycheiniog. Contemporaries marked Rhys' fall as the end of kingship amongst the Welsh, and his demise left a power-vacuum in which men such as Arnulf seized upon. The south-west Welsh gwladoedd ("countries") of Ceredigion and Dyfed were thus overwhelmed and settled by the conquering incomers. In the latter gwlad ("country"), Arnulf's father founded an earth and timber castle in which Arnulf established himself. This ringwork, strategically seated on the highest point of a promontory between two tidal inlets, sat on the site where the castle of Pembroke stands today. Although nothing now remains of the original castle, it is described by the twelfth–thirteenth-century Itinerarium Kambriæ as a "slender fortress built of stakes and turf".

William Rufus subsequently rewarded Arnulf with a lordship seated at his castle. There is substantial evidence indicating that Arnulf was, in fact, made Earl of Pembroke. For example, he was accorded forms of the Latin style comes by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 1109), Itinerarium Kambriæ, the twelfth-century Vita Anselmi, the twelfth-century Historia ecclesiastica, the thirteenth/fourteenth-century Brut y Tywysogyon, the twelfth-century Warenne Chronicle, and the cartulary of the abbey of Saint-Martin de Sées. The castle at Pembroke is remarkable in the fact that, unlike other Anglo-Norman or English fortresses in west Wales, it never fell into the hands of the Welsh. At some time between 1097 and 1108, Arnulf's castellan at Pembroke, Gerald de Windsor (died 1116×1136), married Rhys' daughter, Nest (died c.1130). According to Brut y Tywysogyon, Arnulf captured and imprisoned Rhys' young son, Hywel, before the latter was able to escape after suffering certain bodily injuries. Having established himself at Pembroke, Arnulf appears to have resided in England, leaving Gerald at Pembroke as his de facto custos or steward.

On his father's death in 1094, Arnulf's elder brother, Hugh de Montgomery, inherited the earldom of Shrewsbury. Surviving sources reveal that the brothers were closely associated with each other. Within two years they made a joint grant to the far-off abbey of La Sauve-Majeure. Furthermore, Arnulf appears to have witnessed a grant of Hugh de Montgomery's dapfier to the abbey, in a charter dated to 1095–1098. In a Latin grant to the abbey of Saint-Martin de Sées, founded by his father, Arnulf bestowed a donation on behalf of his ancestors, lord, friends, and "very dear brother Hugh" ("carissimi fratris sui Hugonis"). Although the particular wording in this grant may reveal genuine affection for his brother, these acta as a whole could reveal that Arnulf was regarded as the heir of the unmarried and childless Hugh de Montgomery, and that William Rufus intended to acknowledge this inheritance as well.

Partly as a result of the political conquest of Wales in the late eleventh century, the Anglo-Norman Church endeavoured to subjugate and exploit the Welsh Church. From the perspective of the English Crown, the Welsh Church was isolated, archaic, deviant, and backward-looking. Conversely, Anglo-Normans regarded themselves as religious reformers, and sought to impose their own standards and practices upon the Welsh. One way in which the Anglo-Normans imposed their ecclesiastical authority upon the Welsh was through the appointment and control of bishops. Within a year of his consecration as Archbishop of Canterbury in December 1093, Anselm temporarily suspended the Welsh bishops of Glamorgan and St David's, revealing that these diocesan territories had fallen under Canterbury's ecclesiastical authority. In May 1095, Wilfrid, Bishop of St David's (died 1115) came to terms with Anselm. In turn, the latter admonished several leading Anglo-Normans holding lands in the diocese of St David's, urging them to regard Wilfrid as their bishop, and to return the lands, tithes, and churches that they had unjustly seized from him. Two marcher lords specifically singled out by Anselm were Arnulf and Robert de Bellême. In fact, the ravaging of the lands of St Davids in 1097 by Arnulf's steward at Pembroke, Gerald, is recorded by the thirteenth/fourteenth-century Brenhinedd y Saesson, Brut y Tywysogyon, the "B" and "C" versions of the eleventh–thirteenth-century Annales Cambriæ. As a friend of the archbishop, Arnulf may have been more liable to respect this call of restraint from Anselm than from anyone else.

In 1098, together with Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester (died 1101), Hugh de Montgomery led a summer invasion of Gwynedd. Although the Anglo-Normans easily defeated the Welsh defenders, the attackers were later overwhelmed on Anglesey in an encounter with the forces of Magnús Óláfsson, King of Norway (died 1103). Arnulf appears to have learned of his brother's fate about a month later in Normandy, since he travelled to Sées, and founded a priory of the abbey's monks at Pembroke in dedication to the memory of Hugh de Montgomery and his father. Although Arnulf may well have hoped to inherit his brother's title and lands, William Rufus granted them to Arnulf's older brother Robert de Bellême, who had captured Helias de la Flèche, Count of Maine (died 1110) only months before, dutifully handing the count over to the king.

Downfall

At the turn of the twelfth century, the Montgomerys were one of the leading families in England. At this point, Robert de Bellême had reached the height of his power, and appears to have been the most powerful and prosperous magnate in the Anglo-Norman world. Besides inheriting the expansive continental lands of the Montgomery and Bellême families, and succeeding to the earldom of Shrewsbury and the rape of Arundel, Robert de Bellême also obtained the honour of Tickhill in Nottinghamshire and southern Yorkshire. Furthermore, by right of his wife's inheritance, Robert de Bellême gained the small but important continental county of Ponthieu. His brother, Roger de Poitou, was one of the most powerful magnates in northwest England, holding lands in Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Essex, Yorkshire, and Suffolk. By right of his wife, he gained the continental county of La Marche. As for their brother, Arnulf, he likely held the Earldom of Pembroke, a lordship which appears to have constituted the core of the former Kingdom of Deheubarth. Arnulf gained the lordship of Holderness, following the downfall of its former lord, the disgraced Odo, Count of Champagne (died after 1115–1118).

In August 1100, whilst Robert Curthose was absent en route from the Holy Land, the reigning William Rufus was killed, and the vacant English throne was seized by their younger brother, Henry, Count of the Cotentin (died 1135). Fearing an invasion from Normandy by Robert Curthose, an early act of Henry's reign was an alliance with Robert II, Count of Flanders (died 1111), formalised by treaty in March 1101. One of the guarantors recorded lending surety for the English king was Arnulf himself. Guarantors to such acts often led negotiations between involved parties, which could indicate that Arnulf acted as an intermediary between the king and count. Although his involvement on Henry's behalf further evidences Arnulf's considerable status, his career in the king's service was short-lived.

Although Robert de Bellême had initially accepted Henry as king, by the time Robert Curthose asserted his claim to the throne at Alton in 1101, Robert de Bellême was supporting the duke's cause. According to Historia ecclesiastica, the king spent a year collecting evidence against Robert de Bellême; and in 1102, Henry summoned the latter, charging him with forty-five different offences against himself and Robert Curthose. According to Brut y Tywysogyon, Arnulf was likewise summoned and charged. Arnulf appears to have fled to Wales, and Historia ecclesiastica records that Robert de Bellême fortified his English castles against Henry's men. Whilst Robert de Bellême made alliances with the Welsh, Arnulf reached out to the Irish. Specifically, Brut y Tywysogyon reveals that Arnulf sent Gerald to Ireland in order to arrange military assistance from Muirchertach Ua Briain, King of Munster (died 1119). The alliance was formalised by a remarkable marriage between Arnulf and one of Muirchertach's daughters, the record of which is preserved by Historia ecclesiastica, Brut y Tywysogyon, and alluded to by the eleventh–fourteenth-century Annals of Inisfallen. These sources are further corroborated by a particular letter from Muirchertach to Anselm,—perhaps dating to about 1105 or 1106/1107,—in which Muirchertach expressed his gratitude to the archbishop for intervening with Henry on behalf of "my son-in-law Arnulf". Although the native Gaelic form of the bride's name is unknown for certain, Historia ecclesiastica names her "Lafracoth" in Latin. One possibility is that her name represents Aifric. Another is that it represents Lebarcam.

What specifically motivated Muirchertach to agree to an alliance is unknown. It certainly brought him into close contact with one of Europe's leading families. One possibility is that he was attempting to enhance his status on an international stage. He may have also sought to secure the valuable trade route from south Wales and the Bristol Channel to Waterford. His involvement may well have formed part of a larger plan to not only increase power in Ireland but further exert influence throughout the Irish Sea region. As for Arnulf, the marital alliance could have been undertaken in an attempt to enhance his own status in society. On the other hand, the marriage may have been a path by which Arnulf or his brother attempted to gain access to Muirchertach's military might. Furthermore, the alliance may have been coordinated as a means to enlist assistance from the overseas forces of Muirchertach's powerful ally, Magnús. Certainly, Historia ecclesiastica states that Henry was greatly concerned with Magnús' presence in the region, although there is no evidence that the Norwegians assisted the rebels. Despite the fact that Brut y Tywysogyon reports that Muirchertach lent the two brothers military support, and the distinct possibility that Roger de Poitou aided them as well, the Bellême-Montgomery insurrection ended in utter failure.

Surviving sources give differing accounts of the rebellion. Arnulf's principal contribution appears to have been his participation in a predatory strike into Staffordshire. According to the twelfth-century Historia regum Anglorum and Chronicon ex chronicis, Robert de Bellême and Arnulf, supported by Welsh allies, ravaged a part of the county, before carrying off livestock and men to Wales. The detailed account of the general uprising preserved by Historia ecclesiastica appears to be the most reliable record of events. This source reveals that, following Robert de Bellême's flight from the king's summons, Henry appears to have raised a feudal host consisting of his tenants-in-chief (who owed him knight-service) and the old English fyrd (a levy of one armed man from about every five hides or six carucates). Historia ecclesiastica states that Henry's host besieged the castle of Arundel for three months before it's capitulation, after which the king led his forces to the castle of Tickhill which immediately surrendered. After temporarily standing down his army, Henry resumed operations in the autumn, he is recorded to have seized the castle of Bridgnorth after a three-week siege. At about this point, William Pantulf (died 1112?), a former vassal of the Montgomerys, is stated to have offered his services to Robert de Bellême. Upon being rebuffed by the latter, William Pantulf is recorded to have gone over to Henry's side, and was apparently instrumental in convincing Robert de Bellême's Welsh allies desert him and support the king instead. Brut y Tywysogyon specifically states that Iorwerth ap Bleddyn (died 1111), a leading Welshman, was bought off by the king and began to harry his former ally's lands. After Henry's forces marched to Shrewsbury itself, Historia ecclesiastica records that Robert de Bellême's submitted to the king in person. Defeated, the three surviving sons of Roger de Montgomery were banished from the kingdom, with their lands and titles declared forfeit.

Aftermath

Whilst Robert fled to the continent, surviving sources suggest that Arnulf—and likely others from the ill-fated insurrection—sought refuge in Ireland. Certainly, Gesta regum Anglorum makes note of a deterioration in relations between Muirchertach and Henry before an English trade embargo forced reconciliation upon the Irish. One possibility is that this episode occurred as a consequence Muirchertach's part in the rebellion. Furthermore, Historia ecclesiastica claims that Arnulf and other Normans assisted the Muirchertach in a military capacity, apparently against the forces of Magnús himself. However, after the latter fell in battle against Muirchertach's forces, this source states that the Irish turned upon the Normans, and that Muirchertach forced Arnulf from Ireland altogether. In fact, the details of this account are likely erroneous, as Magnús appears to have fallen against the Ulaid, not Muirchertach's men. The claim of Arnulf's flight from Ireland, and Muirchertach's enmity against him, may be mistaken as well, especially in light of the emphatic letter between Muirchertach and Anselm concerning Arnulf. Nevertheless, the account preserved by Historia ecclesiastica may be evidence of English mercenarial involvement in Ireland during Henry's reign. In fact, it is possible that Arnulf did indeed campaign in Ireland on behalf of Muirchertach, and that the latter's marital alliances with Magnús and Arnulf in 1102 were undertaken in the context of offsetting Muirchertach's main rival, Domnall Mac Lochlainn, King of Cenél nEógain (died 1121). Unfortunately for Muirchertach, not only was Magnús slain in a skirmish in the following year, but Muirchertach's forces suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Domnall's forces at Mag Coba. If there is any truth to the claim of Arnulf being driven from Ireland, it is possible that Historia ecclesiastica may evince an attempt by Muirchertach to mend fractured relations with Henry.

Robert Curthose initially agreed to support Henry against the banished Robert de Bellême, who was now in Normandy and hostile to the duke. At some point before June 1103, Arnulf appears to have betrayed his brother's trust, since Historia ecclesiastica states that Arnulf took the castle of Alménêches, a Montgomery family stronghold, and handed it over to the duke. It may have been at this point that Arnulf sought refuge in Ireland. Whatever the case, Robert de Bellême's efforts to recover the castle led to his razing of the nearby nunnery of Alménêches, where his sister, Emma (died 1113), was abbess. By 1104, his military successes against the duke forced the latter to come to terms. With Robert de Bellême and Robert Curthose thus reconciled, Henry turned against the two and finally defeated them in battle, near the castle of Tinchebray in September 1106. Although a version of Brut y Tywysogyon suggests that Arnulf took part in the battle, the account of Arnulf's earlier betrayal at Alménêches preserved by Historia ecclesiastica may contradict this. Despite the correspondence evidencing Anselm's reconciliation of Henry with Arnulf, the latter never held land in England ever again, and appears to have endured a peripatetic career for about twenty years. Evidence that he visited England, at least on one occasion, may be preserved by Vita Anselmi which states that Arnulf made a returning voyage from Normandy ("de Normannia Angliam rediens").

Between 1110 and 1112, Robert de Bellême involved himself in uprisings in southern Normandy, encouraged by Henry's opponent, the recently inaugurated Foulques, Count of Anjou and Maine (died 1143). Henry responded by bringing charges against Robert de Bellême, and finally seizing him in November 1112. The latter's lands were declared forfeit, and he was imprisoned by the king for the rest of his life. During the first quarter of the twelfth century, Arnulf attested eight charters of Foulques, making Arnulf one of the count's most frequent witnesses. In about 1114, Arnulf witnessed an act between his great-niece, Philippa, Countess of Poitou, and Bernard-Aton, Vicomte of Béziers. Arnulf's influence at Foulques's court appears to be evidenced by particular actions in 1118. That year the townsfolk of Alençon rebelled against Henry and their lord Stephen, Count of Mortain (died 1154), whilst the latter were campaigning against a continental coalition attempting to replace the king with Robert Curthose's illegitimate son, William Clito (died 1128). The region of Alençon was a former power centre of the Bellême family, and according to Historia ecclesiastica, the townsfolk requested that Arnulf intervene with Foulques on their behalf against Stephen's injustices and oppression. In what turned out to be Henry's single greatest defeat, Foulques' troops then seized the town and besieged the citadel, before crushing Henry's relief forces, after which Foulques secured the citadel once and for all. Arnulf, probably now in his fifties, is not noted in any of the surviving sources documenting the clash. Nevertheless, he and his family could well have been responsible for an uprising that appears to flared up at about the same time in former Montgomery-Bellême lands in central Normandy. This insurrection seems to have contributed to Henry's restoration of much of the former Montgomery-Bellême lands in Normandy to Robert de Bellême's son, William III, Count of Ponthieu (died 1171), in June 1119.

The next certain record concerning Arnulf occurs in 1122, when his name is listed in a mortuary roll, circulated after the death of churchman Vitalis of Savigny (died 1122), in which the nuns of the abbey of Alménêches commemorated him, his parents, and his younger brother Philip (died 1099). Arnulf, therefore, died sometime between 1118 and 1122. The depiction of Arnulf's death preserved by Historia ecclesiastica is likely unhistorical. This account relates that, following Magnús' death, Arnulf was forced from Ireland by Muirchertach, only to return about twenty years later, whereupon he remarried the latter's daughter, and died following the feast. There is no evidence that Arnulf left any descendants.

Legacy

There are numerous instances where contemporaries noted members of the Montgomery family for unusual cruelty—Robert de Bellême in particular. According to Historia ecclesiastica, Mabel was murdered by a vassal, a particular act that may evidence her unpleasantness. Historia ecclesiastica describes Hugh de Montgomery as the only "mild and loveable" (mansuetus et amabilis) of Mabel's sons, whilst Welsh sources present him in a much more negative light. A source concerning Arnulf may be Planctus Ricemarch, a sorrowful Latin lament composed by scholar Rhygyfarch ap Sulien (died 1099). This source—a contemporary composition bewailing the cultural upheaval and oppression inflicted upon the Welsh after the Anglo-Norman conquests of 1093—may refer to subjugation suffered under Arnulf and his father.

The actions of the Montgomery family illustrate the remarkable speed at which Norman families could spread across far-flung regions. Although Norman families tended to practice primogeniture, the conquest of England and the opening up of Britain contributed a new area of exploitation for landless younger sons of the aristocracy. The careers of younger sons of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy are often obscure, with few surviving sources documenting their activities. The younger sons of Roger de Montgomery and Mabel are an exception, and Arnulf's career illustrates the various opportunities available to contemporaries of his rank—men who could not rely upon inheritance alone, and who had to acquire territories of their own. Despite losing his lands later in his career, Arnulf's numerous and regular attestations in court circles reveal that he retained substantial personal prestige. The far-flung nature of these attestations may well indicate that his skills as a negotiator were well-known and valued. Indeed, Arnulf's career reveals the importance of personal-connections in the courtly-world of the Anglo-Norman era.

Arnulf's family—traced with certainty only two patrilineal generations previous—derived its surname from lands now known as Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery and Saint-Germain-de-Montgommery, in Calvados, Normandy. Although descendants of Arnulf's siblings survived for several generations, the family's toponymic surname died with Arnulf.