Walter De Lacy (died 1085)

Walter de Lacy (died 27 March 1085) was a Norman nobleman who went to England after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. He received lands in Herefordshire and Shropshire, and served King William I of England by leading military forces during 1075. He died in 1085 and one son inherited his lands. Another son became an abbot.

Early life

Walter was originally from Lassy, in Normandy. He had a brother, Ilbert de Lacy.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 452 Ilbert was the ancestor of the de Lacy family of Pontefract. Both Walter and Ilbert jointly held the Norman lands that were held of the Bishop of Bayeux.Lewis "Lacy, Walter de" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

Career in England

Walter was given the lordship of Weobley in Herefordshire after the Conquest. He is already attested in the Welsh Marches 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, the Bishop of Bayeux and half-brother of King William the Conqueror.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, 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 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, 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, were held of the Bishop of Hereford through feudal tenure.Garnett ''Conquered England'' p. 94 In total, ''Domesday Book'' 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 from joining up with the other rebels during the Revolt of the Earls. Walter had joined forces with Wulfstan the Bishop of Worcester, Æthelwig the Abbot of Evesham Abbey, and Urse d'Abetot the Sheriff of Worcester.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, Hugh and Walter. Roger was the heir to Weobley and Walter became Abbot of Gloucester Abbey. Walter and Emma also had a daughter who became a nun at St Mary's Abbey, Winchester. A niece was married to Ansfrid de Cormeilles.Wightman ''Lacy Family'' pp. 168–170 Considerable confusion exists about Sybil, the wife of Pain fitzJohn. 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 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 at Gloucester Abbey. He was a benefactor to Gloucester Abbey,Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 398 as well as Saint Guthlac's.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, Walter de
Anglo-Normans
1085 deaths
Accidental deaths from falls
Walter
Norman warriors
Year of birth unknown
Accidental deaths in England
History of Ludlow