Eustace de Montaut

Eustace de Montaut (or Monte Alto)

The court of Hugh Lupus. Eustace may be seated on the right, second from front.
Successor Hugh de Montaut
Born c. 1027
May have been Monthault, Ille-et-Vilaine, Duchy of Brittany
Died c. 1112
Cheshire, England
Spouse Unknown
Issue Hugh, Roger, Ralph, possibly Peter

Eustace de Montaut, or Monte Alto, Montalt, Monhaut, or FitzNorman (ca. 1027-1112), was a Norman soldier, and later baron, who fought on the side of the Normans in the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and for his achievements was granted several manors by the new king, William the Conqueror.

Biography

Eustace was born in the early to mid 11th century, probably in Monthault, Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, to parents whose names are not recorded. It has often been claimed that Eustace's family were originally the Lords of Monte Alto in Italy,[1] but there is no evidence of this, and it may simply be based on the Latin form of "de Montaut, "de Monte Alto". Eustace came to England in the time of William the Conqueror, under "Palatine Earl of Chester, the potent Hugh Lupus", around the time of the Battle of Hastings. Due to his skill as a soldier, he was nicknamed "The Norman Hunter" by the English.[2]

Shortly after Eustace's arrival, he united his forces with those of Hugh Lupus, subduing the Welsh in the province of Flintshire, and sharing the lands he conquered with his ally.[3] Among the lands Eustace gained were the manors of Montalt and Hawarden, which were ruled by his descendants, the viscounts Hawarden and Barons of Montalt for several centuries.[4] Eustace died in the early 12th century in Cheshire. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh de Montaut.

Family

Eustace married the daughter of an English lord, shortly after his arrival in England, but her name has not survived. She bore Eustace at least three sons: Hugh, Roger, and Ralph (or Ranulph). Some sources also mention another son, Peter, Seneschal of Chester.[5] Through his son Ralph, Eustace is an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II and of the Viscounts Hawarden. He was the direct paternal great-great-great-great-grandfather of the brothers Roger de Montalt, 1st Baron Montalt, and Robert de Montalt, 1st Baron Montalt.

References

  1. ↑ John Lodge. The Peerage of Ireland: Or, a genealogical history of the present...Volume 7.
  2. ↑ John Burke (1835). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Univested with Heritable Honours. H. Colburn. pp. 84–.
  3. ↑ Court Magazine and Monthly Critic and Lady's Magazine, Volume 5.
  4. ↑ John Burke (1835). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours. Henry Colburn. pp. 84–.
  5. ↑ Caroline Sheridan Norton (1836). The English Annual for 1836. E. Bull. pp. 77–.
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