Dalmas I of Semur was a Burgundian nobleman in medieval France. He was the eldest son of Geoffroy I of Semur, lord of Semur-en-Brionnais, and his first wife, a daughter of Dalmace II, Viscount of Brioude.
Early life
He had one brother, Renaud de Semur and four half-brothers:
Blanche, in 1940, married Étienne II, vicomte de Thiern, Vicomte of Thiern
Includes a child known as Geoffroy I de Donzy's:
Hervé de Donzy, married a née... of Donzy
His contemporaries thought him a man of great qualities, and dubbed him "the Great." By all accounts, he held a passion for justice and was a fervent Christian. Unlike many of the local nobles, he refused to participate in the plundering of the BenedictineAbbey of Cluny. This looting was condemned by Pope Benedict VIII, who excommunicated many of the vandals.
Murder
His son-in-law, Robert I, Duke of Burgundy killed him in a dispute, the cause of which is uncertain. Robert was known to be a violent man of explosive temper. It is unclear what method was used to kill Dalmas, but Hildebert de Lavardin, a contemporary, reported that the duke killed his father-in-law "propia manu," which has led some historians to suppose Dalmas lost his life in battle over the territory around Auxerre. However, given that Dalmas's son Josserand was killed by "two of the Duke's soldiers" while trying to break up a fight, it seems the scene of the murder may have been more intimate. It has been theorized based on figures on the tympanum on the gates of Notre-Dame de Semur-en-Auxois, realized sometime after 1250, that Dalmas was poisoned during a banquet attended by his son-in-law. This church in a namesake town, almost 170 kilometers from the seat of Dalmas' power, was funded by Duke Robert I to assuage his guilt and atone for killing his wife's father.
Marriage and children
About 1013, he married Aramburga of Burgundy, countess of Vergy, the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, Henry I. With Aramburga, he had ten children, among whom figure most prominently:
2. Geoffroy III de Semur, 5th Count of Semur, married Alice de Guînes, daughter of Baldwin I, Count of Guînes. He would retire from court to the same priory as his sister, along with one of his sons and three of his daughters. He would eventually be named Holy Trinity's prior.
4. André de Semur, who was granted territory in the Morvan in 1063 by his brother Geoffroy, who created him Lord of Larochemillay.
5. Josserand de Semur, killed by a Burgundian soldier as he tried to intervene in the dispute between his father and the Duke. His killer, filled with remorse, escaped justice by confessing to Saint Hugh at Cluny, who pardoned him and admitted him to join the monastic order.
6. Dalmas II of Semur, called "The Younger," Lord of the Montaigu branch of Oyé and Trémont. He is often cited in the charters of this older brother Geoffroy. He had two children with an unnamed wife, Renaud de Semur, who would succeed his father as Lord Montaigu, and Hugh of Montaigu, who would become the abbot of the priory of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre, then bishop of Auxerre.
7. Adelaide of Semur, wife of Baron Dalmas of Châtel-Montagne in Bourbonnais. Her dowry included the fiefdom of Vitry-en-Charollais and some large parcels near Briennon, much of which she donated to the Holy Trinity Priory when she joined the convent with the consent of her son Pierre de Châtel.
8. Matilda of Semur, called "Mahaut", who married Guichard de Bourbon-Lancy, Lord of La Motte-Saint-Jean. Once widowed, she joined the Holy Trinity Priory at Marcigny.
9. & 10. Cecilia and Evelle, about whom little is known.
11. Hermengarde of Semur, first prioress of Marcigny in 1061.
Renaud of Semur, married to Adele of Bar, countess of Bar-sur-Aube.
