John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln

Notes:

John de Lacy, Constable of Chester, in the 15th year of King John, undertook the payment of 7,000 marks to the crown in the space of four years for the livery of the lands of his inheritance and to be discharged of all his father's debts due to the exchequer; further obliging himself by oath that, in case he should ever swerve from his allegiance and adhere to the king's enemies, all his possessions should devolve upon the crown; promising also that he would not marry without the king's license. By this agreement it was arranged that the king should retain the castles of Pontefract and Dunnington, still in his own hands; and that he, the said John, should allow 40 pounds per annum for the custody of those fortresses. But the next year he had Dunnington restored to him upon hostages. About this period he joined the baronial standard and was one of the celebrated twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Carta. But the next year he obtained letters of safe conduct to come to the king to make his peace, and he had similar letters upon the accession of Henry III, in the 2nd year of which monarch's reign he went with divers other noblemen into the Holy Land. He m. Margaret, dau. and heir of Robert de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, by Hawyse, 4th sister and co-heir of Ranulph de Meschines, Earl of Chester and Lincoln, which Ranulph, by a formal charter under his seal, granted the Earldom of Lincoln, that is, so much as he could grant thereof, to the said Hawyse, "to the end that she might be countess and that her heirs might also enjoy the earldom;" which grant was confirmed by the king and, at the especial request of the countess, this John de Lacy, constable of Chester, was created by charter, dated at Northampton, 23 November, 1232, Earl of Lincoln, with remainder to the heirs of his body, by his wife, the above-named Margaret. In the contest which occurred during the same year between the king and Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, Earl Marshal, Matthew Paris states that the Earl of Lincoln was brought over to the king's party with John le Scot, Earl of Chester, by Peter de Rupibus, bishop of Winchester, for a bribe of 1,000 marks. In 1237, his lordship was one of those appointed to prohibit Oto, the pope's legate, from establishing anything derogatory to the king's crown and dignity in the council of prelates then assembled; and the same year he had a grant of the sheriffalty of Cheshire, being likewise constituted governor of the castle of Chester. The earl d. in 1240, leaving Margaret, his wife, surviving, who re-m. William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. His lordship left issue, Edmund, his successor, and two daus., which ladies in the 27th Henry III, were removed to Windsor, there to be educated with the king's own daus.; of these, Maud m. Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester.[Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883]

John married Margaret de Quincy on 20 Jun 1221. Margaret (daughter of Robert de Quincy and Hawise de Kevelioc) was born about 1206 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; died before 30 Mar 1266 in Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England; was buried in Hospitallers, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Maud de Lacy was born on 25 Jan 1223 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; died on 10 Mar 1289 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.
2. Earl of Lincoln Edmund de Lacy was born about May 1227 in Halton, Chestershire, England; died on 21 Jun 1258 in Stanlaw, Lincolnshire, England; was buried in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England.

Notes:

Roger de Lacy, constable of Chester, assisted at the siege of Acon in 1192 under the banner of the lion-hearted Richard, and shared in the subsequent triumphs of the chivalrous monarch. At the accession of John in 1199, he was a person of great eminence, for we find him shortly after the coronation of that prince deputed with the sheriff of Northumberland and other great men to conduct William, King of Scotland, to Lincoln, where the English king had fixed to give him an interview, and the next year he was one of the barons present at Lincoln, when David, of Scotland, did homage and fealty to King John.

In the time of this Roger, Ranulph, Earl of Chester, having entered Wales at the head of some forces, was compelled by superior numbers to shut himself up in the castle of Rothelan, where, being closely besieged by the Welsh, he sent for aid to the constable of Chester. Hugh Lupus, the 1st Earl of Chester, in his charter of foundation of the abbey of St. Werberg, at Chester, had given a privilege to the frequenters of Chester fair, "That they should not be apprehended for theft or any other offence during the time of the fair, unless the crime was committed therein. "This privilege made the fair, of course, the resort of thieves and vagabonds from all parts of the kingdom. Accordingly, the constable, Roger de Laci, forthwith marched to his relief at the head of a concourse of people then collected at the fair of Chester, consisting of minstrels and loose characters of all descriptions, forming altogether so numerous a body that the besiegers, at their approach, mistaking them for soldiers, immediately raised the siege. For this timely service, the Earl of Chester conferred upon de Lacy and his heirs the patronage of all the minstrels in those parts, which patronage the constable transferred to his steward, Dutton, and his heirs; and it is enjoyed to this day by the family of Dutton.

It is doubtful, however, whether the privilege was transferred to the Duttons by this constable or his successor. The privilege was, "That, at the midsummer fair held at Chester, all the minstrels of that country, resorting to Chester, do attend the heir of Dutton, from his lodging to St. John's Church (he being then accompanied by many gentlemen of the country, one of them walking before him in a surcoat of his arms depicted on taffeta, the rest of his fellows proceeding two and two, and playing on their several sorts of musical instruments."] When divine service terminates, the like attendance upon Dutton to his lodging, where a court being kept by his steward, and all the minstrels formally called, certain orders and laws are made for the government of the society of minstrels.

Roger de Lacy was s. by his son, John de Lacy, constable of Chester.[Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 310-311, Lacy, Earls of Lincoln]

Roger married Maud de Clere. Maud (daughter of 4th Earl of Hertford Richard de Clare and Countess of Gloucester Amicia) was born about 1176 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; died in 1213. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Alice de Mandeville. Alice (daughter of Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex and Rohese de Vere) was born about 1140 in Rycott, Oxfordshire, England; died in 1182 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, who in the 7th Richard I gave 1000 pounds to the king for livery of the lands of his mother's inheritance with his proportion of those sometime belonging to Giffard, Earl of Buckingham. His lordship m. Amicia, 2nd dau. and co-heiress (with her sisters Mabell, wife of the Earl of Evereux, in Normandy, and Isabel, the divorced wife of King John) of William, Earl of Gloucester, by whom he had issue, Gilbert, his successor, and Joan, m. to Rhys-Grig, Prince of South Wales. This earl, who was one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce Magna Carta, d. in 1218, and was s. by his son, Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p. 119, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford, Earls of Gloucester]

Richard married Countess of Gloucester Amicia about 1180. Amicia (daughter of 2nd Earl of Gloucester William FitzRobert and Hawise de Beaumont) was born in 1160 in Tewksbury, Gloucestershire, England; died on 1 Jan 1224/25 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Richard Fitz-Eustace, Baron of Halton and constable of Chester, m. Albreda, dau. and heir of Robert de Lisours and half sister of Robert de Lacy, and had issue, John, who becoming heir to his uncle, the said Robert de Lacy, assumed the surname of Lacy, and s. his father as constable of Chester, and was ancestor of the Earls of Lincoln of that family; Robert, the hospitaller, that is of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England; and Roger, surnamed FitzRichard, progenitor of the great families of Clavering. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 121, Clavering, Barons Clavering, and p. 555, Vesci, Barons Vesci]

Richard married Albreda (Aubrye) de Lisoures about 1150. Albreda (daughter of Robert "Eudo" de Lisoures and Albreda "Aubrye" de Lacy) was born about 1128 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; died after 1193 in Halton Castle, Skipton, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 1106, Rycott, Oxford, England
• Death: 16 Sep 1144, Mildenhall, Suffolk, England
• Death: 16 Sep 1144, Mildenhall, Suffolk, England; Age: 38

Notes:

Constable of the Tower of London

English Anarchy and Geoffrey de Mandeville - Scourge of the Fens

Geoffrey de Mandeville was the Earl of Essex in the time of King Stephen (1135-1154). He is famous for his treachery and violence around the time of the civil war waged between Stephen and Henry I's daughter, the empress Matilda. As we shall see, his ability to wreak havoc and suffering was to be felt heavily by the people of Cambridgeshire.

The civil war of 1139-1153 is characterized by the greed and ruthlessness of many knights and gentry who declared themselves to be allied to either Stephen or Matilda but proceeded to wage war on whoever they could gain most from whether it helped either of the main protagonists or not. Stephen, King Henry I's nephew, had opportunistically seized the throne immediately after Henry died with the help of his brother, the powerful bishop of Winchester. Henry had persuaded his barons to swear an oath in support of Matilda, his only surviving legitimate heir. However, Matilda had spent most of her life in far away Germany, she was a poor diplomat, was married to an Angevin (an unpopular alliance as far as both the English and the Normans were concerned) and she was a woman. It wasn't a hard decision for many of the barons to renege on their oath in support of Matilda and support Stephen instead. Stephen might have avoided much bloodshed during his reign had he not made a big mistake in the way he dealt with Roger, bishop of Salisbury whom he suspected, perhaps not unreasonably, of being in league with the empress. Roger had experienced a meteoric rise in fortune during the reign of Henry. Henry, if one historian is to be believed, had discovered Roger in France where he had been impressed at the speed at which the clergyman could read a mass. Henry appointed him as chancellor and as bishop of Salisbury and quickly elevated him to justiciar - making him the second most powerful man in England after himself. During Stephen's reign, Roger had established a powerful dynasty with his son as chancellor, his nephew Nigel as bishop of Ely and another nephew as bishop of Lincoln, all of whom were building or strengthening and garrisoning their own castles and ostentatiously taking large retinues of armed men about with them wherever they went. Stephen used a street brawl involving Salisbury's men as an excuse to seize Salisbury, his son and the bishop of Lincoln and chase Nigel of Ely to Devizes. After three days siege, Nigel was betrayed by Salisbury's mistress who feared for the safety of her husband and son. The king now had all the castles of Salisbury's family and had badly abused the legates in his custody. This action proved to be disastrous for Stephen. The church was appalled at the way in which Stephen had treated the clergymen. The king found many of his supporters switching to Matilda's side, including his own brother, the bishop of Winchester.

Stephen was a fearsome soldier. His chivalry and misplaced generosity, however, could be said to have been excessive and detrimental to his cause. His downfall at the battle of Lincoln in 1141 can be attributed to behavior which was typical of him. Towards the end of 1140 one of Matilda's supporters, Annul, the earl of Chester seized the castle of Lincoln. Instead of attempting to punish Rannulf, Stephen gave him the castle plus the city of Lincoln, plus a number of other castles. It was complaints of harsh treatment by the citizens of Lincoln which caused Stephen to rush to the city to sort Rannulf out. However Rannulf had slipped away to get reinforcements among the desperate knights who had lost everything they possessed fighting for the Empress.

The battle of Lincoln took place on the 2nd of February 1141. The kings forces easily defeated scouts sent by the earl to impede his progress and gained a good tactical position. Obeying his fatally chivalrous nature, Stephen took his men from easily defendable high ground to a marshy plane by the city of Lincoln to meet the earl's rabble for a fair fight. His cavalry failed to ward off frenzied attacks of the disinherited knights who had nothing to lose and everything to fight for. Stephen fought fiercely until both his sword and axe were broken and eventually was forced to surrender to Robert of Gloucester when he was knocked down by a flying stone.

Stephen's cause was now left in the hands of his shrewd queen, also called Matilda. She stood her own Cambridgeshire estates as collateral for a loan from the London justiciar, Gervase of Cornhill. She repurchased the support of Geoffrey de Mandeville who had transferred his allegiance to the empress when things started to go wrong for Stephen. She also won back the support of Stephen's brother, the bishop of Winchester whose support Stephen had lost after he miss-handled dealing with Roger of Salisbury.

In November of 1141 Stephen was released in exchange for Robert of Gloucester, an important ally of the empress who had been captured by royalist forces whilst fleeing a defeat at Winchester. Unchastened by his experience with the earl of Chester, he heaped rewards and privileges on the treacherous Geoffrey de Mandeville on top of the payment already made to him by the queen. De Mandeville became sheriff and justiciar in three separate counties. He was made constable of 'The Tower' - a role which effectively put him in charge of London but in which he evidently earned the loathing of the people of that city. The proof of the Londoners' hatred of de Mandeville exists in a document which points to his ultimate treason (that is, before he turned into a sadistic monster of the fens). He changed his allegiance back to the empress, drawing up a charter in which he dictates that she should make no peace with the burgesses of London without his consent 'because they are his mortal foes'. He continued to attend court and feign friendship with the king even though it was generally known that he was in league with the Stephen's enemies. Eventually his arrogance was too much for the royalists and he was arrested suddenly in St. Albans in 1143. As punishment for treason he was given the choice of execution or giving up the Tower and his castles in Essex. He chose life and vengeance - on the people of Cambridgeshire!

De Mandeville fled to the marshy swamps of the fens with an army of mercenaries and ruffians. He seized and occupied Ely, using it as a fortress and drove the monks out of Ramsey Abbey and used it as a headquarters for his mob. From here he plundered, ransacked, and burnt property. He employed every type of torture conceivable to extract crippling ransom from anyone unfortunate enough to fall into his hands. Cambridge itself was ransacked and burnt. No one, regardless of age, sex or profession was safe. Over a stretch of twenty or thirty miles of countryside there was not an ox or plough to be seen. A serious famine resulted to add to the already enormous death toll. Stephen was unable to get an army through the impenetrable fens to rid the area of the evil earl leaving de Mandeville free to carry on at will. Fortunately, however, de Mandeville was hit by an arrow whilst attacking Burwell Castle in August 1144 and died soon afterwards.

The earl of Chester was arrested for treason two years later and on his release after surrendering his castles, plunged into an similar orgy of ferocious brutality. Scores of lesser barons and free lances around the country waged horror upon anyone they felt they could extract plunder from.

The anarchy slowly abated over several painful years. Two factors helped bring back order. Firstly, the Angevin cause was fading. Stephen cut Matilda off from her Gloucestershire strongholds with a success at Farringdon in 1145 and effectively ended the Angevin threat for the rest of his reign. Secondly, the fall of Edessa in 1144 eventually led to the second crusade which gained momentum in 1146 when Louis VII of France and emperor Conrad III took the cross. Many lawless Anglo-Norman noblemen took leave from their bloody work in England to slaughter and get slaughtered in the Holy Land.

Factual information in this article was obtained from 'Domesday Book to Magna Carta' by A.L. Poole, published by Oxford University Press, ISBN0-19-285287-6.

Buried:
Temple Church

Died:
Age: 38

Geoffrey married Rohese de Vere in 1129 in England. Rohese (daughter of Lord Great Chamberlain of England Aubrey II de Vere and Alice FitzGilbert de Clare) was born in 1110 in Hedingham, Essex, England; died on 21 Oct 1166 in Bedford Castle, Meppelshall, Bedfordshire, England; was buried in Chicksands Priory, Bedfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: Abt 1089, Hedingham, Essex, England
• Birth: 1103, Hedingham, Essex, England
• Death: Aft Sep 1166

Notes:

Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford, is likewise said to have born the title of Earl of Clare. In the 3rd Henry II, this nobleman obtaining from the king all the lands in Wales which he could win, marched into Cardigan with a great army and fortified divers castles thereabouts. In the 9th of the same reign, we find him summoned by the celebrated Thomas-E homage to the prelate for his castle of Tonebruge; which at the command of the king he refused, alleging that holding it by military service it belonged rather to the crown than to the church. His lordship m. Maude (who m. after his decease William d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel), dau. of James de St. Hillary, by whom he had a son, Richard, his successor. This earl who, from his munificence to the church and his numerous acts of piety, was called the Good, d. in 1173, and was s. by his son, Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p. 119, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford, Earls of Gloucester]

Roger married Maud de St. Hilaire about 1152 in Field Dalling, Norfolk, England. Maud (daughter of James de St. Hilaire and Aveline Canmore) was born about 1132 in Burkenham, Norfolk, England; died on 24 Dec 1193 in Field Dalling, Walsingham, Norfolk, England; was buried in Priory of Great, Norfolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[From Burke's Peerage-see source for details]

An undoubted Earl of Gloucester, perhaps the first authentic one, at any rate after the Conquest, is Robert FitzHamon's son-in-law, another Robert, who was an illegitimate son of Henry I and was so created 1122. The Earldom passed to his eldest son, William FitzRobert, and from him to John, later King John and husband from 1189 to 1199 (when he divorced her) of Isabel, the youngest of William FitzRobert's three daughters. On John's coming to the throne the title did not merge in the Crown for it was not his in his own right but in right of his wife.

William married Hawise de Beaumont about 1150. Hawise (daughter of 2nd Earl of Leicester Robert II de Beaumont and Amice de Gael) was born in 1129 in Leicestershire, England; died on 24 Apr 1197. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]