Helen Seltzer's Extraordinary Women

compiled by her son, Richard Seltzer, Jan. 2011
My mother, Helen Isabella Estes Seltzer, died Dec. 28, 2010, at the age of 90.  Because of her life-long interest in family history, in her memory I compiled these profiles of powerful and strong-willed women among her ancestors, who might inspire her descendants.
These brief biographies are grouped according the lines of descent, which are then shown, leading down to the present. In a separate document, you'll see the raw historical facts, mostly from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.
 


The Oldest Line p. 3
 
Syagria and Papianilla -- the Most Splendid Women
Saints Itta and Begga -- Sainthood was Their Family Business
Alice of Jerusalem, Constance of Antioch, and Agnes of Antioch -- Princesses of Crusader Kingdoms

 

The Line of Clovis p. 7

Basina -- the Woman Who Knew What She Wanted and Got It

Clotilde -- the Vengeful Saint Who Converted France to Christianity
 

The Line of Bohemia and Hungary p. 10

Saint Ludmila -- Grandmother of "Good King Wenceslaus" and of His Murderer
 

The Russian Line p.12

Saint Olga -- the Vengeful Beauty Who Converted Russia to Christianity
 

The Welsh and Scottish Line p. 15

Gormflaith -- Legendary for Her Beauty and Her Wickedness

Joan, Lady of Wales -- an Affair to Remember

Helen, Princess of North Wales -- the Namesake

Joan, "the Fair Maid of Kint" -- the Most Beautiful Woman in England and Her Two Secret Marriages
 

The Anglo-Saxon Line p. 19

Edith the "Gentle Swan and Her Love Bites
 

The Byzantine Line p. 21

Empress-Mother Anna Dalassene

Empress Irene Doukaina

Elizabeth the Cuman -- a Dash of Asian Wildness

Queen Dorothea -- Practical and Economical
 

The Line of English Kings -- Plantagenet Dynasty p. 24

Saint Margaret of Scotland

Matilda of Flanders -- Englands Shortest (Least Tall) Queen

Empress Matilda -- First Woman Ruler of England

Eleanor of Aquitaine -- the Lioness in Winter

Joan Sewart -- the Deaf Princess
 

The Swedish and Danish Line p. 29

Lady Ingrid Ylva -- the White Witch

Sophia of Denmark -- the Chess Player
 

The Line of the Stewart Kings of Scotland p. 31

Marjorie Bruce -- the Price of Being a King's Daughter

The Oldest Line

Syagria and Papianilla -- Most Splendid Women

Mom's earliest known woman ancestors were Syagria and Papianilla, a mother and daughter-in-law in the later days of the Roman Empire
Born around 390 AD, 53 generations ago, 51 greats grandmother Syagria was the daughter of a Roman noble, Flavius Afranius Syagrius. Her father was proconsul of Africa in 379, praetorian prefect of Italy in 380 and 382, prefect of Rome in 381, and consul in 382.  Because of her father's status, she had the honorary title "clarissima femina" which means "most splendid woman".
Her son, Tonantius Ferreolus, became the praetorian prefect of Gaul.  He married Papianilla, a niece of Emperor Avitus,who also had the title "most splendid".

Saints Itta and Begga -- Sainthood was their Family Business

Itta = three greats granddaughter of Papianilla; Begga = her daughter
Saint Itta of Metz was the sister of two saints (Saint Modaold of Trier and Saint Severa. She also married a saint (Saint Pepin of Landen), and was the mother of two saints (Saint Gertrude of Nivelles and Saint Begga of Ardenne (our ancestor).  Her saint's day is May 8.  Her "patronage" is: against erysilpelas (a superficial bacterial skin infection) and against toothache.
She and her daughter Begga earned their sainthood by founding churches, monasteries and convents.
They lived after the fall of the Roman Empire and before the founding of the Holy Roman Empire and before France came into being.

Their home territory was in what is now northeastern France, near the border with Germany.  In the 20th century Metz became the capital of Lorraine, which along with Alsace was territory fought over by France and German in the Franco-Prussian War and World War I.  In the time of Saint Itta it was the capital of the Austrasia kingdom which evolved into the kingdom of France under the rule of her descendants
 

Alice of Jerusalem, Constance of Antioch, and Agnes of Antioch -- Princesses of Crusader Kingdoms

Alice married the 14 greats grandson of Saint Begga
Constance was her daughter
Agnes was the daughter of Constance
When the Crusaders conquered the Middle East, they divided the territory into kingdoms, with hereditary kings, on the European model, including Antioch which included much of present-day Syria, Edessa which included parts of present-day Syria and Turkey, and Jerusalem which included much of present-day Israel.
Alice was the daughter of Baldwin II King of Jerusalem and Count of Edessa, and the wife of Bohemund II, Prince of Antioch.
When her husband died in battle, her father tried to assume control of Antioch, but Alice stood in his way.  She tried unsuccessfully to make an alliance with the Muslim ruler of Mosul and Aleppo, offering her daughter in marriage.  Eventually, she made peace with her father, giving up Antioch and going into exile.

When her father died, she tried repeatedly to regain control of Antioch, first by war and then by marriage.  She formed an unsuccessful alliance against  her brother-in-law, Fulk V, King of Jerusalem (also an ancestor).  Then she tried unsuccessfully to arrange a marriage for her daughter, Constance, with Manuel Komnenos, heir-apparent to the Byzantine Empire.

As it turned out, Constance married Raynald of Chatillon instead of Manuel, and Raynald by that marriage became Prince of Antioch.

Later, Maria, a daughter of Raynald and Constance, married the Byzantine Emperor -- that same Manuel Komnenos, who was to have been her mother's husband.  And Agnes, another daughter of Raynald and Constance, went to Constantinople, where she lived at the court, under the patronage of her sister the Empress. On the Emperor's request, Agnes married a Hungarian prince, who eventually became Bela III King of Hungary.

Line of Descent

This line of descent includes Charles Martel (commander of the European armies that defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 1732), Charlemagne the first Holy Roman Emperor, kings of France, kings of Hungary, and a king of Scotland.

1) Syagria (b. 390)

2) Tonantius Ferreolus, praetorian prefect of Gaul (405 - 475) md. Papianilla (b. 415)

3) Tonantius Ferreolus, Gallo-Roman senator (440 - 511) (md. Industria)
4) Ferreolus of Rodez, Senator of Narbonne (b. 470) (md.Saint Dode of Reims)
5) Ansbertus, Gallo-Roman senator (md. Blithidle)
6) Arnoald, Bishop of Metz and Margrave of Schelde (560 - 611) (md. Oda)

7) Saint Itta of Metz (592 - 652) (md. Saint Pepin of Landen the Elder, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia)

8) Saint Begga (615 - 693) (md. Ansegiel)

9) Pepin II, "the Middle", Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia (635 - 714) (md. Alpaida)
10) Charles Martel, "the Hammer", Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, commander of the European armies that defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 732 (688-741) (md. Rotrude of Tier)
11) Pepin the Short, King of the Franks (d.768) (md. Bertrada of Laon)
12) Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor (742 - 814) (md. Hildegarde of Vinzgouw)

13) Pepin, "Carloman", King of Italy (777 - 810) (md. Bertha)

14) Bernard, King of Italy (797 - 818) (md. Cunigunda)

15) Pepin, 1st Count of Vermandois, Lord of Senlis Peronne and Saint Quentin (b. 815)

16) Herbert I, Count of Vermandois, Lord of Senlis, Peronne and Saint Quetin (848 - 907) (md. Bertha de Morvois)

17) Beatrice of Vermandois (880 - 931) (md. Robert I, King of France and Marquis of Neustria)

18) Hugh Capet, "the Great", Duke of France, Count of Paris, in the Divine Comedy Dante meets the soul of Duke Hugh in Purgatory, lamenting the avarice of his descendants.  (898 - 956) (md. Hedwige of Saxony)

19) Hugh Capet, King of France (939 - 996) (md. Adelaide of Aquitaine)

20) Robert II, King of France (972 - 1041) (md. Constance of Arles)

21) Henry I, King of France (1008 - 1060) (md. Anne of Kiev)

22) Philip I, King of France, "the Amorous" (1052 - 1108) (md. Bertha of Holland)

23) Constance of France (1078 - 1124) (md. Bohemond I, Prince of Taranto, Crusader)

24) Bohemond II, Prince of Taranto and of Antioch, Crusader (1108 - 1130) (md. Alice of Jerusalem)

25) Constance of Antioch (1127 - 1163) (md. Raynald of Chatillon, Prince of Antioch, Crusader)

26) Agnes of Antioch (1154 - 1184) (md. Bela III, King of Hungary AKA Caesar Alexius of the Byzantine Empire)

27) Andrew II the Jerosolimitan, King of Hungary, Crusader (1177 - 1235) (md. Gertrude of Merania)
28) Bela IV, King of Hungary and Croatia and Duke of Styria (1206 - 1270) (md. Maria Laskarina)
29) Stephen V, King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania, and Bulgaria, also Duke of Styria (1239 - 1272) (md. Elizabeth the Cuman)
30) Mary of Hungary (1257 - 1323) (md. Charles II, "the Lame", King of Naples and Sicily, King of Jerusalem, Prince of Salerno)

31) Eleanor of Anjou AKA Eleanor of Naples (1289 - 1341) (md. Frederick III, King of Sicily)

32) Elisabeth of Sicily AKA Isabel of Aragon (1310 - 1349) (md. Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria)

33) Frederick, Duke of Bavaria (1339 - 1393) (md. Maddelena Visconti)

34) Elizabeth of Vabaria-Landshut (1383 - 1442) (md. Frederick I, Hohenzollern, Elector of Brandenburg an Burgrave of Nuremberg)

35) John Hohenzollern, "the Alchemist", Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1406 - 1464) (md. Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg)

36) Dorothea of Brandenburg AKA Dorthea of Hohenzollern, AKA Dorthy Achilies (1431 - 1495) (md. Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, also Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst)

37) Margaret of Denmark (1456 - 1486) (md. James III, King of Scotland)

38) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart

39) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)

40) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)

41) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)

42) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)

43) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

44) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

45) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

46) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

47) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

48) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

49) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

50) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

51) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

52) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

53) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)

The Line of Clovis

Basina -- the Woman Who Knew What She Wanted and  Got It

Basina was a queen.  She was married to the King of Thuringia.  But her husband was neither powerful nor ambitious, and their little kingdom was insignificant.  Nothing important ever happened there.
She wasn't happy, and she wasn't going to settle for the life she saw ahead of her.  So one day, she just left.
Reportedly she said, "I want to have the most powerful man in the world, even if I have to cross the ocean for him."
This was around 450 AD, in the days when the Roman Empire was crumbling.  The greatest man of the day was Childeric I, King of the Franks, who had recently invaded the Roman Empire and conquered much of Gaul.  So she went to Gaul. She asked him to marry her. And he accepted.

She is now best remembered as the mother of Clovis, who succeeded his father as King of the Franks and is credited as the founder of modern France.  Contrary to the tradition of that time and place, she, not her husband, gave their son his name.

By the way, her name in Low Franconian means "female boss".

Clotilde -- the Vengeful Saint Who Converted France to Christianity

daughter-in-law of Basina
Clotilde's grandfather, King Gondioc, ruled a kingdom that extended from Lyon to Vienna to Geneva.  When King Gondiocdied, his three sons  -- Gundobad, Godesgisel, and Chilperic  (Clotilde's father) -- divided the realm among them.  Chilperic became Duke of Burgundy. But soon thereafter, Gundobad murdered both of Clotilde's parents, took control of Burgundy, and exiled Clotilde.
In exile, Clotilde married Clovis, King of the Franks, who, had just conquered northern Gaul.
At the instigation of Clotilde, Clovis converted to Christianity and forced his entire kingdom to do likewise.  That's what earned Clotilde her sainthood.

Clovis went down in history as the founder of modern France. And in the novel "The Da Vinci Code" he is named as a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene

Eventually, Clotilde took revenge for the murder of her parents, inciting her sons against her cousin King Sigismund of Burgundy, the son of Gundobad.  That was the cause of the Burgundian War, which led to Sigismund's deposition, imprisonment, and assassination.

The poetry of that time portrayed her as "a type of a savage fury."
 

Line of Descent

1) Basina, Queen of Thuringia (md. Childeric I, King of the Franks)

2) Clovis I, King of the Franks (466-511) (md. Saint Clotilde (475-545)

3) Clothar I, King of the Franks (496-561) (md. Waldrada of Lombardy)
4) Blithilde (538-603) (md. Ansbertus, Gallo-Roman Senator
5) Arnoald (560-611) Bishop if Metz and Margrave of Schelde

6) Saint Itta of Metz (592 - 652) (md. Pepin of Landen the Elder, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia)

7) Saint Begga (615 - 693) (md. Ansegiel)

8) Pepin II, "the Middle", Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia (635 - 714) (md. Alpaida)

9) Charles Martel, "the Hammer", Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, commander of the European armies that defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 732 (688-741) (md. Rotrude of Tier)

10) Pepin the Short, King of the Franks (d.768) (md. Bertrada of Laon)

11) Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor (742 - 814) (md. Hildegarde of Vinzgouw)

12) Pepin, "Carloman", King of Italy (777 - 810) (md. Bertha)

13) Bernard, King of Italy (797 - 818) (md. Cunigunda)

14) Pepin, 1st Count of Vermandois, Lord of Senlis Peronne and Saint Quentin (b. 815)

15) Herbert I, Count of Vermandois, Lord of Senlis, Peronne and Saint Quetin (848 - 907) (md. Bertha de Morvois)

16) Beatrice of Vermandois (880 - 931) (md. Robert I, King of France and Marquis of Neustria)

17) Hugh Capet, "the Great", Duke of France, Count of Paris, in the Divine Comedy Dante meets the soul of Duke Hugh in Purgatory, lamenting the avarice of his descendants.  (898 - 956) (md. Hedwige of Saxony)

18) Hugh Capet, King of France (939 - 996) (md. Adelaide of Aquitaine)

19) Robert II, King of France (972 - 1041) (md. Constance of Arles)

20) Henry I, King of France (1008 - 1060) (md. Anne of Kiev)

21) Philip I, King of France, "the Amorous" (1052 - 1108) (md. Bertha of Holland)

22) Constance of France (1078 - 1124) (md. Bohemond I, Prince of Taranto, Crusader)

23) Bohemond II, Prince of Taranto and of Antioch, Crusader (1108 - 1130) (md. Alice of Jerusalem)

24) Constance of Antioch (1127 - 1163) (md. Raynald of Chatillon, Prince of Antioch, Crusader)

25) Agnes of Antioch (1154 - 1184) (md. Bela III, King of Hungary AKA Caesar Alexius of the Byzantine Empire)

26) Andrew II the Jerosolimitan, King of Hungary, Crusader (1177 - 1235) (md. Gertrude of Merania)

27) Bela IV, King of Hungary and Croatia and Duke of Styria (1206 - 1270) (md. Maria Laskarina)

28) Stephen V, King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania, and Bulgaria, also Duke of Styria (1239 - 1272) (md. Elizabeth the Cuman)

29) Mary of Hungary (1257 - 1323) (md. Charles II, "the Lame", King of Naples and Sicily, King of Jerusalem, Prince of Salerno)

30) Eleanor of Anjou AKA Eleanor of Naples (1289 - 1341) (md. Frederick III, King of Sicily)

31) Elisabeth of Sicily AKA Isabel of Aragon (1310 - 1349) (md. Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria)

32) Frederick, Duke of Bavaria (1339 - 1393) (md. Maddelena Visconti)

33) Elizabeth of Vabaria-Landshut (1383 - 1442) (md. Frederick I, Hohenzollern, Elector of Brandenburg an Burgrave of Nuremberg)

34) John Hohenzollern, "the Alchemist", Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1406 - 1464) (md. Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg)

35) Dorothea of Brandenburg AKA Dorthea of Hohenzollern, AKA Dorthy Achilies (1431 - 1495) (md. Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, also Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst)

36) Margaret of Denmark (1456 - 1486) (md. James III, King of Scotland)

37) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart)

38) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)

39) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)

40) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)

41) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)

42) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

43) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

44) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

45) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

46) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

47) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

48) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

49) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

50) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

51) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

52) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)

Line of Bohemia and Hungary

Saint Ludmila -- Grandmother of "Good King Wenceslaus" and of His Murderer

Daughter of a Slavic prince, Ludmila married Borivoj I, Duke of Bohemia (in what is now the Czech Republic).  The couple were converted to Christianity, probably by Saints Cyril and Methodius (best known as the inventors of the Russian, "cyrillic", alphabet).
Ludmila and her husband worked hard to convert the people of Bohemia to Christiantiy, and as a result of their efforts they were driven from the country.  Later they returned and ruled again.
Their son Sptihnev ruled as duke after them, and he was succeeded by his brother Vratislav I. When he died, he was succeeded by his eight-year-old son, Wenceslas -- the "Good King Wenceslas" of the Christmas carol.

Wenceslaus' mother Drahomíra became jealous of Ludmila's influence over Wenceslaus and had two noblemen murder Ludmila.  Legend says that she was strangled with her own veil.

Later, Wenceslaus was murdered by his brother (our ancestor) Bolesaus I "the Cruel" who then became Duke.  According to Wikipedia: "Despite the fraticide Boleslav is generally respected by Czech historians as an energetic ruler."

Her feast day is celebrated on September 16. She is the patron saint of Bohemia, converts, Czech Republic, duchesses, problems with in-laws, and widows.

(NB -- Russia was converted to Christianity by Saints Olga and Vladimir  [our ancestors]; France was converted by Saint Clotilde and King Clovis [our ancestors]; and Bohemia was converted by Saint Ludmila [our ancestor]).

Line of Descent

1) Saint Ludmila (c. 860-921) (md. Borivoj I, Duke of Bohemia)

2) Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (888-921) (md. Drahomira)
3) Boleslaus I, "the Cruel", Duke of Bohemia (d. 967) (md. Biagota)
4) Dobrawa (940-977) (md. Mieszko I, King of Poland)
5) Bolesaw I, "the Brave", King of Poland (967-1025) (md. Enmilda)
6) Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland (990-1034) (md. Richeza of Lotharingia)
7) Gertrude of Poland (md. Iziaslav I, Prince of Kiev)
8) Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich, Prince of Kiev (1050-1130)
9) Predslava (md. Almos, Prince of Hungary)
10) Bela II, "the Blind", King of Hungary (1110-1141) (md. Helena of Raska)
11) Geza II, King of Hungary (1130-1162) (md. Euphrosyne of Kiev)
12) Bela III, King of Hungary, AKA Caesar Alexius of the Byzantine Empire (1148-1196 (md. Agnes of Antioch)
26) Andrew II the Jerosolimitan, King of Hungary, Crusader (1177 - 1235) (md. Gertrude of Merania)
27) Bela IV, King of Hungary and Croatia and Duke of Styria (1206 - 1270) (md. Maria Laskarina)
28) Stephen V, King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania, and Bulgaria, also Duke of Styria (1239 - 1272) (md. Elizabeth the Cuman)
29) Mary of Hungary (1257 - 1323) (md. Charles II, "the Lame", King of Naples and Sicily, King of Jerusalem, Prince of Salerno)
30) Eleanor of Anjou AKA Eleanor of Naples (1289 - 1341) (md. Frederick III, King of Sicily)
31) Elisabeth of Sicily AKA Isabel of Aragon (1310 - 1349) (md. Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria)
32) Frederick, Duke of Bavaria (1339 - 1393) (md. Maddelena Visconti)
33) Elizabeth of Vabaria-Landshut (1383 - 1442) (md. Frederick I, Hohenzollern, Elector of Brandenburg an Burgrave of Nuremberg)
34) John Hohenzollern, "the Alchemist", Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1406 - 1464) (md. Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg)
35) Dorothea of Brandenburg AKA Dorthea of Hohenzollern, AKA Dorthy Achilies (1431 - 1495) (md. Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, also Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst)
36) Margaret of Denmark (1456 - 1486) (md. James III, King of Scotland)
37) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart)
38) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)
39) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)
40) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)
41) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)
42) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)
43) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)
44) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)
45) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)
46) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)
47) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)
48) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)
49) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)
50) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)
51) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)
52) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)

The Russian Line

Saint Olga -- the Vengeful Beauty Who Converted Russia to Christianity

Olga "the Beauty" married Igor, Prince of Kiev; and when he died, she sought to avenge her husband's death at the hands of the Drevlians and "succeeded in slaughtering many of them and interring some in a ship burial, while still alive. She is reputed to have scalded captives to death."  She also destroyed an entire town hostile to her, asking that each household present her with a dove as a gift, then tying burning papers to the legs of each dove, which she then released to fly back to their homes, setting fire to the thatched rooves of those homes.
She ruled the kingdom for 18 years as regent for her son Svyatoslav. She then ruled again when Svyatoslav was away on his many military campaigns.
She changed the system of tribute gathering or taxation in her kingdom, which Wikipedia says was "the first legal reform recorded in Eastern Europe." And she was the first Russian ruler to convert to Christianity, for which she earned sainthood. At her baptism, in Constantinople, she took the name of "Helena"

She was unable to convert her husband, but her grandson and pupil Saint Vladimir I "the Great" made Christianity the state religion.

Line of Descent

1) Saint Olga (890-969) (md. Igor, Prince of Kiev)

2) Sviatoslav, I Prince of Kiev (935-972) (md. Malusha)
3) Saint Vladimir I "the Great", Prince of Kiev (958-1015)
4) Yaroslav "the Wise", Prince of Kiev (978-1054) (md. Ingegerd Olafsdottir)
(we are descended from his daughter Anne of Kiev, his son Izaslav I of Kiev, and his daughter Anastasia, as well as his son Vsevolod, as shown below)
5) Vsevolod I, Prince of Kiev (1030-1093) (md. Anastasia)
6) Vladimir II Monomakh, Prince of Kiev (1053-1125) (md. Gytha of Wessex)

7) Mstislav I, "the Great", Prince of Kiev (1076-1132) (md. Christina Ingesdotter)

8) Ingeborg of Kiev (md. Canute Lavard)

9) Valdemar I, "the Great", King of Denmark (1131-1182) (md. Sofia of Minsk)

10) Helen of Denmark (1177-1233) (md. William of Winchester, AKA William Longsword, Lord of Luneburg)

11) Otto, "the Child, First Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg (1204-1252)

12) Albert I, "the Tall", Duke of Brunswick-Lunebuerg (1236-1279) (md. Adelheide)

13) Albert II, "the Fat", Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (1268-1318) (md. Rixa)

14) Magnus I, "the Pious", Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (d. 1369) (md. Sophie Brandenburg)

15) Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (1324-1373) (md. Catherine Anhalt-Bernburg)

16) Katharina Elisabeth of Brunswick (1385-1423) (md. Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein)

17) Hedvig of Schuaenburg, Duchess of Schleswig and Countess of Holstein (1398-1436) (md. Dietrich AKA Theodoric the Lucky, Count of Delmenhorst and Oldenburg)

18) Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, also Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (1426-1481) (md. Dorothea of Brandenburg AKA Dorothea of Hohenzollern)

19) Margaret of Denmark (1456 - 1486) (md. James III, King of Scotland)

20) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart)

21) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)

22) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)

23) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)

24) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)

25) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

26) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

27) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

28) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

29) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

30) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

31) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

32) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

33) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

34) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

35) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)
 

The Welsh and Scottish Line

Gormflaith -- Legendary for Her Beauty and Her Wickedness

One of the best-known Icelandic sagas -- Njal's Saga -- says that Gormflaith was "endowed with great beauty... [but] was utterly wicked"
Daughter of the King of Leinster (in what is now County Kildare in Ireland), Gormflaith married Olaf Cuaran (our ancestor), the Viking king of Dublin and York. After his death, she married the legendary Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, as part of a peace treaty. In that same deal, her son  Sigtrygg "Silkbeard", King of Dublin married a daughter of Brian Boru. In other words Gormflaith married the father of her daughter-in-law, and Gormflaith's son married his step-father's daughter.  As a result, we are descended from both Gormflaith and Brian Boru.
Her marriage with Brian was not a happy one.  She later instigated a war against Brian that ended in the Battle of Clontarf at which he was killed.

Joan, Lady of Wales -- an Affair to Remember

Joan married the five greats grandson of Gormflaith
Joan was a natural daughter of King John of England.  The pope eventually ruled that she was "legitimate" even though her parents were not married to each other at the time of her birth.
John was the enemy of his brother Richard I "the Lionhearted" and of the legendary Robin Hood. He was the king who was forced to sign the Magna Carta, the first step toward democracy in England and later in America.
John arranged for Joan to marry Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales, as part of a political alliance.

Llewelyn, was the last monarch to claim sovereignty over all of Wales (though his power base was in North Wales, in particular in Anglesey, the county from which our ancestors the Griffiths came).  This was in the days of frequent wars with England.  His successors faced one challenge after another until 1301 when King Edward I of England (our ancestor) named his son Edward II (our ancestor) "Prince of Wales" and it became the tradition to give that title to the eldest son of the King of England.

In 1230, Joan and her lover, William de Braose, a prisioner of Llywelyn, were found in Llywelyn's bedchamber.  William was hanged, and Joan was placed under house arrest for a year.  She eventually reconciled with her husband.

Llewelyn and his wife Joan are main characters in several historical novels, including "Here Be Dragons" by Sharon Kay Penman and "The Heaven Tree Trilogy" by Edith Pargeter.
 

Helen, Princess of North Wales -- the Namesake

daughter of Joan
Mom would have loved to have known that she had an ancestor on her father's side named Helen, who was princess of the same part of Wales that her Griffith ancestors, on her mother's side, came from.
Her Welsh name was Elen ferch Llywelyn, i.e. Helen daughter of Llewelyn.  Little is known of her except that she married twice; her second husband, Robert de Quincy, Lord of Ware is the one we are descended from.

Joan, "the Fair Maid of Kent" -- the Most Beautiful Woman in England and Her Two Secret Marriages

great-great granddaughter of Helen
The French historian Froissart called Joan "the most beautiful woman in all the realm of England, and the most loving".
Joan's father, Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, was grandson of King Edward I of England and half-brother of King Edward II (also our ancestor) Edmund supported the King as opposed to the Queen, Isabella (also our ancestor).  Hence when the King died, the Queen had him executed and placed Joan (age two) and her mother under house arrest at the Castle of Arundel.

Joan came back in favor under the new king, Edward III and his wife Queen Philippa (our ancestors) and was raised at court.

At the age of 12 she secretly married Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent (our ancestor), without getting the required royal consent. While Thomas was off fighting in the Crusades, her parents forced her to marry someone else.  Eventually, Pope Clement VI ruled that her real husband was Thomas, and she lived with him for eleven years.

When Thomas died in 1360, she secretly married Edward "the Black Prince," the heir apparent to the throne of England, her first cousin once removed. They were too closely related for the marriage to be legal, so the King got a dispensation from the Pope, and they then had an official church wedding presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  As Edward's wife she was known as the "first English Princess of Wales."

In 1362, Edward became Prince of Aquitaine, a province in the south of France on the Mediterranean that English kings of that day inherited by way of Eleanor of Aquitaine (our ancestor).  The couple moved there and Edward became embroiled in wars with Castile (a kingdom in what is now Spain), in which he gained military renown.

Edward died in 1376 and his father the king died the next year, which meant that Joan's son Richard II became king at the age of 10.  (See Shakespeare's play Richard II).  As the power behind the throne during his minority, she was reportedly well-loved by the English people.

Line of Descent

This line includes Viking Kings of Dublin, Princes of Wales, King John of England, and Kings James I and II and III and IV of Scotland.

 

1) Gormflaith (960-1010) (md. Olaf or Amlaib Curan, King of York and Dublin)

2) Sigtrygg Silkbeard (d. 1042) King of Dublin (md. daughter of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland)
3) Olaf of Dublin
4) Raignaillt (md. Cynan ab Iago, 1014-1063, King of Gwynedd in Wales)
5) Gruffydd ap Cynan (1055-1137), King of Gwynedd in Wales (md. Angharad ferch Owain)

6) Owain Gwynedd (1100-1170), King of Gwynedd in Wales (md. Gladys ferch Llywarch)

7) Iorwerth ab Owain Gwynedd, "the Broken-Nosed"(1145-1174)  (md. Mared ferch Madog)

8) Llywelyn ap Iorwerth = Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales (1173-1240) (md. Joan of Wales, 1191-1237, daughter of King John of England)

9) Helen of North Wales (1207-1253) (md. Robert de Quincy, Lord of Ware)

10) Hawsie de Quincy (1250-1295) (md. Baldwin Wake, Lord of Bourne, d. 1281)
11) John Wake (d. 1300) (md. Joan de Fiennes)
12) Margaret Wake (1297-1349) (md. Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, executed for treason in 1330)

13) Joan, Countess of Kent "the Fair Maid of Kent" (1327-1385) (md. Thomas Holland, First Earl of Kent, 1314-1360)

14) Thomas Holland, (1350-1397) Second Earl of Kent, councillor of his half-brother King Richard II of England
15) Margaret Holland (1385-1439)( md. John Beaufort, First Earl of Somerset)
16) Joan Beaufort (1404-1445) (md. James I, King of Scotland, 1394-1437))
we are descended from their daughter Annabella, also from their daughter Joan Stewart and also from their son James II, King of Scotland

17) James II, King of Scotland (1430-1460) (md. Mary Gueldres)

18) James III, King of Scotland (1451-1488) (md. Margaret of Denmark)

19) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart

20) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)

21) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)

22) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)

23) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)

24) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

25) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

26) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

27) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

28) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

29) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

30) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

31) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

32) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

33) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

34) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)
 

The Anglo-Saxon Line

Edith the "Gentle Swan" and Her Love Bites

Known as "Edith the Fair" and "Edith the Gentle Swan", this ancestor was the common-law wife of Harold II, King of England for over 20 years.  Her daughter, Princess Gytha of Wessex, married the Grand Duke of Kiev, Vladimir Monomakh.
Her main claim to fame was that she identified the body of her husband on the battlefield at Hastings, after he was defeated by William the Conqueror (also an ancestor).  She is the main character in a well-known poem by Heinrich Heine entitlted "The Battlefield of Hastings", and identifies him by markings on his chest known only to her, which Heine says were "love bites."

Line of Descent

1) Edith the Fair (md. Harald II, King of England)
2) Gytha of Wesex (md. Vladimir II Monomakh, Prince of Kiev)
3) Mstislav I, "the Great", Prince of Kiev (1076-1132) (md. Christina Ingesdotter)

4) Ingeborg of Kiev (md. Canute Lavard)

5) Valdemar I, "the Great", King of Denmark (1131-1182) (md. Sofia of Minsk)

6) Helen of Denmark (1177-1233) (md. William of Winchester, AKA William Longsword, Lord of Luneburg)

7) Otto, "the Child, First Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg (1204-1252)

8) Albert I, "the Tall", Duke of Brunswick-Lunebuerg (1236-1279) (md. Adelheide)

9) Albert II, "the Fat", Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (1268-1318) (md. Rixa)

10) Magnus I, "the Pious", Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (d. 1369) (md. Sophie Brandenburg)

11) Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (1324-1373) (md. Catherine Anhalt-Bernburg)

12) Katharina Elisabeth of Brunswick (1385-1423) (md. Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein)

13) Hedvig of Schuaenburg, Duchess of Schleswig and Countess of Holstein (1398-1436) (md. Dietrich AKA Theodoric the Lucky, Count of Delmenhorst and Oldenburg)

14) Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, also Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (1426-1481) (md. Dorothea of Brandenburg AKA Dorothea of Hohenzollern)

15) Margaret of Denmark (1456 - 1486) (md. James III, King of Scotland)

16) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart)

17) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)

18) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)

19) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)

20) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)

21) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

22) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

23) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

24) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

25) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

26) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

27) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

28) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

29) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

30) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

31) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)

The Byzantine Line

Empress-Mother Anna Dalassene

Anna's father, Alexios Charon, was the imperial lieutenant in Italy, a very important man in his day.  But Anna chose to use her mother's family name instead of his. From the very beginning, in her family, the woman ruled.
She married John Komenos, and soon thereafter his brother, Isaac, was made Byzantine Emperor by the military.  When Isaac became very ill and was forced to abdicate, he wanted to give the crown to John, but he refused, much to his wife's chagrin.
Later, thanks to her political maneuvering, her son Alexios became Alexios I Komnenos, Byzantine Emperor. And when during his frequent absences on military campaigns, he left the goverment of the empire in the hands of his mother, rather than his wife.

Over the course of a long public life, Anna was constantly plotting to advance herself and her family and to determine who would serve as the next emperor.

Empress Irene Doukaina

daughter-in-law of Anna
Irene was wife of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, mother of Emperor John II Komnenos, and great-granddaughter of Ivan Vladislav, Emperor of Bulgaria.  But her most important relation was her daughter Anna Komnene (1083-1153) -- the first woman historian.
Anna described her mother in great detail:  "She stood upright like some young sapling, erect and evergreen, all her limbs and the other parts of her body absolutely symmetrical and in harmony one with another. With her lovely appearance and charming voice she never ceased to fascinate all who saw and heard her. Her face shone with the soft light of the moon; it was not the completely round face of an Assyrian woman, nor long, like the face of a Scyth, but just slightly oval in shape. There were rose blossoms on her cheeks, visible a long way off. Her light-blue eyes were both gay and stern: their charm and beauty attracted, but the fear they caused so dazzled the bystander that he could neither look nor turn away...Generally she accompanied her words with graceful gestures, her hands bare to the wrists, and you would say it was ivory turned by some craftsman into the form of fingers and hand. The pupils of her eyes, with the brilliant blue of deep waves, recalled a calm, still sea, while the white surrounding them shone by contrast, so that the whole eye acquired a peculiar lustre and a charm which was inexpressible."
It "would not have been so very inappropriate," Anna wrote, to say that Irene was "Athena made manifest to the human race, or that she had descended suddenly from the sky in some heavenly glory and unapproachable splendour."

She often accompanied her husband on his military expeditions.  And as her husband was on his deathbed, she plotted to help her daughter Anna and Anna's husband Nikephoros succeed him as Emperor, instead of her son John.  When she failed, John exiled her and Anna to a monastery.
 

Elizabeth the Cuman -- a Dash of Asian Wildness

Elizabeth married the four greats grandson of Irene
Elizabeth was the daughter of Kuten, leader of the Kuni clan of Cumans, a Turkic people from Central Asia, who followed a Shamanist religion.   Fleeing from the Mongol hordes, Kuthen led the Kuni in an invasion of Hungary.  King Bela IV of Hungary granted them asylum on condition that they serve him and convert to Christianity.  As part of the deal, the infant Elizabeth was betrothed to Bela's infant son Stephen.
When the Mongolian invasion reached Europe in 1241, Hungarian nobles assassinated Kuthen for fear that he would defect.  The Mongolians beat the Hungarians, but withdrew the next year on news that their overlord had died.
Even though her father was dead, Elizabeth went through with the marriage, when she and Stephen were both age 12. On the death of his father in 1270 Stephen became king.  When he died two years later, Elizabeth became regent for their ten-year-old son King Ladislalus IV.

Ladislaus lived and dressed like a Cuman, which angered the Hungarians.  Then in trying to win over the Hungarians, he angered the Cumans, who eventually murdered him.

Queen Dorothea -- Practical and Economical

five greats granddaughter of Elizabeth the Cuman
Dorothea Hohenzollern married Christopher, King of Denmark, Sweden and Norway and was crowned queen of all three kingdoms.  When Christopher died, she married the next elected king, Christian I of Denmark.  At that time, she had to renounce her holdings in Denmark and Norway, but held onto her territory in Sweden, and her son eventually became King of Sweden.
Wikipedia says she was "cold, practical, and economic". She served as regent during the absence of King Christian and she had the right to command all the castles in Denmark. She also acquired territory from her spouse by lending him money.  For instance, Christian acquired the duchies of Holstein and Schleswig on condition that he pay his creditors.  Then when he couldn't pay, Dorothea paid for him on condition that he not make those territories part of Denmark. And by the time Christian died, she ruled those duchies as her own possessions.

Line of Descent

1) Anna Dalassene (1025-1102) (md. John Komnenos)

2) Alexios I, Byzantine Emperor (1056-1118) (md. Irene Doukaina)

3) Theodora Komnene (b. 1096) (md. Konstantinos Angleos)
4) Andronikos Angelos
5) Alexios III Angelos, Byzantine Emperor (1153-1211) (md. Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera)

6) Angelina Komnene (1176-1212) (md. Theodore I Laskaris, Emperor of Nicaea)

7) Maria Laskarina (1206-1270) (md. Bela IV, King of Hungary and Croatia)

8) Stephen V, King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Serbia, etc. (1239-1272) (md. Elizabeth the Cuman)

9) Mary of Hungary (1257-1323) (md. Charles II, "the Lame", King of Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem)
10) Eleanor of Anjou (AKA Eleanor of Naples) (1289-1341) (md. Frederick III, King of Sicily)
11) Elizabeth of Sicily (AKA Isabel of Aragon) (1310-1349) (md. Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria)

12) Frederick, Duke of Bavaria (1339-1393) (md. Maddalena Visconti)

13) Elizabeth of Bavaria-Landshut (1383-1442) (md. Frederik I Hohenzollern, Elector of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg)

14) John Hohenzollern, "the Alchemist", Margrave of Branenburg Kulmbach (1406-1464) (md. Barbara of Sax-Wittenberg)

15) Dorothea Hohenzollern (1431-1495) (md. Christian I Oldenburg, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden)

16) Margaret Oldenburg AKA Margaret of Denmark (1456-1486) (md. James III Stewart, King of Scotland)
17) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart)
18) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)
19) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)

20) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)

21) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)

22) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

23) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

24) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

25) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

26) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

27) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

28) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

29) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

30) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

31) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

32) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)
 

Line of English Kings -- Plantagenet Dynasty

Saint Margaret of Scotland

maternal grandmother of the Empress Matilda (belo)
Soon after Cnut the Great, the Viking, conquered England, the previous Anglo-Saxon king, Edmund "Ironside" died, and Cnut shipped Edmund's two young sons to Sweden, where they were supposed to be murdered.  They escaped that fate, went to Kiev instead, and eventually ended up at the Hungarian court.  That's where Margaret, the daughter of one of those sons, was born and raised.
In 1057, her father, Edward the Exile, was recalled to England as a possible successor to his uncle King Edward the Confessor, who had no children.  But Edward the Exile died soon after arrival and Harald II Godwinson (also an ancestor) was chosen as king.  When a few months later Harald was killed at the Battle of Hastings by the forces of William the Conqueror (also an ancestor), Margaret's brother Edgar was proclaimed King of England.  But with the Normans advancing on London, Margaret and her family first fled north, then tried to sail to the Continent. A storm threw their ship off course, and they landed in Scotland, where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III.  Malcolm, a widower, married Margaret as one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family, and proceeded to wage war against England, in support of the claims of his new brother-in-law Edgar.

In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Malcolm kills Macbeth who had killed Malcolm's father Duncan.

Margaret was canonized "in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity... She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers."

Her feast day was June 10, later moved to November 16.

Matilda of Flanders -- England's Shortest Queen

paternal grandmother of the Empress Matilda, below
Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William "the Conqueror", King of England. She bore William eleven children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.
According to legend, when William, then Duke of Normandy, sent his representative to ask for Matilda's hand in marriage, she said she was far too high-born, to consider marrying a bastard. After hearing this response, William rode from Normandy to Bruges, found Matilda on her way to church, and dragged her off her horse by her long braids, threw her down in the street, and rode off.
When her father, Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, took offense, Matilda stopped them from coming to blows by agreeing to marry William (despite a papal ban on the grounds that they were too closely related).

According to the Guinness Book of Recrods, she was just 4'2" tall, and hence was shortest queen in the history of England.

(Her mother was Adela Capet, daughter of Robert II, King of France.)

Empress Matilda -- First Woman Ruler of England

granddaugther of both Saint Margaret and Matilda of Flanders
This Matilda was the last surviving legitimate child of Henry I, King of England (the son of William the Conqueror).  At the age of 12 she married Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, thereby acquiring the title "Empress".  When the Emperor died 11 years later, Matilda returned to England.
Her father named her as heir to the English throne and to the Duchy of Normandy. He saw to it that the Anglo-Norman barons, including her cousin Stephen of Blois (who was also a grandchild of William the Conqueror) swore twice to accept Matilda as ruler if he died without a male heir.
She married Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, who called himself "Plantagenet" from the broom flower (planta genista) he adopted as his personal emblem. Plantagenet became the name of the dynasty founded by their son (our ancestor) Henry II.

When her father died in 1135, Matilda and Geoffrey were in Anjou; and Stephen of Blois raced to England where, with the support of most of the barons, seized the crown.

Matilda and her husband fought to claim her inheritance.  Geoffrey won Normandy and assumed the title of Count of Normandy.  Then in 1139, Matilda challenged Stephen in England.  In February 1141, her forces defeated and captured King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln. Matilda was in fact Queen of England for several months.  But when she arrived in London, in preparation for her coronation, the citizens requested that she halve their taxes, and when she refused, they closed the city gates to her, and the civil war started up again.

This long period of civil war came to be known as "The Anarchy".

During the war, Matilda's most capable supporter was her illegitimate half-brother, Robert, First Earl of Gloucester. By November, Stephen was free (exchanged for the captured Robert of Gloucester) and a year later, the tables were turned when Matilda was besieged at Oxford  but escaped to Wallingford, by fleeing across snow-covered land in a white cape. Later she escaped again by disguising herself as a corpse and being carried out for burial.

In 1148, Matilda and her son Henry returned to Normandy; and Geoffrey turned Normandy over to Henry and retired to Anjou. .

In 1153, when Stephen's son Eustace died and Henry arrived with another military expedition,  Stephen acknowledged Henry as his heir.

Matilda is a character in Jean Anouilh's play Becket and the movie based on that, about Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury and his contentious relationship with King Henry II.

Eleanor of Aquitaine -- the Lioness in Winter

daughter-in-law of the Empress Matilda
Eleanor was one of the richest and most powerful women of the Middle Ages.  At the age of 15, she succeeded her father as ruler of Aquitaine (in what is now the south of France, on the Mediterranean).  Since her duchy would belong to whoever she married, she was the most sought-after bride in Europe.  First she married Louis VII, King of France (our ancestor through another wife of his, Adela of Champagne).
With Louis, she took part in the Second Crusade.  She recruited her ladies-in-waiting and 300 vassals as Crusaders, and she served as the leader of the troops from Aquitaine.  According to some accounts, she and her ladies dressed as Amazons.
On their return to France, she asked for a divorce and was granted an annullment, with her lands returning to her.  She then married Henry II, Duke of Normandy, the future King of England, who was 12 years younger than her.  She bore him five sons and three daughters.  The sons included the future kings Richard I and John (our ancestor).

This marriage was a bit rocky.  She supported her son Henry's attempt to overthrow her husband, for which her husband had her imprisoned for 16 years.  When her husband died, Richard became king and freed his mother.  She ruled as regent while Richard went on the Third Crusade.

She appears in the movie "The Lion in Winter" (played by Katharine Hepburn) and figures in the play and movie Becket, and in Shakespeare's play King John.
 

Joan Stewart -- the Deaf Princess

seven greats granddaughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Joan Stewart, daughter of James I, King of Scotland, was born deaf.  Reportedly, she used sign language, even in public.  She married James Douglas, First Earl of Morton and her effigy on the family tomb is the world's oldest image of a known deaf person.

Line of Descent

1) Saint Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093) (md. Malcolm III, King of Scotland)

2) Matilda of Scotland (1080-1118) (md. Henry I, King of England)

1) Matilda of Flanders (1031-1083) (md. William the Conqueror, King of England)

2) Henry I, King of England (1068-1135) (md. Matilda of Scotland)

3) Empress Matilda (1102-1110) (md. Geoffrey Plantagenet, "the Handsome", Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou)

4) Henry II, King of England (1133-1189) (md. Eleanor of Aquitaine)

5) John I, "Lackland", King of England (1166-1216) (md. Isabella of Angouleme)
6) Henry III, King of England (1207-1307) (md. Eleanor of Provence)
7) Edward I, "Longshanks", King of England (1239-1307) (md. Eleanor of Castille)

8) Edward II, King of England (1284-1327) (md. Isabella of France)

9) Edward III, King of England (1312-1377) (md. Philipa of Hainault)

10) John of Gaunt, First Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399) (md. Katherine Swynford)

11) John Beaufort, First Earl of Somerset (1371-1410) (md. Margaret Holland)

12) Joan Beaufort (1404-1445) (md. James I, King of Scotland)

13) Joan Stewart (1428-1486) (md. James Douglas, First Earl of Morton)

14) John Douglas, Second Earl of Morton (1459-1513) (md. Janet Crichton)
15) Agnes Douglas (md. Alexander Livingston, Fifth Lord Livingston of Callandar, guardian of Mary Queen of Scots)
16) William Livingston, Sixth Lord Livingston of Callandar (1528-1602) (md. Agnes Fleming)
17) Alexander Livingston (1561-1621) (md. Eleanor Hay)

18) Margaret Livingston (1586-1634) (md. John Fleming)

19) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

20) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

21) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

22) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

23) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

24) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

25) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

26) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

27) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

26) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

27) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)
 

The Swedish and Danish

Lady Ingrid Ylva -- the White Witch

Lady Ingrid Ylva, a Swedish noblewoman was renowned as a "white witch" -- a master of magic used for good -- and for her ability to foretell the future.
During insecure times (which were common around 1200), she lived in a church tower on her estates in Bjalbo.
Legend has it that when Bjalbo was attacked by enemies of the family, she rushed to the top of the church tower, ripped open a pillow full of feathers, and turned those feathers into knights in amor, who fought off the invaders.

 

Sophia of Denmark -- the Chess Player

Daughter of Eric IV, King of Denmark, Sophia of Denmark was "a politically interested, witty beauty with a quick tongue.  She was also known for her interest in chess." In fact, she was playing chess when news arrived that her husband Valdemar I, King of Sweden, had just lost his throne to his brother Magnus III and had been thrown in prison. Considering her strained relationship with her husband, she probably continued the game, ignoring the interruption, and won.
While in imprison, Valdemar lived openly with mistresses. And before that, he had taken Sophia's sister, Jutta, a nun, as a mistress, and she bore him a son.  Eventually, Jutta was then sent back to her nunnery and Valdemar had to make a pilgrimmage to Rome to ask the Pope for absolution.

 

Line of Descent

1) Ingrid Ylva (1180 - 1250) md. Magnus Minneskold (d. 1210)

2) Birger Magnusson, founder of Stockholm (1210 - 1266) (md. Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden)

3) Valdemar I, King of Sweden (1239 - 1302) (md. Sophia of Denmark)

4) Ingeborg of Sweden (md. Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Ploen)
5) Gerhard IV, Count of Holstein-Ploen (md. Anastasia of Wittenberg)
6) Ingeborg of Holstein-Ploen (md. Conrad I, Count of Oldenburg)

7) Christian V, Count of Oldenburg (1347 - 1423) (md. Agnes Honstein)

8) Dietrich, Count of Delmenhorst and Oldenburg, "Theodoric the Lucky" (1398-1440) (md. Hedwig Schauenburg)

9) Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (1426 - 1481) (md. Dorothea Hohenzollern)

10) Margaret Oldenberg AKA Margaret of Denmark (1456 - 1486) (md. James III, King of Scotland)

11) James IV, King of Scotland (1473 - 1513) (md. Agnes Stewart)

12) Janet Stewart, "Lady Janet" (1505 - 1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)

13) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537 - 1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)

14) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567 - 1619) (md. Lilias Graham)

15) John Fleming (1589 - 1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)

16) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

17) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

18) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

19) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

20) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

21) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

22) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

23) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

24) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

25) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

26) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)
 

The Line of Stewart Kings of Scotland

Marjorie Bruce -- the Price of Being a King's Daughter

In 1306, when Marjorie was nine years old, her father, Robert the Bruce, was crowned King of the Scots. Just three months later, her father was defeated at the Battle of Methven, and she and all her female relatives were captured and betrayed to the English.
Marjorie spent eight years in solitary confinement in a convent.  At the age of 16, she was finally set free in exchange for English noblemen captured at the Battle of Bannockburn and was given in marriage to Walter Stewart as a reward for his performance in that battle.
Two years later she went horse-riding while in advanced pregnancy.  She was thrown, went in to premature labor, delivered the child, and died soon after.

That child succeeded to the throne of Scotland as King Robert II, the first king of the Stewart dynasty.
 

Line of Descent

1) Marjorie Bruce (1296-1316) (md. Walter Steward)

2) Robert II, King of Scotland, first king of the Stewart Dynasty) (1316-1390) (md. Elizabeth Mure)
3) Robert III, King of Scotland (1337-1406) (md. Annabella Drummond)
4) James I, King of Scotland (1394-1437) (md. Joan Beaufort)
5) Joan Stewart (1428-1486) (md. James Douglas, First Earl of Morton)

6) John Douglas, Second Earl of Morton (1459-1513) (md. Janet Crichton)

7) Agnes Douglas (md. Alexander Livingston, Fifth Lord Livingston of Callandar, guardian of Mary Queen of Scots)

8) William Livingston, Sixth Lord Livingston of Callandar (1528-1602) (md. Agnes Fleming)

9) Alexander Livingston (1561-1621) (md. Eleanor Hay)

10) Margaret Livingston (1586-1634) (md. John Fleming)

11) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612 - 1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)

12) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627 - 1686) (md. Mary)

13) Charles Fleming (1659 - 1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)

14) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)

15) James Bates (1721 - 1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)

16) Daniel Bates (1756 - 1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)

17) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781 - 1825) (md. Joel Estes)

18) Albert Monroe Estes (1804 - 1863) (md. Mildred Colman)

19) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849 - 1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)

20) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881 - 1943) (md. Mae Griffith)

21) Helen Isabella Estes (1920 - 2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer)


Cary-Estes Genealogy by May Folk Weeb and Patrick Mann Estes

Cary-Estes-Moore Genealogy by Helen Estes Seltzer


This site is published by B&R Samizdat Express, 33 Gould St., West Roxbury, MA 02132. 617-469-2269 seltzer@samizdat.com

Book collections on CD and DVD. A library for the price of a book.
Limited time offer: 2 for the price of 1

Return to B&R Samizdat Express



Google
  Websamizdat.com