Percy

Who he is

Name

Agnes de Percy (with her son Richard de Percy acting for her) and her sister Maud (Matilda) de Percy, dowager countess of Warwick

Title

Co-heiresses of the barony of Topcliffe (the Percy fee)

Since

The barony was divided between the two sisters by arbitration in 1175, after their father William de Percy died in 1174-75

Born

Agnes is given as born 1134 (Percy family article); Maud not pinned

Family

Agnes married Joscelin of Louvain (died 1180), who brought Petworth in Sussex; their eldest son Henry de Percy died in 1198 leaving a baby son, William (born 1197); the younger son Richard de Percy is the active man of the family. Maud, widow of William, earl of Warwick (died 1184), is childless; her share passes at her death (October 1204) to the young William.

Confidence

medium

Wikipedia (Matilda de Percy; Percy family). Agnes dies 1203 or 1205 (the sources differ).

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Agnes's share: Topcliffe and lowland manors in the Vale of York
• Maud's share: Spofforth, Tadcaster and the Craven uplands (patron of Sawley Abbey)
• Petworth in Sussex (Joscelin's, through Agnes's family: ese)
• Percy manors in the East Riding and Lincolnshire, share not pinned

How it was acquired

Inheritance and the arbitration of 1175.

Allies and rivals

Richard de Percy against his nephew William (born 1197), whose wardship is in other hands. Neighbours: Mowbray, Stuteville, the archbishop's Ripon.

How things stand that morning

Both sisters alive and holding their shares (Maud dies in 1204; Agnes in 1203 or 1205).

Wealth

Rich Vale of York farmland; Craven sheep; Tadcaster on the York road.

Military

Topcliffe castle (motte); Spofforth (a manor house, licensed for crenellation much later).

Threats

• Division of the inheritance
• The quarrel between uncle and nephew

Places of note

• Topcliffe castle: Ancient Percy caput
• Spofforth: Percy centre (Maud's share)

Where the sources disagree

• Agnes's death: 1203 or 1205 (the Percy family article gives both).

Evidence: Wikipedia articles on Matilda de Percy and the Percy family; the exact list of manors in each share is not pinned.

On the map: Which manors fell to which sister is drawn from the general statement in the sources; treat the blocks as indicative.

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.