John de Moels, 1st Baron Moels (1269–20 May 1310),

feudal baron A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been ...

North Cadbury North Cadbury is a village and civil parish west of Wincanton, by the River Cam, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its parish council with nearby Yarlington and its civil parish includes the village of Galhampton, ...

in Somerset, was an English peer. He was the second son of Roger de Moels (c.1233-1295) the eldest surviving son and heir of

Nicholas de Moels Nicholas de Moels or Nicholas Molis (born c. 1195 - died 1268 or 1269) of North Cadbury in Somerset, was an AngloNorman royal administrator and household knight of King Henry III. In this capacity he was assigned many and varied offices and du ...

(died 1269),

of a

moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

, Somerset. From 1296 to 1309 he received various summonses for military service against the Scots and in Flanders. He was summoned to attend the king at Salisbury 24 February 1296/7 and to a military council at Rochester 8 September 1297. In 1297 the

Sheriff of Dorset The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

was ordered to provide housing within

Sherborne Castle Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne in Dorset, England, within the parish of Castleton. It stands in a park which formed a small part of the Digby estate. Old castle Sherborne Old Castle () is the ruin ...

for John and his wife "to live in during the king's pleasure".''The Complete Peerage'', 2nd editio
Vol. IX
1936, p.5 He was summoned to Parliament on several occasions, firstly on 6 February 1298/9, when he is deemed to have become 1st Baron Moels in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

; his last summons was on 16 June 1311, after his death. Although he was not summoned to the Parliament at Lincoln in 1301, he was one of the signatories to the

Barons' Letter of 1301 The Barons' Letter of 1301 was written by seven English earls and 96 English barons to Pope Boniface VIII as a repudiation of his claim of feudal overlordship of Scotland (expressed in the Bull Scimus Fili), and as a defence of the rights of Ki ...

sealed at that Parliament by seven English earls and 96 English barons to

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...

as a repudiation of his claim of feudal overlordship of Scotland (expressed in the Bull Scimus Fili), and as a defence of the rights of King

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 vassa ...

of England as overlord of Scotland. His surviving seal displays his arms ''two bars three roundels in chief'' (tinctures not apparent) with legend: ''S(IGILLUM) JOH(ANN)IS DE MOLIS'' ("seal of John de Moels"). In the Parliament held at Westminster on 28 February 1304/5 he was one of the persons who mainperned William de Montagu, who together with Amauri de St Amand had been imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. His principal landholdings were: Cadbury and Mapperton in Somerset; King's Carswell, Diptford and Langford in Devon; Little Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire; Over Orton and Stoke Basset in Oxfordshire. He married a certain Maud of unknown parentage by whom he had children including: *Nicholas de Moels, 2nd Baron Moels (10 August 1289 – before 29 January 1315/6), who married Margaret Courtenay (died 1349) daughter of Sir Hugh Courtenay (died 1292),

feudal baron of Okehampton The feudal barony of Okehampton was a very large English feudal barony, feudal barony, the largest mediaeval fiefdom in the county of Devon, England,Thorn & Thorn, part 2, chapter 16 whose ''caput'' was Okehampton Castle and Manorialism, manor. ...

by his wife Eleanor le Despencer, and father of Hugh Courtenay, 1st/9th Earl of Devon (died 1340). The marriage was childless. *Roger de Moels, 3rd Baron Moels, who died before 13 July 1316,''The Complete Peerage'', 2nd edition. Vol. IX, 1936, p.7 without male issue. *John de Moels, 4th Baron Moels (died before 21 August 1337), who married Joan Lovel, daughter of Richard Lovel of

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives fr ...

, Somerset. He died leaving two daughters, each a co-heiresses to a moiety of the feudal barony of North Cadbury, the de Moels barony by writ and other lands: **Muriel de Moels (died before 1362), eldest daughter, who married Thomas Courtenay (died 1356/1362), 5th son of Hugh Courtenay, 1st/9th Earl of Devon (1275–1340). **Isabel de Moels, younger daughter, who married William de Botreaux (died 1349), of

Boscastle Boscastle ( kw, Kastel Boterel) is a village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Forrabury and Minster (where the 2011 Census population was included) . It is south of Bude and northeast of Tint ...

, Cornwall, Sheriff of Cornwall, whose son was

William de Botreaux, 1st Baron Botreaux William de Botreaux (1337–1391) (pronounced "But'ry") (alt. “Bottreaux, Boterel Battrell etc.) was a prominent British West-Country baron during the reigns of King Edward III (1327-1377) and King Richard II (1377-1399). Origins He was the son ...

(1337–1391) *Johanna de Moels, wife of Sir Henry VII de la Pomeray (1291–1327),

feudal baron of Berry Pomeroy The Feudal Barony of Berry Pomeroy was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire, England, which existed during the mediaeval era. It had its ''caput'' at the manor of Berry Pomeroy, 20 miles south of the City of Exeter and 2 miles east of the ...

in Devon. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.606. pedigree of Pomeray

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moels Year of birth unknown 1310 deaths Barons in the Peerage of England