Geoffrey De Mandiville ;;;=
1104-1144
Born: Great Waltham, Essex, England
Died: Wiltshire, England
English Anarchy & Geoffrey de Mandeville - Scourge of the Fens <hr> Geoffrey de Mandeville was the Earl of Essex in the time of King Stephen (1135-1154). He is famous for his treachery and violence around the time of the civil war waged between Stephen and Henry Ist's daughter, the empress Matilda. As we shall see, his ability to wreak havoc and suffering was to be felt heavily by the people of Cambridgeshire.<p> The civil war of 1139-1153 is characterised by the greed and ruthlessness of many knights and gentry who declared themselves to be allied to either Stephen or Matilda but proceeded to wage war on whoever they could gain most from whether it helped either of the main protagonists or not. Stephen, King Henry Ist's nephew, had opportunisticly seized the throne immediately after Henry died with the help of his brother, the powerful bishop of Winchester. Henry had persuaded his barons to swear an oath in support of Matilda, his only surviving legitimate heir. However, Matilda had spent most of her life in far away Germany, she was a poor diplomat, was married to an Angevin (an unpopular alliance as far as both the English and the Normans were concerned) and she was a woman. It wasn't a hard decision for many of the barons to renege on their oath in support of Matilda and support Stephen instead. Stephen might have avoided much bloodshed during his reign had he not made a big mistake in the way he dealt with Roger, bishop of Salisbury whom he suspected, perhaps not unreasonably, of being in league with the empress. Roger had experienced a meteoric rise in fortune during the reign of Henry. Henry, if one historian is to be believed, had discovered Roger in France where he had been impressed at the speed at which the clergyman could read a mass. Henry appointed him as chancellor and as bishop of Salisbury and quickly elevated him to justiciar - making him the second most powerful man in England after himself. During Stephen's reign, Roger had established a powerful dynasty with his son as chancellor, his nephew Nigel as bishop of Ely and another nephew as bishop of Lincoln, all of whom were building or strengthening and garrisoning their own castles and ostentatiously taking large retinues of armed men about with them wherever they went. Stephen used a street brawl involving Salisbury's men as an excuse to seize Salisbury, his son and the bishop of Lincoln and chase Nigel of Ely to Devizes. After three days seige, Nigel was betrayed by Salisbury's mistress who feared for the safety of her husband and son. The king now had all the castles of Salisbury's family and had badly abused the legates in his custody. This action proved to be disastrous for Stephen. The church was appalled at the way in which Stephen had treated the clergymen. The king found many of his supporters switching to Matilda's side, including his own brother, the bishop of Winchester. </p><p> Stephen was a fearsome soldier. His chivalry and misplaced generosity, however, could be said to have been excessive and detrimental to his cause. His downfall at the battle of Lincoln in 1141 can be attributed to behaviour which was typical of him. Towards the end of 1140 one of Matilda's supporters, Rannulf, the earl of Chester seized the castle of Lincoln. Instead of attempting to punish Rannulf, Stephen gave him the castle plus the city of Lincoln, plus a number of other castles. It was complaints of harsh treatment by the citizens of Lincoln which caused Stephen to rush to the city to sort Rannulf out. However Rannulf had slipped away to get reinforcements among the desperate knights who had lost everything they possessed fighting for the Empress.</p><p> The battle of Lincoln took place on the 2nd of February 1141. The kings forces easily defeated scouts sent by the earl to impede his progress and gained a good tactical position. Obeying his fatally chivalrous nature, Stephen took his men from easily defendable high ground to a marshy plane by the city of Lincoln to meet the earl's rabble for a fair fight. His cavalry failed to ward off frenzied attacks of the disinherited knights who had nothing to lose and everything to fight for. Stephen fought fiercely until both his sword and axe were broken and eventually was forced to surrender to Robert of Gloucester when he was knocked down by a flying stone.</p><p> Stephen's cause was now left in the hands of his shrewd queen, also called Matilda. She stood her own Cambridgeshire estates as collateral for a loan from the London justiciar, Gervase of Cornhill. She repurchased the support of Geoffrey de Mandeville who had transferred his allegiance to the empress when things started to go wrong for Stephen. She also won back the support of Stephen's brother, the bishop of Winchester whose support Stephen had lost after he mis-handled dealing with Roger of Salisbury.</p><p> In November of 1141 Stephen was released in exchange for Robert of Gloucester, an important ally of the empress who had been captured by royalist forces whilst fleeing a defeat at Winchester. Unchastened by his experience with the earl of Chester, he heaped rewards and privileges on the treacherous Geoffrey de Mandeville on top of the payment already made to him by the queen. De Mandeville became sheriff and justiciar in three separate counties. He was made constable of 'The Tower' - a role which effectively put him in charge of London but in which he evidently earned the loathing of the people of that city. The proof of the Londoners' hatred of de Mandeville exists in a document which points to his ultimate treason (that is, before he turned into a sadistic monster of the fens). He changed his allegiance back to the empress, drawing up a charter in which he dictates that she should make no peace with the burgesses of London without his consent 'because they are his mortal foes'. He continued to attend court and feign friendship with the king even though it was generally known that he was in league with the Stephen's enemies. Eventually his arrogance was too much for the royalists and he was arrested suddenly in St. Albans in 1143. As punishment for treason he was given the choice of execution or giving up the Tower and his castles in Essex. He chose life and vengeance - on the people of Cambridgeshire!</p><p> De Mandeville fled to the marshy swamps of the fens with an army of mercenaries and ruffians. He seized and occupied Ely, using it as a fortress and drove the monks out of Ramsey Abbey and used it as a headquarters for his mob. From here he plundered, ransacked, and burnt property. He employed every type of torture conceivable to extract crippling ransom from anyone unfortunate enough to fall into his hands. Cambridge itself was ransacked and burnt. No one, regardless of age, sex or profession was safe. Over a stretch of twenty or thirty miles of countryside there was not an ox or plough to be seen. A serious famine resulted to add to the already enormous death toll. Stephen was unable to get an army through the impenetrable fens to rid the area of the evil earl leaving de Mandeville free to carry on at will. Fortunately, however, de Mandeville was hit by an arrow whilst attacking Burwell Castle in August 1144 and died soon afterwards.</p><p> The earl of Chester was arrested for treason two years later and on his release after surrendering his castles, plunged into an similar orgy of ferocious brutality. Scores of lesser barons and free lances around the country waged horror upon anyone they felt they could extract plunder from. </p><p> The anarchy slowly abated over several painful years. Two factors helped bring back order. Firstly, the Angevin cause was fading. Stephen cut Matilda off from her Gloucestershire strongholds with a success at Faringdon in 1145 and effectively ended the Angevin threat for the rest of his reign. Secondly, the fall of Edessa in 1144 eventually led to the second crusade which gained momentum in 1146 when Louis VII of France and emperor Conrad III took the cross. Many lawless Anglo-Norman noblemen took leave from their bloody work in England to slaughter and get slaughtered in the Holy Land.</p>
<!-- content --> <!-- sitenotice --> <div><div> #centralNotice.collapsed #editorSurvey2011 { display: none; } #editorSurvey2011 { position: relative; overflow: hidden; margin-bottom: 0.5em !important; background-color: #d7e4fa; background-repeat: repeat-x; border: solid 1px #a7d7f9; display: none; } #editorSurvey2011-content { position:relative; padding: 20px; text-align: center; } #editorSurvey2011-logo { position: absolute; top: 20px; left: 25px; background-image: url(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Wikimedia_logo_text_RGB.svg/60px-Wikimedia_logo_text_RGB.svg.png); height: 60px; width: 60px; background-repeat: no-repeat; } #editorSurvey2011 #cn-toggle-box { position: absolute; z-index: 98; top: 0px; right: 0px; float: right; font-size: 0em; } <div style="display: none"> <div> </div> <div> <span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em"> <strong>How satisfied are you with Wikipedia? <u>Your</u> feedback is important to us!</strong><br>As a token of appreciation for your support you get a chance of winning a Wikipedia T-shirt.<br>Click here to learn more! </span> </div> <div> <img src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/closewindow.png" border="0" alt="Close"> </div> </div> </div><!-- centralNotice loads here --></div> <!-- /sitenotice --> <!-- firstHeading --> Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex <!-- /firstHeading --> <!-- bodyContent --> <!-- tagline --> <div>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> <!-- /tagline --> <!-- subtitle --> <!-- /subtitle --> <!-- jumpto --> <div> Jump to: navigation, search </div> <!-- /jumpto --> <!-- bodytext --> <p><strong>Geoffrey de Mandeville II, 1st Earl of Essex (1st Creation)</strong> (died September 1144) was one of the prominent players during the reign of King Stephen of England. His biographer, the 19th-century historian J. H. Round, called him "the most perfect and typical presentment of the feudal and anarchic spirit that stamps the reign of Stephen." That characterization was disputed in the later twentieth century.</p> <p>He succeeded his father, William, sometime before 1129, possibly as early as 1116. A key portion of the family patrimony was in the King's hands. William had incurred a debt to the crown, perhaps in part a large fine due to Henry I's displeasure at the escape of an important political prisoner when he was in charge of the Tower of London. The King also held the substantial estate of Geoffrey's maternal grandfather Eudo <em>le Dapifer</em> to which Geoffrey laid claim.</p> <p>Geoffrey's goal in the early years of strife between Stephen and Empress Matilda seems to have been to recover these lost lands and his father's offices. He succeeded in this during the shifting tides of fortunes of the two competitors for the English throne. He started out supporting Stephen, who sometime in 1140 (most likely May of that year) made him Earl of Essex. By 1140 or 1141 Stephen had returned to him the seized estates in Essex. In 1141 he was also appointed Constable of the Tower of London by Empress Matilda.</p> <p>After the defeat and capture of Stephen at Lincoln in 1141, the Earl, like many barons, acknowledged Matilda as his sovereign lady. She confirmed his custody of the Tower, forgave the large debts his father had incurred to the crown, granted him the Norman lands of Eudo <em>Dapifer</em>, and appointed him Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, Middlesex and London. But before the end of the year, learning that Stephen's release was imminent, he returned to his original allegiance. In 1142 he may have been intriguing with the Empress. There has been a scholarly debate over the dating of the charters he received from Stephen and Matilda; depending on the order and timing of those documents, Geoffrey appears to have either been playing off one against the other to get what he wanted or was courted by the rival claimants to the throne for his support. The earl was arrested by the King in 1143 and threatened by execution, Geoffrey surrendered his castles to Stephen, then launched a rebellion.</p> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a id="togglelink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex#" class="internal">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex#Outlaw_activity_and_death"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Outlaw activity and death</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex#Career"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Career</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex#Marriage_and_offspring"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Marriage and offspring</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex#Historical_Fiction"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Historical Fiction</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex#References"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> <span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Outlaw activity and death">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Outlaw activity and death</span> <p>In 1143-1144 Geoffrey maintained himself as a rebel and a bandit in the fen-country, using the Isle of Ely and Ramsey Abbey as his headquarters. He was besieged by King Stephen and met his death in September 1144 in consequence of an arrow wound received in a skirmish. Denied burial because he died excommunicate, his body was wrapped in lead. Eventually it was taken to the Templar community in London. He was buried in the Temple Church in London. His son arranged for an effigy to be placed on the floor, where it still can be seen today.</p> <span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Career">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Career</span> <p>His career is interesting for two reasons. The charters which he received from King Stephen and Empress Matilda illustrate the ambitions of English barons. The most important concessions are grants of offices and jurisdictions which had the effect of making Mandeville almost a viceroy with full powers in Essex, Middlesex and London, and Hertfordshire—but these were based on offices and jurisdictions his ancestors had held. His career as an outlaw exemplifies the worst excesses of the civil wars of 1140-1147, and it is possible that the deeds of Mandeville inspired the rhetorical description, in the <em>Peterborough Chronicle</em> of this period, when "men said openly that Christ and his saints were asleep." He had seized Ramsey Abbey (near Peterborough) in 1143, expelling the monks and using Ramsey as a base for forays into the surrounding region.</p> <span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Marriage and offspring">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Marriage and offspring</span> <p>Geoffrey married Rohese de Vere, daughter of Aubrey de Vere II and sister of the first earl of Oxford. He had four sons:</p> <ul><li>Arnulf/Ernulf (illegitimate), exiled for supporting his father in rebellion but allowed to return to England, probably in the reign of King Henry II</li><li>Geoffrey III, 2nd earl of Essex (d. 1166)</li><li>William II, 3rd earl of Essex and Count of Aumale (d. 1189)</li><li>Robert (d. before 1189)</li></ul> <span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Historical Fiction">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Historical Fiction</span> <p>An accounting of Geoffrey's outlaw actions and the taking of the Ramsey abbey provides for elements of the backstory for Ellis Peter's "Brother Cadfael" book, 'The Potter's Field'.</p> <span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_de_Mandeville,_1st_Earl_of_Essex&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">References</span> <ul><li>C. Warren Hollister, "The Misfortunes of the Mandevilles", <em>History</em>, vol. 58, pp. 18–28, 1973</li><li>R. H. C. Davis, J. O. Prestwich, "The Treason of Geoffrey de Mandeville", <em>The English Historical Review</em>, vol. 103, no. 407, pp. 283–317, 1988; Prestwich, "Geoffrey de Mandeville: A Further Comment", <em>EHR</em>, vol. 103, no. 409, pp. 960–966; Prestwich, Davis, "Last Words on Geoffrey de Mandeville", <em>EHR</em>, vol. 105, no. 416, pp. 670–672, 1990.</li><li><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" alt="" width="12" height="13"> <span>Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Mandeville, Geoffrey de". <em>Encyclopædia Britannica</em> (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.</span><span><span style="display: none"> </span></span></li><li>J. H. Round, <em>Geoffrey de Mandeville, a Study of the Anarchy</em> (London, 1892)</li><li>George Shipway <em>Knight in Anarchy</em> (Cox & Wyman Ltd., London, 1969)</li></ul>
<p><strong>Geoffrey de Mandeville II, 1st Earl of Essex (1st Creation)</strong> (d. Sept. 1144) was one of the prominent players during the reign of King <font color="#002bb8">Stephen of England</font>. His biographer, the 19th-century historian <font color="#002bb8">J. H. Round</font>, called him "the most perfect and typical presentment of the feudal and anarchic spirit that stamps the reign of Stephen." That characterization has been disputed in the twentieth century.</p><p>He succeeded his father, <font color="#002bb8">William</font>, sometime before 1130. A key portion of the family patrimony was in the King's hands, as William had incurred <font color="#002bb8">Henry I</font>'s displeasure and lost them: the office of <font color="#002bb8">constable</font> of the <font color="#002bb8">Tower of London</font> was taken from the family, which had held it since its inception by <font color="#002bb8">William the Conqueror</font>; <font color="#002bb8">Geoffrey's grandfather of the same name</font> being appointed the first constable), and the King also held the substantial estate of Geoffrey's maternal grandfather <font color="#002bb8">Eudo <em>dapifer</em></font> to which Geoffrey laid claim.</p><p>Geoffrey's goal in the early years of strife between Stephen and <font color="#002bb8">Empress Matilda</font> seems to have been to recover these lost lands. He succeeded in this, during the shifting tides of fortunes of the two competitors for the English throne, by bidding his support to first one, then the other.</p><p>He started out supporting Stephen, who sometime in 1140 (or perhaps December 1139) made him <font color="#002bb8">Earl of Essex</font> in reward for his services against <font color="#002bb8">Empress Matilda</font>. In 1140 or 1141 Stephen returned to him the seized estates in Essex. In 1141 he was also appointed custodian of the Tower of London.</p><p>After the defeat and capture of Stephen at <font color="#002bb8">Lincoln</font> in 1141, the Earl, like many barons, acknowledged <font color="#002bb8">Matilda</font> as his sovereign lady. She confirmed his custody of the Tower, forgave the large debts his father had incurred to the crown, granted him the <font color="#002bb8">Norman</font> lands of Eudo <em>Dapifer</em>, and appointed him sheriff of Essex, <font color="#002bb8">Middlesex</font> and <font color="#002bb8">London</font>, and <font color="#002bb8">Hertfordshire</font>. But before the end of the year, learning that Stephen's release was imminent, he returned to his original allegiance. In 1142 he may have been intriguing with the Empress; he rebelled when he was deprived of his castles by the King in 1143. There has been a serious debate over the dating of the charters he received from Stephen and Matilda; depending on the order and timing of those, Geoffrey appears to have either been playing off one against the other to get what he wanted or was courted by the rival claimants to the throne for his support.</p><span>Outlaw activity and death</span><p>In 1143-1144 Geoffrey maintained himself as a rebel and a bandit in the <font color="#002bb8">fen</font>-country, using the <font color="#002bb8">Isle of Ely</font> and <font color="#002bb8">Ramsey Abbey</font> as his headquarters. He was besieged by King Stephen and met his death in September 1144 in consequence of an arrow wound received in a skirmish. Denied burial because he died excommunicate, his body was wrapped in lead and taken to the <font color="#002bb8">Templar</font> community in London. He was buried in the <font color="#002bb8">Temple Church</font> in London and an effigy was placed on the floor, where it still can be seen today.</p><span>Career</span><p>His career is interesting for two reasons. The charters which he received from King Stephen and Empress Matilda illustrate the peculiar form taken by the ambitions of English feudatories. The most important concessions are grants of offices and jurisdictions which had the effect of making Mandeville almost a <font color="#002bb8">viceroy</font> with full powers in Essex, Middlesex and London, and Hertfordshire--but these were based on offices and jurisdictions his ancestors had held. His career as an outlaw exemplifies the worst excesses of the civil wars of 1140-1147, and it is possible that the deeds of Mandeville inspired the rhetorical description, in the <em><font color="#002bb8">Peterborough Chronicle</font></em> of this period, when "men said openly that <font color="#002bb8">Christ</font> and his saints were asleep." He had seized Ramsey Abbey (near Peterborough) in 1143, expelling the monks and using Ramsey as a base for forays into the surrounding region.</p><span>Marriage and offspring</span><p>Geoffrey married Rohese de Vere, daughter of <font color="#002bb8">Aubrey de Vere II</font>. He had four sons:</p><ul><li>Ernulf (disinherited), who was exiled for supporting his father in rebellion </li><li><font color="#002bb8">Geoffrey III, 2nd earl of Essex</font> (d. 1166) </li><li><font color="#002bb8">William II, 3rd earl of Essex and Count of Aumale</font> (d. 1189) </li><li>Robert (d. before 1189) </li></ul>Preceded by:<br><strong>New Creation</strong><strong><font color="#002bb8">Earl of Essex</font></strong>Followed by:<br><strong><font color="#002bb8">Geoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex</font></strong><span>References</span><ul><li>C. Warren Hollister, "The Misfortunes of the Mandevilles", <em>History</em>, vol. 58, pp. 18-28, 1973 </li><li>R. H. C. Davis, J. O. Prestwich, "The Treason of Geoffrey de Mandeville", <em>The English Historical Review</em>, vol. 103, no. 407, pp. 283-317, 1988; Prestwich, "Geoffrey de Mandeville: A Further Comment", <em>EHR</em>, vol. 103, no. 409, pp. 960-966; Prestwich, Davis, "Last Words on Geoffrey de Mandeville", <em>EHR</em>, vol. 105, no. 416, pp. 670-672, 1990. </li><li> <span>"<font color="#3366bb">Mandeville, Geoffrey de</font>". <em><font color="#002bb8">Encyclopædia Britannica</font></em> (11th ed.). 1911.</span><span><span style="display: none"> </span></span> </li><li>J. H. Round, <em>Geoffrey de Mandeville, a Study of the Anarchy</em> (London, 1892) </li><li><font color="#002bb8">George Shipway</font> <em>Knight in Anarchy</em> (Cox & Wyman Ltd., London, 1969) </li></ul>