I have been doing some genealogy on Randy's side of the family and I have found out some surprises. William the Conqueror is pictured above. He was King of England from 1066 to 1087 A.D. He is on the family tree of Barbara Mary Brown, Randy's mom.
This is a statue of Matilda of Flanders, descendent of Alfred the Great. When William the Conqueror sent her a message asking for her hand in marriage, she refused saying that she was too high-born to be married to him. When this was repeated to William, he rode from Normandy to Bruges, found Matilda on her way to church, dragged her off her horse by her long braids, threw her down on the street in front of her flabbergasted attendents, and then rode off. Matilda settled the matter by deciding to marry him. (I guess we can tell why he was called William the Conqueror.) Despite this rough beginning, they had a very successful marriage. She was England's shortest monarch. Even though she was only 4 feet 2 inches tall, she had 11 children. Although she was short in stature, she was definitely quite a dynamo. She also supported William in his war efforts by giving him money. William was a pretty tough dude for his height as well. He was only 5 feet 10 inches tall. I had always imagined William the Conqueror to look more like a front lineman on a football team with touseled hair and a long bushy beard. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RANDY, WE ALL LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU ARE DOING. I hope you have fun talking to your famous ancestors.
6 comments:
I love family history stories. I can see Randy just laughing at the story where William pulled that girl down by her braids. I blogged a little tribute about Randy and his birthday today too, you'll have to read my blog.
How cool is that? Thanks for posting such cool stuff. I like the statue idea...I think when I die, I'll have someone sculpt a big statue out of me, and then my ancestors will have neat pictures of my statue.
I think it's a great idea. I like seeing their's.
That's kind of how Cris and I decided to get married, only I didn't have braids at the time, it was just a ponytail, and I wasn't on a horse, I was on my bike. But really, it's quite similar, kind of eery really...
Well, this was most interesting and I was enjoying it UNTIL you mentioned that it was Randy's birthday and then I cried. I don't know why, I just did. Still am, actually.
So, I guess I should say thinks for the tears. Kind of.
i had no idea we were so famous!
happy anniversary bonnie! i think we should still celebrate it, you two deserve it!
love ya!
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Wow! That's quite the list of famous ancestors! I think it would be nice to find out if Abraham Lincoln falls among the ranks. Dad and Abe would have gotten along well. I imagine. I hope Dad had a wonderful birthday, and that you enjoyed your eighth anniversary. Love from Duane William the Conqueror.
WOW!! That also explains why Dad's dad and Dad's son (Dee) have the middle name William!! Perhaps this would be the reason that "Go get 'em" attitude is so strong in this group!! ANYWAY, Uh, Bonnie, I've never seen your hair in braids, but apparently, someone did!! NICE WORK!! THANKS!! Much Love....Us
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