Gonnor, wife of Richard I, Duke of Normandy († 1031)

According to Dudo of St Quentin, Duke Richard I (935-992), widower of Emma, entered a relationship with Gonnor, ‘a virgin of high majesty’, born of noble Danish lineage. She gave the Duke many children including his heir, Richard II, Robert, the future archbishop of Rouen and Count of Évreux, and Emma, who married Ethelred, King of England. The relationship with Richard I would have been legitimised in c.980. The case of Gonnor illustrates the role of concubines in the ducal lineage of the 10th century which sometimes embarrassed the chroniclers of subsequent periods. Some authors, such as Wace, sing of her love for Richard I, and others, such as Robert de Thorigny, suggest that she was born of a less reputable lineage, and affirm that her children were born out of wedlock and were only subsequently legitimised as an after-thought. She is, however, represented as a benefactor in the cartulary of Mont Saint-Michel (12th century).

Bibliography :

- Georges Duby. - Dames du XIIe s., II, le souvenir des aïeules. - Paris : Gallimard, 1995.
- François Neveux. - La Normandie des ducs aux rois, Xe-XIIe s. - Rennes : Ouest-France, 1998.