Henry of Essex

Henry of Essex (also: Henry d'Essex , † after 1163) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman who held the office of Constable of England during the reign of Kings Stephen and Henry II .

origin

Henry of Essex was a son of Robert Fitzsweyn of Essex († around 1140) and his wife Gunnora, a daughter of Robert Bigod . His father inherited the Honor of Rayleigh with Rayleigh Castle in Essex .

Constable of the King

From about 1151 onwards, Henry served King Stephen as royal constable and judge in Essex. Although the Empress Matilda attempted to win him over to her side during the anarchy , and Henry has been shown to have heard Heinrich von Blois , the Bishop of Winchester's call to support Matilda, there is no evidence that he ever left King Stephen. After the death of King Stephen, however, he immediately entered the service of Heinrich II, the son of Matilda and Stephen's successor as king. Christmas 1154 he served as a witness for documents from Heinrich, in which he was named as Royal Constable. In 1156 he served as a judge when Chancellor Thomas Becket first traveled to England as a traveling judge through nine counties in southern England. In 1155 he was Sheriff of Hertfordshire and from 1156 to 1157 Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire.

Fall after the battle at Coleshill

Henry often accompanied the king, including on his 1157 campaign to Wales . The king got into a Welsh ambush in the battle at Coleshill . When Henry heard that the king had allegedly fallen, he threw away the royal standard in a panic and ran away shouting that the king was dead. However, this was only wounded, and he managed to regroup his troops and continue the campaign. This incident marked the end of Henry's career in the king's service. At Michaelmas 1157 he was replaced as sheriff, and after that he is rarely mentioned in royal documents. Nevertheless, he remained Royal Constable, in this capacity he took part in the campaign against Toulouse in the spring and summer of 1159 .

On the King's Judgment Day at Easter 1163, Henry was accused of treason by Robert de Montfort , whose family had once owned Henry's Haughley estate, and summoned to a court battle for his conduct at the Coleshill . This duel took place a few months later on Fry's Island in the Thames near Reading (Berkshire) . Wounded in battle, Henry fell to the ground and was believed dead, but the monks of Reading Abbey , who had already wanted to bury him on the intercession of influential friends, found that he was still alive and saved his life. Having lost the battle, he was considered a convicted traitor and lost his possessions and offices. The king allowed him to enter Reading Monastery, where he died a monk.

Previously, Henry had only made small foundations for the benefit of the Blackwose Premonstratensian Priory in Kent .

Family and offspring

Henry was married twice. In his first marriage he was married to Cecily, whose origin is unknown. She was the mother of most of his children. His second wife was Alice, who was probably a daughter, but possibly also the widow of Robert de Vere († around 1151). Alice brought extensive possessions into the marriage, including the Barony of Haughley , which Robert de Vere had acquired through his marriage to Alice de Montfort.

Henry had several children including:

• Henry of Essex the Younger
• Hugh
• Robert
• Agnes of Essex ∞ Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford
• Alice ∞ (?) Geoffrey de Say (1135-1214)

Web links

• Berkshire History: Trial by Combat at Reading
• Emilie Amt: Essex, Henry of (d. After 1163). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004