History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 98

Peer of Flanders and Lord of Alost, and his wife Gisela, daughter of the Count of
Luxembourg; and his father, Folk, married a daughter of the great European family of
Vermandois. He was related to most of the Counts in Flanders and it is said that his
pedigree was revered by the Flemish. It should be noted that local historians in
Chipping Norton, Grantham and Shropshire County Council were contacted by Roger
Graham and they provided considerable help about Arnulf and his own immediate
family.
"The proof of the identity of William de Graham and his father rests principally on the
Flemish Heraldry from the 10th and 11th Centuries and ongoing, which was of great
importance and pride to the Flemish. England did not have a real development of
heraldry until the 13th Century. The de Hesdin family heraldic devices were - "Azure,
three escallops or" i.e. a blue background and three gold escallops - the Arms of the
Comte de Hesdin. William de Graham would take his Arms to Scotland and it is
interesting that a couple of centuries later Sir John Graham, a great-great-great-greatgrandson of William de Graham slightly altered the de Hesdin/Graham heraldic
devices by adding a chevron of the black and silver tinctures of the de Ghent family of
Alost, into which family Arnulf had married. The personal Arms of the Duke of
Montrose still carries in two quarters the three escallops of de Hesdin. Confusion
about Ralph de Tancarville could well have arisen when he borrowed the de Hesdin
devices, as did the Malet family also. The Menteith Grahams also included the three
escallops on their Arms, as do the Grahams of Inchbrakie with rather different colors,
and did several Border Graham families.
"The second piece of evidence as to identity is the fact that the Scottish Graham
family and the Scottish Stewart family called each other "cousins" from their early
presence in Scotland. To make the relevant point as to identity one must relate to
Arnulf’s daughter, Avelina. Arnulf had four or five children - son Walter, heir of the
Comte de Hesdin, our William, a son called Arnulf and a daughter, Avelina. Walter’s
adult home was in Flanders. Avelina inherited a great part of Arnulf’s English property
and was known as the Domina de Norton. She married Alan FitzFlaald, son of Flaald,
grandson of Fleance, and great-grandson of Banquo, and one of their sons was called
Walter FitzAlan who became the first High Steward of Scotland, whose family took the
surname of Stewart. Arnulf de Hesdin became the grandfather of the first Scottish
Stewart and father of the first Scottish Graham, which is why they called each other
cousins.
"The third piece of evidence relates to William’s presence in Scotland and association
with David, later King David I. David, Earl of Cumbria, the youngest child of King
Malcolm Canmore never expected to become king. In his teenage years his father
sent him to England, to watch over his sister who married Henry I of England, and he
lived there until his accession. He married a very important Princess of Flanders,
Maud, widow of Simon de Senlis, around whom congregated many Flemish Nobles,
whose company David enjoyed and from whom he learned much. He and his wife
spent most of their time in England until his accession in 1124, when he then invited
many of his Flemish friends, including William, to join him in Scotland to help him
modernize his country, and, among other things, he gave William de Graham land
grants in Dalkeith and Abercorn.
"Fourthly we come to the matter of the surname. How did William come to change his
name? Arnulf, after enjoying 29 happy and successful years in England, was accused
in 1095 of having joined Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, in his rebellion
against King William II (Rufus) and was about to be executed when the pope
requested William Rufus to produce an army for the First Crusade. Arnulf was
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