John Fitz Geoffrey

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John Fitz Geoffrey (* around 1206 - 23 November 1258 ) was an English nobleman and justiciar of Ireland . He was one of the founders of the noble rebellion of 1258.

Origin and heritage

John fitz Geoffrey was a son from the second marriage of Geoffrey fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex to Aveline, the widow of William de Munchensi , who died in 1204, and daughter of Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford . His father had risen from the lower nobility to the royal justiciar and the Earl of Essex , he already had several children from his first marriage. King John Ohneland gave him the right to bequeath the Honor of Berkhamstead to the children of his second marriage . He died in 1213. When John Fitz Geoffrey came of age in 1227, he paid King Henry III. 300 marks to take over his inheritance, but the king refused most of the inheritance his father had intended. Berkhamsted Castle and most of the Honor's estates, including Aylesbury and Steeple Claydon in Buckinghamshire , Exning in Suffolk and Cherhill in Wiltshire , remained in the King's possession, while John only got Winterslow in Wiltshire.

Rise in the service of the king

From 1234 to 1236 John served as Sheriff of Yorkshire . One of the conditions the King had to meet in 1237 for a tax to be approved by Parliament was the admission of John Fitz Geoffrey to the royal family, along with William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey and William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby Advice that shows the high reputation that John held despite his relatively small landownership. In the next few years he earned the trust of Heinrich III. From 1237 to 1245 he served as steward of the king's household , and from 1238 to 1246 he was sheriff of Gloucestershire . From 1241 to 1242 he was briefly chief judge for the royal forests in southern England and in 1243 Seneschal of Gascony .

Through John's marriage to Isabel († 1250), the widow of Gilbert de Lacy, Lord of Meath and daughter of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk , he had claims to their wittism in Ireland . As an experienced official of the king, he was therefore justiciar, i.e. deputy, of the king in Ireland in 1245. He held this office until 1256. 1254 handed over to Heinrich III. Ireland to his son Lord Eduard , and John Fitz Geoffrey rose to be the heir's chief adviser. The king thanked his long-time servant with the estates of Whaddon in Buckinghamshire and Ringwood in Hampshire . In addition, he was allowed to acquire guardianship for the heirs of Theobald Butler in Ireland and the administration of their lands for 3,000 marks .

Co-founder of the nobility opposition to the king and sudden death

Despite his many years of service for Heinrich III. On April 12, 1258, John formed an alliance with six other magnates to reform the government. The exact reasons for this are unknown, but according to the reports of the chroniclers, John Fitz Geoffrey could have had several causes. On the one hand, he may have been disappointed about his dismissal as Justiciar of Ireland, but more likely is his opposition to the Lusignans , the king's half-brothers from south-west France, who, together with their entourage, had a great influence on the king. They also had increasing influence on Lord Edward, so that John Fitz Geoffrey's position with the heir to the throne was endangered. John had got into a bitter argument with the youngest of the Lusignans, Bishop Aymer de Lusignan , over his estate at Shere , Surrey . The Lusignan followers attacked Shere on April 1, 1258, killing one of John's followers. When John asked for justice, the king refused to hear the case. The seven rebels stormed Westminster Hall on April 28 , where Parliament was gathered. They were quick to get the overwhelming majority of the barons on their side, and consequently John was elected as a member of the committee that would draft reform proposals for the government. After Parliament accepted these proposals, the so-called Provisions of Oxford , in June 1258 , John Fitz Geoffrey was elected a member of the new 15-member Council of State. Together with Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk and Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester , he left for London on July 23rd to win the City of London to the side of the new government.

With his sudden death in November 1258, the new government of the barons lost one of its most important and experienced members. Despite his rebellion, the king mourned the death of his former confidante. He arranged a solemn commemorative mass and had his coffin covered with a golden cloth.

Family and offspring

From his marriage to Isabel Bigod, John Fitz Geoffrey had several children, including:

  • John fitz John
  • Richard FitzJohn, 1st Baron FitzJohn († 1297)
  • Matilda (also Maud) († 1301)
  1. ⚭ Sir Gerard de Furnivall († 1261)
  2. ⚭ William de Beauchamp

John's heir became his son of the same name, who became a major supporter of Simon de Montfort, the leader of the aristocratic opposition.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 22
  2. ↑ Cracroft's Peerage: Warwick, Earl of (E, 1088-1446). Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME John Fitz Geoffrey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES John Fitzgeoffrey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman and justiciar of Ireland
DATE OF BIRTH around 1206
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1258