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.

Château Gaillard After Richard

Château Gaillard had a long history after its creation by Richard I, and what remains can still be visited today.

Richard I built it in Normandy as a staging site for his war with Philip II of France, but died shortly after its completion. His younger brother and successor, John, was unsuccessful in defending his lands against Philip, and lost Gaillard along with Normandy in 1204.

After capturing several other Norman castles, Philip besieged Gaillard in September 1203. The castle might have survived a prolonged siege, being well-provisioned. The citizens of Andeli—the town that grew up at the base of the hill on which Gaillard was situated—fled to the castle to escape the Normans, and the additional mouths that needed food and water stretched the supplies thin. Furthermore, John did not send any troops that winter to help the garrison, and Gaillard fell into Philip's hand in March of 1204.

The castellan, Roger de Lacy, requested of the surrounding French that the civilians be given safe passage. Over the course of two days, about 1000 civilians departed the castle and went safely through the French army. When Philip found out, he was furious, and forbade any more leniency. He knew that more people to feed would shorten the ability to withstand a siege. When de Lacy sent out the rest of the civilians, the French attacked them. Hundreds of non-combatants found themselves attacked by soldiers on one side, and up against locked gates on the other. They huddled at the base of the outer walls, and many starved over the winter. In February 1204, Philip arrived on the scene, and ordered that the remaining civilians be fed and let go.

The French got through the defenses in stages: first the outermost wall was breached by undermining it, then an inner barrier was breached by finding a latrine that allowed them to enter the chapel. Once the French were inside, they lowered the drawbridge for the rest of the army. de Lacy kept retreating to inner defenses, but finally surrendered on 6 March.

Gaillard was useful for many purposes. It was the prison for Margaret of Burgundy in the Tour de Nesle Affair. During hostilities between England and Scotland, King David II of Scotland fled to France and was hosted at Gaillard with some retainers from 1333, when he was only nine years old, until his return to Scotland in 1341.

The castle switched from English to French possession several times during the Hundred Years War, until the last switch in 1449 when the French took it and have had possession ever since. By 1573, however, it was uninhabited and in need of radical repair. Henry IV of France ordered it demolished in 1599.

Poor Roger de Lacy, who did his best but had no support from his king. I'll tell you abut him tomorrow.