Pevensey (Eagle)

Who he is

Name

Gilbert de l'Aigle (Gilbert de Aquila)

Title

Lord of the rape of Pevensey (the honour of the Eagle) and of L'Aigle in Normandy

Since

The mid-1180s, after his half-brother Richer disappears from the scutage records

Born

Not pinned

Family

Son of Richer de l'Aigle (died 1176) and Odelina. Wife: Isabel de Warenne, a rich widow (of Robert de Lacy, who died in 1193) and niece of William of Salisbury; the marriage date is not pinned. No surviving children: on his death in 1231 his English lands revert to the crown.

Confidence

medium

His father Richer lost and recovered the Sussex lands twice (Stephen took them; he sided with the Young King and had them restored in 1174). Gilbert found favour with John at his accession in 1199. Later he left court without leave to defend his Norman lands and John seized his English property (the date is not pinned; it belongs with the loss of Normandy, about 1203-04). William de Warenne offered a great fine for the lands and Gilbert had them back about 1215; he sided with the rebels and Louis in 1216, kept his lands after 1217, founded Michelham priory in 1229 and died in 1231.

Royal spending on Pevensey castle under Richard I (Wikipedia, from the Pipe Rolls) shows the crown also paid for the castle's works; who kept the castle itself on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.

Overlord

King John (for L'Aigle, as duke of Normandy)

What it holds

• Pevensey castle within the Roman walls, and the borough of Pevensey (a limb of Hastings in the Cinque Ports)
• The rape of Pevensey with its knights' fees and castle-guard
• Ashdown chase in the north of the rape
• The borough and hundred of East Grinstead
• In Normandy: L'Aigle (France map)

How it was acquired

Henry I's grant to Gilbert de l'Aigle after the forfeiture of William, count of Mortain (1106); lost under Stephen, restored under Henry II.

Allies and rivals

The archbishop's men of South Malling; the Warenne earls at Lewes; the count of Eu at Hastings.

How things stand that morning

Gilbert de l'Aigle holds the honour and stands in John's favour. The custody of the castle itself is not pinned.

Wealth

The Pevensey Levels (grazing and salt), the downs at Eastbourne, the Wealden forest of Ashdown. No figures.

Military

Pevensey castle; the 62 fees of castle-guard reported by a thirteenth-century jury.

Threats

• A cross-Channel lord with his chief lands in Normandy: if he must choose, he risks his English lands (as happens about 1203-04)

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. About 1203-04 (beyond 1200)Gilbert leaves John's court without leave to defend his Norman lands; John seizes his English lands.Depends on: The war in Normandy Stopped by: Peace holding in Normandy, or Gilbert staying at court

Places of note

• Pevensey castle: Castle in the Roman fort

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The family's history is set out on Wikipedia (L'Aigle family) from the scholarly literature; the castle's custody in January 1200 is not pinned.

On the map: The rape boundary is approximate; the archbishop's liberty of South Malling is drawn by the Church map.

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.