.BYC. 1106, WILLIAM'S OWN SON SYLVESTER WAS OLD ENOUGH TO JOIN HIM...
512).
By
c. 1106, William's own son Sylvester was old enough to join him in
escorting Duchess Ermengard and the young Conan on a visit to Marmou-
tier, and perhaps as far as Flanders (Preuves, col. 512). There is no record of
Sylvester as seneschal. William was alive in 1141, but the same year was
succeeded by Guy (AE,
vi, p. 121±2; `Cart. St-Melaine', f.183r.). Around
this time, Maria, widow of William `dapifer' made a grant to Saint-Georges
de Rennes of rents from her own land (`Cart. St-Georges', p. 288, no. LXII).
Guy was in fact William's grandson. A charter of the last William,
seneschal of Rennes (c. 1187±1229), refers to his father Guy and grandfather
Sylvester (AD Ille-et-Vilaine, 1F 180). Since William had been in of®ce for
forty years, since
c. 1100, it is possible that his son Sylvester predeceased him,
and his grandson Guy was already of age to inherit the of®ce.
Despite the political upheavals of the period from the death of Duke
Conan III in 1148 to 1166, Guy appears throughout as seneschal of Rennes.
In 1153, Guy attested a charter of HoeÈl, count of Nantes, at Nantes (Preuves,
col. 617). It is possible that Guy was in exile from Rennes during the regime
of Eudo de Porhoet, and had allied with Count HoeÈl. Alternatively, Guy
may have been at HoeÈl's court on Eudo's business. Guy continued (or was
reinstated) as seneschal of Rennes, when Conan IV succeeded in 1156 (EYC,
iv, no. 44;
Preuves, col. 632). As discussed at p. 86, Guy actually continued in
of®ce under Henry II after 1166, but probably subject to the royal seneschals,
William de Lanvallay and Reginald Boterel.
Guy is last recorded in 1179 x 1181, but since, like his grandfather, he had
by then held of®ce for 40 years, this is not surprising. As discussed at p. 101
there is a lacuna in dated references to the seneschals of Rennes for the
period 1181±7, the reign of Duke Geoffrey. In 1187, appears `W. Ragot'
seneschal of Rennes (Charters, no. C13). Possibly `W. Ragot' should be
identi®ed with the hereditary seneschal, William son of Guy. The earliest
dated documents referring to this William are two charters of Duchess
Constance made in 1193, but four of William's own charters, which are not
dated, could have been made as early as 1184 or even 1181 (`Cart. St-
Georges', Appendix, no.VIII (1181 x 1203); `Cart. St-Melaine', fols. 23r,
105v; AD Ille-et-Vilaine 23H2 (all 1184 x 1198)).
In four documents concerning his own private business, William used, or
was accorded, the title `seneschal of Rennes': AN ms L973 (undated charter
of Guy de Thouars for Savigny), AD Ille-et-Vilaine 1F180 (copy of a charter
dated 1205), AD Ille-et-Vilaine 1F502 (published in A. Oheix,
Essai sur les
seÂneÂchaux de Bretagne des origines au XIVe sieÁcle, Paris, 1913, p. 200), and BN
ms latin 5331(3), p. 407 (Preuves, col. 825).
William is last recorded in 1229 (AD Ille-et-Vilaine, 4H23A, original
charter in chirograph form of the Of®cial of Rennes and William `senescallus
Redon'), and had been succeeded by one Oliver Guernier by 1237 (Actes
ineÂdits, no. CIX). He died before 1241 (L.-J. Denis (ed.),
Chartes de l'abbaye
de St-Julien de Tours (1002±1227), SocieÂte des Archives historiques du Maine,
xii, Paris, 1912±13, no. 248).
Compared with William's administration, references to seneschals of
Rennes are much rarer in the succeeding decades. In 1237, the seneschal was
Olivier Guernier, in 1241, Geoffrey Blandin (Actes ineÂdits, no. CIX; BN ms
latin 5441 (3), f. 196v.). These are not known to have had any connection
with William, and it would seem that the dynasty of hereditary seneschals of
Rennes ended with him.
ANGEVIN OFFICERS IN BRITTANYroyal seneschals of nantesWilliam ®tzHamo (1158±1172)William's origins are obscure, but may have been in the honour of
Richmond. He held the soke of Hough-on-the-Hill, Lincs., probably by
a grant of Conan IV's father (EYC,
iv, p. 80; SocieÂte Jersiaise (ed.),
Cartulaire des Iles Normandes: Recueil de documents concernant l'histoire de ces
õÃles, Jersey, 1924, no. 252). He may also be identi®ed with William son of
Hamo
dispensator
of Hudswell, near Richmond (Monasticon,
iii, p. 602).
William also had some connection with the Channel Islands, where he
founded the abbey of Saint-HeÂlier (RT,
ii, pp. 134±5;
Cartulaire des Iles
Normandes, p. 307). He also held lands in Normandy (RT,
ii, p. 135 note;
Cartulaire des Iles Normandes, no. 239). William served Henry II for some
years before he became king, and was rewarded with lands in the south of
England, at Salisbury and Warminster (Pipe Rolls 2±18 Henry II; for the
signi®cance of these grants, see T.K. Keefe, `Place-date distribution of
royal charters and the historical geography of patronage strategies at the
court of king Henry II Plantagenet',
Haskins Society Journal
2 (1990),
179±88 at 184).
William played a prominent role in Henry II's regime in Brittany from
the outset, acting as principal royal agent in Nantes from 1158. On at least
one occasion between 1160 and August 1167, he visited Conan IV at
Guingamp (EYC,
iv, p. 60), no doubt on the king's business. At the same
time, during the 1160s, William was principal royal agent in Angers and
Tours (for the counties of Anjou and Touraine?), styled `senescallus' or
`dapifer regis' (see above p. 81 and Everard, `The "Justiciarship" in Brittany
and Ireland under Henry II',
Anglo-Norman Studies
20 (1998), 87±105 at 95).
William died in 1172. His widow is recorded at Warminster, but there is no
record of his heirs.
See J. Le Patourel, `Guillaume ®lsHamon, le premier seÂneÂchal de Bretagne
(1171±1172)',
Annales de Normandie
29 (1979), 376±7.
Peter ®tzGuy (?1172±c. 1184)Peter ®tzGuy (¯. 1152±c. 1202) belonged to an old Le Mans family, being
the great-grandson of a `Count Guy'. He ®rst appears attesting a charter of
William, bishop of Le Mans, with his father, Guy son of Hugh (son of Count
Guy), in 1152 (BeÂneÂdictins de Solesmes (ed.),
Cartulaire de St-Pierre de la
Couture, Le Mans, 1881, pp. 38, 52, 65, 82±4;
Cart. Saint-Victeur au Mans, pp.