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Birth:          ABT 1055 of Mosterton, Devonshire, England
Death:          8 Sep 1107 
Burial:         Abbey of Montebourg

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_de_Redvers
Richard de Redvers (or Reviers, Rivers, or Latinised to de Ripariis ("from the river-
banks")) (fl. c. 1066 – 8 September 1107), 1st feudal baron of Plympton in Devon,[1] 
was a Norman nobleman, from Reviers in Normandy, who may have been one of the 
companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England from 
1066. His origins are obscure, but after acting as one of the principal supporters of 
Henry I in his struggle against his brother Robert Curthose for control of the English 
throne, de Redvers was rewarded with estates that made him one of the richest 
magnates in the country. He was once thought to have been created the first Earl of 
Devon, but this theory is now discounted in favour of his son Baldwin.
Life to 1100[edit]

Little is known for certain of the Redvers family before Richard. In his Baronage of 
England (1675–6), William Dugdale wrongly identified Richard de Redvers with Richard 
the son of Baldwin FitzGilbert (also known as Baldwin de Meules) who was sheriff of 
Devon under William the Conqueror. This error was still being repeated in the late 19th 
century.[2] In around 1890 The Complete Peerage advanced the alternative theory 
that Richard de Redvers was the son of William de Vernon,[3] but later research has 
cast doubt on this too, suggesting that all that can be said is that his father may have 
been Baldwin, one of three brothers named Redvers in Normandy in 1060; the other 
brothers being William, and Richard, who died in that year.[4] Similarly nothing is 
known of Richard's early life. The Norman poet Wace, writing c.1170, mentions a "sire 
de Reviers" as one of those who accompanied William the Conqueror at the Battle of 
Hastings,[5] but it is not known if this was Richard de Reviers.

The first clear references to Richard start to appear in the mid 1080s. In the 
Domesday Book (1086) he is recorded as holding one manor, that of Mosterton in 
Dorset which he may have been given for serving in William the Conqueror's army of 
1066.[6] Mortestorne (as Mosterton was then known) was held by Almer before 1066. 
It had arable land, a mill, 30 acres of meadow and a large area of woodland and was 
valued at £12.[7]

According to Wace, in 1089 de Redvers was in the service of Robert Curthose, but 
was allowed to join his younger brother Henry's retinue at Henry's request. William the 
Conqueror had bequeathed Normandy to his eldest son Robert, but Henry had bought 
parts of it from him—including the Cotentin where Néhou, the de Redvers principal 
possession, was located. Since de Redvers also owned land in the Vexin which was 
retained by Robert, he had two lords, and evidently chose to support the one under 
whom his main property lay. From 1090 when Henry fell out with both his older 
brothers, Richard de Redvers was unswerving in his support of Henry, so much so that 
he was mentioned by both Orderic Vitalis and William of Jumièges in their chronicles.
[8]

Richard's manor at Mosterton does not appear in the Redvers family records after 
about 1090 and it may therefore have been forfeited due to his support of Henry 
against William II.[9] The manor passed to the Blount family which held it until the end 
of the 14th century.[7]

Under Henry I[edit]

When William Rufus died suddenly in 1100 and Henry became king, Richard de 
Redvers quickly became one of his most trusted advisers. He witnessed more than 20 
of Henry's charters & royal writs, in several different places, and sometimes as the only 
witness. After Richard's death his loyalty was remarked upon by Anselm of 
Canterbury.[10]

His continued allegiance resulted in Henry awarding him several large grants of land, 
most importantly the large Honour of Plympton (or feudal barony of Plympton) in Devon 
(part of which was the so-called Honour of Christchurch in Hampshire (now in Dorset), 
which was not technically a barony[11]) and also the Lordship of the Isle of Wight with 
caput at Carisbrooke Castle. In addition to these he still held his estates in Normandy 
in the Cotentin (at Néhou) and Vexin (at Vernon) and he had also acquired the manors 
of Crowell in Oxfordshire and Woolley in Berkshire on his marriage.[12]

After the grants from the king, Richard's Devon estates probably consisted of around 
180 Domesday manors, including Tiverton and Honiton, as well as the boroughs of 
Exeter and Plympton. The honour of Christchurch consisted of many widely scattered 
manors in several counties. He held virtually all of the Isle of Wight (the exceptions 
being two manors held by the bishop of Winchester),[13] and the island remained in 
his family until King Edward I bought it from a dying Isabella de Fortibus in 1293.[14]

According to Robert Bearman, Richard de Redvers can confidently be rated among 
the twelve wealthiest barons of the time, with estates worth well over £750.[15] It is 
notable, however, that less than one third of the value of the estates that the king 
bestowed on him were from ancient demesne (and hence deprived the king of 
income); the majority were from escheats, including the Isle of Wight which the king 
had confiscated after Roger de Breteul's failed Revolt of the Earls in 1075.[16] It was 
probably in the king's interest to have the Isle of Wight under control of someone 
trustworthy as it was a prime target for further attack from abroad.[17]

Was Richard the first Earl of Devon?[edit]

Some early documents suggest that Richard de Redvers was created the first Earl of 
Devon by Henry I. These documents include (1), the Chronicles of Ford Abbey, which 
have been shown to be unreliable in several matters relating to the de Redvers 
family;[18] (2), the Cartulary of Twynham, which apparently follows (3), the rubric 
appended by a later scribe to a charter issued by Richard himself; and (4), a copy of a 
charter issued by Richard's wife after his death, in which it is assumed that the 
transcriber has added the word "comitis" ("earl"); significantly the original charter is 
lost.[3]

Set against these few documents is the abundant charter evidence that Richard never 
styled himself earl, nor did any of his children or grandchildren call him such, and 
neither did his wife after his death call herself Countess.[3] Despite this, for many 
years the discrepancies caused disagreement over the numbering of the Devon earls.
[19] However, since the early 20th century the matter appears to be settled, and it is 
now accepted that the first Earl of Devon was Richard's son, Baldwin.[20]

Marriage, children and death[edit]

Richard had a sister, Adeliz, and may have had a brother named Hugh.[21] Some time 
after 1086, possibly around 1094, he married Adeliza (or Adeliz), a daughter of William 
Peverel of Nottingham[10] and his wife Adelina of Lancaster. They had five children:
1.Baldwin de Redvers (d.1155), created first Earl of Devon by Matilda during The 
Anarchy.[22]
2.William de Vernon, married Lucy de Tancarville, daughter of William de Tancarville 
and his wife Matilda d'Arques. Inherited Richard's lands in Normandy.[23]
3.Robert de Ste. Mère-Eglise.
4.Hubert de Vernon.
5.Hadewise de Redvers, married William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln, c.1127.[23]

Richard de Redvers died on 8 September 1107 and was buried in the Abbey of 
Montebourg in Normandy, of which he was deemed the founder.[24] It has been said 
that the top of his stone coffin with the word "Fundator" (founder) carved on it was 
found and preserved by a M. de Gerville.[25] Richard's wife, Adeliza lived on until 
c.1160.[26]

Parents
DE VERNON William (ABT 1021 - BEF 1089)
FITZ OSBERN Emma (ABT 1021 - )

Siblings
DE VERNON Adela (ABT 1040 - )
DE REVIERS Richard (ABT 1055 - 8 Sep 1107)
DE REVIERS Hugues (ABT 1056 - )

Marriage To PEVEREL Adeline (ABT 1072 - 27 May 1156)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
PEVEREL William "the Elder" (ABT 1052 - 17 Apr 1113)
OF LANCASTER Adeline (Adeliza) (ABT 1054 - 19 Jan 1120)

Children by PEVEREL Adeline ABT 1072 - 27 May 1156
DE REVIERS Baldwin (ABT 1090 - 4 Jun 1155)
DE REVIERS [DE VERNON] William (ABT 1095 - ABT 1174)
DE REVIERS Hawise (Maud) (ABT 1097 - AFT 1161)

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