Baldwin FitzGilbert ( 1030 – 1086/1091) (''alias'' Baldwin the Sheriff, Baldwin of Exeter, Baldwin de Meulles/Moels and Baldwin du Sap) was a Norman magnate and one of the 52

Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the we ...

of King

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, of whom he held the largest fiefdom in Devon, comprising 176 holdings or manors. He was feudal baron of Okehampton, seated at

Okehampton Castle Okehampton Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in Devon, England. It was built between 1068 and 1086 by Baldwin FitzGilbert following a revolt in Devon against Norman conquest of England, Norman rule, and formed the centre of the Honou ...

in Devon.

Origins

He was originally from Meulles or nearby Le Sap, in Calvados, Normandy. He was a younger son of Gilbert, Count of Brionne and of Eu, in Normandy.

Career

Together with his eldest brother Richard FitzGilbert, in 1066 Baldwin participated in the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of England. Following the successful siege of the Saxon city of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

appointed Baldwin castellan of the newly built royal castle there, Rougemont Castle. He also appointed him hereditary Sheriff of Devon, a position he held until his death. Exeter Castle was thenceforth the official seat of the Sheriff of Devon. King William I also granted him the very large feudal barony of Okehampton in Devon, at the '' caput'' of which he built

English landholdings

Baldwin's

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

in Devon was the largest in that county, listed in the

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as comprising 176 holdings, mostly manors or estates, except the first two listed holdings which consisted of groups of houses in Exeter and Barnstaple. He is listed in the Domesday Book as ''"Baldvinus Vicecomes"'', literally translated as "Baldwin the

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

", a Norman title signifying that he had an administrative responsibility over the county of Devon, which office had become almost synonymous with the Sheriff of Devon, an Anglo-Saxon office. For this reason Baldwin is commonly known as "Baldwin the Sheriff". These landholdings comprised the feudal barony of Okehampton, later held by the Courtenay family, later also feudal barons of Plympton and Earls of Devon.

Marriage and children

His first wife was named Albreda, whom

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

refers to as a daughter of the aunt of

, presumably niece of his mother Herleva. In the Domesday Book, his wife appears as Emma. He had three sons who all died childless, and two daughters: *Robert FitzBaldwin, Baldwin's heir in Normandy *William FitzBaldwin, inherited Baldwin's English lands *Richard FitzBaldwin *Adeliza FitzBaldwin, heiress to her three brothers, died childless *(? Matilda) FitzBaldwin, wife, successively, of William fitzWimund and Ranulf Avenel. William fitzWimund is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as holding land at Dolton, Devon in North Tawton Hundred, from his father-in-law Baldwin. Baldwin also had an illegitimate child, Wiger, a monk at Bec.

Death and succession

Baldwin was living in 1086. He had died by 1091 according to Orderic.Ormerod, George. (1861) "Descent of the Anglo-Norman Lords of Strugil", ''Strigulensia: Archæological Memoirs Relating to the District Adjacent to the Confluence of the Severne and the Wye'', pp. 62–63, citing Ordericus Following the deaths of his three sons without heirs, his daughter Adeliza was his ultimate sole heiress.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgilbert, Baldwin 11th-century births 1090s deaths Normans in England Norman warriors High sheriffs of Devon Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief