Roger de Lacy

Roger de Lacy is one of those people for whom I started this blog: a person not famous enough to be of interest to the Modern Age but who was significant in his time.

Born in 1170 to the Baron of Halton John Fitz Richard and Alice of Essex, he was also known as Roger Fitz John, but also went by Roger de Lisours for a time, hoping he might inherit the de Lisours lands after the current holder (his paternal grandmother) died. She held a barony because of her relationship to its previous owner, Robert de Lacy, the Baron of Pontefract.

Robert de Lacy died in 1193, and Roger agreed to change his name to de Lacy as part of the agreement with his grandmother to give up his desire for the de Lisours lands but inherit the de Lacy-connected Pontefract. This agreement also made him Lord of Bowland and Lord of Blackburnshire. He was also hereditary Constable of Chester.

The problem with Pontefract was that Robert de Lacy had not supported King Henry I in the power struggle with his brother, Robert Curthose. Henry confiscated Pontefract Castle as a result, and Roger had to pay King Richard I 3000 marks for the "Honour of Pontefract"; Roger could live in the castle and take care of it, but its owner was still the Crown.

Roger stayed in England during the Third Crusade, although he was a powerful noble with several lands from which he could draw men to accompany Richard. His father went along, however, and died at the Siege of Acre.

When John became king, Roger was part of the noble escort to bring King William "the Lion" of Scotland to John. John trusted Roger to be commander of Château Gaillard, the fortress built by Richard as a staging point in his quest to re-take lands in Normandy that Philip of France had conquered while Richard was in the Holy land and imprisoned. That put Roger in charge during the siege by Philip, which was discussed yesterday.

de Lacy survived the siege and returned to England, where he worked to reinforce Pontefract Castle. Meanwhile, there was trouble in Wales. The Earl of Chester, Ranulph by name, took a small army into Wales and, finding himself opposed and outnumbered, was besieged in Rhuddlan Castle, whence he sent a message to the Constable of Chester for military support. Roger de Lacy gathered a bunch of minstrels and other sketchy figures and led them to Rhuddlan. It was a very large group, and seeing it approach frightened the Welsh, thinking they were about to face a fierce army. The Welsh fled. Ranulph conferred upon de Lacy the patronage of minstrels, an "honor" which de Lacy gave away to his steward.

Roger de lacy married Maud de Clere and had two children. John de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, and a daughter who married a Scottish lord of Galloway.

So what was Ranulph doing in Wales? Why did he think going there was a good idea? Let's look into his life tomorrow.

An Expensive Bride

de lacy Coat of Arms

de Clare Coat of Arms

Maud de Lacy was an "independent-minded" woman of the 13th century. (To be fair, there were two independent-minded women named "Maud de Lacy" in the 13th century. Today we will discuss the English one.) The Maud de Lacy I have in mind lived from 1223 to 1289 and was the daughter of John de Lacy, the 2nd Earl of Lincoln, a Surety Baron of the Magna Carta.*

The Lincoln title belonged to her mother, Margaret de Quincy, not her father. Maud might have someday inherited the title, but her mother named a different heir: Henry de Lacy, Maud's nephew by her deceased brother. Maud's feelings about her mother were not improved when her mother remarried in 1242 to Walter Marshal, the 5th Earl of Pembroke, inheriting the majority of his property  after Walter died in 1245. We are told by one historian that the two women argued about finances regarding the wealth that Margaret held in the Marshal property.

Maud married Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, in 1238 when she was 15 and he was not much older (Richard was born 4 August 1222). Richard had actually been married once already! He had been married to Margaret, the daughter of Hugh de Burgh. Hubert got in some trouble for this, since the marriage did not have the approval of King Henry III, and Richard was Henry's ward! Hubert gave the king money to let the matter slide (Henry, like his father John, always needed money).

That wasn't the only money involved in Richard's wedding(s), however. Maud's father would have liked his eldest daughter joined to the powerful and wealthy de Clare family. Sensing problems in the marriage between Richard and Margaret de Burgh, the Earl of Lincoln offered King Henry 5000 marks (about £3300) to approve a marriage between Richard and Maud. Margaret died (very conveniently) in late 1237, leaving Richard free to marry Maud, which he did on 2 February 1238.

Among there children was Gilbert de Clare, who would join Simon de  Montfort in rebelling against Henry II, but later recant and support the throne and Henry's son Prince Edward.

*Not all barons signed the Magna Carta. The "Surety Barons" were 25 who were elected to sign the document and whose job was to see that it was adhered to.