Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st Earl of Cornwall


Reginald de Dunstanville was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and an illegitimate son of King Henry I. He became Earl of Cornwall and High Sheriff of Devon.

Origins

Reginald was born in Dénestanville in the Duchy of Normandy, an illegitimate son of King Henry I by his mistress Sybilla Corbet, a daughter and co-heiress of Sir Robert Corbet, lord of the manor of Alcester, Warwickshire, who was at some time the wife of "Herbert the King's Chamberlain".

Career

During the war between Matilda and Stephen, Reginald, who supported Matilda, was in control of Cornwall. Subsequently forced out of Cornwall by Stephen's forces, Reginald lost the earldom to Alan of Richmond. By 1141, Stephen's forces had been beaten and Reginald was invested with the Earldom of Cornwall by his half-sister Matilda in 1141. In about 1173 he granted a charter to his free burgesses of Truro in Cornwall, and addressed his meetings at Truro to "All men both Cornish and English" suggesting a differentiation of nations. He served as High Sheriff of Devon from 1173 to 1174.

Marriage and progeny

Reginald married Mabel FitzRichard, daughter of William FitzRichard, a substantial landholder in Cornwall, by whom he had the following progeny:
Reginald also had illegitimate children by his mistress Beatrice de Vaux, the daughter of Hubert I de Vaux, later the wife of William Brewer:
Reginald died at Chertsey, Surrey, and was buried in Reading Abbey.