Saturday, March 23, 2019

2019 St. Patrick's Day-Famous and rich women and The Order of the Garter





March 17, 2019-                              Happy St. Patrick's Day



I have more than 20,000 names on my family tree now.

International Women's Day was recently.  I have many famous and rich women in my family tree.








Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the mother of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Diana was born into the Spencer family, a family of British nobility, and she was the youngest daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Althorp. She grew up in Park House, situated on the Sandringham estate, and was educated in England and Switzerland. In 1975, after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer, she became known as Lady Diana Spencer. (we share many common ancestors, at least thousands)(one being Alice de Loxley, town of Robin Hood fame, my 22nd GGM)

Speaking of Robin Hood





My 24th Great-Grandparents, Maud le Vavasour and Fulk Fitz Warin had lives with similarities to the Robin Hood Legends and are both considered as models for Robin Hood and Maid Marion as found at






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 taxation  that 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



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales

Eleanor

Eleanor of Aquitaine (my 23rd GGM) (FrenchAliénor d'Aquitaine, ÉléonoreLatinAlienora; 1122 or 1124 – 1 April 1204) was queen consort of France (1137–1152) and England (1154–1189) and duchess of Aquitaine in her own right (1137–1204). As a member of the Ramnulfids (House of Poitiers) rulers in southwestern France, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. She was patron of literary figures such as WaceBenoît de Sainte-Maure, and Bernart de Ventadorn. She led armies several times in her life and was a leader of the Second Crusade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine

Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, Countess of March, Baroness Mortimer (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356) My 20th GGM. She was one of the wealthiest heiresses in the Welsh Marches and County Meath, Ireland. She was the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, the de facto ruler of England from 1327 to 1330. She succeeded as suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Geoffrey de Geneville.  Lady Geneville's numerous direct descendants include the current British Royal Family, Sir Winston Churchill, and the 1st American President George Washington.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_de_Geneville,_2nd_Baroness_Geneville







Edith of England, also spelt Eadgyth or Ædgyth (Old EnglishĒadgȳðGermanEdgitha; 910 – 26 January 946), a member of the House of Wessex, was German queen from 936, by her marriage with King Otto I. My 32nd GGM.
Edith was born to the reigning English king Edward the Elder by his second wife, Ælfflæd, and hence was a granddaughter of King Alfred the Great. She had an older sister, Eadgifu.

At the request of the East Frankish king Henry the Fowler, who wished to stake a claim to equality and to seal the alliance between the two Saxon kingdoms, her half-brother King Æthelstan sent his sisters Edith and Edgiva to Germany. Henry's eldest son and heir to the throne Otto was instructed to choose whichever one pleased him best. Otto chose Edith, according to Hrotsvitha a woman "of pure noble countenance, graceful character and truly royal appearance", and married her in 930.Edith was devoted to the cult of their ancestor Saint Oswald of Northumbria and was instrumental in introducing this cult into Germany after her marriage to the emperor. Her lasting influence may have caused certain monasteries and churches in the Duchy of Saxony to be dedicated to this saint.
Initially buried in the St Maurice monastery, Edith's tomb since the 16th century has been located in Magdeburg Cathedral. Long regarded as a cenotaph, a lead coffin inside a stone sarcophagus with her name on it was found and opened in 2008 by archaeologists during work on the building. An inscription recorded that it was the body of Eadgyth, reburied in 1510. The fragmented and incomplete bones were examined in 2009, then brought to Bristol, England, for tests in 2010.
The investigations at Bristol, applying isotope tests on tooth enamel, checked whether she was born and brought up in Wessex and Mercia, as written history indicated Testing on the bones revealed that they are the remains of Eadgyth, from study made of the enamel of the teeth in her upper jaw.] Testing of the enamel revealed that the individual entombed at Magdeburg had spent time as a youth in the chalky uplands of Wessex. The bones are the 
oldest found of a member of English royalty

The Order of the Garter
(formally the Most Noble Order of the Garter) is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III in 1348 and regarded as the most prestigious British order of chivalry (though in precedence inferior to the military Victoria Cross and George Cross) in England and later the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George, England's patron saint.
Appointments are made at the Sovereign's sole discretion. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, and no more than 24 living members, or Companions. The order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies (e.g., members of the British royal family and foreign monarchs). New appointments to the Order of the Garter are often announced on St George's Day (23 April), as Saint George is the order's patron saint.
The order's emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (Middle French: "Shame on him who thinks ill of it") in gold lettering. Members of the order wear it on ceremonial occasions.
King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne.[1] The traditional year of foundation is usually given as 1348 (when it was formally proclaimed). However, the Complete Peerage, under "The Founders of the Order of the Garter", states the order was first instituted on 23 April 1344, listing each founding member as knighted in 1344. The list includes Sir Sanchet D'Abrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345.  Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed. The King's wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that each member of the Order already be a knight (what would now be referred to as a knight bachelor) and some of the initial members listed were only knighted that year. The foundation is likely to have been inspired by the Spanish Order of the Band, established in about 1330.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Garter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges_Garter_Book

List of Founder Knights

At the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St George's Chapel:















Other knights



Sir John Dinham (1359–1428) was a knight from Devonshire, England(my 18trh GGF)