Patrick of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Salisbury

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Patrick FitzWalter, 1st Earl of Salisbury (also Earl of Wiltshire ) († 1168 near Poitiers ) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.

Origin and heritage

Patrick was from the first house of Salisbury . He was a younger son of Walter FitzEdward and his wife Sibyll de Chaources . His father may have been made hereditary sheriff of Wiltshire during the reign of King Stephen of Blois . After his father's death in 1147, he inherited the Honor of Chitterne in Wiltshire. When his older brother William died in the mid-1140s, Patrick became his parents' heir. In 1166 he counted more than 40 Knight's fees in his father 's inheritance and 16 in his mother's inheritance.

Role during anarchy

As his brother's successor, Stephan became Constable of Salisbury in the mid-1140s . His brother had been a supporter of Matilda in the controversy between King Stephen and Empress Matilda , the so-called anarchy . Patrick, on the other hand, was initially at least officially loyal to King Stephen. However, he became embroiled in a feud with John Marshal , the castellan of Marlborough Castle . In the feud, however, Patrick retained the upper hand. As a result Marshal married Sibyl, a sister of Patrick. Around this time, Patrick also switched to Matilda's side, who appointed him Earl of Wiltshire before 1147 . Allegedly in the fight against King Stephen, he temporarily occupied Downton Castle , a castle of Henry of Blois , Bishop of Winchester, for which he was excommunicated . On Matilda's side, he served Sheriff of Wiltshire and collected royal taxes and duties, making him the only baron who can be proven to have taken on this role. Like several other barons, he had his own coins minted during the anarchy.

Earl of Salisbury after the anarchy

As Earl of Salisbury , Patrick witnessed the Treaty of Wallingford in 1153 , which ended the civil war between Henry of Anjou , son of Matilda, and King Stephen. When Henry of Anjou became King Henry II in 1154 , he confirmed Patrick as Earl, who served as Sheriff of Wiltshire until 1160. A few years later he led a royal army in Aquitaine , where the Lusignan family revolted . In his entourage was his nephew William Marshal (Guillaume le Maréchal) , who later became one of the most famous knights of the Middle Ages. Patrick was ambushed where he was fatally wounded by a spear. The exact course of the campaign is unclear, but the report in the chronicle of Roger von Hoveden , according to which Patrick was killed on the way back from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela , is considered to be refuted. Presumably this claim was supposed to emphasize the wickedness of the Lusignans who ambushed and killed Patrick as a pilgrim. According to other sources, the royal army ambushed the Lusignans when they were ready to negotiate peace. Patrick of Salisbury was buried in the Saint-Hilaire Abbey of Poitiers .

Family and offspring

Patrick of Salisbury was married twice. From his first marriage to a lady Matilda, he had no children. After 1148 he had married Ela († 1174), the widow of William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey and daughter of Count Wilhelm I. Talvas von Ponthieu . With her he had four sons, of whom Patrick, Philipp and Walter died young. His son William FitzPatrick († 1196) became his heir .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Crouch: Marshal, John (d. 1165). 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
  2. ↑ David Crouch: William Marshal: knighthood, war and chivralry, 1147-1219 . Longman, London 2002. ISBN 0-582-77222-2 , p. 37
  3. Jump up ↑ Marcus Graham Bull, Catherine Léglu: The world of Eleanor of Aquitaine: literature and society in southern France between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries . Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge 2005. ISBN 1-84383-114-7 , p. 65
predecessor Office successor
New title created Earl of Salisbury
1141-1168 		William FitzPatrick
personal data
SURNAME Salisbury, Patrick of Salisbury, 1st Earl of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Salisbury, Patrick FitzWalter, 1st Earl of (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Anglo-Norman nobleman, Earl of Salisbury
DATE OF BIRTH 12th Century
DATE OF DEATH 1168
Place of death at Poitiers