Richard Fitz Turold (died after 1103–06) (''alias'' fitzThorold, fitzTurolf) was an eleventh-century Anglo-Norman landowner in Cornwall and Devon, mentioned in the

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 ...

. In the 13th century his estates formed part of the

Feudal barony of Cardinham The Feudal barony of Cardinham (or Honour of Cardinham) is one of the three feudal baronies in Cornwall which existed during the medieval era. Its ''caput'' was at Cardinham Castle, Cornwall. The Barony was held in recent times by the Vivian famil ...

, Cornwall, and in 1166 as recorded in the

Cartae Baronum In the kingdom of England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was the highest degree of feudal land tenure, namely ''per baroniam'' (Latin for "by barony"), under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. The ...

his estates had been held as a separate

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

from Reginald, Earl of Cornwall.

Origins

As the prefix ''

fitz Fitz (pronounced "fits") was a patronymic indicator used in Anglo-Norman England to help distinguish individuals by identifying their immediate predecessors. Meaning "son of", it would precede the father's forename, or less commonly a title held b ...

'' in his surname suggests he was presumably the son of Turold/Thorold/Turolf. A certain "Turulf", presumably his father, witnessed a charter to the monastery of

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, to which same monastery Richard also granted lands.

Landholdings

Cornwall

Tenant of Count of Mortain

He had a castle at

Cardinham Cardinham ( kw, Kardhinan) (the spelling 'Cardynham' is almost obsolete) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a village in mid Cornwall, England. The village is approximately three-and-a-half miles (6 km), east-northeast of Bodmi ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, in which county he was a major tenant and steward of

Robert of Mortain Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hasti ...

Count of Mortain The County of Mortain was a medieval county in France centered on the town of Mortain. A choice landholding, usually either kept within the family of the duke of Normandy (or the king of France) or granted to a noble in return for service and favo ...

, half-brother of King

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 ...

. His holdings in Cornwall included the manor of

Penhallam Penhallam is the site of a fortified manor house near Jacobstow in Cornwall, England. There was probably an earlier, 11th-century ringwork castle on the site, constructed by Tryold or his son, Richard fitz Turold in the years after the Norman ...

Devon

Tenant-in-chief

His entry in the Devonshire section of the Domesday Book lists ''Ricardus filius Turoldus'' as 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 op ...

of the king and holding four properties: *Woodhuish, Brixham parish, Haytor hundred *Natsworthy, Widecombe-in-the-Moor parish, Haytor hundred *

East Allington East Allington is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, south of Halwell and just off the A381 road. It lies about from Kingsbridge and about from Totnes. The coast at Slapton Sands is about to the south ...

, in Stanborough hundred *One house in the City of Exeter

Mesne tenant

*St Marychurch in the parish of Haytor hundred, held from the Count of Mortain. *Martin in Drewsteignton parish, Wonford hundred, held from Baldwin de Moeles,

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

Progeny

His son was

William Fitz Richard 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 ...

of Cardinham, mentioned in deeds in 1110 and 1130, date of death unknown. It has been suggested that William's daughter and heiress became the wife of Reginald, Earl of Cornwall.Sanders, p.110, note 2

References

* Ian N. Soulsby, Richard Fitz Turold, Lord of Penhallam, Cornwall, Medieval Archaeology vol. 20 (1976) pp. 146–8
online PDF

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitz Turold, Richard Anglo-Normans Medieval Cornish people Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief 11th-century Normans 12th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown