William of Salisbury, 2nd Earl of Salisbury (died 1196) was an Anglo-Norman peer. Though he is generally known as such, his proper title was Earl of Wiltshire, which title was conferred on his father by the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

around 1143. He was also called William FitzPatrick. He was the son and heir of Patrick of Salisbury, Earl of Wiltshire, styled Earl of Salisbury, and Adela of Ponthieu, Countess of Surrey.

Family

He married Eléonore, daughter of Robert III de Vitré, Baron of Vitré in Brittany, who died without male issue in 1196. Their only daughter and heiress was

Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of Salisbury Ela or ELA may refer to: Companies and organizations * Basque Workers' Solidarity (Basque: ), a trade union * Revolutionary People's Struggle (Greek: Επαναστατικός Λαϊκός Αγώνας, ΕΛΑ), a Terrorism in Greece, Greek Lef ...

who married

William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (In or before 11677 March 1226) ("Long Sword", Latinised to ''de Longa Spatha'') was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, primarily remembered for his command of the English forces at the Battle of Damme and for ...

, who was half-brother to the

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Service to Richard I

William bore the golden sceptre at the coronation of King

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

, but the next year when the king became a prisoner by Emperor Henry VI, he was one of those who adhered to the then-count of Mortain, who later became King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

. In 1194 he served as

High Sheriff of Somerset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. In 1195, William was back with King Richard in the expedition into Normandy and upon his return to England was one of Richard's great council assembled at Nottingham. The Earl of Salisbury was one of the four earls who supported the canopy of state at the second coronation of Richard that same year.Sir

Bernard Burke Sir John Bernard Burke, (5 January 1814 – 12 December 1892) was a British genealogist and Ulster King of Arms, who helped publish ''Burke's Peerage''. Personal life Burke, of Irish descent, was born at London and was educated in London an ...

, ''Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage'', Ltd., London, England, 1883, p. 168

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, William Of Salisbury, 2nd Earl Of Year of birth unknown 1196 deaths 2 12th-century English nobility High sheriffs of Somerset High sheriffs of Dorset

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...