William the ninth, born 22 Oct 1071 is our 25th Great Grandfather. William is often spelled Guillaume. He was known as 'The Troubador' and was the first troubador in the Occitan language. Eleven of his songs/poems survive. You can enjoy them here. For me, they must lose something in translation.
I endear all my friends to come to my death
and to honour me greatly
since I had and kept joy and disport
far and wide, and in my own abode.
He died in 1126 and was described in the 13th century as:
'... one of the most courtly men in the world and one of the greatest deceivers of women. He was a fine knight at arms, liberal in his womanizing, and a fine composer and singer of songs.'
We come through his second wife, Philippa Mathilda and their son William the tenth.
1 comment:
Well, Larry we must call you a knave if you don't understand the first poem. That's what it said.
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