Judith of Brittany

The dead were virtually the entire next generation of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy.

The list ran from William Adeline, Richard of Lincoln, and Matilda of Perche, through Richard, the young Earl of Chester, and his wife, who was the king's niece, and Stephen of Blois' sister.

It included a young nephew of the Holy Roman Emperor, who at that point in history was undoubtedly the most powerful person in Western Europe.

Orderick counts 18 women among the dead who were daughters, sisters, nieces, or wives of kings and earls.

To see how the brothers ended up on opposite sides of a castle wall, we need to start with their father.

Richard II, often called Richard the Good, ruled Normandy for about 30 years, from 996 to 1026.

He was the great-grandson of Rollo, the Viking chief who'd founded the duchy, and with his first wife, Judith of Brittany, he had several children.

The two who matter here are the eldest, also named Richard, and his younger brother Robert.