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Percy family

The Percy family is an old English noble family. They were among the oldest and most powerful noble families in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages. The noble family is known for its long rivalry with the House of Neville, another family powerful in northern England during the 15th century. The feud between the two families, known as the Percy-Neville feud led to the Wars of the Roses, at the time known as the Civil Wars, in England.

The House of Percy descends from William de Percy (d. 1096), a Norman who crossed to England after William the Conqueror in early December 1067. William de Percy was created as the 1st feudal baron of Topcliffe in Yorkshire. He was rebuilding York Castle in 1070.

The Percy surname derives from the manor of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy, the home of the Percy family at the time of the Norman Conquest. Family members have held the titles of Earl of Northumberland or Duke of Northumberland to this day, in addition to Baron Percy and others.

The Percy surname twice died out in the male line only to be re-adopted later by the husband or son of a Percy heiress. In the 12th century, the original Percy line was represented by Agnes de Percy, whose son by her husband Joscelin of Louvain adopted the surname. Again in the 18th century, the heiress Elizabeth Seymour married Sir Hugh Smithson, who adopted the surname Percy and was created Duke of Northumberland.

Earls of Northumberland

Dukes of Northumberland

Recurring names

Recurring names in the Percy genealogy include:

  • Henry (first borne by the 7th feudal baron of Topcliffe and his 10 immediate successors, including the 1st Earl and Harry Hotspur)
  • Hugh (first borne by the 1st Duke)
  • Joscelin/Josceline (first borne by Joscelin of Louvain)
  • Algernon (first borne by the 1st Baron as a nickname: Aux Gernons or "with moustaches").

Prominent members

Prominent members of the family include:

Family tree

part of this is taken from the article on the Duke of Northumberland

Origins of the Percies and Relation to House of Louvain/Brabant

The original de Perci family in England was continued by Joscelin of Louvain, a member of the House of Louvain/Brabant, Dukes of Lower Lorraine and Brabant.

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Later Medieval and Early Modern Percies/Earls of Northumberland

This summary genealogical tree shows how the current house of Percy is derived from the later Medieval :

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Modern House of Percy

This shows the descent of the present Percy family from the current creation of the 1st Duke of Northumberland:

Coats of arms

Paternal arms of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy (1273–1314): Azure, five fusils in fess or,("Percy ancient") which he abandoned in favour of right: Or, a lion rampant azure ("Percy modern"/Brabant) Both arms were quartered by the Percy Earls of Northumberland and remain quartered by the present Duke of Northumberland

Buildings associated with the Percy family

  • Topcliffe Castle, Yorkshire, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as held by William I de Percy (d. 1096), whom it served as the caput of the feudal barony of Topcliffe. The Percy family's most ancient English seat.
  • Petworth, Sussex, acquired by Joscelin of Louvain (d. 1180), husband of Agnes de Percy, one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of William II de Percy (d. 1174–5), feudal baron of Topcliffe in Yorkshire (grandson of William I de Percy (d. 1096)). Jocelin's younger son Richard "de Percy" (d. 1244) adopted the surname "de Percy" and inherited his father's estate of Petworth and a moiety of his maternal barony of Topcliffe. Richard died without progeny when his estates descended to his nephew William III "de Percy" (1197–1245), grandson of Jocelin de Louvain, who had inherited the other moiety of Topcliffe from his great-aunt Maud de Percy.

Following the death of his grandson Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset in 1750, the former Percy estates were split between the Smithson ("Percy", Duke of Northumberland) and Wyndham (Earl of Egremont) families

See also

References

Further reading

  • Brenan, Gerald; W. A. Lindsay ed. A History of the House of Percy (Freemantle & Co., 1902) in 2 vols.
  • Rose, Alexander. Kings in the North: The House of Percy in British History (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002)

External links