Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seal of Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk

Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk (* around 1245; † before December 6, 1306 ) was an English magnate and military.

Origin and heritage

Roger Bigod came from the Anglo-Norman aristocratic family Bigod . He was the eldest son of Hugh Bigod , who was royal counsel from 1258 to 1260 , and his wife Joan de Stuteville , the heiress of the Stuteville family . After his father's death in 1266, he inherited his estate, and four years later, following the death of his uncle Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk , who died childless , he inherited the title of Earl of Norfolk and the extensive estates of the Bigod family. Shortly before his death, his uncle had given him the hereditary position of Marshal of England .

Participation in the conquest of Wales

As Earl Marshal, he was in 1274 with the coronation ceremony of I. Edward and Eleanor of Castile responsible, in addition he took as Earl Marshal in all the wars of conquest of Wales by King Edward I. part. During the First Campaign in 1277 , he fought with the main English army in North Wales and later led an army division at Flint . Also in the campaign of 1282 he was part of the main English army in north Wales, where he led the feudal army. During the suppression of the rebellion of Rhys ap Maredudd in 1287, there was a dispute between him as Earl Marshal and the regent Edmund of Cornwall over the sovereignty, until the king staying in France confirmed that Bigod's status was not in question, even if he Would accept orders from the regent. In the suppression of the Welsh uprising from 1294 to 1295 , he first led troops in South Wales. When the king appointed Roger de Moels Marshal there, Bigod protested against this appointment until the king confirmed to him that this appointment would also have no effect on his status.

Opposition to the King and the crisis of 1297

In the 1290s, Bigod ran into financial difficulties. He was indebted to Italian bankers, and in 1291 he had to hand over some of his goods to the king. Relations between him and the king deteriorated further when the Treasury asked him to pay long-term debts. In 1293 he owed the king £ 2,232, so Bigod was forced to ask parliament for debt relief. Parliament finally asked him to repay £ 1,432 in annual installments of £ 100. Angered by his debts and feeling injured in his rank, Bigod was among the leaders of the noble opposition of 1297. In February of that year a group of barons and the king broke out during Parliament in Salisbury . During the war with France , the king planned to send Bigod with troops to Gascony , while he himself wanted to lead an army to Flanders . When Bigod objected to this plan, the king is said to have threatened him with hanging , but Bigod did not move to Gascony. When the feudal army called up for the campaigns in London was to be mustered on July 7th by Bigod as Earl Marshal and by Humphrey de Bohun , the constable , the two magnates refused to accept the troops because they complained that the vassals were not following the had been convened in the prescribed form. Thereupon the enraged king removed the two magnates from their offices. The opposition of the magnates was not limited to military service, however. On August 22nd, when the king set out on his campaign for Flanders, they appeared with armed entourage at the royal treasurer and protested against what they believed to be an arbitrary tax on the eighth part of the movable property. The crisis was only resolved with the renewed confirmation of the Magna Carta and the Forest Charter by the Regency Council on October 10, as well as the recognition of further conditions of the barons in the Confirmatio cartarum . In Flanders on November 5, the king confirmed the concessions made by the Regency Council and pardoned Bigod and the other opposition members.

Edward I threatens Bigod with hanging. Historicizing representation from 1864

Participation in the wars in Scotland

From 1291 Bigod was involved in the Scottish succession dispute. He was a member of the council that tried from 1291 to 1292 to find a solution to the succession to the throne. In the First Scottish War of Independence , he took part in the king's campaign in Scotland in 1296. When it came to the uprising in Scotland under William Wallace , he was in 1297 against the simultaneous campaign of the king to Flanders in the war against France. The roster that Bigod was to put up during these years included five banner lords , nine knights and about 20 men-at-arms . In the autumn of 1297 he even agreed to take part in the winter campaign to Scotland with 130 riders. However, in the campaign of 1298 that led to the English victory at Falkirk , he only took part after the king's assurance that he would heed the Magna Carta, and after the English victory he again felt disadvantaged and angry at the way how the king forgave the conquered lands in Scotland. In 1299 he asked for confirmation of the Carta again and, to his disappointment, had to accept that the king evaded his demands. He then took part in no further campaigns to Scotland and handed over his office as Earl Marshal to John Seagrave .

Next life

Bigod had been married twice, but both marriages had remained childless. In his first marriage in 1271 he married Aline Basset, the widow of Hugh le Despenser , she died in 1281. In his second marriage in 1290 he married Alice (or Alix), a daughter of Count John II of Holland.

In 1302 Bigod officially handed over his office as Earl Marshal. Since his marriages had remained childless, he gave his lands to the king that year, who returned them to him for life. Possibly this was directed against his brother John, who was a clergyman and was thus disinherited. John had lent his brother substantial sums of money in the past, but always insisted on prompt repayment. In a further agreement in 1305 the king forgave him all debts. He died the following year, after which his titles and lands went to the Crown, as had been agreed in 1302.

The ruins of the newly built monastery church of Tintern Abbey in South East Wales, thanks to Bigod's support

Others

Bigod owned extensive estates in the Welsh Marches , especially the rule of Chepstow , plus lands in Norfolk and lucrative properties in Ireland. In Chepstow Castle , he had the gatehouse and the residential buildings luxuriously expanded. He also had Bungay Castle in Suffolk expanded from 1294. Thanks to his generous support, the church of the Welsh Tintern Abbey could be rebuilt, which was completed around 1301.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California Press, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 416
  2. ↑ Cadw: Tintern Abbey. Retrieved December 20, 2015 .
predecessor Office successor
Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk
1270-1306 		Title expired
Roger Bigod Earl Marshal
1270-1302 		Robert de Clifford
personal data
SURNAME Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English magnate and military
DATE OF BIRTH around 1245
DATE OF DEATH before December 6, 1306