Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Baldwin of Moeles

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735923Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 03 — Baldwin of Moeles1885William Hunt

BALDWIN of Moeles (d. 1100?) was the second son of Gilbert, count of Eu, who was a grandson of Richard the Fearless, and one of the guardians of the youth of William the Conqueror. On the murder of his father in 1040 Baldwin and his elder brother Richard, the ancestor of the house of Clare, were taken by their guardian to the court of Flanders for refuge. At the request of Baldwin of Flanders, Duke William, when he married Matilda, gave Baldwin, the son of Gilbert, the lordships of Moeles and Sap, and married him to Albreda, the daughter of his aunt. Baldwin was greatly enriched by the conquest of England. Besides lands in Somerset and Dorset, he had no less than 159 estates in the county of Devon, where he held the office of sheriff. On the fall of Exeter, in 1068, the king left him to keep the city, and to complete the building of the castle. By his wife Albreda, Baldwin had three sons — Richard, who was made earl of Devon by Henry I [see Baldwin of Redvers], Robert, the lord of Brionne, and William; and three daughters. He had also a natural son, Guiger, who became a monk of Bec. A Norman priest in 1101 beheld in a vision Baldwin and his brother, who had both died shortly before, clad in full armour.

[Will. of Jumièges. viii. 37; Orderic. 687. 694, 510; Dugdale's Baronage, i. 254; Monasticon, v. 377.]

W. H.