Roger de Lacy

Seal of Roger de Lacy

Roger de Lacy (actually Roger FitzJohn ) († October 1, 1211 in Stanlaw Abbey ) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.

origin

Roger de Lacy was born Roger FitzJohn, the eldest son of John FitzRichard , Lord of Halton, and Alice, a daughter of Robert of Essex and his wife Alice. His mother was a cousin of William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex and a niece of Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford . Roger's paternal grandmother Aubrey de Lisours was a daughter of Robert de Lisours and a cousin of Robert de Lacy († 1193), the last direct male descendant of Ilbert de Lacy , who was Lord of Pontefract in the late 11th century . Roger's grandmother Aubrey inherited Pontefract and Clitheroe after Robert de Lacy's death in 1193 .

Promotion under Richard the Lionheart

Following the death of his father, who died during the Third Crusade in 1190 , Roger inherited the office of Constable of Chester in 1191 . In addition, the Chancellor William Longchamp , who was Regent of England during the absence of King Richard the Lionheart, entrusted him with the administration of Tickhill and Nottingham Castle . In this capacity, Roger hung two knights who had planned to hand over the castles to the rebellious Johann Ohneland , the king's brother. This then plundered Rogers lands in revenge. After the death of his grandmother Aubrey, Roger inherited the estates of Robert de Lacy on April 21, 1194 and took the name de Lacy , which was derived from the village of Lassy in Calvados . On June 6, 1194, as Lord of Pontefract, he issued a charter for Pontefract .

Baron and military under Johann Ohneland

In April 1199 he was one of the barons who swore allegiance to the new King John only after confirmation of their ancestral rights. He claimed possessions that Guy de Laval held in the Honor of Pontefract and which in 1203 were also awarded to Lacy. Between August 25 and December 6, 1199, Lacy accompanied King John as he fought for his inheritance in Normandy , Maine , Touraine and Poitou . He became castellan of Chinon Castle on September 23 . In the same year he got back Pontefract Castle, which the king had confiscated. To ensure his loyalty, he had to hold his eldest son hostage to the king, but after that he was in high favor with Johann. In October or November 1200 he escorted the Scottish King William I to Lincoln , where on November 22nd he paid homage to King John for his English possessions. In 1201 he checked together with William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and an army of 200 knights border violations in Normandy. During the new Franco-English War begun in 1202, Lacy controlled ships on the Seine in 1202 and in April 1203 vouched for the loyalty of Earl Ranulf of Chester . In the same year he offered £ 1000 for the guardianship and administration of the underage Richard de Montfichet's lands , which he was then awarded.

The ruins of Château Gaillard, which Roger de Lacy had to hand over in 1204 after a long siege

From August 1203, Lacy was besieged by the French King Philip II in the mighty Château Gaillard in Normandy. Lacy defended the castle resolutely for several months, but had to hand over the starved castle on March 6, 1204. The French king did not arrest him because of his bravery, and King John contributed a portion of the ransom, which was £ 1000. After his release, Johann rewarded him with the office of Sheriff of Yorkshire and Cumberland , which Lacy remained until 1209. When northern England was on the verge of rebellion against the king in the winter of 1204-1205, Lacy remained a loyal supporter of the king and fortified Carlisle Castle . In the spring of 1205 he raised a contingent against a feared French invasion of England. In the next few years Lacy was often part of the king's entourage, who played with him for money several times. In 1205 Lacy acquired the Barony of Penwortham , Lancashire , after taking over the debts of previous owner Hugh Buissel . When it came to a war with the Welsh prince Llywelyn from Iorwerth in 1210 , Lacy moved with an army to the Welsh Marches , where he is said to have horrified the besieged Earl Ranulf of Chester in Rhuddlan Castle . His bitter attacks on the Welsh earned him the nickname Roger of Hell .

Marriage and offspring

Lacy had married Maud de Clere, whose brother William de Clere was Treasurer of York Cathedral. With her he had at least two sons:

• John de Lacy, 1st Earl of Lincoln
• Roger de Lacy

He may have had another son, Robert de Lacy , who served as constable of Flamborough . Roger's headquarters were in Pontrefract in Yorkshire, Clitheroe in Lancashire and Halton. He died on October 1, 1211 in Stanlaw Abbey , where he was also buried. He was a generous donor to Stanlaw Abbey, which his father had founded, and he also donated to the monasteries of Byland , Fountains , Kirkstall , Kirkstead , Pontefract , Sallay and Watton .

The chronicler Roger von Wendover praised him as a great and warlike man and as an honorable and extraordinary knight.

Web links

• CL Kingsford, Paul Dalton: Lacy, Roger de (d. 1211). 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
• Roger de Lacy on thepeerage.com , accessed March 12, 2016.