Emma de Blois ¹

  General Notes:

EMMA. The Hyde Register lists "Herbertus camerarius, Arnulfus filius eius, Emma uxor eius" immediately after the names of King Henry I and his first wife. Secondary sources state that the wife of Herbert FitzHenry was Emma de Blois, illegitimate daughter of Etienne Comte de Blois. This is presumably based on the Chronicle of Meaux, in Yorkshire, which names "comitis --- Herberti filius, ex Emma sorore regis Anglorum Stephani progenitus". As this source is dated to [1394/1400], it is unlikely to be conclusive in relation to events which occurred 250 years earlier, in the absence of other corroborative evidence. Eyton includes no reference to any wife of Herbert FitzHenry in his article on the barony of FitzHerbert. Until further evidence comes to light, it is suggested that the information should be treated with caution. If it is correct, the chronology of the FitzHerbert family dictates that Emma must have been born while her supposed father was still young, probably before his marriage to Adela of Normandy in 1080.

m HERBERT FitzHenry the Chamberlain, son of HENRY & his wife --- (-[1129/30]).

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Emma of Blois, illegitimate daughter of Stephen, Count of Blois, a leader of the First Crusade and Crusade of 1101, slain on crusade 1101, (Emma was half-sister to Stephen, King of England); m. Herbert of Winchester (also styled Herbert the Chamberlain) of unproven ancestry, d. in or shortly bef. 1130, Chamberlain and Treasurer under William II and Henry I, held lands in Hampshire in 1086, and afterwards held other lands in Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Gloucester and Yorkshire. [Ancestral Roots]

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The following information was supplied in a post-em by Curt Hofemann, curt_hofemann AT yahoo.com:

Alas, there appears to be doubt, not only of the marriage, but of the existance of Emma. My notes:

Research note 1: ES II:46 does not mention her.

Research note 2: [Ref: Cristopher Nash 18 Sep 2002]
(Response) I think there is confusion from the fact that there were several Herberts in succession. Herbert I the Chamberlain married the sister of Osbert, Gervaise's father according to DD (Domesday Book) p 932, Herbert II, son of Herbert I, married Sibyl Corbet, DD p 908. I think that is a correction that leaves out Emma of Blois. [Ref: Robert S. Baxter 19 Sep 2002 message to soc.genealogy.medieval]

Research note 3: I've read all the sources cited in Ancestral Roots. I find the evidence for Emma of Blois' existence skimpy at best. I think we need to have better evidence before Emma is accepted as a sister (bastard or not) of King Stephen. [Ref: Douglas Richardson 3 Dec 2001]

Research note 4: Emma of Blois (married Herbert of Winchester)
According to C Warren Hollister "The origins of the English Treasury" *English Historical Review* XCIII 1978, 268 note 3, this marriage has no basis. According to this note J H Round in his paper "The Weigher of the Exchequer" shows that Herbert the Chamberlain married a daughter of Hunger fitz Odin. Evidently there was also another Herbert the chamberlain of Scotland at about the same time and the stories of these two got muddled. C T Clay delineates the two families in *Early Yorkshire Charters* XI:213-219. [Ref: Richard Borthwick 30 Jan 1998]

Regards,
Curt

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Emma married Herbert FitzHenry Chamberlain of England. (Herbert FitzHenry Chamberlain of England was born about 1060 and died before 1130 in Winchester, Hampshire, SO22, GB ^{1 2}.)