Theobald de Verdon, 1st Baron Verdon

Theobald de Verdon, 1st Baron Verdon (also Theobald de Verdun ) (* uncertain: 1248; † August 24, 1309 in Alton Castle ) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman.

origin

Theobald de Verdon was the youngest son of Sir John de Verdon and his wife Margaret, daughter of Gilbert de Lacy , Lord of Meath . His two older brothers Nicholas and John fell in 1271 together with Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster in the battle against the Irish King of Connaught . Theobald then became his father's heir. While his father took care of the administration of the Irish possessions, Theobald took over the administration of the English lands. After the death of his father in 1274, Theobald inherited extensive estates in Buckinghamshire , Leicestershire , Wiltshire , Warwickshire and Staffordshire , the center of which was Alton Castle in Staffordshire. Through his mother, a granddaughter of Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath († 1241), he inherited other estates in Ireland as well as the dominions Weobley in Herefordshire and Ewyas Lacy in Shropshire , making him one of the Marcher Lords , who had certain privileges over the king had.

Service for Edward I.

Like his father, Theobald de Verdon was initially a loyal supporter of King Edward I. After 1275 he initially took over the administration of his Irish possessions. In 1277, 1282 and 1283 he served in the Wars of Edward I for the conquest of Wales . In 1282 he had the task of bringing food from Ireland to Wales to supply the English army. Because of his services, Verdon was highly favored by the king. In 1284, Nicholas de Netterville , a knight of his household in Ireland, was exempted from serving the king at Verdon's request. In addition, Edward I granted him further privileges, including market rights for several of his Irish goods. Verdon was first called to parliament in 1275 , then again in 1283 when parliament ruled on the Welsh rebel Dafydd ap Gruffydd . 1290 and from 1295 regularly took part in parliaments, which is why he was considered Baron Verdon . In 1291, during a Parliament of Ireland , he and other Irish barons granted the king a tax on the fifteenth part of their movable possessions.

Increasing conflict with the king over Irish possessions

Despite his long loyal service to Edward I, Verdon's relationship with the king deteriorated noticeably. The difficulties began in England, where Edward I's father, Henry III. Meath, who had seized the reign of Walter de Lacy. Most of the property was given to the heir to the throne, Lord Eduard, but de Lacy's co-owners Geoffrey de Geneville and John de Verdon, Theobald's father, were given back some of the property . However, Geneville received larger possessions than John de Verdon. A review carried out in 1266 showed that Lord Eduard would lose at least 400 marks a year in income if the distribution of the possessions were adjusted and if Verdon were to receive the same share as Geneville had received. In 1279 Theobald de Verdon complained about this unjust distribution. Despite a re-examination, Edward, who had meanwhile become king, did not change the distribution, but temporarily confiscated the entire share of Verdon in the reign of Meath.

More conflicts

Walter and Hugh de Lacy, two relatives of his maternal grandfather, also disputed Verdon's claim to Meath. In this they were assisted by Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster . This led to numerous feuds among the Anglo-Irish barons, and in 1306 Verdon was besieged at Athlone Castle .

From around the end of the 1270s, Verdon became embroiled in a protracted conflict with Llanthony Priory in Gloucestershire, who had leased a piece of land from him. Verdon summoned the prior to extend the lease. When the prior did not appear, Verdon had the prior's cattle and other property confiscated and refused to return them. The prior then charged him not only with theft, but also with robbery and manslaughter. The king asked Verdon not to irritate the prior. When the Herefordshire Sheriff came to Verdon's court in Ewyas Lacy to investigate the case, he was attacked by Verdon's steward and an angry crowd of allegedly 600 armed Welsh men. The Abbot of Combe brought similar complaints against Verdon in 1290.

The conflict with the king escalates

In addition, from 1291, Verdon was drawn into the conflict between the Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Hereford . Together with other Marcher Lords, Verdon was summoned to testify in court about the conflict in January 1291. It was only after a long hesitation that Verdon appeared in March and, like the other Marcher Lords, refused to testify. The reason given was that the process would violate the rights of the Marcher Lords and the customs of the Welsh Marches. Accordingly, he forbade his entourage and his vassals to serve as a jury member. The king then had his properties confiscated for a short time because of disobedience and to force him to testify in the dispute with Llanthony. After receiving his goods back a little later, Verdon appeared before the king in Abergavenny in October 1291 . At the same time, the Earls of Gloucester and Hereford were tried before the royal council and, like them, he was found guilty. In January 1292, Verdon was to appear before Parliament, where the judgment was to be pronounced.

The verdict was initially severe. Verdon was sentenced to a prison term and was to lose his rule Ewyas Lacy forever. However, the king soon softened the verdict on the basis of the services Verdon and his ancestors had rendered to the crown. After his death, Ewyas Lacy was to fall back to Verdon's heirs, and instead of imprisonment, Verdon was to pay a fine of 500 marks. On February 19, 1292 royal agents took over the administration of Ewyas Lacy, but in June of that year Verdon was regained control. Although he was already convicted, Verdon continued to quarrel with his neighbors. In 1299 the prior of Llantony complained again that Verdon was molesting followers of the priory. Sir John Hastings complained similarly about Verdon in 1301, whereupon the King Verdon seriously warned.

Last years and death

Apparently, Verdon was already in poor health in the 1290s. In 1295 he was called to parliament and was supposed to recruit soldiers for the war with Scotland in Ireland . In the same year he handed over parts of his property to his eldest son John. However, he had not asked the king's permission for this, which is why he had to pay a fine. In 1297 he excused his non-participation in the campaign in Gascony with his frailty. He remained in Ireland until 1298, and in 1299 his failure to participate in the 1299 campaign against Scotland was excused. In March 1300 he was besieged at Castle Roche by Irish rebelling against English rule . 1301 he took part in the parliament in Lincoln . From 1301 until his death he was asked to do military service several times, but he was allowed to send his son Theobald to his place . After his death, he was buried in a lavish funeral next to his ancestors in Croxden Abbey on October 13, 1309 .

Marriage and offspring

Verdon had married Margary de Bohun, a daughter of Humphrey V. de Bohun , who brought property near Bisley in Gloucestershire into the marriage. He had several children with her, including:

• John († 1297)
• Theobald
• Robert
• Nicholas
• Michael

Since his eldest son John had died in Ireland in 1297, his second eldest son Theobald became his heir.

Web links

• Scott L. Waugh: Verdon, Theobald de, first Lord Verdon (1248? -1309). 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

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dennis Murphy: The de Verdons of Louth . In: The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , Fifth Series, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Dec., 1895), p. 323
2. ↑ Dennis Murphy: The de Verdons of Louth . In: The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , Fifth Series, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Dec., 1895), p. 323
3. ↑ Dennis Murphy: The de Verdons of Louth . In: The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , Fifth Series, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Dec., 1895), p. 323
4. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 351

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baron Verdon 1295-1309	Theobald de Verdon, 2nd Baron Verdon