Sibyl of Falaise

Sibyl was called the "nepta" (either "niece" or "kinswoman") of King Henry I of England. The term "niece" was often used to mean that the person was an illegitimate child rather than a niece, so it is possible that she was really Henry's bastard daughter.Given-Wilson and Curteis Royal Bastards p. 71 The historian Frank Barlow also implies that she could have been Henry's daughter rather than his niece.Barlow Thomas Becket p. 236 Against this, Kathleen Thompson argues that Henry was not shy about recognizing his bastards,{{efn|Henry had at least 9 illegitimate sons and 14 illegitimate daughters.Thompson "Affairs of State" Journal of Medieval History pp. 141–151}} and that it is more likely that Sibyl was the illegitimate daughter of Henry's elder brother Robert Curthose. Robert was Duke of Normandy from 1086 (although he pawned it in 1096 to another brother, William Rufus, to finance going on the First Crusade),Clanchy England and Its Rulers p. 46 and Falaise was where Robert's legitimate son, William Clito, was being raised.Thompson "Affairs of State" Journal of Medieval History pp. 150–151 Katharine Keats-Rohan argues instead that Sibyl was the younger daughter of William de Falaise and Geva de Burcy. William de Falaise was the lord of Stogursey in Somerset.Sanders English Baronies p. 22 footnote 7 Keats-Rohan says that Sibyl was just a "kinswoman" of Henry and not a bastard of either Henry or Robert. I. J. Sanders does not believe Sibyl was William's daughter, but does not speculate further on her ancestry.

If Sibyl was a bastard, nothing is known of her mother.Given Wilson and Curteis Royal Bastards p. 63 Thompson speculates that if Sibyl was the daughter of Robert, Sibyl's mother may have been someone employed in raising William Clito and that Sibyl was named for Robert's deceased wife, Sibyl of Conversano.

Sibyl married Baldwin de Boulers (sometimes spelled Bullers), at the instigation of Henry I. Baldwin held lands in Shropshire.Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 357 Baldwin had at least two sons – Stephen and Baldwin – and two daughters – Matilda (or Maud) and Hillaria. Matilda married Richard fitzUrse, and only she is known for sure to be the daughter of Sibyl.Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 357 Matilda was the mother of Reginald fitzUrse, one of the murderers of Thomas Becket.

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• {{cite book |author=Barlow, Frank |authorlink=Frank Barlow (historian) |title=Thomas Becket |url=https://archive.org/details/thomasbecket00barl |url-access=registration |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |year=1986 |isbn=0-520-07175-1 }}
• {{cite book |author=Clanchy, M. T. |title=England and its Rulers: 1066–1307 |publisher= Blackwell |edition=Third |year=2006 |series=Blackwell Classic Histories of England |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=1-4051-0650-6}}
• {{cite book |author1=Given-Wilson, Chris |author2= Curteis, Alice |title=The Royal Bastards of Medieval England |year=1995 |publisher=Barnes & Noble |location= New York |isbn=1-56619-962-X}}
• {{cite book |author=Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. |authorlink= Katharine Keats-Rohan |title=Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066–1166: Pipe Rolls to Cartae Baronum |publisher=Boydell Press |location=Ipswich, UK |year=2002 |isbn=0-85115-863-3 }}
• {{cite book |author=Sanders, I. J. |title=English Baronies: A Study of Their Origin and Descent 1086–1327 |publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford, UK |year=1960 |oclc= 931660}}
• {{cite journal |author=Thompson, Kathleen |title=Affairs of State: The Illegitimate Children of Henry I |journal = Journal of Medieval History |year=2003 |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=129–151 |doi= 10.1016/S0304-4181(03)00015-0 |s2cid=144398531}}

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Category:11th-century English people

Category:12th-century English people

Category:11th-century English women

Category:12th-century English women

Category:House of Normandy