Herleva of Arlette van Falaise (ca. 1015-1050) was de moeder van Willem de Veroveraar.
De bronnen zijn schaars over Herleva. Aangenomen wordt dat zij de dochter was van Fulbert, een leerlooier uit Falaise. Robert de Duivel, hertog van Normandië, wilde haar als zijn minnares maar Herleva zou te trots zijn geweest voor een heimelijke verhouding. Ze eiste door Robert als een echtgenote te worden behandeld, zij hadden een niet-kerkelijk huwelijk volgens de "more Danico", het gewoonterecht van de Vikingen. Uit hun verhouding werd Willem de Veroveraar geboren, en mogelijk ook een dochter Adelheid. Deze laatste was in ieder geval een dochter van hertog Robert, maar het is niet zeker of Herleva de moeder was. Herleva werd begraven in de abdij van Grestain.
In 1031 stond de hertog haar toe te trouwen met Herluinus van Conteville (ca. 1005 - 1066). Herluinus was burggraaf van Conteville en stichtte de abdij van Grestain. In zijn tweede huwelijk trouwde hij met Fredesindis. Zij hadden drie zoons.
Legende in Hoei
Over haar afkomst gaat er in Hoei een legende rond, volgens welke haar vader uit Florennes afkomstig zou zijn en haar moeder een gevluchte Schotse prinses was, genaamd Doda (of Donada), een dochter van de Schotse koning Malcolm II[1]. Ze wordt in Hoei Arlette van Hoei genoemd en er is voor haar een standbeeld opgericht op En Mounie
Herleva (c. 1003 c. 1050) also known as Herleve,[1] Arlette,[2] Arletta[3] and Arlotte,[4] had three sons - William I of England, who was fathered by Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain, who were both fathered by Herluin de Conteville. All became prominent in William's realm.
Contents
Life
The background of Herleva 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 asserts that the two were joined in marriage.[5] The most commonly accepted version says that she was the daughter of a tanner named Fulbert from the town of Falaise, in Normandy. Translation of filia pelletarii burgensis[6] being somewhat uncertain, Fulbert may instead have been a furrier, embalmer, apothecary, or a person who laid out corpses for burial.[7]
It is argued by some that Herleva's father was not a tanner but rather a member of the burgher class.[8] The idea is supported by the fact that her brothers appear in a later document as attestors for an under-age William. Also, the Count of Flanders later accepted Herleva as a proper guardian for his own daughter. Both facts would be nearly impossible if Herleva's father (and therefore her brothers) was a tanner, which would place his standing as little more than a peasant.
Orderic Vitalis described Herleva's father Fulbert as being the Duke's Chamberlain (cubicularii ducis).[9]
Relationship with Robert the Magnificent
According to one legend, still recounted by tour guides at Falaise, it all started when Robert, the young Duke of Normandy saw Herleva from the roof of his castle tower. The walkway on the roof still looks down on the dyeing trenches cut into stone in the courtyard below, which can be seen to this day from the tower ramparts above. The traditional way of dyeing leather or garments was for individuals to trample barefoot on the garments which were awash in the dyeing liquid in these trenches. Herleva, legend goes, seeing the Duke on his ramparts above, raised her skirts perhaps a bit more than necessary in order to attract the Duke's eye. The latter was immediately smitten and ordered her brought in (as was customary for any woman that caught the Duke's eye) through the back door. Herleva refused, saying she would only enter the Duke's castle on horseback through the front gate, and not as an ordinary commoner. The Duke, filled with lust, could only agree. In a few days, Herleva, dressed in the finest her father could provide, and sitting on a white horse, rode proudly through the front gate, her head held high. This gave Herleva a semi-official status as the Duke's mistress.[citation needed]
She later gave birth to his son, William, in 1027 or 1028.
Marriage to Herluin de Conteville
Herleva later married Herluin de Conteville in 1031. Some accounts however, maintain that Robert always loved her, but the gap in their social status made marriage impossible, so, to give her a good life, he married her off to one of his favourite noblemen.[citation needed]
Another source suggests that Herleva did not marry Herluin until after Robert died because there is no record of Robert ensuing another relationship, whereas Herluin married another woman, Fredesendis, by the time he founded the abbey of Grestain.[a]
From her marriage to Herluin she had two sons: Odo, who later became Bishop of Bayeux, and Robert, who became Count of Mortain. Both became prominent during William's reign. They also had at least two daughters, Emma, who married Richard LeGoz or Richard Goz (count or viscount of Avranches), and a daughter of unknown name who married William, lord of la Ferté-Macé.[10]
Death
According to Robert of Torigni, Herleva was buried at the abbey of Grestain, which was founded by Herluin and their son Robert around 1050. This would put Herleva in her forties around the time of her death. However, David C. Douglas suggests that Herleva probably died before Herluin founded the abbey because her name does not appear on the list of benefactors, whereas the name of Herluin's second wife, Fredesendis, does.[
(1) Sie ist verheiratet mit Robert "de dUivel" van Normandie.
Sie haben geheiratet vor 1031.Quelle 3
Kind(er):
(2) Sie ist verheiratet mit Harlevin de Conteville.
Sie haben geheiratet im Jahr 1031, sie war 28 Jahre alt.Quelle 4
Kind(er):
Herleva Arlette | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) < 1031 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert "de dUivel" van Normandie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(2) 1031 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Harlevin de Conteville |
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herleva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herleva
www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-voorhaar/I4948.php
www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-hemelop/I3103.php en http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herleva