Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville in Normandy, 1st Earl of Buckingham (died 1102) was an Anglo-Norman

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

Biography

He was the son of Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville (one of the few proven

companions of William the Conqueror Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...

in 1066) and Ermengarde daughter of Gerard Flaitel.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt 1989), Tafel 695 His father had been given 107 lordships, 48 of which were in Buckinghamshire which Giffard inherited by 1085.Cokayne, p. 387 The

caput A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may not ...

of his feudal

honor Honour ( Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as val ...

was at Crendon, Buckinghamshire. He held an important castle at Longueville overlooking the River Scie as well as vast estates in Buckinghamshire.C. Warren Hollister, ''Henry I'' (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2003), p. 69 As he held lands in both England and Normandy he was a vassal to both

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...

and

William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...

. But Rufus purchased his loyalty along with several other key cross-Channel barons and fortified Giffard's and the other castles, garrisoning them with knights in the king's employ who could now ravage northeastern Normandy. Giffard also served Rufus as

Justiciar of England Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term or (meaning "judge" or "justice"). The Chief Justiciar was the king's chief minister, roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Justiciar of Ireland was ...

, and it was probably Rufus who created him

Earl of Buckingham Earl of Buckingham is a peerage title created several times in the Peerage of England. It is not to be confused with the title of Earl of Buckinghamshire. It was first created in 1097 for Walter Giffard, but became extinct in 1164 with the de ...

in 1097. Giffard was one of the great magnates who joined Robert Curthose's 1101 invasion of England against

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

. He died 15 July 1102 in England and his body was returned to Normandy, where it was interred at St. Mary's Church at Longueville-sur-Scie, the caput of his Norman honors.Aird, p. 213 Giffard was married to Agnes de Ribemont, sister of Anselm of Ribemont. His heir was his son,

Walter Giffard, 2nd Earl of Buckingham Walter Giffard, 2nd Earl of Buckingham (died 1164) was an English peer. He inherited the earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and ab ...

Notes

References

Sources

*William M. Aird, ''Robert Curthose Duke of Normandy'' (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2008) *George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol. II, Ed. Vicary Gibbs (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1912) {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckingham, Walter Giffard, 1st Earl of 11th-century births 1102 deaths 11th-century English nobility 12th-century English nobility 01 Anglo-Normans Year of birth unknown