Urse d'Abetot
Urse d'Abetot | |
---|---|
Sheriff of Worcestershire | |
In office c. 1069–1108 | |
Preceded by | Cyneweard of Laughern[1] |
Succeeded by | Roger d'Abetot |
Royal constable | |
In office after 1087 – 1108 | |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1040 Normandy, France |
Died | Summer of 1108 |
Spouse | Alice |
Children | Roger d'Abetot, daughter (perhaps named Emmeline) |
Urse d'Abetot
Urse built the earliest form of
Background
Norman conquest of England
On 5 January 1066
Between his coronation and 1071, William consolidated his hold over England, defeating a number of rebellions that arose particularly in the north and west of the country. Immediately after Hastings, only those English noblemen who fought in the battle lost their lands,[7] which were distributed to Normans and others from the continent who had supported William's invasion.[8] The rebellions of the years 1068 to 1071 led to fresh confiscations of English land, again distributed to William's continental followers.[9] By 1086, when William ordered the compilation of Domesday Book to record landholders in England, most of the native English nobility had been replaced by Norman and other continental nobles.[10]
Sources
The main sources for Urse's life are English documents such as
Family and early life
Urse came from an undistinguished family,[14] and made his way on military reputation.[15] He was probably born in about 1040, but the exact date is unknown.[11] He was from St Jean d'Abbetot in Normandy, where his family had lands,[13] and where he himself was a tenant of the lords of Tancarville.[16] Other tenants of the Tancarville lords included Robert d'Abetot and his wife Lesza, who held lands close to St Jean d'Abbetot in the early 12th century; despite the name, it is not certain that Robert d'Abetot was related to Urse.[17] Urse had a brother usually called Robert Despenser,[11] sometimes known as Robert fitz Thurstin,[18] who also became a royal official.[11] The historian Emma Mason suggested that Urse may have been a nickname rather than a forename, perhaps given on account of his tenacious temperament.[19][b] Urse's usual last name derives from his ancestral village in Normandy. His brother's usual last name of Despenser derives from his office, that of dispenser, in the royal household.[11]
Ralph, the Lord of Tancarville during the reign of King William I of England and Urse's overlord in Normandy, fought at the Battle of Hastings, but there is no evidence that Urse himself was present.[16][c] He is probably the same person as the "Urse d'Abetot" who was a witness to a charter of William before the invasion of England. The historian Lewis Loyd refers to Urse as "in origin a man of no importance who made his way as a soldier of fortune".[3]
Service to William I
Sheriff of Worcester
Urse arrived in England after Hastings, but it is unknown if his brother Robert arrived with him or separately.[17] Urse was appointed Sheriff of Worcestershire some time after the Norman Conquest of England,[11] probably in about 1069,[13] part of the wholesale replacement of English royal officials with Norman and other immigrants that took place in the early part of William's reign.[23] As sheriff, Urse was responsible for collecting taxes and forwarding them to the treasury, and was empowered to raise armies if rebellion or invasion threatened. The sheriff presided over the shire court, and was accountable for the shire's annual payments to the king.[24] During the reigns of William the Conqueror and his sons, the office of sheriff was a powerful one, as it did not share power with any other official in the shire, unless there was an earl in overall control.[25][26] Because of their control of the courts for the hundreds – which were subdivisions of the shire[27] – sheriffs had opportunities for patronage and also had a large say in who became members of the hundred and shire court juries.[26] The death of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, who held power in Worcestershire until his death in 1071 during a rebellion against William, allowed Urse to accumulate more authority in Worcestershire, as Edwin was the last Earl of Mercia.[1]
Urse also oversaw the construction of a new castle at the town of
In 1075, three earls rebelled, for reasons unknown,
Urse, along with his contemporaries, benefited from the increasing power wielded by the sheriffs. Although royal officials, including the sheriffs, had been appropriating ecclesiastical lands since the late 10th century, in the immediate years after the Norman Conquest churchmen complained about the increased amount of land seized by the sheriffs. Urse received his share of complaints, but he was part of a wider trend during the early years of William I's reign. The appropriation of land led to an increase in the recording of rights and possessions not only by clergy but also by laymen, culminating in the recording of all possessions and the rights held by the king over them in the Domesday Survey of 1086.[35] This behaviour was not limited to the sheriffs, as other nobles were also accused in contemporary chronicles of appropriating land from churches and from native Englishmen.[36]
Disputes with Wulfstan and Ealdred
During the reign of William I, Urse became involved in a dispute with Bishop Wulfstan over the rights of the sheriff in the lands of the diocese.
Urse was also involved in a dispute between Wulfstan and
The 12th-century chronicler William of Malmesbury records how, shortly after Urse was appointed sheriff, he built a castle which encroached on the cemetery of the cathedral chapter of Worcester Cathedral. Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, pronounced a rhyming curse on Urse, declaring "Thou are called Urse. May you have God's curse."[42][d] Ealdred had been Bishop of Worcester before becoming archbishop, and still retained an interest in the diocese.[45] Gerald of Wales, a late 12th- and early 13th-century writer, wrote that Wulfstan uttered the curse after Urse had attempted to have Wulfstan deposed as bishop. Gerald goes on to relate that Wulfstan stated he would only relinquish his episcopal staff to the king who had granted it, William I's predecessor, Edward the Confessor. Gerard then reports that Wulfstan proceeded to work a miracle at Edward's tomb, a miracle so impressive that King William confirmed Wulfstan in his episcopate. Although Urse did not succeed in removing Wulfstan, and although there are certainly embellishments added in Gerald's story, it is clear that Urse and Wulfstan were the main powers in Worcestershire, and were thus great rivals.[46]
The Archbishop's curse had no discernible effect, either on Urse's career or the castle.[43] Other chroniclers record that Urse stole monastic lands, including some from Evesham Abbey. Urse gained a reputation for greed and avarice, especially with regard to church lands.[47] Great Malvern Priory, however, claimed him as a founder in a 14th-century document.[11]
Domesday lands
The
Domesday makes it obvious that Urse was the most powerful layman in Worcester, and the only person who could contest his power in the county was the Bishop of Worcester. The power struggle continued into the 12th century, as Urse's descendants still contested the bishops. Only one other layman is recorded as having a castle in Worcestershire in Domesday, and he held much less land than Urse.[1]
Service to William II and Henry I
After the death of King William I of England, Urse continued to serve William's sons and successors, Kings William II Rufus and Henry I.
Urse was an assistant to William II's main minister, Ranulf Flambard,
Urse's estates grew under William II,[58] partly as a result of the inheritance of some of the lands of his brother, Robert Despenser,[59][e] who died about 1097.[11] Later, Urse consolidated his holdings by exchanging some of Robert's lands in Lincolnshire with Robert de Lacy for lands closer to his base in Worcestershire.[41] Urse d'Abetot gained and passed to his heirs an estate that later became the Barony of Salwarpe, Worcestershire.[60]
William II died in a hunting accident on 2 August 1100. His younger brother Henry immediately rode to Winchester and had himself crowned king before his elder brother, Robert Curthose, could claim the throne.
Sometime between May and July 1108, Henry addressed a writ to Urse and the Bishop of Worcester from Reading. The royal document commanded the sheriff not summon the shire and hundred courts to locations different than customary nor that he summon them on dates other than those normal for such courts. From this, the historian Judith Green speculates that Urse had been summoning these courts at unusual times and then fining those who did not attend. The king specifically commanded that this procedure stop and then went on to detail the various courts which would hear what types of cases and the type of procedure that could be used in what type of case.[69]
Death and legacy
Urse died some time in the summer of 1108.[70] Little is known of his wife, Alice, whose death is unrecorded.[f] Urse was succeeded as sheriff by his son Roger d'Abetot, who was exiled in about 1110 and forfeited the office of sheriff. Roger's successor, Osbert d'Abetot, was probably Urse's brother. Urse also had a daughter, probably named Emmeline, who married Walter de Beauchamp. Walter succeeded to Urse's lands after Roger's exile.[11] A charter for the Abbey of Saint-Georges, Boscherville may indicate that Urse had a second son, named Robert.[13] Urse may also have had another daughter, who married Robert Marmion, as some of Urse's estates went to Marmion's family and others to the Beauchamps.[11][g]
Urse earned a reputation for extortion and financial exactions. During the reign of William II, he was considered second only to the king's minister Ranulf Flambard in his rapacity.
Through his daughter, he is an ancestor of the Beauchamp family of Elmley Castle in Worcestershire, a scion of which, William de Beauchamp, became Earl of Warwick.[74] It is likely that the Beauchamp family's emblem, a bear, derives from their relationship to Urse.[40]
Notes
- ^ Sometimes known as Urse of Abetot,[2] Urse de Abetot,[3] Urse d'Abitot[4] or Urse of Abitôt.[5]
- ^ A play on the Latin word ursus, "bear".[11]
- ^ Although many Victorian works claimed that Urse was at Hastings, due to his being listed on the Battle Abbey Roll as well as an inscribed plaque in a church at Dives,[20][21] this information is of a late date and current historical research has ruled out many of the names formerly listed as being with William the Conqueror at Hastings.[22]
- ^ William of Malmesbury recorded the curse in Latin, but David Bates translates it this way. Other, more archaising translations include "Hattest thu Urs? Have thu Godes kurs."[43] and "Hattest ðu Urs, haue ðu Godes kurs".[44]
- ^ These, unlike Urse's lands, were not concentrated around Worcestershire, and stretched from Worcestershire to the North Sea.[17]
- ^ Alice at one point is styled vicecomitissa, the feminine form of vicecomes, the Latin word for the English office of sheriff as well as the more hereditary Norman office of viscount; Mason argues therefore that this style indicates Urse envisaged his position as sheriff as something more akin to a Norman viscount than traditional Anglo-Saxon sheriff.[19]
- ^ Or the Marmion connection may have been from a daughter of Robert Despenser, instead.[17]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Williams "Introduction" Digital Domesday "Norman Settlement" section
- ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 72
- ^ a b Loyd Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families pp. 1–2
- ^ a b Brooks "Introduction" St Wulfstan and His World p. 3
- ^ Hollister "Henry I and the Anglo-Norman Magnates" Proceedings of the Battle Conference II p. 95
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England pp. 9–19
- ^ Stafford Unification and Conquest pp. 101–103
- ^ Williams English and the Norman Conquest pp. 10–11
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England pp. 57–61
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 81
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Round and Mason "Abetot, Urse d'" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Coredon Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases p. 61
- ^ a b c d e Keats-Rohan Domesday People p. 439
- ^ Barlow William Rufus pp. 188–189
- ^ a b Barlow William Rufus p. 152
- ^ a b Green Aristocracy p. 33
- ^ a b c d Mason "Magnates, Curiales and the Wheel of Fortune" Proceedings of the Battle Conference II p. 135
- ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 141
- ^ a b c d e Mason "Magnates, Curiales and the Wheel of Fortune" Proceedings of the Battle Conference II p. 137
- ^ Appleton "Who Was Urso d'Abitot?" Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica: Fourth Series
- ^ Burke The Roll of Battle Abbey p. 4
- ^ Lewis "Companions of the Conqueror" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Thomas Norman Conquest p. 60
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 89
- ^ Saul Companion to Medieval England pp. 274–275
- ^ a b Mason "Administration and Government" Companion to the Anglo-Norman World p. 153
- ^ Coredon Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrase p. 159
- ^ Pettifer English Castles p. 280
- ^ Holt "Worcester in the Time of Wulfstan" St Wulfstan and His World pp. 132–133
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 62
- ^ a b Douglas William the Conqueror pp. 231–232
- ^ Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 60 footnote 67
- ^ a b Prestwich "Military Household" English Historical Review p. 22
- ^ Bates William the Conqueror pp. 180–181
- ^ Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 107
- ^ Fleming Kings & Lords p. 192
- ^ Williams "Cunning of the Dove" St Wulfstan and His World p. 37
- ^ Williams "Cunning of the Dove" St Wulfstan and His World pp. 33–35
- ^ a b Dyer "Bishop Wulfstan and His Estates" St Wulfstan and His World pp. 148–149
- ^ a b c Mason "Legends of the Beauchamps' Ancestors" Journal of Medieval History pp. 34–35
- ^ a b c Mason "Magnates, Curiales and the Wheel of Fortune" Proceedings of the Battle Conference II p. 136
- ^ Quoted in Bates William the Conqueror p. 153
- ^ a b Brooks "Introduction" St Wulfstan and His World p. 15
- ^ Wormald "Oswaldslow" St Oswald of Worcester p. 125
- ^ Mason "St Oswald and St Wulfstan" St Oswald of Worcester pp. 279–281
- ^ Mason "Magnates, Curiales and the Wheel of Fortune" Proceedings of the Battle Conference II pp. 136–137
- ^ Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 32
- ^ Alecto Historical Editions Digital Domesday
- ^ Williams "Introduction" Digital Domesday "Shire Officials" section
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 64
- ^ a b Mason William II p. 75
- ^ Offler "Tractate" English Historical Review p. 337
- ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 95
- ^ Green Government p. 35
- ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 202
- ^ Hollister Henry I pp. 363–364
- ^ West Justiciarship pp. 11–13
- ^ Hollister Henry I p. 171
- ^ White "King Stephen's Earldoms" Transactions p. 71 and footnote 1
- ^ Mooers "Familial Clout" Albion p. 274
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 68
- ^ Green Government p. 169 footnote 137
- ^ Hollister Henry I p. 133
- ^ Hollister "Anglo-Norman Civil War" English Historical Review p. 329
- ^ Newman Anglo-Norman Nobility p. 117
- ^ Sanders English Baronies pp. 75–76
- ^ Newman Anglo-Norman Nobility pp. 183–184
- ^ Cronne and Johnson "Introduction" Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum p. xvi
- ^ Green Henry I pp. 115–116
- ISBN 0851151264.
- ^ Southern "Ranulf Flambard" Transactions of the Royal Historical Society pp. 110–111
- ^ Roffe Decoding Domesday p. 69 footnote 34
- ^ Fleming Kings & Lords pp. 202–203
- ^ Mason "Legends of the Beauchamps' Ancestors" Journal of Medieval History p. 25
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