William de Beauchamp (nobleman, Bedford)

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William de Beauchamp (* around 1185, † 1260 ) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, judge and civil servant.

Origin and heritage

William de Beauchamp came from the Beauchamp family , a noble family from Bedfordshire . He was the eldest son of Simon II de Beauchamp and his wife Isabella. After his father's death before 1207, he inherited the family's estates as well as the right to the inheritance of Constable of Bedford Castle . In 1207 he had to pay a fee of 600 marks to the crown for his inheritance and to give the king six tents . In paying this sum he was financially supported by his mother and a brother of his first wife.

Relationship to King Johann Ohneland and role in the war of the barons

Later King John Ohneland von Beauchamp asked for several shield money for his extensive holdings of 45 Knight's fee . In 1210 Beauchamp probably belonged to the army with which the king led a campaign in Ireland . In 1214 he belonged to the king's army during his campaign in Poitou . In 1215, however, Beauchamp joined the aristocratic opposition in Stamford , which a little later forced the king to recognize the Magna Carta . The leaders of the aristocratic opposition were his guests at Bedford Castle, and when it came to open war between the barons against the king in the fall of 1215 , Beauchamp supported the rebels. As a rebel against the king, he was therefore by Pope Innocent III. excommunicated . In December 1215 Bedford Castle was conquered by Falkes de Bréauté , a supporter of the king, after a brief siege, while Beauchamp was not in the castle. He was captured by the royal party during the Battle of Lincoln on May 20, 1217.

Model of Bedford Castle

Conflict over possession of Bedford Castle

After the conclusion of the Peace of Lambeth , which ended the war of the barons in the autumn of 1217, Beauchamp submitted to the Regency Council, which was responsible for the underage Henry III. led the government. He was pardoned and got his possessions back except for Bedford Castle, which remained occupied by Bréauté. In 1218 Beauchamp was part of the siege army that retook Newark Castle for the Crown. Beauchamp now continued to insist on his claim to be the legal owner of Bedford Castle as hereditary constable. Falkes de Bréauté, however, stated that he had legitimately received the castle from King John. However, before a court could decide on the claims of the two, in 1224 the Regency Council of Bréauté demanded the surrender of the castle. When he then openly rebelled, a royal army captured Bedford Castle and destroyed it. Beauchamp received the castle back on August 20, 1224 on condition that the complex was not re-fortified and that new residential buildings were only built in the outer bailey.

Service as military and civil servant

During the Welsh-English War from 1231 , Beauchamp belonged to the royal army, which was surprised by the enemy at Grosmont Castle in November 1233 and routed . In July 1234 Beauchamp was appointed Baron of the Exchequer , which he held until 1237. He also served as Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire during this time . On the occasion of Eleanor's coronation of Provence in 1236, he served as an almsman . During the war against the Welsh princes from 1244 , he took part in a campaign to Wales from 1244 to 1245.

Marriages and offspring

William de Beauchamp's first marriage was Gunnora de Lanvaley († before 1220), a daughter of Willaim de Lanvaley from Walkern in Hertfordshire . After her death, he married Ida , daughter of William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury . She was the widow of Walter FitzRobert , according to other sources, the widow of Ralph de Somery . From her marriage to Ralph de Somery, she brought Newport Pagnell and patronage over the priory there with her into the marriage as a lifelong Wittum .

Together with Ida, Beauchamp was embroiled in a violent conflict in 1247 between the Newnham Priory, founded by his father, near Bedford. When the prior of Newnham Priory died in 1247, the monks elected a new prior without Beauchamp's consent. Ida then sacked the monastery's lands, and Beauchamp claimed control of the monastery properties until a new prior was appointed. The dispute is said to have been settled only in 1254, when Beauchamp and his wife appeared in front of the monastery. They demanded that the prior come out; if he did not appear, they openly threatened him with violence. Then the prior came out, whereupon Beauchamp took him by the hand, led him into the church and installed him there as prior. In 1254 the Abbot of Warden Abbey also complained about Beauchamp. According to other sources, Beauchamp made generous donations to several monasteries.

Beauchamp had at least three sons and three daughters:

  • Simon III de Beauchamp († 1256)
  • William II de Beauchamp († 1262)
  • John de Beauchamp (after 1241-1265)
  • Matilda de Beauchamp († before 1275)
    • ⚭ Roger de Mowbray, Lord of Thirsk († 1266)
    • ⚭ Roger Lestrange († 1311)
  • Ela de Beauchamp ⚭ Baldwin Wake
  • Beatrice de Beauchamp
    • ⚭ Thomas fitz Otto
    • ⚭ William de Munchensi, of Edwardstone, Suffolk.

heritage

After his son Simon III died in Gascony in 1256, Beauchamp, in view of his advanced age, asked the king in 1257 for permission that his younger son William II could take over his possessions while he was still alive. William de Beauchamp died in 1260. His son and heir William II died childless as early as 1262, after which his younger, still underage brother, John, became heir of the estates. He fell on the side of Simon de Montfort in 1265 at the Battle of Evesham . Then Joan , the daughter of John's brother Simon III, became the heir to the estate, but she died shortly afterwards. The inheritance was then divided among the three daughters of William de Beauchamp and their descendants.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ C. Gore Chambers, GH Fowler: The Beauchamps, barons of Bedford . In: The Publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society , 1 (1913), p. 11
  2. ^ David Carpenter: The minority of Henry III . University of California Press, Berkeley 1990. ISBN 0-520-07239-1 , p. 85
  3. ^ David Carpenter: The minority of Henry III . University of California Press, Berkeley 1990. ISBN 0-520-07239-1 , p. 353
  4. ↑ C. Gore Chambers, GH Fowler: The Beauchamps, barons of Bedford . In: The Publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society , 1 (1913), p. 12
  5. ^ Matthew Strickland: Longespée, William (I), third earl of Salisbury (b. In or before 1167, d. 1226). 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
  6. ↑ Kathryn Faulkner: Beauchamp, de, family (per. C. 1080 – c. 1265). 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
  7. ↑ C. Gore Chambers, GH Fowler: The Beauchamps, barons of Bedford . In: The Publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society , 12 (1913), p. 9
personal data
SURNAME Beauchamp, William de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Anglo-Norman nobleman, judge and civil servant
DATE OF BIRTH around 1185
DATE OF DEATH 1260