Gunnora
Gunnora (or Gunnor) (-), "Duchess" of Normandy, was the wife of Richard I, Duke of Normandy. She was an important figure in his reign and those of her sons.
Career
Gunnora belonged to a family from the Pays de Caux area in Normandy. Gunnora was probably born . Her family was very influential in western Normandy and Gunnora was said to be very wealthy. Her marriage to Richard I was of great political importance. It allied him with a powerful rival family in the Cotentin. Her brother, Herfast de Crepon, was the progenitor of a great Norman family. Her sisters and nieces married some of the most important nobles in Normandy.
At the time the Normans were used to more than one kind of marriage. Richard I wanted his son Robert to become the Archbishop of Rouen. He was told the church would not allow it because he and Gunnora were not married in a Christian ceremony. So he married Gunnora "according to the Christian custom", making their children legitimate in the eyes of the church.
Gunnora signed many ducal charters up into the 1020s. She was skilled in languages and had an excellent memory. She was a source of information on Norman history for Dudo of St. Quentin. Her husband depended on her as is shown in the couple's charters where she held several important positions. She was at times regent of Normandy, a mediator and a judge. In a typical roll for a medieval aristocratic mother, she was an arbitrator between her husband and their oldest son Richard II. As Richard I's widow she is mentioned as being active in her sons' careers.
Gunnora was a founder and supporter of Coutances Cathedral and laid its first stone. In one of her own charters after Richard's death she gave two pieces of land (called allods) to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel. These were Britavilla and Domjean which were part of her dowry. She gave them for the soul of her husband, for her own soul and that of her sons "count Richard, archbishop Robert, and others..." She also signed a charter, , to that same abbey as Gonnor matris comitis (Gunnor, mother of the count). Gunnora, as wife and countess, was able to use her influence to see her kin favored, and several of the most prominent Anglo-Norman families on both sides of the English Channel are descended from her, her sisters and her nieces. Gunnora died .
Family
Richard and Gunnora were parents to several children:
Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy
Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux
Mauger, Earl of Corbeil
Emma of Normandy, wife of two kings of England
Maud of Normandy, wife of Odo II, Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres
Hawise of Normandy married Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany
Papia of Normandy
William, Count of Eu
Notes
References
950s births
1030s deaths
House of Normandy
Dukes and duchesses