Robert de Umfraville
Sir Robert de Umfraville
Robert de Umfraville fought under three English kings. Beginning his career under
De Umfraville married but did not have children. His nephew and closest relative, Gilbert, predeceased him, perishing at the Battle of Baugé in 1421. He remained in royal service almost to the last months of his life, but this service was of uncertain financial profitability. Most of his northern lands would have been prone to frequent ravaging by marauding armies, so his Midlands estates may have been his main source of income. He carried out his last mission to Scotland in March 1436 and died early the next year.
Background
Robert de Umfraville was the youngest son of Sir Thomas de Umfraville, who died in 1387. His family had been important in Anglo-Scottish relations and on the border since the twelfth century;[2] King Henry I had granted de Umfraville's ancestor and namesake major estates in Northumberland as a bulwark against the Scots. The original grant refers to de Umfraville as having to defend England against "enemies and wolves".[3][4] The de Umfravilles also counted the Earls of Angus amongst their ancestors. The family owned much land around the Redesdale area, consisting of the around 138,000-acre (56,000 ha)[5] old Regality of Redesdale.[2] However, both the impact of the Scottish wars and the growth of other, newer regional families, such as the Nevilles, had led to a decline in the family's status by the fifteenth century. Robert himself, a minor at his father's death, became a ward of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland.[6]
Early career
Robert de Umfraville spent his early career in the military. He began sitting on
Royal service
De Umfraville's loyalty to the new regime was appreciated by
In 1408 the continuing tension between the crown and the Earl of Northumberland came to a head, and the Earl rebelled, albeit unsuccessfully: he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Bramham Moor that year.[9] De Umfraville appears to have played no part in the downfall of his old master. However, uncommonly for a younger son, shortly after—and reflecting his high standing with the king—de Umfraville was elected to the Order of the Garter.[8] He took the stall of Edmund, Earl of Kent, who had died earlier in the year.[22] De Umfraville was the only Percy retainer that King Henry made an effort to reconcile to him; as a "border warlord with impeccable lineage", he earned great rewards from the crown while still commanding the respect of what remained of the Percy affinity in the northwest.[23] At the same time, his diplomatic work with Scotland increased as the result of the Percys' fall.[24]
Robert de Umfraville had a close relationship with his nephew Gilbert, the son of Robert's elder brother Thomas, who had died in 1391. By 1413, Gilbert had married Anne, daughter of Ralph, Earl of Westmorland, further strengthening de Umfraville's position in the northeast. He was probably responsible for Gilbert's military training, as the two spent the years prior to 1410 on the border. In 1408, for example, they jointly led a raid into
The 'Southampton Plot,' service in France and return
Henry IV died in March 1413 and was succeeded by his son, Henry of Monmouth, as King Henry V.[33] The new king's attention soon focused on the English claim to the French throne, and by early 1415 war with France was inevitable.[34] Just before the English army was due to depart Southampton Dock, the king received word of a plot against him.[35] A few days later, de Umfraville was summoned to Henry's presence;[9] Summmerson has speculated that Henry suspected de Umfraville of involvement, and perhaps "harbouring a residual loyalty to the Percys", the restoration of which family in the north was one of the plotters' aims.[8] Perhaps indicating the king's displeasure, de Umfraville was also relieved of his captaincy of Roxburgh at the same time.[8] On the other hand, de Umfraville had valuable military experience,[9] and Henry subsequently confirmed him in his £40 annuity.[8] Either way, de Umfraville is known to have been present at the siege of Harfleur, and possibly the Battle of Agincourt.[19] He had presumably cleared himself, in Henry's eyes, by the following year when he indentured with the king to serve in Normandy until 1417. That year he returned to Northumberland and to border service.[8]
De Umfraville's return was timely; the
Later years
Sir Robert had married by 1419; nothing is known of his wife except that she was named Isabella. The same year he is also recorded, with his wife, as taking membership of the
In 1421 de Umfraville acted as his nephew's
Death and legacy
Historian
Since Gilbert had been de Umfraville's closest relative, and he and Isabelle had had no children, his estates passed to a distant relative, Sir William Tailboys. How much these lands were actually worth, however, Summerson has queried. While his manors around Redesdale covered over 25,000 acres (10,000 ha), the near-permanent state of war that existed in the region[15] makes it likely that these estates had been greatly ravaged, possibly to the point of worthlessness. It may be that the only lands of de Umfraville's that were worth their full value at the time, Summerson says, were those of Gilbert's in Lincolnshire, which could have been worth up to £400 per annum.[8] Robert de Umfraville's garter stall was taken by Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, in 1438.[59]
Notes
- ^ The chronicle was transcribed and published in 1812 by Henry Ellis.[7]
- ^ An indenture in late medieval England was a legal contract written in duplicate on the same sheet, which was then divided into two portions along a jagged line. The tooth-like appearance of this division provided the name. Subsequently, when one or other parties to the contract needed to prove its authenticity, the teeth of the two parts would match perfectly.[10][11].
- ^ "Bayte" in this context means to unleash, i.e. de Umfraville gladly unleashed Gilbert over the border, making, so Hardyng continues, the Scottish wives swear "by Seynt Rynyon".[25]
- ^ Occasionally rendered Robyne.[28]
- ^ A medieval English mark was an accounting unit equivalent to two-thirds of a pound.[53]
References
- ^ Burke 1884, pp. 1042–1043.
- ^ a b Lomas 2009, p. 481.
- ^ Pluskowski 2006, p. 28.
- ^ Summerson 2004b.
- ^ Lomas 1992, p. 85.
- ^ Dodd 2013, p. 94.
- ^ Hardyng 1812.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Summerson 2004a.
- ^ a b c d Dodd 2013, p. 5.
- ^ Brown 1993, pp. 78–79.
- ^ Gillingham 2010, p. 126.
- ^ Curry et al. 2010, p. 1386.
- ^ Brown 1974, p. 40.
- ^ Jacob 1993, pp. 35–36.
- ^ a b c Hedley 1970, p. 215.
- ^ Storey 1961, p. 104.
- ^ Gransden 1996, p. 274.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 31.
- ^ a b c Marchant 2014, p. 52 n.69.
- ^ a b Lomas 2007, p. 149.
- ^ Dodd 2013, pp. 94–95.
- ^ Beltz 1841, p. clviii.
- ^ Given-Wilson 2016, pp. 483–484.
- ^ Given-Wilson 2016, p. 460.
- ^ a b Peverley 2012, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Given-Wilson 2016, p. 323.
- ^ a b Nicholson 1974, p. 231.
- ^ a b c d MacDonald 2005, p. 33.
- ^ Given-Wilson 2016, pp. 324–325.
- ^ a b Given-Wilson 2016, p. 324.
- ^ Given-Wilson 2016, p. 474 n.32.
- ^ Storey 1961, p. 146.
- ^ Allmand 1992, p. 58.
- ^ Curry 1993, pp. 96–98.
- ^ Harriss 2005, p. 591.
- ^ a b Storey 1961, p. 151.
- ^ King & Etty 2016, p. 66.
- ^ Jacob 1993, p. 146.
- ^ Pollard 2000, p. 84.
- ^ Storey 1961, p. 153.
- ^ Rose 2003, pp. 447–448.
- ^ Dobson 1973, p. 106.
- ^ a b c Armstrong 2006, p. 56.
- ^ Storey 1961, p. 187.
- ^ Lomas 1992, pp. 120–121.
- ^ Milner 2006, p. 486.
- ^ Storey 1961, pp. 156–157.
- ^ Neville 1994, p. 21.
- ^ Dobson 1973, p. 197.
- ^ a b c Storey 1961, pp. 142–143.
- ^ Vickers 1922, pp. 379–380.
- ^ Raine 1852, p. 209.
- ^ Harding 2002, p. xiv.
- ^ Dobson 1973, p. 198.
- ^ Dobson 1973, p. 199.
- ^ Dobson 1973, p. 201.
- ^ Given-Wilson 2016, p. 396.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 32.
- ^ Beltz 1841, p. clix.
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