William Marmion, Baron Marmion of Torrington, was an English clergyman and member of

Simon de Montfort's Parliament Simon de Montfort's Parliament was an English parliament held from 20 January 1265 until mid-March of the same year, called by Simon de Montfort, a baronial rebel leader. Montfort had seized power in England following his victory over Henry III ...

Ancestry

He was the son of

Robert Marmion, 3rd Baron Marmion of Tamworth Robert Marmion, 3rd Baron Marmion of Tamworth (died 1218) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and itinerant justice. He was reputed to have been the King's Champion but his grandson, Phillip, is the first Marmion to have a solid claim to this. Robert ...

, and his second wife Philippa.

Career and life

During the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...

a group of rebellious barons, supported by Prince Louis of France, made war on

King John of England King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

due to his cruel and inept leadership. Although John signed the

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

on 15 June 1215, war broke out in England. William Marmion's elder brother, Robert Marmion the elder, was one of the rebel barons (as was their father) and on 25 February 1216 the King sent William to see if he could persuade him to make peace with the King again. John died on 18 October 1216 and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

who, not being despised by the barons, attempted to calm things down. On 15 May 1218 Henry confirmed William's lordship of the manor of Torrington,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, and 10 librates (£10 worth of land) in Berwick, Sussex, which his father had previously given him by charter. Distrust between the barons and Henry remained though and in 1222 the king ordered the Sheriff of Lincolnshire to seize the lands of William Marmion, Cleric, at Torrington and to value them, as Henry had been informed that William had left England without licence to join his rival

King Louis King Louis may refer to: Kings * Louis I (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis II (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis III (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis IV (disambiguation), multiple ...

. It was not until December 1235 that William reappeared and petitioned the king to give him back his lands, claiming that he not been in France at all. William was forgiven and reunited with Torrington after making a payment of £20. William was presented to the church of

Coningsby Coningsby is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, England, it is situated on the A153 road, adjoining Tattershall on its western side, 13 miles (22 km) north west of Boston and 8 miles (13 km) so ...

c. 1236 and acted as guardian to his nephew

Philip Marmion, 5th Baron Marmion of Tamworth Philip Marmion, 5th and last Baron Marmion of Tamworth (died 1291) was King's Champion and Sheriff. He was descended from the lords of Fontenay-le-Marmion in Normandy, who are said to have been hereditary champions of the Dukes of Normandy. ...

, during his minority. According to Palmer, William later became Dean of the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

of Tamworth. William's father had founded the Abbey of Barbery and in 1238 William gave it land for the "souls of his mother and father and his brother Robert junior". His seal attached to the deed consists of an angel, erect and holding a

censer A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...

, with the words "William Marmion, cleric" written underneath. As the long reign of King Henry III progressed he increased taxation and, when combined with the famine of the time, caused the barons to rise up in arms again in the

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of King Henry III, led initially by the king himself and later by his son, the fut ...

. The barons were led by Simon de Montfort and after he had defeated Henry III at the

Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made h ...

on 14 May 1264, he held a Parliament at

Westminster Palace The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

. Large numbers of clergy and burgesses were invited to attend for the first time in the hope that de Montford would recruit more support for his rebellion, as most of the barons had already chosen sides or been killed in the war. The aged William Marmion was one of the clergy chosen and was summoned by writ on 24 December 1264.

Family and descendants

Marmion is not known to have married or had issue, nor is it likely as he would have taken a vow of celibacy when he took holy orders. During the mid-13th century there are records of a "William son of William Marmion" in Lincolnshire but he is perhaps more likely to have been a junior son of William Marmion or a more distantly related junior Marmion line.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marmion, William Year of birth unknown English MPs 1264 Anglo-Normans People from West Lindsey District People from Tamworth (district) 1265 deaths