Richard de Luci (or Lucy; 1089 – 14 July 1179) was first noted as

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the ...

, after which he was made Chief

Justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent ...

of England.

Biography

His mother was Aveline, the niece and heiress of William Goth. In the charter for

Sées Cathedral Sées Cathedral (french: Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Sées) is a Roman Catholic church and national monument of France in Sées (formerly also Séez) in Normandy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Séez. The cathedral was declared a basilica ...

in February 1130–31

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

refers to Richard de Luci and his mother, Aveline. His brother,

Walter de Luci Walter de Luci (also Walter de Lucy), Abbot of Battle Abbey, was the brother of Richard de Luci, who was Chief Justiciar of England. Walter de Luci (or de Lucy) was a Benedictine monk at Lonlay-l'Abbaye in Normandy, before being elected Abbo ...

, was abbot of

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now op ...

.Knowles ''The Monastic Order in England'' p. 589 An early reference to the

de Luci de Lucy or de Luci (alternate spellings: Lucey, Lucie, Luce, Luci) is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lucé in Normandy, one of the great baronial Anglo-Norman families which became rooted in England after the Norman co ...

family refers to the render by

of the Lordship of Diss,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

to Richard de Luci, Governor of

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

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 ...

, after defending it with great valour and heroic conduct when besieged by Geoffrey, Earl of Anjou. In 1153–4 de Luci was granted

Chipping Ongar Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 th ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

by William, son of King Stephen and his wife, Maud of Boulogne. He may have built the motte and bailey Ongar Castle, although it is also attributed to Eustace II Count of Boulogne (c1015 – c1087). Richard de Luci was appointed

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of both Essex and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

for 1156. When Henry II came to the throne in 1154, de Luci was made Chief

of England jointly with Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. When de Beaumont died in 1168, de Luci continued to hold the office in his own right.Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 69 One of the members of his household was

Roger fitzReinfrid Roger fitzReinfrid (sometimes Roger fitzReinfrey;Dalton "Fitzreinfrey, Gilbert" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' died 1196) was a medieval English sheriff and royal justice. Probably born into a knightly family, Roger first was in t ...

, the brother of

Walter de Coutances Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

. Roger became a royal judge and later donated land to

Lesnes Abbey Lesnes Abbey is a former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, England. It is a scheduled monument, and the abbey's ruins are listed at Grade II by Historic England. The adjacent Lesnes Abbey W ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, which had been founded by de Luci.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 942 He resigned his office between September 1178 and Easter of 1179, and retired to Lesnes Abbey, where, three months later on 14 July 1179, he died and was buried. De Luci's wife, Rohese, who is named in several documents, was possibly a sister of Faramus de Boulogne.Richardson, D. (2011) ''Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study ...'' p. 202 (vi
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Rohese and Faramus were children of William de Boulogne who was the son of Geoffrey fitz Eustace (son of

Eustace II, Count of Boulogne Eustace II, (), also known as Eustace aux Grenons ("Eustace with long moustaches"),Heather J. Tanner, 'Eustace (II), count of Boulogne (d. c.1087)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. was Count of Boulogne fr ...

) and Beatrice, daughter of Norman magnate Geoffrey de Mandeville.

Notes

References

* ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' * Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961 *

External links

The Lucy & Lucey Family net
* * Knowles, Dom David ''The Monastic Order in England: From the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council'' Second Edition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1976 reprint {{DEFAULTSORT:Luci, Richard De 1089 births 1179 deaths People from Epping Forest District Anglo-Normans Justiciars of England High Sheriffs of Essex High Sheriffs of Hertfordshire People from Chipping Ongar