DREUX [II] de Mello ([1095/1105]-before [13 Oct 1146/14 Jun 1147]). His parentage is assumed from the undated charter, dated to [13 Oct 1146/14 Jun 1147] as explained above, which records the history of "villam in territorio Parisiensi...Beuranc", which names “ipsius Yvonis frater Guillelmus”, “Dnus Guillelmus tunc temporis cœnobii Pontesiensis abbas, nepos Yvonis et Guillelmi”, and the supposed sons of Dreux [II] “Rainaudus nepos abbatis et frater Dni Guillelmi de Melloto”[1222]. His date of birth is estimated from the estimated date of birth of his son Guillaume, as shown below. “Drogo de Mello et filii eius Drogo et Rainaldus...” subscribed a charter of Eudes Bishop of Beauvais for for the foundation of Froidmont abbey, dated to [1134][1223]. “...Drogo de Merlo et filii eius Drogo et Rainaldus...” witnessed the charter dated 1136 which records various donations to Trie Sainte-Marie including “domina Adelidis de Buglis et filii eius Lancelinus...Manasses et Rainaldus sororque eorum Beatrix et eiusdem Beatricis filii Hildeburgis et Mathildis” who donated “in...terræ Hermarum...Hez...et Hulsoy...”[1224]. ["Dnum Drogonem de Marloto..." subscribed the undated charter, dated to [1150], which records an agreement between Esserent Saint-Leu and Jumièges concerning a proposed mill on the river Thérain[1225]. If the subscriber was Dreux [II], and the date of his death is correctly as estimated as above, the dating of this charter is presumably inaccurate.] m --- de Bulles, daughter of LANCELIN [II] de Beauvais Seigneur de Bulles & his wife Agnes de Dammartin. "Nobilis mulier Adelidis de Bullis" founded the priory of Wariville, with the consent of "filiorum suorum Lancelini…Manasseri, Renaldi, Theobaldi et filiarum suarum Beatricis, Mabiliæ, Basilidis. et quorumdam etiam successorum...Willelmi de Merloto, Joannis et Roberti fratrum de Conti", confirmed by the bull of Pope Alexander III dated 10 Jul 1175[1226]. Her parentage and marriage are confirmed by the charter dated 1167 under which [her son] “Willelmus de Merloto et frater meus Rainaldus antequam filium vel filiam haberet” granted property to “Manasserius de Bullis avunculus noster”, with the consent of “Adelisa matre sua et fratribus suis Lancelino atque Rainaldo”[1227]. The wife of Dreux [II] Seigneur de Mello was clearly therefore one of the daughters of Lancelin [II] de Beauvais Seigneur de Bulles. No primary source has been identified in which she is named. Newman suggests that she was the sister named Basilie, as one of her daughters bore that name[1228]. However, the daughter could just as easily have been named after her maternal aunt. Various documents quoted in this section which record the succession to the seigneurie de Bulles, after the deaths of the brothers Lancelin, Manassès and Renaud, name Guillaume Seigneur de Mello (son of Dreux [II]) before Robert de Conty, suggesting that his claim was superior by inheritance and that his mother was therefore one of the brothers’ older sisters. Nothing is known about the fate of the sister named Rohese. It is not impossible that she married and had children. The sister Beatrix is named in 1136 with two daughters. Their father is not known, but their names are not typical of the Mello family, although it is possible that Beatrix married Dreux [II] as her second husband. The sister named Mabile allegedly followed an ecclesiastical career, although it is possible that she embraced religion after the death of her husband. Lastly, the existence of another unrecorded older sister, already married and away from home when her mother founded Wariville so not named in the foundation document, cannot be excluded. Yet another difficulty with Guillaume de Mello’s inheritance of Bulles results from the charter dated 1181 which names "nos duo domini Bullarum…Willaumus de Meloto, Ermentrudis uxor mea et Renaldus filius meus…Robertus de Conteio alius dominus Bullarum et mei nepotes Manasserus et Johannes"[1229]. The naming of Guillaume’s wife Ermentrude with him in this document would normally indicate that he had acquired his right to Bulles through her. Ermentrude is recorded in primary sources as châtelaine de Roye, although her parents have not yet been identified. The Guillaume de Mello/Ermentrude de Roye marriage can probably be dated to [1165], given Guillaume’s birth which is estimated to [1130/35], the fact that the couple are named with five children in a charter dated 1172[1230], and because Ermentrude remarried after Guillaume died in 1201. This would place Ermentrude’s birth in [1150]. If Guillaume’s right to Bulles derived from her, from a chronological point of view she must have been either the niece or great-niece of Manassès de Bulles, meaning that she would have been her husband’s first cousin or his first cousin once removed, a degree of consanguinity which would have caused obvious problems with the papacy. Despite the wording of the 1181 charter, it is probable therefore that Guillaume inherited Bulles through his mother. Dreux [II] & his wife had five children