House of Mello

The house of Mello is a family of the French knighthood of the Middle Ages which had in stronghold the ground of Mello. By marriage, a branch acquired the county of Dammartin and took then the name of house of Dammartin .

First lords

The first lords is a Gilbert of Mello , dead after February 25th, 1084, who had as children:

Yves of Mello
Dreux of Mello, lord of Mello, stem of the elder branch
Aubry of Mello, count de Dammartin, stem of the branch junior
Guy by Mello

Elder branch

to make

Connect junior (second house of Dammartin)

Aubri Ier or Alberic Ier of Mello , born towards 1080 and deceased towards 1112, wife Aelis de Dammartin, heiress of the first house. Aubri takes again the county of Dammartin, not having more representatives of the First House in France.

Aubri II or Alberic II of Mello , count de Dammartin, Great chamberlain of France, Large chambrier of France, born towards 1100 - 1102, died towards 1183, is the son of the precedents.

Aubri III or Alberic III of Dammartin , count de Dammartin, born with Dammartin-in-Goële towards 1135 and dead on September 19th, 1200 with London, in England (buried with the Abbey of Jumièges), is the son of Albéric of Mello, count de Dammartin. He marries towards 1164 Mahaud or Mathilde or Mathilda of Clermont-in-Beauvaisis of Ponthieu, born with Ponthieu, in Picardy in 1138, died after October 1200, girl of the Count Renaud II of Clermont-in-Beauvaisis, and Clémence of Bar.

The first mention of Aubri as a count de Dammartin is a charter of 1162 by which it confirms all the goods held by the abbey of Chaâlis on the county of Dammartin the day when the nomination of the county was given to him by the king Louis VI of France: Albericus camerarius and filius ejus comes of Dammartin… of manu Ludovici governed Francorum investituram consulatus Domnimartini idem Albericus suscepit . This abbey had already been the subject of donations on behalf of Renaud de Clermont who presented himself as a count de Dammartin in 1138. According to the charter of 1162, Aubri received the nomination of the county of the hands of the king. Indeed, even if Renaud acted as count de Dammartin, as a husband of Clemence, the king had preserved the castle as a charter of 1176 indicates it. Belonging to the chalk-lining of Dammartin, Aubri could claim in this county. With died of the count Renaud de Clermont, the king entrusts to him. Certainly to compensate Clemence for the rights which it had on the county, it Marie Aubri, the new count de Dammartin with Mathilde, girl of Renaud de Clermont and Clemence.

Aubri II of Dammartin seems to belong to faithful of the king. In 1180/1181, it is sent by the king Philippe Auguste of France to the head of a delegation near the king of England. It takes part, at the side of the king, the operations against the count Philippe of Flanders, during which are taken the castle of Dammartin and captive fact the count Aubri: “ 1182, Principles autem ejus (comitis Flandriae), C leonem catuli, circuibant regionem governed, audactes euntes per arte Silvanectum, depopulando usque in villam quae dicitur Lovres not multum distans has civitate Parisiensi, ceperuntque Albericum comitem of Danmartin super lectum suum, and captus AD comitem Flandriae adduxerunt. ”. In 1186, the king of France makes peace with the count of Flanders and starts to be opposed to the king Henri II of England. He seems whereas Dammartin, father and wire, pass to the service of this last, since they reappear in the counts of the English chess-board for the Norfolk and the Suffolk.

It is difficult to include/understand the attitude of Dammartin: do they want to increase their possessions in England? Did Aubri badly digest its captivity in the count of Flanders and wants to be avenged for king de France or is put it at the more powerful service according to him? It is difficult to answer these questions. In all the cases, this choice has as a consequence their loss and especially sees the most tragic destiny of the family of Dammartin: Renaud, known to be the traitor of Bouvines.

Aubry III had as children:

Renaud († 1227), which follows
Raoul, listed in 1199 and 1206.
Simon († 1239), author of a third branch, which held the county of Ponthieu
Aélis de Dammartin, married to Jean Ier, lord of the manor of Sorts
Agnès de Dammartin, married to Guillaume de Fiennes
Clémence de Dammartin, married to Jacques de Saint-Omer

Renaud de Dammartin , born towards 1165, died in 1227, was count de Boulogne of 1190 with 1227, count de Dammartin of 1200 with 1214, count d' Aumale of 1204 with 1214 and large feudal. It was wire of Albéric III of Dammartin, count de Dammartin, and of Mathilde de Clermont.

Raised at the Court of France, Renaud de Dammartin becomes the friend of childhood of Philippe II Auguste, king de France, he fights néanmois, on the order of his/her father, under the banner of Plantagenêts. He is forgiven, because he did nothing but follow the paternal orders and marries a cousin of the king, Marie de Châtillon, girl of Guy II of Châtillon, lord of Châtillon, and Alix de Dreux.

On the council of King Philippe Auguste of France, which wishes to detach Bolted it Flemish influence, he repudiates his wife to remove and marry of force Ide of Lorraine († 1216), countess of Boulogne, widow of the duke Bertold IV of Zähringen and girl of Mathieu of Alsace and Marie of Blois, count and countess of Boulogne. By doing this, it places the Comté of Boulogne, which depended until there on the county on Flanders, under the direct vassalage of the kingdom of France. This marriage makes it powerful and causes jealousies, in particular in the family of Dreux, relative of Marie de Châtillon, and the family of Guînes, the count de Guînes being been engaged of Ide.

In 1203, Renaud and his wife grant a charter the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, giving privileges to the merchants of the city. Those Ci have in fact probably bought their freedom realizing finance with Renaud, always with money court. In 1204, Philippe Auguste gives him the county of Aumale, but Renaud takes his distances again.

In 1211, he refuses to appear before the king of France following a disagreement which opposed it to the bishop Beauvais Philippe de Dreux, then negotiates with Jean without Ground, joined it in 1212 and homage returns to him.

With the Emperor Othon IV of Brunswick and the Ferrand of Flanders, it attacks the kingdom of France in 1214, and the battle between the two armies took place with Bouvines. Overcome, it is one of the last to be gone and refuses to be submitted to the king. The King Philippe-Auguste of France confiscates his grounds to him, to give them his son Philippe Hurepel and Marie this one with the girl of Renaud Mathilde de Dammartin, and Renaud will remain imprisoned in the fortress of Fibula until his death in 1227.

He did not have children of Marie de Châtillon. Of Ide of Lorraine, it had a girl:

Mathilde de Dammartin (1202 † 1259), countess of Boulogne, Aumale and Dammartin, girl of the precedents

married to:

#en 1218 with Philippe Ier Hurepel de France (1200 † 1234), count of Clermont-in-Beauvaisis

# in 1235 with Alphonse III, king de Portugal (1210 † 1279)

connect counts de Ponthieu

Simon de Dammartin , count de Ponthieu, count d' Aumale, count de Montreuil, born about 1180, died about 1239, is the younger brother of Renaud de Dammartin. He marries towards 1208 Marie de Ponthieu, countess of Ponthieu, countess of Montreuil, mortee about 1250, girl of Guillaume II '' says Guillaume IV Talvas '' of Ponthieu, and Adèle of France. From this marriage, were born:

Jeanne de Dammartin, countess of Ponthieu, countess of Aumale, countess of Montreuil, born about 1220, died towards 1278 or Abbeville 16 Mar 1279 (buried with the monastery of Valoires). She marries

in first weddings in 1237 the Saint Ferdinand III, king de Castille, of Tolède, León, Galicia, and Asturies]], born about 1199, died in Seville on May 30th, 1252. By heritage, the county of Ponthieu passed from the House of Dammartin to the Royal House of Castille and Leon, then at the Royal House of England by the marriage of their daughter, Éléonore de Castille, countess of Ponthieu, which married Edouard Ier of England in 1279, wire of the king Henri III of England, and Éléonore of Provence. Their son, Edouard II of England, was count de Ponthieu since 1290 and the county remained English until 1369, under the reign of Edouard III of England, count de Ponthieu, his son. It was confiscated by Charles V, King de France.
in second weddings towards 1260 Jean de Nesle, lord of Falvy and Hérelle, died in on February 2nd, 1292.

Philippe or Philippa de Dammartin, died about 1280. She marries in 1253 the Count Otton II of Gueldre, born about 1215 and died about 1271.

Marie de Dammartin, died about 1279. She marries towards 1240 Jean de Pierrepont, born about 1205 and died about 1251.

Agathe de Dammartin, died about 1268. She marries the Viscount Aimeri de Châtellerault, died about 1242.

Armorial bearings

The elder branch of the family carried: gold , to two fasces of mouths, accompanied by nine merlettes by same, lines in orle .

The branch junior by Dammartin carried for armorial bearings fascé of money and azure to the edge of mouths . It is known as that fascé represents the armorial bearings of the first counts de Dampierre, and that the edge is a Brisure of Mello. This assertion is unfortunately false, because the oldest armorial bearings being attested only starting from the medium of XII^e century, the first counts de Dampierre could not have armorial bearings. Perhaps fascé the reason for their banner represents, but nothing makes it possible to affirm it. In addition, one wonders why, whereas the branch junior took again the name of the old house of Dammartin, she believed herself obliged to break the ecu of Dammartin rather than to take it again unchanged.

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