Walter of Hereford was a holder of the
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
title
Baron Bergavenny
The title Baron Bergavenny (or Abergavenny) was created several times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain, all but the first being baronies created by error. Abergavenny is a market town in South East Wales wit ...
or Lord Abergavenny in the
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.
The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
in the mid twelfth century.
Lineage
Walter of Hereford was a son of
Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (''alias'' Miles of GloucesterSanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.7) was a great magnate based in the west of ...
, and
Sibyl of Neufmarche
The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece.
The sibyls prophesied at holy sites.
A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local tradi ...
,
[ cites ] and the brother of
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, (before 1125 – 1155) was an English noble who played an active and influential part in the wars between Empress Matilda and King Stephen (a civil war known as the Anarchy).
Biography
Roger was the so ...
and
Mahel of Hereford
Mahel of Hereford was a holder of the feudal lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid 12th century.
Lineage
Mahel of Hereford was a younger son of Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and his wife Sibyl of Neufm ...
and
William de Hereford
William of Hereford, Baron Abergavenny was a holder of the feudal lordship of Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid twelfth century.
Lineage
William of Hereford was a son of Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and his wife Sybil de ...
.
Offices
Walter of Hereford held the post of
King's Constable in the region under 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 became lord of Brecon and Abergavenny from circa 1155.
[ In 1155 he was also made hereditary ]Sheriff of Gloucestershire
This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester.
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...
, a post he held for two years, and Sheriff of Herefordshire
This is a list of Sheriffs and, since 1998, High Sheriffs of Herefordshire
The position of Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in each county, but over the centurie ...
, a post he held until 1159.[ cites .]
He departed for the Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
on Crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
about Michaelmas 1159, and died there not long after. On his death the shrievalty of Gloucestershire was no longer hereditary. No children are known.[
]
Notes
References
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Anglo-Normans in Wales
12th-century deaths
High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire
High Sheriffs of Herefordshire
Year of birth unknown
Feudal barons of Abergavenny
Younger sons of earls
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