- Robert FitzMartin
Robert FitzMartin (c. 1095?–c. 1159) was a Norman
knight and first Lord of Cemais,Wales .Life
Robert FitzMartin was born some time in the late 11th century to Geva de Burci, heiress of Serlo de Burci, and an otherwise unknown man called Martin. De Burci's second husband was William de Falaise, with whom she had a daughter, Emma de Falise, who married William de Courcy, son of Richard de Courcy of Courcy-sur-Dives; they received the manor of Stoke (renamed Stoke-Courcy, now
Stogursey ) inSomerset from William, and became the ancestors of theBaron Kingsale and the de Courcy family.Robert inherited the lands of William, and of his grandfather, Serlo de Burci, in
Somerset ,Dorset , andDevon . At some point early in the reign of Henry I he participated in the Norman invasions ofWales , and obtained for himself the barony of Cemais, located betweenFishguard and Cardigan, setting his "caput" at Nanhyfer, orNevern . The lands were regained by the Welsh during the rebellion of 1135-1136. Robert spent the years 1136-1141 serving theEmpress Maud duringThe Anarchy , and her son, Henry II. His activities from 1142 to 1155 are unknown.Family
By the reign of Henry II he had a new wife – Alice de Nonant of
Totnes (died 1194) – and three young children.Robert seems to have died about 1159, survived by his wife Alice and their children. Of them, Robert fitz Robert was dead by 1162 and buried in Totnes Priory; Sybil is known to have married a Warin de Morcelles and was alive in 1198; William fitz Robert fitz Martin, (c. 1155–1209) inherited the family property, and via a marriage with Angharad, a daughter of
Rhys ap Gruffydd , regain the lost territory of Cemais. The family would continue to hold lands in both England and Wales until the extinction of the senior line in 1326. Cadet lines lines still flourish in England, Wales, Ireland and beyond.Along with his first wife, Maude Peverell, sister of
William Peverel the Younger, he foundedSt Dogmaels Abbey between 1115 and 1119.He also led the desperate yet successful defense of
Cardigan Castle following the Norman defeat at theBattle of Crug Mawr .He is an ancestor to, among others, the
Martyn family ofThe Tribes of Galway .ources
*"The Baronial Martins", Lionel Nex, Orphington, 1987.
*"The Lords of Cemais", Dilwynn Miles, Haverfordwest, 1996.
*"The Tribes of Galway",Adrian J. Martyn , Galway, 2001.
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