Extended Family: William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury

Being an illegitimate child in Medieval times wasn't always a social stigma.  Depending on how far up the social chain the parents were, biological children could benefit almost as much as children born within wedlock.  William Longespee, c 1176-1226, the biological son of Henry II and half-brother of Richard I and John, is an example.

William was born c 1176 and speculation existed for centuries about who his mother might be.  The most likely candidate was Rosamund Clifford until a charter from William to "Countess Ida, my mother" was located.  This pinpoints William's mother was Ida de Tosny, wife of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk.  Henry II acknowledged his son, providing him with a manor at Appleby in Lincolnshire.  Richard I was also generous to his younger half-brother, arranging his marriage to an heiress, Ela, Countess of Salisbury in her own right.  William was now an Earl, a wealthy man, and a specimen straight out of Plantagenet central casting.  The surname Longespee referred not only to the length and size of his sword, Latin longa spathe, but also to William's own great height and strength, needed to wield such a weapon.  Tall, temperamental and good-looking, with money to burn and a penchant for tournaments and military command, William fit well with the rest of the family.

His family loyalty would be tested during the reign of his half-brother John, 1199-1216.  During John's reign, William held a number of key positions, Sheriff of Wiltshire, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Warden of the Welsh Marches, and Viceroy of Ireland.  John trusted William, who frequently had his back during John's conflicts with his barons.  In 1213, Salisbury led an invasion fleet to Flanders, and in 1214, was the English commander at Bouvines, serving under the overall command of a Plantagenet grandson, Otto IV of Germany.  The battle was a disaster, costing the family much of its land in France.  Meanwhile, there were troubles back home and William was needed.  John's barons had cornered him into signing the Magna Carta.  Along with William Marshal, Salisbury was busy in besieging the castles of rebellious barons who remained in the field. 

However, even brotherly loyalty only went so far.  When John reneged on his promises in Magna Carta and Phillip II sent his son, the future Louis VIII, at the head of an invasion fleet to England, William of Salisbury deserted to Louis' side.  Family loyalty won out after John's death, when both Marshal and Salisbury returned to the allegiance of young Henry III and drove the French out of England.  Henry III also showered his uncle with several important posts.  William Longespee lived until 1226, when he died and was buried in Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire.  Rumors spread at the time that he'd been poisoned.  When his tomb was opened in 1791, a dead rat (eeewww!) was found inside the skull, that had traces of arsenic.  I'm not even speculating how that happened, or how 18th century forensic was able to detect arsenic.