Gautier – Buffé 1160 A.D.
In the XII
century, the surname de BUFFÉ was written as BUFE, BUFFE, BUFEX, BUFEZ, BUFOHEZ, and in
Latin BUFFATUS. These variations leave
no doubt that the French « É » was added at a later date. In French, it seems to have
been the participle of the verb « buffer » or « buffare ».
Lambert de
BOUFFÉMONT may have had three sons:
Gautier, who follows,
Dreux I, monk at Val Notre-Dame before 1160,
Mathieu, cited in 1161.
Are Dreux, Gautier and Mathieu
sons of that Lambert de BOUFFÉMONT, witness to a charter of Mathieu I de MONTMORENCY in
1148, and in which one seems to see Lambert, brother of Foulques and nephew of Hervé de
MÉRY, cited precisely in the period in Saint-Martin de Pontoise? It is only conjecture;
however, we must not forget that in 1174, Gautier BUFFÉ gave, to the monks of
Saint-Victor, his harvesting rights to their woods in Bouffémont.
At the time
this family appears in History, in fief at Méry, it is as vassals of the Lords of
Montmorency, and has considerable woods from them.
Dreux I BUFFÉ,
touched by divine grace, gave himself to the service of God in the abbey of Val
Notre-Dame, founded in 1125, whose church would be erected by Anseau de l'ISLE-ADAM, in
1136. He professed perpetual alms, to the monastery, the wood from his quarry (nemus
quarrerie) along with the quarry itself, and the marsh surrounding it. This gift, which
undoubtedly would have been a great benefit to the monks for the construction of their
church and cloister, was deemed excessive by the Dreux family.
Gautier BUFFÉ
only consented to its approval on the condition that he retain the benefit of half the
forest.
The monks were
advised to accept this transaction in order to maintain
peace; it was thus decreed at Taverny, with the consent of Pierre, son of Gautier, in the
presence of Mathieu de MONTMORENCY, High Constable of France ; of Mathieu le BEL (Lord of
Villiers-le-Bel in 1125) ; Raoul his brother; Dreux de CONFLANS; Gautier de GROSLAY and
others witnesses.
Later, Gautier
BUFFÉ, his wife Héloïs and their son Pierre (he was then their only child) confirmed
anew this accord, at the castle of l'Isle, in the presence of prior Adam; of Mathieu,
brother of Gautier; of Raoul le MENU; of Thibault BIGOT and many others.
Many years
having passed by, Gautier recognized that he had done an injustice to the church of God.
He gave his half of the woods and quarry to the monks. All the great Lords of the area
were witness to this: Bouchard IV and his brother Thibault de GISORS, Geoffroy, Amaury and
Hervé de POISSY, Bernard, "villicus" de Taverny, and Raoul de CONFLANS.
Bouchard de
MONTMORENCY solemnly took this alm under his protection, as part of his fief and became
its defender. Also, upon the death of Mathieu I, Renaud MASAVENE launched a complaint
against the monks, claimingthe woods as his domain. The Baron de Montmorency went to great
lengths to bring an end to the quarrel; he had renounced his pretentions and named himself
protector of the abbey against his brothers.
GAUTIER, born
circa 1110, probably died around 1185. he is named in different texts form 1160 to 1182,
he is then called « Gauterius
Bufez ». He makes agilf sometime before
1170(charte CXCVIII, cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Martin de Pontoise, page 155,
J. Depoin, 1895).
Pierre, son
of Gautier Buffé. In 1166, he is witness to a
restitution made to the church of Val, by Gilbert de MOUSTIERS, de Chambly, and his
brother, Raoul de NOISY. He is also among the followers of ADAM
III, sire of l'Isle. One day, the latter gave two
measures of feudal rent to the same monastery, for the soul of his wife Alis.
EUDES, son
of Pierre, born circa 1155, died after 1189, married Eremberge form whom he had:
Dreux II,
Jean I,
Idoine,
Mathilde.
Eudes shows up
with his father in two Charters in 1182. The first is that of Henri de LIÉS, the second
is the concession of a part of the forest by Arnoul MUSAVENE. Among the witnesses are:
"Drogone di Bonavilla, Galterio Bufe et Odone filio ejus".
Eudes left few traces of his passage in history. He died in the first years of
the XIII century, leaving his estate to his son Dreux II. In his list of the fiefs of the
crown, drawn from 1201 to 1212, Gautier TYREL, the famous companion and murderer of the
King of England, Guillaume II, declares, as the fiefs of Vexin belonging to the king:
"le sire Herbert d'Osny tient treize hôtes à Méry et ce que le sire Dreux Buffé
tient de lui à Grisy".