Nigel d'Aubigny of Cainhoe
Nigel d'Aubigny (died shortly bef. 1100[1]) was a Norman knight, and supporter of William I of England. His name is frequently mentioned in the Domesday Book in connection with lands in what is now Bedfordshire. He almost certainly built and lived in Cainhoe Castle, a small Motte and Bailey structure to the east of Ampthill.
The traditional placement of Nigel within the Norman Aubigny family is untenable, and Loyd instead suggested that he was son of William, lord of Saint-Martin-d'Aubigny, Normandy, and hence brother both of Richard d'Aubigny, monk of Lessay, abbot of St. Albans (d. 1119), and of Roger d'Aubigny, father of William d'Aubigny Pincerna.[2][1] He married Amicia, daughter of Henry de Ferrers, lord of Longueville, and a major landholder in England. Nigel and Amicia had children: Henry, his father's heir, William, Nigel, and Adeliza, probably wife of Richard Fitz Osborn.[1]
References
- K. S. B. Keats Rohan, Domesday People, Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1999, p. 301.
- L. Loyd, "The origin of the family of Aubigny of Cainhoe", Publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, vol. xix (1937), pp. 101-109