Mauger

Who is Mauger?

Mauger was a younger son of Richard II, duke of Normandy, and his second wife, Papia of Envermeu, near Dieppe.

Mauger was brought up at the abbey of Fécamp as an eminent member of the Richardide ducal family, some of whom were later openly hostile to the accession of Duke William II. On the death of his uncle Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Mauger, probably still a minor, was chosen to succeed him.

Mauger was apparently slow to instill loyalty to the young Duke William. In particular, he was opposed to the marriage of Duke William and Matilda of Flanders in 1049. His full brother William of Talou married a sister of the Count of Ponthieu and was appointed by William as Count of Arques, near Dieppe.

William of Talou, Mauger's brother, was defeated in a failed rebellion against their nephew Duke William II in battle near Arques in 1053, after which Talou fled into exile at Boulogne. Because of a perceived connection to his brother's rebellion, Mauger was deposed from his archbishopric at the council of Lisieux. Mauger was banished from Rouen to the Isle of Guernsey.