William Clito (October 25, 1102 – July 28, 1128) was the son of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, by his marriage with Sibylla of Conversano. He had a claim on both Normandy and England, and became count of Flanders. His surname 'Clito' was a Latin term equivalent to the English 'atheling' (used to refer to his first cousin, the son of Henry I). Both 'Clito' and 'Atheling' signified 'man of royal blood', or the modern equivalent 'prince'. October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Valencia is captured by the Almoravids. ... July 28 is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Pope Honorius II recognizes and confirms the Order of the Knights Templar. ... Robert II (called Curthose for his short squat appearance) (c. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate... The counts of Flanders ruled over the county of Flanders from the 9th century. ...

Youth

After his father's defeat and capture by Henry I of England at the Battle of Tinchebrai (1106) the young William fell into the king's hands. Henry placed his nephew in the custody of Helias of Saint Saens, count of Arques, who had married a natural daughter of Duke Robert, his friend and patron. The decision seems to have been intended to conciliate any suspicion of the king’s intentions to his nephew. The boy William stayed in his sister’s and Helias's care until August 1110, when the king abruptly sent agents to demand the boy be handed over to him. Helias was at the time away from home, so his household concealed the boy and smuggled him to their master, who fled the duchy and lost his lands as a result. Henry I (circa 1068 – 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and the first born in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. ... The battle of Tinchebray (or Tinchebrai) was fought September 28, 1106, in the town of Tinchebray, Normandy, between an invading force led by Henry I of England, and his older brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy. ... Arques is the name of several places in France: Arques, a commune of the Aude département Arques, a commune of the Aveyron département Arques, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département See also: Arques-la-Bataille, a commune of the Seine_Maritime département, along the Arques...

First Norman Rebellion, 1118-19

William’s first refuge was with King Henry’s great enemy, Robert de Bellême, who had extensive estates south of the duchy. On Robert’s capture in 1112, William and Helias fled to the court of the young Count Baldwin VII of Flanders, William’s cousin. In 1118 a powerful coalition of Norman counts and barons were sufficently disenchanted with King Henry to ally with Count Baldwin and rebel. They took up William Clito’s cause and commenced a dangerous rebellion. The Norman border counts and Count Baldwin between them were too powerful for the king and seized much of the north of the duchy. But the promising campaign abruptly ended with Baldwin’s serious injury at the siege of Arques (September 1118). The next year the cause of William Clito was taken up by Louis VI of France. He invaded the duchy down the river Seine, and on 20 August 1119 was met by the troops of King Henry at the Battle of Brémule, where the French were decisively defeated. William had ridden as a new knight amongst the king’s guard that day, and barely escaped capture. His cousin, King Henry’s son, William Adelin, the next day sent him back the horse he had lost in the battle with other ‘necessities’ in a courtly gesture. The rebellion collapsed, but William continued to find support at the French court. Louis brought his case to the pope’s attention in October 1119 at Reims, and forced Henry I to justify his treatment of the exiled boy. Robert de Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury (1052–after 1130), also spelled Belleme or Belesme, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and one of the most promiment figures in the competition for the succession to England and Normandy between the sons of William the Conqueror. ... Baldwin VII of Flanders (died July 17, 1119) was count of Flanders from 1111 to 1119. ... Louis VI the Fat (French: Louis VI le Gros) (December 1, 1081 - August 1, 1137) was king of France from 1108 to 1137. ... The Battle of Bremule was fought in 1119 between Henry I of England against Louis VI (the Fat) of France. ... William Adelin (1103 – November 25, 1120) was the only legitimate son of Henry I of England and his wife Maud of Scotland. ... Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ...

Second Norman Rebellion, 1123-24

The death by drowning of William Atheling, King Henry’s only legitimate son, on 25 November 1120 transformed William Clito’s fortunes. He was now the obvious male heir to England and Normandy, and a significant party of Norman aristocrats adopted his cause in 1122, led by Amaury de Montfort, count of Evreux and Waleran de Beaumont, count of Meulan. William’s position was bolstered further by a strategic marriage to Sibyl, daughter of Count Fulk V of Anjou. The marriage was supposed to bring William the county of Maine, between Normandy and Anjou, as her dowry. King Henry astutely appealed to canon law, however, and the marriage was eventually annulled in August 1124 on the grounds that the couple were within the prohibited degrees of kinship. Évreux is a commune of Normandy, France, in the Eure département, of which it is the préfecture (capital). ... Meulan is a commune of the Yvelines département. ... Fulk of Anjou, king of Jerusalem (1092-1143), was the son of Fulk IV, count of Anjou, and his wife Bertrada (who ultimately deserted her husband and became the mistress of Philip I of France). ... Official language(s) None (English de facto; French is also an administrative language) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ...

In the meantime, a serious aristocratic rebellion broke out in Normandy in favour of William, but was defeated by Henry’s intelligence network and the lack of organisation of the leaders, who were defeated at the battle of Bourgtheroulde in March 1124. Louis VI was distracted from active intervention as Henry I got his son-in-law, the Emperor Henry V, to threaten Louis from the east. Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, (1081 - May 23, 1125) was the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. ...

Count of Flanders

Louis VI made great efforts to further William’s cause in 1127. In January he granted him the royal estates in the French Vexin as a base to attack down the Seine into Normandy, and he was married to the queen’s half sister. The murder of Count Charles the Good of Flanders on 2 March 1127 gave King Louis an even better chance to further William’s fortunes. He marched into Flanders at the head of an army and on 30 March got the barons of the province to accept William as their new count. Initially, William did well, securing most of the county by the end of May. But English money and the emergence of a rival in Thierry of Alsace led to a deterioration in his position. In February 1128 St Omer and Ghent declared against him, as did Bruges in March. In May 1128 Lille too welcomed Thierry, leaving William controlling little more than the southern fringe of Flanders. However, he struck back at Bruges and at the battle of Axspoele south of the town on 21 June, William defeated Thierry with his Norman knights and French allies. At this point he was joined by his father-in-law, Duke Godfrey of Brabant, and together their armies besieged Aalst on 12 July, with the probable intention of going on from there to reduce Ghent. But during the course of the siege he was wounded in the arm in a scuffle with a foot soldier. The wound became gangrenous and William died at the age of twenty-five on 28 July 1128, attended to the end by his faithful brother-in-law, Helias of Saint Saens. William’s body was carried to the abbey of St Bertin in St Omer and buried there. He left no children and was survived by his imprisoned father by six years. The Vexin is a former region in France, divided since the 10th century between the Norman Vexin (Vexin normand) and the French Vexin (Vexin français). ... Charles the Good (1080/86 - March 2, 1127) was Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127. ... Thierry dAlsace (c. ... Saint-Omer, a town and commune of Artois in northern France, sous-préfecture of the Pas-de-Calais département, 42 miles west-north-west of Lille on the railway to Calais. ... Geography Country Belgium Community Flemish Community Region Flemish Region Province East Flanders Arrondissement Ghent Coordinates Area 156. ... Geography Country Belgium Region Flemish Region Community Flemish Community Province West Flanders Arrondissement Bruges Coordinates Area 138. ... New city flag Traditional coat of arms Motto: – Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Nord-Pas de Calais Department Nord (59) Intercommunality Urban Community of Lille Métropole Mayor Martine Aubry  (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics Land area¹ 39. ... Historically, Brabant has been the name of several administrative entities in the Low Countries with quite different geographical extent: as Carolingian shire (pagus Bracbatensis), located between the rivers Scheldt and Dijle (between 9th-11th century); as landgraviat: the part of the shire between the rivers Dender and Dijle (from 1085...

Charles the Good (1080/86 - March 2, 1127) was Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127. ... The counts of Flanders ruled over the county of Flanders from the 9th century. ... Thierry of Alsace (c. ...

References

• Galbert of Bruges, The Murder of Charles the Good, trans. J.B. Ross (repr. Toronto, 1982)
• Sandy Burton Hicks, "The Impact of William Clito upon the Continental Policies of Henry I of England," Viator 10 (1979), 1-21.
• D. Crouch, The Normans: History of a Dynasty (London, 2002)
• C.W. Hollister, Henry I (New Haven, 2001)
• J.A. Green Henry I (Cambridge, 2006)