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William Malet - ''William Malet was the name of several prominent Englishmen.''
William Malet (d. 1071) fought at the Battle of Hastings. He had substantial property in Normandy, chiefly in the Pays de Caux, with a castle at Graville-Ste-Honorine, at the mouth of the Seine near Harfleur (and nowadays a suburb of Le Havre). Legend has it that his mother was English, and that he was the uncle of King Harold II of England's wife Edith (the claim being that he had a sister AElgifu who married AElfgar, Earl of Mercia, who was the father of Edith). Divided loyalties or no, Malet fought on the Norman side at Hastings. Legend also claims that he buried Harold after the battle. Malet's activities during the first few years of the Norman conquest of England are not known. But after York was captured in 1068, he was appointed sheriff of Yorkshire and was one of the commanders of the garrisons in the new castles built in the city of York. His efforts at defending the shire from Danish raids were, in the end, a terrible failure, for the next year the city was burned and the garrison slaughtered. Malet, his wife, and two of their children were held as hostages, and finally released when the Danes were driven off. Malet was relieved of his duties in the north, but seems not have lost the king's favor, for he soon was appointed sheriff of Suffolk, and given the great honor (lordship) of Eye, with lands in Suffolk and several other shires. It was in fact the largest lordship in East Anglia. He built a motte and bailey castle at Eye, and started a market there. He died around 1071, probably during the rebellion of Hereward the Wake, and was succeeded by his son Robert. Domesday Book also mentions a Durand Malet, who held land in Lincolnshire and possibly some neighboring shires. This may be William Malet's brother, but this is not certain.
William Malet (d. ~1121) was the third of his family to hold the honor of Eye and the lordship of Graville. He was either the younger brother, son, or nephew of Robert Malet, in other words, either a son or grandson of the first William Malet. He forfeited his English lands and was banished sometime between his father's death (circa 1106) and 1113. Several other barons lost their lands in 1110, so that year is likely. The precise cause is not known, but probably it is connected with the conflicts between Henry and King Louis VI of France during that period.
William Malet (flourished 1195-1215) was one of the guarantors of the Magna Carta. He was lord of Curry Malet and Shepton Malet in Somerset, and served as sheriff of that shire. The precise nature of his relationship to the earlier Malets is disputed.
References - C. Warren Hollister, "Henry I and Robert Malet", Viator, Vol. 4, 1973, pp. 115-32
- Cyril Hurt, "William Malet and His Family", Anglo-Norman Studies XIX
* C. P. Lewis, "The King and Eye: A Study in Anglo-Norman Politics", English Historical Review, vol. 104, 1989, pp. 569-87
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