Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

William the Bastard's mother, Herleve was married, after her affair with Duke Robert the Magnificent was over, to Herluin, count of Conteville. To this union there were born two boys, Odo (or Odon in French) and Robert. When the bishopric of Bayeux fell vacant William arranged for his half-brother Odo to succeed. Odo was, as the Bayeux Tapestry shows, present at the battle at Senlac Hill and in order to ensure the protection of his new country's eastern flank, William made him earl of Kent. Odo's private life left something to be desired in a man of the church, but he did undertake the construction of the cathedral in Bayeux and commissioned the Tapestry to be displayed in it. Exactly what the reason was for a complete breakdown in the relationship between the half-brothers is unclear, but in 1082 William arrested Odo and he was kept in prison until the former's death in 1087 although he was not deprived of his lands and property.

See also: Bayeux Tapestry; Duke Robert the Magnificent; Herleve; Senlac Hill; William the Bastard

Related Reading:

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