William de Vescy, 1st Baron Vescy

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Coat of arms of William de Vescy, which he wielded during the lifetime of his brother John

William de Vescy, 1st Baron Vescy (born September 19, 1245 - † July 19, 1297 ) was an English nobleman and justiciar of Ireland .

Origin and youth

William was the second eldest son of William de Vesci, Lord of Alnwick, and of Agnes, daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and Sybil Marshal. His father died in 1253. As a younger son, little is known about his life at first. He was one of the followers of his older brother John de Vescy , who sided with the rebels during the Barons' Second War . William was one of the rebels who unsuccessfully defended Gloucester Castle against the troops of the heir to the throne Edward in June 1265 . After the end of the war in 1267, however, his brother became a close confidante of the heir to the throne, who became king in 1272 and in 1276 officially pardoned John and William for looting committed during the war. William then went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela . He later served as a surety for his brother's debts to the king.

Follower of the King

In the 1280s, William de Vescy began his own military career in the service of the king. He had already participated in the campaigns for the conquest of Wales in 1277, 1282 and 1283 and was called to parliaments and royal councils in 1283 and 1288 . In 1285 he became a judge for the Forests north of the Trent .

Inheritance from his brother

When his brother John died childless in 1289, William became his heir. Successor to his brother, he also became administrator of the royal Scarborough Castle , and in 1290 he served the king as negotiator with Scotland. When Vescy's mother Agnes died that year, he inherited much of Kildare , Ireland, as well as other estates in England which his mother had inherited as the granddaughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke . By the age of 44, Vescy had risen to become a powerful magnate with extensive holdings in northern England and Ireland. King Edward appointed him on September 12, 1290 as royal justiciar for Ireland, for this he had to give up his office as judge for the Forests north of the Trent, which the king immediately handed over to his son John de Vescy. Vescy landed in Ireland on November 11th. As a representative of the king he had a difficult position there. The native Irish rebelled against the English barons, who were themselves divided among themselves. The king granted Vescy £ 500 a year for the exercise of his office, plus an additional £ 500 in case of war. However, these sums were not enough to cover his expenses for his Welsh mercenaries. In addition, in 1291, as the grandson of Margaret, an illegitimate daughter of the Scottish King William I , he became one of the thirteen contenders for the Scottish throne . Vescy made no serious attempt to become King of Scotland. He had his claims represented by his son John and finally waived his claim before John Balliol was appointed the new King of Scotland on November 17, 1292 .

Justiciar of Ireland

In Ireland Vescy had to fight for his recognition as a representative of the king, but also as Lord of Kildare, whereby he made numerous opponents through his autocratic administration. In 1291 the Abbot of St Thomas's in Dublin sued him and the other Marshal heirs because he felt that he had been treated unfairly. As a party, the King forbade Vescy to take on the complaint, but he continued to deal with the case as justiciar. This led to the case being investigated by the Privy Council and Parliament at Westminster in October 1293, along with other complaints about Vescy's administration . The king then ordered a further review, as a result of which Vescy was found guilty of numerous legal violations in March 1294.

The dispute between Vescy and John Fitz Thomas Fitzgerald , who as Lord of Offaly was a vassal of Vescy, came into focus. Tensions between the two men had grown so high that Vescy wanted to raise troops to occupy Offaly. Thereupon the king intervened and forbade the campaign. Fitz Thomas accused Vescy in 1293 during Parliament, after which Vescy made accusations against Fitz Thomas in front of the King and the Privy Council in 1294. Fitz Thomas denied the allegations and in turn accused that Vescy had slandered the king against him and was a traitor, among other things he had alleged that Edward behaved cowardly during the siege of Kenilworth Castle in 1266. Vescy then demanded a duel between him and Fitz Thomas as a divine judgment . Thereupon the king ordered both opponents to his court on July 24th. Vescy appeared armed and ready to fight, but Fitz Thomas did not appear. The case was adjourned several times and in June 1295 by parliament, in which Vescy participated as Baron Vescy , repealed. Vescy had already been replaced as justiciar in June 1294, but the king did not hold his fault in Ireland after him. In April 1295 he accompanied the king when he put down a rebellion in Wales , and after the death of his son John he was reappointed judge for the Forests north of Trent in September 1295. During the Franco-English War he took part in a campaign in Gascony in 1296 . Back in England, he prepared for a campaign in Gascony the following year, but died before he left.

Family and inheritance

Vescy had married Isabel of Periton, the widow of Robert of Welles († 1265) and the second daughter of Adam of Periton, a country nobleman from Ellington in Northumberland. After the death of her father, she became a co-heir of his property. With her he had a son:

Before leaving for Gascony in 1295, Vescy made a foundation for the Malton Priory . With his only son deceased, Vescy tried in his final years to settle his inheritance in favor of his illegitimate son William . Alnwick Castle and other estates in Northumberland he gave to Bishop Antony Bek of Durham, who was to give these estates to his illegitimate son. In 1297 he gave Kildare and his other possessions in Ireland to the King, which he received back from the King a few months later. In return, Kildare should fall to the crown after his death, so that distant relatives of Vescy were robbed of their inheritance. In return, the king forgave him his debts to the crown, and also took over the debts that Vescy had made as justiciar and judge, as well as the debts of his brother John. In addition, he pardoned him for the offenses that he had committed as justiciar and judge.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 353
  2. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 354
  3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 539
personal data
SURNAME De Vescy, William, 1st Baron Vescy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES De Vesci, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1245
DATE OF DEATH July 19, 1297