Herbert of Winchester (sometimes Herbert fitzAlberic) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman during the period following the Norman conquest of England.

Career

Herbert held land as an under-tenant of the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

in the

Domesday Survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1089. He held the office of chamberlain of the Winchester treasury during the reign of King

William II of England William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

, and the office of chancellor and treasurer under King

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

.Hollister "Origins of the English Treasury", ''English Historical Review'' p. 268 During William II's reign, Herbert became a

tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as opp ...

, holding lands directly from the king. Herbert may have been a member of the clergy, although it is known that he was married.Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 149

Marriage and family

Most sources state that Herbert married Emma, half-sister of King Stephen and Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester,Greenway ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: List 1: Archbishops'' and that she was an illegitimate daughter of

Stephen II, Count of Blois Stephen Henry (in French, ''Étienne Henri'', in Medieval French, ''Estienne Henri''; – 19 May 1102) was the Count of Blois and Count of Chartres. He led an army during the First Crusade, was at the surrender of the city of Nicaea, and direct ...

, Stephen's father.Davis, ''King Stephen'', pp. 172–173 New research, however, suggests that Emma might have been a daughter of Hunger fitzOdin, who held lands in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

in the

Domesday survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

.Burton "William of York" ''"Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"''Norton ''St. William of York'' p. 207 Herbert was the father of Herbert and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. William later became Archbishop of York.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 250 The younger Herbert became chamberlain to King

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...

around 1156.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 199

Death

Herbert was probably dead by 1129–1130, when the Pipe Roll of 1130 records his son as owing a fine for the inheritance of his father's lands, a fine totalling over 353

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

, perhaps as much as 500. However, there is no certain record of Herbert after 1111, and it is possible that he should be considered the same person as "H. the Chamberlain", who Abbot Suger of St Denis named as an attempted assassin of Henry I in 1118, and who was punished by the king for the attempt. Suger stated that the would-be-assassin was a chamberlain whose name began with "H", and who had been close to the king and received great rewards from the king. Suger added that the king only blinded and castrated the man, which the abbot considered to be mild compared with the hanging that the man deserved.

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

does not name the assassin either, but relates that he had custody of the royal treasury. The historian

C. Warren Hollister Charles Warren Hollister (November 2, 1930 – September 14, 1997) was an American author and historian. He was one of the founding members of the University of California Santa Barbara history department. He specialized in English medieval histor ...

first made the identification between "H." and Herbert, noting that there was only one chamberlain in King Henry I's reign who had a name beginning with "H". The main argument against the identification is the fact that most records considered that Herbert remained in office until close to 1129 or 1130. However, charter evidence supports the inheritance of Herbert's lands by his son before 1121.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 256

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert of Winchester 11th-century English nobility 12th-century English nobility Anglo-Normans William II of England Henry I of England