William de Mandeville (died before 1130) was an

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

baron and

Constable of the Tower of London The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

Life

William de Mandeville inherited the estates of his father Geoffrey de Mandeville, the Domesday

tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as opp ...

, around 1100. He was Constable of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

at that time, and thus keeper of the first person known to be imprisoned there for political reasons,

Ranulf Flambard Ranulf Flambard ( c. 1060 – 5 September 1128) was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government minister of King William Rufus of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flambard ...

. Flambard's escape in February 1101 would have significant consequences for William.J. H. Round, ''Geoffrey de Mandeville'', (Longmans, Green, 1892), p. 37 It is not known if William was in some way complicit in the escape of Flambard, or was simply a careless keeper. Regardless, as a punishment, in 1103

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 ...

confiscated the three richest of William's Essex estates,

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping. It is the northernmost part of the Greater London Built-up Area. History Prior to the Norman ...

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

, and

Great Waltham Great Waltham — also known as Church End — is a village and civil parish in the Chelmsford (borough), Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex. The parish contains the village of Ford End, and the hamlets of Broad's Green, Howe Street, L ...

, comprising about a third of his entire holdings, as well as the constableship giving them to

Eudo Dapifer Eudo Dapifer (sometimes Eudo fitzHerbertBarlow ''William Rufus'' p. 474 and Eudo de Rie); (died 1120), was a Norman aristocrat who served as a steward (server, Latin 'dapifer') under William the Conqueror, William II Rufus, and Henry I. Life Eud ...

, William’s father-in-law.C. Warren Hollister, ''Henry I'', Editor Amanda Clark Frost (Yale University Press, New Haven, London, 2003), p. 173Nicholas Vincent, 'Warin and Henry fitz Gerald, the King’s Chamberlains: The Origins of the FitzGeralds Revisited,' '' Anglo-Norman Studies 21'' (Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1999) pp. 223-260 Little is known of William's activities after this. William married Margaret, daughter of Eudo FitzHubert (''Dapifer'') and Rohese de Clare. Widowed, Margaret married secondly Othuer fitz Earl (d. 1120), illegitimate son of

Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...

. William and Margaret's son Geoffrey de Mandeville would recover the seized estates and the constableship during the reign of King

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

Family

Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville II, 1st Earl of Essex (died September 1144) was a prominent figure during the reign of King Stephen of England. His biographer, the 19th-century historian J. H. Round, called him "the most perfect and typical presentment of ...

(d. 1144) *Beatrice de Mandeville (d. 19 Apr. 1197), married William de Say (d. Aug. 1144).George Edward Cokayne,''The Complete Peerage'', Vol. XI (The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., London, 1949). pp. 464-5 Their granddaughter Beatrice de Say took some of the Mandeville inheritance to her husband,

Geoffrey fitz Peter Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex (c. 1162–1213) was a prominent member of the government of England during the reigns of Richard I and John. The patronymic is sometimes rendered Fitz Piers, for he was the son of Piers de Lutegareshale (born ...

References

Additional references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandeville, William de 11th-century births 12th-century deaths Anglo-Normans People from Essex Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown