William Mauduit, 8th Earl of Warwick

William Mauduit, 8th Earl of Warwick (also Maudit ) (* between 1221 and 1223; † January 8, 1268 ) was an English magnate.

origin

William Mauduit was the eldest son and heir to his father of the same name, William Mauduit (around 1195–1257) and his wife Alice de Newburgh. His father was Lord of Hanslope in Buckinghamshire and hereditary Chamberlain of the Exchequer, his mother was a daughter of Waleran de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Warwick .

Youth and service to the king

William's father had been a supporter of the aristocratic opposition during the First Barons' War . Also in 1233 he sympathized with Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke , who along with other barons against King Henry III. rebelled. William therefore had to be held hostage to the king between August 1233 and July 1234 to ensure the loyalty of his father. During this time he was in the care of Herbert Fitz Matthew. During the king's campaign in the Saintonge in 1242 , William served as the escort of a ship that carried funds for the royal army to south-west France. The king reimbursed him for the costs incurred as a result in 1243. In 1253 he accompanied the king on his renewed expedition to Gascony, where Heinrich had to put down a rebellion. Together with John de Plessis, 7th Earl of Warwick , the husband of his cousin Margaret de Beaumont, Countess of Warwick and with his father-in-law Gilbert of Seagrave , William wanted to travel back to England through France in September 1254. Although the French king had assured them safe conduct , they were taken prisoner by the citizens of Pons in Poitou . His father-in-law died in captivity, and William and Plessis were not released until 1255 after paying a ransom.

Heir to his father and as the Earl of Warwick

His cousin Margaret de Beaumont, Countess of Warwick, the wife of Plessis had died childless in June 1253. Their heirs would now have been William's mother Alice de Newburgh and his father William Mauduit, but the influence of the king allowed Plessis to continue the title of Earl of Warwick and keep the Beaumont estates for life. After the death of his father in 1257, William inherited the claim to Warwick and his rule Hanslope with Barrowden in Rutland and Hartley Mauditt in Hampshire , plus lands in Warwickshire, which his mother had received as a dowry. In addition, he inherited the office of Chamberlain of the Exchequer . Although this office was exercised by civil servants as a representative, he still had income and privileges through the office.

In contrast to his father, Mauduit was a loyal vassal of the king, in which he was perhaps encouraged by his friend, John de Plessis. During the rebellion of the barons, Heinrich III appointed him. to a council meeting to strengthen his position vis-à-vis Simon de Montfort , the leader of the aristocratic opposition . As a result, Mauduit, like other barons, promised to support the king militarily, for which he received 40 marks annually in return . As early as March 1258, Mauduit had been appointed as vassal of the king on several campaigns, including against Prince Llywelyn of Wales . When John de Plessis finally died in February 1263 and his mother had also died, Mauduit inherited the title of Earl of Warwick and the estates of the Beaumont family. In April 1263 he paid homage to the king . However, due to mismanagement and partitions, the Beaumonts 'possessions had shrunk, and considerable possessions were still held as Wittum by two of his predecessors' widows for life. Presumably Mauduit could only dispose of about a third of the original possessions.

During the Second War of the Barons , Mauduit withdrew to Warwick Castle until the castle was captured in a surprise attack by the rebel John Giffard in April 1264 . Mauduit and his wife Alice were captured and imprisoned as supporters of the king at Kenilworth Castle while Warwick Castle was razed . Mauduit and his wife were only released after paying a ransom of 1900 marks. Following the victory of the royal party in August 1265, Mauduit was awarded property confiscated by the rebels, from which he had an annual income of £ 100. However, when he died he was heavily indebted to the Crown. He was buried in Westminster Abbey , while his heart was interred in the Cistercian Convent of Catesby in Northamptonshire . This heart burial was perhaps out of veneration of Saint Edmund Rich , as the monastery had relics of him.

heritage

Since Mauduit's marriage to Alice Seagrave, a daughter of Gilbert of Seagrave, had remained childless, William IV. De Beauchamp , a son of his sister Isabel Mauduit, became his heir.

Web links

• Emma Mason: Mauduit, William, eighth earl of Warwick (1221x3-1268). 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
• William Mauduit on thepeerage.com , accessed March 29, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
John de Plessys	Earl of Warwick 1263-1268	William de Beauchamp