330834186. Baron Roger de Huntingfield
Roger De Huntingfield, whose seal is appended to the Barons' Letter to the Pope in 1300.
Roger De Huntingfield, whose seal is appended to the Barons' Letter to the Pope in 1300.
330858911. Princess of Castile and Leon Eleanor
Gave birth to 15 children of which only one boy and five daughters survived into adulthood. When she died, King Edwrd I ordered two tomb effigies be made in bronze, one for her entrail tomb at Lincoln, the other for Westminster. Between the place of her death and the place of her interment, King Edward created a monument unique in medieval kingship: a series of elaborately carved stone crosses at Waltham, Charing and Cheapside among other places -- all marking the journedy of Eleanor's body.
330858912. Sir Robert de Roos
The Barons de Roos owned Helmsley or Hamlake Castle. Baedeker remarks only that it is an interesting Castle, but we can give some description of it. Hamlake has a rectangular bailey, a barbican, and an outwork at the East end of the bailey. Its singular defense was a double line of ditches, both of which were fed by the River Rye. The curtain wall was built about 1170, and the keep about 1190. The East gateway and barbican are ascribed to the 13th Century. The Castle, except for the keep, was destroyed in 1649. The other half remains, one hundred feet above the bailey. The keep is an excellent example of traditional design, combining the old square style with coming roundness in towers. The outside of the tower is rounded to baffle sappers, and the portion inside the curtain is square, as a convenience for the occupants.
ROBERT de ROOS of Fursan, the Surety, fourth Baron of Hamlake Manor, was born in 1177. When only fifteen years of age he had paid a thousand marks' fine for livery of his lands, and in 1197 when aged twenty years, while with the King of Normandy, he was arrested, though we know nothing of the offense, and was committed to the custody of Hugh de Chaumont. However, de Chaumont trusted his prisoner to William de Spiney, and the latter allowed him to escape out of the Castle of Bonville. King Richard thereupon hanged de Spiney and collected a fine of twelve hundred marks, about eight hundred pounds, from Roos' guardian as the price of his continued freedom.
When John became King, he gave young Roos the whole Barony of his great grandmother's father, Walter d'Espec, as conciliation. About the 14th of King John, Robert assumed the habit of a monk, whereupon the custody of all his lands and Castle Werke, were committed to Philip d'Ulcote. But Robert did not long continue as a recluse, as in about a year he was executing the office of high sheriff of co. Cumberland. At the beginning of the struggle of the Barons for a constitutional government, he at first sided with King John and, in consequence, obtained some valuable grants from the Crown. He was made governor of Carlisle, but was later won over by the Barons. He returned to his allegiance in the reign of Henry III for, in 1217/8, his manors were restored to him, and, although he was a witness to the second Great Charter and the Forest Charter of 1224, he seems to have been in favor with the King.
Roos erected the Castles of Helmsley, or Hamlake, in Yorkshire, and of Werke, in Northumberland. He was a member of the Order of Knights Templar. He died in 1226/7 and was buried "in his proper habit" in the Knights' Church, or the New Temple in London, where his tomb may be seen. His effigy is described by Gough, in "Sepulchral Monuments," as "the most elegant of all the figures in the Temple Church, representing a comly young knight in mail, and a flowing mantle with a kind of cowl; his hair neatly curled at the sides; his crown appears shaved. His hands are elevated in a praying posture, and on his left arm is a short, pointed shield charged with three water-bougets. He has on his left side a long sword, and the armor of his legs, which are crossed, has a ridge, or a seam up the front, continued over the knee. At his feet is a lion, and the whole figure measures six feet two inches." He married Isabel, daughter of William the Lion, King of Scotland, and widow of Robert Bruce.Wurts.From Wurt's "Magna Carta."
330858913. Princess of Scotland Isabella Canmore
Widow of Robert Bruce.
330858916. Magna Charta Surety, 3rd Baron, Lord of Belvoir Castle William d'Albini
The seat of WILLIAM d'ALBINI, the Surety, was Belvoir Castle (pronounced "Bee-voor") founded in 1088 by Robert de Todeni, or Toni. D'Albini succeeded to the Castle in 1167/8. It needed no artificial motte, for it was built on a steep and isolated hill. Apparently there was once a fine shell wall, but the builders of the present mansion have ruined the earthworks left after King John destroyed the Castle. Apparently John left it a ruin. It has been recently the seat of the Duke of Rutland. When Thomas Murphy described it, he said: "Standing on a rising hill its many towers and battlements looking over the forests surrounding it, the vast pile more nearly fulfilled our ideas of feudal magnificence than any other we saw." He was sadly mistaken. The building he saw was a modern Gothic structure, built by Wyatt in 1808, for all that had remained of the original Norman structure was destroyed by fire in the late 18th Century.
But the scene of William d'Albini's struggle with King John was the lowering Castle of Rochester. It was situated on the great Northwest Southeast Road built by the Romans and known to later Englishmen as Watling Street. It was well guarded, on one side by the swirling waters of the Medway, and on the other three by a curtain wall. The lost Belvoir was centrally located in Leistershire, but Rochester was in the South, close to the Royal palace. Numerous coins found near Rochester Castle show that it was built on the site of a Roman ruin, but there are no Roman walls to be found.
Only the keep remains, but it can be seen from a distance of twenty miles. Some claim that the Castle was originally built by Odo of Bayeux, and used as a threat to William Rufus. Others claim that the construction was ordered by William the Conqueror. The structure we now see was commenced by Bishop Gundulf, and on the site of the Bishop's earlier tower a castle was completed before 1139, under the orders of William de Corbeuil. The keep might date to approximately 1130, and the cell under the wall of one of the towers has suffered few alterations since that time.
While William d'Albini held the Castle against King John and his army of mercenaries, the King appeared on the scene in person. The siege continued for seven weeks. The outer wall had been badly damaged and the soldiers had resorted to the keep. But when John's soldiers made a breach in the wall and attempted to enter, they were promptly repelled. The siege continued, and finally hunger and thirst forced a surrender. All d'Albini's men were killed. Their leader was spared, but he had to spend a long time in a medieval prison and was heavily fined.
In 1216 the Dauphin took Rochester Castle and all Kent submitted to him as overlord. Now the walls are standing. The masonry of the keep is firm, but the interior has long since been destroyed.
William d'Albini, the Surety, was the third Baron of his family. When his father died he was in ward to King Henry II and, in 1194, he was in the army of Richard I in Normandy. Already a wealthy man at the time of the accession of John to the throne, he received several additional grants of great value. In 1201, when the Barons refused to follow their Sovereign into France, King John demanded that their castles should be given up to him as security for their allegiance, beginning with William d'Albini; and therewith Belvoir Castle, instead of which d'Albini gave him his son, William, as a hostage.
He appears to have remained longer faithful to King John, as well as more moderate in his opposition to the King than most of the Barons, and he did not join the insurgents until he could no longer with safety remain neutral or adhere to the King for, as late as January 1214/5, he was one of King John's commissioners appointed for the safe conduct of such as were traveling to his Court at Northampton.
After he joined the Baron's party, d'Albini entered with great spirit into their cause and was excommunicated but, after having gained their point, he was looked upon with suspicion by the other Sureties, because he did not attend the grand tournament in Staine's Wood on 29 June 1215, to celebrate the victory. It was not until after other Barons had alarmed him that he fortified his Castle at Belvoir and joined them at London. But the sequel proves that their suspicions were not well grounded. He was placed as governor of Rochester Castle when, though he found it so utterly destitute of provisions as almost to induce his men to abandon it, he recruited and held it until weakness and famine obliged them to surrender to the King. The siege lasted three months and his army suffered considerable loss. King John ordered that all nobles in the Castle be hanged, but his chief counsellers resolutely opposed this sentence and William d'Albini and his son, Odonel, with several other Barons, were mereIy committed to the custody of Peter de Mauley, and sent as prisoners to Corfe and Nottingham Castles.
While d'Albini remained at Corfe, the King marched, on Christmas morning 1216, from Nottingham to Langar near Belvoir Castle, and sent a summons to surrender. Upon this, Nicholas d'Albini, one of the Baron's sons and a Clerk in Orders, delivered the keys to the King, asking only that his father should be mercifully treated. The fortress was then committed to the custody of Geoffrey and Oliver de Buteville. William's liberty was gained by paying to the King a fine of 6,000 marks (more than 4,000 pounds) and the sum was raised from his own lands by his wife. After King John's death, though he submitted himself to King Henry III, William d'Albini was forced to give his wife and son Nicholas as hostages for his allegiance, but in 1217 he was one of the King's commanders at the Battle of Lincoln. He died at Offington 1 May 1236, and his body was buried in Newstead, and "his heart under the wall opposite the high altar" at Belvoir Castle.
William d'Albini was one of the King's foremost financial officers. Before 1200 he had been custodian sheriff, a sort of tax collector and treasurer combined. After 1200 King John appointed him one of the justices or "exchequers" of the Jews. As such he kept a record of all royal debts to Jews, and of payments made to them. Possibly such an official settled disputes connected with money-lending operations. The Jews were a powerful source of revenue, which the King desired to protect to his own interest. From Michaelmas 1210 to mid-Lent of 1211, William and five other Barons were in charge of customs duties on dyes and grain. In 1213 we find him involved in a baronial investigation committee, which sought to unearth evidence of alleged embezzlements charged to certain sheriffs.Much more in "Magna Charta", by John S. Wurts.
330858938. Surety,Baron of Halton Castle, Earl of Lincoln, Governor of Chester and Beeson Castles John de Lacie
The Lacie strongholds on the Welsh border are Beeston, Chester and Halton Castles. Beeston is now a crumbling ruin. It is hard even to identify the keep, but it could be the large wall tower East of the gate house. The Castle is perched on a height bounded on three sides by sheer drops, and a steep slope on the fourth. Its strength as a defense lay in its inaccessibility. There are two baileys, the innermost on a summit and the other situated on the sloping ground. The inner bailey was guarded on the approachable side by a gate house, two wall towers and a ditch thirty-five feet wide and thirty feet deep, which cut across the promontory. It is important to note that the artificial ravine was fashioned two hundred fifty years before blasting was known. The date of founding was in the 13th Century, and it was founded by Randolph de Blondevill, Earl of Chester.
Chester was the last City to yield to William the Conqueror, and the surrender came in 1070. Once the Normans had the Castle, William's nephew, Hugh Lupus, Palatine Earl of Chester, was appointed as head of the border patrol.
Chester Castle was originally built by the first Norman Earl of Chester, and now consists of modern buildings, the assize-court, jail and barracks. The one remaining Norman relic is "Julius Caesar's Tower," standing by the River. It is a square tower which has been used as a powder magazine, but is scarcely recognizable as a Norman building, because it has been recently recased in red stone. With the exception of this tower, another of the round style, and adjacent buildings in the upper ward, the Castle was dismantled at the end of the 18th Century. From Julius Caesar's Tower one can see the ruins of Beeston Castle, which met a like fate in 1646. Of Halton Castle nothing is left. But Lincoln Castle, on the other side of the Island(l, is an important monument.
Lincoln was the fourth City of the Realm when the Normans invaded, and it seemed to William to be a logical site for a castle. The Domesday Book states that one hundred sixty-six houses were torn down to make way for it. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle held that on his return to York in 1068, William erected the Castle on the site of a Roman fort. Since the land was rather flat, a great bank was built up around it. There are two mottes, the larger one crowned by a polygonal shell wall, which may have been built by Ralph de Gernon's widow. In 1140 King Stephen captured the Castle and, in 1216, the Surety Barons had charge of it.
JOHN de LACIE, the Surety, born 1192, seventh Baron of Halton Castle and hereditary constable of Chester, was one of the earliest Barons to take up arms at the time of Magna Charta. He was also appointed to see that the new statutes were properly carried into effect and observed in the counties of York and Nottingham. He was excommunicated by the Pope. Upon the accession of King Henry III, he joined a party of noblemen and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, rendering valuable service at the Siege of Damietta.
In 1232 Lacie was made Earl of Lincoln and, in 1240, governor of Chester and Beeston Castles. He died 22 July 1240, and was buried in the Cistercian Abbey of Stanlaw in co. Chester. The monk, Matthew Paris, records: "On the 22d day of July, in this year (1240), which was St. Magdalen's Day, John, Earl of Lincoln, after suffering from a long illness went the way of all flesh." His first wife was Alice, daughter of Gilbert 'd’Aquila, but by her he had no issue. She died in 1215 and he married second, after his marked gallantry at the Siege of Damietta, Margaret, only daughter and heiress of Robert de Quincey, a fellow Crusader, who died in the Holy Land, eldest son of Saire de Quincey, the Surety. They had three children, Lady Margaret survived him and married second Walter Marshall, Earl of Pembroke.
330858944. Baron, Magna Charta Surety, Governor of York Castle William de Mowbray
WILLIAM de MOWBRAY, the Surety, came of age in 1194/5. He was early embittered against King John by being compelled to surrender the Barony of Frontboeuf, which Henry I had conferred upon his great grandfather, Sir Nigel d'Aubigny. That, and the aid exacted from his vassals, enraged him. We note in Magna Charta, Article 16, that a lord is forbidden to demand more service than a fief owes. Perhaps William was influential in getting this clause accepted. The debt was probably exacted because Mowbray, upon the accession of King John, was tardy in pledging his allegiance and at length swore fealty only on condition that "the King should render to every man his right." At the breaking out of the Baronial war, he was governor of York Castle, and it is not surprising that he at once sided with the Barons against King John, and was one of the most forward among them.
He was a party to the "Covenant for holding the City and Tower of London," and one of those whom the Pope excommunicated. He continued in arms after the death of King John, and in the Battle of Lincoln he was taken prisoner. His lands were confiscated and bestowed upon William Marshall, Jr., the Surety, but he was subsequently allowed to redeem them. After this he attached himself to King Henry III. He died in 1223/4 at his Castle in the Isle of Axholme, and was buried in the Abbey of Newburgh in Yorkshire. His wife was Avice d'Albini.
The Mowbray Castles are an impressive array. Axholme seems to offer no discernible ruins, and the land has become a swamp. New-Castle-upon-Tyne boasts a stern building in dreary surroundings, built on the site of an earlier fortress, and thus its present name. It has more the appearance of a prison than a Royal stronghold, partly because its walls are begrimed with factory smoke. However, if it had been left out in the country, it might have fallen into ruins sooner. It is an exceptionally fine example of a Norman stronghold.
The keep is the chief relic of the Castle on the Tyne. For centuries it was the residence of Royalty when Kings visited the North. It symbolized their power at those times when they were not in residence. It was founded by Robert, son of the Conqueror. It had massive walls and was flanked by a moat on the town side, while the steep climb discouraged approach from the River. The present keep is a later building, dated in the last decade of the 12th Century. Only once did William the Conqueror stop here. At the end of the Century Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, seized and garrisoned it in his effort to dethrone William Rufus. At the death of Henry I it was captured by King David of Scotland. Stephen arrived with an army, and a truce was arranged, whereby King Stephen agreed to cede Northumberland to the Scottish Kings who, from then on, held court at Newcastle.
The Castle was founded in the 11th Century by Robert Curthose, but the keep, which is all that is left, dates from about 1172. It is eighty-five feet high; to the top of the turret it measures one hundred seven feet, and its walls are from twelve to eighteen feet thick. The second floor is reached by an outside staircase. The chapel, the finest room, is located in the basement. Both the Great Hall and the Well Chamber have been well preserved.
Originally Newcastle was the strongest fortress in the North. Before its completion William the Lion was marched through its gates, after the capture of Alnwick and Baliol 26 December 1262, and did homage to Edward I as King of Scotland, in Newcastle's Great Hall.
The area within the outer walls and fosse measured three acres. Fragments of the wall, the Black Gate, the principal entrance, stand encased in late construction. The Watergate or Southern Postern has disappeared entirely. The keep is well preserved and the chapel also, a fine example of late Norman style.
William the Conqueror built two Castles at York. His second Castle is now marked by Baile Hill; the mound of the Castle is nonexistent. Clifford's Tower marks the place of the keep of the former Castle, near which in 1188/9 five hundred Jews were massacred in the reign of Richard I.
330858948. Magna Charta Surety, Earl of Clare Richard de Clare
Was present at the coronation of King Richard I at Westminister, 3 September 1189, and of King John on 27 May, 1199. He sided with the Barons against King John, and his castle of Tonbridege was taken. On 9 November 1215, he was one of the commissioners on the part of the Barons to treat of peace with King John. On 4 March 1215/6 his lands in counties of Cambridge, Norfolk,Suffolk, and Essex were granted to Robert de Betun; and he and his son were among the Barons excommunicated by the Pope and 1215.
This line also descends from Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor.
330858949. Countess of Gloucester Amice FitzRobert
Second daughter of William FitzRobert, Earl of Gloucester, and his wife Hawise, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. Also called Amicia Meullent. Another descendant of Charlemagne.
330858950. Protector of England, Earl of Pembroke William Marshall
The famous Lord Pembroke, regent and Protector of the Kingdom. Earl William was constable of Chichester Castle and sheriff of Gloucestershire.
330858952. Magna Charta Baron John de Braos
Surnamed Tadody, who had been privately nursed by a Welsh woman at Gower. This John had grants of land from King Henry III, and also held the Barony of Brembye in Sussex, where he died in 1231 by a fall from his horse, his foot remaining in the stirrup.
330858953. Margaret
Daughter of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales.
330858960. King of England John "Lackland" Plantagenet
Best known for being forced to sign the Magna Charta.
Youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane. Early in his life, he was the only son who had not been given land by his father and he was called John "Lackland." Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. In 1186, however,only Richard I, the Lion-Heart, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade. Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in 1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Bretagne, the son of John's brother Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Phillip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207, John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated John and began negotiating with Phillip for an invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214.
John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had exhorted money, raised taxes, and confsicated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Charta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject to, rather than superior to, the law. Shortly thereafter, John and the barons were at war. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire October 19, 1216 while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son Henry III.
John had at least seven bastards, probably more.Best known for being forced to sign the Magna Charta.
Youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane. Early in his life, he was the only son who had not been given land by his father and he was called John "Lackland." Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. In 1186, however,only Richard I, the Lion-Heart, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade. Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in 1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Bretagne, the son of John's brother Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Phillip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207, John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated John and began negotiating with Phillip for an invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214.
John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had exhorted money, raised taxes, and confsicated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Charta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject to, rather than superior to, the law. Shortly thereafter, John and the barons were at war. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire October 19, 1216 while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son Henry III.
John had at least seven bastards, probably more.
330858964. King of France Louis VIII
King of France for only three years from 1223 to 1226. Before his succession, he assisted his father, King Philip II, in several campaigns to win control of French territories belonging to John, the Angevin, or Plantagenet, king of England. In 1215, Louis was offered the crown of England by a group of barons in rebellion against King John; Louis led an expedition to England but was unsuccessful in claiming the throne; John died in the midst of the struggle and was succeeded by his son Henry III. The French invaders were excommunicated by the papal legate in England and were defeated in battle at Lincoln. Louis returned to France in 1217 and there took part in crusades against a dissident religious sect called the Albigenses, or Cathars. After succeeding his father as king, Louis continued Philip's policy of destroying the power basef of the Plantagenets in France and bringing under royal authority the provinces held by the Albigenses in the south of France.
King of France for only three years from 1223 to 1226. Before his succession, he assisted his father, King Philip II, in several campaigns to win control of French territories belonging to John, the Angevin, or Plantagenet, king of England. In 1215, Louis was offered the crown of England by a group of barons in rebellion against King John; Louis led an expedition to England but was unsuccessful in claiming the throne; John died in the midst of the struggle and was succeeded by his son Henry III. The French invaders were excommunicated by the papal legate in England and were defeated in battle at Lincoln. Louis returned to France in 1217 and there took part in crusades against a dissident religious sect called the Albigenses, or Cathars. After succeeding his father as king, Louis continued Philip's policy of destroying the power basef of the Plantagenets in France and bringing under royal authority the provinces held by the Albigenses in the south of France.