Thomas de Turberville

Sir Thomas de Turberville († October 1295 ) was an English knight. He was probably the first spy to be executed in England.

origin

The origin of Thomas de Turberville is unclear. He was probably a son of Sir Hugh de Turberville , who as a knight in the household of King I. Eduard served. That would have made Thomas de Turberville a member of the Turberville von Crickhowell family.

Participation in the Second War of the Barons

Turberville was probably one of John Giffard's followers as early as the Second War of the Barons in the 1260s . In June 1263 he was involved in the attack on Bishop Peter D'Aigueblanche in Hereford Cathedral. However, he sided with the Crown during the Barons' Open War, and after the war was rewarded for his loyalty with Northamptonshire land holdings . Presumably he was also that Thomas de Turberville who was charged with robbery and manslaughter in Wiltshire in 1280 or 1281 . After the robbery charge was dropped, Turberville refused to defend himself against the manslaughter charge. That charge was eventually dropped when it was learned that he had begun the act during the War of the Barons.

Service as a royal knight

By 1282 at the latest, Turberville was a knight in the royal household when he took part in the campaign to conquer Wales . In 1286 he accompanied King Edward I when he paid homage to the French King Philip IV in Paris for his possessions in France. Turberville then accompanied Edward I on when he traveled to Gascony , which belonged to the English kings . When it came to war with France over Gascony in 1294 , Turberville and a retinue of at least nine other knights belonged to the small English contingent that was sent to Gascony under the command of John of Brittany and John de St John . Despite their low numerical strength, the troop initially achieved considerable success. Turberville was part of the force that could occupy Rions . However, when there was a riot among the English soldiers in April 1295, the French were able to recapture the city. While Johann von Brittany was able to flee by ship with most of the English soldiers, Turberville and about twelve other knights were taken prisoner by the French.

Attempted espionage for France

Turberville returned to England in August 1295. He said he escaped captivity. In fact, the French had sent him to England as a spy. This was already revealed in September when he sent a messenger with a letter to the Prévôt des marchands of Paris. However, the messenger did not bring the letter to France, but handed it over to the English authorities. In the letter, Turberville reported that Wales, where there had been an uprising against English rule in 1294 , was now pacified. The Isle of Wight was almost undefended, and the English king wanted to send a high-ranking embassy to the German King Adolf von Nassau in order to win allies for the fight against France. Turberville had also learned that twenty ships with grain and troops under the Earls of Lancaster , Lincoln and Warwick and Hugh le Despenser were to be sent to Gascony. Although Edward I did not send an embassy to Germany in 1295, but only later, and Warwick and Despenser did not belong to the expedition to Gascony, the report was detailed and conclusive. However, Turberville also claimed to have arranged another uprising with the defeated Welsh rebel Morgan ap Maredudd , in case the Scots would also join the war against England. Therefore Turberville advised the French to send an embassy to Scotland to make an alliance with them against England. The letter also revealed that the sons of Turberville were being held hostage by the French in Paris and that the French had promised him property with an annual income of £ 100 as a reward for his betrayal.

Sentencing and execution

The arrest of Turberville was ordered on September 22, 1295. He apparently tried to flee to Wales, but the king had already become suspicious and had him watched. Turberville was arrested on September 24 and sentenced as a traitor in October. The Chief Justice of the king's bench Roger Brabazon himself announced the verdict. The sentence was carried out on the same day, Turberville was dragged to the gallows on an ox skin and hanged. The news of the betrayal quickly spread widely in England and was also the subject of a contemporary song. Since he had the trust of the king as a household knight, his betrayal caused considerable unrest at the English court.

Turberville is believed to be the first spy to be executed in England. He was also the first English nobleman to be executed by the Hang and Drawn , a gruesome type of execution that had previously only been carried out on Welsh rebels. It is ruled out that Edward I forged the letter for propaganda purposes and had one of his household knights innocently executed.

literature

• John Goronwy Edwards: The treason of Thomas Turberville . In: Richard William Hunt: Studies in medieval history presented to Frederick Maurice Powicke , Clarendon Press, Oxford 1948, pp. 296–309

Web links

• Turberville, Sir Thomas de (d.1295). 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. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 150.
2. ↑ Michael Prestwich: Plantagenet England. 1225-1360. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2007. ISBN 0-19-822844-9 , p. 111.
3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 373.
4. ^ Thomas Wright: Thomas Wright's Political songs of England. From the reign of King John to that of Edward II. Cambridge University Press, New York 1996, ISBN 0-521-55466-7 , p. 278.
5. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 383.
6. ↑ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 60.
7. ^ Turberville, Sir Thomas de (d. 1295). 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