standard appointment to the prebend of the chapter of Sainte-Waudru at Mons, following the death of the previous incumbent Beatrix de Wallaincourt. This was not hereditary - after the death of Elizabeth de Ruet it went to Jeanne d'Ecaussines, as you found, <more snippity> The
only genealogial point of note in the charter of Margaret for this
discussion is
nobili adolescentule Elizabet dicte dou Ruet domini E[g]idii dicti"to the young noblewoman Elizabeth called du Ruet, daughter of Gilles called Paonet de Ruet".
Paonet de Ruet filie
There is no definite significance to "dou" in this text - "du" = "de le" is French and does not exist in Latin; its use here was evidently an error, quite apart from the inconsistency with "de Ruet" used for her father, and perhaps these grammatically anomalous designations were not written by a French-speaking scribe.
The other charter quoted, Albert of Bavaria's dated 24 July 1368, is only useful for showing when Elizabeth had recently died. There is nothing here
to help establish whether her father Gilles was the same man as Katherine's father Paon, or to prove beyond question that either of them belonged to the family of Le Roeulx.
If I might just add a few thoughts for consideration to this thread,
though they do not lead to any firm conclusions :
The coat of arms of the Roelx family ("Die He. V. Rues") was Argent
three lions rampant Gules. [Gelre roll of arms, no 1062, in "Gelre BR
Ms 15652-56", ed. van Helmont, Leuven 1992, p 340, illustrated page
197]. This is _not_ the same as the arms recorded for Katherine de
Roet in England, which were canting arms. This suggests she was not
entitled to the Roelx arms and, if she was descended from them or
another knightly or noble family, she or possibly her father may have
been illegitimate.
The term Paon is almost certainly the word for peacock. There is a
possible rationale for this. The crest of the Counts of Hainault
consisted of peacock feathers as did de Melun lord of Antoing and the
marshal of Hainault also used peacock feathers, so did the Drossard or Seneschal of Hainault (de Werchin). A representative such as a king of
arms, or indeed a junior or illegitimate relative may well have been
referred to as such in the diminutive. It was commonplace for heralds
to take their title from an heraldic emblem of their masters, as an alternative to from their titles or territory, and to be widely known
by their title. It was also not uncommon for kings of arms in the low counties to be distantly related to the ruling families. If there is
any truth at all in the allegations of a connection to the position of Guyenne king of arms, this may have been preceded by a period as
herald of Hainault.
The chapter of the abbey of St Wadru at Mons was restricted to members
of the nobility. To have a position in the chapter would have required
proof of the appropriate noble quarters. At a much later date this was legislated for in some detail but in essence had been the same since
its foundation.
The Roelx family were a junior branch of the Counts of Hainault and
were extinct in 1336.
Gilles before that. "Gilles dis Rigaus dou Rues" was a party, at Mons,
to a declaration in 1277-78 and sealed with his arms. "Gilles dis
Rigaux sires dou Roes" "amortit" the land on which the chapel of
Bellecourt was built 1 April 1297. "Mes sires Giles dis Rigaus sires
dou Roelz chevalier" sealed an act of the baillie of Hainault in 1297.
His seal included the Roelx arms and the legend "Sr Egidii dicti
Rigavt militis dni de Rodio". [de Raadt: Sceaux armoriƩs des Pays-Bas
et des pays avoisinants, tome III, reprint 1999, page 232]. Note it is
not unusual to have a nickname as well as first name even on a seal.
I am not convinced that the record of the tomb inscription in St Pauls referred to elsewhere on the thread represents a real transcription
from sight of the tomb. The wording surrounding the inscription
suggests it was speculation and the alleged wording of the tomb was no
more than was well known from other sources, the damage too
conveniently obscuring a lack of detail that would be expected on the
real thing.
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