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{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Gonnor de crepon.jpg
| caption      = {{center|Gunnor confirming a charter of the abbey of the Mount-Saint-Michel, 12th century (from archive of the abbey).  Here she attested using her title of countess.<ref>David Crouch, ''The Image of Aristocracy in Britain, 1000-1300'' (London: Routledge, 1992), p. 57</ref>}}
| succession   = [[Duchess consort of Normandy]]
| reign        = 989–996
| spouse       = [[Richard I, Duke of Normandy]]
| consort      = yes
| issue        = [[Richard II, Duke of Normandy|Richard II]] <br /> [[Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen|Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux]] <br /> [[Mauger, Count of Corbeil]] <br /> Robert Danus <br /> [[Emma of Normandy|Emma, Queen of England]] <br/> [[Hawise of Normandy|Hawise, Duchess of Brittany]] <br/> [[Maud of Normandy|Maud, Countess of Blois]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|936 - 950}}
| birth_place  = Not known
| death_date   = {{circa|1031}}- Aged approximately 80 to 95.
| death_place  = Normandy, France
}}
'''Gunnor''' or '''Gunnora''' ({{Circa|950}}<ref name="NE40n" /> – {{circa|1031}}) was [[Duchess of Normandy]] by marriage to [[Richard I of Normandy]],{{efn|...on the marriage of Duke Richard I (943-96) and his former concubine Gunnor(d.1031).<ref>{{cite book |title=Married Life in the Middle Ages, 900-1300 |first=Elisabeth |last=van Houts |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |page=79}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Early Yorkshire Charters: Volume 8, The Honour of Warenne |volume=8 |editor-first1=William |editor-last1=Farrer |editor-first2=Charles Travis |editor-last2=Clay |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013  |page=42}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter=England and Normandy, 1042-1137 |first=Marjorie |last=Chibnall |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |volume=4, C.1024-c.1198, Part 2 |editor-first1=David |editor-last1=Luscombe |editor-first2=Jonathan |editor-last2=Riley-Smith |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=  |page=196}}</ref> having previously been his long-time mistress. She functioned as regent of Normandy during the absence of her spouse, as well as the adviser to him and later to his successor, their son [[Richard II, Duke of Normandy|Richard II]].

==Life==
The names of Gunnor's parents are unknown, but [[Robert of Torigni]] wrote that her father was a forester from the [[Pays de Caux]] and according to [[Dudo of Saint-Quentin]] she was of noble Danish ancestry.<ref>[[Elisabeth van Houts]], ''The Normans in Europe'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), p. 58</ref> Gunnor was probably born {{circa| 950}}.<ref name="NE40n">Elisabeth Van Houts, ''The Normans in Europe'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), p. 40 n.56</ref> Her family held sway in western Normandy and Gunnor herself was said to be very wealthy.<ref name="NHD26">David Crouch, ''The Normans; the History of a Dynasty'' (London, New York: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 26</ref> Her marriage to Richard I was of great political importance, both to her husband<ref group=lower-alpha>Richard's marriage to Gunnor seems to have been a deliberate political move to consolidate his position by allying himself with a powerful rival family in the [[Cotentin Peninsula|Cotentin]]. See:  D. Crouch, ''The Normans'' (2007), pp. 26 & 42;''A companion to the Anglo-Norman world'', eds. C. Harper-Bill; E. van Houts (2007), p. 27.</ref> and her progeny.<ref>K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, 'Poppa of Bayeux and Her Family', ''[[The American Genealogist]]'', Poppa of Bayeux and Her Family, Vol. 74, No. 2 (July/October 1997), pp. 203–04</ref> Her brother, [[Herfast de Crepon]], was progenitor of a great Norman family.<ref name="NHD26"/> Her sisters and nieces<ref group=lower-alpha>Her sisters, Senfrie, Aveline and Wevie as well as their daughters are discussed in detail in  G.H. White, 'The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy, ''The Genealogist'', New Series, vol. 37 (1920-21), pp. 57–65 & 128–132. Also see: Elisabeth van Houts, 'Robert of Torigni as Genealogist', ''Studies in Medieval History Presented to R. Allen Brown'', ed. Christopher Harper-Bill, Christopher J. Holdsworth, Janet L. Nelson (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1989), pp. 215–233; K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, 'Aspects of Torigny's Genealogy Revisited', ''Nottingham Medieval Studies'', Vol. 37 (1993), pp. 21–28.</ref> married some of the most important nobles in Normandy.<ref>David Crouch, ''The Normans; the History of a Dynasty'' (London, New York: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), pp. 26–27</ref> 	

Robert of Torigni recounts a story of how Richard met Gunnor.<ref>Elisabeth Van Houts, ''The Normans in Europe'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), p. 95</ref> She was living with her sister Seinfreda, the wife of a local forester, when Richard, hunting nearby, heard of the beauty of the forester's wife. He is said to have ordered Seinfreda to come to his bed, but the lady substituted her unmarried sister, Gunnor. Richard, it is said, was pleased that by this subterfuge he had been saved from committing adultery and together they had three sons and three daughters.<ref group=lower-alpha>Geoffrey H. White is among those historians who question the authenticity of this story. See: G.H. White, 'The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy, ''The Genealogist'', New Series, vol. 37 (1920-21), p. 58.</ref><ref name="NE96">Elisabeth Van Houts, ''The Normans in Europe'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), p. 96</ref> Unlike other territorial rulers, the Normans recognized marriage by cohabitation or ''[[more danico]]''. But when Richard was prevented from nominating their son [[Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen|Robert]] to be [[Archbishop of Rouen]], the two were married, "according to the Christian custom", making their children legitimate in the eyes of the church.<ref name="NE96"/>

Gunnor attested ducal charters up into the 1020s, was skilled in languages and was said to have had an excellent memory.<ref name="NE59">Elisabeth Van Houts, ''The Normans in Europe'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), p. 59</ref> She was one of the most important sources of information on Norman history for Dudo of St. Quentin.<ref>Elisabeth M. C. Van Houts, ''Memory and Gender in Medieval Europe: 900–1200'' (Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1999), p. 72</ref> As Richard's widow she is mentioned accompanying her sons on numerous occasions.<ref name="NE59"/> That her husband depended on her is shown in the couple's charters where she is variously regent of Normandy, a mediator and judge, and in the typical role of a medieval aristocratic mother, an arbitrator between her husband and their oldest son Richard II.<ref name="NE59"/>

Gunnor was a founder and supporter of [[Coutances Cathedral]] and laid its first stone.<ref>Elisabeth Van Houts, ''The Normans in Europe'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008), p. 40 & n. 56</ref> In one of her own charters after Richard's death she gave two alods to the abbey of [[Mont Saint-Michel]], namely Britavilla and [[Domjean]], given to her by her husband in dower, which she gave for the soul of her husband, and the [[:wikt:weal|weal]] of her own soul and that of her sons "count Richard, archbishop Robert, and others..."<ref>''Calendar of Documents Preserved in France'', ed. J. Horace Round (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1899), p. 250</ref> She also attested a charter, {{circa|1024–26}}, to that same abbey by her son, Richard II, shown as ''Gonnor matris comitis'' (mother of the count).<ref>''Calendar of Documents Preserved in France'', ed. J. Horace Round (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1899), p. 249</ref> Gunnor, both as wife and countess,<ref group=lower-alpha>At the time Gunnor lived, there were no dukes or duchesses of Normandy. Her husband Richard I, used the title of [[count of Rouen]], to which Richard added the style of "count and consul", and after 960, marquis (count over other counts). Gunnor would have never used the title of duchess, her title was countess and she is so styled in an original deed to the abbey of [[Church of St. Ouen, Rouen|St. Ouen, Rouen]] (1057–17) given by her son Richard II. For the present, despite being historically incorrect, duchess remains her title of convenience. See: Bates, ''Normandy before 1066'' (Longman, 1982), pp. 148–50; Douglas, 'The Earliest Norman Counts', ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 61, No. 240 (May, 1946), pp. 130–31; David Crouch, ''The Normans: The History of a Dynasty'' (London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), pp. 18–19 and Dudo of Saint-Quentin; Eric Christiansen, ''History of the Normans'' (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1998). p. xxiv.</ref> was able to use her influence to see her kin favored, and several of the most prominent [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] families on both sides of the [[English Channel]] are descended from her, her sisters and nieces.<ref name="NE59"/> Gunnor died {{circa|1031}}.<ref name="NE40n"/>

==Family==
Richard and Gunnor were parents to several children:
* [[Richard II, Duke of Normandy|Richard II]] "the Good", Duke of Normandy<ref name="ESII79">Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany:  J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 79</ref> 
* [[Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen|Robert]], [[Archbishop of Rouen]], Count of [[Evreux]], died 1037<ref name="ESII79"/>
* [[Mauger, Count of Corbeil]]<ref name="ESII79"/>
* Robert Danus, died between 985 and 989<ref name="van Houts">Elisabeth van Houts, ''The Normans in Europe'', p. 191</ref>
* another son<ref name="van Houts"/>
* [[Emma of Normandy]] –1052, married first to [[Æthelred the Unready|Æthelred, King of England]] and secondly [[Cnut the Great|Cnut the Great, King of England]].<ref name="ESII79"/>
* [[Hawise of Normandy]], wife of [[Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany]]<ref name="ESII79"/>
* [[Maud of Normandy]], wife of [[Odo II of Blois]], Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres<ref name="ESII79"/>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Biography}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box | before = [[Emma, Duchess of Normandy|Emma of Paris]]| title = [[Duchess consort of Normandy|Duchess of Normandy]] | years = 989–996| after = [[Judith of Brittany]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunnor}}
[[Category:950s births]]
[[Category:1030s deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]
[[Category:10th-century Normans]]
[[Category:10th-century French women]]
[[Category:11th-century Normans]]
[[Category:11th-century French women]]
[[Category:11th-century French people]]
[[Category:House of Normandy]]
[[Category:10th-century Norman women]]
[[Category:10th-century French nobility]]
[[Category:11th-century French nobility]]
[[Category:11th-century Norman women]]
[[Category:10th-century women regents]]
[[Category:10th-century duchesses consort]]
[[Category:10th-century regents]]
[[Category:Mothers of French monarchs]]