Walter Giffard
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About
Walter Giffard, lord of Longueville, is one of the small number of men whose presence at the battle of Hastings is attested by a contemporary writer rather than by later tradition. His daughter Rohese married Richard FitzGilbert de Clare. He is the one ancestor in this tree who can be shown to have stood on that field.
Research notes
✓ DOCUMENTED (standard, undisputed account; entered 23 Jul 2026 at Aynsley's direction under the relaxed rule, from the account already recorded on his daughter's card): WALTER GIFFARD, lord of LONGUEVILLE in Normandy, Domesday-generation magnate, and one of the handful of men whose presence at the battle of HASTINGS on 14 October 1066 is attested by a contemporary source: William of Poitiers names him in the battle itself. Father of Rohese Giffard (our line, wife of Richard FitzGilbert de Clare); the Giffards were later Earls of Buckingham (collateral, note-only). The family's asterisk-free combatant of Hastings: the de Vere rung carries Cokayne's caution and Richard FitzGilbert's presence on the field is tradition only, but this man is named in the record. Added 23 Jul 2026. [DIRECT ANCESTOR OF THE COMPILER: flag added 24 Jul 2026 by walking the tree from Aynsley, so that this marker is reliable and can be searched.]