Montfichet

Who he is

Name

Richard de Montfichet (the elder)

Title

Lord of Stansted; hereditary forester of Essex

Since

Not pinned; Henry II made him forester of Essex

Born

Not pinned

Family

Father of Richard de Montfichet the younger, the Magna Carta surety, who was about ten when his father died (about 1203), so born about 1193; the younger Richard's three sisters are his eventual heirs.

Confidence

medium

Henry II made the elder Richard forester of Essex; in 1215 the son was given the forests of Essex 'as his by hereditary right'. The Wikipedia list of sheriffs gives a Richard de Montfichet as sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire 1201-1203, which fits the elder Richard. Exact dates of the elder Richard are not pinned.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Stansted castle and barony (Essex)
• Montfichet's Tower in London, near Ludgate
• The hereditary forestership of Essex

How it was acquired

Inherited from the Domesday tenant William de Montfichet's line.

Allies and rivals

The king's chief forester Hugh de Neville, who is also sheriff; the Essex landholders who resent the forest.

How things stand that morning

Holds in peace.

Wealth

Essex manors and the profits of the forest bailiwick. No figures.

Military

Stansted castle; Montfichet's Tower.

Threats

• A minority if the elder Richard dies

Places of note

• Stansted castle: Montfichet castle
• Montfichet's Tower: Montfichet tower in London

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Family and forestership known; the elder Richard's dates are not pinned.

On the map: The caput only.

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.