Gerard de Canville
Gerard de Canville (died 1214), often written Camville, was an
Origins
His family came from
Career
Already from 1174 a close associate of the king, by 1185 he had married a widowed heiress, Nicola de la Haie, and as her husband held not only her lands in England and Normandy but also her hereditary offices of sheriff of Lincolnshire and constable of Lincoln Castle. After the death of Henry II in 1189, these two posts were confirmed to him and Nicola by the new king Richard I.[1][3]
While Richard was overseas on the Third Crusade, in 1191 he transferred his loyalty to Richard”s younger brother and potential heir, Prince John. The Lord Chancellor of England, William de Longchamp, promptly stripped him of the shrievalty and ordered him to surrender Lincoln Castle. When this was refused, Longchamp ordered troops to seize the castle, but they were thwarted by Nicola, who they then besieged. In retaliation, Canville and John attacked and took the two royal castles of Nottingham and Tickhill (on Nottingham's border with Yorkshire), upon which Longchamp agreed a settlement and restored Canville as sheriff. In revenge, Longchamp arranged Canville's excommunication. In compensation, John appointed Canville as keeper of the honour of Wallingford and benefited from Canville's support during the rebellion of 1193.[1]
On returning to England in 1194, Richard stripped Canville of his offices and lands. Though he was able to buy back the right to his estates, but not his posts, he then faced legal charges brought by Longchamp over sheltering criminals and participating in John's illegal seizure of the castles of Nottingham and Tickhill.[4][1] When John became king on Richard's death in 1199, he restored Canville to his posts, making him sheriff of Lincolnshire (which he held until 1205) and castellan of Lincoln. The rest of his public life was spent in local administration in Lincolnshire.[1]
He died shortly before January 1215, when his lands passed to his son.[1] His widow continued to hold the castle, undergoing another prolonged siege by rebels in 1217, until she retired in 1226 and died in 1230.[5]
Landholdings
In addition to Middleton Stoney, from his father he inherited lands at
Family
By 1185 he had married
- Richard, who in 1200 married Eustacia, widow of Thomas Verdon and daughter and heir of Gilbert Basset; she died soon after February 1217.William II Longespée.[5]
- Nicola, who married Oliver Deincourt.[6]
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4543. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ fr:Canville-les-Deux-Églises
- ^ J. H. Round, ed., Ancient Charters, royal and private, prior to A. D. 1200 (Pipe Roll Society vol. 26, London: 1905), pp. 92–3.
- ^ Irene Gladwin, The Sheriff: The Man and His Office, (1974), pp. 89–90
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47223. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Burke, John (1846), A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, Extinct, Dormant, and in Abeyance, p. 168, retrieved 13 March 2018