William (Chamberlayne) le Chamberlain (abt. 1165 - 1220)

Born about 1165 in England

Descendants

Died 1220 at about age 55 in England

Biography

Foreword

See: Early Chamberlayne Research Project

Visualisation of the Early Kings of England and Early Chamberlaynes

Early English Kings

1. William the Conqueror: King of England from 25 December 1066 – 9 September 1087
2. William Rufus: King of England from 9 Sep 1087 – 2 Aug 1100
3. Henry I: King of England from 2 Aug 1100 – 1 Dec 1135
4. Empress Matilda/aka Queen Maud and The Anarchy - 1138 and 1153
5. Stephen: King of England from 22 Dec 1135 - 25 Oct 1154
6. Henry II: King of England from 25 Oct 1154 – 6 Jul 1189
7. Richard I: King of England from 6 Jul 1189 – 6 Apr 1199
8. John: King of England from 6 April 1199 – 19 October 1216
9. Henry III: King of England from 19 Oct 1216 – 16 Nov 1272
10. Edward I: King of England from 16 Nov 1272 – 7 Jul 1307
11. Edward II: King of England from 7 July 1307 – 25 January 1327
12. Edward III: King of England from 1 Feb 1327 – 21 Jun 1377

The above visualisation of the possible times when the early Chamberlaynes lived is conjectural, based on present available information. As more information and evidence comes to light, it will be corrected.

Birth and Parentage

This William de/le Chamberlain's parentage and date of birth are still being researched.

It is now clear, based on research into the heraldry of the Chamberlain family, that these Chamberlains do NOT descend from the Tancarvilles.

Paul A. Fox, (2020) in his 2020 published book on the history and heraldry of the cloisters of Canterbury Cathedral Great Cloister: A Lost Canterbury Tale: A History of the Canterbury Cloister, Constructed 1408-14, with Some Account of the Donors and their Coats of Arms, states that

the Chamberlaine family provides

a good example of heraldic calumny. In the 1574 visitation of Oxfordshire Richard Lee, Portcullis Pursuivant, attached their descendants to the family of Tancarville, hereditary chamberlains of Normandy. This bogus connection must have been made by an earlier herald, because already by the 1520s, Sir Edward Chamberlaine of Shirburn (d. 1543) had adopted the ancient arms of Tancarville, gules an escutcheon argent in orle of spur rowles or....the Tancarvilles were long extinguished by 1400...(by which time) the Chamberlaines had not yet adopted their arms.

The visitation of 1566, carried out by William Harvey, Clarencieux, falsely connected the Chamberlaines of Shirburn to the Tancarvilles. ^[1] The Tancarville arms, attached to William Harvey's Chamberlaine Pedigree, can be seen in Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica, here.

The Tancarvilles were chamberlains to Anglo-Norman royalty; William de Tancarville is named as the chamberlain of King Henry I in 1125.

In the year 1125, great success smiled on the king, for William de Tankerville, fighting a pitched battle with him, took the above named earl of Mellent prisoner, together with Hugh de Montfort, his brother-in-law, and Hugh FitzGervaise, and delivered them to the King; on which he placed them in confinement.^[2]

The de Veres (Earls of Oxford) and the Mauduits were also royal chamberlains. Chamberlains were necessary officials to anyone of noble or high religious status and therefore not uncommon.

This William Chamberlayne may have been the son of the William the chamberlain, who before 1205 granted Bruern abbey a hide of land in Eastleach,

evidently part of the estate granted by Queen Maud before 1086 to John the chamberlain and one Baldwin. The services due from that land and rent from other lands in Eastleach Turville featured in a settlement made between William the chamberlain and his son William in 1227, but apart from Bruern Abbey the subsequent holders of the Eastleach part of the fee called Chamberlains are not known. ^[3]

It is clear that he cannot have been born in 1165, but he may have been of age in 1227. John Burke's A genealogical and heraldic History of the extinct and dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland (1844) show the obvious fact that several generations are missing between 1066 and Sir Richard Chamberlayne who married Joan de Gatesden.

William Chamberlayne, Lord of North Riston, was chamberlain to King Henry II, and for having made prisoner Robert de Bellemont, Earl of Leicester, had permission, in 1174, to quarter that nobleman's arms with his own. He married the daughter of Clifton and left a son, Robert Chamberlayne, father of Sir Richard Chamberlayne, who married Jane, daughter and heir of John Gatesden...

This William Chamberlayne was fighting for Henry II at Fornham in 1173, so he can't have been William camerarius of Tancarville, because the Gesta Henrici states that the camerarius of Tancarville was a partisan of Henry the young king, who was defeated at Fornham.

Instante igitur solemnitate Paschali, Henricus rex Anglise, filius Mathildis imperatricis, tenuit cuiam suam apud Alenzun, et statim post clausum Pascha exarsit nefanda proditorum rabies ; quorum nomina haec sunt; et ipsi cum juvene rege tenuerunt contra patrem suum. Johannes Talevaz, comes de Puntif; comes de Mellento, comes de Auco, camerarius de Tankervilla, Willelmus, patrician senior,... ' (The Easter feast, therefore, was at hand, King Henry of England, the son of Empress Mathilde, held his own at Alenzen; and these are the names of those who with the young king laid hands on their father: John Talevaz, Count of Puntif; the count of Mellontus, the count of Auco, the chamberlain of Tankervilla, the elder William the patrician,...") ^[4]

A William de Chamberlayne is listed in J.H. Wiffen's List of English Crusaders in the reign of Richard I (3rd Crusade under Frederick Barbarossa, 1189). See: ^[5]

William le Chamberlain COA[6]

One hundred years later, the Dering Roll (1279) and Heralds Roll (1280) portray the coat of arms of another William le Chamberlain, Lord of North Riston and Petsoe.

Marriage and Family

Medieval sources show that he married a woman named Joan, but her maiden name is unproven. Tradition based on Burke ascribes to the wife of one Lord William of North Riston/Ryston/Reston, co. Lincs., the maiden name of Clyfton,^[7]or the Visitations of Oxfordshire, 1566, Clinton. ^[8] However, this could have been the wife of an earlier William, and not this William's wife, Joan.

Life

SIGILL WILLI CAMERARII FIL BEA? +.[9]

Type of seal: Personal: Non-armorial.

Seal owner: William de Chamberlain.

Date of original seal: 1201-1300.

Colour of original seal: Green.

Physical format: Plaster mould cast from original seal.

Additional information: Legend: + SIGILL WILLI CAMERARII FIL BEA? +.^[10]

In about 1260, during the reign of Henry III, the Manor of Ekeney or Okeney-cum-Petso, (Bucks.) with the Advowson of the Church or Chapel ( or Churches and Chapels) were in the possession of the family of Chamberlain; and this estate was part of the dower of Joane, 'wife of William Chamberlain' in 1312 ( 6 Edw II).^[11]

He may have been the William le Chaumberleyn who in 1278, along with John de Eyville, Peter de Chaumpaigne, Roger le Peytevyn, Elias de Flaunville, Guncelyn de Eyville, Walter le Graunt, John de Thorneton, Robert de Marton, Richard de Lacy, William de Rednes and Henry le Barber, mainperned to have Robert de Baillol, 'accused of a tresspass against vert and venison' before the king at his will', so that the king ordered Geoffrey de Neville not to molest nor aggrieve the said Robert but leave him in peace until otherwise ordered by the king,^[12] (Edward I).

Also in 1279, on or soon after 28 February

William le Chaumberleng and Joan his wife put in their place William Hotale and Richard Wytemay in the suit before the king between Master Henry de Newerk and the said William and Joan concerning a trespass committed upon Henry by them.^[13]A year later on 4 April 1280, the same incident is recorded - where it appears that William and Joan acknowledged the trespass.^[14]

The Chamberlayne family were Lords of North Riston until the mid 1400s.

Rectors presented by Sir William Chamberlayne to St James', Petsoe ^[11]

• Hugh, Rector of the Church or Chapel of Petsoe, dying in 1274, was succeeded by
• Robert de Elkington, 11 Oct 1274, on the presentation of William Chamberlayne, Lord of Petsoe, he resigned; and
• Goderic, Capellanus, June 1275 by William Camerarius, i.e. Chamberlain.
• Thomas, Capellanus succeeded 11 July 1277, on Goderic taking a religious habit. He died; and
• John de Beby was presented 17 Nov 1312 by Joan, relict of Sir William Chamberlain, Knt.

He may also be the William the Chamberlain (Willielmus Camerar) nunciante W. Camerario to whom license was granted by G. de Genevil - in the Roll of the Constable and Earl Marshal, and was summoned to muster at Rhuddlan, Wales on 2 August 1282 (11 Ed. 1) ^[15]with about 14,000 other soldiers in Edward I's Welsh campaign of 1282. ^[16]

Death

Research Notes

1. Release by William le Chamberlain the elder to Bruern Abbey of a rent of 2 marks paid yearly by them for the land which they held of him in Eastleach Turville [Gloucestershire]. (See seal, above). Date: 1200-1500^[17]

2. A William the chamberlain appears in Domesday Book as holding from the king considerable lands in Bedfordshire, Bucks, and Gloucestershire. By 1089 his Norman lands had passed into the possession of St. Mary of Bayeux. ^[18]

3. See also Keats-Rohan, K.S.B.,: Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English ...p.202. ^[19]

4. Battle of Fornham: Latimer, Paul., How to Supress a Rebellion, England 1173-74. Ch 10. Retrieved from (Here;) Accessed 10 Feb 2022.

Sources

1. ↑ Harvey, Clarencieux, William., (1566)., The Visitations of the County of Oxford Taken in the Years 1566: Vol. 5., (p.235).,Taylor and Company, (printers)., (Jan 1871). Retrieved from Google e-Books (Here;) Accessed 21 Jul 2023.
2. ↑ Roger (of Hoveden). The Annals of Roger de Hoveden; Comprising the History of England, and of Other Countries of Europe, from A.D. 732 to A.D. 1201, (Vol. 1. p.217). H.G. Bohn, 1853 - Great Britain. Retrieved from Google e-books (Here;) Accessed 10 Feb 2022.
3. ↑ British History Online: Bruern Abbey in Eastleach Turville. "Eastleach Turville," in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 7, Ed. Herbert, N. M. (1981) Oxford: Oxford University Press for Victoria County History, (pp.61-69). Retrieved from British History Online (Here;) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.
4. ↑ Gesta Regis Henrici: the Chronicle of the reigns of Henry II and Richard I, A.D. 1169-1192. p.45. Retrieved from the Internet Archive (p.45) Accessed 9 Feb 2022.
5. ↑ Wiffen, J.H. (1908). London: George Bell and Sons. The Jerusalem Delivered of Torquato Tasso. (p.63). Retrieved from the Internet Archive (Here;) Accessed 11 Sept 2021. (See Siberry, E., below).
6. ↑ From the Free Internet Repository: (Creative Commons License: (Here;) Accessed 7 Feb 2022.) Found in Wappenwiki. Dering 152. William le Chamberlain.svg Retrieved from Wappenwiki (Here;) Accessed 7 Feb 2022 and The Heralds Roll (Here;) Accessed 7 Feb 2022.
7. ↑ Hervey, William, Norroy, King of Arms., Burke, Bernard, Ulster King of Arms. The Chamberlayne Pedigree. (1866). Retrieved from Google e-Books (Chamberlayne Pedigree here;) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.
8. ↑ The visitations of the county of Oxford: taken in the years 1566 by William Harvey, Clarencieux; 1574 by Richard Lee, Portcullis ; and in 1634 by John Philpott, Somerset, and William Ryley, Bluemantle. Together with The gatherings of Oxfordshire, collected by Richard Lee in 1574. (1871)., London: Taylor and Co. Retrieved from the Internet Archive (p.235) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.
9. ↑ Freely Available (with subscription) from The National Archives (Here;) Accessed 7 Dec 2021.
10. ↑ Freely Available (with subscription) from The National Archives (Here;) Accessed 7 Dec 2021.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Lipscomb, George., (Jan 1847). The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham: Vol. 4, pp.133-134,136, Pub: J. & W. Robins. Retrieved from Google e-books (pp.133-134) Accessed 2 Feb 2022.
12. ↑ Calendar of the Close rolls preserved in the Public Record Office. Edward I. London: Printed for H.M. Stationery Office, by Eyre and Spottiswoode by Mackie. Retrieved from the Internet Archive (Here;) Accessed 3 Feb 2022.
13. ↑ Calendar of the Close rolls preserved in the Public Record Office. Edward I., (Vol.1, pp.557), (1900)., Great Britain: Public Record Office. Retrieved from the Internet Archive (Page 557) Accessed 3 Feb 2022.
14. ↑ (Edward I); Lyte, H. C. Maxwell, Sir; Stevenson, William Henry., Calendar of the Close rolls preserved in the Public record office. (1900). Prepared under the superintendence of the deputy keeper of the records. Great Britain: Court of Chancery; England. Sovereign: Edward I. (1272-1307. Retrieved from the Internet Archive [p.47) Accessed 5 Feb 2022.
15. ↑ The Parliamentary Writs... (1827)., Retrieved from Google e-Books (Page 524, here;) Accessed 3 Feb 2022.
16. ↑ Morris, John Edward, (1901)., The Welsh Wars of Edward I: a contribution to mediaeval military history, based on original documents. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved from the Internet Archive (p.91) Accessed 3 Feb 2022.
17. ↑ The National Archives (Here;) Accessed 7 Dec 2021.
18. ↑ Regesta Willelmi Conquestoris. Retrieved from Forgotten Books (p.xxvi;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.
19. ↑ Retrieved from Google books (Here;) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.

• Birney, Ethan George, (2019) THE FENLAND MONASTERIES DURING THE REIGN OF KING STEPHEN, A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews. Retrieved from (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Green, Judith A., (Sept 1989).,The Government of England under Henry I. Retrieved from (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• William of Houghton, Chamberlain to Henry I, and Ramsey Abbey: Found (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Rushbrook Williams, LF., William the Chamberlain and Luton Church: (Here;) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.

• "Parishes : Emberton," in A History of the County of Buckingham. (Vol. 4). (1927). Ed. William Page London: Victoria County History, 338-343. Retrieved from British History Online (Here;) Accessed 7 Sept 2021.

• Siberry, Elizabeth., (5 Dec 2016). The New Crusaders: Images of the Crusades in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries., Routledge. Retrieved from Google Books (Limited Page views (Here;) Accessed 11 Sept 2021.

• Fosbroke, Thomas Dudley, (1807). Abstracts of Records and Manuscripts Respecting the County of Gloucester: Formed Into a History, Correcting the Very Erroneous Accounts, and Supplying Numerous Deficiencies in Sir Rob. Atkins, and Subsequent Writers, (Vol. 2, p.431), Gloucestershire (England): J. Harris. Retrieved from Google e-book (Here;) Accessed 8 Dec 2021.

• Google Groups: Chamberlayne Pedigree: (Here;) Accessed 3 Feb 2022.

• North Reston: (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Powicke, Michael R. “The General Obligation to Cavalry Service under Edward I.” Speculum 28, no. 4 (1953): 814–33. Retrieved from Jstor (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Haskins, Charles Homer., ("Three other chamberlains, Aubrey de Vere, William of Houghton, and William of Glastonbury, are found at Falaise in a royal charter of the same

period....") Norman Institutions (1918)., Retrieved from (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Victoria History of the County of Bedford: Retrieved from the Internet Archive (Here;) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.

• Publications of the Bedfordshire historical record society

by Bedfordshire Historical Record Society. (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Book of Fees: (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.
• Book of Fees. FamilySearch: (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.
• Book of Fees - Archive.org: (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Pipe Rolls Henry II: (Here;) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.

And here: The Great Rolls of the Pipe for the Second, Third, and Fourth Years of the Reign of King Henry the Second, A.D. 1155, 1156, 1157, 1158: Now First Printed from the Originals in the Custody of the Right Hon. the Master of the Rolls, Under the Care of the Rev. Joseph Hunter ...(Here;) Accessed 4 Feb 2022.

• Testa Neville, Reston: (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Editing Armorials: (PDF Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Medieval Lands: (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• North Reston: (Here;) Accessed 25 Jun 2023.

• Chamberlain Early Family Register extracted from various (not always reliable) sources. This document, no longer available in the internet, has now been uploaded to the Internet Archive and is available for download, as a Torrent or a PDF file (Here;) Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

• Smollett, Tobias, George, (1758). A Complete History of England from the Descent of Julius Caesar to the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle. 1748. (Vol. 1. p.444)

3rd Edition, Kivington. Retrieved from Google e-Books (Here;) Accessed 10 Feb 2022.

• Medieval Sourcebook:

Roger of Hoveden: The Revolt of 1173-74, from The Chronicle (Here;) Accessed 10 Feb 2022.

• HENRY THE YOUNG KING BLOG. 17 OCTOBER 1173: THE BATTLE OF FORNHAM (Here;) Accessed 22 Feb 2022.

• Petitioners: William le Chaumberleyn (Chamberlain). Chaumberleyn states that the Peks and Tropynel came on Saturday next after the feast of St Nicholas 18 Edward I and took two horses from the field of Hothorpe so that he is not able to have a gauge or pledge and has sued to have a recognisance made in full county but he has not had this made by the procurement of Richard le Chamberlain his adversary. He is not able to cultivate or approve his land by the loss of his horses to his damage.
• (Petitioners: William le Chaumberleyn) Accessed 15 Feb 2022.

• John le Chamberlayne of Wickenby and Drax: Retrieved from the National Archives (Here;) Accessed 15 Feb 2022.

• Sir William Chamberlain in 1331: Great Britain. Calendar of the Close Rolls, Edward III, vol. 2. 1330-1333. (London, 1898). (Cal. Close Rolls p.280) Accessed 15 Feb 2022.

• A Sir William Chamberlain in 1271: A descriptive catalogue of ancient deeds in the Public Record Office. (1890). Great Britain. Public Record Office (Ancient deeds, p.144) Accessed 15 Feb 2022.