Arnulf de Montgomery (born 1066; died 1118/1122) was an Anglo-Norman magnate. He was a younger son of Roger de Montgomery and Mabel de Bellême. Arnulf's father was a leading magnate in Normandy and England, and played an active part in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Wales in the late eleventh century.
Following the Montgomerys' successes against the Welsh, Arnulf established himself at Pembroke, where an earth and timber castle was erected, and was probably rewarded with the title Earl of Pembroke.
At the turn of the twelfth century Arnulf reached height, with his lordship including much of the former Welsh Kingdom of Deheubarth as well as various lands in Yorkshire. Not long after reaching this apex of his career, Arnulf assisted his eldest surviving brother, Robert de Bellême, in a rebellion against Henry I, King of England. It was also about this time that Arnulf married a daughter of Muirchertach Ua Briain, King of Munster, in what appears to have been an effort to gain military support against the English Crown.
Following the ultimate collapse of the rebellion, however, the Montgomerys were outlawed and banished from the realm, and Arnulf appears to have spent much of the next twenty-odd years in a peripatetic life in Ireland and Normandy. Arnulf's career exemplifies the opportunities available to younger sons of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy. Arnulf appears to have died between 1118 and 1122. A tombstone in Tulsk, Ireland bears the name of Arnoul (Arnulf) and the date 1122.
Arnulf and his wife Lafracoth (daughter of Muirchertach Ua Briain, King of Munster) are known to have left one daughter, Alice, who was born circa 1115; however, according to Europäische Stammtafeln, Arnulf and Lafracoth had two children, Robert and Alice, who would have progeny.Curtis, E. “Murchertach O'Brien, High King of Ireland, and His Norman Son-in-Law, Arnulf De Montgomery, circa 1100.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 11, no. 2, (1921), pp. 116–124.Europäische Stammtafeln, J.A. Stargardt Verlag, Marburg, Schwennicke, Detlev (Ed.), Vol. 3, 4th part, (1989), Table 640.
Background
Arnulf was likely born in the late 1060s,Chandler (1989) p. 8. possibly about 1066.Thompson (2004b). He was a younger son of Roger de Montgomery, Vicomte of the Hièmois and Mabel de Bellême.Mason, JFA (2004b); Keats-Rohan (1999) pp. 399–400. Arnulf's parents likely married in about 1050.Mason, JFA (2004b). His mother was a daughter of, and eventual heiress of, William de Bellême, Lord of Alençon. Arnulf's father, a kinsman and close companion of William II, Duke of Normandy, was an eminent magnate in Normandy.Mason, JFA (2004b); Keats-Rohan (1999) pp. 399–400; Hollister (1977) p. 63; Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 1–5. As tutor to Matilda, Duchess of Normandy, 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.Mason, JFA (2004b); Hollister (1977) pp. 63, 65 tab. a. Arnulf makes his first appearance in the historical record at about this time when he and his elder brother, Roger de Poitou, witnessed William's confirmation of their father's grant to the Norman abbey of Troarn in 1082/1083.Chandler (1989) pp. 2, 2 n. 3, 8; Davis (1913) p. 47 § 172.
In 1088, Roger and at least three of his sons participated in plot to eject William Rufus, King of England from the throne with the intent to replace him with Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, William Rufus' elder brother.Hollinghurst (2012) p. 82; Mason, JFA (2004b); Sharpe (2004) pp. 143–145, 144 n. 25; Lewis (1989) pp. 572–573; Hollister (1977) pp. 66–67; Hollister (1973b) p. 317; Mason, JFA (1963) p. 16. This rebellion is documented by several sources, such as the ninth- to twelfth-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,Whitelock (1996) pp. 165–166, 166 n. 2; Lewis (1989) pp. 572–573; Thorpe, B (1861) pp. 356–358. and the twelfth-century texts Chronicon ex chronicis,Lewis (1989) pp. 572–573; Forester (1854a), pp. 186–191; Thorpe, B (1849) pp. 21–26. Gesta regum Anglorum,Lewis (1989) pp. 572–573; Giles (1847) pp. 327–330 bk. 4 ch. 1; Hardy (1840) pp. 486–490 ch. 306. and Historia Anglorum.Lewis (1989) pp. 572–573; Arnold (1879) pp. 213–215; Forester (1853) pp. 222–223. 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 and thereby gained control of the castle of Rochester. This source identifies several leading members of the insurrection, including three unnamed sons of Roger.Sharpe (2004) pp. 144–145, 144 n. 25; Whitelock (1996) pp. 165–166, 166 n. 2; Lewis (1989) pp. 572–573; Thorpe, B (1861) pp. 356–358. Whilst it is possible that these brothers were Roger's eldest sons Robert de Bellême, Hugh de Montgomery, and Roger de Poitou,Lewis (1989) p. 573; Mason, JFA (1963) p. 16; Freeman (1882a) p. 57 n. 3. it is not impossible that the latter took no part in the rising, and that the third brother was in fact Arnulf himself.Lewis (1989) p. 573, 573 n. 2; Hollister (1977) p. 71 n. 26. 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.Mason, JFA (2004b); Mason, JFA (1963) p. 16.
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.Kenyon (2003) p. 247. In 1093, encroaching marcher lords engaged and slew Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of Deheubarth in Brycheiniog.Davies, S (2014) p. 126, 126 n. 179; Lloyd; Thornton (2004); Turvey (2002) p. 44. Contemporaries marked Rhys' fall as the end of kingship amongst the Welsh,Lloyd; Thornton (2004). and his demise left a power-vacuum in which men such as Arnulf seized upon.Davies, S (2014) pp. 126–127; Turvey (2002) p. 44; Davies, RR (2006b) pp. 34, 39. The south-west Welsh ("countries")Davies, RR (2006c) p. 12. of Ceredigion and Dyfed were thus overwhelmed and settled by the conquering incomers. In the latter ("country"), Arnulf's father founded an earth and timber castle in which Arnulf established himself.Kenyon (2010) p. 89; Brown (1992) p. 177. This ringwork,Coulson (2003) p. 52 n. 178. 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,Brown (1992) p. 177. it is described by the twelfth-century Itinerarium Kambriæ as a "slender fortress built of stakes and turf".Davies, S (2014) p. 199; Davies, RR (2006a) p. 91; Thorpe, L (1978) p. 148 bk. 1 ch 12; The Itinerary Through Wales (1908) p. 82 bk. 1 ch. 12; Dimock (1868) p. 89 bk. 1 ch. 12.
William Rufus subsequently rewarded Arnulf with a lordship seated at his castle.Chandler (1989) pp. 8–9. There is substantial evidence indicating that Arnulf was, in fact, made Earl of Pembroke.Oram (2011) p. 52; Babcock (2007) p. 53; Crouch (2007) p. 174; Harvey (2001); Thompson (1991) p. 275; Chandler (1989) pp. 8–9, 9 n. 50; Candon (1988) p. 411; Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–19. For example, he was accorded forms of the Latin style by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury,Thompson (1991) pp. 275–276 n. 56; Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–18 n. 4; Schmitt (1949) p. 185 § 270. Itinerarium Kambriæ,Thorpe, L (1978) p. 149 bk. 1 ch 12; Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–18 n. 4; The Itinerary Through Wales (1908) p. 83 bk. 1 ch. 12; Dimock (1868) p. 90 bk. 1 ch. 12. the twelfth-century Vita Anselmi,Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–18 n. 4; Southern (1962) pp. 146–147, 152–153; Rule (1884) pp. 419, 425. the twelfth-century Historia ecclesiastica,Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–18 n. 4; Southern (1962) p. 146 n. 1; Cokayne; White (1949) p. 687 n. d; Forester (1854b) pp. 33–34 bk. 8 ch. 25, 338 bk. 11 ch. 3; Le Prevost (1845) pp. 425–426 bk. 8 ch. 25; Le Prevost (1852) p. 177 bk. 11 ch. 3. the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Brut y Tywysogyon,Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–18 n. 4. the twelfth-century Warenne Chronicle,Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–18 n. 4; Edwards (1868) p. 306. and the cartulary of the abbey of Saint-Martin de Sées.Mason, JFA (1963) pp. 17–18 n. 4; Round (1899) p. 239 § 670. 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.Kenyon (2010) p. 89; Lloyd (1912) p. 401. At some time between 1097 and 1108, Arnulf's castellan at Pembroke, Gerald de Windsor, married Rhys' daughter, Nest.Johns, SM (2010) p. 102; MacCotter; Nicholls (2009) p. 49; Cohen (2006) p. 91; Crouch (2004); Lloyd; Thornton (2004); Walker (2004); Davies, RR (1990) p. 52; Roderick (1968) p. 6. 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.Lloyd; Thornton (2004); Turvey (2002) p. 44; Le Patourel (1997) p. 64 n. 2; Duffy (1993) p. 11; Roderick (1968) p. 6; Lloyd (1912) p. 401, 401 n. 6; Rhŷs; Evans (1890) p. 295; Williams Ab Ithel (1860) pp. 120–121. Having established himself at Pembroke, Arnulf appears to have resided in England, leaving Gerald at Pembroke as his or steward.MacCotter; Nicholls (2009) p. 49; Rowlands (1981) p. 145.
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.Chandler (1989) p. 9. Within two years they made a joint grant to the far-off abbey of La Sauve-Majeure.Hollinghurst (2012) pp. 86, 1115; Strevett (2005) p. 40; Mason, E (2002) ch. 7 ¶ 36; Mason, E (1999) p. 136; Chandler (1989) p. 9; Mason, JFA (1963) p. 19; Davis (1913) p. 103 § 410; Round (1899) p. 446 § 1234. Furthermore, Arnulf appears to have witnessed a grant of Hugh de Montgomery's to the abbey, in a charter dated to 1095–1098.Strevett (2005) p. 40, 40 n. 79; Chandler (1989) p. 9, 9 n. 55; Mason, JFA (1963) p. 19 n. 3; Round (1899) p. 447 § 1238. In a Latin grant to the abbey of Saint-Martin de Sées, founded by his father,Keats-Rohan (1999) p. 399. Arnulf bestowed a donation on behalf of his ancestors, lord, friends, and "very dear brother Hugh" ("").Strevett (2005) p. 40; Chandler (1989) p. 9, 9 n. 54. 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,Strevett (2005) pp. 40–41. and that William Rufus intended to acknowledge this inheritance as well.