Sir William de Cicon

Guillaume de Cicon appears in the English archives variously as; Cykun, Cycons, Chycun, Sicoms, Sicun, Sycun. From

Vanclans Vanclans () is a former commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Vanclans lies west of Vercel and southeast of Valdahon. It is nestled between two hills at the foot of the first slop ...

, 24 kilometres north of

Pontarlier Pontarlier ( ; Latin: ''Ariolica'') is a commune and one of the two sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France near the Swiss border. History Pontarlier occupies the ancient Roman station o ...

in the Jura. Introduced to King Edwards service by

Otto de Grandson Otto de Grandson (c. 1238–1328), sometimes numbered Otto I to distinguish him from later members of his family with the same name, was the most prominent of the Savoyard knights in the service of King Edward I of England, to whom he was the cl ...

. An ancestor of Cicon’s had been with the Fourth Crusade that had sacked

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

in 1204, one Othon de Cicon. Othon de Cicon had accompanied his uncle Othon de la Roche (who became Duc d’Athènes and built a Frankish tower atop the Acropolis) on the fourth crusade, and became lord of Karystos from 1250 (at least) to his death around 1266. Guillaume de Cicon’s first arrival in the English record of 13th November 1276 follows closely on the heels of the recapture of

Karystos Karystos ( el, Κάρυστος) or Carystus is a small coastal town on the Greek island of Euboea. It has about 5,000 inhabitants (12,000 in the municipality). It lies 129 km south of Chalkis. From Athens it is accessible by ferry via Mar ...

by the Byzantines under Licario also in 1276. First mentioned 13 November 1276 when he comes to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with a message from Otto de Grandson to King Edward I. With the army in South Wales in 1277. Constable of

Rhuddlan Castle Rhuddlan Castle ( cy, Castell Rhuddlan; ) is a castle located in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. It was erected by Edward I in 1277, following the First Welsh War. Much of the work was overseen by master mason James of Saint George. Rhudd ...

between February 1282 and May 1284 including the period of the Siege of Rhuddlan. First Constable of

Conwy Castle Conwy Castle ( cy, Castell Conwy; ) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I, during his conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to create the walled town of Conw ...

from its construction until his death in 1310 or 1311. His appointment at

was recorded “The king has committed in like manner to William de Cycun uillaume de Cicon the castle of Aberconewey onwy with the armour, etc, and has granted to him 190 livres yearly for the custody thereof, to be received as above, on condition that he shall have continuously have in garrison, in addition to himself and his household, at his cost thirty fencible men, of whom fifteen shall be crossbowmen one chaplain, one artiller, a carpenter, a mason and a smith, and of the others shall be made janitors, watchmen and other ministers of the castle. Order is given to all bailiffs etc (as above).” In the winter of 1294-5 Cicon held

alongside King Edward I whilst under siege during the rebellion of

Madog ap Llywelyn Madog ap Llywelyn (died after 1312) was the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales and proclaimed "Prince of Wales". The revolt was surpassed in longevity only by the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century. Ma ...

. E. B. Fryde. Ed.1962. Book of prests of the King's Wardrobe for 1294-5. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 143. “. . . apud Aberconewey. . . dominus Willelmus de Cykuns constabularius. . . “

References

{{Reflist Savoyards in Thirteenth Century England