William FitzRalph was the

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

from 1169 to 1177.British History Online Archdeacons of Nottingham
accessed 2 January 2015. After, he was the

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

for 22 years under two dukes of Normandy, Henry II and

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

, from 1178 to 1200.

Life

William FitzRalph owned land in Derbyshire and was the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests from 1169 until 1177. FitzRalph was appointed the seneschal of Normandy in 1177 and was in office from 1178. He took over the position permanently from

Richard of Ilchester Richard of Ilchester (died 22 December 1188) was a medieval English statesman and prelate. Life Richard was born in the diocese of Bath, where he obtained preferment. Early in the reign of Henry II, however, he is found acting as a clerk in th ...

, who stepped down acting seneschal to return to the

English exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government revenue ...

. FitzRalph resided in and owned

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Henry II of England's court there, Caen also being the home of the

Exchequer of Normandy The Exchequer of Normandy (''Échiquier de Normandie'') or Exchequer of Rouen (''Échiquier de Rouen'') was the fiscal and administrative court of the Duchy of Normandy until the early 16th century. Surviving records show that the Exchequer of N ...

. He held court in

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N ...

, Bernai, Longueville, Neufchâtel,

Saint-Wandrille Fontenelle Abbey or the Abbey of St. Wandrille is a Benedictine monastery in the commune of Rives-en-Seine. It was founded in 649 near Caudebec-en-Caux in Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France. First foundation It was founded by Wandregisel or Sai ...

, and

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

. When

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

became duke in 1189, FitzRalph's position was reconfirmed, making him the only seneschal of Richard's French possessions to keep his office;

Stephen of Tours Stephen of Tours (french: Stephen de Tours; century) or Marcay (') was seneschal of Anjou from before 1160 to 1189, when he was imprisoned by of England for fiscal mismanagement. He was freed and restored to the position from 1190 to 1196. Betwe ...

was replaced in

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

by Payn de Rochefort, Peter Bertin was made seneschal of

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

, and Helie de la Celle was made seneschal of

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

. The prestige of the office of seneschal of Normandy increased during FitzRalph's tenure, and began to fulfill the same functions as the Justiciar of England. Charles Haskins believed that the seneschal had enhanced importance partly due to FitzRalph's personality, as he became second only to the sovereign in all administrative matters, however, Jacques Boussard's viewed the power and eminence of the position as resulting from

's work in reorganising the exchequer. FitzRalph continued as seneschal until his death in 1200.

William Marshal William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...

stated that FitzRalph was "brave and wise but too old to fight" after a French courtier jokingly suggested that he should be one of

King Henry There have been many monarchs adopting the name "Henry". Years shown below are the regnal years. {{tocright Byzantine Empire * Henry of Flanders (1205–1216) (Latin Empire) Castile * Henry I of Castile * Henry II of Castile * Henry III of Cas ...

's champions. At an unknown date, William FitzRalph had a son,

Robert FitzRalph Robert FitzRalph (sometimes known as Robert son of William FitzRalph) was a medieval Bishop of Worcester. Life FitzRalph was the son of William FitzRalph, who was a landowner in Derbyshire and was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and ...

, who became

Archdeacon of Nottingham The Archdeacon of Nottingham is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, who exercises supervision of clergy and responsibility for church buildings within the Archdeaconry of Nottingham. Histor ...

around 1185 and later became

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 1 July 1190. William seems to have a considerable interest in pious works. Through Robert he granted to

Darley Abbey Darley Abbey is a former historic mill village, now a suburb of the city of Derby, England. It is located approximately north of the city centre, on the west bank of the River Derwent, and forms part of the Darley ward along with Little Ches ...

st Michael's Church, Derby, and the chapel of

Alvaston Alvaston (/ˈɒlvəstən/ or /ˈælvəstən/) is a village and ward of Derby, England. Alvaston is situated on the A6, three miles south-east of Derby city centre and probably owes its name to Allwald. It is bordered to the north by the ...

. However, in the case of

Dale (Stanley Park) Abbey Dale Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Stanley Park, was a religious house, close to Ilkeston in Derbyshire. Its ruins are located at the village of Dale Abbey, which is named after it. Its foundation legend portrays it as developing from a h ...

in Derbyshire, a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

house where he was celebrated as founder, he left a large part of the actual work to his daughter Matilda and her husband, Geoffrey de Salicosa Mara, and also charged them £100 for the "gift" of Stanley, which he had purchased for them and they transferred to the new abbey. In 1938, the leaden seal-die of William FitzRalph was found at Exton,

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzRalph, William Duchy of Normandy 1200 deaths Henry II of England Richard I of England People from Derbyshire 1140 births