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?
