Nicholas Seagrave, 1st Baron Seagrave

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Nicholas Seagrave, 1st Baron Seagrave (also Segrave ) (* around 1238; † before November 12, 1295 ) was an English rebel, nobleman and military.

Origin and heritage

Nicholas of Seagrave was a son of the judge Gilbert of Seagrave and his wife Amabilia. Through his mother he finally became the only heir to his grandfather Robert of Chalcombe , and through his father he was a grandson of the Justiciars Stephen of Seagrave . His father died in captivity in France as early as 1254. His mother received a Wittum from her husband's estates , and she later married Roger de Somery . Since Nicholas was still a minor, the heir to the throne, Lord Edward, became his guardian and administrator of his inheritance. In March 1257, Nicholas is mentioned as a squire at Windsor Castle . On April 18, 1258, he paid a fee of 300 marks (£ 200), and after paying homage to the king he was allowed to inherit from his father, which included extensive holdings in Leicestershire and other parts of England.

Change from the king's party to the aristocratic opposition in the war of the barons

Seagrave was too young to play a role at the beginning of the Barons' Rebellion in 1258. In the spring of 1259 he went on a pilgrimage to Pontigny in France. On October 28th he was part of King Henry III's entourage . when he traveled to France, where he signed the Treaty of Paris with the French king . On March 31, 1260 he was one of the 100 crown vassals who were called to a council meeting of the king in London, and on September 16, 1261 he again swore allegiance to the king. However, he followed the example of numerous other barons from Leicestershire and the Midlands and from December 1261 supported Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester , who had become the leader of the aristocratic opposition to the king.

Role in the war of the barons

In May 1263 the king ordered him to Worcester , where he wanted to knight Seagrave, then he should take part in a campaign to Wales. Seagrave, however, was among the young barons who captured Peter D'Aigueblanche , the Bishop of Hereford and one of the king's leading diplomats, at his cathedral on June 7, 1263 . In December 1263, Seagrave was one of the barons who swore to recognize the arbitration award of the French king on the validity of the barons' reform program. However, when it came to open war between the barons against the king after the Mise of Amiens in the spring of 1264 , Seagrave was one of the rebels who, under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, besieged Rochester Castle in vain in April 1264 . Subsequently, in May 1264 at the Battle of Lewes, he was the leader of the contingent of the City of London , which was routed by the department of the heir to the throne, Lord Edward . However, the battle ended with a clear victory for Montfort, who then took control of England. From June 17, 1264 to April 21, 1265 Seagrave was administrator of Rockingham Castle and the royal forests between Oxford and Stamford . In early 1265 he took part in De Montfort's Parliament . As a supporter of Montfort, he fought in August 1265 in the Battle of Evesham , in which Montfort was killed and Seagrave captured. For Henry III. Seagrave was an enemy of the king whom he expropriated. The king gave his lands to his younger son, Lord Edmund .

Despite the royal party's clear victory, the barons' war was not over as the vengeance of the king and his followers drove the remaining rebels to continue their struggle. It is unclear whether Seagrave was able to escape captivity or was released. In September 1266 he was offered safe conduct to submit to the king, but at the beginning of 1267 he was one of the so-called disinherited , the remaining rebels who fought desperately for their lands and had withdrawn to the Isle of Ely . There are indications that either Seagrave or his mother Amabilia, whose husband Roger de Somery was a partisan of the king, were responsible for ensuring that the remaining disinherited submitted to the king. Seagrave himself was one of the rebels who occupied London with the Earl of Gloucester in April 1267, forcing the king to give in. In the summer of 1267, he and the disinherited people in his company were promised safe conduct so that they could submit to the king. According to the Dictum of Kenilworth , the disinherited were allowed to buy back their lands. The price for this now depended on how much they were involved in the rebellion against the king. Seagrave had to pay five times the annual income from the estates to buy back his confiscated lands, making him one of the rebels who had to pay the most. It was only after his death in 1295 that the last part of his debt that he had to pay to Lord Edmund was paid off.

Service to the King after the Barons' War

After Seagrave was formally pardoned on July 1, 1267, he entered the royal household as a knight and quickly regained the king's favor. Presumably he took part in Prince Edward's crusade , for which the king granted him protection for four years in May 1270, and in January 1271 he was assured that he would not have to attend court hearings for four years. Instead, he was allowed to be represented by lawyers. In 1277 and 1282 he took part in the campaigns of King Edward I to conquer Wales . In July 1287 he took on the military council, the Lord Edmund occasion of the uprising of the Welsh Lord Rhys ap Maredudd of Gloucester had called. 1283 and 1295 Seagrave was appointed to the parliaments , which is why he carried the title of Baron Seagrave . In 1285 he accompanied Edward I on his visit to France. He presumably served in Ireland the following year . In gratitude for his services, he was able to acquire the administration of the lands from William Ferrers on May 18, 1288 for a small fee of 100 marks . In 1294 he was part of the English army, which put down another Welsh uprising , then on June 20, 1294 he was appointed one of the English envoys along with Bishop Antony Bek of Durham, Archbishop John de Sandford of Dublin and Hugh le Despenser to help with the Roman-German King Adolf von Nassau and to negotiate with the Archbishop of Cologne Siegfried von Westerburg . 1295 he belonged to the army, the Lord Edmund during the war French-English in the Gascogne moved.

Family and offspring

Seagrave was married to Matilda, who likely came from the Lucy family. With her he had at least five sons and at least one daughter, including:

He was buried at Chacombe Priory in Northamptonshire . His heir became his eldest son, John.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 149
  2. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 387
predecessor Office successor
New title created Baron Segrave
1283-1295 		John Seagrave
personal data
SURNAME Seagrave, Nicholas, 1st Baron Seagrave
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Segrave, Nicholas, 1st Baron Segrave
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English rebel, nobleman and military
DATE OF BIRTH around 1238
DATE OF DEATH before November 12, 1295