Roger de Valognes
Roger de Valognes (died c. 1141–42) was an
Early life
Roger was the son of Peter de Valognes.[1] Peter was a tenant-in-chief in Domesday Book with lands in East Anglia and was a Norman from Valognes.[2] Roger had a brother William, and two sisters.[2] A Walter de Valognes was related to Roger, as Roger called Walter a nepos in a charter. This usually means nephew, but it may indicate a grandson or more distant relative.[3]
During Stephen's reign
Roger succeeded to his father's estates near Bennington after 1109, and by holding these lands he is generally considered to be a
Roger issued a confirmation charter to Binham Priory,[7] founded by his father,[2] that is slightly unusual in that it mentions a "decree that where there is no son the daughters divide their father's land by the spindles, nor can the elder take from the younger half of the inheritance by violence or injury".[8] This charter was discussed by William Stubbs, who dated the charter to shortly before 1141. Later historians have attempted to discover which king issued the decree, with general consensus deciding on King Henry I of England. The historian Pauline Stafford has related this decree to Henry's attempts to have his daughter Matilda succeed him on the throne of England, and sees this charter as recording this important step taken by the king towards that goal.[7] A further unusual feature of this charter is that it mentions the negotiations that took place prior to the issuing of the charter, in this case, where Theobald of Bec persuaded Roger to be more generous than he had originally intended with the grant.[9]
Marriage and children
Roger married Agnes, a sister of Pain fitzJohn and daughter of John fitzRichard. They had five sons – Peter, Robert, Philip, Geoffrey, and John.[1] They also had a daughter, Cecily, who married Henry of Essex.[10] Agnes survived Roger and died after 1185. She never remarried.[11]
Death and legacy
Roger died around 1141 or 1142.
Citations
- ^ a b c d Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 759
- ^ a b c Keats-Rohan Domesday People p. 322
- ^ Mitchell Patronage and Politics p. 141
- ^ Sanders English Baronies p. 12
- ^ King King Stephen pp. 59–60
- ^ Staff "Benington Castle" Historic England
- ^ a b Green Aristocracy of Norman England pp. 378–379
- ^ Quoted in Green Aristocracy of Norman England p. 378
- ^ Hudson Land, Law, and Lordship p. 158
- ^ Cokayne Complete Peerage vol. 10 pp. 199–207
- ^ Mitchell Patronage and Politics p. 124
- ^ Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 758
References
- ISBN 0-904387-82-8.
- ISBN 0-521-52465-2.
- ISBN 0-19-820688-7.
- ISBN 0-85115-863-3.
- ISBN 0-85115-722-X.
- King, Edmund (2010). King Stephen. The English Monarchs Series. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11223-8.
- Mitchell, Emily (23 June 2003). Patronage and Politics at Barking Abbey, c. 950-c.1200 (PhD thesis). Cambridge University. S2CID 158899419.
- Sanders, I. J. (1960). English Baronies: A Study of Their Origin and Descent 1086–1327. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. OCLC 931660.
- Staff. "Benington Castle: Official List Entry". Historic England. Retrieved 18 April 2022.