William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville (died 1227) was the third

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

of the second creation from either 1219 or 1216 AD. to his death. He was the second son of

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 ...

and Beatrice de Say and he succeeded his elder brother Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey as earl and inheritor of the Mandeville earldom and barony. His brother had been a Magna Charta Surety and he was also an ardent supporter of the baronial cause. During the barons war he laid siege to Berkhamsted castle in the month of December 1216 AD, attempting to take it from the

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

Waleran the German. Waleran sallied out when de Mandeville was setting up camp and was able to capture a large amount of de Mandeville's

Baggage Baggage or luggage consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, trip ...

.and

Standard (flag) In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, and ...

. Later, upon the arrival of

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

, the castle was captured on December 20th 1216 AD. He must have reconciled with the royal government of Henry III because by 1220 he complained to the royal administration that his market rights in the town of

Moretonhampstead Moretonhampstead (anciently ''Moreton Hampstead'') is a market town, parish and ancient manor in Devon, situated on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor, within the Dartmoor National Park. The parish now includes the hamlet of Doccombe (), and i ...

were being infringed upon by Hugh de Chaggeford who was the lord of Chagford which held its own market. In the following court case William's lawyer argued Hugh's market was not a real market but simply a wake where bread and ale were sold but Hugh claimed that his market had been in existence and involved the collection of toll and stallage for one hundred years. The outcome of the case is unknown but there isn't any indication that de Chagford's event was disbanded. He was married to Christina, one of

Robert FitzWalter Robert FitzwalterAlso spelled Fitzwater, FitzWalter, fitzWalter, etc. (died 9 December 1235) was one of the leaders of the baronial opposition against John of England, King John, and one of the twenty-five sureties of ''Magna Carta''. He was Eng ...

's daughters, but died on 8 January 1227, without heirs and the earldom became extinct.

Citations

References

*F. J. West, "Geoffrey fitz Peter, fourth earl of Essex (d. 1213)", ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). Accesse
online
on 5 January 2010. Year of birth unknown 1227 deaths 13th-century English landowners

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

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