[504]He states that the Earl of Gloucester, on his release, "circa germanam sedulo apud Oxeneford mansitabat; quo loco, ut præfatus sum, illa sedem sibi constituens, curiam fecerat" (p. 754).[505]He set sail "aliquanto post festum sancti Johannis" (Will. Malms., p. 765).[506]See the dazzling description of his power given by the author of theGesta, who speaks of him as one "qui omnes regni primates et divitiarum potentiâ et dignitatis excedebat opulentiâ; turrim quoque Londoniarum in manu, sed et castella inexpugnabilis fortitudinis circa civitatem constructa habebat, omnemque regni partem, quæ se regi subdiderat, ut ubique per regnum regis vices adimplens, et, in rebus agendis, rege avidius exaudiretur, et in præceptis injungendis, plus ei quam regi obtemperaretur" (p. 101). William of Newburgh, in the same spirit, speaks of him as "regi terribilis" (i. 44).[507]See p. 160.[508]"In totâ propemodum Angliâ sicut mortuus conclamaretur" (ibid.).[509]William of Malmesbury (ut supra) is the authority for 1142, and Henry of Huntingdon for 1136: "Ad Rogationes vero divulgatum est regem mortuum esse" (p. 259).[510]"Jam ergo cœpit rabies prædicta Normannorum, perjurio et proditione pullulare" (ibid.).[511]It would seem to have been entered immediately after that charter to Miles of Gloucester which I have printed on p. 11, and which precedes it in the transcripts.[512]Lansdowne MS.259, fol. 66.[513]"Archiepiscopis, etc." (Dug.).[514]"suus" omitted (Dug.).[515]"ejus" (Dug.).[516]"tenuerunt" (Dug., Dods.).[517]"subjectum" (Dods.).[518]"Lundoniæ et Middlesexiæ" (Dug.).[519]"Et ... tenuit" (Essex shrievalty) omitted by Dugdale (and, consequently, in hisBaronagealso).[520]Dodsworth transcript closes here.[521]"illi" omitted by Dugdale.[522]"quæ fuit" omitted by Dugdale.[523]"per servicium militare" (wrongly, Dug.).[524]"et" omitted by Dugdale.[525]"centum libratas" (Dug.).[526]Chreshall,aliasChristhall, Essex. Part of the honour of Boulogne. Was held by Count Eustace, at the Survey, in demesne. Stephen granted it to his own son William, who gave it to Richard de Luci.[527]Bendish Hall, in Radwinter, Essex. Part of the honour of Boulogne. It was given by Stephen's son William to Faversham Abbey, Kent.[528]This word is illegible. It baffled the transcriber inLansd. MS.259. Dugdale has "wiam." The right reading is "luiam," the river Lea being meant, as is proved by the Pipe-Roll of 14 Hen. II.[529]William fitz Otwel, Earl Geoffrey's "brother," is referred to by Earl William (Geoffrey's son) as his uncle ("avunculus") in a charter confirming his grant of lands (thirty-three acres) in "Abi et Toresbi" to Greenfield Nunnery, Lincolnshire (Harl. Cart., 53, C, 50). He is also a witness, as "patruus meus," to a charter of Earl Geoffrey the younger (Sloane Cart., xxxii. 64), early in the reign of Henry II. He was clearly a "uterine" brother of Earl Geoffrey the elder, so that his father must have married William de Mandeville's widow—a fact unknown to genealogists.[530]William de Sai had married Beatrice, sister (and, in her issue, heiress) of the earl, by whom he was ancestor of the second line of Mandeville, Earl of Essex. In the following year he joined the earl in his furious revolt against the king.[531]This was William "Capra" (Chévre), whose family gave its name to the manor of "Chevers" in Mountnessing, county Essex. He was probably another brother-in-law of the earl, for I have seen a charter of Alice (Adelid[is]) Capra, in which she speaks of Geoffrey's son, Earl William, as her nephew ("nepos"). There is also a charter of a Geoffrey Capra and Mazelina (sic) his wife, which suggests that the name of Geoffrey may have come to the family from the earl. Thoby Priory, Essex, was founded (1141-1151) by Michael Capra, Roesia his wife, and William, their son. The founder speaks of Roger fitz Richard ("ex cujus munificentiâ mihi idem fundus pervenit"), who was the second husband (as I have elsewhere explained) of "Alice of Essex,"néede Vere, the sister of Earl Geoffrey's wife. A Michael Capra and a William Capra, holding respectively four and four and a half knights' fees, were feudal tenants of Walter fitz Robert (the lord of Dunmow) in 1166.[532]William, son of Walter (Fitz Other) de Windsor, castellan of Windsor. In the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I., he appears as in charge of Windsor Forest, for which he renders his account. It is probably to this charter rather than to any separate grant that Dugdale refers in his account of the family.[533]This is an unusual name. As William de Say is mentioned just before, it may be noted that his son (Earl Geoffrey's nephew) promised (in 1150-1160) to grant to Ramsey Abbey "marcatam redditus ex quo adipisci poterit quadraginta marcatas de hereditate sua, scilicet de terra Robertide Rumele" (Chron. Ram., p. 305). Mathew de Romeli, according to Dugdale, was the son of Robert de Romeli, lord of Skipton, by Cecily his wife. A Mathew de Romeli, with Alan his son, occur in a plea of 1236-7 (Bracton's Note-Book, ed. Maitland, iii. 189).[534]Geoffrey de Tourville appears in 1130 as holding land in four counties (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I.).[535]William de Ou (Auco) or Eu is returned in thecartaof the Earl of Essex (1166) as holding four fees of him.[536]See Appendix Q, on "Osbertus Octodenarii."[537]Dodsworth's transcript begins again here, and is continued down to "Belloc[ampo]."[538]"Comes Herefordiæ" (Dug.).[539]So also Dodsworth; but Dugdale wrongly extends: "Robertus filius Reginaldi." See p. 94,n.4.[540]Robert de Courci of Stoke (Courcy), Somerset. He figures in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. As "Robert de Curci" he witnessed the Empress's charter creating the earldom of Hereford (July 25, 1141), and as "Robert de Curci Dapifer" her confirmation of the Earl of Devon's gift (Mon. Aug., v. 106;Journ. B. A. A., xxxi. 391), both of them passing at Oxford, the latter (probably) in 1142, subsequent to the above charter. He was slain at Counsylth, 1157.[541]John Fitz Gilbert, marshal to the Empress, and brother, as the succeeding charter proves, to William, her chancellor. With his father, Gilbert the Marshal (Mariscallus), he was unsuccessfully impleaded, under Henry I., by Robert de Venoiz and William de Hastings, for the office of marshal (Rot. Cart., 1 John), and in 1130, as John the Marshal (Mariscallus), he appears as charged, with his relief, in Wiltshire, for his father's lands and office (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I.). He is mentioned among the "barons" on the side of the Empress at the siege of Winchester (Gesta Stephani), and he was, with Robert de Curcy, witness to her (Oxford) charter, which I assign in the last note to later in this year, as he also had been to her charter creating the earldom of Hereford (July 25, 1141). Subsequently, he witnessed the charter to the son of the Earl of Essex (vide post). He played some part in the next reign from his official connection with the Becket quarrel. See also p. 131.[542]Miles de Beauchamp, son of Robert de Beauchamp, and nephew to Simon de Beauchamp, hereditary castellan of Bedford. In 1130 he appears in connection with Beds. and Bucks. (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I.). With his brother (Salop Cartulary) Payn de Beauchamp (who afterwards married Rohaise, the widow of this Geoffrey de Mandeville), he had held Bedford Castle against the king for five weeks from Christmas, 1137, as heir-male to his uncle, whose daughter and heir, with the Bedford barony, Stephen had conferred on HughPauper, brother of his favourite, the Count of Meulan (Ord. Vit.;Gesta Steph.). Dugdale's account is singularly inaccurate. Simon, the uncle, must have been living in the spring of 1136, for he then witnessed, as a royaldapifer, Stephen's great (Oxford) charter.[543]See p. 94,n.2.[544]Robert de Oilli the second, castellan of Oxford, and constable. Founder of Osney Priory. He appears in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I., and had witnessed, as a royalconstabularius, Stephen's great (Oxford) charter of 1136, but had embraced the cause of the Empress in 1141 (see p. 66). He witnessed five others of the Empress's charters, all of which passed at Oxford (Journ. B. A. A., xxxi. 391, 392, 396, 397).[545]See p. 95, note 1.[546]Dodsworth's transcript recommences and is continued to the end.[547]"Ibidem" (Dods., wrongly).[548]"Ijdem" (Dods., wrongly).[549]"Meduana" (Dug., rightly). "Johelus de Meduanâ" (Juhel of Mayenne) figures in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. as holding land in Devonshire. At the commencement of Stephen's reign, Geoffrey of Anjou had entrusted him with three of the castles he had captured in Normandy, on condition of receiving his support (R. of Torigni).[550]Guy de Sablé had accompanied the Empress to England in the autumn of 1139 (Ord. Vit., v. 121).[551]Clairvaux was a castle in Anjou. Payn de Clairvaux (de Claris vallibus) had, in 1130, and for some time previously, been fermor of Hastings, in Sussex (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I. p. 42). Later on, in Stephen's reign, he appears at Caen, witnessing a charter of Geoffrey, Duke of Normandy (BayeuxLiber Niger).[552]"Alvia" (Dug.).[553]Or "Rumard." Dugdale has "Rumard."[554]"Valoniis" (Dug.). Peter de Valoines. The occurrence of this great Hertfordshire baron is of special interest, because we have seen the Empress granting a charter to his father, Roger, in 1141. It is probable, therefore, that Roger had died in the interval. Peter himself died before 1166, when his younger brother, Robert, had succeeded him. His widow, Gundred (de Warrenne), was then living.[555]"Comiti ... meis." Dodsworth has only "Com etc."[556]"cum sigillo" (Dods.).[557]The clause certainly favours the belief that a relationship existed, but it was probably collateral, instead of lineal.[558]"Possessiones omnes ad ecclesiam pertinentes, castellum quoque de Storteford in sua dominatione recepit" (Rad. de Diceto, i. 250).[559]This negotiation between the Empress and Geoffrey should be compared with that between her and the legate in the spring of the preceding year. Each illustrates the other. In the latter case the expression used is, "Juravit etaffidavitimperatrix episcopo quod," etc. In the former, the empress is made to say, "Hanc autem convencionem et donacionem tenendamaffidavi," etc. But the striking point of resemblance is that in each case her leading followers are made to take part in the pledge of performance. At Winchester, we read in William of Malmesbury, "Idem juraverunt cum ea, et affidaverunt pro eâ, Robertus frater ejus comes de Gloecestrâ, et Brianus filius comitis marchio de Walingeford, et Milo de Gloecestriâ, postea comes de Hereford, et nonnulli alii" (see p. 58). At Oxford, we read in these charters, "Et hujus fiduciæ sunt obsides per fidem et Testes, Robertus comes Gloecestrie, et Milo comes Herefordie, et Brianus filius comitis et," etc. So close a parallel further confirms the genuineness of these charters. Another remarkable document illustrative of this negotiation is the alliance ("Confederatio amoris") between the Earls of Hereford and Gloucester (see Appendix S). Each earl there "affidavit et juravit" to the other, and each named certain of his followers as his "obsides per fidem"—the very phrase here used. See also p. 385,n.3.[560]That these securities were modelled on the practice of contracting sovereign powers is seen on comparing them with the treaty between Henry I. and the Count of Flanders (see Appendix S). But most to the point is the treaty between King Stephen and Duke Henry, where the clause for securing the "conventiones" runs:—"Archiepiscopi vero et episcopi ab utraque parte in manu ceperunt quod si quis nostrum a predictis conventionibus recederet, tam diu eum ecclesiastica justicia coercebunt, quousque errata corrigat et ad predictam pactionem observandam redeat. Mater etiam Ducis et ejus uxor et fratres ipsius Ducis et omnes sui quos ad hoc applicare poterit, hæc assecurabunt."[561]We may perhaps compare the oath taken by the French king some years before, to secure the charter ("Keure") granted to St. Omer by William, Count of Flanders (April 14, 1127):—"Hanc igitur Communionem tenendam, has supradictas consuetudines et conventiones esse observandas fide promiserunt et sacramento confirmaverunt Ludovicus rex Francorum, Guillelmus Comes Flandriæ," etc., etc.[562]See Appendix T, on "Affidatio in manu."[563]See Appendix U: "The Families of Mandeville and De Vere."[564]Add. MSS., 31,943, fols. 86b, 99, 116b.[565]It is headed "Pro Comite Oxoniæ Carta Matildæ Imperatricis confirmata," and it confirms the grants made by her "prout per cartam illam (i.e.Matildæ) plenius liquet."[566]See Appendix V, on "William of Arques."[567]i.e.escambio.[568]Of Helions in Bumsted Helion, Essex, the other portion of the parish, viz. Bumsted Hall, being, at and from the Survey, a portion of the De Vere fief. These his ten fees duly figure in theLiber Niger.[569]Dedham, Essex.[570]They were named, I presume, from the castle of Rames, adjoining the forest of Lillebonne.[571]This would seem to imply that Roger de Ramis had married a sister of Aubrey de Vere. See Appendix X: "Roger de Ramis."[572]Grey's Thurrock, in South Essex, being that portion of it which had been held by William Peverel at the Survey.[573]Query, the "Salamon clericus de Sudwic" (Northants) of the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. (p. 85)?[574]This was not Tilbury on the Thames, but Tilbury (Essex) near Clare, as is proved byLiber Niger(p. 393), where this land of Salamon proves to be part of the honour of Boulogne, held as a fifth of a knight's fee.[575]See Appendix R: "The Forest of Essex."[576]Geoffrey Talbot appears in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Henry I. as paying two hundred marks of silver for his father's land in Kent (p. 67). As "Agnes Vxor Gaufredi Talebot" is charged, at the same time, "pro dote et maritagio suo" (ibid.), it would seem that our Geoffrey had a father of the same name. We learn from theLiber Niger(i. 58) that at the death of Henry I. (1135) he held twenty knights' fees in Kent.[577]"Rogeri" in MS.[578]Or "Rumard."[579]RectiusPetr[us].[580]"Ex libro quodam pervetusto in pergamena manuscripto in custodia Henrici Vere nunc Comitis Oxoniæ, et mihi per Capitan: Skipwith, mutuato 21 April, 1622."[581]See Appendix Y.[582]As "turrim de Colcestr' et castellum" for "turrim et castellum de Colcestr'." The only difference of any importance is that Dugdale reads "Albenejo" in this charter, where he has "Albrincis" in that of the Empress.[583]I may perhaps be permitted to refer to my own discovery, in a stable loft, of a document bearing the seal of the King-maker, and bearing his rare autograph, which antiquaries had lost sight of since the days of Camden.[584]Mr. Eyton must have strangely overlooked this charter, for he begins his series of Henry's charters in 1149.[585]"Inga" in Dugdale's transcript, and rightly so, for we find this same Hugh, as "Hugo de Ging'," a witness to a charter on behalf of Earl Aubrey, about this time (infra, p. 190). There were several places in Essex named "Ging"alias"Ing."[586]Compare the famous Lewes charter of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, said (if genuine) to be the earliest allusion to a peerage creation. There the earl speaks of William Rufus, "qui me Surreæ comitemfecit."[587]Abingdon Cartulary, ii. 179.[588]It should, however, be observed that in this same charter she refers to Earl Gilbert (of Pembroke) and Earl Hugh (of Norfolk) by their comital style, though, so far as we know, they were earls of Stephen's creation alone. But such a reference as this is very different from the style formally given in a charter of creation.[589]Archæologia, vol. xxxi.[590]"Its date is subsequent to the 25th of July, 1141, when the Empress created Milo de Gloucester Earl of Hereford at Oxford, who has this title in the charter, and, from its having been given at Oxford, there can be little doubt that it was contemporaneous with that creation, and certainly prior to the siege of Winchester in the month of August following" (ibid., pp. 231, 232).[591]Of these witnesses "ex parte comitis," Geoffrey de Ver held half a knight's fee of him, Robert fitz Humfrey held one, Robert fitz "Ailric" one, Ralph fitz Adam a quarter, Ralph de Guisnes one, Geoffrey Arsic two, Robert de Cocefeld three, Ralph Carbonel one and a half. Hugh de Ging' was the "Hugo de Inga" who acted as proxy (vide supra) at Henry's confirmation of his mother's charter. This charter has an independent value for its bearing on knights' fees. See also Addenda.[592]At the same time, we must remember that he held a considerable fief in Cambridgeshire (see Domesday), which, if he could not have Essex, might lead him to select that county.[593]Norm. Conq., ii. 559.[594]Ibid.[595]Norm. Conq., ii. 559.[596]Where they form one shrievalty with onefirma, though the county of Surrey as well is inexplicably combined with them.[597]And the "tertius denarius" of Cambridgeshire was actually held by its earl (1205).[598]Stubbs,Const. Hist., i. 362,note.[599]Official Baronage, i. 291.[600]Mon. Ang., v. 440;Journ. B. A. A., xxxi. 392. This conclusion reveals a further error in theHistoire de Guillaume le Maréchal, which gives a very incomprehensible account of this Patrick's action.[601]See Appendix U.[602]"Regnum, ut in ore jam vulgi celebre fuerat, comitissæ Andegavensi conferre disposuerat" (Gesta Stephani, p. 101). This very remarkable incidental allusion should be compared with that in which Henry of Huntingdon justifies the earl's arrest by Stephen: "Nisi enim hoc egisset, perfidio consulis illius regno privatus fuisset" (p. 276).[603]"Duravit improspera valetudo usque post Pentecostem (June 7); tum enim sensim refusus salutis vigor eum in pedes erexit" (Will. Malms., p. 763).[604]"Rex ... comitis absentiam aucupatus, subito ad Waram veniens, et non bene munitum propugnatoribus offendens, succensa et depredata villa, statim etiam castello potitus est" (ibid., p. 766).[605]"Obsides poposcit sigillatim ab his qui optimates videbantur, secum in Normannia ducendos, vadesque futuros tam comiti Andegavensi quam imperatrici quod omnes, junctis umbonibus ab ea, dum ipse abesset, injurias propulsarent, viribus suis apud Oxeneford manentes" (Will. Malms., p. 764). The phrase "junctis umbonibus" revives memories of the shield-wall. See also Appendix S.[606]"Civitatem ... ita comes Gloecestrie fossatis munierat, ut inexpugnabilis præter per incendium videretur" (ibid., p. 766).[607]Gesta, pp. 87, 88.[608]Gesta, p. 88.[609]"Tribus diebus ante festum Sancti Michaelis" (Will. Malms., p. 766).[610]See the brilliant description of this action in theGesta Stephani, pp. 88, 89.[611]"Mox igitur optimates quidem omnes imperatricis, confusi quia a domina sua præter statutum abfuerant, confertis cuneis ad Walengeford convenerunt," etc. (Will. Malms., p. 766).[612]Dr. Stubbs has erroneously placed his landing in 1141 instead of in the autumn of 1142. See Appendix Y, on "The First and Second Visits of Henry II. to England."[613]Will. Malms., pp. 767, 768.[614]See, for the story of her romantic escape, theGesta Stephani(pp. 89, 90),William of Malmesbury(pp. 768, 769),John of Hexham(Sym. Dun., ii. 317),William of Newburgh(i. 43), and theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle(p. 384). This last is of special value for its mention of her escape from the tower of the castle. It states that Stephen "besæt hire in the tur," and that she was on the night of her escape let down by ropes from the tower ("me læt hire dun on niht of the tur mid rapes"). It is difficult to see how this can mean anything else than that she was lowered to the ground from the existing tower, instead of leaving by a gate.[615]See his charter to Wallingford (printed in Hearne'sLiber Niger(1771), pp. 817, 818), in which he grants privileges "pro servitio et labore magno quem pro me sustinuerunt in acquisitione hereditarii juris mei in Anglia."
[504]He states that the Earl of Gloucester, on his release, "circa germanam sedulo apud Oxeneford mansitabat; quo loco, ut præfatus sum, illa sedem sibi constituens, curiam fecerat" (p. 754).
[505]He set sail "aliquanto post festum sancti Johannis" (Will. Malms., p. 765).
[506]See the dazzling description of his power given by the author of theGesta, who speaks of him as one "qui omnes regni primates et divitiarum potentiâ et dignitatis excedebat opulentiâ; turrim quoque Londoniarum in manu, sed et castella inexpugnabilis fortitudinis circa civitatem constructa habebat, omnemque regni partem, quæ se regi subdiderat, ut ubique per regnum regis vices adimplens, et, in rebus agendis, rege avidius exaudiretur, et in præceptis injungendis, plus ei quam regi obtemperaretur" (p. 101). William of Newburgh, in the same spirit, speaks of him as "regi terribilis" (i. 44).
[507]See p. 160.
[508]"In totâ propemodum Angliâ sicut mortuus conclamaretur" (ibid.).
[509]William of Malmesbury (ut supra) is the authority for 1142, and Henry of Huntingdon for 1136: "Ad Rogationes vero divulgatum est regem mortuum esse" (p. 259).
[510]"Jam ergo cœpit rabies prædicta Normannorum, perjurio et proditione pullulare" (ibid.).
[511]It would seem to have been entered immediately after that charter to Miles of Gloucester which I have printed on p. 11, and which precedes it in the transcripts.
[512]Lansdowne MS.259, fol. 66.
[513]"Archiepiscopis, etc." (Dug.).
[514]"suus" omitted (Dug.).
[515]"ejus" (Dug.).
[516]"tenuerunt" (Dug., Dods.).
[517]"subjectum" (Dods.).
[518]"Lundoniæ et Middlesexiæ" (Dug.).
[519]"Et ... tenuit" (Essex shrievalty) omitted by Dugdale (and, consequently, in hisBaronagealso).
[520]Dodsworth transcript closes here.
[521]"illi" omitted by Dugdale.
[522]"quæ fuit" omitted by Dugdale.
[523]"per servicium militare" (wrongly, Dug.).
[524]"et" omitted by Dugdale.
[525]"centum libratas" (Dug.).
[526]Chreshall,aliasChristhall, Essex. Part of the honour of Boulogne. Was held by Count Eustace, at the Survey, in demesne. Stephen granted it to his own son William, who gave it to Richard de Luci.
[527]Bendish Hall, in Radwinter, Essex. Part of the honour of Boulogne. It was given by Stephen's son William to Faversham Abbey, Kent.
[528]This word is illegible. It baffled the transcriber inLansd. MS.259. Dugdale has "wiam." The right reading is "luiam," the river Lea being meant, as is proved by the Pipe-Roll of 14 Hen. II.
[529]William fitz Otwel, Earl Geoffrey's "brother," is referred to by Earl William (Geoffrey's son) as his uncle ("avunculus") in a charter confirming his grant of lands (thirty-three acres) in "Abi et Toresbi" to Greenfield Nunnery, Lincolnshire (Harl. Cart., 53, C, 50). He is also a witness, as "patruus meus," to a charter of Earl Geoffrey the younger (Sloane Cart., xxxii. 64), early in the reign of Henry II. He was clearly a "uterine" brother of Earl Geoffrey the elder, so that his father must have married William de Mandeville's widow—a fact unknown to genealogists.
[530]William de Sai had married Beatrice, sister (and, in her issue, heiress) of the earl, by whom he was ancestor of the second line of Mandeville, Earl of Essex. In the following year he joined the earl in his furious revolt against the king.
[531]This was William "Capra" (Chévre), whose family gave its name to the manor of "Chevers" in Mountnessing, county Essex. He was probably another brother-in-law of the earl, for I have seen a charter of Alice (Adelid[is]) Capra, in which she speaks of Geoffrey's son, Earl William, as her nephew ("nepos"). There is also a charter of a Geoffrey Capra and Mazelina (sic) his wife, which suggests that the name of Geoffrey may have come to the family from the earl. Thoby Priory, Essex, was founded (1141-1151) by Michael Capra, Roesia his wife, and William, their son. The founder speaks of Roger fitz Richard ("ex cujus munificentiâ mihi idem fundus pervenit"), who was the second husband (as I have elsewhere explained) of "Alice of Essex,"néede Vere, the sister of Earl Geoffrey's wife. A Michael Capra and a William Capra, holding respectively four and four and a half knights' fees, were feudal tenants of Walter fitz Robert (the lord of Dunmow) in 1166.
[532]William, son of Walter (Fitz Other) de Windsor, castellan of Windsor. In the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I., he appears as in charge of Windsor Forest, for which he renders his account. It is probably to this charter rather than to any separate grant that Dugdale refers in his account of the family.
[533]This is an unusual name. As William de Say is mentioned just before, it may be noted that his son (Earl Geoffrey's nephew) promised (in 1150-1160) to grant to Ramsey Abbey "marcatam redditus ex quo adipisci poterit quadraginta marcatas de hereditate sua, scilicet de terra Robertide Rumele" (Chron. Ram., p. 305). Mathew de Romeli, according to Dugdale, was the son of Robert de Romeli, lord of Skipton, by Cecily his wife. A Mathew de Romeli, with Alan his son, occur in a plea of 1236-7 (Bracton's Note-Book, ed. Maitland, iii. 189).
[534]Geoffrey de Tourville appears in 1130 as holding land in four counties (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I.).
[535]William de Ou (Auco) or Eu is returned in thecartaof the Earl of Essex (1166) as holding four fees of him.
[536]See Appendix Q, on "Osbertus Octodenarii."
[537]Dodsworth's transcript begins again here, and is continued down to "Belloc[ampo]."
[538]"Comes Herefordiæ" (Dug.).
[539]So also Dodsworth; but Dugdale wrongly extends: "Robertus filius Reginaldi." See p. 94,n.4.
[540]Robert de Courci of Stoke (Courcy), Somerset. He figures in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. As "Robert de Curci" he witnessed the Empress's charter creating the earldom of Hereford (July 25, 1141), and as "Robert de Curci Dapifer" her confirmation of the Earl of Devon's gift (Mon. Aug., v. 106;Journ. B. A. A., xxxi. 391), both of them passing at Oxford, the latter (probably) in 1142, subsequent to the above charter. He was slain at Counsylth, 1157.
[541]John Fitz Gilbert, marshal to the Empress, and brother, as the succeeding charter proves, to William, her chancellor. With his father, Gilbert the Marshal (Mariscallus), he was unsuccessfully impleaded, under Henry I., by Robert de Venoiz and William de Hastings, for the office of marshal (Rot. Cart., 1 John), and in 1130, as John the Marshal (Mariscallus), he appears as charged, with his relief, in Wiltshire, for his father's lands and office (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I.). He is mentioned among the "barons" on the side of the Empress at the siege of Winchester (Gesta Stephani), and he was, with Robert de Curcy, witness to her (Oxford) charter, which I assign in the last note to later in this year, as he also had been to her charter creating the earldom of Hereford (July 25, 1141). Subsequently, he witnessed the charter to the son of the Earl of Essex (vide post). He played some part in the next reign from his official connection with the Becket quarrel. See also p. 131.
[542]Miles de Beauchamp, son of Robert de Beauchamp, and nephew to Simon de Beauchamp, hereditary castellan of Bedford. In 1130 he appears in connection with Beds. and Bucks. (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I.). With his brother (Salop Cartulary) Payn de Beauchamp (who afterwards married Rohaise, the widow of this Geoffrey de Mandeville), he had held Bedford Castle against the king for five weeks from Christmas, 1137, as heir-male to his uncle, whose daughter and heir, with the Bedford barony, Stephen had conferred on HughPauper, brother of his favourite, the Count of Meulan (Ord. Vit.;Gesta Steph.). Dugdale's account is singularly inaccurate. Simon, the uncle, must have been living in the spring of 1136, for he then witnessed, as a royaldapifer, Stephen's great (Oxford) charter.
[543]See p. 94,n.2.
[544]Robert de Oilli the second, castellan of Oxford, and constable. Founder of Osney Priory. He appears in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I., and had witnessed, as a royalconstabularius, Stephen's great (Oxford) charter of 1136, but had embraced the cause of the Empress in 1141 (see p. 66). He witnessed five others of the Empress's charters, all of which passed at Oxford (Journ. B. A. A., xxxi. 391, 392, 396, 397).
[545]See p. 95, note 1.
[546]Dodsworth's transcript recommences and is continued to the end.
[547]"Ibidem" (Dods., wrongly).
[548]"Ijdem" (Dods., wrongly).
[549]"Meduana" (Dug., rightly). "Johelus de Meduanâ" (Juhel of Mayenne) figures in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. as holding land in Devonshire. At the commencement of Stephen's reign, Geoffrey of Anjou had entrusted him with three of the castles he had captured in Normandy, on condition of receiving his support (R. of Torigni).
[550]Guy de Sablé had accompanied the Empress to England in the autumn of 1139 (Ord. Vit., v. 121).
[551]Clairvaux was a castle in Anjou. Payn de Clairvaux (de Claris vallibus) had, in 1130, and for some time previously, been fermor of Hastings, in Sussex (Rot. Pip., 31 Hen. I. p. 42). Later on, in Stephen's reign, he appears at Caen, witnessing a charter of Geoffrey, Duke of Normandy (BayeuxLiber Niger).
[552]"Alvia" (Dug.).
[553]Or "Rumard." Dugdale has "Rumard."
[554]"Valoniis" (Dug.). Peter de Valoines. The occurrence of this great Hertfordshire baron is of special interest, because we have seen the Empress granting a charter to his father, Roger, in 1141. It is probable, therefore, that Roger had died in the interval. Peter himself died before 1166, when his younger brother, Robert, had succeeded him. His widow, Gundred (de Warrenne), was then living.
[555]"Comiti ... meis." Dodsworth has only "Com etc."
[556]"cum sigillo" (Dods.).
[557]The clause certainly favours the belief that a relationship existed, but it was probably collateral, instead of lineal.
[558]"Possessiones omnes ad ecclesiam pertinentes, castellum quoque de Storteford in sua dominatione recepit" (Rad. de Diceto, i. 250).
[559]This negotiation between the Empress and Geoffrey should be compared with that between her and the legate in the spring of the preceding year. Each illustrates the other. In the latter case the expression used is, "Juravit etaffidavitimperatrix episcopo quod," etc. In the former, the empress is made to say, "Hanc autem convencionem et donacionem tenendamaffidavi," etc. But the striking point of resemblance is that in each case her leading followers are made to take part in the pledge of performance. At Winchester, we read in William of Malmesbury, "Idem juraverunt cum ea, et affidaverunt pro eâ, Robertus frater ejus comes de Gloecestrâ, et Brianus filius comitis marchio de Walingeford, et Milo de Gloecestriâ, postea comes de Hereford, et nonnulli alii" (see p. 58). At Oxford, we read in these charters, "Et hujus fiduciæ sunt obsides per fidem et Testes, Robertus comes Gloecestrie, et Milo comes Herefordie, et Brianus filius comitis et," etc. So close a parallel further confirms the genuineness of these charters. Another remarkable document illustrative of this negotiation is the alliance ("Confederatio amoris") between the Earls of Hereford and Gloucester (see Appendix S). Each earl there "affidavit et juravit" to the other, and each named certain of his followers as his "obsides per fidem"—the very phrase here used. See also p. 385,n.3.
[560]That these securities were modelled on the practice of contracting sovereign powers is seen on comparing them with the treaty between Henry I. and the Count of Flanders (see Appendix S). But most to the point is the treaty between King Stephen and Duke Henry, where the clause for securing the "conventiones" runs:—"Archiepiscopi vero et episcopi ab utraque parte in manu ceperunt quod si quis nostrum a predictis conventionibus recederet, tam diu eum ecclesiastica justicia coercebunt, quousque errata corrigat et ad predictam pactionem observandam redeat. Mater etiam Ducis et ejus uxor et fratres ipsius Ducis et omnes sui quos ad hoc applicare poterit, hæc assecurabunt."
[561]We may perhaps compare the oath taken by the French king some years before, to secure the charter ("Keure") granted to St. Omer by William, Count of Flanders (April 14, 1127):—"Hanc igitur Communionem tenendam, has supradictas consuetudines et conventiones esse observandas fide promiserunt et sacramento confirmaverunt Ludovicus rex Francorum, Guillelmus Comes Flandriæ," etc., etc.
[562]See Appendix T, on "Affidatio in manu."
[563]See Appendix U: "The Families of Mandeville and De Vere."
[564]Add. MSS., 31,943, fols. 86b, 99, 116b.
[565]It is headed "Pro Comite Oxoniæ Carta Matildæ Imperatricis confirmata," and it confirms the grants made by her "prout per cartam illam (i.e.Matildæ) plenius liquet."
[566]See Appendix V, on "William of Arques."
[567]i.e.escambio.
[568]Of Helions in Bumsted Helion, Essex, the other portion of the parish, viz. Bumsted Hall, being, at and from the Survey, a portion of the De Vere fief. These his ten fees duly figure in theLiber Niger.
[569]Dedham, Essex.
[570]They were named, I presume, from the castle of Rames, adjoining the forest of Lillebonne.
[571]This would seem to imply that Roger de Ramis had married a sister of Aubrey de Vere. See Appendix X: "Roger de Ramis."
[572]Grey's Thurrock, in South Essex, being that portion of it which had been held by William Peverel at the Survey.
[573]Query, the "Salamon clericus de Sudwic" (Northants) of the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. (p. 85)?
[574]This was not Tilbury on the Thames, but Tilbury (Essex) near Clare, as is proved byLiber Niger(p. 393), where this land of Salamon proves to be part of the honour of Boulogne, held as a fifth of a knight's fee.
[575]See Appendix R: "The Forest of Essex."
[576]Geoffrey Talbot appears in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Henry I. as paying two hundred marks of silver for his father's land in Kent (p. 67). As "Agnes Vxor Gaufredi Talebot" is charged, at the same time, "pro dote et maritagio suo" (ibid.), it would seem that our Geoffrey had a father of the same name. We learn from theLiber Niger(i. 58) that at the death of Henry I. (1135) he held twenty knights' fees in Kent.
[577]"Rogeri" in MS.
[578]Or "Rumard."
[579]RectiusPetr[us].
[580]"Ex libro quodam pervetusto in pergamena manuscripto in custodia Henrici Vere nunc Comitis Oxoniæ, et mihi per Capitan: Skipwith, mutuato 21 April, 1622."
[581]See Appendix Y.
[582]As "turrim de Colcestr' et castellum" for "turrim et castellum de Colcestr'." The only difference of any importance is that Dugdale reads "Albenejo" in this charter, where he has "Albrincis" in that of the Empress.
[583]I may perhaps be permitted to refer to my own discovery, in a stable loft, of a document bearing the seal of the King-maker, and bearing his rare autograph, which antiquaries had lost sight of since the days of Camden.
[584]Mr. Eyton must have strangely overlooked this charter, for he begins his series of Henry's charters in 1149.
[585]"Inga" in Dugdale's transcript, and rightly so, for we find this same Hugh, as "Hugo de Ging'," a witness to a charter on behalf of Earl Aubrey, about this time (infra, p. 190). There were several places in Essex named "Ging"alias"Ing."
[586]Compare the famous Lewes charter of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, said (if genuine) to be the earliest allusion to a peerage creation. There the earl speaks of William Rufus, "qui me Surreæ comitemfecit."
[587]Abingdon Cartulary, ii. 179.
[588]It should, however, be observed that in this same charter she refers to Earl Gilbert (of Pembroke) and Earl Hugh (of Norfolk) by their comital style, though, so far as we know, they were earls of Stephen's creation alone. But such a reference as this is very different from the style formally given in a charter of creation.
[589]Archæologia, vol. xxxi.
[590]"Its date is subsequent to the 25th of July, 1141, when the Empress created Milo de Gloucester Earl of Hereford at Oxford, who has this title in the charter, and, from its having been given at Oxford, there can be little doubt that it was contemporaneous with that creation, and certainly prior to the siege of Winchester in the month of August following" (ibid., pp. 231, 232).
[591]Of these witnesses "ex parte comitis," Geoffrey de Ver held half a knight's fee of him, Robert fitz Humfrey held one, Robert fitz "Ailric" one, Ralph fitz Adam a quarter, Ralph de Guisnes one, Geoffrey Arsic two, Robert de Cocefeld three, Ralph Carbonel one and a half. Hugh de Ging' was the "Hugo de Inga" who acted as proxy (vide supra) at Henry's confirmation of his mother's charter. This charter has an independent value for its bearing on knights' fees. See also Addenda.
[592]At the same time, we must remember that he held a considerable fief in Cambridgeshire (see Domesday), which, if he could not have Essex, might lead him to select that county.
[593]Norm. Conq., ii. 559.
[594]Ibid.
[595]Norm. Conq., ii. 559.
[596]Where they form one shrievalty with onefirma, though the county of Surrey as well is inexplicably combined with them.
[597]And the "tertius denarius" of Cambridgeshire was actually held by its earl (1205).
[598]Stubbs,Const. Hist., i. 362,note.
[599]Official Baronage, i. 291.
[600]Mon. Ang., v. 440;Journ. B. A. A., xxxi. 392. This conclusion reveals a further error in theHistoire de Guillaume le Maréchal, which gives a very incomprehensible account of this Patrick's action.
[601]See Appendix U.
[602]"Regnum, ut in ore jam vulgi celebre fuerat, comitissæ Andegavensi conferre disposuerat" (Gesta Stephani, p. 101). This very remarkable incidental allusion should be compared with that in which Henry of Huntingdon justifies the earl's arrest by Stephen: "Nisi enim hoc egisset, perfidio consulis illius regno privatus fuisset" (p. 276).
[603]"Duravit improspera valetudo usque post Pentecostem (June 7); tum enim sensim refusus salutis vigor eum in pedes erexit" (Will. Malms., p. 763).
[604]"Rex ... comitis absentiam aucupatus, subito ad Waram veniens, et non bene munitum propugnatoribus offendens, succensa et depredata villa, statim etiam castello potitus est" (ibid., p. 766).
[605]"Obsides poposcit sigillatim ab his qui optimates videbantur, secum in Normannia ducendos, vadesque futuros tam comiti Andegavensi quam imperatrici quod omnes, junctis umbonibus ab ea, dum ipse abesset, injurias propulsarent, viribus suis apud Oxeneford manentes" (Will. Malms., p. 764). The phrase "junctis umbonibus" revives memories of the shield-wall. See also Appendix S.
[606]"Civitatem ... ita comes Gloecestrie fossatis munierat, ut inexpugnabilis præter per incendium videretur" (ibid., p. 766).
[607]Gesta, pp. 87, 88.
[608]Gesta, p. 88.
[609]"Tribus diebus ante festum Sancti Michaelis" (Will. Malms., p. 766).
[610]See the brilliant description of this action in theGesta Stephani, pp. 88, 89.
[611]"Mox igitur optimates quidem omnes imperatricis, confusi quia a domina sua præter statutum abfuerant, confertis cuneis ad Walengeford convenerunt," etc. (Will. Malms., p. 766).
[612]Dr. Stubbs has erroneously placed his landing in 1141 instead of in the autumn of 1142. See Appendix Y, on "The First and Second Visits of Henry II. to England."
[613]Will. Malms., pp. 767, 768.
[614]See, for the story of her romantic escape, theGesta Stephani(pp. 89, 90),William of Malmesbury(pp. 768, 769),John of Hexham(Sym. Dun., ii. 317),William of Newburgh(i. 43), and theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle(p. 384). This last is of special value for its mention of her escape from the tower of the castle. It states that Stephen "besæt hire in the tur," and that she was on the night of her escape let down by ropes from the tower ("me læt hire dun on niht of the tur mid rapes"). It is difficult to see how this can mean anything else than that she was lowered to the ground from the existing tower, instead of leaving by a gate.
[615]See his charter to Wallingford (printed in Hearne'sLiber Niger(1771), pp. 817, 818), in which he grants privileges "pro servitio et labore magno quem pro me sustinuerunt in acquisitione hereditarii juris mei in Anglia."