Herleva mother of william the conqueror biography
William the conqueror 1066.
Herleva
Mother of William the Conqueror (c.
Herleva mother of william the conqueror biography
1005–1050)
Herleva[a] (c. 1005 – c. 1050) was an 11th-century Norman woman known for having been the mother of William the Conqueror, born to an extramarital relationship with Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and also of William's prominent half-brothers Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain, born to Herleva's marriage to Herluin de Conteville.
Life
Herleva's background and the circumstances of William's birth are shrouded in mystery. The written evidence dates from a generation or two later, and is not entirely consistent, but of all the Norman chroniclers only the Tours chronicler and William of Malmesbury, the latter thought to have simply copied the Tours source, assert that William's parents were subsequently joined in marriage.[8][b] According to Edward Augustus Freeman, the Tours chronicler's version cannot be true, because if Herleva married the Duke, then William's birth