Curator update 01/10/2020 I’ve posted a pdf to the media tab which provides insight into the family of Mélisende de Châteaudun from several different perspectives, a summary of which follows...

Mélisende de Châteaudun

A very important woman in history, associated closely with several major families, but uncertainty as to her origins still exists. The problem seems to be determining which sets of parents were hers and which were her husband's . But that also leads to a question of who her husband was. Medieval scholars (See Stuart Baldwin, below) believe her to have been the daughter of Geoffrey I de Chateaudun OR Rotrou de Nogent OR possibly Fulcois de Mortaigne.

Her husband is generally believed to have been Fulcois de Nogent Comte de Mortaigne but sometimes is given as a son or grandson of Geoffroy de Châteaudun (in which case she is listed as daughter of Nogent/de Mortaigne).

Please read the following:

Melisende

by Stuart Baldwin
http://sbaldw.home.mindspring.com/hproject/prov/melis000.htm

Probable wife of Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

In the foundation charter of Saint-Denis de Nogent, in the first year of king Henri I of France [20 July 1031 - 19 July 1032], viscount Geoffroy (II) of Châteaudun gives the church of Champrond in the lordship of Nogent to Saint-Denis, after the death of his mother Melisende, mentioning also his sons Hugues and Rotrou and his avunculus Bouchard, with his wife Helvise also witnessing ["... ego Gauffridus, Castridunensium vicecomes, ... cum consensu filiorum meorum Hugonis videlicet et Rotroci, ... et terram Burcardi avunculi mei, ... Post mortem autem matris mee Milesendis, dono ecclesiam de Campo-Rotundo, ... + S. domini Gaufridi, vicecomitis ... + S. Hugonis, filii domini Gaufridi vicecomitis. + S. Rotroci, fratris ejus. + S. Eleusie, matris eorum. ..." Cart. S.-Denis de Nogent, 13-19 (#5)]. No other early record is known to mention Melisende, but several different husbands have been conjectured for her by various scholars trying to deduce the parentage of Geoffroy.

Date of birth: Say 950×960? Place of birth: Unknown.

If Hugues du Perche was her son, then a birth closer to 950 would be likelier. If he was not her son, then there would be no obstacle to a somewhat later birthdate.

Date of death: After 20 July 1031.

Place of death: Unknown.

The wording of the foundation charter of Saint-Denis de Nogent implies that Melisende was still living at the time of the charter.

Probable father or father-in-law: Geoffroy (I), fl. 967?-985, viscount of Châteaudun.

Probable mother or mother-in law: Hildegarde, d. after 1005.

For reasons which are discussed on the page of Geoffroy (II), Hildegard and her probable husband Geoffroy (I) appear to have been grandparents of Melisende's son Geoffroy (II). Thus, either Melisende or her husband was a child of Geoffroy (I) and Hildegarde. As discussed below in the Commentary section, it is difficult to decide between the two options.

Probable spouse: Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

Fulcois appears as the avus of Melisende's grandson Rotrou, son of her son Geoffroy ["..., ego Rotrochus comes de Mauritania, et mea uxor Adeliz et filii nostri, Rotrochus, et ceteri nostri infantes, ... ut annuatim anniversarium avi mei Fulcuich, comitis, et avunculi mei Hugonis et patris mei vicecomitis Gaufridi faciant, ..." Cart. S.-Vincent du Mans, 350-1 (#609)]. Since Rotrou's maternal grandfather appears to be accounted for [see the page of Geoffroy (II)], the most natural interpretation of avus as "grandfather" would make Fulcois the father of Geoffroy and thus husband of Melisende. See the Commentary section for other husbands who have been assigned to Melisende.

Son:

MALE Geoffroy (II), d. ca. 1038×9, viscount of Châteaudun;

m. Helvise, living 1031, daughter of Rainard, lord of Pithiviers, and his wife Helvise.
See the 1031×2 charter cited above.

Possible son:

MALE Hugues du Perche;

m. Béatrix, daughter of Aubry II, count of Mâcon, and widow of Geoffroy (II), count of Gâtianis. The charter of count Rotrou which mentions his avus Fulcois also mentions Rotrou's avunculus Hugues, who was probably a son of Fulcois. For the possible identification of Hugues as Hugues du Perche, see the page of Hugues du Perche.

Commentary

The husband of Melisende

No known source explicitly names the husband of Melisende. Nevertheless, she has been assigned supposed husbands by various authors, generally men who have been assigned as father of her son viscount Geoffroy (II) of Châteaudun by means of one piece of evidence or another. See the page of Geoffroy (II) for more details.

Conjectured husband: Rotrou de Nogent, fl. 967?-996.

[Thompson (2002), 195-6 (hypothesis 2)]. For details on Rotrou, see below under the discussion of Melisende's parentage. Although it is quite likely that Rotrou belongs in the family, he was more likely a generation further back.

Claimed husband: Geoffroy, viscount of Châteaudun (another of the name).

[Murs (1856), 120, 131; Romanet (1890-1902), 30 (table), 44 (table); Keats-Rohan (1997), 202 & n. 72; Settipani (1997), 262 (table)] If the conclusion that Fulcois was the husband of Melisende is incorrect, then one possibility would be that there were two viscounts of Châteaudun named Geoffroy in the period 1004-1039, with Melisende as the wife of the elder of them.

Falsely attributed husband: Guérin/Warin de Domfront.

[Bry (1620), 137-8; Anselme, 3: 306] As discussed on the page of Geoffroy (II), this claim is due to a misinterpretation of Orderic Vitalis.

Supposed earlier husband: Hervé (II), fl. 974 - ca. 980, count [of Mortagne?].

Based on a genealogy supposedly taken from the cartulary of Saint-Denis de Nogent, Estournet has indicated that Melisende was married first to Hervé II, count of Mortagne, by whom she had no children, and then married Fulcois in about 985 [Estournet (1928), 118-9, citing Bibl. nat., ms. lat. 17049, p. 211]. Unfortunately, it is not clear what authority this source has, and he does not quote the passage from the manuscript, making it unclear if the Melisende in question was the same Melisende, mother of Geoffroy.

The parentage of Melisende

The one early source mentioning Melisende says nothing about her parentage. However, her son Geoffroy became viscount of Châteaudun, so it is natural to investigate how he came to hold that title. Archbishop Hugues of Tours, earlier viscount of Châteaudun, was succeeded as viscount in 1003×4 by Geoffroy, probably the same as Melisende's son. On two occasions, a nepos of archibishop Hugues named Geoffroy is mentioned [1005%C3%9723: "... Hugo archipræsul. Gaufridi, nepotis ejus. ..." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 117-8 (#6); 1032: "Gauffredi nepotis Hugonis archiepiscopi" Settipani (1997), 261 n. 247, citing Coll. Tour. Anj., ii1, #419]. It is probable that Geoffroy, nepos (probably to be interpreted as "nephew") of Hugues, was the same person as the latter's successor as viscount. See the page of Geoffroy (II) for a more detailed discussion of this.

Did the Châteaudun connection come through Melisende or through her husband?

If the likely conclusion that Melisende's son Geoffroy was a nephew of archbishop Hugues is accepted as a working hypothesis, there is still the problem of whether this relationship would be on the side of Geoffroy's father or his mother. This in turn could depend heavily on the identity of Melisende's husband. If Melisende's husband were an earlier viscount Geoffroy, then he would probably be a brother of archbishop Hugues. If Melisende's husband were Rotrou de Nogent, then it would be Melisende who was probably a sister of Hugues. However, the most likely possibility is that Melisende's husband was count Fulcois, but in that case it is hard to determine which parent of Geoffroy was a sibling of archbishop Hugues, because we have no indication of the ancestry of Fulcois. Most of those who accept Fulcois as the husband of Melisende have placed her as a sister of archbishop Hugues [Cuissard (1894-6), 43, 120 (table); Estournet (1928), 116, table; Saint-Phalle (2000), 236, 245]. The case in which Fulcois is placed as a brother of Hugues was put forward by Christian Settipani [Settipani (2000), 252-3].

Romanet argued that Melisende had brought the lordship of Nogent to her husband, because when her son Geoffroy donated the church of Champrond in that lordship to Saint-Denis de Nogent in 1031×2, he had reserved the usufruct for his mother [Romanet (1890-1902), 37]. On the other hand, Estournet argued from the fact that Melisende did not witness the act that her consent was unnecessary, and that the donation was therefore not a part of her patrimony [Estournet (1928), 117-8]. In 1997, mistakenly stating that Melisende subscribed to the act, Settipani said that her consent was effective [Settipani (1997), 263 n. 254]. However, this line of argument does not seem conclusive in either direction.

The future archbishop Hugues was evidently succeeded as viscount of Châteaudun in 1003×4 by his nephew Geoffroy. As Settipani pointed out, there is the question of whether a maternal nephew would succeed as viscount when Hugues had a son Helgaud and a brother Alo de Chinon still living [Settipani (2000), 253; Alo was still alive in 1009×12, Lex (1892), 136-140 (Pièces justificatives #10)]. Helgaud may have been illegitimate, or not old enough to become viscount in 1003×4. The claim of Cuissard that Alo was only a maternal half-brother of Hugues is worth mentioning in this context [Cuissard (1894-6), 120 (table)], but it is not clear that there is any evidence to support the supposed earlier marriage of Hildegarde (mother of Hugues) [See the page of Hildegarde for more]. Nevertheless, the fact that Alo was still alive in 1003×4 would seem to be an argument in favor of Geoffroy's probable father Fulcois being a brother of Hugues.

However, the comital title of Fulcois would appear to point in the opposite direction, for there is no indication that the viscounts of Châteaudun during the period 967-1004 had any claim to a comital title, making it seem less likely that count Fuclois was a member of that family. Settipani, who conjectures Fulcois as a son of viscount Geoffroy (I) and Hildegarde in his most recent account [Settipani (2000), 252-3], suggests that the comital title arrived in the family via Hildegarde, who is placed as a possible daughter of count Hervé of Mortagne [ibid., 256-8]. However, this is very conjectural.

Chronology should also be considered here. If the conjecture that Melisende was the mother of Hugues du Perche is correct, then we have a possible tight chronology, although it is difficult to measure the extent of the problem because of the uncertainties involved. Although a birth in 980 or later for Hugues du Perche cannot be ruled out, ca. 970 would seem to be a better estimate [see the page of Hugues du Perche]. However, the viscountess Hildegarde appears in a charter whose date is estimated by the editor to be ca. 1020, although it could be as early as 1005 [Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 117-8 (#6); see the page of Hildegarde]. If the editor's estimated date for Hildegarde's charter is correct, or nearly so, and Hildegarde really was the grandmother of Hugues du Perche, then the chronology between Hildegarde and Hugues would be tight if Hildegarde was born as late as 940. Since female generations are generally shorter than male generations, this chronological tightness would be relieved slightly if the generation between Hildegarde and Hugues were female, i.e., if Melisende were a daughter of Hildegarde. This argument should not be pressed too far, but it does seem to tilt the probability slightly in that direction.

None of the above arguments is particularly strong. Thus, even though it was probably the case that Melisende's son Geoffroy was a grandson of the viscountess Hildegarde, it is difficult to say with any degree of confidence whether the intervening generation was Melisende or her husband. Thus, with regard to the parentage of Melisende, all we can do is list some possibilities.

Conjectured father (possible): Geoffroy (I), fl. 967?-985, viscount of Châteaudun.

Conjectured mother (possible): Hildegarde, d. after 1005.

Conjectured father (possible): Rotrou de Nogent, fl. 967?-996.

Rotrou appears as a witness on a false act of king Lothaire of France 7 July 967 ["S. Rotrochi" Rec. actes Lothair & Louis V, 141 (#60), a falsification of the 11th or 12th century, but perhaps based on an analysis of an authentic act that had been lost]. His first certain appearance is in an act of 8 September 975 ["S. Roterici" Cart. S.-Benoît-sur-Loire, 1: 152 (#61)]. He then appears fairly regularly for the next two decades, in charters of 5 February 978 ["Rotrocus" Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 65 (#8)], 3 May 983 ["S. Rotrochii" Lex (1892), 122 (Pièces justificatives #1)], before 986 ["Rotrocus" Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 72 (#13)], 985 ["S. Rotroci" ibid, 1: 79 (#18)], 12 February 996 ["Signum Ratroch." Lot (1903), 426], and 996×1001 ["S. Rotroci." Lex (1892), 133 (Pièces justificatives #7)]. In addition to the above charters, in which Rotrou appears without further designation, there are two charters which supply additional information. One, dated 989, calls Rotrou a Norman ["S. Rotroci Normanni." Lex (1892), 125 (Pièces justificatives #3)]. Another, undated, is a donation by Rotrou (called "de Nogent" in the heading of the charter) of property in Thivars, near Chartres, to Saint-Père de Chartres [heading: "De terra data in villa quæ Thevas dicitur a Rotroco de Nogiomo." body of charter: "In Dei nomine, Rotrocus seculari miliciæ deditus et Odonis comitis fidelitati devotus, ..." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 87 (#4)]. In addition, two twelfth century references mention Rotrou in connection with the Perche during the wars of Richard I of Normandy with Thibaud "le Tricheur", count of Blois and Chartres. He is called count of the Perche by Wace in his Roman de Rou ["Rotro, li quens del Perche" Wace, Roman de Rou, 4134 (1: 187)], and he is connected with the Corbonnais in the Norman chronicle of Benoît de Sainte-More ["Rotrou e cil de Corbuneis" Benoît de Sainte-More, 22564 (2: 244)]. Rotrou is conjectured as the father of Melisende by Settipani [Settipani (2000), 253]. Onomastically (and geographically if his connection to Nogent is correct), he seems like a probable ancestor of the counts of Perche, and this conjecture would be a good possibility if it was Melisende's husband who was a child of viscountess Hildegarde.

Conjectured father (more probably her husband): Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

[Keats-Rohan (1997), 203 n. 73] In this conjecture, Fulcois avus of Rotrou (grandson of Melisende) is being interpreted as a more distant ancestor of Rotrou than the literal interpretation of "grandson". While not impossible, it is more likely that Rotrou was a grandson of Fuclois.

Bibliography

Anselme = Père Anselme, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, 9 vols. (Paris, 1726-33).

Benoît de Saint-More = Francisque Michel, ed., Chronique des Ducs de Normandie par Benoît, 3 vols. (1836-44).

Bry (1620) = Gilles Bry, Histoire des pays et comté dv Perche et dvché d'Alençon (Paris, 1620).

Cart. S.-Benoît-sur-Loire = Maurice Prou & Alexandre Vidier, Recueil des chartes de l'abbaye de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (Paris, 1907).

Cart. S.-Denis de Nogent = Vicomte de Souancé & Charles Métais, Saint-Denis de Nogent-le-Rotrou 1031-1789 - Histoire et Cartulaire (Revised and expanded edition, Vannes, 1899).

Cart. S.-Père de Chartres = Benjamin Guérard, Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, 2 vols. (Paris, 1840).

Cart. S.-Vincent du Mans = R. Charles & Menjot D'Elbenne, eds., Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Vincent du Mans (Ordre de Saint Benoît) (Mamers & Le Mans, 1886-1913).

Cuissard (1894-6) = Charles Cuissard, "Chronologie des Vicomtes de Châteaudun (960-1395)", Bulletins de la Société dunoise 8 (1894-6): 25-120.

Estournet (1928) = "Les origines historiques de Nemours et sa charte de franchises (1170)" (parts I-III), Annales de la Société Historique & Archéologique du Gâtinais 39 (1928): 105-158.

Keats-Rohan (1997) = K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, "'Un vassal sans histoire'?: Count Hugh II (c. 940/955 - 992) and the origins of Angevin overlordship in Maine", in K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed., Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997): 189-210.

Lex (1892) = Léonce Lex, Eudes, comte de Blois, de Tours, de Chartres, de Troyes et de Meaux (995-1037) et Thibaud, son frère (995-1004) (Troyes, 1892).

Lot (1903) = Ferdinand Lot, Études sur le règne de Hugues Capet et la fin du Xe siècle (Paris, 1903).

Murs (1856) = M. O. des Murs, Histoire des comtes du Perche de la famille des Rotrou, de 943 à 1231 (Nogent-le-Rotrou, 1856).

Rec. actes Lothair & Louis V = Louis Halphen & Ferdinand Lot, eds., Recueil des actes de Lothaire et de Louis V rois de France (Paris, 1908).

Romanet (1890-1902) = Vicomte de Romanet, Géographie du Perche et chronologie de ses comtes (Documents sur la province du Perche, ser. 2, no. 1, Mortagne, 1890-1902).

Saint-Phalle (2000) = Edouard de Saint-Phalle, "Les comtes de Gâtinais aux Xe et XIe siècles", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 230-246.

Settipani (1997) = Christian Settipani, "Les comtes d'Anjou et leur alliances aux Xe et XIe siècles", in K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed., Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997): 211-267.

Settipani (2000) = Christian Settipani, "Les vicomtes de Châteaudun et leur alliés", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 247-261.

Thompson (2002) = Kathleen Thompson, Power and Border Lordship in Medieval France. The County of Perche, 1000-1226 (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2002).

Wace, Roman de Rou = Hugo Andresen, ed., Maistre Wace's Roman de Rou et des ducs de Normandie, 2 vols. (Heilbron, 1877-9).

Compiled by Stewart Baldwin

First uploaded 24 January 2011.

Minor changes made 27 January 2011.

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http://www.nugent.fr/doc/France06.pdf

The Melisende Hypotheses (The Enigma of Melisende) by Francis Nugent Dixon (2014) -- a 12-page article, which begins:

This chapter could have been entitled entitled "The Enigma of Melisende", and could lead the reader to believe that the only subject covered concerns this woman who was a key element of the House of Châteaudun at the end of the 10th century, and also a vital element of the emerging House of Rotrou, and yet who remains, to this day, an enigma.
However, although we will attempt to clarify the genealogy of one of the most important early members of this family, we inevitably reach into some of the more tenuous and uncertain moments of this period. Our Melisende clearly existed, but there are several possibilities concerning her position in the House of Rotrou.

We know that a certain Melisende de Châteaudun existed, and we know that she formed a small, though important part of the House of Rotrou. Who she was, and how she got her name (title) is not clear. She was born about either about 960 or 991 and died about 1035.

In the various reconstructions that are given below, we attempt to clarify the following :

1 Who were the parents of "Melisende" ?

2 Who did she marry ? (see the last section of this document)

3 How did she get the sobriquet "De Châteaudun " ?

4 Who were her children ?

...There are several possible reconstructions of the Family Tree, inserting the Melisende in various places, and associating her directly or indirectly with the Rotrou family. We must first base our conjecture on information that we can be sure of :

1 A certain Viscount Geoffrey of Châteaudun and his wife Hermengarde had several sons,

2 One of these sons apparently married a certain Melisende, probably the daughter of a certain Rotrou de Nogent.

Within the different reconstructions, we must always return to the principal question which imposes itself : Why was Melisende referred to as "de Châteaudun ". There are several possibilities :

1 She was the daughter of a Viscount of Châteaudun. If she had a brother, he would inherit the title. If the brother died before Melisende, she could then inherit the title and pass it to her husband, although this is unlikely, as it would normally go to one of their sons, or to another male of the family.

2 She married into the House of Châteaudun, perhaps even the Viscount, and thus her descendants were potential Viscounts,

3 She was given the "de Chateaudun" sobriquet much later, by historians or genealogists, either because she was a daughter of the House of Châteaudun, or that she married a Viscount of Châteaudun,

4 There were several persons called Melisende, one of which was a Melisende de Châteaudun.

However, before we concentrate on Melisende, we have another discrepancy at the same period.

There are several hypotheses concerning the descent of the viscomptal title within the House of Châteaudun. Each of these hypotheses is quoted from a reputable genealogist or historian.....

----------------------------

From Medlands

1. HUGUES (-989 or after). The Breve Chronicon of Bonneval abbey records that “vicecomes Castridunensis Gaufridus” donated “alodum...Villa Siltula”, for the souls of “sue et uxoris Hermengardis”, and that “filius suus...Hugo” donated “aliam villam juxta sitam...Buxeriam”, undated[854]. Vicomte de Châteaudun. "…Hugonis vicecomitis, Alonis fratris eius…" signed the charter dated 996 which records the confirmation by "comitissæ Berthæ" of the donation by "Odo comes" of property for the construction of the abbey of Bourgeuil, with the consent of "filiorum suorum Teobaldi…atque Odonis"[855]. m HILDEGARDE du Perche, daughter of HERVE [I] Comte du Perche & his wife Mélisende --- (-14 Apr [1021/22]). "Hildegardis, vicecomitissa Castridunensis" donated property "alodum meum de Bello Monte" to "sanctissimo Petro Carnotensis cœnobii", with the consent of "filio meo Hugone, archiepiscopo Turonorum", by charter dated to 1020, signed by "Hugo archipræsul., Gausfridi nepotis eius…Helgaudi filii archiepiscopi…"[856]. The primary source which confirms her parentage has not yet been identified. The necrology of Chartres cathedral records the death "XVIII Kal Mai" of "Hildegardis vicecomitissa de Castellodunis", stating that "filius eius Hugo Turonensis episcopus" donated property at "Viverus" for her soul[857]. The necrology of Saint-Père-en-Vallée records the death "XVII Kal Mai" of "Hildegarda vicecomitissa" and her donation of "allodium de Bellomonte"[858]. Vicomte Hugues & his wife had four children:

a) HUGUES de Châteaudun (-10 Jun 1026). "Hildegardis, vicecomitissa Castridunensis" donated property "alodum meum de Bello Monte" to "sanctissimo Petro Carnotensis cœnobii", with the consent of "filio meo Hugone, archiepiscopo Turonorum", by charter dated to 1020, signed by "Hugo archipræsul., Gausfridi nepotis eius…Helgaudi filii archiepiscopi…"[859]. His mother's name is confirmed by the necrology of Chartres cathedral records the death "XVIII Kal Mai" of "Hildegardis vicecomitissa de Castellodunis", stating that "filius eius Hugo Turonensis episcopus" donated property at "Viverus" for her soul[860]. Vicomte de Châteaudun 980/1003. "…Hugonis vicecomitis, Alonis fratris eius…" signed the charter dated 996 which records the confirmation by "comitissæ Berthæ" of the donation by "Odo comes" of property for the construction of the abbey of Bourgeuil, with the consent of "filiorum suorum Teobaldi…atque Odonis"[861]. Deacon at Tours cathedral 996/1001. Archbishop of Tours 1005. “...Hugo Turonorum Archiepiscopus...” subscribed the charter dated to [1008] under which Robert II King of France confirmed donations to Saint-Denis[862]. The necrology of Chartres Cathedral records the death “IV Id Jun” of “Hugo Turonorum archiepiscopus” and his donation of “alodum suum de Vivariis”[863]. Archbishop Hugues had two illegitimate children by an unknown mistress or mistresses:

i) HELGAUD
ii) HUGUES

b) ADALAUD "…Hugonis vicecomitis, Alonis fratris eius…" signed the charter dated 996 which records the confirmation by "comitissæ Berthæ" of the donation by "Odo comes" of property for the construction of the abbey of Bourgeuil, with the consent of "filiorum suorum Teobaldi…atque Odonis"[865]. Seigneur de Château-Chinon 996/1001.
c) [MELISENDE (-before 1040). The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. Vicomtesse de Châteaudun. m FULCOIS Seigneur de Nogent-le-Rotrou Comte de Mortaigne, son of ROTROU Seigneur de Nogent & his wife ---.]
d) daughter . The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. m (before 989) ALBERT [II] de la Ferté-en-Beauce, son of ALBERT [I] de la Ferté-en-Beauce & his wife Godehildis de Bellême.

https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/cfrachacha.htm#HuguesChateaudundie...

Fulquois de Mortagne - V03 - 14/09/2013

Melisende de Chateaudun. She may, of course, have been attributed the sobriquet "de Chateaudun", after her marriage into this family. However, we soon find two serious flaws in our determination of this part of the family tree. Melisende appears to have two names (de Nogent and de Chateaudun), two approximate dates of birth (around 960, and around 990), and two different husbands: a Chateaudun relative. and Warin (Guerin) de Domfront. The date of her death is quoted by all as being about 1035, a ripe old age for women of these times, and her marriage somewhere about 980, and also 1005.

Viscount de Romanet proposes a perfectly acceptable solution to these discrepancies: that there was, in fact, two distinct Melisendes, and that they were most probably mother and daughter. Christian Settipani, in his precise study of cartulary documents of this era, while not being able to place Melisende, leaves ample place for two such named women. And so it is this proposition that I show in one of the diagrams of the chapter "The Melisende Hypothesis". But we have not yet cleared up the mystery concerning the marriage of the first Melisende (de Nogent).
Several documents have proposed that she married, not the current Viscount of Chateaudun, Hugh, nor his brother Geoffrey, but a blood relative of the Chateaudun family, and that this was a certain Foulquois (Fulke) de Mortagne. Settipani clearly places Foulquois as Melisendes husband, and defines him to be Lord of Mortagne, for his father (uncle ? grandfather ?), Herve, certainly was. This raises a problem because Foulquois was either close relative of the Viscount of Chateaudun or else our prognostics are false. Perhaps was Foulquois a Chateaudun brother, but also Lord of Mortagne from his "forebear" Herve. Perhaps he was a cousin/uncle/other blood relatives? Several elements of information can be found for this little-known Foulquois. if we suppose that his "forebear", a certain Herve was also Lord of Mortagne, we may ask why Foulquois was so undefined with in the brothers of the House of Chateaudun, if Foulquois married Melisende de Nogent, he must have been a close Chateaudun relative for the Viscountancy of Chateaudun to fall to Melisendes son Geoffrey II. However, the fact that he was also Lord of Mortagne, could also explain how this title passed to Geoffrey, Melisendes son, and also how the vague title of Count of Perche was propagated to the descendants of Rotrou, as Mortagne apparently used to be known as Corbon, and that Corbon covered a substantial part of the Perche, at one time. The plot thickens, for most of this reasoning is subject to conjecture. Finally, if Foulquois was a little-known Chateaudun relation, he would have been born about 950 and must have died about the same time as Geoffrey (about 1004), which will explain why he never became Viscount of Chateaudun. Melisendes son Geoffrey would then become Viscount, as the only living male of the family, which could explain how the Rotrou family exceeded so rapidly to the title of Viscount. However, Keats-Rohan suggests that the father of Foulquois was Herve II, Lord of Mortagne, which obviously means that Fulquois was not a little-known brother of the Viscount of Chateaudun. We are then left to ask how the son of Melisende de Nogent could attain the title of Viscount of Chateaudun, if no direct blood-line exists. It may be then that Herve was effectively, either an uncle or possibly even a grandfather. The cartulary documents of this period, although Christian Settipani has extracted the maximum information from them, will not allow us to go further in subjective reasoning.

Fulquois de Mortagne - V03 - 14/09/2013

Gur quest for the truth does not stop here. As a final adjustment to our family diagram, we must also question the marriage of Geoffrey II, the new Viscount with a certain "Helvise". Some documents define this Helvise as being Helvise de Mortagne (Mortagne once having the name of Carbon). However, Settipani and Keats-Rohan now estimate that Geoffrey married a certain Helvise, but that she was the daughter of Rainard, Lord of Pithiviers, and that her husband Geoffrey became Lord of Mortagne from his "forebear" Foulquois, and not from his father-in-law, as was previously supposed. We then have a satisfactory explanation of the passage of the Mortagne title to the Rotrou family, rather than through the little defined wife of Geoffrey II. We must be glad that Geoffrey's wife was another Helvise, and not the daughter of Foulquois de Mortagne because that would mean that Geoffrey married his sister!

The existence of Foulquois in our modified family diagram does, however, provide some problems, principally concerning the place where he fits into the descent of the Viscounts of Chateaudun. Foulquois' father could not have been Herve, Count of Mortagne, and Keats-Rohan would prefer to place Herve as a grandfather. The relationship between Herve and the early Viscounts of Dunois and Chateaudun cannot be defined, although they must have been close. The title of Lords of Mortagne from Herve to Foulquois would explain the passing of the title to Geoffrey ll, with the notion that Mortagne was the center of a region called the Corbonais, and that the lords of the Corbonais, ruling over a substantial part of the Perche, were cited as being Counts of Perche. The attribution of that title to the descendants of the early Rotrou would then seem acceptable.

And so we compound the Melisende Hypothesis with that of the Foulquois Hypothesis, apparently two closely related (by marriage) members of this House of Rotrou in the making. There remains only a closer study concerning the husband of Melisende.

Who was Melisendes Husband?

(or: How did Geoffrey II become Viscount ?)

We have suggested, by evaluating from limited documents, scarce though they may be, that Melisende was very probably the daughter of Rotrou de Nogent. We are sure that Melisendes son Geoffrey became Viscount of Chateaudun, but we are left to speculate about the way in which this was possible. There seems to be no way that the grandson of Rotrou could aspire to the title of Viscount of Chateaudun, as there is no convincing proof of blood or marriage ties with the House of Chateaudun at this time. We are left with the compelling suggestion that Geoffrey could become Viscount because of his father's ties to that family. Documents concerning Melisende's husband are conflicting, indicating that it could possibly have been the current Viscount of Chateadun, although we are not sure if it was another family member. Hugh, most probably the Viscount of this period 1 was apparently married to an unknown wife (not Melisende) and had at least one son, Helgaud Melisendes

1 Combining the scarcity of information, and the numerous Hughs and Geoffreys of this time leaves us unsure as to who was Viscount, and when.

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son, Geoffrey could only become Viscount when Hugh rescinded the title in 1003/4, on condition that there was no direct descendant. Information from this period concerning the early Viscounts is scanty, and only becomes uncontested when we reach the 1ih Century. but seems to indicate that it was a certain Foulquois (or Fulke) who married Melisende, but the information is incomplete and certainly does not clarify his affiliation.

In the light of extremely limited concrete evidence concerning the descent of the title of Viscount of Chëteaudun to Geoffrey II, we must examine the options :

1 - Melisende was a sister of the Viscount of Chateaudun and married Rotrou de Nogent, and thus Geoffrey was Rotrous, son. Melisende was born around 966 when Rotrou was already about 25. At this time, Rotrou would be already established in the growing town of Nogent-Ie-Chatel (later to become Nogent-Ie-Rotrou). The military fortifications ordered by the Count of Blois were probably finished, and this "safe" environment would rapidly grow in importance. Melisende's son Geoffrey would be born about 990 when Rotrou was at least 50 years old. However, this assumption would seem rather doubtful, as a Melisende marriage to a much younger Warin would seem unlikely, to say the least. Mëlisende would also marry Warin de Domfront in about 1010, after the death of Rotrou, when she was about 45. This tenuous concept must be discounted because the time-lines would not permit it, and in fact, strengthens the theory that there were two distinct Melisendes. Imagination appears to have been scarce at this time, and there was a plethora of Hughs, Geoffreys, Heloises, Foulquois ... and why not Melisendes?

2 - Foulquois was possibly a little known relative of Geoffrey, Viscount of Chateaudun and Hildegarde de Blois 2. Hildegarde de Blois has also been given the name Hildegarde de Mortagne. In about 980, Foulquois inherits the title of Count of Mortagne from his uncle (?) Herve II. Foulquois must have died just before Hughes ceded the title of Viscount when he became Archbishop of Tours (1003/1004). Otherwise, he could have become the next Viscount. The title would then fall to his son.

However, we also have a slightly modified alternative:

3 - A certain Foulquois was Lord of Mortagne at this time, and his father is supposed to have been Herve II, also Lord of Mortagne before him. If Foulquois married Melisende de Nogent, this would explain how the title of Lord of Mortagne came into the Rotrou family, but certainly not how the Chateaudun titi e came into the family of Rotrou. We may then be obliged to consider that Foulquois was a blood relative of the Chateaudun Viscount. Settipani suggests some link, but Foulquois could not be a brother if his father was identified as Herve II. The Corbonais (the old name for the Mortagne) domain was close, and geographically formed part of the Perche. It is not unlikely that Mortagne had blood ties with Chateaudun (giving more credence to [2], above). In this case, the titles of Lord of Mortagne and Viscount of Chateaudun could both fall to Foulquois's descendant.

2 This would confirm the theory that the generation Hildegarde de Blois - Hugh de Chateaudun did not exist, and that Hildegarde was in fact married to Geoffrey, Viscount Chateaudun. However, the connection between Hildegarde and the House of Mortagne is tenuous.

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Recent research (Keats-Rohan, Settipani 3 et alia) insists that Geoffrey II married a certain Heloise de Pithiviers, and thus the titi e of Lord of Mortagne could not come to Geoffrey II in this way. In addition to this question, if Melisende married Foulquois de Mortagne, we must ask ourselves, how is it possible that her san Geoffrey II became Viscount of Chateaudun unless there were close blood ties. Settipani also is left no option but to suppose that FouJquois was a member of the Chateaudun family, without specifying how.

The title of Viscount de Chateaudun became open when Hugh II of Chateaudun rescinded his title upon becoming Archbishop of Tours in 1003/4. As it seems that Hugh's brother (Geoffrey) died relatively young (although he may have held the title of Viscount for a very short time), there was apparently no direct line of descent to the title of Viscount, and so it fell to Geoffrey II, who would (in our supposition) thus have been the nephew of the previous Viscount. It must be made clear that apart from a theory that Foulquois was a member of the Chateaudun family, there is little information concerning his existence. lf he married Melisende about 989, he would 'have been in his late 30's. Had he married into the House of Chateaudun at an earlier date, and thus was Melisende's second wife? A charter of 1051 by Rotrou II mentioning a certain Foulquois as his « evus » (usually grandfather), confirms the existence of Foulquois, and his relation to Melisende, but still does not define his origins 4. Geoffrey II, although making reference to his mother Melisende, never mentions his father at all, in the few charters concerning him, which is a little strange, but strengthening the idea that Foulquois may have died earlier. Rotrou II mentions his grandfather as Count but does not specify over which territory. As Rotrou was clearly Count of Mortagne, it is assumed that his grandfather was also Count of Mortagne before him.

Thus it seems likely that Melisende de Nogent and Melisende de Chateaudun both existed, it is easy to propose two different Melisendes, defining the second as being the daughter of the first, and locating them both in the appropriate time frames. However, there is also a possibility that Melisende de Chateaudun was the daughter of Hugh, Viscount of Chateaudun, and so the two Melisendes were cousins. Melisende de Nogent would be the daughter of Rotrou and her marriage into the Chateaudun family could be shown as a (thank you) to the Rotrou family for services rendered. Whoever Melisende married, it was probably unforeseen that her son would become Viscount. Hugh is reputed to have had a brother called Alo, but he may have been illegitimate and discounted from the succession. Hugh also had a son Helgaud who was probably too young to become Viscount. Hugh's brother Geoffrey apparently died at about the same time as Hugh became Archbishop. Melisendes san Geoffrey then appears to be the only candidate, allowing a descendant of the Rotrou family to be unexpectedly propulsed to a higher level of nobility. Melisende de Chateaudun was then either Geoffrey ll's sister or his niece by marriage, and the time-frame for her to marry Warin de Domfront would be satisfied.

3 Christian Settipani - Prosopon Newsletter, 1999 - Les Vicomles de Chateaudun et leurs Allies

4 Stewart Baldwin's research into segments of the Rotrou Family (not his main interest) is extremely rigorous, and quoting all possible relationships of the family at this time (including Settipanis deductions), without any partisan attitude. We are left to choose our own solution.

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A final historical note can be added here. Melisende and husband (whoever it was) had another son, Hughes de Perche, who by his marriage to Beatrix de Gatinais had a son Geoffrey de Ferreol. This would make Foulquois the root of the Plantagenet line of the future.

https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/cfrachacha.htm#HuguesChateaudundie...

Curator update 01/10/2020 I’ve posted a pdf to the media tab which provides insight into the family of Mélisende de Châteaudun from several different perspectives, a summary of which follows...

Mélisende de Châteaudun

A very important woman in history, associated closely with several major families, but uncertainty as to her origins still exists. The problem seems to be determining which sets of parents were hers and which were her husband's . But that also leads to a question of who her husband was. Medieval scholars (See Stuart Baldwin, below) believe her to have been the daughter of Geoffrey I de Chateaudun OR Rotrou de Nogent OR possibly Fulcois de Mortaigne.

Her husband is generally believed to have been Fulcois de Nogent Comte de Mortaigne but sometimes is given as a son or grandson of Geoffroy de Châteaudun (in which case she is listed as daughter of Nogent/de Mortaigne).

Please read the following:

Melisende

by Stuart Baldwin
http://sbaldw.home.mindspring.com/hproject/prov/melis000.htm

Probable wife of Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

In the foundation charter of Saint-Denis de Nogent, in the first year of king Henri I of France [20 July 1031 - 19 July 1032], viscount Geoffroy (II) of Châteaudun gives the church of Champrond in the lordship of Nogent to Saint-Denis, after the death of his mother Melisende, mentioning also his sons Hugues and Rotrou and his avunculus Bouchard, with his wife Helvise also witnessing ["... ego Gauffridus, Castridunensium vicecomes, ... cum consensu filiorum meorum Hugonis videlicet et Rotroci, ... et terram Burcardi avunculi mei, ... Post mortem autem matris mee Milesendis, dono ecclesiam de Campo-Rotundo, ... + S. domini Gaufridi, vicecomitis ... + S. Hugonis, filii domini Gaufridi vicecomitis. + S. Rotroci, fratris ejus. + S. Eleusie, matris eorum. ..." Cart. S.-Denis de Nogent, 13-19 (#5)]. No other early record is known to mention Melisende, but several different husbands have been conjectured for her by various scholars trying to deduce the parentage of Geoffroy.

Date of birth: Say 950×960? Place of birth: Unknown.

If Hugues du Perche was her son, then a birth closer to 950 would be likelier. If he was not her son, then there would be no obstacle to a somewhat later birthdate.

Date of death: After 20 July 1031.

Place of death: Unknown.

The wording of the foundation charter of Saint-Denis de Nogent implies that Melisende was still living at the time of the charter.

Probable father or father-in-law: Geoffroy (I), fl. 967?-985, viscount of Châteaudun.

Probable mother or mother-in law: Hildegarde, d. after 1005.

For reasons which are discussed on the page of Geoffroy (II), Hildegard and her probable husband Geoffroy (I) appear to have been grandparents of Melisende's son Geoffroy (II). Thus, either Melisende or her husband was a child of Geoffroy (I) and Hildegarde. As discussed below in the Commentary section, it is difficult to decide between the two options.

Probable spouse: Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

Fulcois appears as the avus of Melisende's grandson Rotrou, son of her son Geoffroy ["..., ego Rotrochus comes de Mauritania, et mea uxor Adeliz et filii nostri, Rotrochus, et ceteri nostri infantes, ... ut annuatim anniversarium avi mei Fulcuich, comitis, et avunculi mei Hugonis et patris mei vicecomitis Gaufridi faciant, ..." Cart. S.-Vincent du Mans, 350-1 (#609)]. Since Rotrou's maternal grandfather appears to be accounted for [see the page of Geoffroy (II)], the most natural interpretation of avus as "grandfather" would make Fulcois the father of Geoffroy and thus husband of Melisende. See the Commentary section for other husbands who have been assigned to Melisende.

Son:

MALE Geoffroy (II), d. ca. 1038×9, viscount of Châteaudun;

m. Helvise, living 1031, daughter of Rainard, lord of Pithiviers, and his wife Helvise.
See the 1031×2 charter cited above.

Possible son:

MALE Hugues du Perche;

m. Béatrix, daughter of Aubry II, count of Mâcon, and widow of Geoffroy (II), count of Gâtianis. The charter of count Rotrou which mentions his avus Fulcois also mentions Rotrou's avunculus Hugues, who was probably a son of Fulcois. For the possible identification of Hugues as Hugues du Perche, see the page of Hugues du Perche.

Commentary

The husband of Melisende

No known source explicitly names the husband of Melisende. Nevertheless, she has been assigned supposed husbands by various authors, generally men who have been assigned as father of her son viscount Geoffroy (II) of Châteaudun by means of one piece of evidence or another. See the page of Geoffroy (II) for more details.

Conjectured husband: Rotrou de Nogent, fl. 967?-996.

[Thompson (2002), 195-6 (hypothesis 2)]. For details on Rotrou, see below under the discussion of Melisende's parentage. Although it is quite likely that Rotrou belongs in the family, he was more likely a generation further back.

Claimed husband: Geoffroy, viscount of Châteaudun (another of the name).

[Murs (1856), 120, 131; Romanet (1890-1902), 30 (table), 44 (table); Keats-Rohan (1997), 202 & n. 72; Settipani (1997), 262 (table)] If the conclusion that Fulcois was the husband of Melisende is incorrect, then one possibility would be that there were two viscounts of Châteaudun named Geoffroy in the period 1004-1039, with Melisende as the wife of the elder of them.

Falsely attributed husband: Guérin/Warin de Domfront.

[Bry (1620), 137-8; Anselme, 3: 306] As discussed on the page of Geoffroy (II), this claim is due to a misinterpretation of Orderic Vitalis.

Supposed earlier husband: Hervé (II), fl. 974 - ca. 980, count [of Mortagne?].

Based on a genealogy supposedly taken from the cartulary of Saint-Denis de Nogent, Estournet has indicated that Melisende was married first to Hervé II, count of Mortagne, by whom she had no children, and then married Fulcois in about 985 [Estournet (1928), 118-9, citing Bibl. nat., ms. lat. 17049, p. 211]. Unfortunately, it is not clear what authority this source has, and he does not quote the passage from the manuscript, making it unclear if the Melisende in question was the same Melisende, mother of Geoffroy.

The parentage of Melisende

The one early source mentioning Melisende says nothing about her parentage. However, her son Geoffroy became viscount of Châteaudun, so it is natural to investigate how he came to hold that title. Archbishop Hugues of Tours, earlier viscount of Châteaudun, was succeeded as viscount in 1003×4 by Geoffroy, probably the same as Melisende's son. On two occasions, a nepos of archibishop Hugues named Geoffroy is mentioned [1005%C3%9723: "... Hugo archipræsul. Gaufridi, nepotis ejus. ..." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 117-8 (#6); 1032: "Gauffredi nepotis Hugonis archiepiscopi" Settipani (1997), 261 n. 247, citing Coll. Tour. Anj., ii1, #419]. It is probable that Geoffroy, nepos (probably to be interpreted as "nephew") of Hugues, was the same person as the latter's successor as viscount. See the page of Geoffroy (II) for a more detailed discussion of this.

Did the Châteaudun connection come through Melisende or through her husband?

If the likely conclusion that Melisende's son Geoffroy was a nephew of archbishop Hugues is accepted as a working hypothesis, there is still the problem of whether this relationship would be on the side of Geoffroy's father or his mother. This in turn could depend heavily on the identity of Melisende's husband. If Melisende's husband were an earlier viscount Geoffroy, then he would probably be a brother of archbishop Hugues. If Melisende's husband were Rotrou de Nogent, then it would be Melisende who was probably a sister of Hugues. However, the most likely possibility is that Melisende's husband was count Fulcois, but in that case it is hard to determine which parent of Geoffroy was a sibling of archbishop Hugues, because we have no indication of the ancestry of Fulcois. Most of those who accept Fulcois as the husband of Melisende have placed her as a sister of archbishop Hugues [Cuissard (1894-6), 43, 120 (table); Estournet (1928), 116, table; Saint-Phalle (2000), 236, 245]. The case in which Fulcois is placed as a brother of Hugues was put forward by Christian Settipani [Settipani (2000), 252-3].

Romanet argued that Melisende had brought the lordship of Nogent to her husband, because when her son Geoffroy donated the church of Champrond in that lordship to Saint-Denis de Nogent in 1031×2, he had reserved the usufruct for his mother [Romanet (1890-1902), 37]. On the other hand, Estournet argued from the fact that Melisende did not witness the act that her consent was unnecessary, and that the donation was therefore not a part of her patrimony [Estournet (1928), 117-8]. In 1997, mistakenly stating that Melisende subscribed to the act, Settipani said that her consent was effective [Settipani (1997), 263 n. 254]. However, this line of argument does not seem conclusive in either direction.

The future archbishop Hugues was evidently succeeded as viscount of Châteaudun in 1003×4 by his nephew Geoffroy. As Settipani pointed out, there is the question of whether a maternal nephew would succeed as viscount when Hugues had a son Helgaud and a brother Alo de Chinon still living [Settipani (2000), 253; Alo was still alive in 1009×12, Lex (1892), 136-140 (Pièces justificatives #10)]. Helgaud may have been illegitimate, or not old enough to become viscount in 1003×4. The claim of Cuissard that Alo was only a maternal half-brother of Hugues is worth mentioning in this context [Cuissard (1894-6), 120 (table)], but it is not clear that there is any evidence to support the supposed earlier marriage of Hildegarde (mother of Hugues) [See the page of Hildegarde for more]. Nevertheless, the fact that Alo was still alive in 1003×4 would seem to be an argument in favor of Geoffroy's probable father Fulcois being a brother of Hugues.

However, the comital title of Fulcois would appear to point in the opposite direction, for there is no indication that the viscounts of Châteaudun during the period 967-1004 had any claim to a comital title, making it seem less likely that count Fuclois was a member of that family. Settipani, who conjectures Fulcois as a son of viscount Geoffroy (I) and Hildegarde in his most recent account [Settipani (2000), 252-3], suggests that the comital title arrived in the family via Hildegarde, who is placed as a possible daughter of count Hervé of Mortagne [ibid., 256-8]. However, this is very conjectural.

Chronology should also be considered here. If the conjecture that Melisende was the mother of Hugues du Perche is correct, then we have a possible tight chronology, although it is difficult to measure the extent of the problem because of the uncertainties involved. Although a birth in 980 or later for Hugues du Perche cannot be ruled out, ca. 970 would seem to be a better estimate [see the page of Hugues du Perche]. However, the viscountess Hildegarde appears in a charter whose date is estimated by the editor to be ca. 1020, although it could be as early as 1005 [Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 117-8 (#6); see the page of Hildegarde]. If the editor's estimated date for Hildegarde's charter is correct, or nearly so, and Hildegarde really was the grandmother of Hugues du Perche, then the chronology between Hildegarde and Hugues would be tight if Hildegarde was born as late as 940. Since female generations are generally shorter than male generations, this chronological tightness would be relieved slightly if the generation between Hildegarde and Hugues were female, i.e., if Melisende were a daughter of Hildegarde. This argument should not be pressed too far, but it does seem to tilt the probability slightly in that direction.

None of the above arguments is particularly strong. Thus, even though it was probably the case that Melisende's son Geoffroy was a grandson of the viscountess Hildegarde, it is difficult to say with any degree of confidence whether the intervening generation was Melisende or her husband. Thus, with regard to the parentage of Melisende, all we can do is list some possibilities.

Conjectured father (possible): Geoffroy (I), fl. 967?-985, viscount of Châteaudun.

Conjectured mother (possible): Hildegarde, d. after 1005.

Conjectured father (possible): Rotrou de Nogent, fl. 967?-996.

Rotrou appears as a witness on a false act of king Lothaire of France 7 July 967 ["S. Rotrochi" Rec. actes Lothair & Louis V, 141 (#60), a falsification of the 11th or 12th century, but perhaps based on an analysis of an authentic act that had been lost]. His first certain appearance is in an act of 8 September 975 ["S. Roterici" Cart. S.-Benoît-sur-Loire, 1: 152 (#61)]. He then appears fairly regularly for the next two decades, in charters of 5 February 978 ["Rotrocus" Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 65 (#8)], 3 May 983 ["S. Rotrochii" Lex (1892), 122 (Pièces justificatives #1)], before 986 ["Rotrocus" Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 72 (#13)], 985 ["S. Rotroci" ibid, 1: 79 (#18)], 12 February 996 ["Signum Ratroch." Lot (1903), 426], and 996×1001 ["S. Rotroci." Lex (1892), 133 (Pièces justificatives #7)]. In addition to the above charters, in which Rotrou appears without further designation, there are two charters which supply additional information. One, dated 989, calls Rotrou a Norman ["S. Rotroci Normanni." Lex (1892), 125 (Pièces justificatives #3)]. Another, undated, is a donation by Rotrou (called "de Nogent" in the heading of the charter) of property in Thivars, near Chartres, to Saint-Père de Chartres [heading: "De terra data in villa quæ Thevas dicitur a Rotroco de Nogiomo." body of charter: "In Dei nomine, Rotrocus seculari miliciæ deditus et Odonis comitis fidelitati devotus, ..." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 87 (#4)]. In addition, two twelfth century references mention Rotrou in connection with the Perche during the wars of Richard I of Normandy with Thibaud "le Tricheur", count of Blois and Chartres. He is called count of the Perche by Wace in his Roman de Rou ["Rotro, li quens del Perche" Wace, Roman de Rou, 4134 (1: 187)], and he is connected with the Corbonnais in the Norman chronicle of Benoît de Sainte-More ["Rotrou e cil de Corbuneis" Benoît de Sainte-More, 22564 (2: 244)]. Rotrou is conjectured as the father of Melisende by Settipani [Settipani (2000), 253]. Onomastically (and geographically if his connection to Nogent is correct), he seems like a probable ancestor of the counts of Perche, and this conjecture would be a good possibility if it was Melisende's husband who was a child of viscountess Hildegarde.

Conjectured father (more probably her husband): Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

[Keats-Rohan (1997), 203 n. 73] In this conjecture, Fulcois avus of Rotrou (grandson of Melisende) is being interpreted as a more distant ancestor of Rotrou than the literal interpretation of "grandson". While not impossible, it is more likely that Rotrou was a grandson of Fuclois.

Bibliography

Anselme = Père Anselme, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, 9 vols. (Paris, 1726-33).

Benoît de Saint-More = Francisque Michel, ed., Chronique des Ducs de Normandie par Benoît, 3 vols. (1836-44).

Bry (1620) = Gilles Bry, Histoire des pays et comté dv Perche et dvché d'Alençon (Paris, 1620).

Cart. S.-Benoît-sur-Loire = Maurice Prou & Alexandre Vidier, Recueil des chartes de l'abbaye de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (Paris, 1907).

Cart. S.-Denis de Nogent = Vicomte de Souancé & Charles Métais, Saint-Denis de Nogent-le-Rotrou 1031-1789 - Histoire et Cartulaire (Revised and expanded edition, Vannes, 1899).

Cart. S.-Père de Chartres = Benjamin Guérard, Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, 2 vols. (Paris, 1840).

Cart. S.-Vincent du Mans = R. Charles & Menjot D'Elbenne, eds., Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Vincent du Mans (Ordre de Saint Benoît) (Mamers & Le Mans, 1886-1913).

Cuissard (1894-6) = Charles Cuissard, "Chronologie des Vicomtes de Châteaudun (960-1395)", Bulletins de la Société dunoise 8 (1894-6): 25-120.

Estournet (1928) = "Les origines historiques de Nemours et sa charte de franchises (1170)" (parts I-III), Annales de la Société Historique & Archéologique du Gâtinais 39 (1928): 105-158.

Keats-Rohan (1997) = K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, "'Un vassal sans histoire'?: Count Hugh II (c. 940/955 - 992) and the origins of Angevin overlordship in Maine", in K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed., Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997): 189-210.

Lex (1892) = Léonce Lex, Eudes, comte de Blois, de Tours, de Chartres, de Troyes et de Meaux (995-1037) et Thibaud, son frère (995-1004) (Troyes, 1892).

Lot (1903) = Ferdinand Lot, Études sur le règne de Hugues Capet et la fin du Xe siècle (Paris, 1903).

Murs (1856) = M. O. des Murs, Histoire des comtes du Perche de la famille des Rotrou, de 943 à 1231 (Nogent-le-Rotrou, 1856).

Rec. actes Lothair & Louis V = Louis Halphen & Ferdinand Lot, eds., Recueil des actes de Lothaire et de Louis V rois de France (Paris, 1908).

Romanet (1890-1902) = Vicomte de Romanet, Géographie du Perche et chronologie de ses comtes (Documents sur la province du Perche, ser. 2, no. 1, Mortagne, 1890-1902).

Saint-Phalle (2000) = Edouard de Saint-Phalle, "Les comtes de Gâtinais aux Xe et XIe siècles", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 230-246.

Settipani (1997) = Christian Settipani, "Les comtes d'Anjou et leur alliances aux Xe et XIe siècles", in K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed., Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997): 211-267.

Settipani (2000) = Christian Settipani, "Les vicomtes de Châteaudun et leur alliés", in Keats-Rohan & Settipani, eds., Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval (Oxford, 2000), 247-261.

Thompson (2002) = Kathleen Thompson, Power and Border Lordship in Medieval France. The County of Perche, 1000-1226 (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2002).

Wace, Roman de Rou = Hugo Andresen, ed., Maistre Wace's Roman de Rou et des ducs de Normandie, 2 vols. (Heilbron, 1877-9).

Compiled by Stewart Baldwin

First uploaded 24 January 2011.

Minor changes made 27 January 2011.

-----------------------------

http://www.nugent.fr/doc/France06.pdf

The Melisende Hypotheses (The Enigma of Melisende) by Francis Nugent Dixon (2014) -- a 12-page article, which begins:

This chapter could have been entitled entitled "The Enigma of Melisende", and could lead the reader to believe that the only subject covered concerns this woman who was a key element of the House of Châteaudun at the end of the 10th century, and also a vital element of the emerging House of Rotrou, and yet who remains, to this day, an enigma.
However, although we will attempt to clarify the genealogy of one of the most important early members of this family, we inevitably reach into some of the more tenuous and uncertain moments of this period. Our Melisende clearly existed, but there are several possibilities concerning her position in the House of Rotrou.

We know that a certain Melisende de Châteaudun existed, and we know that she formed a small, though important part of the House of Rotrou. Who she was, and how she got her name (title) is not clear. She was born about either about 960 or 991 and died about 1035.

In the various reconstructions that are given below, we attempt to clarify the following :

1 Who were the parents of "Melisende" ?

2 Who did she marry ? (see the last section of this document)

3 How did she get the sobriquet "De Châteaudun " ?

4 Who were her children ?

...There are several possible reconstructions of the Family Tree, inserting the Melisende in various places, and associating her directly or indirectly with the Rotrou family. We must first base our conjecture on information that we can be sure of :

1 A certain Viscount Geoffrey of Châteaudun and his wife Hermengarde had several sons,

2 One of these sons apparently married a certain Melisende, probably the daughter of a certain Rotrou de Nogent.

Within the different reconstructions, we must always return to the principal question which imposes itself : Why was Melisende referred to as "de Châteaudun ". There are several possibilities :

1 She was the daughter of a Viscount of Châteaudun. If she had a brother, he would inherit the title. If the brother died before Melisende, she could then inherit the title and pass it to her husband, although this is unlikely, as it would normally go to one of their sons, or to another male of the family.

2 She married into the House of Châteaudun, perhaps even the Viscount, and thus her descendants were potential Viscounts,

3 She was given the "de Chateaudun" sobriquet much later, by historians or genealogists, either because she was a daughter of the House of Châteaudun, or that she married a Viscount of Châteaudun,

4 There were several persons called Melisende, one of which was a Melisende de Châteaudun.

However, before we concentrate on Melisende, we have another discrepancy at the same period.

There are several hypotheses concerning the descent of the viscomptal title within the House of Châteaudun. Each of these hypotheses is quoted from a reputable genealogist or historian.....

----------------------------

Daughter of Vicomte Hugues & his wife HILDEGARDE du Perche, daughter of HERVE [I] Comte du Perche & his wife Mélisende

From Medlands:

GEOFFROY, son of --- (-after 986). Vicomte [de Châteaudun]. The Breve Chronicon of Bonneval abbey records that “vicecomes Castridunensis Gaufridus” donated “alodum...Villa Siltula”, for the souls of “sue et uxoris Hermengardis”, and that “filius suus...Hugo” donated “aliam villam juxta sitam...Buxeriam”, undated[1478]. "…Gauzfredi vicecomitis…" subscribed the charter dated Mar 967 under which "Girardus Sancti Martini canonicus et sacerdos" donated property "Taiseis" to Tours Saint-Julien[1479].

m ERMENGARDE, daughter of ---. The Breve Chronicon of Bonneval abbey records that “vicecomes Castridunensis Gaufridus” donated “alodum...Villa Siltula”, for the souls of “sue et uxoris Hermengardis”, and that “filius suus...Hugo” donated “aliam villam juxta sitam...Buxeriam”, undated[1480].
Vicomte Geoffroy & his wife had one child:

1. HUGUES (-989 or after). The Breve Chronicon of Bonneval abbey records that “vicecomes Castridunensis Gaufridus” donated “alodum...Villa Siltula”, for the souls of “sue et uxoris Hermengardis”, and that “filius suus...Hugo” donated “aliam villam juxta sitam...Buxeriam”, undated[1481]. Vicomte de Châteaudun. "…Hugonis vicecomitis, Alonis fratris eius…" signed the charter dated 996 which records the confirmation by "comitissæ Berthæ" of the donation by "Odo comes" of property for the construction of the abbey of Bourgeuil, with the consent of "filiorum suorum Teobaldi…atque Odonis"[1482]. m HILDEGARDE du Perche, daughter of HERVE [I] Comte du Perche & his wife Mélisende --- (-14 Apr [1021/22]). "Hildegardis, vicecomitissa Castridunensis" donated property "alodum meum de Bello Monte" to "sanctissimo Petro Carnotensis cœnobii", with the consent of "filio meo Hugone, archiepiscopo Turonorum", by charter dated to 1020, signed by "Hugo archipræsul., Gausfridi nepotis eius…Helgaudi filii archiepiscopi…"[1483]. The primary source which confirms her parentage has not yet been identified. The necrology of Chartres cathedral records the death "XVIII Kal Mai" of "Hildegardis vicecomitissa de Castellodunis", stating that "filius eius Hugo Turonensis episcopus" donated property at "Viverus" for her soul[1484]. The necrology of Saint-Père-en-Vallée records the death "XVII Kal Mai" of "Hildegarda vicecomitissa" and her donation of "allodium de Bellomonte"[1485]. Vicomte Hugues & his wife had four children:

a) HUGUES de Châteaudun (-10 Jun 1026). "Hildegardis, vicecomitissa Castridunensis" donated property "alodum meum de Bello Monte" to "sanctissimo Petro Carnotensis cœnobii", with the consent of "filio meo Hugone, archiepiscopo Turonorum", by charter dated to 1020, signed by "Hugo archipræsul., Gausfridi nepotis eius…Helgaudi filii archiepiscopi…"[1486]. His mother's name is confirmed by the necrology of Chartres cathedral records the death "XVIII Kal Mai" of "Hildegardis vicecomitissa de Castellodunis", stating that "filius eius Hugo Turonensis episcopus" donated property at "Viverus" for her soul[1487]. Vicomte de Châteaudun 980/1003. "…Hugonis vicecomitis, Alonis fratris eius…" signed the charter dated 996 which records the confirmation by "comitissæ Berthæ" of the donation by "Odo comes" of property for the construction of the abbey of Bourgeuil, with the consent of "filiorum suorum Teobaldi…atque Odonis"[1488]. Deacon at Tours cathedral 996/1001. Archbishop of Tours 1005. “...Hugo Turonorum Archiepiscopus...” subscribed the charter dated to [1008] under which Robert II King of France confirmed donations to Saint-Denis[1489]. The necrology of Chartres Cathedral records the death “IV Id Jun” of “Hugo Turonorum archiepiscopus” and his donation of “alodum suum de Vivariis”[1490]. Archbishop Hugues had two illegitimate children by an unknown mistress or mistresses:

) HELGAUD . "Hildegardis, vicecomitissa Castridunensis" donated property "alodum meum de Bello Monte" to "sanctissimo Petro Carnotensis cœnobii", with the consent of "filio meo Hugone, archiepiscopo Turonorum", by charter dated to 1020, signed by "Hugo archipræsul., Gausfridi nepotis eius…Helgaudi filii archiepiscopi…"[1491]. 1003/[1020]. m ---. The name of Helgaud's wife is not known. Helgaud & his wife had one child:

(a) HUGUES . The primary source which confirms his parentage has not yet been identified. 1038/1040.

ii) HUGUES . The primary source which confirms his parentage has not yet been identified. 1003.

b) ADALAUD . "…Hugonis vicecomitis, Alonis fratris eius…" signed the charter dated 996 which records the confirmation by "comitissæ Berthæ" of the donation by "Odo comes" of property for the construction of the abbey of Bourgeuil, with the consent of "filiorum suorum Teobaldi…atque Odonis"[1492]. Seigneur de Château-Chinon 996/1001.
c) [MELISENDE (-before 1040). The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. Vicomtesse de Châteaudun. m FULCOIS Seigneur de Nogent-le-Rotrou Comte de Mortaigne, son of ROTROU Seigneur de Nogent & his wife ---.]
d) daughter . The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. m (before 989) ALBERT [II] de la Ferté-en-Beauce, son of ALBERT [I] de la Ferté-en-Beauce & his wife Godehildis de Bellême.

---

A very important woman in history, associated closely with several major families, but uncertainty as to her origins still exists. The problem seems to be determining which sets of parents were hers and which were her husband's . But that also leads to a question of who her husband was. Medieval scholars (See Stuart Baldwin, below) believe her to have been the daughter of Geoffrey I de Chateaudun OR Rotrou de Nogent OR possibly Fulcois de Mortaigne.

Her husband is generally believed to have been Fulcois de Nogent Comte de Mortaigne but sometimes is given as a son or grandson of Geoffroy de Châteaudun (in which case she is listed as daughter of Nogent/de Mortaigne).

Please read the following:

Melisende

by Stuart Baldwin http://sbaldw.home.mindspring.com/hproject/prov/melis000.htm

Probable wife of Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

In the foundation charter of Saint-Denis de Nogent, in the first year of king Henri I of France [20 July 1031 - 19 July 1032], viscount Geoffroy (II) of Châteaudun gives the church of Champrond in the lordship of Nogent to Saint-Denis, after the death of his mother Melisende, mentioning also his sons Hugues and Rotrou and his avunculus Bouchard, with his wife Helvise also witnessing ["... ego Gauffridus, Castridunensium vicecomes, ... cum consensu filiorum meorum Hugonis videlicet et Rotroci, ... et terram Burcardi avunculi mei, ... Post mortem autem matris mee Milesendis, dono ecclesiam de Campo-Rotundo, ... + S. domini Gaufridi, vicecomitis ... + S. Hugonis, filii domini Gaufridi vicecomitis. + S. Rotroci, fratris ejus. + S. Eleusie, matris eorum. ..." Cart. S.-Denis de Nogent, 13-19 (#5)]. No other early record is known to mention Melisende, but several different husbands have been conjectured for her by various scholars trying to deduce the parentage of Geoffroy.

Date of birth: Say 950×960? Place of birth: Unknown.

If Hugues du Perche was her son, then a birth closer to 950 would be likelier. If he was not her son, then there would be no obstacle to a somewhat later birthdate.

Date of death: After 20 July 1031.

Place of death: Unknown.

The wording of the foundation charter of Saint-Denis de Nogent implies that Melisende was still living at the time of the charter.

Probable father or father-in-law: Geoffroy (I), fl. 967?-985, viscount of Châteaudun.

Probable mother or mother-in law: Hildegarde, d. after 1005.

For reasons which are discussed on the page of Geoffroy (II), Hildegard and her probable husband Geoffroy (I) appear to have been grandparents of Melisende's son Geoffroy (II). Thus, either Melisende or her husband was a child of Geoffroy (I) and Hildegarde. As discussed below in the Commentary section, it is difficult to decide between the two options.

Probable spouse: Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

Fulcois appears as the avus of Melisende's grandson Rotrou, son of her son Geoffroy ["..., ego Rotrochus comes de Mauritania, et mea uxor Adeliz et filii nostri, Rotrochus, et ceteri nostri infantes, ... ut annuatim anniversarium avi mei Fulcuich, comitis, et avunculi mei Hugonis et patris mei vicecomitis Gaufridi faciant, ..." Cart. S.-Vincent du Mans, 350-1 (#609)]. Since Rotrou's maternal grandfather appears to be accounted for [see the page of Geoffroy (II)], the most natural interpretation of avus as "grandfather" would make Fulcois the father of Geoffroy and thus husband of Melisende. See the Commentary section for other husbands who have been assigned to Melisende.

Son:

MALE Geoffroy (II), d. ca. 1038×9, viscount of Châteaudun;

m. Helvise, living 1031, daughter of Rainard, lord of Pithiviers, and his wife Helvise. See the 1031×2 charter cited above.

Possible son:

MALE Hugues du Perche;

m. Béatrix, daughter of Aubry II, count of Mâcon, and widow of Geoffroy (II), count of Gâtianis. The charter of count Rotrou which mentions his avus Fulcois also mentions Rotrou's avunculus Hugues, who was probably a son of Fulcois. For the possible identification of Hugues as Hugues du Perche, see the page of Hugues du Perche.

Commentary

The husband of Melisende

No known source explicitly names the husband of Melisende. Nevertheless, she has been assigned supposed husbands by various authors, generally men who have been assigned as father of her son viscount Geoffroy (II) of Châteaudun by means of one piece of evidence or another. See the page of Geoffroy (II) for more details.

Conjectured husband: Rotrou de Nogent, fl. 967?-996.

[Thompson (2002), 195-6 (hypothesis 2)]. For details on Rotrou, see below under the discussion of Melisende's parentage. Although it is quite likely that Rotrou belongs in the family, he was more likely a generation further back.

Claimed husband: Geoffroy, viscount of Châteaudun (another of the name).

[Murs (1856), 120, 131; Romanet (1890-1902), 30 (table), 44 (table); Keats-Rohan (1997), 202 & n. 72; Settipani (1997), 262 (table)] If the conclusion that Fulcois was the husband of Melisende is incorrect, then one possibility would be that there were two viscounts of Châteaudun named Geoffroy in the period 1004-1039, with Melisende as the wife of the elder of them.

Falsely attributed husband: Guérin/Warin de Domfront.

[Bry (1620), 137-8; Anselme, 3: 306] As discussed on the page of Geoffroy (II), this claim is due to a misinterpretation of Orderic Vitalis.

Supposed earlier husband: Hervé (II), fl. 974 - ca. 980, count [of Mortagne?].

Based on a genealogy supposedly taken from the cartulary of Saint-Denis de Nogent, Estournet has indicated that Melisende was married first to Hervé II, count of Mortagne, by whom she had no children, and then married Fulcois in about 985 [Estournet (1928), 118-9, citing Bibl. nat., ms. lat. 17049, p. 211]. Unfortunately, it is not clear what authority this source has, and he does not quote the passage from the manuscript, making it unclear if the Melisende in question was the same Melisende, mother of Geoffroy.

The parentage of Melisende

The one early source mentioning Melisende says nothing about her parentage. However, her son Geoffroy became viscount of Châteaudun, so it is natural to investigate how he came to hold that title. Archbishop Hugues of Tours, earlier viscount of Châteaudun, was succeeded as viscount in 1003×4 by Geoffroy, probably the same as Melisende's son. On two occasions, a nepos of archibishop Hugues named Geoffroy is mentioned [1005%C3%9723: "... Hugo archipræsul. Gaufridi, nepotis ejus. ..." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 117-8 (#6); 1032: "Gauffredi nepotis Hugonis archiepiscopi" Settipani (1997), 261 n. 247, citing Coll. Tour. Anj., ii1, #419]. It is probable that Geoffroy, nepos (probably to be interpreted as "nephew") of Hugues, was the same person as the latter's successor as viscount. See the page of Geoffroy (II) for a more detailed discussion of this.

Did the Châteaudun connection come through Melisende or through her husband?

If the likely conclusion that Melisende's son Geoffroy was a nephew of archbishop Hugues is accepted as a working hypothesis, there is still the problem of whether this relationship would be on the side of Geoffroy's father or his mother. This in turn could depend heavily on the identity of Melisende's husband. If Melisende's husband were an earlier viscount Geoffroy, then he would probably be a brother of archbishop Hugues. If Melisende's husband were Rotrou de Nogent, then it would be Melisende who was probably a sister of Hugues. However, the most likely possibility is that Melisende's husband was count Fulcois, but in that case it is hard to determine which parent of Geoffroy was a sibling of archbishop Hugues, because we have no indication of the ancestry of Fulcois. Most of those who accept Fulcois as the husband of Melisende have placed her as a sister of archbishop Hugues [Cuissard (1894-6), 43, 120 (table); Estournet (1928), 116, table; Saint-Phalle (2000), 236, 245]. The case in which Fulcois is placed as a brother of Hugues was put forward by Christian Settipani [Settipani (2000), 252-3].

Romanet argued that Melisende had brought the lordship of Nogent to her husband, because when her son Geoffroy donated the church of Champrond in that lordship to Saint-Denis de Nogent in 1031×2, he had reserved the usufruct for his mother [Romanet (1890-1902), 37]. On the other hand, Estournet argued from the fact that Melisende did not witness the act that her consent was unnecessary, and that the donation was therefore not a part of her patrimony [Estournet (1928), 117-8]. In 1997, mistakenly stating that Melisende subscribed to the act, Settipani said that her consent was effective [Settipani (1997), 263 n. 254]. However, this line of argument does not seem conclusive in either direction.

The future archbishop Hugues was evidently succeeded as viscount of Châteaudun in 1003×4 by his nephew Geoffroy. As Settipani pointed out, there is the question of whether a maternal nephew would succeed as viscount when Hugues had a son Helgaud and a brother Alo de Chinon still living [Settipani (2000), 253; Alo was still alive in 1009×12, Lex (1892), 136-140 (Pièces justificatives #10)]. Helgaud may have been illegitimate, or not old enough to become viscount in 1003×4. The claim of Cuissard that Alo was only a maternal half-brother of Hugues is worth mentioning in this context [Cuissard (1894-6), 120 (table)], but it is not clear that there is any evidence to support the supposed earlier marriage of Hildegarde (mother of Hugues) [See the page of Hildegarde for more]. Nevertheless, the fact that Alo was still alive in 1003×4 would seem to be an argument in favor of Geoffroy's probable father Fulcois being a brother of Hugues.

However, the comital title of Fulcois would appear to point in the opposite direction, for there is no indication that the viscounts of Châteaudun during the period 967-1004 had any claim to a comital title, making it seem less likely that count Fuclois was a member of that family. Settipani, who conjectures Fulcois as a son of viscount Geoffroy (I) and Hildegarde in his most recent account [Settipani (2000), 252-3], suggests that the comital title arrived in the family via Hildegarde, who is placed as a possible daughter of count Hervé of Mortagne [ibid., 256-8]. However, this is very conjectural.

Chronology should also be considered here. If the conjecture that Melisende was the mother of Hugues du Perche is correct, then we have a possible tight chronology, although it is difficult to measure the extent of the problem because of the uncertainties involved. Although a birth in 980 or later for Hugues du Perche cannot be ruled out, ca. 970 would seem to be a better estimate [see the page of Hugues du Perche]. However, the viscountess Hildegarde appears in a charter whose date is estimated by the editor to be ca. 1020, although it could be as early as 1005 [Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 117-8 (#6); see the page of Hildegarde]. If the editor's estimated date for Hildegarde's charter is correct, or nearly so, and Hildegarde really was the grandmother of Hugues du Perche, then the chronology between Hildegarde and Hugues would be tight if Hildegarde was born as late as 940. Since female generations are generally shorter than male generations, this chronological tightness would be relieved slightly if the generation between Hildegarde and Hugues were female, i.e., if Melisende were a daughter of Hildegarde. This argument should not be pressed too far, but it does seem to tilt the probability slightly in that direction.

None of the above arguments is particularly strong. Thus, even though it was probably the case that Melisende's son Geoffroy was a grandson of the viscountess Hildegarde, it is difficult to say with any degree of confidence whether the intervening generation was Melisende or her husband. Thus, with regard to the parentage of Melisende, all we can do is list some possibilities.

Conjectured father (possible): Geoffroy (I), fl. 967?-985, viscount of Châteaudun.

Conjectured mother (possible): Hildegarde, d. after 1005.

Conjectured father (possible): Rotrou de Nogent, fl. 967?-996.

Rotrou appears as a witness on a false act of king Lothaire of France 7 July 967 ["S. Rotrochi" Rec. actes Lothair & Louis V, 141 (#60), a falsification of the 11th or 12th century, but perhaps based on an analysis of an authentic act that had been lost]. His first certain appearance is in an act of 8 September 975 ["S. Roterici" Cart. S.-Benoît-sur-Loire, 1: 152 (#61)]. He then appears fairly regularly for the next two decades, in charters of 5 February 978 ["Rotrocus" Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 65 (#8)], 3 May 983 ["S. Rotrochii" Lex (1892), 122 (Pièces justificatives #1)], before 986 ["Rotrocus" Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 72 (#13)], 985 ["S. Rotroci" ibid, 1: 79 (#18)], 12 February 996 ["Signum Ratroch." Lot (1903), 426], and 996×1001 ["S. Rotroci." Lex (1892), 133 (Pièces justificatives #7)]. In addition to the above charters, in which Rotrou appears without further designation, there are two charters which supply additional information. One, dated 989, calls Rotrou a Norman ["S. Rotroci Normanni." Lex (1892), 125 (Pièces justificatives #3)]. Another, undated, is a donation by Rotrou (called "de Nogent" in the heading of the charter) of property in Thivars, near Chartres, to Saint-Père de Chartres [heading: "De terra data in villa quæ Thevas dicitur a Rotroco de Nogiomo." body of charter: "In Dei nomine, Rotrocus seculari miliciæ deditus et Odonis comitis fidelitati devotus, ..." Cart. S.-Père de Chartres, 1: 87 (#4)]. In addition, two twelfth century references mention Rotrou in connection with the Perche during the wars of Richard I of Normandy with Thibaud "le Tricheur", count of Blois and Chartres. He is called count of the Perche by Wace in his Roman de Rou ["Rotro, li quens del Perche" Wace, Roman de Rou, 4134 (1: 187)], and he is connected with the Corbonnais in the Norman chronicle of Benoît de Sainte-More ["Rotrou e cil de Corbuneis" Benoît de Sainte-More, 22564 (2: 244)]. Rotrou is conjectured as the father of Melisende by Settipani [Settipani (2000), 253]. Onomastically (and geographically if his connection to Nogent is correct), he seems like a probable ancestor of the counts of Perche, and this conjecture would be a good possibility if it was Melisende's husband who was a child of viscountess Hildegarde.

Conjectured father (more probably her husband): Fulcois, count [of Mortagne?].

[Keats-Rohan (1997), 203 n. 73] In this conjecture, Fulcois avus of Rotrou (grandson of Melisende) is being interpreted as a more distant ancestor of Rotrou than the literal interpretation of "grandson". While not impossible, it is more likely that Rotrou was a grandson of Fuclois.