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DE LACY Walter
Birth: ABT 1035
Death: 27 Mar 1085
Cause of Death: fall from scaffolding
Burial: St Guthlac's Priory, Hereford, England
Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_de_Lacy_(died_1085)
Walter de Lacy (died 27 March 1085) was a Norman nobleman who went to England
after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. He received lands in Herefordshire
and Shropshire, and served King William I of England by leading military forces during
1075. He died in 1085 and one son inherited his lands. Another son became an abbot.
Early life[edit]
Walter was originally from Lassy, in Normandy. He had a brother, Ilbert de Lacy.[1]
Ilbert was the ancestor of the de Lacy family of Pontefract. Both Walter and Ilbert
jointly held the Norman lands that were held of the Bishop of Bayeux.[2]
Career in England[edit]
Walter was given the lordship of Weobley in Herefordshire after the Conquest.[1] He is
already attested in the Welsh Marches by 1069,[3] when he is recorded stopping a
Welsh attack and then raiding into Wales in retribution.[4] Walter and Ilbert may have
come to England in the household of Odo of Bayeux, the Bishop of Bayeux and half-
brother of King William the Conqueror.[5] Although some historians, such as W. E.
Wightman, have argued that Walter was a follower of William fitzOsbern,[4] others,
including C. P. Lewis and K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, have argued that Walter was an
independent agent in England.[1][2] By the time of Walter's death, he held a block of
lands in Herefordshire along the border with Wales. Another group of lands was
centered on Ludlow in Shropshire. These two groupings of lands allowed Walter to
help defend the border of England against Welsh raids. Walter also had other lands in
Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire. Walter kept a large
number of his manors in demesne, managing them directly rather than giving them as
fiefs to his knightly followers.[6] Some of these lands in Hereford, including Holme
Lacy, were held of the Bishop of Hereford through feudal tenure.[7] In total,
Domesday Book records Walter's lands as being worth £423 in income per year and as
comprising 163 manors in 7 different counties.[8] He was one of 21 individuals with
land valued at more than £400 at the time of the survey.[9]
In 1075, Walter was one of the leaders of the force that prevented Roger de Breteuil
from joining up with the other rebels during the Revolt of the Earls. Walter had joined
forces with Wulfstan the Bishop of Worcester, Æthelwig the Abbot of Evesham Abbey,
and Urse d'Abetot the Sheriff of Worcester.[10]
Family and death[edit]
Walter married Emma or Emmelina and they had three sons – Roger, Hugh and Walter.
Roger was the heir to Weobley and Walter became Abbot of Gloucester Abbey.[1]
Occasionally the elder Walter is claimed to have married twice – once to Emma and
once to an Ermeline, but this is probably a confusion of the variations of Emma's
name. Walter and Emma also had a daughter who became a nun at St Mary's Abbey,
Winchester. A niece was married to Ansfrid de Cormeilles.[11] Considerable confusion
exists about Sybil, the wife of Pain fitzJohn. C. P. Lewis names her as the daughter of
Walter,[2] but W. E. Wightman calls her the daughter of Hugh, Walter's son.[12] Yet
another pedigree has her as the daughter of Agnes, the daughter of Walter. In this
rendition, favoured by Bruce Coplestone-Crow, Agnes was married to Geoffrey Talbot.
[13]
The elder Walter died on 27 March 1085,[2] falling off some scaffolding at Saint
Guthlac's Priory when he was inspecting the progress of the building at that
monastery.[14] He was buried in the chapter house at Gloucester Abbey.[2] He was a
benefactor to Gloucester Abbey,[15] as well as Saint Guthlac's.[2]
Marriage To ----- Emma or Emmelina ()
m.
Notes
Children by ----- Emma or Emmelina
DE LACY Roger (ABT 1060 - AFT 1106)
DE LACY Hawise (ABT 1065 - )
DE LACY Emma (ABT 1082 - BEF 1120)
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