William de Marisco
William de Marisco († July 25, 1242 in London ) was an Anglo-Norman knight and outlaw in 13th century England .
origin
William de Marisco came from an illustrious Norman family who were wealthy in Huntspill, Somerset . His father was Geoffrey de Marisco, who temporarily served as Justiciar of Ireland . His uncle, who was also called William de Marisco († 1225), illegally appropriated the island of Lundy in 1195 , which had originally belonged to the Templars . However, this act was legitimized a few years later and the Templars were otherwise compensated, Lundy remained in the possession of the Mariscos.
The young William de Marisco had been a knight in the royal household since 1224 and married to Matilde, a niece of the Archbishop of Dublin Henry of London († 1228).
| Geoffrey de Marisco († 1245), Justiciar of Ireland |
William de Marisco († 1225), Lord of Lundy |
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| Matilde († after 1247) |
William de Marisco († 1242, executed) |
Jordan de Marisco († around 1234), Lord of Lundy |
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| William de Marisco († after 1243), Lord of Lundy |
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Outlaw
The Marisco family supported the failed revolt of Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke in 1234 , which cost them mainly their possessions and their offices in Ireland. On the night of May 13, 1235, the cleric Henry Clement, who was an envoy to the royal court of the new Justiciars of Ireland, Maurice FitzGerald, was murdered in Westminster. The deed happened right outside the gates of Westminster Palace , where King Henry III. was present. Allegedly, a few days earlier, the murder victim had made derogatory comments about the fallen Earl of Pembroke, which is why the Marisco, who were also present in the city and their followers, were suspected and imprisoned shortly after the crime. However, they gradually managed to escape from their dungeons over the next three days.
William de Marisco, who was considered the main culprit, managed to escape to his homonymous cousin on the island of Lundy. From there he led a pirate life for the next seven years , making the coasts of Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland unsafe. The island, which was difficult to access, offered him sufficient protection from the attacks of his enemies as well as the king.
Assassination attempt on the king and execution
On the night of September 9, 1238, a man armed with a dagger penetrated a window into King Henry III's bedchamber at Woodstock Palace . one to kill him. The king was not in his bed, however, but was in the queen's bedroom at the time. Only one lady-in-waiting of the queen was in the room and alerted the guards by whom the assassin could be captured. Under the torture, he confessed that William de Marisco was his client, after which he was executed in Coventry .
That same month the king sent instructions to the commanders of the ports between Dover and Chester with orders to arrest Marisco and his companions. In the underground, however, he managed to evade the access of his pursuers. In January 1242, Matilde was extradited by the people of Bristol to the Sheriff of Gloucester . The Devonshire landowners then organized a sea operation against Lundy in May 1242. A former fan of Marisco told them the only known passage through the rocks in front of the island. During a meal, Marisco and five of his companions were surprised and captured.
Initially imprisoned in Bristol , the prisoners were transferred to the Tower of London on June 16, 1242 . They were tried on July 14th, whereupon William de Marisco was dragged from Westminster to the Tower of London on July 25th and executed there by stretching, hanging, eviscerating and quartering . Sixteen other men were executed with him, some for their part in the murder of Henry Clement.
Matilde was released by royal decree in the summer of 1243 with what she had carried with her at the time of her arrest, four pounds in coins, a silver drinking cup and a scarf worth ten shillings. For several years she had to fight for the restitution of her property in Ireland. For Marisco's eponymous cousin and actual owner of Lundy, his suspected involvement in the crimes resulted in the loss of all of his property. In June 1243, however, he received the family property back in Somerset, but Lundy was retained by the king. Geoffrey de Marisco, who was also arrested in 1235 but was able to flee, went into exile in Scotland, where he died in 1245.
literature
- Henry Richards Luard (ed.): Matthæi Parisiensis, monachi Sancti Albani, Chronica majora . Volume IV, Longman & Co., London 1877.
- The Murder of Henry Clement and the Pirates of Lundy Island. In: Frederick Maurice Powicke : Ways of Medieval Life and Thought. Biblo and Tannen, New York 1967, ISBN 0819601373 , pp. 38-68.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | William de Marisco |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Anglo-Norman knight, pirate and conspirator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 1242 |
| Place of death | London |