1. …
1.1. Giraud de Beauvau, seigneur de Jarzé, m. a dau. of Herfast de Crepon, it is claimed, sister of Osbern de Crepon, who m. Emma d’ Ivry. Guillaume of Jumièges records that another sister m. Osmund de Conteville. Their son was Foulques d’Anet (of Mansum Fulcoldi”). Gilbert Crispin I. m. his dau., thus explaining Prevost’s statement that there was an obvious connection between the FitzOsborns, decendants of Osborn de Crepon, and the Crispins, without its basis being known. (‘Ordericus Vitalis’, ed. le Prevost et. al., p. 398, 1840).

1.2. Raoul de Beauvau, Seigneur de Jarzé, gave hommage with his brother to the Comte d’Anjou, in 1025.
1.2.1. Geoffroi de Beauvau, Seigneur de Jarzé, m. Margaret d’ Argouges, dau. of Charles d’ Argouges and Sprotte de Grantemesnil, dau. of Guillaume de Grandmesnil and Sprote de Crépy (Crispini). She was the sister of Drogo de Mantes (an ally of William the Conqueror), who m. Godgifu, dau. of Æthelred “the Unready”, King of the English, and Emma (dau. of Richard I, ‘the Fearless’, Duke of Normandy and Gunnor), parents of Edward the Confessor. The lands of Drogo (alias Dreux de Mantes, Comte du Vexin)included a mill and a farm in Gelle/Gilles* where on meadow land was situated “Mansum Fulcoldi”. (Cart. Saint-Germain des Prés). *Gilles (Eure-et-Loire, arr. Dreux, Canton d’Anet).

Between 1050-1060, this Geoffroy, lord of Castrum CeIsum (Chateauceaux) glfted to the monks of Marmoutier. With the consent of his mother, Aenor, and his four brothers Hardouin, Oderic, Goscelin and Raoul, the chapel built by his parents and dedicated to Saint-Jean-Buptiste.This gift included the vineyards and cultivated lands surrounding the castle, the Priory of Chateauceaux, with its tithes, as well as half of the fisheries of the Loire. He also freed from all tolls the boats (going to Marmoutier) which descended or ascended the river. These gifts were confirmed by the Count of Anjou, Geoffrey Martel,* who signed the original charter. (See Paul Alexandre Marchegay, ‘Archives d’Anjou: recueil de documents et mémoires’, v. ii., 1853). *Son of Foulques d’Anjou and his 2nd wife, his 5th wife being Bertrade de ‘Montfort-L’Aumary’, as follows.

1.2.1.1. Warmase/Guarmaise, fille de Geoffroi de Jarz, m. Amauri Crespin, as her 2nd husband, having 1stly m. Geoffrey de Briollay, d. ca. 1109. (T. Véron, L’intégration des Mauges à l’Anjou au XIe siècle, p. 145, 2007). *He was also named “Almaricus Crispini, seigenur de Chantoceaux, Castri Celsi”, who, with his wife, donated “l’église Saint-Mainbeuf d’Angers et de celles de Beaufort, de l’église Saint-Mainbeuf d’Angers et de celles de Beaufort et de Bessé, de Belfort et de Bessi” (“Chartes originales”); donations confirmed by Comte Foulques d’Anjou, Amauri’s overlord. Amauri Crespin was the son of William Crespin senior, and born ca. 1055, and probably he who held the manor of Britwell in Oxfordshire, under Milo Crespin, his brother, at Domesday, as “Almaricus”. William Crespin senior had m. Eve, a sister of Simon l’Amaury-Montfort, son of “Almaricus miles de Monteforte”. Simon’s dau., Bertrade, by his 2nd wife, Agnes, dau. of Richard, Comte d’Evreux and Godechildis, m. Fulk, Count of Anjou, d. 1116, bur. Priory Hautes-Bruyeres, Saint-Remy-l’Honoré, Yvelines. Amauri Crespin was, thus, the cousin of his overlord’s wife.

The Crispins were noted as an accomplished military family, and often served as commanders of strategically important border forts, as Castri Celsi.

The military prowess of the Crispins was well esteemed: ‘And like the Fabii, or the Anicii or Manlii, carried the tokens of fame [insignia] among the Romans, so the Crispins knew even greater fame among the Normans and the French.’ (Milo Crispin). William Crispin senior (Guillaume le Crépu) had a wife named Eve de Montfort, 1009-1099, ‘who suited him well on account of her origin and manners. Eve de Montfort bore him Gilbert, abbot of Westminster, William Crispin II., and many others.’ (ibid.). Eve de Montfort died in a fire at Le Bec in 1099, aged 90, and was buried there, next to her husband. It is recorded of her that she had to do penance for her love of lapdogs! (Adolphe Porée, Histoire de L’Abbaye du Bec, 1901).

Eve de Montfort was the sister of Norman frontier lord Simon de Montfort, ca.1020-1087. (W. Frolich, trsl., The Letters of Anselme of Canterbury, 1990-1994, nos. 22, 98, 118, and 147). They were the children of Amauri 1 de Montfort, ca. 993-1031, and Bertrade de Gometz. Amauri 1 de Montfort was the possible son of William de Hainault, ca. 967-1003. (Marjorie Chibnall, ed. & trans., The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, vol. iv., 1969-80).

Aumery Crespin’s br., William Crespin junior, probably m. Agnes Mauvoisin, dau. of Eustachia Dammartin, dau. of Manasser, Count of Dammartin, (Mathieu – Reserches Sur Les Premiers Comtes De Dammartin, 19, 60, 1996).

An act of Agnes granted tithes at Rosny ‘for the souls of her mother and husband, William.’ The association of Rosny and the name Manasser strongly suggests a connection with the Mauvoisins of Rosny. The Mauvoisins were the most powerful family in the marches of Francia, between Vernon and Mantes. Eustachia Dammartin’s brother, Hugh II. de Dammartin, m. Rohesia de Clare, dau. of Richard Fitzgilbert, and Rohese, dau. of Walter Giffard.* Richard FitzGilbert was a direct descendant of Gilbert de Brionne, whose family were overlords of the Crispins in the border forts of Dangu, Damville, Neufles, and Tillieres.

1. Count Manasser.
1.1. Eustachia.
1.1.1. Agnes, m. William Crispin junior, br. of Amauri Crispin.
1.1.1.1. Manasser Crespin, named after his great-grandfather.
*Walter Giffard was patron of the Bec family in England, who were perhaps of the same ‘ducal association’.

1. …
1.1. Rolf d’Ivri.
1.1.1. Emma, m. Osborn de Crépon (son of Harfast, brother of Gonnor, Duke Richard’s wife), br. of the wife of Osmund de Centville, whose son, Foulques d’Anet, was the father of Gunnor, wife of Gilbert Crispin I.
1.1.1.1. William FitzOsbern, witness of Gilbert Crispin II’s gift of Hauville.

1.1.2. Hugh d’Ivri. gave lands centred around Guernanville to William FitzOsborn, his nephew, and Gilbert Crespin the elder; their subtenant being Foulques de Guernanville, whose gift of his enfeoffment was confirmed by Foulque’s son, with the permission of Guillaume de Breteuil, William FitzOsborn’s son, Gilbert Crespin I., and his sons, Gibert Crespin II. and William Crespin; and Roger de Bienfaite). The same grouping of Crespin, FitzOsborn, and Bienfaite (Clare) is seen in a legal dispute between them and Robert, Count of Meulan, who had been granted the castle of Brionne by Robert Curthose, and tried to claim the Abbey of Bec as part of this domesne. William Crespin, son of Gilbert Crespin I., William de Britolio, son of William FitzOsborn, and Roger de Bienfaite (Clare) son of Robert de Bienfaite, were vehemently opposed to this: ‘Tunc forte supervenerunt Willelmus Crispinus, et Willelmus de Britolio, et Rogerius de Benefacta, qui cum causam scissent, magna indignatione commoti, magnis vocibus et terribilibus juramentis protestati sunt, quicquid sui parentes ecclesiie Becci dederant, se auferre, si Comes Mellenti cenobium Beccense in suo dominio quoquo modo haberet …’ (Notitia de Liberate Beccensis Monasterii, 1088-1090). I would suggest that they spoke as a familial group.

1.2. A sister, m. …
1.2.1. Rolf.
1.2.1.1. Turstin de Bec-aux-Cauchois,
1.2.1.2. Walter de Bec-aux-Cauchois,
1.2.1.2.1. Walter de Bec.
1.2.1.2.1.1. Ernald de Bec, enfeoffed of half a knight’s fee by Robert de Ferrers, Ist. Earl Derbys between 1135-1139 (R.B., 338). Ernald was still living in 1177 (P.R. 23, Henry II., 61). He donated two parts of his tithe in Hilton to Tutbury (D.M O. Ed. i. 354, 33a), founded by Henry de Ferrers. His son, Geoffrey de Bec gave notice to his lord, William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, that he has given one carucate of land in Hatton (adjoining Hilton) in Marston upon Dove, Derbys., to William Calchon, betw. 1177-1195 (Northamptonshire Rec. Soc., vol. 15, p. 144, 1950).
1.2.1.3. William de Bec-aux-Cauchois, This fief was held by Walter Giffard, descendant of a sister of Duchess Gunnor.
1.2.1.3.1. Robert (who received Bec-de-Mortagne from his uncle, Mathew), son of William de Bec . ( C . D . F . 117 ). It is highly probable that he was synonomous with the Robert who was a tenant of Henry de Ferrers of the manor of Hilton (Appletree Wapentake), which was afterwards in the family of de Bec (Dugdale’s Monasticon, vol. ii. p. 622).
1.2.1.3.1.1. Robert de Heriz?

William Crespin junior had issue: William Crispin III., ca. 1080-1135, who, in 1119, nearly killed Henry 1 at the Battle of Bremule. He repeatedly fought against Henry I., alongside his cousin, Amaury de Montfort, in his sphere of influence around L’Aigle and Gisors – fortress areas near Neaufles. He also fought with his cousin against the French who sought to usurp Amaury de Montfort’s lands. Milo Crispin noted that William Crispin III. admired his grandmother, Eve Crispin, ‘with fitting love.’ He also records his death in French captivity, and the granting of his wish to be buried at Le Bec, situated between Le Havre and Rouen in the Risle valley. He m. Joanna de Trèves. (Ctl. St. Aubin, ii, no. DCCCCXXXI, 1114). Their son, Joscelin Crispin, m. Isabella, dau. of Robert de Dangu. (BN, ms. lat. 18369, pp. 55-57). Their son, William Crispin IV., vivant en 1223, m. Eve, dau. of William de Harcourt. (Le Prevost, 11, 6-8, 1862-1869). Their son was Maréchel Guillaume Crispin V., vivant en 1225, who m. Amice de Roye. (Actes de Philippe Auguste, iii.. no. 1376).

William Crispin III. was the probable br. of Manasser Crespin, named after his grandfather.

1.2.1.1.1. Thébaud/Theobald Crespin, evidently a issue of a first wife, lord of Chateauceaux in 1116.
1.2.1.1.1.1. Amaury Crespin, lord of Chateauceaux in 1140
1.2.1.1.1.1.1. Thébaud Crespin, lord of Chateauceaux in 1170,
1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1. Robert Crespin, lord of Chateauceaux in 1185
1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. Geoffroy Crespin, lord of Chateauceaux in 1224.
1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. “Thébaud Crespin, sur lequel Châtoceaux fut pris par le duc Pierre Mauclerc. Le Roi Louis Vill lui fit don des châtellenies de Chantoceaux et de Montfaucon, et ce don fut confirmé, en 1253, par Geoffroy des Roches, sénéchal héréditaire d’Anjou , qui était probablement héritier des Crespins”. (Société Académique de Nantes, v. 28-29, p. 495, 1857).
1.2.1.1.2. Geoffrey Crispin. Gifts to S. Petri, apud Castrum Celsum. Mauricius, Dei gratia Nannetensis episcopus, universis sanctæ Matris ecclesiæ filiis tam præsentibus quam futuris, in perpetuum etc. … confirmantes insuper eis ac sigilli nostri munimine roborantes quidquid eis nobilis vir Gaufridus Crispini , dominus ejusdem castri, intuitu contulit pietatis vel in posterum ipse seu alii Dei fidelium, pro animarum suarum remedio erogabunt, nostro et parrochiali jure in omnibus salvo. His testibus: Gaufrido Crispini, Tebaudo Crispini et W. Crispini et multis aliis. (Paul Alexandre Marchegay, Archives D’Anjou, v. 2, 1853). W. Crispini – probably William Crispin 111.

William Crispin senior was the son of:

Charte de Gislebert Crespin, touchant la donation de Hauville.

Alexandre Théodore Barabé, ‘Recherches historiques’, vol. 17, p. 508, 1863.

“I Gislebert, worshiper of God and servant of the saints, placed in this earthly kingdom under the authority of Prince William, and struck by the dangers of death, I give to Saint- Pierre, prince of the apostles, the stronghold of Hauville, which I obtained from my said lord for military service. As the inhabitants of the region say, the extent of this domain gives it an inestimable price, I accepted from the monks of Jumieges two hundred pounds of money, a horse of twenty pounds, and two ounces of gold; these goods are of little importance, since they are things that pass. But a motive of which I take more account, and which determines my will, is that I have in view above all the salvation of the souls of the great prince Richard, of my glorious lord Guillaumne, Duke of Normandy, still alive by the divine grace, of my father, of my mother, as also of mine, of my wife and of my children, such is my religious motive, and not the appetite of gain. Consequently, according to my desire, all know present and to come that I give all the memberships and dependencies of this domain. If anyone, which I could not believe, dares to break this charter of donation, let him be weighed down under the weight of the most terrible curses. Let him pay the count a thousand pounds of gold, and to the church sixty thousand pounds of silver; and what more, he and his posterity lose their freedom forever! So that this writing remains stable, I have it confirmed by the hands of those whose names follow:
Sign of Gislebert Crespin and his wife.
Sign of Willaume, count of Normandy.
Sign of Willaume, Bishop of Evreux
Sign of Willaume, son of Osbern.
Sign of Stigand Dapifer (the seneschal).
Sign of Hugue le Boutillier.
Sign of Richard, son of Warin.

This donation is dated to 1069:

Hugues, évêque de Bayeux, fils de Rodolphe, comte d’Ivry, et neveu de Richard, premier duc de Normandie, fit présent à Raoul, qui avoit été son écuyer, et à l’abbaïe de Jumièges, dont il étoit religieux, de l’église, terre et seigneurie de Rouvrai … son fils, confirma la possession à l’abbé Robert par une charte datée de l’an 1069. A ces bienfaits succéda la donation du fief de Hauville par Gilbert Crespin, officier du duc Guillaume. (Société de l’histoire de Normandie, Histoire de l’abbaye royale de Saint-Pierre de Jumièges, vol. I, p. 189, 1892).

Hauville was a ducal fief in the time of Richard I., with his successors gifting parts of it to ducal supprters.

“Richard ler, duc de Normandie, donna à Notre-Dame-de Chartres le patronage et les dîmes de Hauville. Cette commune était donc alors une dépendance du domaine ducal. Les successeurs de Richard , à son exemple, l’aliénèrent ensuite par portions; ce devait être, en effet, par suite d’aliénations de la part de nos ducs, que plusieurs personnages puissants eurent, dans cette commune, des domaines et des droits, qu’à leur tour ils abandonnèrent, en partie, à l’abbaye de Jumiéges”. (Alfred Canel, ‘Essai historique’, p. 181, 1834).

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