William Meschin (sometimes William le Meschin;
[ died between 1130 and 1135) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and ]baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
. The brother of the earl of Chester, Meschin participated in the First Crusade. After returning to England, he acquired lands both from King Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
and by his marriage to an heiress.
Meschin built Egremont Castle on his lands and with his wife was a benefactor of a couple of religious foundations. He died sometime between 1130 and 1135, with his estates eventually being divided amongst the descendants of his three daughters.
Early life
Meschin was the brother of Ranulf le Meschin, the Earl of Chester.[Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' pp. 1039–1040] They were the sons of Ranulf de Briquessart
Ranulf de Briquessart (or Ranulf the Viscount) (born 1050, d c. 1089 or soon after) was an 11th-century Norman magnate and viscount.
Biography
Ranulf's family were connected to the House of Normandy by marriage, and, besides Odo, bishop of Bayeux ...
, the viscount of the Bessin, and his wife, Matilda, the daughter of Richard le Goz, Viscount of Avranches. The boys were also nephews of Hugh d'Avranches, who had previously been Earl of Chester. There was also an older brother, Richard, who died young, and a sister, who married Robert de Grandmesnil.[King "Ranulf (I)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''] Meschin went on the First Crusade and was present at the siege of Nicaea in 1097.[
]
Acquisition of lands
Meschin was given Gilsland (near Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
) by his brother,[ in order to protect the approaches to Carlisle in Cumberland. Due to attacks by the Scots, Meschin was unable to hold it.][Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 119] In compensation, King Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
gave him lands around Allerdale
Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census.
The Bor ...
in Cumberland, which centred on Egremont. These lands comprised the lordship, or feudal barony of Egremont.[Sanders ''English Baronies'' p. 115] Through his wife, he acquired Skipton, and the lordship, or barony of Skipton.[Sanders ''English Baronies'' pp. 142–143] Besides these lands, Meschin also was awarded two escheated properties in Leicestershire, some of which had earlier been lands of Roger de Busli.[Newman ''Anglo-Norman Nobility'' pp. 124–125] Other properties in Leicestershire were previously held by Durand Malet and William Blund in the '' Domesday Book''.[Newman ''Anglo-Norman Nobility'' p. 144 footnote 47] Meschin also held lands in Lincolnshire and Cheshire from his brother.[
Meschin built the original parts of Egremont Castle at Egremont. It was a ]motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
stone castle on the River Ehen
The River Ehen is a river in Cumbria, England.
The river's source is at the west end of Ennerdale Water: it runs west through Ennerdale Bridge where it is joined by Croasdale Beck (flowing from Banna Fell). Ennerdale Water itself is fed by the ...
.[Pettifer ''English Castles'' p. 41] He and his wife also founded the Augustinian priory of Embsay Priory.[Green ''Aristocracy of Norman England'' p. 404] Katrina Legg, a historian who studied medieval monasticism, argues that Meschin's main motive for the foundation was to show support for a monastic order that enjoyed the patronage of King Henry I. Against this, Legg feels that Meschin's wife's motives were more probably religious, as she was close to Thurstan, the Archbishop of York. Another religious foundation of Meschin's was St Bees Priory, a daughter house of St Mary's Abbey, York. St Bees was founded around the same time as Embsay,[Legg ''Bolton Priory'' pp. 3-4] Embsay was founded between 1120 and 1121;[Knowles, et al. ''Heads of Religious Houses'' p. 152] and St Bees was founded sometime after 1120.[Knowles, et al. ''Heads of Religious Houses'' p. 95]
Meschin married Cecily, daughter of Robert de Rumily
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
. They had one son, Ranulf Meschin, and three daughters, Alice, Avice,[ and Matilda.][Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 601] Another son, Matthew, who was the eldest son, died before his parents.[
]
Death and legacy
Meschin died between 1130 and 1135. His widow married Henry de Tracy, and she died around 1151.[ After the death of his son Ranulf,][ Skipton went to Alice, who married William fitzDuncan.][ Alice and her first husband also acquired Egremont.][ After the death of fitzDuncan, Alice married Alexander fitzGerold.][ Avice married William de Courcy.][Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 428] Avice married as her second husband William Paynel,[Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 674] son of Ralph Paynel
Ralph Paynel or Paganel ( fl. 1089) was an 11th-century Norman, a landowner, partisan of William II of England, and sheriff of Yorkshire. He was the son of Ralph Paynel (also known as Ralph de St. John; Ralph de Brehal; Ralph de Moulins; Ralph de ...
, as his second wife.[Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' pp. 1057–1058] Before 1153 Avice had married as her third husband Walter, the son of Alan de Percy.[ Matilda married twice – first to Philip de Belmeis][Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 317] and second to Hugh de Mortimer.[ All three daughters were the eventual co-heirs of their father, after their brother's death between 1135 and 1140. Meschin's lands were divided between their descendants, with parts ending up with the Counts of Aumale, the family of the Courcys, and the last and smallest part to the Mortimer family.][Holt "Presidential Address" ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'' p. 14]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meschin, William
Anglo-Normans
Norman warriors
1130s deaths
Christians of the First Crusade
12th-century English people
Year of birth unknown
English feudal barons