Essex (FitzPeter)

Who he is

Name

Geoffrey FitzPeter

Title

Earl of Essex; chief justiciar of England

Since

Girded as earl at John's coronation, 27 May 1199. He had held the Mandeville lands since about 1190 by his wife's right.

Born

About 1162

Family

Son of Peter of Ludgershall, a royal forester in Wiltshire, and Maud; his elder brother Simon FitzPeter was a sheriff. Wife: Beatrice de Say (died 1197), granddaughter of Beatrice de Mandeville, sister of the first earl Geoffrey de Mandeville; through her he claimed the Mandeville inheritance. Children by Beatrice: Geoffrey (later Geoffrey de Mandeville, earl of Essex), William, Henry (a clerk), Maud (later wife of Henry de Bohun), Hawise and Cecily; their ages are not pinned and the sons are boys or young men in 1200. He later married Aveline, a daughter of Roger de Clare, earl of Hertford, and had John FitzGeoffrey by her (date of that marriage not pinned).

Confidence

high

A self-made royal servant: sheriff of Northamptonshire 1184-89, one of the justices left to govern when Richard went on crusade, chief justiciar from 11 July 1198, sheriff of Yorkshire 1198-1201 and keeper of the Tower. When William de Mandeville, earl of Essex, died childless in November 1189, the inheritance was disputed between Beatrice's uncle Geoffrey de Say, the surviving son of Beatrice de Mandeville, and FitzPeter in his wife's right. FitzPeter used his standing at court to obtain the lands; the title waited until John girded him on 27 May 1199.

With Hubert Walter and William Marshal he secured England for John in April 1199.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Pleshey castle, caput of the Mandeville honour, with Great Waltham, High Easter and the surrounding manors
• Walden castle and the market of Walden (later Saffron Walden), with Walden priory of the Mandevilles' foundation
• Enfield, Edmonton and South Mimms in Middlesex, with the Mandeville castle site at South Mimms
• Sawbridgeworth and other Mandeville manors in Hertfordshire
• Other Mandeville manors scattered over Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire and beyond
• The third penny of the county of Essex
• His own family lands in Wiltshire around Ludgershall and Cherhill (see esw)
• As justiciar: the custody of the Tower of London (Tower of London) and the shrievalty of Yorkshire (eno)

How it was acquired

The Mandeville lands by his wife's right after the 3rd earl's death in November 1189, against the claim of Geoffrey de Say; the earldom by John's grant at the coronation of 27 May 1199.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Hubert Walter, William Marshal, the king. Rivals: Geoffrey de Say and his heirs, who claim the Mandeville inheritance; barons who resent the justiciar's exactions.

How things stand that morning

Holds all the Mandeville lands in peace and governs England as justiciar while the king is overseas. He is most likely at Westminster or on his Essex manors this winter (not pinned).

Wealth

The Mandeville manors of Essex and the home counties, Walden market, the third penny, and the profits of office as justiciar and sheriff. No figures.

Military

Castles of Pleshey and Walden; the knights of the Mandeville honour (their number in the 1166 returns is in the Cartae Baronum); custody of the Tower.

Threats

• The Say claim to the Mandeville inheritance
• The envy of the barons he taxes as justiciar
• His heirs are young

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. Throughout 1200Remains justiciar, collecting the carucage and running the Exchequer; also sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire from about 1200.Depends on: The king's trust Stopped by: A fall from favour

Places of note

• Pleshey castle: Mandeville caput
• Walden castle: Mandeville castle and market
• South Mimms: Mandeville castle site in Middlesex

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: A central figure of John's government, well documented; the exact list of the Mandeville manors that winter is not attempted.

On the map: Only the castles and the main concentrations are drawn; the honour had many more scattered manors.

Primary sources for England

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, Jocelin of Brakelond (about 1198 to 1203). An inside account of Bury St Edmunds under Abbot Samson, written while the events were fresh. Read online
• Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
• Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
• Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
• Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
• English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
• Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
• Images of History, Ralph de Diceto (about 1188 to 1202). A London view of the year from the dean of St Paul's, who knew the justiciar and the bishops personally. Read online

22 more in the sources library for The British Isles.