July 2006:  Link to full contents list for this issue.

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•  Love Matches and Contracted Misery: Thomas of Brotherton and his Daughters (Part 1) (Brad Verity)

This two-part article explores the lives and marriages of Thomas of Brotherton (1300-1338) and his two daughters, Margaret and Alice. Part one is focused on the undistinguished career of Thomas, Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England, younger brother of Edward II. He is remarkable only in matrimony – clearly choosing love over money and politics, as his two wives were far beneath him on a social level. The first one, Alice Hales, is unrivalled in the royal family of late medieval England for sheer obscurity. The lives and unhappy marriages of his two daughters, Margaret and Alice de Brotherton, will be examined in Part two

• Nes Fitz William and the Earls of Fife: The origin of the house of Fife 962-1129 (MichaelAnne Guido)

This article deals with the origins of the Fife family as well as presenting a new theory which postulates that Nes Fitz William, who is ancestral to Saher de Quincy and his descendants, is the grandson of Constantine, Earl of Fife. Many ideas have been propounded as to the reason behind the unique position of the earls of Fife in Scotland as first among equals, which began during the reign of the early Scottish kings. This work presents and analyses the existing documents and historical data concerning these individuals and the basis for their role in 12th century Scotland.

• The Ancestry of the Ellis family of Kiddal Hall in the Parish of Barwick-in-Elmet in the West Riding of the County of York (John M Ellis)

An investigation into the origins of a Yorkshire family and their arms. The family belonged to the upper band of the Yorkshire gentry, and produced two knights, namely Sir William Elys of Everingham (d.1391) and his brother Sir John Elys of Kiddal (d.1398).

• The Political Role of Solomon, the Exilarch, c.715-759 CE (part 2) (David H Kelley)

The second part of an article on the hereditary Jewish rulers known as Exilarchs, claimed as male-line descendants of King David. This part focuses on the eighth-century Exilarch Solomon, identified as a grandson of the Exilarch Bustanai and the Persian princess. Solomon was of high social standing, based on his learning and wealth from trade, as well as his ancestry. It is plausible that he was involved in the conversion of the Khazar rulers to Judaism and in the Bagratid claim of descent from the House of David. Genealogical evidence is crucial in identifying Solomon with the Jew Forty Cubits, described by both Islamic and Byzantine traditions as the influence behind the implementation of iconoclastic policies in their societies.

• Monomachos, Tornikes and an uncharted Caucasian ancestry (Stanford Mōmmaerts-Browne)

Did Michael Psellos tell us more of the ancestry of his friend and patron, Konstantinos IX Monomachos, than is usually noticed? Careful examination of Psellos' account of the rebellion of Leon Tornikes' may provide a link to the ancient dynasties of Armenia and the Caucasus. Sadly, we do not (yet) have a clear and definite line to the people mentioned by David Kelley in this and the previous issue of Foundations.

• Some Internet Resources for Medieval Genealogy: 8 (Chris Phillips)

Chris Phillips provides his regular update for readers of Foundations, concerning Internet resources available to medieval genealogists with a focus this time on continental European sources.

• Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families (Charles Cawley)

Medieval Lands is an on-going new Member's Project, hosted on the FMG website. It presents the results of several years' research to verify family relationships of medieval nobility and royalty against primary source material, in the context of the territories which they controlled.