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Robert FITZWALTER

Robert FITZWALTER

Male Abt 1166 - 1235  (~ 69 years)

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  • Name Robert FITZWALTER  [1
    Born Abt 1166  Maldon, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    FamilySearch ID MN3Q-HQY 
    TitleOfNobility Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Lord of Dunlow Castle 
    TitleOfNobility 1215  Runnymede, Surrey, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Magna Carta Surety 
    Name Robert FitzWalter DE CLARE  [2
    Buried Dec 1235  Little Dunmow, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Died 9 Dec 1235  Little Dunmow, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I594764891  Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
    Last Modified 12 Dec 2022 

    Father Walter FITZROBERT,   b. 1124, Dunmow, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1198, Malden, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 74 years) 
    Mother Mathilde LUCY,   b. Abt 1136, Norfolk, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1243, Little Dunmow, Uttlesford District, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 107 years) 
    Family ID F536728365  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Rohese BAYNARD,   b. 1180, Merton Manor, Norfolk, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Jan 1236, Dunmow Castle, Little Dunmow, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 56 years) 
    Children 
     1. Walter FITZROBERT, Baron of Little Dunmow,   b. Abt 1219, Woodham Walter, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 10 Apr 1258, Woodham Walter, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 39 years)
    Last Modified 12 Dec 2022 
    Family ID F536728363  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Gunnora DE VALOGNES,   b. Abt 1160, Benington, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1207  (Age ~ 48 years) 
    Children 
     1. Christine FITZROBERT, Countess Of Essex,   b. Abt 1182, Little Dunmow, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 17 Jun 1232, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 50 years)
     2. Matilda FITZROBERT, Countess of Essex,   b. Abt 1188, of, Woodham Walter, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1212  (Age ~ 24 years)
    Last Modified 12 Dec 2022 
    Family ID F536728364  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Biography
      Origins
      Robert was the son of Walter FitzRobert and Mathilde de Lucy.[1][2] Hs birth date in not known, nor has any firm information survived about his earlier life.[2] Professor Saul suggests a birth date of about 1180.[3]

      Lands
      The death of his father in 1198 made Robert one of the wealthiest and most powerful English Barons. He inherited the Barony of Little Dunmow, based in Essex.[4] His lands - spread across a number of counties[1] - comprised 66 knights' fees.[2]

      Through his marriage Robert also held the Barony of Benington, based in Hertfordshire[5] and held a further 32 knights' fees.[2]

      In 1204 Robert was co-heir to Kentish lands of his uncle Godfrey de Lucy.[1][2] In 1207 his wife inherited lands in Yorkshire from the widow of her uncle Geoffrey de Valoines.[1]

      By 1213 he also held 11 knights' fees in Cornwall, inherited from another de Lucy uncle, Richard de Lucy.[6]

      Besides estates in England, Robert held knights' fees in Poitou.[2]

      1200-1210
      Robert appears in records from 1200. That year he confirmed a gift by his father[1] and was surety for half the fine imposed on his brother Simon for marrying without royal permission.[2]

      In 1203 Robert and Saher de Quincy were entrusted with the castle of Vaudreuil in Normandy. Even though this was a strong fortification, they surrendered to Philippe Auguste of France without a blow being fought. He and Saher de Quincy were held captive:[1][2] he agreed to a ransom of 5000 marks.[1]

      Robert was with King John on his 1206 expedition to Poitou,[2] and, in October 1206, was a witness to a truce between King John and Philippe Auguste.[1][2] Four years later, in 1210, he served with King John in Ireland.[1][2]

      1212 Plot
      In 1212 Robert, along with Eustace de Vescy and Llyweyn ap Iorwerth, was a leading figure in a plot to assassinate King John. The conspiracy never prospered, and Robert fled to France. He was outlawed, his estates were seized several of his castles were demolished.[1][2] A reconciliation with King John was patched up the next year, as part of a wide-ranging agreement between King John the Pope, and his lands were restored.[2]

      Magna Carta and Rebellion
      In 1215 Robert was one of the group of Barons who compelled King John to sign the Magna Carta, and became a main leader, being termed "Marshal of the Army of God and Holy Church".[1][2]

      That summer the Barons entrusted Northamptonshire to Robert. Soon afterwards open rebellion broke out. In October 1215, Robert was defending the bridge at Rochester, Kent against royal forces, but was forced to retreat to London.[2] In December 1215 he and other rebel Barons were excommunicated.[1]

      Robert and Saher de Quincy went to France to enlist the support of Prince Louis, returning with French troops in January 1216.[1] Robert continued in rebellion the rebels' defeat at the second Battle of Lincoln in 1217, when he was taken prisoner. He was released in October 1217, and his lands were restored.[1][2]

      Later Life
      In 1219 Robert went on crusade, taking part in the siege of Damietta during the 5th Crusade. He returned home sick.[2] In 1223 he fought in Wales with the forces of the government of Henry III.[2]

      In 1225 he was a witness to Henry III's confirmation of Magna Carta rights.[1][2]

      In 1230 Robert was among those appointed to hold an assize of arms in Essex and Hertfordshire.[1][2]

      Marriages and Children
      Robert married twice. Before 13 October 1199 he married Gunnora de Valoines as her second husband.[1][7] They had at least two children:

      Maud[1][7]
      Christian or Christina[1]
      Gunner was still alive in 1208.[1][7] The Histoire des ducs de Normandie et des rois d'Angleterre mentions also an unnamed son,[7] who, assuming he existed, must have died in his father's lifetime as it was Robert's son by his second marriage who inherited.[2][4][7]

      Robert's second wife was Rohese, whose family origins are uncertain.[1][7] They had one son:

      Walter,[1] who was born in about 1219 as he came of age in 1240,[4] and who was Robert's main heir[2][4][7]
      Death and Burial
      Robert died on 9 December 1235 and was buried at Dunmow Priory, Essex.[1][2] He was survived by his second wife Rohese, who may have lived on to 1256.[1]

      https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/FitzWalter-101



  • Sources 
    1. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 12 Dec 2022), entry for Walter FITZROBERT, person ID LBLZ-H6T. (Reliability: 3).

    2. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 12 Dec 2022), entry for Robert FitzWalter, person ID MN3Q-HQY. (Reliability: 3).