William Paynel (sometimes William Paganel;Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' pp. 1057–1058 died around 1146) 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 ...

nobleman and baron. Son of a Domesday landholder, William inherited his father's lands in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

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

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 ...

after the death of an older brother during their father's lifetime. After the death of 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 ...

, Paynel supported Henry's daughter

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

in her attempts to take the throne from her cousin

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; ...

, who had seized it. Matilda entrusted

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and o ...

to Paynel's custody, although he lost it within two years when it was captured by a supporter of Stephen's. Paynel also founded two religious houses - one in England and one in Normandy. After Paynel's death around 1146, his lands were split between two sons.

Early life

Paynel was the son of Ralph Paynel, who was a

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 op ...

listed in ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' with lands in

.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 342 Ralph also held

Middle Rasen Middle Rasen is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, located about west from the town of Market Rasen. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,043. History Rasen is mentioned in ...

in Lincolnshire as well as lands in Normandy – Les Moutiers-Hubert in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

region and Hambye in the

Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019. inherited his father's lands including those at Drax in Yorkshire. Other lands held by Ralph and William were

Hooton Pagnell Hooton Pagnell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, on the border with West Yorkshire. It lies on the B6422 road, between Brodsworth and South Elmsall and is at an elevation of aro ...

also in Yorkshire. The lands at Drax, combined with those at Hooton Pagnell, are considered a barony under the name of Hooton Pagnell, and passed to William from his father.Sanders ''English Baronies'' p. 55 Sometime around 1126 to 1135, William Paynel confirmed his father's benefactions to

Selby Abbey Selby Abbey is an Anglican parish church in the town of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. It is Grade I listed. Monastic history It is one of the relatively few surviving abbey churches of the medieval period, and, although not a cathedral, ...

. He also appears in the 1130 Pipe Roll as owing 40 marks to the king that had been imposed by royal justices previously, although the exact nature of the infraction is not known. He may also be the William Paynel that gave the ecclesiastical tithe of

Fontenay-le-Pesnel Fontenay-le-Pesnel () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 528 communes of the Calvados departm ...

to Saint-Étienne Abbey in

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,Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

. Her cousin

Stephen of Blois Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 unt ...

seized the throne of England although in 1126 he had sworn to uphold Matilda's right to the throne. Stephen secured Normandy as well. In 1136 Matilda and her husband Count

Geoffrey of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (french: link=no, le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144. Hi ...

contested Stephen's seizure of both England and Normandy,Clanchy ''England and its Rulers'' pp. 97–99 starting a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

usually known as

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...

that lasted most of Stephen's reign until 1154.Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 73–76 As part of Geoffrey and Matilda's efforts in Normandy, Paynel's castle at Les Moutiers-Hubert in Normandy was attacked by Geoffrey in September 1136. By 1140, Paynel was a supporter of the Empress Matilda's efforts to gain the throne of England. In late 1140 he was named Matilda's

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 ...

for

, which had just been captured by Matilda's half-brother Robert of Gloucester.King ''King Stephen'' p. 179 At the end of Lent in 1142

William Peverel William Peverel († 28. January 1114), Latinised to Gulielmus Piperellus), was a Norman knight granted lands in England following the Norman Conquest. Origins Little is known of the origin of the William Peverel the Elder. Of his immediate f ...

seized the castle for the king's forces while Paynel was absent visiting the Empress.Crouch ''Reign of King Stephen'' p. 200 After Paynel's death, his sons were also supporters of the Empress, and lost control of Drax for this support,Crouch ''Reign of King Stephen'' p. 287 but by 1154 Hugh and Fulk split some of the English and Norman lands between themselves.

Religious foundations

Paynel founded two religious houses – the

Drax Priory Drax Priory was an Augustinian priory at Drax in North Yorkshire, England, founded between 1130 and 1139 by William Paynel William Paynel (sometimes William Paganel;Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' pp. 1057–1058 died around 1146) was ...

at Drax in the 1130s and an abbey at Hambye in Normandy around 1145. Drax was a house of

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

canons.Knowles, et al. ''Heads of Religious Houses'' p. 162 Besides his foundations and the earlier mentioned gifts, Paynel also gave gifts to Selby Abbey and

Holy Trinity Priory The Holy Trinity Priory, also known as Christchurch Aldgate, was a priory of Austin canons ( Black Canons) founded around 1108 by the English queen Matilda of Scotland near Aldgate in London.York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. Paynel died around 1145 to 1147.

Children and legacy

Paynel married twice. His first wife was a daughter of William fitzWimund. His second wife was Avice, the widow of William de Courcy and daughter of

William Meschin William Meschin (sometimes William le Meschin; died between 1130 and 1135) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and baron. The brother of the earl of Chester, Meschin participated in the First Crusade. After returning to England, he acquired lands both ...

. By his first wife, Paynel had four sons – Hugh, Fulk, Thomas and John. A daughter named Gertrude may possibly also be from this first marriage. The second marriage produced a daughter, Alice, who was Paynel's principal heiress. Hugh and Fulk received small portions of lands in England and also Paynel's lands in Normandy. Hambye in the Cotenin went to Fulk and Les Moutiers-Hubert went to Hugh. Alice received the lands at Drax and Hooton Pagnell, and married twice, first to

Richard de Courcy Richard de Courcy (sometimes Richard of Courcy;Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 69 died around 1098) was a Norman nobleman and landholder in England. Richard was probably the son of Robert de Courcy, but his mother was named Herleva.Keats-Rohan ''Dome ...

and second to Robert de Gant.

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paynel, William Anglo-Normans Norman warriors 12th-century English people Year of birth unknown 1140s deaths English feudal barons