William Latimer, 1st Baron Latimer

Coat of arms of William Latimer, 1st Baron Latimer

William Latimer, 1st Baron Latimer († December 5, 1304 ) was an English nobleman and military man.

Origin and marriage

William Latimer was the eldest son of his father of the same name, William Latimer . The family owned estates in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire . Before 1268 he married Alice Ledet , the eldest daughter of Walter Ledet . His younger brother John married Christiana Ledet , the younger sister of William's wife. The two sisters inherited his father's possessions after the death of their father. The two sisters also became heirs to their great-grandfather Henry of Braybrooke and his wife Christiana Ledet . Through these inheritances, Latimer acquired estates in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire .

Service as knight of the royal household

The young Latimer served as a knight in the royal household of King Henry III. Even when he inherited his father's possessions after his father's death in 1268, he remained a knight of the royal household. In February 1270, because of the faithful service of his father, 200 marks were waived for the crown , which his father had still owed the crown. In the same year he set off with the heir to the throne Eduard on his crusade to the Holy Land . After his return from the Holy Land, he appointed representatives and lawyers in 1275 to manage his affairs during a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela . In the same year he accompanied Edmund of Lancaster , the king's brother, abroad. Latimer took 1276 and 1282 to the campaigns for the conquest of Wales in part, but he could barely 1282 death in the Battle of the Menai Street escape because his warhorse through the sea back to the island of Anglesey could swim. From April 1286 to 1289, Latimer was part of Edward I's entourage when he visited Gascony , which was part of his empire . In France, in 1288, he was one of the hostages the king had to place after the Treaty of Canfranc was signed . After the king's return from Gascony in 1289, Latimer was a member of the commission that was supposed to collect complaints about misdemeanors, the royal, along with John de Pontoise , Bishop of Winchester, the Earl of Lincoln , William of Louth , William March and John de St John Officials and judges had committed during the king's absence. In 1291 he was part of the king's entourage when he decided the controversy for the Scottish succession to the throne . In 1294 he accompanied the king's daughter Eleanor when she traveled to Bar , the property of her husband, after her marriage . During the Franco-English War from 1294 onwards, Latimer was part of the small force that set out for Gascony in 1294 under the command of John de St John and John from Brittany . Together with Johann Latimer belonged to the crew of the occupied Riom , while John de St John pushed on to Bayonne . During his absence in Gascony, his wife was allowed to live at the royal Skipton Castle . In 1297 Latimer fought in the Battle of Stirling Bridge during the Scottish War of Independence , then until 1298 he was part of the army of Edward I during his unsuccessful campaign to Flanders . Until 1303 Latimer took part in various other campaigns to Scotland, including 1300 in the siege of Caerlaverock Castle . During the war with Scotland, Latimer was in command of Berwick , Captain-General in Nottinghamshire , Derbyshire , Yorkshire and Northumberland . In 1301 he sealed the letter from the English barons to the Pope, with which they protested against his interference in the Scottish War of Independence. In addition he served as governor of the king in the Scottish Marches , as commissioner for the exchange of prisoners with Scotland and in 1299 as a member of the royal council, which advised in York on the further course of action in Scotland. In 1290, 1300 and 1302 he was called to parliaments , which is why he is considered Baron Latimer . In 1298, the king commissioned him to hear complaints about abuses in the use of the royal forests.

Because of his merits, the king gave him market rights in 1302 for his Ash estate in Kent, the Wotton estate in Surrey and the Terrington estate in Yorkshire. After his death, Latimer was buried in Helpringham , Lincolnshire.

progeny

From his marriage to Alice Ledet, Latimer had several children including:

• William Latimer, 2nd Baron Latimer (about 1276-1327);
• Nicholas Latimer († after 1317);
• Thomas Latimer († after 1327);
• Joan Latimer ⚭ Alexander Comyn.

His heir became his eldest son, William.

Web links

• Helen M. Jewell: Latimer, William, first Lord Latimer (d. 1304). 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. 192
2. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 150
3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 326
4. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 153
5. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 382

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baron Latimer 1299-1304	William Latimer