![A frosty Ludlow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/A_frosty_Ludlow.jpg)
Walter de Lacy (died 27 March 1085) was a Norman nobleman who went to 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, ...
in 1066. He received lands in Herefordshire and Shropshire, and served King
William I of England
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 Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...
by leading military forces during 1075. He died in 1085 and one son inherited his lands. Another son became an
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
.
Early life
Walter was originally from
Lassy, in Normandy. He had a brother,
Ilbert de Lacy
de Lacy (Laci, Lacie, Lascy, Lacey, Lassey) is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorde ...
.
[Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 452] Ilbert was the ancestor of the
de Lacy
de Lacy (Laci, Lacie, Lascy, Lacey, Lassey) is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorde ...
family 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 ...
. Both Walter and Ilbert jointly held the Norman lands that were held of the
Bishop of Bayeux
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is ...
.
[Lewis "Lacy, Walter de" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'']
Career in England
Walter was given the lordship of
Weobley
Weobley ( ) is an ancient settlement and civil parish in Herefordshire, England.
Formerly a market town, the market is long defunct and the settlement is today promoted as one of the county's black and white villages owing to its abundance of ...
in Herefordshire after the Conquest.
[ He is already attested in the ]Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.
The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
by 1069,[Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 44] when he is recorded stopping a Welsh attack and then raiding into Wales in retribution.[Wightman ''Lacy Family'' p. 167] Walter and Ilbert may have come to England in the household of Odo of Bayeux
Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England.
Early life
Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...
, the Bishop of Bayeux and 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 ...
.[Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 93] Although some historians, such as W. E. Wightman, have argued that Walter was a follower of William fitzOsbern
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford ...
,[ others, including C. P. Lewis and K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, have argued that Walter was an independent agent in England.][ By the time of Walter's death, he held a block of lands in Herefordshire along the border with Wales. Another group of lands was centered on ]Ludlow
Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...
in Shropshire. These two groupings of lands allowed Walter to help defend the border of England against Welsh raids. Walter also had other lands in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire. Walter kept a large number of his manors in demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
, managing them directly rather than giving them as fiefs to his knightly followers.[Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' pp. 152–153] Some of these lands in Hereford, including Holme Lacy
Holme Lacy is a village in the English county of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish was 466 at the 2011 Census.
Category
It is a primarily rural village.
Etymology
Holme Lacy is not from Old Norse ''holmr'' "island" like other pla ...
, were held of the Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.
The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...
through feudal tenure.[Garnett ''Conquered England'' p. 94] In total, ''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 ...
'' records Walter's lands as being worth £423 in income per year and as comprising 163 manors in 7 different counties.[Coplestone-Crow "From Foundation to the Anarchy" ''Ludlow Castle'' p. 21] He was one of 21 individuals with land valued at more than £400 at the time of the survey.[Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 36]
In 1075, Walter was one of the leaders of the force that prevented Roger de Breteuil
Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford (1056 – after 1087), succeeded in 1071 to the earldom of Hereford and the English estate of his father, William Fitz-Osbern. He is known to history for his role in the Revolt of the Earls.
Revolt o ...
from joining up with the other rebels during the Revolt of the Earls
The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 was a rebellion of three earls against William I of England (William the Conqueror). It was the last serious act of resistance against William in the Norman Conquest.
Cause
The revolt was caused by the king's refu ...
. Walter had joined forces with Wulfstan the Bishop of Worcester
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, Æthelwig
Æthelwig (–16 February in either 1077 or 1078) was an Abbot of Evesham before and during the Norman Conquest of England. Born sometime around 1010 or 1015, he was elected abbot in 1058. Known for his legal expertise, he administered estates ...
the Abbot of Evesham Abbey, and Urse d'Abetot
Urse d'Abetot ( - 1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after the ...
the Sheriff of Worcester
This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire.
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 of the ...
.[Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' p. 60 footnote 61]
Family and death
Walter married Emma or Emmelina[ – though some sources report these as successive wives they probably are alternative renderings of the same wife's name][ – and they had three sons, ]Roger
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
, Hugh and Walter. Roger was the heir to Weobley and Walter became Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of Gloucester Abbey
Gloucester Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in the city of Gloucester, England. Since 1541 it has been Gloucester Cathedral.
History Early period
A Christian place of worship had stood on the abbey site since Anglo-Saxon times. Around 681, with ...
.[ Walter and Emma also had a daughter who became a nun at ]St Mary's Abbey, Winchester
St. Mary's Abbey, also known as the ''Nunnaminster'', was a Benedictine nunnery in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded between 899 and 902 by Alfred the Great's widow Ealhswith, who was described as the 'builder' of the Nunnaminster in t ...
. A niece was married to Ansfrid de Cormeilles.[Wightman ''Lacy Family'' pp. 168–170] Considerable confusion exists about Sybil
Sibyls were oracular women believed to possess prophetic powers in ancient Greece.
Sybil or Sibyl may also refer to:
Films
* ''Sybil'' (1921 film)
* ''Sybil'' (1976 film), a film starring Sally Field
* ''Sybil'' (2007 film), a remake of the 19 ...
, the wife of Pain fitzJohn
Pain fitzJohn (before 110010 July 1137) was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman nobleman and administrator, one of King Henry I of England's "list of Henry's new men, new men", who owed their positions and wealth to the king.
Pain's family originate ...
. C. P. Lewis names her as the daughter of Walter,[ but W. E. Wightman calls her the daughter of Hugh, Walter's son.][Wightman ''Lacy Family'' p. 175] Yet another reconstruction, favoured by Bruce Coplestone-Crow, sees her as child of Geoffrey Talbot
Geoffrey Talbot (sometimes Geoffrey II Talbot,Sanders ''English Baronies'' pp. 144–145 died around 1140) was a medieval Anglo-Norman nobleman during the civil war of King Stephen of England's reign. His landholdings around Swanscombe are cons ...
and his wife Agnes, whom he sees as daughter of Walter de Lacy.[Coplestone-Crow "From Foundation to the Anarchy" ''Ludlow Castle'' p. 22]
The elder Walter died on 27 March 1085,[ falling off some scaffolding at Saint Guthlac's Priory when he was inspecting the progress of the building at that monastery.][Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 427] He was buried in the chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
at Gloucester Abbey.[ He was a benefactor to Gloucester Abbey,][Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 398] as well as Saint Guthlac's.[
]
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, Walter de
Anglo-Normans
1085 deaths
Accidental deaths from falls
Walter
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 19 ...
Norman warriors
Year of birth unknown
Accidental deaths in England
History of Ludlow