William d'Aubigny - 1st Earl of Arundel
Strong Hand
William d'Aubigny was an English Nobleman during the reigns of King Stephen of England and Henry II. He was Master Butler of the Royal household of England.
William was born around 1109 in St Sauver, Manche, Normandy, France. He was the son of William d'Aubigny and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk.
William was an important member of Henry I's household, and when King Henry I died, William married his widow, Queen Adeliza of Louvain, in 1138. They had seven children together, including William d'Aubigny, the eldest son, who would become 2nd Earl of Arundel.
In 1138, he began building Castle Rising Castle and its surrounding deer park in Castle Rising, Norfolk, England, which was used as a fortress and hunting lodge. In 1143, William d'Aubigny made two charters, confirming a donation of land in Sussex to Affligem Abbey in Brabant, Belgium.
William was the first proven English supporter of the crusader Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. He granted them land at Wymondham in 1146 and built a Leper Hospital near his castle in Norfolk. His cousin Roger de Mowbray and his family were also patrons of the Order's headquarters at Burton Lazars Hospital.
William d'Aubigny was a loyal soldier for King Stephen of England, who created him 1st Earl of Arundel (Earl of Sussex) and then Earl of Lincoln. In 1153, William helped arrange the truce between Stephen and Henry Plantagenet, later King Henry II. The Treaty of Wallingford ended the Anarchy, the civil war between England and Normandy, over succession between 1138 and 1153.
In 1154, when Henry Plantagenet was crowned King Henry II, he confirmed William's earldom and gave him Arundel Castle. In 1173, he remained loyal to Henry II during the Revolt of 1173-1174 and helped defeat the rebellion.
In 1173, William d'Aubigny commanded the King's army in Normandy with William, Earl of Essex, compelling the French King to abandon Verneuil after a long siege.
On September 29th, 1173, he fought in the Battle of Fornham, near Bury St. Edmunds, where he assisted in defeating the Earl of Leicester, who had invaded Suffolk with a force of Flemish mercenaries during the Revolt of 1173-1174.
On October 3rd, 1176, William d'Aubigny died at Waverley Abbey in Surrey, England, and was buried at Wymondham Priory in Norfolk, England. His son William succeeded him as Earl of Arundel.
