Fulk Paynel (sometimes Fulk Paganel [1] or Fulk Painell; [2] died c. 1182) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and landowner.
Fulk Paynel was the son of William Paynel and his wife, a daughter of William fitzWimund. Fulk had three full brothers, including Hugh Paynel, and a half-sister. [3] [lower-alpha 1]
William Paynel died between 1145 and 1147, and at first, his lands were given to his sons-in-law. [3] King Stephen of England disinherited William Paynel's sons because they supported Stephen's rival, the Empress Matilda. In 1154, however, Stephen besieged Drax Castle, took it from Robert de Gant, and restored William Paynel's lands to his sons. Stephen's change probably owed much to the influence of Matilda's son, Henry fitzEmpress, [4] who Stephen had just named as his successor after the death of Stephen's heir. [5] In this settlement William's lands were divided between Hugh, Fulk, and Robert de Gant. Fulk received Drax in England and Hambye in Normandy in this settlement. [3]
Fulk Paynel was not very involved in English affairs but was active in Norman government. He attested over thirty charters of King Henry II of England when Henry was in Normandy. In 1166 Fulk took part in Henry's campaigns in Brittany. The king made Paynel one of the guarantors of an agreement between the king and the Count of Maurienne in 1173. Paynel was placed in charge of Alençon and La Roche-Mabille in 1180. [3] Paynel never held a royal or governmental office, but his frequent attestation of charters shows that he was prominent in the royal service. [2]
Paynel endowed Drax Priory and Holy Trinity, York in England. In Normandy he gave gifts to Hambye Abbey and Mont Saint-Michel. [3]
Paynel married Lescelina de Suligny, daughter of Hasculf de Suligny. They had five sons, William, Fulk, Hasculf, John, and William. [1] Paynel died around 1182 or 1183, and his heir was his eldest son William. [3]
Roger le Poer was a medieval Lord Chancellor from 1135 until 1139 for King Stephen of England. The son of a powerful bishop, Roger owed his position to his family connections. He lost his office when his father and other relatives lost power. Arrested along with his father, Roger was used to secure the surrender of a castle held by his mother and then disappeared from history.
Robert of Ghent, also called Robert de Gant, was Lord Chancellor of England and Dean of York in the 12th century. The younger son of a nobleman, Robert was probably a member of the cathedral chapter of York before his selection as chancellor by King Stephen of England in the mid-1140s. He is not mentioned often in documents from his time as chancellor, but why this is so is unknown. He became dean at York Minster around 1147. Robert was slightly involved in the disputes over who would be Archbishop of York in the late 1140s and 1150s, but it is likely that his chancellorship prevented his deeper involvement in diocesan affairs. He was no longer chancellor after the death of Stephen, but probably continued to hold the office of dean until his death around 1157 or 1158.
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Josce de Dinan was an Anglo-Norman nobleman who lived during and after the civil war between King Stephen of England and his cousin Matilda over the throne of England. He was a landholder in the Welsh Marches when he was married by Stephen to the widow of Pain fitzJohn, a union that gave Josce control of Ludlow Castle. Control of the castle was contested by other noblemen, and the resulting warfare between the nobles forms the background to a late medieval romance known as Fouke le Fitz Waryn, which is mainly concerned with the actions of Josce's grandson, but also includes some material on Josce's lifetime. Josce eventually lost control of Ludlow and was granted lands in compensation by Matilda and her son, King Henry II of England, who succeeded Stephen in 1154.
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William Paynel was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and baron. Son of a Domesday landholder, William inherited his father's lands in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Normandy after the death of an older brother during their father's lifetime. After the death of King Henry I of England, Paynel supported Henry's daughter Matilda in her attempts to take the throne from her cousin Stephen, who had seized it. Matilda entrusted Nottingham Castle to Paynel's custody, although he lost it within two years when it was captured by a supporter of Stephen's. Paynel also founded two religious houses - one in England and one in Normandy. After Paynel's death around 1146, his lands were split between two sons.
William fitzWimund was a Norman landholder in England after the Norman Conquest.
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