THE HISTORY OF THE MAYNE FAMILY - By H.J. Mayne VOLUME 1 The History of the Mayne Family Copyright © 2021 Henry James Mayne 1 The History of the Mayne Family Preface An earlier version of this book entitled ‘A Mayne Family History’ was first produced in May 2006, and an updated and revised version was reprinted in November 2007. This book is part of a re-working of those earlier productions, presenting all the details in a more chronological order, and adding in much additional material relating to the early history in France and England, which has come to light in the intervening period. Although examining the potential history of many Mayne lineages, this work does primarily concern itself with the ancestry of my own family. This work is now part of a three-volume production. Volume one covers the history of the family in medieval France and their introduction to England, spanning a period between the 8th and 13th centuries. Volume two details the family history of my own personal lineage, tracing the descent of the family from its known origin in the village of Swimbridge in Devon in the 16th century to the modern day. Volume three details the lineages of other Mayne families which may, or may not, be descended from the Lords of Mayenne. 2 The History of the Mayne Family Index SECTION DETAILS PAGE A.1 Origin of the Surname Mayne 4 A.2 Mayne Family Lineage 6 A.3 Ancient History of Maine and Mayenne 8 B.1 Early Counts of Maine 10 C.1 First House of Mayenne 18 C.2 Second House of Mayenne 20 D.1 Mayenne to England 45 E.1 First Maynes in England 46 F.1 Mayne Ancestry and DNA Testing 49 3 The History of the Mayne Family A.1 Origin of the Surname Mayne The examination of the origin of the surname Mayne has required reference to many sources. One prime source is the book 'The House of Maine', privately produced in 1939 by Rev. R.H.Main and which, it appears, has been the basis for many writings on the Mayne genealogy since. However, some have noted that he reproduced erroneous links created by others before him, and my own research now calls into question other statements he made. I will outline my view on the history of our surname and will indicate how this compares to other reference sources. A general view of reference books is that the surname Mayne most often identifies families descended from persons being of Maine, France. The capital of Maine in France was Le Mans, but there were several other towns in the county, including Mayenne. The spelling of the name Mayne has little significance. Spellings such as Main, Maine, Mayn and Mayne are all found. The spelling of the name would have relied in many instances on how the scribes who kept parish records, legal documents, etc., thought that it should be spelt. The introduction of surnames only came into being in England in the 11th and 12th centuries, and was prompted very much by the compilation of the Domesday Book in 1086 for William the Conqueror. He had given land to many of those who had accompanied him at the Battle of Hastings, as a reward for their assistance, and he wanted to know what land and assets existed, and who owned them. For identification in the Domesday Book many people had the place of their origin added to their first name. William the Conqueror was a direct descendant of Rollo the Viking who led invasions of France around the end of the 9th century and the beginning of the 10th. It is thought that Rollo was of Danish stock. He eventually came to an agreement with Charles the Simple, King of France, that in exchange for be granted much land in the north of France he would protect the King and his people from further Viking invasions. The land Rollo was given became known as Normandy (the land of the North men). William’s inheritance of the Dukedom of Normandy was a complicated affair, and his rule constantly came under threat from neighbouring areas. He waged several minor wars against neighbouring territories, including Maine, the area directly south of Normandy. In a bid to avoid future disputes between these parties, marriages were often arranged between members of the ruling families. When William launched his invasion of England in 1066 his forces drew heavily upon men from Normandy, Brittany, Anjou and Maine, many of them acting as mercenaries. There is much dispute as to the names of men who may have been at the Battle of Hastings. French sources have supposedly identified 315 individuals, but British historians take the view that evidence only exists to confirm less than twenty of those men as actually having been there. Only one reference to an individual 'of Maine' has been identified by the French sources. English historians have questioned who such a person would have been - there was at that time a Geoffroy, Lord of Mayenne, but his relationship with William the Conqueror (detailed later) would seem to make it very unlikely that he would have been in the invasion force. I have been unable to find any direct reference to a person being 'of Maine' in the Domesday Book. The Rev. Main's book includes references to three 'Mayne' individuals who were supposedly at the Battle of Hastings. 4 The History of the Mayne Family First, he mentions 'Ernulphus of Mayenne who, so tradition asserts, was the Conqueror's standard bearer'. I cannot find any reference to this person and would question why such a seemingly important individual is not included on the French list of those at the Battle. Second, he mentions a 'Walter de Mayenne' as being a companion of the Conqueror. At least one source for the Domesday Book identifies a Walter of Maine as included, but examination of the actual record shows the name of the person purely as Walter – no explanation of his supposed link to Maine is given and, as far as I can see, there is no reason to suggest a link of that Walter to Maine. Third, and most significantly, he states that 'Judael de Totenais', a man identified in the Domesday Book with major land holdings in Devon, was previously 'Judael de Mayenne, probably the grandfather of Walter Fitz-Joel de Maine'. I believe this statement to be completely incorrect. Modern references say that Judael de Totenais came from Brittany, and that his son was the last male in that family line. Strangely, (as will be explained later) this man did have a connection with the Mayne family. I believe it is very unlikely that any men of note from Mayenne accompanied William The Conqueror on his invasion of England in 1066, or held land in England at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. From my own research, detailed herein, into the families of the Counts of Maine and the Lords of Mayenne, it appears clear to me that the introduction of the name of Mayne into England came through the involvement of the family of the Lords of Mayenne with King Henry I of England, his daughter, the Empress Matilda, and her son King Henry II of England. Exchange of land with Henry I provided the family with manors in Devon and Somerset, and their support for this royal family and their marriages with members of the royal entourage brought them further lands. Since that time the bulk of the instances of the surname Mayne in England have been found in Devon, I believe the origin of our Mayne ancestry comes from the family of the Lords of Mayenne, a statement borne out by the result of my own DNA test, detailed later. All the evidence that has led me to this conclusion is set out in this book. The sections of this book relating to the early history of the Mayne family, particularly that part relating to their history in France has been compiled with reference to the following documents; The House of Maine by Rev. Robert H. Main William the Conqueror by David C. Douglas My Ancestors Came with the Conqueror by Anthony J. Camp Medieval Lands by Charles Cawley Lordship in the County of Maine by R.E. Barton The Deeds of Bishop Arnald of Le Mans History of the Lords of Mayenne by Jean Baptiste Guyard de Fosse William the Conqueror by E.A. Freeman The Empress Matilda by M.Chibnall History of Totnes Castle by Charles Oman Many sections highlight the Prime Source [PS] and Secondary Source [SS] of the details contained therein, and sometimes identify by number [1] the source of a particular record. 5 The History of the Mayne Family A.2 Mayne Family Lineage In the course of my research I have discovered that others before me have also sought to find the origins of the Mayne family. In the 1930's the Rev. R.H.Main did a lot of research and produced his book 'The House of Maine'. That book mostly contains details of the records the Reverend managed to find about Maynes of the past, but there is an absence of much theorising as to the lineage of the family, other than the suggestion that the origins may stem from the Lords of Mayenne, through Baron Joel de Mayne. It seems, though, that he may well have taken this theory from the previous writings of others. More recently, the 'Mayne - One Name Study' compiled by David Gore draws on information provided by many sources, including the work of other individuals researching Mayne family history.