Richard de Courcy (sometimes Richard of Courcy;Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 69 died 1098) was a Norman nobleman and landholder in England. Richard was probably the son of Robert de Courcy, and his mother was named Herleva.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 359 His family was from Courcy in the Calvados region of Normandy. Richard gained lands in England after the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

, being named as a tenant-in-chief in ''

Domesday Book 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 ...

''. He gave his name to Stoke Courcy, 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_ ...

, which over time became known as

Stogursey Stogursey is the name of a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater. The village is situated near the Bristol Channel, which bounds the parish on the no ...

.Pine ''Sons of the Conqueror'' p. 120 He also held

Nuneham Courtenay Nuneham Courtenay is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford. It occupies a pronounced section of the left bank of the River Thames. Geography The parish is bounded to the west by the River Thames and on other sides by field bound ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

,Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' p. 118

Sarsden Sarsden is a village and civil parish about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 83. Since 2012 Sarsden has been part of the Churchill and Sarsden joint parish council area, sharing a paris ...

, and Foscot. After the death of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

in 1087, William's lands were divided between the two oldest sons, with Normandy going to the eldest, Robert Curthose, and England going to the next eldest son,

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 ...

. Both brothers attempted during the next nine years to seize the other brother's lands.Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 64–65 Most of the nobility of both England and Normandy chose sides between the two sons, but a few magnates witnessed documents of both brothers. Richard was one of those who was a witness to both Duke Robert and King William II's

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

s. Richard, along with William Bertram, was named by the nuns of

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

in Caen, Normandy as stealing from their convent after the death of William the Conqueror. Richard, along with Hugh de Grandmesnil, resisted the efforts of Robert of Bellême to expand his lands. Shortly before Christmas in 1090, a small war broke out between Robert of Bellême on one side and Richard and Hugh on the other. Robert of Bellême secured the aid of Duke Robert in the efforts to capture Richard's castle at Courcy. This prompted Richard and Hugh to appeal to the duke's brother King William for help. From 1 January 1091 to at least 23 January 1091 Courcy was besieged by Robert of BellêmeBarlow ''William Rufus'' p. 276 and Duke Robert. The siege was lifted when King William landed in Normandy in late January or early February.Mason ''William II'' pp. 86–87 Bishop

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

of Seez had attempted to mediate the dispute and siege but these efforts ended with Gerard's death on 23 January 1091. Richard was at King William's court between 1091 and 1094, as he is recorded in royal documents for that period.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 76 footnote 209 Richard married Wandelmode and had at least two children: William de Courcy and

Robert de Courcy The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. William inherited the lands in England while Robert received the Norman lands. Robert was married to Rohais, the daughter of Hugh de Grandmesnil.Aird ''Robert Curthose'' pp. 138–139 Richard died around 1098.

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* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:de Courcy, Richard Normans in England Norman warriors Year of birth unknown