Robert fitzRoger

Robert fitzRoger was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk.

FitzRoger was the son of Roger fitzRichard, who held Warkworth and was lord of Clavering, Essex. FitzRoger was sheriff of Norfolk from Michaelmas in 1190 to Easter 1194 and then again from Michaelmas 1197 to Easter 1200.[1] FitzRoger's first appointment as sheriff was due to the influence of William de Longchamp, who was Lord Chancellor. Longchamp's influence also secured custody of Orford Castle for fitzRoger.[2] Longchamp also arranged for fitzRoger to have custody of Eye Castle in Suffolk.[3] When Longchamp fell from royal favour and was replaced by Walter of Coutances, fitzRoger was one of the few of Longchamp's appointments to retain his office of sheriff.[4]

FitzRoger had confirmation of his ownership of Warkworth in 1199 and in 1205 was granted Newburn and the barony of Whalton in Northumberland. Warkworth and Newburn occasionally were considered baronies, but not consistently.[5] FitzRoger also held Clavering from Henry of Essex for one knight's fee.[6][lower-alpha 1] FitzRoger's holdings were extensive enough that he was considered a baron during the reigns of King Richard I[7] and King John of England.[8]

FitzRoger married Margaret,[9] one of the daughters and heiresses of William de Chesney, the founder of Sibton Abbey.[10] Margaret was one of three daughters, but she inherited the bulk of her father's estates.[11] Margaret was the widow of Hugh de Cressy.[lower-alpha 2] Through Margaret, Roger gained the barony of Blythburgh in Suffolk.[13] He also acquired lands at Rottingdean in Sussex from Margaret.[14]

FitzRoger died in 1214, and his heir was his son John fitzRobert, by his wife Margaret.[5][13] Margaret survived fitzRoger and paid a fine of a thousand pounds to the king for the right to administer her lands and dower properties herself.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Robert fitzRoger who held Clavering should not be confused with a separate Robert fitzRoger who held lands around Calthorpe in Norfolk.[6]
  2. ↑ Although Margaret was the eldest daughter, she received the bulk of her father's estates as a reward for de Cressy from King Henry II of England. The king arranged Margaret's first marriage as well as ensuring that most of her father's lands went to her.[12]

Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Round "Early Sheriffs of Norfolk" English Historical Review pp. 491–494
  2. ↑ Turner and Heiser Reign of Richard Lionheart p. 116
  3. ↑ Heiser "Castles, Constables, and Politics" Albion p. 34
  4. ↑ Turner and Heiser Reign of Richard Lionheart p. 132
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sanders English Baronies p. 150
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 953
  7. ↑ Turner and Heiser Reign of Richard Lionheart p. 103
  8. ↑ Russell "Social Status" Speculum p. 324
  9. ↑ Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 416
  10. ↑ Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 370
  11. ↑ Green Aristocracy of Norman England p. 380
  12. ↑ Waugh "Women's Inheritance" Nottingham Medieval Studies p. 82
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sanders English Baronies p. 16
  14. ↑ Loyd Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families p. 35

References

  • Green, Judith A. (1997). The Aristocracy of Norman England. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52465-2.
  • Heiser, Richard R. (Spring 2000). "Castles, Constables, and Politics in Late Twelfth-Century English Governance". Albion 32 (1): 19–36. doi:10.2307/4053985. JSTOR 4053985.
  • Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. (1999). Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066–1166: Pipe Rolls to Cartae Baronum. Ipswich, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-863-3.
  • Loyd, Lewis Christopher (1975) [1951]. The Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families (Reprint ed.). Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8063-0649-1.
  • Round, J. H. (1920). "The Early Sheriffs of Norfolk". The English Historical Review 35 (140): 481–496. doi:10.1093/ehr/xxxv.cxl.481. JSTOR 552094.
  • Russell, Josiah Cox (July 1937). "Social Status at the Court of King John". Speculum 12 (3): 319–329. JSTOR 2848628.
  • Sanders, I. J. (1960). English Baronies: A Study of Their Origin and Descent 1086–1327. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. OCLC 931660.
  • Turner, Ralph V.; Heiser, Richard R. (2000). The Reign of Richard Lionheart: Ruler of the Angevin Empire 1189–1199. The Medieval World. Harlow, UK: Longman. ISBN 0-582-25660-7.
  • Waugh, Scott L. (1990). "Women's Inheritance and the Growth of Bureaucratic Monarchy in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century England". Nottingham Medieval Studies 34: 71–92. doi:10.1484/J.NMS.3.182.