The Rise & Fall of the de Beaumont Earls of Leicester

A series of three talks by local historian Jim Butler exploring Norman England from 1066 -1204 through the lives, events and intrigues of the first four Earls of Leicester

Talk 1: Conquest
As one of the few named individuals known to have fought alongside William the Conqueror at Hastings, the young Robert de Beaumont soon makes a name for himself in Norman England. But few could have predicted the events that would eventually see him rise through court, conquer ancient feuds and become the 1st Earl of Leicester.

Talk 2: Anarchy
The royal line of succession is broken. English nobles must now choose sides in the approaching civil war, none more so than the de Beaumont twins, successors to Earl Robert's Norman and English estates. Both will rise, but one will fall, through the bloody turmoil that is The Anarchy.

Talk 3: Crusade
Under Henry II's firm rule, England and Normandy are once again reunited, but a martyr and a monarch would soon threaten the fledgling Plantagenet dynasty. After the 3rd Earl of Leicester's actions threaten not only the de Beaumont legacy but also the very town, it will fall to the fourth and final Robert de Beaumont to try to restore the family's battered fortunes.