Notes |
- William's Heart is buried in Whitby Abbey.
Earl of Caux and Poiters William de Percie, who settled in the North of England, Count of Caux and Poicters, then chief of his name, held the Chateau of Percy, near Villediue in what is now the Arrondessement of St. Lo, Department of La Manches together with other great estates in both Lower and Upper Normandy. He was a man of obstinate, domineering character, not untinged by superstitution, yet enlightened and charitable beyond his time--such was William de Percy, who was nicknamed "Alsgernons." He obtained 32 lordships in Lincolnshire, 86 in Yorkshire exclusive of Whitby, where he founded a Benedictine Abbey. William died in sight of Jerusalem, 1096, while on the First Crusade. He was buried at Antioch, but his heart was sent to England and buried at Whitby. By his English wife, Emma de Porte, he left four sons: Alan, Walker, William and Richard. (Kin of Mellcene Thurman Smith, page 550)
William de Percy, first son, Earl of Caux and Poiters, a follower of William the Conqueror into England, who bestowed on him 32 lordships in Lincolnshire and 86 in Yorkshire, exclusive of the lordship of Whitby, where he founded a Benedictine Abbey. He was surnamed Alsgernon (William with the Whiskers). He accompanied Duke Robert of Normandy on the First Crusade, 1096, and died at Mount Joy, near Jerusalem, that celebrated eminence whence the pilgrims of the cross first viewed the Holy City. He was buried there, but his heart was sent back to England and buried at Whitby. He left four sons and two daughters by his wife Emma, a lady of Saxon descent, whose lands were amongst those bestowed on him by the Conqueror, and according to the ancient Chronicler, "he wedded hyr that was very heire to them, in discharging his conscience." His lordship was succeeded in his feudal rights and possessions by his eldest son, Alan. Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, had devastated this entire region between York and Durham, and William rode into the midst of these blackened, blood-soaked lordships, and little by little he drew the starving, wild-eyed English out of their lurking places, filled their mouths with food and found work suited to their weakness. He built and fortified the Castles of Spofforth and Topcliffe, which long remained the chief strongholds of his line. For twenty-five years he labored among his people, before the desert began to smile; but in the end success was his. In North Riding of York today there is not a field of grain or grass that does not owe some of its sap to the generous obstinacy of William de Percy. It is said in all England there was no more obstinate man that he--it was an age when both throne and church claimed absolute sway--yet it may fairly be said that to neither priest nor king did the first English Percy yield one inch of the way. (Kin of Mellcene Thurman Smith, page 828)
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