John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln ( – 22 July 1240) was hereditary

Constable of Chester The Constable of Chester was a mediaeval hereditary office held by the Barons of Halton. The functions of the Constable are unclear, possibly they related to the custody of Chester Castle (built in 1070 by Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester), a ...

, 7th Baron of Pontefract, 8th

Baron of Halton The Barony of Halton, in Cheshire, England, comprised a succession of 15 barons and hereditary Constables of Chester under the overlordship of the Earl of Chester. It was not an English feudal barony granted by the king but a separate class of ...

and 8th Lord of Bowland.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of

Roger de Lacy Roger de Lacy (died after 1106) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, a Marcher Lord on the Welsh border. Roger was a castle builder, particularly at Ludlow Castle. Lands and titles From Walter de Lacy (died 1085) he inherited Castle Frome, Herefor ...

(1170–1211), hereditary Constable of Chester, by his wife Maud de Clere (or Matilda) (not of the

de Clare The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that held at various times the earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales, as well as playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. They were de ...

family,

Earls of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100 ...

Career

He was hereditary Constable of Chester and in 1214 undertook the payment of 7,000 marks to King John, in the space of four years, for livery of the lands of his inheritance, and to be discharged of all his father's debts due to the

Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...

, further obligating himself by oath, that in case he should ever swerve from his allegiance, and adhere to the king's enemies, all of his possessions should devolve upon the crown, promising also, that he would not marry without the king's licence. By this agreement it was arranged that the king should retain the castles of

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

and

Dunnington Dunnington is a village and civil parish in the City of York and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 3,230 at the 2011 Census. The village is approximately east from York city centre. The vi ...

, still in his own hands; and that he, the said John, should allow 40 pounds per year, for the custody of those fortresses. But the next year he had Dunnington restored to him, upon hostages. He was one of the earliest who took up arms at the time of the

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

, and was appointed to see that the new statutes were properly carried into effect and observed in the counties of York and Nottingham. He was one of the twenty-five barons charged with overseeing the observance of

in 1215. He was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by the Pope. Upon the accession of King Henry III (1216-1272), he joined a party of noblemen and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and did good service at the Siege of Damietta (1218–19). In 1232 he was made

Earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The title was borne by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne from 1768 to 1988, until the dukedom became extinct. Earl ...

and in 1240, Governor of Chester and Beeston Castles. In 1237 his lordship was one of those appointed to prohibit Oto, the pope's prelate, from establishing anything derogatory to the king's crown and dignity, in the council of prelates then assembled; and the same year he was appointed

Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

, being likewise constituted Governor of

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining par ...

. In the contest which occurred in 1232 between the king and

Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (119115 April 1234), was the son of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and brother of William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, whom he succeeded to the Earldom of Pembroke and Lord Marshal of England upon his ...

, Earl Marshal, Matthew Paris states that the Earl of Lincoln was brought over to the king's party, with John of Scotland, 7th Earl of Chester, by

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) ( Latinised as ''Peter de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was not an Englishman, but rather a native of the Tourain ...

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

, for a bribe of 1,000 marks.

Marriage and issue

He married twice: Firstly in 1214 at Pontefract, to Alice (d.1216, Pontefract), daughter of Gilbert, lord of L'Aigle, by whom he had one daughter: Joan de Lacy. Secondly, in 1221 he married

Margaret de Quincy Margaret de Quincy, suo jure 2nd Countess of Lincoln (c. 1206 – March 1266) was a wealthy English noblewoman and heiress having inherited in her own right the Earldom of Lincoln and honours of Bolingbroke from her mother Hawise of Chester, ...

, only daughter and heiress of Robert de Quincy (son of

Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (c. 11553 November 1219) was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against John, King of England, and a major figure in both the kingdoms of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of England, Engla ...

) by his wife Hawyse de Blondeville/de Mechines, 4th sister and co-heiress of Ranulph de Blondeville/de Mechines, 4th Earl of Chester, Earl of Lincoln. Ranulph granted the Earldom of Lincoln to his sister Hawyse, "to the end that she might be countess, and that her heirs might also enjoy the earldom"; the grant was confirmed by the king, and at Hawyse's special request John de Lacy received royal licence to succeed de Blondeville and by charter dated at Northampton 23 November 1232, was created Earl of Lincoln, with remainder to the heirs of his body by his wife Margaret de Quincy. By John's second marriage he had issue one son and two daughters, including:

Edmund de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract Edmund de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c.1230–1258) was an important landholder in Northern England, with a strategic manor at Stanbury which was important for east–west communication, and as Lord of the Honour of Pontefract he possessed Pontefract ...

, son and heir; and

Maud de Lacy Maud de Lacy (25 January 1223 – 10 March 1289) was an English noblewoman, being the eldest child of John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, and the wife of Richard de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford, 6th Earl of Gloucester. Life Maud de Lacy ...

, who married

Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester Richard de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford, 6th Earl of Gloucester, 2nd Lord of Glamorgan, 8th Lord of Clare (4 August 1222 – 14 July 1262) was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford and Isabel Marshal.History of Tewkesbury by James Be ...

.Europaïsche Stammtafeln, Neue Folge III-4 tafeln 709 die Lacy 1066–1193. Margaret survived John and remarried twice, to

Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (119927 November 1245) was the fourth son of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Countess Isabel, the daughter of Richard son of Gilbert, earl of Striguil. Early life Walter was born in 1199 (or early ...

in 1242, and c. 1252 to Richard de Wiltshire. She had no issue with either of her later spouses.

Death and burial

He died on 22 July 1240 and was buried at Stanlow Abbey, in County Chester. The monk Matthew Paris, recorded: "On the 22nd day of July, in the year 1240, which was St. Magdalen's Day, John, Earl of Lincoln, after suffering from a long illness went the way of all flesh".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, John De Lacy, 2nd Earl Of 2 1190s births 1240 deaths 12th-century English people 13th-century English nobility Magna Carta barons High Sheriffs of Cheshire

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Burials at Stanlow Abbey Barons of Halton Christians of the Fifth Crusade