de Say
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/De_Saye_arms.svg/200px-De_Saye_arms.svg.png)
de Say (Saye, Sai) is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Sai, Orne. The first records are about William de Say and Picot de Say, Norman conquerors.[1] The de Say family, held lands in England and France.
French origin[]
The family descends from Picot Avenel de Say, a vassal of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. His son Robert Fitz-Picot, Lord of Aunay, was co-founder in 1060, of the abbey of St Martin at Séez.[2]
England[]
William and Robert de Say (also called Picot de Say) were the sons of Robert Fitz-Picot and his wife Adelaide.[2] They accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066.
William de Say's descendants inherited the manor of West Greenwich, now known as Deptford, and adopted the Maminot arms, Quarterly, or and gules.[3]
Robert de Say[]
Robert de Say, also called Picot de Say, was a Norman knight who arrived in Shropshire after the Norman invasion.[4] He was the son of Robert Fitz-Picot and his wife Adelaide of Normandy.[2] The family name de Say comes from the Norman village of Sai, in Orne.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Clun_Castle_02.jpg/220px-Clun_Castle_02.jpg)
Robert de Say obtained lands in Shropshire, building a motte and bailey castle, known as Clun Castle overlooking the lands he had seized from Edric the Wild after the invasion.[5] Robert was an important vassal of Roger of Montgomery, the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and a major early Norman magnate.[6] Robert died in 1098.[7]
His daughter married the local Welsh lord, Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, who acquired permission to move to England, probably Clun, in 1109.[8] Upon Picot de Say's death in 1098, the castle passed to his son, Henry de Say, who continued possession of Clun Castle.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Foxe (1854), p. 137.
- ^ a b c Seton, Robert. An Old Family: Or, The Setons of Scotland and America, Brentano's, 1899, p. 14
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Dunkin (1855), pp. 21-34.
- ^ Eyton 1862, p.45.
- ^ Pettifer, p.211; Brown, p.92.
- ^ Brown, p.92.
- ^ Suppe, p.218.
- ^ Lieberman, p.44.
Sources[]
- Foxe, John (1854). The Church Historians of England: Reformation Period. Seeleys. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
- Dunkin, Alfred John (1855). History of the County of Kent. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
Bibliography[]
- Brown, Reginald Allen. (1989) Castles From The Air. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-32932-3.
- Eyton, William. (1862) "The Castles of Shropshire and its Border." in Collectanea Archæologica: communications made to the British Archaeological Association Vol. 1. London: Longman.
- Liddiard, Robert. (ed) (2003) Anglo Norman Castles. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.
- Lieberman, Max. (2010) The Medieval March of Wales: The Creation and Perception of a Frontier, 1066-1283. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-76978-5.
- Pettifer, Adrian. (1995) English Castles: A Guide by Counties. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-0-85115-782-5.
- Suppe, Frederick C. "Castle guard and the castlery of Clun," in Liddiard (ed) 2003.
- Medieval English families
- Anglo-Norman families
- Anglo-Normans
- 11th-century births
- 1098 deaths