Luke de Tany (died 6 November 1282) was an English noble. He was once the

Seneschal of Gascony The Seneschal of Gascony was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the Duchy of Gascony. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship, also became an office of military command. After 1360, the off ...

and Constable of

Tickhill Castle Tickhill Castle was a castle in Tickhill, on the Nottingham/Yorkshire West Riding border, England and a prominent stronghold during the reign of King John. Early history The gatehouse range, seen from the bailey The castle started as an 11th- ...

and Knaresborough Castle. He served

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 vas ...

during his conquest of Wales by successfully capturing

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

in 1282. From Anglesey, de Tany sent a strong force over the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...

where they were defeated at the

Battle of Moel-y-don A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Life

Towards the end of the

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of King Henry III, led initially by the king himself and later by his son, the fu ...

in England, Tany was a loyal follower of King Henry III. He served as Royal Constable of Tickhill and Knaresborough Castles. He executed several captured baronial rebels after a brief judicial process. In 1270 he took part in the

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

of Prince Edward. During the Crusade he served as admiral of the fleet. During the return journey from the Crusade, Tany travelled with Edward to Gascony in 1273. Whilst in Gascony, he was appointed to the office of Seneschal of Gascony. He was already Mayor of the town of Lalinde since 1267. His aggressive policies in Gascony led to many complaints, including a quarrel with Gaston of Béarn and the city of Bazas, where two of Tany's militiamen were killed in February 1274. Tany left in mid 1274 and returned to England. In 1278, Edward I sent two confidants, Otton de Grandson and Robert Burnell, to Gascony to investigate the charges against him. The investigation, which took place between May and September 1278, found that although Tany's rule was severe, he was not to be blamed for failure or corruption. He was replaced by Jean I de Grailly, as Seneschal of Gascony. During Edward's second campaign against Wales, Tany was appointed on 18 August 1282 commander of the English troops at Anglesey. He planned to lead an English army via a boat bridge over the Menai Strait to Gwynedd, in an attempt to form a second front at the back of the Welsh. On 6 November, Tany and his army crossed over the boat bridge, however they were attacked by the Welsh on the opposite side. In the ensuing battle of the Menai Strait, the English forces were driven back across the bridge. The boat bridge was destroyed leaving more than 300 killed or drowned, including Tany.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tany, Luke de 1282 deaths Year of birth unknown 13th-century English people English military personnel killed in action Medieval English knights Seneschals of Gascony