Vol 1: The Bluets - Lackham Countryside Centre

The Bluets 24
82
} ]
[the Angli / English here is noted – it is often debated when the Normans
started thinking of themselves as English. Certainly that is the case here
but it is not surprising considering this was getting on for 150 years, and
several generations, after the Conquest].
From the Annals it appears that Nest was married to Ralph III at the
time, and Morgan was certainly known as Morgan Bloet, but it isn‘t
proof; as Crouch says 83 at best it implies it.
It is possible that Nest and Henry met when the king visited her brother
Iowerth, in either 1172 or again in 1175. The date at which Ralph Bluet
and Nest married is not known, from a consideration of when Ralph‘s son
Ralph came of age it might have been 1175. Henry II does not appear to
have been in the habit of seducing wives; as far as is known all his
mistresses were unmarried at the time but that doesn‘t mean Nest was
free. It is likely that the chronology will never be known with certainty, if
pressed we would probably come down on Morgan being conceived around
1172 and before Nest married Ralph Bluet, but we emphasize this is
speculative. Whatever the case Morgan would appear to have been
brought up in his mother‘s household, and would have been a half brother
to Ralph and Nest‘s children. It would seem likely that he was named
after Nest‘s uncle.
Morgan is well known and documented, apart from his date of birth, he was
appointed provost of Beverly Castle in 1201 and bishop elect of Durham in
1213 84 . His appointment was contested on the grounds of bastardy and,
in 1213,
he sought papal confirmation for his election to the see of
Durham. It was not altogether an auspicious year in which to
be pursuing an appointment which had King John's blessing,
for, until Pope Innocent received John's abject submission in
June, the interdict which had blighted the spiritual and
82
in Barlow, F (1945) Durham Annals and Documents of the Thirteenth Century
Surtees Soc vol clv pp1-2. Our thanks to Dr. Crouch for making this information
available to us
83
Crouch, D (2003) Bluet article in Dictionary of National Biography vol 6
84
Given in -Wilson, C & Curteis, A (1984) The Royal Bastards of Medieval England
Routledge & Keegan Paul ISBN 0 7102 0025 0 p99