SAINTS, WITCHES AND POPULAR CHARACTERS GOOD AND EVIL IN LITERATURE AND MOVIES IN THE FAMILY TREE

There are Saints in my tree. There are also, witches, and various good and evil characters who inspired authors to write about them in literature, films and fiction.  

As I have pointed out many times, even if there is little doubt that these people existed, their genetic connection to modern times to me may be suspect, or not. 

Most of them are many generations ago, and the further back the generation the less likely there could be a connection.  

Saint Begga is my 43rd great grandmother. She was born about 615 in Landen, Brabant Wallon, Belgium, (Austrasia) and died 17 December 693.

She was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta. Begga was married to Ansegisel, another mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and had two sons, Pepin II and Martin of Laon.

On the death of her husband, she took the veil, founded several churches, and built a convent at Andenne on the Meuse River (Andenne sur Meuse) where she spent the rest of her days as abbess. She was buried in Saint Begga's Collegiate Church in Andenne.

She is commemorated as a saint on her feast days, 6 September and 17 December.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begga

Saint Itta (or Itta of Metz) (also Ida, Itte or Iduberga) (592–652), my 44th great grandmother, was the wife of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia and mother of St. Begga. Her brother was Saint Modoald, bishop of Trier. Her sister was Abbess Saint Severa. There is no direct record of their parents, but it has been suggested that she was a daughter of Arnold, Bishop of Metz, son of Ansbertus.

On the advice of the missionary Bishop of Maastricht Saint Amand, after Pepin's death, she founded the Benedictine nunnery at Nivelles, with a monastery under the abbess. She herself entered it and installed as abbess her daughter Gertrude, perhaps after resigning the post herself.

She  is the grandmother of Pepin of Herstal and one of the matriarchs of the great Carolingian family. Her sons were Grimoald, later mayor of the palace, and father of King Childebert the Adopted.

Her second son Bavo (or Allowin), became a hermit and was later canonized. Both her daughters were later canonised, as was she. Her feast day is May 8.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itta

Saint Arnulf of Metz is my 39th great grandfather. He was born about AD 582 in Lay-Saint-Christophe, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France and died 18 July 640 in Remiremont, Vosges, Lorraine, France. He was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia, who retired to the Abbey of Remiremont.

His father was Baudgise or Baudegisel II of Aquitaine (d. 610), Palace Mayor and Duke of Sueve. His mother was Oda. In his younger years he was called to the Merovingian court of king Theudebert II (595-612) of Austrasia and sent to serve as duke at the Schelde. Later he became bishop of Metz. During his career he was attracted to religious life, and he retired to become a monk.

He retired around 628 to a hermitage at a mountain site in the Vosges, to realize his lifelong resolution to become a monk and a hermit. His friend Romaric, whose parents were killed by Brunhilda, had preceded him to the mountains and together with Amatus had already established Remiremont Abbey there. Arnulf settled there, and remained there until his death twelve years later.

There are three legends associated with Arnulf:

 The Legend of the Ring (not like the movie)

Arnulf was tormented by the violence that surrounded him and feared that he had played a role in the wars and murders that plagued the ruling families. Obsessed by these sins, Arnulf went to a bridge over the Moselle river. There he took off his bishop’s ring and threw it into the river, praying to God to give him a sign of absolution by returning the ring to him. Many penitent years later, a fisherman brought to the bishop’s kitchen a fish in the stomach of which was found the bishop’s ring. Arnulf repaid the sign of God by immediately retiring as bishop and becoming a hermit for the remainder of his life.

The Legend of the Fire

At the moment Arnulf resigned as bishop, a fire broke out in the cellars of the Royal Palace and threatened to spread throughout the city of Metz. Arnulf, full of courage and feeling unity with the townspeople, stood before the fire and said, “If God wants me to be consumed, I am in His hands.” He then made the sign of the cross at which point the fire immediately receded.

The Legend of the Beer Mug 

It was July 642 and very hot when the parishioners of Metz went to Remiremont to recover the remains of their former bishop. They had little to drink and the terrain was inhospitable.

At the point when the exhausted procession was about to leave Champigneulles, one of the parishioners, Duc Notto, prayed “By his powerful intercession the Blessed Arnold will bring us what we lack.” Immediately the small remnant of beer at the bottom of a pot multiplied in such amounts that the pilgrims thirst was quenched and they had enough to enjoy the next evening when they arrived in Metz.

Arnulf was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. In iconography he is portrayed with a rake in his hand. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf. In English he is also known as Arnold.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnulf_of_Metz

Saint Leudwinus, Count of Treves  (c. 660 -  29. September, 722 in Reims), founded an abbey in Mettlach.  He was Archbishop of Treves and Laon.  My 41st great grandfather was a Frankish nobleman and was a member of one of the most powerful clans in Austrasia .  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leudwinus

Saint Æthelberht,  King of Kent, (550 – 24 Feb 616), My 37th GGF.  He was the first English king to convert to Christianity.  He married Bertha, the Christian daughter of Charibert, king of the Franks, thus building an alliance with the most powerful state in contemporary Western Europe; the marriage probably took place before he came to the throne. Bertha's influence may have led to Pope Gregory I's decision to send Augustine as a missionary from Rome. Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet in east Kent in 597. Shortly thereafter, Æthelberht converted to Christianity, churches were established, and wider-scale conversion to Christianity began in the kingdom. He provided the new church with land in Canterbury, thus establishing one of the foundation stones of what ultimately became the Anglican Communion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelberht_of_Kent

Saint Vincent Madelgarius, Count of Hainault, Benedictine monk, died 677, who established two monasteries in Hainaut. One of these was at Hautmont (now in France), the other at Soignies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Madelgarius

                                                                Saint Waltrude

                                                                          St. Vincent and Family

Saint Waltrude (French: Waudru, Dutch: Waldetrudis) (d. April 9, c. 688) is the patron saint of Mons, Belgium, where she is known in French as Sainte Waudru, and of Herentals, Belgium, where she is known in Dutch as Sint-Waldetrudis or -Waltrudis. Both cities boast a large medieval church that bears her name.

Married to the Count of Hainault, she raised four children. After her husband retired to an abbey, she herself became a nun in 656. She founded her own convent (Sainte-Waudru) and the city of Mons grew around it. The shrine of Saint Waltrude is kept in the Saint Waltrude Collegiate Church in Mons. Each year, as part of the Ducasse de Mons festival, the shrine is placed on the car d'or, a gilded cart, and drawn by horses through the city streets.
Both her parents (Walbert and Bertille) and her sister (Aldegund) were canonized. Her four children were also declared saints (Landericus, Dentelin, Aldetrude, and Madelberte)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltrude

Saint Angilbert (c. 760 – 18 February 814), sometimes known as Angilberk, was a noble Frankish poet who was educated under Alcuin and served Charlemagne as a secretary, diplomat, and son-in-law. He was venerated as a pre-Congregation saint and is still honored on the day of his death, 18 February. My 37th GGF.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angilbert

Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), my 29th GGM, also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Margaret was sometimes called “The Pearl of Scotland”.  Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Margaret and her family returned to England in 1057, but fled to the Kingdom of Scotland following the Norman conquest of England of 1066. Around 1070 Margaret married Malcolm III of Scotland, becoming his queen consort. She was a pious woman, and among many charitable works she established a ferry across the Firth of Forth for pilgrims travelling to Dunfermline Abbey, which gave the towns of South Queens ferry and North Queens ferry their names. Margaret was the mother of three kings of Scotland and a queen consort of England. According to the Life of Saint Margaret, attributed to Turgot of Durham, she died at Edinburgh Castle in 1093, just days after receiving the news of her husband's death in battle. In 1250 she was canonised by Pope Innocent IV, and her remains were reinterred in a shrine at Dunfermline Abbey. Her relics were dispersed after the Scottish Reformation and subsequently lost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Margaret_of_Scotland

Saint Clotilde (475–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde or Chroctechildis, was my 48th Great Grandmother.  She was the second wife of the Frankish king Clovis I, and a princess of the kingdom of Burgundy. Venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church, she was instrumental to her husband's famous conversion to Christianity and, in her later years, was known for her alms giving and penitential works of mercy. Clotilde appeared to dedicate herself to a saintly life. She occupied herself with the building of churches and monasteries, preferring to distance herself from the power struggles of the court. Churches associated with her are located at Laon, Andelys and Rouen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotilde

Saint Balthild of Ascania is my 43rd great grandmother. She was the wife and queen of Clovis II, the king of Burgundy and Neustria (639–658). Balthild was beautiful, intelligent, modest and attentive to the needs of others. Erchinoald, whose wife had died, was attracted to Balthild and wanted to marry her, but she did not want to marry him. She hid herself away and waited until Erchinoald had remarried. Later, possibly because of Erchinoald, Clovis noticed her and asked for her hand in marriage.When Clovis died (between 655 and 658), his eldest son Clotaire succeeded to the throne, aged five. His mother Balthild acted as the queen regent until he came of age in 664, after which she was forced into a convent. As queen, she was a capable stateswoman. She abolished the practice of trading Christian slaves and strove to free children who had been sold into slavery. This claim is corroborated by Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg, who mentions that Balthild and Saint Eloi (who was also known as Eligulus, according to Dado)^] “worked together on their favorite charity, the buying and freeing of slaves” After Balthild's three children reached adulthood and had become established in their respective territories (Clotaire in Neustria, Childeric in Austrasia, and perhaps Theuderic in Burgundy), Balthild entered an abbey and gave up her royal rank. She dedicated the rest of her life to serving the poor and the infirm.

Balthild died on January 30, 680 and was buried at the Abbey of Chelles, east of Paris. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balthild

Saint William of Gellone (c. 755 – 28 May 812 or 814 AD), my 32nd GGF, the medieval William of Orange,^[1] was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.^[2]

In the tenth or eleventh century,^[3] a Latin hagiography, the Vita sancti Willelmi, was composed based on oral traditions. By the twelfth century, William's legend had grown. He is the hero of an entire cycle of chansons de geste, the earliest of which is the Chanson de Guillaume of about 1140. In the chansons, he is nicknamed Fièrebrace (proud of his arm) ^[4] on account of his strength and the marquis au court nez (margrave with the short nose) on account of an injury suffered in battle with a giant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Gellone

Saint Olga (30th GGM) (born c. 890 died 11 July 969, Kiev) was a ruler of Kievan Rus' as regent (945–c. 963) for her son, Svyatoslav. She is known for her obliteration of the Drevlians, a tribe that had killed her husband Igor of Kiev, and for her efforts to spread Christianity through the Rus'; however, it would be Vladimirthat would convert the entire nation to Christianity. Because of this, Olga is venerated as a saint. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_of_Kiev

Saint Irene of Hungary, born Piroska, (1088 – 13 August 1134) was a Byzantine empress. Irene played little part in government, devoting herself to piety and the many children of Emperor John II Komnenos. Irene died on 13 August 1134 and was later venerated as Saint Irene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_of_Hungary

Saint Ladislaus I, my 31st GGF, was the second son  King Béla I of Hungary, and his wife princess Richeza. He was born in Poland, where his father had sought refuge after his father, Duke Vazul, (Ladislaus' grandfather) made an unsuccessful attempt against Vazul's cousin, Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary. He became King of Hungary from 1077 until his death, "who greatly expanded the boundaries of the kingdom and consolidated it internally; no other Hungarian king was so generally beloved by the people". Before his accession to the throne, he was the main advisor of his brother, Géza I of Hungary, who was fighting against their cousin, King Solomon of Hungary. After the death of Géza, the nobles passed over Solomon, the son of Andrew I, and chose Ladislaus to be their king in 1077. Following a long period of civil wars, he strengthened the royal power in his kingdom by introducing severe legislation. He would also extend his rule over Croatia. After his canonisation, Ladislaus became the model of the chivalrous king in Hungary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Ladislaus

Saint Bertha, Saint Aldeberge (539 – c. 612) was my 41st Great grandmother.  She was the Queen of Kent whose influence led to the introduction of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England. She was canonized as a saint for her role in its establishment during that period of English history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_of_Kent

Boris I, also known as Boris-Mikhail, Michael, was my 39th Great Grandfather.  Despite a number of military setbacks, the reign of Boris I was marked with significant events that shaped Bulgarian and Slavic history. With the Christianization of Bulgaria the traditional state religion Tengriism was abolished. A skilful diplomat, Boris I successfully exploited the conflict between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Papacy to secure an autocephalous Bulgarian Church, thus dealing with the nobility's concerns about Byzantine interference in Bulgaria's internal affairs.

When in 885 the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius were banished from Great Moravia, Boris I gave them refuge and provided assistance to develop the Slavic alphabet and literature. After he abdicated in 889, his eldest son and successor tried to restore the old pagan religion but was deposed by Boris I. During the Council of Preslav which followed that event, the Byzantine clergy was replaced with Bulgarians, and the Greek language was replaced with Old Church Slavonic as an official language of the Church and the state.

He is regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church, as the Prince and baptizer of Bulgaria, and as Equal-to-the-Apostles, with his feast day observed on May 2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_I_of_Bulgaria

Saint Ludmila (c. 860 – 15 September 921) is a Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was my 38th Great Grandmother.  She was born in Mělník as daughter of a Slavic prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother of Saint Wenceslaus, who is widely referred to as Good King Wenceslaus.  Wenceslaus' mother Drahomíra became jealous of Ludmila's influence over Wenceslaus. She had two noblemen murder Ludmila at Tetín, and part of Ludmila's story says that she was strangled with her veil. Initially Saint Ludmila was buried at St. Michael's at Tetín. Sometime before the year 1100 her remains were removed to the St. George's Basilica, Prague.

Saint Ludmila is venerated as a patroness of Bohemia. Her feast day is celebrated on 16 September. She is considered to be a patron saint of Bohemia, converts, Czech Republic, duchesses, problems with in-laws, and widows. She was canonized shortly after her death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Ludmila

Saint Adela, Adela of Normandy, of Blois, of England (c. 1067.– 8 March 1137),  She was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She was also the mother of Stephen, King of England and Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. Adela is a saint in the Roman Catholic church. Her feast day is 24 February. She was Countess of Blois, Chartres, and Meauxby marriage to Stephen II, Count of Blois. He greatly benefited from the increased social status and prestige that came with such a marriage. She brought with her not only her title, but a wedding gift of cash and other movable goods from the prodigious store of Anglo-Norman wealth.^[3] She was regent of Blois during the absence of her spouse in 1096-1100 and 1101-02, and during the minority of her son from 1102 until 1120.Adela retired to Marcigny Convent in 1120. She died in 1137 at Marcigny.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adela_of_Normandy

There are accused witches in my family tree.

On March 31,2014, I discovered this interesting story:

My 10th GGF, Thomas Gilbert, (1589-1659) may have been married to a woman condemned to death as a witch in Connecticut in the 1650's.  Or maybe his son, Thomas, Jr was married to Lydia Gilbert (1586 - 1654)  who became the fifth person to be accused of being a Witch in the area of Hartford.
See full story at following:
http://www.damnedct.com/lydia-gilbert/
http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/faculty/mcleanparks/bearswamp/lydiagilbert.htm
http://www.geni.com/people/Lydia-Gilbert-Ballett/6000000000902819929
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6167291

Lydia Gilbert – A Witch of Windsor, Connecticut – Legends of America

LYDIA GILBERT WITCH TRIAL-NOT - Genealogy.com

As of May 2013, I have found another witch in my family tree according to Wikipedia:

Two of the accused witches, Anne Whittle (Chattox) and her daughter Anne Redferne.

 Illustration from William Harrison Ainsworth's 1849 novel, The Lancashire Witches.

Pendle witches

The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of

the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area around Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and 
were charged with the murders of ten people by the use of witchcraft. All but two were tried at Lancaster Assizes 
on 18–19 August 1612, along with the Samlesbury witches and others, in a series of trials that have become known
as the Lancashire witch trials. One was tried at York Assizes on 27 July 1612, and another died in prison. Of the 
eleven who went to trial – nine women and two men – ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was 
found not guilty.

The official publication of the proceedings by the clerk to the court, Thomas Potts, in his The Wonderfull Discoverie
of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, and the number of witches hanged together – nine at Lancaster and one at 
York – make the trials unusual for England at that time. It has been estimated that all of the English witch trials 
between the early 15th and early 18th centuries resulted in fewer than 500 executions; this series of trials accounts
for more than two per cent of that total.

Six of the Pendle witches came from one of two families, each at the time headed by a female in her eighties: Elizabeth 
Southerns (aka Demdike ^[a]), her daughter Elizabeth Device, and her grandchildren James and Alizon Device; Anne 
Whittle (aka Chattox), and her daughter Anne Redferne. The others accused were Jane Bulcock and her son John
Bulcock, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewitt, Alice Gray, and Jennet Preston. The outbreaks of witchcraft in and around
Pendle may demonstrate the extent to which people could make a living by posing as witches. Many of the allegations 
resulted from accusations that members of the Demdike and Chattox families made against each other, perhaps because 
they were in competition, both trying to make a living from healing, begging, and extortion.

Alice Whitaker was married to Richard Nutter (1537-1584) of Pendle, Lancashire, England who were my 12th Great Grand 

Father and Mother through my father.

More interesting information about the Pendle Witches can be found here:  
http://www.pendlewitches.net/page7.html
http://www.pendle.net/Attractions/pendlewitches.htm; 
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46825&sid=9429e4563ff3bcff1d169a1739a96c84 (this site includes current political inferences of the witches)
http://discoverpendle.co.uk/ (if you want to meet witches and see Alice's grave)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x92qai_pendle-witchcraft-trial-ii_lifestyle (videos of the histor

Although not accused of witchcraft, this common ancestor is infamous in life, fact and fiction.



My 22nd Great Grandmother, Isabella of France (1295 – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the 

She-wolf of France, was Queen of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest 
surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. Queen Isabella was 
notable at the time for her beauty, diplomatic skills, and intelligence.  See her wikipedia page at 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_of_France for complete details. 
Queen Isabella appeared with a major role in Christopher Marlowe's play Edward II (c. 1592) and thereafter has been frequently used as a character in plays, books, and films, often portrayed as beautiful but manipulative or wicked. Thomas Gray, the 18th-century poet, combined Marlowe's depiction of Isabella with William Shakespeare's description of Margaret of Anjou (the wife of Henry VI) as the "She-Wolf of France", to produce the anti-French poem The Bard (1757), in which Isabella rips apart the bowels of Edward II with her "unrelenting fangs"The "She-Wolf" epithet stuck, and Bertolt Brecht re-used it in The Life of Edward II of England (1923).
In Derek Jarman's film Edward II (1991), based on Marlowe's play, Isabella is portrayed (by actress Tilda Swinton) as a "femme fatale" whose thwarted love for Edward causes her to turn against him and steal his throne. In contrast to the negative depictions, Mel Gibson's film Braveheart (1995) portrays Isabella (played by the French actress Sophie Marceau) more sympathetically. In the film, an adult Isabella is fictionally depicted as having a romantic affair with the Scottish hero William Wallace. However, in reality, she was nine years old at the time of Wallace's death.^[153] Additionally, Wallace is incorrectly suggested to be the father of her son, Edward III, despite Wallace's death many years before Edward's birth 
Game of Thrones is another where the scheming Cersei evokes Isabella, the "she-wolf of France" (1295–1358);^[24] Isabella and her family (particularly as portrayed in Maurice Druon's historical-novel series, The Accursed Kings) inspired Martin.

Fredegund and Brunhilda, 




Another inspiration for an evil portrayal as found in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredegund; was 
Fredegund who died in 597.  She was my 46th Great Grandmother.  She could have been the inspiration for 
the Cinderella folk tale as the the step mother.  She was also known for being ruthlessly murderous and 
sadistically cruel with perhaps has few rivals in monstrousness.

She also had a blood feud with Brunhilda of Austrasia, who was may be the inspiration for the legendary 
Brunhilda, Brynhildr, Brunhild, Brünnhilde, Brynhild, of a lot of German folk tales, operas and literature, and 
even modern comics and video games.  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brynhildr; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunhilda_of_Austrasia


Ælfthryth






Ælfthryth (c. 945 – 1000 or 1001, also Alfrida, Elfrida or Elfthryth) was the second or third wife of King Edgar of 
England. Ælfthryth was the first king's wife known to have been crowned and anointed as Queen of the Kingdom of 
England. Mother of King Æthelred the Unready, she was a powerful political figure. She was linked to the murder of
her stepson King Edward the Martyr and appeared as a stereotypical bad queen and evil stepmother in many medieval 
histories.  She was my 32nd GGM.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfthryth,_Queen_of_England

Ragnar Lodbrok



Another legendary person and character was a Norse leader and hero, Ragnar Lodbrok; 
who may or may not be a real person and may or may not be my ancestor.  He appears in
the 1958 movie called "The Vikings",  and the 2013 Cable mini-series of the same name, "The Vikings".
.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Lodbrok

Rollo



Rollo, Robert, Hrólfr, Rolf, 1st Duke of Normandy, my 33rd GGF and great-great-great-grandfather of William the Conqueror
whom both, I can reach through more than 50 branches of my family tree, is portrayed as a  character based on the historical Rollo,
played by Clive Standen, is Ragnar Lodbrok's brother in the 2013 TV series Vikings:

As the character "Aragorn" in "Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, is given the nickname "Strider"

which echoes of Rollo's name 'Walker' or 'Ganger'. Rollo is the subject of the 17th century play Rollo Duke of Normandy written by John Fletcher, 
Philip Massinger, Ben Jonson, and George Chapman.
see:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollo

The rest of my common ancestors that have some literary connections are from England as I mention above.  The first three groups are
probably the most well known except for some characters from Shakespeare's plays which I will get to later.  They
are the Robin Hood and the King Arthur legends of which there are a lot of books, plays, movies etc.
The third being JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" novel.

They all were based on  Medieval English legends and  probably different real people.





David, Dabíd, Crusader "Robin Hood" Scottish Prince, 9th Earl of Huntingdon, (1144-17 June, 1219),
was my 25th Great-Grandfather.  His story is found at
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_of_Scotland,_Earl_of_Huntingdon.

He was not only is thought of as a model for "Robin Hood", but is a character in Sir Walter Scott's
"The Talisman, A Tale of the Crusaders".  He had adventures similar to what is portrayed in Robin Hood
stories and he was a companion to Richard the Lion Heart, the King of England.  He also had a claim to
the King of Scotland but lost.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood.





My 24th Great-Grandparents are both considered as models for Robin Hood and Maid Marion as found at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_le_Vavasour,_Baroness_Butler and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulk_FitzWarin.
Maud le Vavasour and Fulk Fitz Warin had lives with similarities also to the Robin Hood Legends.






Godiva, Countess of Mercia, My 31st GGM (died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English Godgifu, was an English noblewoman who, according to a legend dating at least to the 13th century, rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxationthat her husband imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.
Historicaly, Godiva was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. They had one known son, Aelfgar
The legend of the nude ride is first recorded in the 13th century, in the Flores Historiarum and the adaptation of it by Roger of Wendover. Despite its considerable age, it is not regarded as plausible by modern historians
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Godiva

Hereward the Wake,




On October 1, 2014, I discovered my 31st GGF, who was another legendary ancestor, whose life may have 
influenced the Robin Hood legend amongst others.  He was Hereward the Wake, Hereward the Outlaw or 
Hereward the Exile, (1035 – c.1072) was an 11th-century leader of local resistance to the Norman conquest of England

 King Arthur:













The other great literary and legendary person in English history was King Arthur.  The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_basis_for_King_Arthur
http://fabpedigree.com/camelot.htm (a good, plain explanation of the Arthur legend and history-mentions the ones below)


One historical figure , my 44th GGF, was Riothamus, Riutimus, Riotimus who was a Romano-British military leader, who was active circa AD 470.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riothamus

Another historical figure , my 41st GGF, was Artúr mac Áedáin, Arturius, Prince of Dál Riata, Dalriada, Dalriata, Prince in Camelot Briton, son of Áedán mac Gabráin, Artúr mac Áedáin never became king of Dál Riata; his brother Eochaid Buide ruled after his father's death. However, when Áedán gave up his role and retired to monastic life, Artúr became war leader, though Áedán was officially still king. Thus it was Artúr who led the Scoti of Dál Riata in a war against the Picts, separate from the later war with Northumbria. Under this hypothesis, Artúr was predominantly active in the region between the Roman walls — the Kingdom of the Gododdin. He was ultimately killed in battle in 582. This is the solution proposed by David F.Carroll in his book Arturius-A Quest for Camelot published 1996 and 11 years later by Michael Wood.
In March 2018, I discovered another historical figure,  Arthur, Arthwyr ap Pedr, was a prince in Dyfed, Wales born around 570–580.  Given the popularity of this name at the time, it is likely that others were named for a figure who was already established in regional history or folklore by that time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_King_Arthur







Movie poster of 1961 epic film
 

Statue of El Cid in Burgos, Spain


On September 23, 2014, I discovered my 27th GGF, after following my family tree through Spanish Kings and Queens, is "El Cid"
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 1099) was a Castilian nobleman and military leader in medieval Spain. He was called El Cid 
(the Lord) by the Moors and El Campeador(the Champion) by Christians. He is the national hero of Spain. He was born in Vivar
del Cid, a town near the city of Burgos.  see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid





Mabel de Bellême:  Another Wicked lady on my family tree was my 30th Great Grandmother, Mabel de Bellême (a.k.a. Mabel Talvas) , 
Dame de Alençon, de Séez, and Bellême, Countess of Shrewsbury and Lady of Arundel, (1024-1079) see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabel_de_Bell%C3%AAme.  She was,  "small, very talkative, ready enough to do evil, 
shrewd and jocular, extremely cruel and daring." according to one chronicler of that time, Orderic Vitalis (Ordericus) (1075 – c. 1142) .  
Lets see, She poisoned her own brother-in-law amongst others, she fought the church and other nobles over land
and caused many to lose their land and become destitute.  One baron was Hugh Bunel who ended the dispute with Mabel's 
head being cut off while she was in her own bed according to legend.  Her husband was my 30th Great Grandfather, Roger de Montgomerie 
(1018 - 1094), also known as Roger the Great de Montgomery, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_of_Montgomery,_1st_Earl_of_Shrewsbury.   

Her son had an equally wicked reputation.  He was Robert de Bellême (c. 1056– after 1130), seigneur de Bellême (or Belèsme), 
seigneur de Montgomery, viscount of the Hiémois, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Count of Ponthieu.  Robert became notorious for his
alleged cruelty. The chronicler Orderic Vitalis calls him "Grasping and cruel, an implacable persecutor of the Church of God and the poor...
unequaled for his iniquity in the whole Christian era." The stories of his brutality may have inspired the legend of Robert the Devil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Bell%C3%AAme




My 50th Great Grandfather was Gunther, ( 385-437)1 He is in many legendary tales of medieval literature
such as the Middle High German epic poem, the Nibelungenlied, Also, it in turn was a large enfluence on J.R. R Tolkein's Lord of the Rings.






My 24th Great Grand father was another controversial figure whom I have mentioned before.  He was Piers 
Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the
 favourite of King Edward II of England.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Gaveston,_1st_Earl_of_Cornwall
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/gaveston.htm

He had been accused of a lot of malfeasance including having an illicit affair with Edward II, King of England,
offensive behavior toward the nobility, outlawry, chronicles tell of how Gaveston gave mocking nicknames to 
other earls, calling Lincoln 'burst-belly', Pembroke 'Joseph the Jew', Lancaster 'the fiddler' and Warwick 'the black 
dog of Arden' (from the forest of Arden in Warwickshire).   Gaveston also began to exploit his relationship with the
king more ostentatiously, obtaining favors and appointments for his friends and servants.^[53] The political climate 
became so hateful that in February 1310, a number of the earls refused to attend parliament as long as Gaveston 
was present.  He was excommunicated from the church.  Eventually his behavior led to his beheading.  He has 
appeared in much fiction such as Christopher Marlowe plays about Edward II and previously mentioned "Braveheart"



Another bad guy:

Sir James Tyrrell (c. 1455 – 6 May 1502)  (16th GGF) was an English knight, a trusted servant of King Richard III of England.
 He is known for allegedly confessing to the murders of the Princes in the Tower under Richard's orders. William Shakespeare
portrays Tyrrell as the man who organises the princes' murder in Richard III.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tyrrell
http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/tyrell.htm






The Ettington Park Hotel is owned by the Shirley Family, my 19th Great Grandmother's Joan Shirley's (born in 1390) family. 
It was featured in MGM's 1963 horror film The Haunting. Ettington Park Hotel is itself renowned as being haunted, 
and was investigated for the first time ever by Midlands' Ghost Hunt Company 'Eerie Evenings' on 31 October 2009.
Ettington is a village in Warwickshire, England.   Throughout history the village has had several names, including 
Eatenden, Upper & Lower Eatington, and Eatington. Joan Shiley's family had lived in Ettington since 
the Eleventh Century beginning with Sir Sewallis Eatington, who was my 28th Great Grandfather.  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettington



PRINCESSES BEHAVING BADLY;

I am not related to the following people as far as I know, but it interesting to know about real princesses.
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-rodriguez-mcrobbie/11-princesses-behaving-ba_b_4297487

Another Princess myth busted:
from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/31/lies-you-learned-in-kindergarten_n_5593273.html?ir=Los+Angeles

1. Being a princess was all about pink frilly dresses, 
Prince Charmings and living in lavish castles.

You may have enjoyed dressing up and playing princess as a kid, but your experience
probably lacked the grittier touches of medieval royal life. While castle dwellings were
certainly more luxurious than the typical peasant hovels of the period, historians say
they were still frigid, filthy, dark, damp cribs.

Not to mention, life stank: The air was clouded with the decidedly unprincessly fragrances
of dead animals, unbathed bodies and royal sewage. And forget cute animal sidekicks --
a ragamuffin staff of dogs paraded the hallways gobbling last night's leftovers. As for
happily ever after, if you weren't married off as a teenager to an elderly foreign king,
you couldn't exactly count on a knight to be chivalrous or to rescue you and ride off
into the sunset on horseback. They were known to have dabbled in cannibalism and
were often gigantic jerks.