William de Warenne (justice)

Last updated

William de Warenne
Died1209
Burial place St Mary Overy, Southwark
OccupationFeudal baron of Wormegay
Royal justice
Spouse(s)Melisent
ChildrenBeatrice
Parent(s) Reginald de Warenne
Alice de Wormegay

William de Warenne (died 1209), the feudal baron of Wormegay, served as a royal justice under King Richard I and his brother King John. Warenne also served in financial matters, being one of those responsible for collecting taxes and later overseeing debts from Christians to Jews. His career was closely tied to that of Hubert Walter, who employed Warenne as a judge in some ecclesiastical matters. He also founded a priory and gave other gifts to religious houses. The historian Ralph V. Turner said of Warenne that "although he was a longtime official under King John, he did not quite fit into the inner corps of royal counselors". [1]

Contents

Early life

William was the son of Reginald de Warenne, a royal justice and Sheriff of Sussex. [2] His mother Alice had been heiress to the feudal baron of Wormegay in Norfolk, and it passed to William following his father's death. [3]

Royal service

Warenne was one of a group of justices – including Richard Barre, Ralph Foliot, Richard Herriard, and William of Sainte-Mère-Église  – who were appointed in 1194 by the Lord Chancellor Hubert Walter as justices for a new general eyre, to relieve the Barons of the Exchequer of some of their judicial duties. [4] In 1195 Warenne served as a royal justice at Oxford with Hubert Walter, William Brewer and Geoffrey of Buckland. [5] Warenne served again as a justice in 1198–1199 and then again during the first two years of the reign of John. His last service as a justice was in 1200. [6] In 1200 John removed Warenne as a royal justice and appointed him as one of the four Justices for the Jews, replacing Simon of Pattishall. [7] These officials had been created in 1194 and were not concerned with judicial matters concerning Jews, but rather with the collection of debts owed to Jews by Christians. [8] [lower-alpha 1] Warenne continued in that office until 1209. [7] Besides judicial duties, Warenne also served in other capacities, working with Barre and Osbert fitzHervey to collect the carucage in 1194 in eastern England. [10] In 1199 he again served with Barre and fitzHervey to impose amercements in the counties of Cambridge, Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. [11]

As a reward for his service, Warenne was given custody of a number of lands confiscated from Prince John, including the Honour of Gloucester, which Warenne administered for the royal government from 1194 to 1196 during the captivity of King Richard I. [7] He also received as a further mark of royal favour the wardships of various minor heirs. In 1194 Warenne was given custody of the heir of Hugh de Chandos, in return for which he gave the king 40 marks. [12] Warenne's career was closely tied to Hubert Walter's, who promoted his career as a justice. Besides his royal service, Walter employed Warenne as a justice on ecclesiastical matters and sent him in 1194 to York to deal with complaints by the cathedral chapter of York Minster against their archbishop, Geoffrey. A sign of further ties between the two was that Warenne served as a witness on Walter's charters founding a monastery at West Dereham. [13]

Marriage and family

Warenne offered King John 500 marks for licence to marry Melisent, the widow of Richard de Montfichet and mother of Richard de Montfichet, lord of the manor of Stansted in Essex. [14] Warenne's only surviving child and sole-heiress was his daughter, Beatrice, whom he married to Doun Bardolf, the holder of a one-half moiety of the feudal barony of Shelford in Nottinghamshire. Beatrice married secondly Ralph, [15] and thirdly Hubert de Burgh. [16] Beatrice had a son, William Bardolf, by her first marriage, who became the eventual heir of his maternal grandfather. Bardolf's rights to the barony were controlled by Beatrice's third husband, who did not relinquish them until his death in 1243. [3]

Death and legacy

Warenne died in 1209 [3] and was buried in St Mary Overy Priory (now Southwark Cathedral) in Southwark, Surrey. [17] Warenne also founded Wormegay Priory, Norfolk, a house of Augustinian monks. [18] He also gave gifts to the priory of St Mary Overy, [17] to Carrow Abbey where one of his sisters was a nun, and to Lewes Priory, where his father had become a monk shortly before his death. [19]

Notes

  1. ↑ This was of interest to the king because all debts owed to a Jew escheated to the king when the Jew died. [9]

Citations

  1. ↑ Turner "Religious Patronage" Albion p. 2
  2. ↑ Turner English Judiciary p. 90 and footnote 6
  3. 1 2 3 Saunders English Baronies p. 101
  4. ↑ Turner English Judiciary p. 73
  5. ↑ West Justiciarship p. 94
  6. ↑ Turner English Judiciary p. 80
  7. 1 2 3 Turner English Judiciary pp. 86–87
  8. ↑ Turner "Simon of Pattishall" Albion p. 118
  9. ↑ Turner and Heiser Reign of Richard Lionheart p. 113
  10. ↑ Appleby England without Richard p. 217
  11. ↑ West Justiciarship p. 163
  12. ↑ Turner English Judiciary p. 115 footnote 36
  13. ↑ Turner English Judiciary p. 105
  14. ↑ Turner English Judiciary p. 113
  15. ↑ Saunders English Baronies pp. 76, 101
  16. ↑ Turner English Judiciary pp. 119–120
  17. 1 2 Turner English Judiciary p. 265 footnote 20
  18. ↑ Turner English Judiciary p. 263 footnote 22
  19. ↑ Turner "Religious Patronage" Albion p. 8 and footnote 33

Related Research Articles

Hubert Walter 12th-century English Chancellor, Justiciar, and Archbishop of Canterbury

Hubert Walter was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter began the keeping of the Charter Roll, a record of all charters issued by the chancery. Walter was not noted for his holiness in life or learning, but historians have judged him one of the most outstanding government ministers in English history.

William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey Anglo-Norman nobleman

William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He was more often referred to as Earl Warenne or Earl of Warenne than as Earl of Surrey.

Geoffrey was an illegitimate son of King Henry II of England who became bishop-elect of Lincoln and archbishop of York. The identity of his mother is uncertain, but she may have been named Ykenai. Geoffrey held several minor clerical offices before becoming Bishop of Lincoln in 1173, though he was not ordained as a priest until 1189. In 1173–1174, he led a campaign in northern England to help put down a rebellion by his legitimate half-brothers; this campaign led to the capture of William, King of Scots. By 1182, Pope Lucius III had ordered that Geoffrey either resign Lincoln or be consecrated as bishop; he chose to resign and became chancellor instead. He was the only one of Henry II's sons present at the king's death.

William de Longchamp 12th-century Chancellor and Justiciar of England, Bishop of Ely

William de Longchamp was a medieval Lord Chancellor, Chief Justiciar, and Bishop of Ely in England. Born to a humble family in Normandy, he owed his advancement to royal favour. Although contemporary writers accused Longchamp's father of being the son of a peasant, he held land as a knight. Longchamp first served Henry II's illegitimate son Geoffrey, but quickly transferred to the service of Richard I, Henry's heir. When Richard became king in 1189, Longchamp paid £3,000 for the office of Chancellor, and was soon named to the see, or bishopric, of Ely and appointed legate by the pope.

Walter de Coutances 12th century English Justiciar and Archbishop of Rouen

Walter de Coutances was a medieval Anglo-Norman bishop of Lincoln and archbishop of Rouen. He began his royal service in the government of Henry II, serving as a vice-chancellor. He also accumulated a number of ecclesiastical offices, becoming successively canon of Rouen Cathedral, treasurer of Rouen, and archdeacon of Oxford. King Henry sent him on a number of diplomatic missions and finally rewarded him with the bishopric of Lincoln in 1183. He did not remain there long, for he was translated to Rouen in late 1184.

William of Sainte-Mère-Église was a medieval Bishop of London.

Events from the 1190s in England.

Simon of Pattishall was an English judge and civil servant who is considered the first Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.

An eyre or iter, sometimes called a general eyre, was the name of a circuit travelled by an itinerant justice in medieval England, or the circuit court over which they presided, or the right of the monarch to visit and inspect the holdings of any vassal. The eyre involved visits and inspections at irregular intervals of the houses of vassals in the kingdom. The term is derived from Old French erre, from Latin iter ("journey"), and is cognate with errand and errant. Eyres were also held in those parts of Ireland under secure English rule.

Hugh Bardulf 12th-century Anglo-Norman nobleman and sheriff

Hugh Bardulf or Hugh Bardolf was a medieval English administrator and royal justice. Known for his legal expertise, he also served as a financial administrator. He served three kings of England before his death.

Ralph Foliot was a medieval English clergyman and royal justice.

Richard Herriard was an English royal justice.

Roger fitzReinfrid 12th-century English sheriff and royal justice

Roger fitzReinfrid was a medieval English sheriff and royal justice. Probably born into a knightly family, Roger first was in the household of a nobleman before beginning royal service. His brother, Walter de Coutances, was a bishop and archbishop and likely helped advance Roger's career. Besides holding two sheriffdoms, Roger was entrusted with the control of a number of royal castles.

Wormegay Priory was a priory in Norfolk, England.

Reginald de Warenne was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and royal official. The third son of an earl, Reginald began his career as an administrator of his brother's estates, and continued to manage them for his brother's successor, William, the second son of King Stephen. Reginald was involved in the process that led to the peaceful ascension of Henry fitzEmpress to the throne of England in 1154 and served the new king as a royal justice afterwards. He played a minor role in the Becket controversy in 1170, as a member of the party that met Becket on his return to England from exile in 1170.

Gervase de Cornhill was an Anglo-Norman royal official and sheriff. Beginning his royal service as a justice in London in 1147, he continued to serve both King Stephen of England and Henry II until his death around 1183. He played a minor role in the Becket controversy in 1170.

Hugh de Cressy was an Anglo-Norman administrator and nobleman. Little is known of his ancestry and he first served two brothers of King Henry II of England before becoming a royal official. He was rewarded with a marriage to an heiress for his service to the king. In England he often served as a royal justice and witnessed documents, which showed his closeness to the king. On the continent, he recruited mercenaries for the royal army and was named constable of the castle of Rouen in the royal lands in France. He died in 1189 after giving lands to various monasteries before his death.

Osbert fitzHervey was an Anglo-Norman royal judge. Brother of Hubert Walter and Theobald Walter, Osbert served three kings of England and may have contributed to the legal treatise attributed to his uncle, Ranulf de Glanvill. Ralph of Coggeshall, a medieval writer, praised Osbert's knowledge of law, but condemned his acceptance of gifts from plaintiffs and defendants in legal cases. Osbert was one of a group of men who are considered the first signs of a professional judiciary in England.

Robert fitzRoger was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and Northumberland. He was a son of Roger fitzRichard and Adelisa de Vere. FitzRoger owed some of his early offices to William Longchamp, but contined in royal service even after the fall of Longchamp. His marriage to an heiress brought him more lands, which were extensive enough for him to be ranked as a baron. FitzRoger founded Langley Abbey in Norfolk in 1195.

Warenne family English noble family

The de Warenne family were a noble family in England that included the first Earls of Surrey, created by William the Conqueror in 1088 for William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, who was among his companions at the Battle of Hastings. The family originated in Normandy and as Earls, held land there and throughout England. When the senior male-line ended in the mid-12th century, the descendants of their heiress adopted the Warenne surname and continue as Earls of Surrey for another two centuries. Several junior lines also held land or prominent offices in England and Normandy.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.