Geoffrey de Luterel (died 1218)

Arms of Luttrell differenced by tincture: left: Azure, a bend between six martlets argent (Luttrell of Irnham, as shown in the Luttrell Psalter); right: Or, a bend between six martlets sable (Luttrell of Dunster Castle). It is not clear which version was originally adopted by the common ancestor of both families, Sir Geoffrey de Luterel I (d.1218), at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200-1215)

Sir Geoffrey de Luterel I (c. 1158–1218), was a courtier and confidante of King John, whom he served as a minister.

Origins

He was born around 1158 in Gamsten, Nottinghamshire, England, the son of Alfred de Luterel (1105-1170).

Relations with King John

He travelled with King John (1199-1216) on missions to Ireland and Italy and in about 1210 was granted lands near Dublin, Ireland where he established the township of Luttrellstown, near Clonsilla. In 1215 he was also granted the townland of Cratloe in County Clare, including the Cratloe Oak Woods.^[1]

Marriage & progeny

On February 26 1190 he married Frethesant Paynel (alias Paganel, etc.), heiress of several estates including Irnham, Lincolnshire and East Quantoxhead, Somerset and others in Yorkshire, which thus passed to the Luttrell family. By his wife he had 3 children:

• Andrew de Lutrel (1st Baron Irnham)
• Robert de Lutrel.
• Margeret de Luterel

Later life and death

In 1216 he was declared non compos mentis and was placed in the custody of his brother, John Luttrell. He died in 1218, aged about 60.

Legacy

He was the head of the three main branches of the Luttrell family, namely:

• Luttrell of Luttrellstown and Luttrellstown Castle, Ireland, held for almost 600 years by his descendants, created in 1768 Barons Irnham, in 1781 Viscounts Carhampton and in 1785 Earls of Carhampton.
• Luttrell of East Quantoxhead, Somerset, which family went on to acquire nearby Dunster Castle in 1376, which it held until the extinction of the male line in 1737, but which continued to be held via a female line (which adopted the surname and arms of Luttrell) until 1976 when donated to the National Trust.
• Luttrell of Irnham, Lincolnshire, a member of which branch, Sir Geoffrey Luttrell III (1276-1345), commissioned the Luttrell Psalter (c.1340-1345), and which branch became extinct in about 1418.

References

• Family and Estate papers of the Luttrell family of Dunster, Somerset Record Office reference DD/L

External links

• Sir Henry Churchill Maxwell Lyte (1909). A history of Dunster and of the families of Mohun & Luttrell. London: The St. Catherine press ltd. 
• Ball, Francis Elrington, A History of the County Dublin, Volume 4, Chapter 1, Dublin, Ireland, 1906., Volume 4, Chapter 1.
• Ball, Francis Elrington, A History of the County Dublin, Volume 4, Chapter 1, Dublin, Ireland, 1906., Volume 4, Chapter 1. ALTERNATE SITE
• Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, LL.D. (Editorial Supervisor), Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume IV, Richmond, New York, 1915.
• Luttrell family website
• Luttrell family of Ireland from Ask about Ireland