The Minstrel Blondel de Nesle - The Blondel and de Mouilpied Connection

Thomas deMouilpied, b.1780, d.1873, married Marie Blondel, b. 1786, d. 1849. I'm not sure when they married, but safe to say probably before their first child. If anyone has that information ... do tell please.

Though the focus here is deMouilpied, this Blondel family story is just too good to not blog about, it's amazing really. Marie Blondel descends from one of the more prominent Guernsey families on the Island, including the Blondels who once occupied the famous Le Gron House in St. Saviours. Her documented lineage goes back to the 1200's. A Balif Blondel is listed on one of the earliest Guensey Documents dated 1204 when Guernsey became independent from France. But there's more to the story - The Minstrel Blondel.

The Legend about Blondel de Nesle is one of the most romantic stories in English History. Books and articles have been written, and even a musical by Tim Rice. Blondel really was a minstrel, a troubadour, (trouvere in french) with over 20 songs and poetry, some archived in the British Museum and Oxford. Blondel was Minstrel to the infamous King Richard I of England, also known as The Lionheart. (the Disney movie Robin Hood talks about King Richard away on crusades, that's the one!) The most lengthy recently written book is called "Blondel's Song" by English writer David Boyle, worth every word on each page (called The Troubadour's Song" in the U.S.). Basically, Blondel rescues King Richard I and the rest is... history. All the links will bring you up to date on the available information about Blondel.

So what's the intrigue? The intrigue is that I grew up hearing the story about Blondel the Minstrel and being told, without a doubt, that we were direct descendants. Okay, so maybe my father was nutty about these stories passed down through the years...BUT. Why did so many other cousins, with whom there has only been recent contact, grow up hearing the same story? Cousin Kathy, Deb, Audrey, Rose-Mary and more, all have heard the same story. Cousins in England and Guernsey too. Kathy has an old letter talking about the Minstrel. I'll try to put it up on the blog next time.

The family story goes that the King rewarded Blondel with Property on Guernsey, unfortunately this would have to date from around 1200; almost impossible to find such records. Some legends have Blondel born in Picardi, France, but there is no record or proof of Blondel or other famliy lineage being from that area. The bulk of early Blondels, like de Moulpied , originate from Guernsey, over 1000 years ago.

My father told me the story several times, that he had heard himself, each time welling up with tears over the romantic possibility that we were descendants. So, much to my excitement, when I found our connection to Marie Blondel, I took heart that perhaps we really are descendants.

So my question to descendants of this marriage between Thomas deMoulpied and Marie Blondel, or descendants of Guersney Blondels, have you been told you were a descendant from the Minstrel Blondel de Nesle, the famous Troubadour??

To recap descendants:

Thomas deMoulpied married Marie Blondel and they had 7 children:
Marie 1810-1891;
Thomas b.1812, married Elizabeth Torode (another well known Guernsey name);
Rachel 1814-1873;
Jean (John) b.1816;
Sophie 1818-1852;
Charlotte 1821-1909, married Francis de la Mare; and
Joseph 1824-1905, married Sophie Ogier (my great great grand parents).
Thomas, Charlotte and Joseph were the only ones we know that had children.
Do you know more?