by Dorothea Rowse

The Ruffus name, which was to spread into many counties of England during the 12th and 13th centuries, arrived in Wiltshire in the mid 12th century in the person of Richard Ruffus, the King’s Chamberlain. The family was to live in the county for the next two centuries and was an example of a family with a forceful and successful founder whose activities did not convert in later generations into a continuing or increased level of financial or political success. Richard was possibly the most ambitious and entrepreneurial of the Ruffus men of his generation and created a considerable inheritance for his family. There are many scattered references to his career but he has become largely invisible. Like Herbert Ruffus he started out at court in a fairly menial position but his career provides an interesting example of the success that could be achieved in 12th century England by the upwardly mobile.

by Charles Cawley

Orgueilleuse of Harenc was the first wife of Bohémond III Prince of Antioch but her parentage is unknown. This article explores the possible origins of Orgueilleuse in light of the obscure history of the fortress of Harenc in the 12th century.

by David H Kelley, Don C Stone & David C Dearborn

This study is a small sample of the many families who regularly served the ruling family; the families covered are ancestral to Olive (Welby) Farwell, an immigrant to colonial Massachusetts, and this study grew out of an examination of unsolved problems in her ancestry. We were struck by the number of families that were extremely wealthy and directly or indirectly associated with the royal court. These families often avoided political pitfalls when reigns changed with deft denials of political interest and sometimes with financial aid to a new ruler. They often had considerable influence on policy but it was seldom overt, and the strong emotions associated with religious views occasionally interfered with family solidarity. A professional social historian of the period could do a great deal with these materials that we cannot, extending them much more broadly than we have, but we think our approach is both genealogically and historically useful. This emphasis on social history as the context of major patterns of relationships derives primarily from Sir Anthony Wagner. Our presentation is aimed at a non-professional audience, but we hope to stimulate further research, and we intend also to correct some misinformation which is found even in generally reputable secondary accounts. Our study uses many different approaches and methodologies, and in some cases we have uncovered information which wouldn't have been found if the research had been more narrowly focused.

by Michael Andrews-Reading

A family of minor landowners during the 13th and 14th centuries in what is now Cumbria bore the surname ‘de Cornwall’. This article traces their genealogy and examines the suggestion that they were descended in an illegitimate line from Richard, Earl of Cornwall. 

by Jules Vandeweyer

translated from French by Patrick Evans

The article identifies the Countess Ermengarde, who donated considerable riches to the churches of Liège in 1078. This work utilises the analysis of texts by historians who have bent hard over the subject and the genealogies of families living at the time, but its chief basis lies in analysis of the original acts themselves. This approach has been taken in order both to select information from as close as possible to the sources, and to steer clear of doubtful interpretations. In order to allow the reader to follow the reasoning more clearly, certain extracts have been reproduced at appropriate points in the discussion.

view original version of the complete article in French

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