Roger FitzReinfrid (abt. 1130 - 1196)

Born about 1130 in Sussex, England

Descendants

Died 1196 at about age 66 in Berkshire, England

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Biography

Keats-Rohan, who wrote:^[1]

Filius Rainfridi, Roger

Brother of Walter de Coutances, archbishop of Rouen. Member of Richard de Lucy's household from c.1168-78. Royal justice. Granted land in the parish of St Peter 'de Bradestrete', next the land of the Hospitallers, in perpetual alms to Launceston priory, for the souls of himself and his wife Alice, in exchange for the moiety of the mill of Goodmansleigh (Cart. Launceston, 247-50). He was enfeoffed with half a fee at Ramsden Bellhouse by Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London (EEA xv, 140), of which he later gave the church to Lessness abbey (Mon. Ang. vi, p.457).

So his wife was named Alice, and she was presumably the mother of Roger's legitimate son William. Concerning Roger's son Gilbert, he is sometimes thought to be illegitimate, although this is apparently only because he was not heir, as discussed by John M. Watson.^[2]

Wikipedia mentions that:

"Another relative was John of Coutances, who was either the brother of Walter and Roger, or their nephew. John went on to become Bishop of Worcester from 1196 to 1198. Possibly another brother of Roger's was Odo of Coutances, a canon at Rouen Cathedral."^[3]

The article for Walter de Coutances, Wikipedia:Walter de Coutances confirms this relationship, and notes that:

"Coutances was born in Cornwall, to Reinfrid and Gonilla. His brother was Roger fitzReinfrid, a layman and royal justice during the reign of King Henry II of England."

However as John M Watson writes:

Most sources state that they were from Cornwall, based on a statement of Gerald of Wales that Walter de Coutances was born in Cornwall, of a noble British house, a descendant of Corineus, the fabulous Trojan immigrant. [1] However, Gallia Christiana contains an account that Walter stated at the Council of Rouen (1191?) that he was born at “Pommerayus” in Normandy (probably Saint-Sauveur-la-Pommeraye in Bas Normandie, about 10 miles south of Coutances) of a Breton family, the son of Reinfrid and his wife Gonilla. [2] This seems a more likely origin for the family than that given by Gerald of Wales.^[2]

Putting all these records together they are not necessarily in conflict as long as we assume that the family moved in stages, from Brittany, to Normandy, to England.

Wife and Children

As per Watson, Roger fitz Reinfrid and his wife Alice Foliot had at least four sons: -

(i) Reinfrid, son and heir, known as Reinfrid de Bruer (or de la Bruer). He married Alina, daughter of Geoffrey fitz Baldwin. He died s.p. about 1208. His widow married secondly Richard de Clare and thirdly Hugh de Clayhill who died in 1221. [29]

(ii) Ralph, known as Ralph de Bruer, heir of his brother Reinfrid. In 1227, he granted his demesne lands in the manor of Edenham, Lincolnshire to the abbey of Vaudey. [30] He was living in April 1229 when he quitclaimed to Henry de Braybrook and Christian Ledet his wife, land in Holme, Beckingham and Sutton, Lincolnshire, and the advowson of Beckingham. [31]

(iii) Gilbert fitz Roger, also known as Gilbert fitz Reinfrid, who married between 1185 and 1189, Helewise, daughter of William de Lancaster and became lord of Kentdale in Westmorland. [32] He died shortly before 6 May 1220.[33]

(iv) William fitz Roger, canon of Lincoln and archdeacon of Rouen, also known as William de Coutances. After 1196, William son of Roger, archdeacon of Rouen and Gilbert his brother witnessed a charter by their brother Reinfrid to St. Mary, Clerkenwell. [34]

• Watson's footnotes:

[29] Michael Gervers, ed., The Cartulary of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in England: Secunda camera, Essex (1982), 536, 547, 549.

[30] Calendar of Charter Rolls, vol. 1, Henry III: 1226-1257 (1903), 50.

[31] W. O. Massingberd, ed., Abstracts of Final Concords, vol. 1, Lincoln Records (1896), 223.

[32] William Farrer, ed., The Lancashire Pipe Rolls also Early Lancashire Charters (1902), 395

[33] Calendar of Fine Rolls 4 Henry III, No. 141.

[34] W. O. Hassall, ed., Cartulary of St. Mary Clerkenwell, Camden Third Series, 71 (1949), 69, no. 104.

Research Notes

As mentioned above his wife was named Alice. However she is commonly reported to be Rohese de Roumare. John M Watson explains the history of confusions about Roger's wife:^[2]

Dugdale [14] says that Roger fitz Reinfrid married Rohese, daughter of William de Roumare and widow of Gilbert de Gant who died in 1256, [15] based solely on the fact that Roger fitz Reinfrid confirmed Gilbert de Gant’s gift of land in Menthorpe, Lincolnshire to Vaudey Abbey. [16] Dugdale was wrong in every respect, since Rohese was the daughter of Gilbert fitz Richard de Clare and after the death of Gilbert de Gant she married Robert fitz Robert fitz Fulk, the ‘sewer’ of William de Percy. [17] As shown above, Roger fitz Reinfrid was a tenant of Gant land in Menthorpe and it was probably in this capacity that he confirmed the land to Vaudey.

Watson located the evidence to identify the real wife in Curia Regis in 1211, concerning land in Ramsden, Essex:

Ralph de Bruer was described as brother and heir of Reinfrid fitz Roger fitz Reinfrid. Ralph described land which had been the maritagium of Alice his mother given to her by Ralph Britone, his uncle. After the death of her husband Roger, she had given it to Reinfrid her son. This means Alice was sister or sister-in-law of Ralph Brito, king’s justiciar d. 1186, who like Roger fitz Reinfrid was a protégé of Richard de Lucy.

Watson explains that Alice and Ralph appear to be "siblings" through the Foliot family, making Alice a daughter of Robert Foliot I, (died about 1155).

• Ralph married secondly a daughter of Robert Foliot I.
• Watson writes that according to the Curia Regis in 1211, Roger was granted land in Ramsden, Essex by Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London, a son of Robert Foliot I. "The land which Roger held in Holme, Beckingham and Sutton, Lincolnshire also appears to have been granted to him by Gilbert Foliot’s brother Elias."

See Watson's further remarks on the SGM forum.^[4]

Wikipedia

• This person has his own Wikipedia article: Wikipedia:Roger fitzReinfrid.

Roger fitzReinfrid (sometimes Roger fitzReinfrey;[1] died 1196) was a medieval English sheriff and royal justice.

Roger was the brother of Walter de Coutances, who was Archbishop of Rouen from 1184 to 1207.[2] Another relative was John of Coutances, who was either the brother of Walter and Roger,[3] or their nephew.[4] John went on to become Bishop of Worcester from 1196 to 1198. Possibly another brother of Roger's was Odo of Coutances, a canon at Rouen Cathedral.[3]

Roger and Walter's family was probably of knightly rank. In 1161, Roger paid scutage on property in Dorset, which was probably his inheritance.[5] From 1168 to 1178, Roger was in the household of Richard de Lacy. Later he served as a royal justice.[2] Another patron of Roger's was Simon de Senlis, the Earl of Huntingdon and Earl of Northampton, who gave a soke in London to Roger in July 1175.[6] Roger was regularly employed by the king as a justice.[7]

In 1173, Roger was granted custody of Windsor Castle, and retained control of Windsor until 1193.[8] In 1176, Roger was one of the 18 men named as justicias errantes, which were sent out in three panels of six men after the Assize of Northampton in January 1176.[9] King Henry II of England named Roger as Sheriff of Sussex in 1176, which office he retained until 1187. Roger was also Sheriff of Berkshire from 1186 until the death of King Henry II in 1189.[8]

After the death of King Henry, Roger's brother Walter was put in charge of England while Henry's son Richard I was away on Crusade from 1191 to 1193. Roger profited from his brother's rise to power by receiving custody of Wallingford Castle, the Tower of London, and Bristol Castle.[8]

Roger granted land to Launceston Priory for his and his wife's souls. He also held land at Ramsden Bellhouse, half a knight's fee, which he was granted by Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London. The church on this land was later granted to Lesnes Abbey by Roger.[2]

Roger's son Gilbert fitzReinfrey became a royal administrator.[1] It appears, however, that Gilbert was illegitimate, as he did not inherit his father's lands.[10] Another son was William, who became a canon of Lincoln Cathedral, and was named Archdeacon of Rouen by Walter de Coutances.[3] Roger died in 1196.[11] Roger's wife was named Alice.[2] His wife and mother were to be buried at St Mary Clerkenwell.[12]

• Footnotes

1.^ a b Dalton "Fitzreinfrey, Gilbert (b. before 1181, d. 1220)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

2.^ a b c d Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 942

3.^ a b c Turner English Judiciary p. 62

4.^ Greenway British Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 3: Lincoln: Archdeacons of Oxford

5.^ Turner English Judiciary p. 27

6.^ Turner English Judiciary p. 30

7.^ Richardson and Sayles Governance of Mediaeval England p. 250

8.^ a b c Turner English Judiciary p. 42

9.^ Turner English Judiciary p. 20

10.^ Turner English Judiciary p. 59

11.^ Turner English Judiciary pp. 74-75

12.^ Turner English Judiciary p. 264 footnote 29

Sources

1. ↑ Domesday Descendants p.942. Keats-Rohan also cites Gervers (ed.) Cartulary of Knights St John II, and also the Pipe Rolls for the 7th and 8th years of Henry II. EEA stands for English Episcopal Acta.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} http://johnmwatson.blogspot.be/2017/04/roger-fitz-reinfrid-his-family-and.html
3. ↑ These words come from Turner, Ralph V. (2008). The English Judiciary in the age of Glanvill and Bracton
4. ↑ https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.genealogy.medieval/gtpI49NbqQM/n5UVAbAhAwAJ

• Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Hosted online by the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG), accessed 2021, Franconia Nobility.

• Dalton, Paul (2004). "Fitzreinfrey, Gilbert (b. before 1181, d. 1220)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47248. Retrieved 2010-07-29. subscription or library membership required.
• Greenway, Diana E. (1977). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 3: Lincoln: Archdeacons of Oxford. Institute for Historical Research. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
• Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. (1999). Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066-1166: Pipe Rolls to Cartae Baronum. Ipswich, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-863-3.
• Richardson, H. G.; Sayles, G. O. (1963). The Governance of Mediaeval England. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
• Turner, Ralph V. (2008). The English Judiciary in the age of Glanvill and Bracton, c. 1176-1239 (Reprint ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07242-5.