Sir Adam de Gurdon (died 1305), was an English knight who rebelled against King
Henry III and fought in single combat against the Prince Edward, the king's son and the future King
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
. They were reconciled and he served Edward faithfully from then on. It is said that the story of Robin Hood (Rob in hood) is based on Sir Adam de Gurdon's life.
Biography
Adam Gurdon was the son of Adam de Gurdon, one of the bailiffs of
Alton, Hampshire. He sided with
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
in the
Second Barons' War; and on 28 July 1265 repulsed the Welsh who were plundering in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, at
Dunster
Dunster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...
. He was one of the disinherited in 1266, and with others of his party formed a band which ravaged
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, and
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. Prince Edward marched against them in person, and meeting them in the vicinity of Alton Wood (or perhaps at
Halton, Buckinghamshire
Halton is a small village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England, located about two miles north of Wendover and five miles southeast of Aylesbury.
Geography
Halton lies just outsi ...
) defeated Gurdon in single combat. Sir Adam's prowess won the admiration of his conqueror, who restored him to his estates and made him one of his most trusted supporters.
Sir Adam was a
justice of the forest in 1280, and in 1293 mention is made of forest offences which had been tried before him. He took part both in the Welsh and Scottish wars, and in 1295 was
custos of the sea shores of Hampshire, and a
commissioner of array
A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...
in that county, and in Dorset and in Wiltshire. He died in 1305.
Family
Sir Adam married:
# Constance, daughter and heiress of
John de Vanuz, whose estates were at
Selborne
Selborne is a village in Hampshire, England, south of Alton, Hampshire, Alton, and just within the northern boundary of the South Downs National Park. The village receives visitors because of its links with the naturalist Revd. Gilbert White, a ...
;
# Almeria, by whom he had two sons;
# Agnes, whose daughter Johanna was his heiress.
From his second son, Robert, the Gurdons of
Assington and
Letton are descended.
[ cites Burke, ''Landed Gentry'', ed. 1871, i. 555.] His estate of Gurdon Manor is now the property of
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
.
Notes
References
*
;Attribution
* lists sources as:
**Dunstable Annals and Wykes's Chronicle in Annales Monastici, vol. iii. and iv.;
** Rishanger's Chronicle (all in Rolls Series);
** Trivet's Annals Eng. Hist. Soc.;
** Foss's Judges of England, p. 318.]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurdon, Adam de
People from Alton, Hampshire
14th-century English people
1305 deaths
Year of birth unknown