William "Longespee" [Earl of] SALISBURY

                   RESEARCH NOTES:
    1. It has been claimed in several sources that Rosamond Clifford was the mother of William "Longespee"; these claims in all instances are seemingly premises. In no case is there any positive evidence to substantiate the claim. It has been concluded that it is very unlikely Rosamond Clifford could have been his mother in view of the lack of this evidence. It is unknown who his real mother is, though this premise has been included for assistance in future research.  (See Eng. Pub. A., v. 11, p. 76)

ADDED RESEARCH NOTE: For many years, until the discovery of a charter of William mentioning "Comitissa Ida, mater mea" (Countess Ida, my mother," it was assumed that Rosamund Clifford, a previous mistress of Henry's, was the mother, but painstaking genealogical detective work has since shown otherwise.  Ida de Toeni/Tosny was a royal ward and mistress of King Henry II, by whom she was the mother of one of his illegitimate sons, William Lonespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (1176-7 March 1226.  Ida was not the first English royal ward to be taken as mistress by a King who was her guardian.  In December 1181, Ida de Tosny/Toeni was given in marriage to Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk, by Henry II, together with the manors of Acle, Halvergate and South Walsham, which had been confiscated from his inheritance after his father's death (Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk) ("Countess Ida, Mother of William Longespee, Illegitimate Son of Henry II," The American Genealogist 77 [2002]: 137, Paul C. Reed)

HISTORICAL NOTES:
    William of Salisbury was a Baron named in the Magna Charta.