| Notes |
- ROGER DE BELLOMONT, Earl of Mellent, married Adeline, daughter of Waleran and sister and heiress of Hugh, Earl of Mellent, in Normandy, brother of Henry de Newburgh, who was created Earl of Warwick. (Fenwick Allied Ancestry, page 90)
ROGER DE BEAUMONT, called Barbatus, who succeeded to all the possessions of his father and brother and accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066; married Adeline, daughter of Waleran and sister of Hugh, Earl of Mellent. (Fenwick Allied Ancestry, page 143)
Roger de Beaumont-le-Roger (c. 1015 – 29 November 1094) was son of Humphrey de Vielles (himself a great-nephew of the Duchess Gunnora of Normandy) and his wife Albreda de la Haye Auberie. Roger de Beaumont, Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger and Pont-Audemer, Viscount of Hiesmes, was thus a second cousin once removed of the Conqueror.
Roger was nicknamed Barbatus or La Barbe because he wore a moustache and beard while the Normans usually were clean shaven. This peculiarity is recognized in the forty-first panel of the Bayeux Tapestry where he is depicted sitting at a feast with Duke William on his left hand, Odo brother of William and Bishop of Bayeux in the centre.
Planché tells us that "he was the noblest, the wealthiest, and the most valiant seigneur of Normandy, and the greatest and most trusted friend of the Danish family." There is an explanation for this - as an older cousin who had never rebelled against the young Duke, he was part of the kinship group of noblemen that William relied upon in governing Normandy and fighting off frequent rebellion and invasions. The historian Frank McLynn notes that William relied on relatives descended via his mother (namely his half-brothers and brothers-in-law) and on relatives descended from the Duchess Gunnora's sisters, since his own paternal kin had proved unreliable.
Wace, the 12th century historian, says that "at the time of the invasion of England, Roger was summoned to the great council at Lillebonne, on account of his wisdom; but that he did not join in the expedition as he was too far advanced in years." Although Roger could not fight, he did not hesitate in contributing his share of the cost, for he provided at his own expense sixty vessels for the conveyance of the troops across the channel. Furthermore, his eldest son and heir fought bravely at Hastings as noted in several contemporary records. As a result, Roger's elder sons were awarded rich lands in England, and both eventually were made English earls by the sons of the Conqueror.
He married circa 1048 or earlier Adeline of Meulan (ca. 1014-1020 - 1081), daughter of Waleran III, Count de Meulan and Oda de Conteville, and sister and heiress of a childless Count of Meulan. Meulan eventually passed to their elder son who became Count of Meulan in 1081.
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1020 - 1094 (74 years)