William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury

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The coat of arms of William Longespée

William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (also William I Longespée or Lungespée ) (* around 1167 , † March 7, 1226 in Salisbury Castle ) was an English magnate . Although he was only the illegitimate son of King Henry II , Longespée rose to become one of the leading politicians and most powerful magnates of the Angevin Empire . He proved to be a capable administrator, diplomat and military.

Origin, childhood and youth

William Longespée was the illegitimate son of King Henry II. In older historical research, Rosamund Clifford , probably the father's most famous mistress, is considered his mother. More likely, however, Ida de Tosny was his mother, who is believed to be a daughter of the powerful Baron Roger III. de Tosny and whose wife was Ida. Ida de Tosny married Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk , around Christmas 1181 . Longespée's illegitimate descent was well known; he himself never kept it a secret, but openly referred to "Countess Ida, my mother" in his documents. Probably with his sword line he received a coat of arms designed after the coat of arms of his grandfather Geoffrey Plantagenet , the father of Heinrich II. Why he was given the nickname Longespée is not certain, it may have been a deliberate reference to Wilhelm Langschwert, Duke of Normandy († 942) or the English King Wilhelm II , who was also occasionally called Longespée.

Little is known about his childhood and youth; according to his own statements, he grew up at times with the later justiciar Hubert de Burgh . In 1188, when he was believed to have come of age, his father gave him Appleby in Lincolnshire . In 1196, his half-brother, King Richard the Lionheart, married him to Ela (Isabel), Countess of Salisbury , the young daughter and heir of William of Salisbury, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, who died in the same year . Longespée became Earl of Salisbury through Iure uxoris . The Earldom Salisbury was not particularly large and comprised properties with 56 Knight's fees , in addition he was administrator of the royal Salisbury Castle , which was considerably expanded by the kings.

Promotion under Richard Löwenherz and Johann Ohneland

Salisbury was part of Richard the Lionheart's close retinue in Normandy from 1196 to 1198 , where he undoubtedly gained military experience in the campaigns against the French King Philip II . Shortly before the clear victory at Gisors on September 28, 1198 he was in Richard's entourage, but whether he took part in the battle is uncertain. In addition, he witnessed several documents from the king in Château Gaillard . After Richard's death on May 27, 1199, he attended the coronation of his half-brother Johann Ohneland , with whom he had a warm relationship.

Salisbury was now part of John's entourage, who rewarded him with wine, an annual pension and other gifts. In return, the king borrowed money from him. Salisbury was Sheriff of Wiltshire from 1199 to 1202, from 1203 to 1207 and from 1213 to 1226 , but the King refused to confirm the heredity of that office, which Salisbury claimed. As sheriff, he had the outlawed knight Fulk Fitzwarin besieged in Stanley Abbey in 1202 , but then Salisbury campaigned for his brother to pardon the outlaw. Salisbury also held several other offices, including administrator of Dover Castle from 1212 to 1213 and that of sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire from May 1212 to 1216 . When the king feared in 1208 that the Pope would impose the interdict on England , Salisbury occupied the possessions of the diocese of Ely , in addition he became supervisor of the administrator of the Archdiocese of Canterbury in August 1212 . In 1212 the king supported his claim to the barony of Trowbridge , which he received in 1213 after the king had confiscated it from its previous owner Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford .

Diplomat in the service of Johann Ohneland

King John values ​​his half-brother's diplomatic skills and entrusted him with a number of important missions. At the beginning of 1202 he negotiated a contract between John and King Sancho VII of Navarre . Together with William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, Salisbury escorted the Welsh prince Llywelyn from Iorwerth to the king in Worcester . In November 1205 he was a member of the delegation that negotiated with King William I of Scotland and in November 1206 led the Scottish king to York , where this king met John. In March 1209 he was the leader of an English delegation to Germany, where Johann's nephew Otto was finally crowned emperor. In May 1212 he was envoy to Flanders, where he negotiated with Count Ferrand .

Military in the service of Johann Ohneland

Military commander in the war against France

Even more important than his diplomatic duties, however, was his role as military commander. During the Franco-English War in August 1202, together with William Marshal and the Earl of Surrey, he shadowed the French army under Philip II when they broke off the siege of Arques after John's victory at Mirebeau . In doing so, they narrowly escaped a French counterattack under Guillaume II. Des Barres . In 1203 Salisbury got the important castle of Pontorson back on the border with Brittany , which he had previously exchanged for properties in England. Since he was also the administrator of the castle of Avranches, he was supposed to repel attacks from Brittany on Normandy. After Normandy was conquered by France in 1204, Longespée received command in Gascony in May 1204 . In September 1204 he became Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports , which he remained until May 1206. In 1205 he sailed to La Rochelle with reinforcements . In 1208 the king appointed him guardian of the Welsh Marches , and in 1210 he took part in the king's campaign in Ireland.

Lake victory at Damme

In mid-May 1213, Salisbury and other magnates swore that King John would keep the Pope's conditions to compensate the bishops harmed by the interdict over England, and he testified with John's homage to the papal envoy. In the war against France he is said to have pushed together with William Marshal for a preemptive strike against the French king who was planning a landing in England. In May 1213 Salisbury then led an auxiliary force together with Count William of Holland and Rainald of Boulogne to support Count Ferrand of Flanders against the French king. On May 30, they defeated a French fleet in the sea ​​battle near Damme . In view of the French overwhelming power, an advance from Salisbury on land failed, but the decisive naval victory prevented a French invasion of England.

English commander in the battle of Bouvines

In 1214 Salisbury was Marshal in command of the allied troops who retook large parts of Flanders for Count Ferrand. On July 27, 1214 he commanded together with Count Rainald von Boulogne the right wing of the allied troops in the battle of Bouvines . The battle ended in a clear victory for the opposing French troops, and Salisbury was dismounted and captured by the belligerent Bishop Philip of Beauvais . The chroniclers, however, did not blame him for the defeat; instead, they praised his brave fight with which he would have prevented the capture of Emperor Otto. Negotiations about Salisbury's release lasted until February 1215 when he was finally exchanged for Robert , the eldest son of the Count of Dreux.

Role in the war of the barons

Negotiations to complete the Magna Carta

In May 1215 Salisbury was back in England. King Johann commissioned him with others to check the state of the royal castles. This was a pretext to prevent the City of London from joining the aristocratic opposition to the king. The City of London opened its gates to the rebels, however, and Salisbury was now using a force of Flemish mercenaries against rebels in Devon . He managed to force the insurgents to give up Exeter . It is uncertain whether Salisbury was already present on June 15 at the beginning of the negotiations between the king and the aristocratic opposition in Runnymede . However, he is named as one of the king's advisors who advised him to recognize the Magna Carta . After recognition, Salisbury had to forego the Honor of Trowbridge , which the king had to return to Henry de Bohun because it had been illegally confiscated. Johann compensated Salisbury with extensive other royal estates.

Military commander of the king

When it came to the open war of the barons against the king in the autumn , John ordered in October 1215 that Salisbury with the crews from ten royal castles should relieve the besieged castles of Oxford and Northampton . Presumably the expedition was not carried out by Salisbury, but by the mercenary leader Falkes de Bréauté . Following the capture of Rochester Castle in December, Salisbury became one of the royal commanders charged with keeping the rebels gathered in London at bay while the king embarked on a campaign in northern England. Together with Falkes de Bréauté and Savary de Mauléon , he led a Chevauchée through Essex , Hertfordshire , Middlesex , Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire , the majority of which were barons from the rebels. When the Isle of Ely was sacked in early 1216, Salisbury is said to have protected the female population from the worst riots in the Brabant Zones under Walter Buc . He then rejoined the king when he returned from northern England to southern England, and assisted him in the siege of Colchester Castle . He tried in vain to persuade the king to comply with the garrison's surrender conditions, which he ignored.

Change to the side of Prince Ludwig

After the French Prince Ludwig landed in England on May 21, 1216 with an army in support of the rebels, Salisbury initially remained on Johann's side. However, when the French had conquered large parts of southern England in a rapid advance, Salisbury surrendered to the French prince at Winchester at the end of June 1216 , believing that the war was lost for John. However, Johann did not give up yet and on August 30th ordered the occupation of Salisbury's lands. Even when Johann died unexpectedly on October 19, Salisbury stayed on Prince Ludwig's side. According to the chronicle of Roger von Wendover , he is said to have even tried to persuade Hubert de Burgh , who was besieged in Dover Castle, to give up.

Another change of sides and support from King Heinrich III.

However, when Prince Louis was in France in March 1217 to recruit further support for the conquest of England, Salisbury switched sides on March 5, 1217 and joined the royal party, which his nephew, the underage Henry III. supported. This also gave him ecclesiastical absolution and was exempt from excommunication. William Marshal the Younger , who was a close friend of his, and over a hundred other knights and barons from Wiltshire and south-west England also switched sides with him. In addition to the deteriorating military position of the French, Salisbury's old rival Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford, was a reason for switching sides, as Bohun was his direct rival for possession of the castle and Honor of Trowbridge and a leading supporter of the French prince. The Royal Regency Council had promised him Sherborne Castle and other possessions in Somerset and Devon for his change of sides.

Participated in the Battles of Lincoln and Sandwich

Salisbury was present with the younger marshal at the surrender of the crew of Knepp Castle at Shoreham . They then besieged Winchester together and captured Wolvesey Castle , the fortified episcopal palace. When the regent William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke reached Winchester, he sent Salisbury and his son to Southampton , which they conquered. They left a constable behind in Southampton in order not to miss their share of the rich spoil at the surrender of the city of Winchester, which took place shortly before March 14th. On May 20, 1217 Salisbury took part in the Battle of Lincoln and commanded the third division of the royal troops. Together with the younger marshal, he led the successful attack through the western city gate on the rebel and French army who were besieging Lincoln Castle . After the victory, Salisbury was rewarded with administration of the city of Lincoln as well as Lincolnshire , although Earl Ranulf of Chester held the Lincolnshire Earldom. In 1218 Salisbury shared with William Marshal the Elder the English possessions of the French Earl of Perche , who had been killed in battle. Salisbury received Aldbourne and Wanborough in Wiltshire, the latter later becoming Salisbury's headquarters. Together with Hubert de Burgh, Salisbury fought on August 24, 1217 in the Sea Battle of Sandwich , which decided the war in favor of the royal party. Salisbury then took part in the peace negotiations that led to the Peace of Lambeth on September 12 and the withdrawal of the French from England.

Magnate during the minority of Henry III.

During the minority of Henry III. Salisbury was now one of the most powerful magnates. In his lands he ruled autonomously without letting the central government dictate to him. Between March 1217 and 1219 he tried to enforce his claims to Somerset and Dorset against the Regency Council, but failed because of the power of the local sheriffs. He also tried to bring Alnwick Castle in Northumberland under his administration, since he was the guardian of the minor William de Vesci . Repeatedly he tried to gain control of Lincoln Castle, which claimed the contentious Nicola de la Haye as hereditary castellan. Salisbury relied on its guardianship administration of the rich barony of Haye in Lincolnshire since his eldest, still underage son, William, was engaged to Idonea, daughter and heiress of Richard de Camville († 1217). When Robert of Berkeley died in May 1220, Salisbury occupied Berkeley Castle and the lands of Robert in an early grip on guardianship over the heir. This led to the protest of William Marshal the Younger in the Regency Council, since Salisbury's actions contradicted the customs and the law of the country.

In contrast to his attempt to rule his estates autonomously, Salisbury declared that he was obliged to the royal government. In 1220, however, he found that only the English magnates and other leading figures were legitimate advisers to the king. In critical moments he supported the young king and the Justiciar Hubert de Burgh, who tried to restore royal authority over other magnates. This happened, for example, against William de Forz and Peter de Maulay in 1221 . When at Christmas 1221 and December 1223 the country was on the brink of a new civil war in Northampton, he supported de Burgh against the aristocratic opposition, which mainly consisted of the Earl Ranulf of Chester , Falkes de Bréauté , Engelard de Cigogné , Brian de Lisle and other castellans existed, who did not want to return the offices, castles and possessions they had received during the war of barons to the king. A particular nuisance for Salisbury were the former followers of King John, who were not from England, and whom he accused of wanting to start a civil war in England again. When in June 1222 the government reclaimed numerous crown goods, he himself handed over a number of goods, including Salisbury Castle in February 1223. However, this was immediately returned to him together with Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth Castle for administration, to which he was sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire .

Campaign in Gascony and death

Salisbury continued to be one of the king's leading military men. During an Anglo-Welsh war in the summer of 1223 he led a force of 140 knights together with William Marshal the Younger , who acted on behalf of the Justiciars Hubert de Burgh against Prince Llywelyn from Iorwerth in South Wales. In doing so, they were able to restore English rule over Kidwelly and Ceredigion . In February 1225 he was one of the magnates who witnessed the re-recognition of the Magna Carta by the king. In the renewed Franco-English War in 1225 he led a successful campaign in Gascony , together with the then 16-year-old Richard of Cornwall , the king's younger brother , where they restored English rule and repelled an invasion by the French under Louis VIII . Salisbury fell ill on November 13, 1225 off La Réole , after which he wanted to travel back to England by ship. His ship ran aground on the Île de Ré , which was owned by his former brother-in-arms Savary de Mauléon , but who was now on the French side. Salisbury sought refuge in the Notre-Dame-de-Ré convent , and with the help of two followers of Savary, whom he rewarded with £ 20, he was able to continue his journey to England. He reached Cornwall at Christmas before finally arriving in Salisbury in January, where he died a few weeks later.

According to the chronicle of Matthew Paris , he was poisoned by Hubert de Burgh. However, since de Burgh and Salisbury have worked closely together before, this is very unlikely. It is far more likely that Salisbury died of the disease that caused him to return to England from Gascony. He was in the Lady Chapel of the cathedral of Salisbury buried, for which he and his wife and the papal legate Pandulf had laid on April 28, 1220 one of the cornerstones. His body was later reburied in a grave monument created around 1240 in the central nave of the cathedral. His grave monument, which shows him as a knight in full armor, is considered one of the most beautiful knight gravestones of his time.

Grave of William Longespée in Salisbury Cathedral

Personality, religiosity and aftermath

Salisbury's character is considered enigmatic. He was a loyal and capable supporter to his half-brother Johann, and as one of the most important supporters of the excommunicated king, Roger von Wendover counted him among the king's poor advisers . Other reports suggest that Salisbury tortured Geoffrey of Norwich , a Treasury official, to death. Still, Salisbury switched sides during the War of the Barons in 1216 when he deemed his half-brother's cause lost, only to return to the king's side in March 1217.

On the other hand, Roger von Wendover praised Salisbury's devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. Before his death he is said to have confessed and received absolution from Bishop Richard Poore , whereupon the candles that were carried along during his funeral procession did not go out despite a storm. According to the extensive foundations that Salisbury and his wife made to the Church, they were more devout than many of their contemporaries. In his will, Salisbury considered the Augustinian Priory of Bradenstoke , Wiltshire, founded by his wife's great-grandfather, and the Hospital of St Nicholas in Salisbury. For this he considered a Carthusian settlement, but this refused, whereupon his widow donated the lands of the Locus Dei Abbey in Hinton , Somerset, founded in 1232 .

progeny

With his wife Ela of Salisbury , Longespée had at least four sons and four daughters:

  1. ∞ Thomas de Beaumont, 6th Earl of Warwick
  2. ∞ Philip Basset
  • Ida († 1266/9)
  1. ∞ Walter Fitzrobert
  2. ∞ William de Beauchamp, Lord of Bedford

Web links

Commons : William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ralph V. Turner: Eleanor of Aquitaine - Queen of the Middle Ages , CH Beck, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-406-63199-3 , p. 295
  2. ^ David Carpenter: The minority of Henry III. University of California Press, Berkeley 1990. ISBN 0-520-07239-1 , p. 204
  3. ↑ Nicholas Vincent: Nicholas Vincent, King John's evil counsellors (act. 1208-1214) (Oxford DNB, license required). Retrieved April 23, 2016 .
predecessor Office successor
William of Salisbury Earl of Salisbury
(iure uxoris for Ela of Salisbury )
1196-1226 		Margaret Longespée
personal data
SURNAME William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH between 1175 and 1180
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1226
Place of death Salisbury