Why do we care about de Warenne? We care about William de Warenne, because Ralph de Braunche, one of the knights who fought at the Battle of Hastings (1066) served under de Warenne and because of that service Ralph was granted lands in Norfolk which included the manor of Gresham. Sometime after 1066, we find them in the flat delta village of Gresham, Norfolk,, U. K. where Ralph and his son Richard occur in the charters of Walsingham Abbey, now a place of pilgrimage containing the ruin of the famous Augustinian Priory.
The fighters who came with William were from many lands. Ralph de Braunche came from St. Denis de Braunche in Pays de Caux, Normandy, on the north side of the Seine not too far from Le Havre, and this is documented in the book, Battle Abbey Roll.**
William de Warrenne held a position that now would be similar to a general of the army. In William the Conqueror's company there were many thousand knights like Ralph and Richard de Braunche, but only a few “generals” like de Warrenne.
Serving as a knight, included the title of ‘Sir’, and made Ralph sort of an unpaid mounted soldier. He owed allegiance to his overlord or liege lord (William de Warrenne), who held sway over a certain territory. deWarrenne in turn owed service to a gentleman who had several lesser lords in his domain. This chain began with the king through his overlords down to the knight who had a holding called a fief. The knight usually did not have any vassals or servants. Ralph de Branche was a knight. His fiefdom was called Braunche, with serfs who worked the land and served Ralph's household.
At first the Norman conquerors kept themselves separate from the people they invaded, but over centuries that changed. The Normans spoke French, so the Anglo-Saxon language became enriched with Norman words and ideas, and in time, the Normans and Anglo-Saxons became a united people. Wooden churches and abbeys were replaced with beautiful stone buildings in the Norman style.
Becoming a knight was not a widely attainable occupation in the medieval era. Only the sons of a knight were eligible to the ranks of knighthood. Those who were destined to become knights were singled out of society. In the years of boyhood, these future warriors were sent off to the castle as pages, later becoming squires.
Knights of the medieval era were asked to “Protect the weak, defenseless, helpless, and fight for the general welfare of all.” These few guidelines were the main duties of a medieval knight, but they were very hard to accomplish thoroughly. Rarely, even the best of knights were able to fully meet these guidelines, which proves the difficulty in their lifestyle. Knighthood consisted of all kinds of training including hunting, fighting, and riding horses. Apart from with the physical training, knights were trained to practice courteous, honorable behavior, which was extremely important. Chivalry (derived from the French word chevalier meaning “skills to handle a horse”) was the main principle guiding a knight’s life style.
The Chivalric Code required the knight to:
Defend the weak and to be courteous to all women, as Christ had been.
Give mercy to a vanquished enemy. If he captured a knight he would treat him with respect as a guest until his ransom was paid; if the captive knight was wounded, he was expected to care for his injuries.
Serve Christ.
Keep your word.
The line down from Sir Ralph de Braunche (born before 1031) is through Sir Richard de Braunche (born before 1051), Sir William de Branche, Sir Richard de Branche, Sir Peter de Branche (early 13th century). That much is proved. More work needs to be done to connect Sir Peter Braunche ca 1243 with our Peter Branch baptised 1596 in Rolvendon, County Kent, England, and his father Symon Branch born 1560 in County Kent. That much we know for sure and have proven -- but we are still missing about ten generations.
The poppy fields of Normandy still boast their famous color today for tourists.
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Many thanks to Phyllis Grissom and her “My Family.com” website for the Gresham descendants (however spelled) and to new “cousin” Andrew Grisham for alerting me to the origin of the names. For more on the Gresham family see the website: http://www.geocities.com/antus79/
**(The Battle Abbey Roll: With Some Account of the Norman Lineages By Battle Abbey, Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett Cleveland; Published by J. Murray, 1889, page 190, available online)
*(The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British Dominions and the USA, published 1874 and available online; pages 171, 268/269)
