Gerard d'Athée

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Loches Castle, which Athée had to hand over to the French king in 1205

Gerard d'Athée (* around 1150; † around 1210 or 1213) was a French official and mercenary captain in the service of the English kings Richard I and Johann Ohneland .

Life

He was probably born in the French county of Tours in the 1150s , probably near the village of Athée-sur-Cher near Tours , after which he was named. At that time the county of Tours belonged to the Angevin Empire of King Henry II of England . According to medieval chronicles, Gerard was a serf , but in fact he probably came from the lower nobility. He hired himself as a mercenary, ruthlessly offered his services to the highest bidder and thus made a career. In 1198 he served the English King Richard the Lionheart . After Richard's death in 1199, he quickly joined his brother Johann Ohneland , while most of the nobles from Touraine, Maine and Anjou supported Richard's nephew Arthur of Brittany . In the succession dispute, Johann was able to prevail, and Athée served him as commandant of the castles of Chinon and Loches , as administrator of the city of Tours and from 1202 as seneschal of the county of Tours, where he was subordinate to the seneschal of Poitou, Robert of Thornham . Even when the entire northern French possessions of John had been conquered by King Philip II of France in 1204 , he held Loches Castle against the French besiegers before he had to surrender at Easter 1205 and was taken prisoner. When King John lost the trust of his English barons after the loss of Normandy , he remembered the brave mercenary commander who was imprisoned in the castle of Compiègne and paid the enormous ransom of 2,000 marks for him in 1206 . Athée was not released until a year later and was able to sail to England in September 1207. In England the King made him Sheriff of Gloucestershire and Constable of Gloucester Castle in January 1208 . In March 1208 he appointed him constable of Bristol Castle and administrator of the estates of the exiled Bishop of Bath and in May 1208 finally sheriff of Herefordshire and constable of Hereford Castle . As early as April 1208, the king had instructed him to take action against the rebellious Baron William de Braose in South Wales and to occupy his possessions there. In May 1208 Athée was then administrator of the property of Braose's son Giles de Braose , who had also fled into French exile as Bishop of Hereford . In the next few years he stayed at the king's court several times, but after 1210 he is no longer mentioned directly. Since his deputies remained in their offices, it is believed that he was seriously ill or too old.

Family and offspring

Athée was married and had at least two sons. He moved Engelard de Cigogné , who was presumably his nephew, and other relatives and friends from Touraine to follow him to England, where they acted as his representatives or received other offices from the king. They served King John during the conflict with the English barons as loyal sheriffs and constables, which is why they were so hated by the rebellious barons that in 1215, Article 50 of the Magna Carta of 1215, they enforced that Engelard de Cigogné and six named relatives of Athées were theirs Lost offices in England and were never allowed to hold royal office again. However, King John did not adhere to the Magna Carta, which led to the First War of the Barons , and on January 7, 1216 gave Athées son John lands in Essex , Bedford , Cambridge and Huntingdon that had previously belonged to Simon Fitz Richard. Article 50 was removed from the revised version of the Magna Carta of 1216 after the king's death.

literature

  • Russell Howes: Magna Carta and two Sheriffs of Gloucestershire . In: Glevensis. Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group Review, 38 (2005), pp. 15-20, pdf, 5.8 MB

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rickaby, Margaret: Girard d'Athee and the Men from the Touraine. Their roles under King John. Durham University, Dissertation, 2011, p. 70
  2. ^ Winfried L. Warren: King John . University of California Press, Berkeley, 1978, ISBN 0-520-03494-5 , p. 188
personal data
SURNAME Gerard d'Athée
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gerard de Athée
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French mercenary leader and civil servant in the service of the English kings
DATE OF BIRTH around 1150
DATE OF DEATH around 1210 or 1213