The Lords of Ourville Park, the Families of d’Estouteville, d’Argouges, de Clamorgan, de la Rivière (XVs-XVIs)
We don’t know when or under what circumstances Ourville Park ceased to belong to the d’Argences family.
Collibeaux de Criquebeuf swore loyalty to the king for Ourville Park on the 14th of November, 1403. He was a member of the celebrated family of d’Estouteville.
The d’Estouteville coat of arms is “Barry of silver and gules of 10 ordinaries of black lions debruised overall, armed, langued, and crowned with gold.”
Henry d’Estouteville (…1205-1218…) married Mahaut also known as Mathilde d’Eu They had two sons: Jean, author of the eldest branch, and Robert, author of the youngest branch of the lords of Criquebeuf-en-Caux near to Fécamp.
The great grandson of Henri d’Estouteville and Mahaut d’Eu, Collard d’Estouteville, son of Pierre, lord of Criquebeuf, and of Alix de Gal, married Alix d’Argences, daughter of Robert, lord of d’Argences, and of Jeanne de la Serre from whom was issued forth:
-Guillaume, the eldest, knight, lord of Criquebeuf, Chamelles, and de la Serre.
- Collibeaux d’Estouteville (also known as Collibeaux de Criquebeuf), lord of Criquebeuf, Chamelles and de la Serre (following his older brother Guillaume)
He married Jeanne de Missy, Mistress of Missy, Brucourt, du Han, d’Anneville and of the Park, daughter of Colin de Missy and Guillemette Suhart (1).
Collibeaux de Criquebeuf was among the 119 knights of the garrison of Mont-Saint-Michel who, under the orders of Louis d’Estouteville, resisted the English (in 1417, Henry V of England debarked at the mouth of the Touques river, and, in less than two years retook all of Normandy save Mont-Saint-Michel which would remain impregnable).
- Collibeaux de Criquebeuf became lord of the Park by his marriage to Jeanne de Missy, mistress of the Park and various other domains. He swore allegiance to the king of France in 1403. Following the events that ended in the recapture of Normandy by the English (1417-1419), Henri V of England confiscated the fief of the Park and gave it to Jehan d’Argouges because of the rebellion (that is to say, the loyalty to the king of France) of Collibeaux de Criquebeuf.
- Jean d’Argouges, Sir of d’Argouges-en-Bessin (2), la Champagne, Gratot, Beaumont, and Cosqueville, was the son of Phillipe d’Argouges and Marguerite de la Champagne (both are buried in the parish of Gratot). The sister of Jean d’Argouges, Catherine, married Thomas de Clamorgan, lord of Saint-Pierre-Eglise. All of these sided with Henry V of England. Jean d’Argouges married Charlotte de Carbonnel, mistress of Cérences (Jehan d’Argouges died on the 17th of November 1465 and is buried in the abbey of Longues. Charlotte de Carbonnel died in 1474 and is buried in the church of Gratot).
On the 31st of August, 1429, an agreement between Jean d’Argouges and Thomas de Clamorgan was officially witnessed at Vernon by the uncle of King Henry V of England, Jean, regent of the kingdom of France and Duke of Bedford. According to this agreement, Jean d’Argouges left, moved, and abandoned the fief of the Park to Thomas de Clamorgan, his brother-in-Law.
The coat of arms of d’Argouges is: “Quarterly of gold and Azure with three Cinquefoils of debruised gules overall”
-Thomas de Clamorgan, the fifth of this name; of the branch of lords of Rauville-la-Place and Saint-Pierre-Eglise played an important role during the end of the Hundred year’s war. He supported the English and received numerous fiefdoms in Cotentin. He was viscount of Coutances (…1424-1430…) and of Valognes (1429-1433) under English rule.
In 1436, he was allowed by the king of France Charles VII to keep his own holdings, but forced to return to their old owners the properties that the English had granted him. However, he was still lord of the Park in 1438, the year in which he swore allegiance for this fief. In this same year, 1438, he is named as the lord of the Park in a document concerning the salt works of Portbail, which is preserved in the archives of Dicq de Portbail (charter room of the castle of Sainte-Suzanne).
The coat of arms of Clamorgan is: “A silver eagle displayed with black beak and armed with gold.”
The fief of the Park was restored to the children of Collibeaux de Criquebeuf:
-Simon d’Estouteville, lord of Criquebeuf, Chamelles, Missy, Brucourt, du Han, d’Anneville and of the Park.
-Perrette d’Estouteville, mistress of Criquebeuf, Chamelles, Missy, Brucourt, du Han, d’Anneville and of the Park.
Perrette d’Estouteville, lady of the Park and various other domains, married Richard de la Rivière, lord of Gouvis (Gouvix, near Bretteville-sur-Laize, Calvados).
The de la Rivière family is originally from Saint-Germain-du-Crioult (Calvados, 4.5 km to the west of Condé-sur-Noireau and 5.5 km to the east of Vassy).
Several members of this family distinguished themselves in the army of the king of France during the Hundred Year’s War.
The de la Rivière coat of arms is: “Silver with three roundels of black, 2 and 1.”
-Bertran de la Rivière, son of Richard and Perette d’Estouteville, lord of the Park, Anneville, Criquebeuf, la Fère, Missy and Saint-Germain du Crioult (…1451, 1482…) was officially recognized as a nobleman at Ourville (Saint-Lô d’Ourville) by Montfaut in 1463. He married Jeanne de Briqueville, daughter of Roger, lord of Laune (3).
Their son, Jacques de la Rivière, lord of the Park and Anneville, married Marguerite of Mesnildot.
The coat of arms for the family of Mesnildot is: “Azur with silver chevrons between three crosses of gold, 2 and 1.” It is incorporated into the chapel of Ourville Park.
To Jacques de la Rivière and Marguerite du Mesnildot was born:
-François de la Rivière, Lord of the Park (sworn allegiance given on April 15th, 1514) who wrote his genealogy on the 14th of July 1523 at Valognes:
“This is the testimony of the noble monsieur François de la Rivière, lord of the Park.
To the nobleman Richard de la Rivière, lord of the Park, of Anneville, Criquebeuf and of La Fière, and mademoiselle Jeanne de Missy, was born the noble master Bertran de la Rivière, Sir of the aforementioned domains and in addition of Brucourt, Missy daughter of the noble and powerful lord master Roger de Briqueville, knight, lord of Laune.
To whom was born noble monsieur Jacques de la Rivière, lord of the Park and of Anneville, married to mademoiselle Marguerite of Mesnildot daughter of the lord of Mesnildot, of Mirville and Magneville. From whom was issued the aforementioned François de la Rivière witness, lord of the Park, who along with his predecessors are all come from a noble and ancient line and have served the King and previously the dukes of Normandy, in the corps of nobility (4). And offer to support the one who is issued and descended from the aforementioned witness of the lines of d’Argences and d’Estouteville, and under this right to carry the arms of the aforementioned lines and nobility.
Written at the registrar on the day and year stated above.
[The aforementioned lord de la Rivière carries the coat of arms: ‘Silver with 3 Roundels of black charged with a quarterly of d’Argences and d’Estouteville]’”
According to this genealogy, Jeanne de Missy would have been the wife and not the mother-in-law of Richard de la Rivière, which seems unlikely.
We don’t know when and under what circumstances the Park passed from the de la Rivière family to that of Thieuville.
On the subject of the de la Rivière family we can at least know that:
-François de la Rivière, residing at Saint-Sauveur-de-Pierrepoint, is cited in the census of the nobility of Roissy (January 8th, 1599, at Saint-Lô). He declared himself “to be in the middle of proceedings at the Aides [a court having the final judgment on all proceedings involving fiscal matters] for his nobility.” We don’t know what branch of the de la Rivière family he belongs to.
-Two great grandsons of Richard de la Rivière, lord of the Park, Jacques (born around 1636) and Nicolas (born around 1640) are cited in the census of nobility of Chamillart (1666):
“Jacques and Nicolas de la Rivière, horsemen, lords of Gouvix and of Mesnil-Salle, residing in the parish of Saint-Germain-de-Crioult, sergeantship of Vassy, election of Vire, 30 and 27 years old, Reformed Religion”.
-François de la Rivière, lord of Romilly (6), Lieutenant general of the Viscount of Bayeux (died September 13th, 1557 and buried in the collegiate church of Saint-Nicolas-des-Courtils) who had married Jacqueline de Cossé (died December 23rd, 1584) originator of the branch of the lords of Romilly, of the Hérils and Crèvecoeur (cited in the census of nobility of Chamillart).
And
François de la Rivière, lord of the Park, who wrote his genealogy on the 14th of July, 1523 at Valognes, cannot, due to lack of evidence and contingent upon the discovery of convincing documents, be considered as one and the same person.
- From whom was born Simon and Perrette d’Estouteville whom we will discuss later (Missy: the municipality of Villers-Bocage. Calvados).
- In Vaux-sur-Aure, near Bayeux, Calvados
- Laulne, municipality of Lessay
- In French “ordonnances” (company of ordonnance): companies not attached to a regiment. Here ordonnance arrière-baon : A corps of the nobility summoned to war by the king.
- Court of Aides : Jurisdiction judging as a last resort with all sovereignty in all lawsuits dealing with fiscal matters.
- There are 2 communes of this name in l’Eure: Romilly-la-Puthenaye and Romilly-sur-Andelle.
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