Coat of arms of William de Huntingfield, Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk

William of Huntingfield (d. 1225) was a medieval English baron,

Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Sheriff (since 1974 called High Sheriff) is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the c ...

and one of 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 t ...

'' sureties. He held

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is th ...

for King John from September 1203 (as a

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cin ...

) and in exchange, the king took his son and daughter hostage. He was granted the lands seized from his disgraced brother and appointed Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk for 1210 and 1211. In 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 ...

he was an active rebel against King John and one of the twenty-five chosen to oversee the observance of the resulting ''

''. He subsequently supported the French invasion of England, and took part in the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by Al-Adil I, al-Adil, brothe ...

, during which he died.Weis, F.L. et al (2004) ''Ancestral Roots ...'' pg 17
via Google
/ref>

Family

William was son of Roger de Huntingfield and Alice de Senlis, who was a granddaughter of Simon, Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton. He married Isabel, the daughter of William Fitz Roger of Gressinghall, Norfolk. Isabel had been twice widowed: her first husband was Berenger de Cressy, and her second Osmund de Stuteville.Richardson, D. (2011) Magna Carta Ancestry ... pg 43
via Google
/ref> They had two sons and four daughters. William was succeeded by his elder son Roger.

Notes

External links

William at Magna Carta Barons site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingfield, William Of 1160s births 1220s deaths 12th-century English Navy personnel 13th-century English Navy personnel Christians of the Fifth Crusade Magna Carta barons High Sheriffs of Norfolk High Sheriffs of Suffolk English feudal barons