John FitzHugh (abt. 1180 - 1220)

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Illustrious Men John FitzHugh was one of 16 Illustrious Men, counselors to King John, who were listed in the preamble to Magna Carta. Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta

Note: John FitzHugh was featured in the August 2020 Magna Carta Project Newsletter.

Biography

Origins

Apart from the fact that he is described in official records as a son of Hugh (see for example the Pipe Rolls for the 10th year of King John's reign^[1] and the Preamble to the Magna Carta^[2]), there appears to be no information about John's family origins.

Royal Official

John served King John as a senior official.^[3] He appears acting on royal business in the Pipe Rolls in the 10th year of King John - "ad parandas domos" (ie instructed to prepare buildings).^[1] He is shown rendering accounts for large sums of money: for example, for scutage in 13 John,^[4] for some episcopal sees during the papal interdict (Salisbury in 1209-1212^[5] and Canterbury in 1212/13),^[6] and for some church tithes in 1211.^[7] He is mentioned quite often in the Patent Rolls of the reign of King John, mainly in relation to fairly routine business, including such things as taking care of a prisoner in 1212, to financial matters, and as a witness, and in relation to his role as Sheriff of Surrey.^[8] In 1212 he was recorded as making payments to the keeper of lions in the royal menagerie established at the Tower of London by King John.^[9]

John's responsibilities also included taking possession of manors for the king, and overseeing repairs of castles (he did both, for instance, at Odiham, Hampshire in 1207, where he was warden of the castle during the rebuilding work).^[10]

John was Sheriff of Surrey from 1207 to 1213.^[11][12] In 1213 he was sent as an envoy to Flanders.^[11]

In 1214 John is recorded in the Pipe Rolls as purchasing a substantial quantity of weaponry for the king.^[13]

Lands

John was granted Kirtlington, Oxfordshire^[3] in 1204,^[14][15] where he also bought a mill which his son-in-law Adam FitzHervey sold to Gilbert Basset.^[14]

Robert de Berners granted John the fee of Ormesby, Norfolk. John's daughter Julian and son-in-law Adam FitzHervey held it in the time of Henry III.^[16]

Magna Carta and Rebellion

On 9 May 1215 John FitzHugh was one of the witnesses to a charter of King John, issued at London, confirming in general terms liberties of barons who were faithful to him.^[17] On 27 May 1215, John and others were ordered to observe the terms of any truce between King John and the Barons.^[18][19]

John was one of the Illustrious Men, King John's counsellors listed in the preamble to the Magna Carta.^[2]

In November 1215 John was ordered to transfer part of the fee of Kirtlington, Oxfordshire to Ralph de Montibus.^[14] Near the end of 1215 John was given custody of a prisoner called John de Lucton.^[20]

In 1216 John abandoned his support of King John^[11][14] and his remaining interest in Kirtlington was confiscated.^[14] He returned to royal allegiance after the second Battle of Lincoln in 1217, early in the reign of Henry III.^[11]

Marriage

John married Gunnora de Bendinges.^[21] They had a daughter:

• Julian, who married Adam FitzHervey^[14][16][22]

Death

John died on crusade^[21] in 1220. After his death, doubts were raised about the validity of his marriage to Gunnora, and this led to questions about her right to her dower.^[21][23]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Kent Extracts from Pipe Rolls, website of Kent Archaeological Society, The Great Roll of the Pipe for the 10th year of the reign of King John, Michaelmas, 1207-1208, accessed 19 May 2020
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Frederick Lewis Weis. The Magna Carta Sureties, 1215, 5th edition, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999, p. xi
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Tony K Moore. The Loss of Normandy and the Invention of Terre Normannorum, 1204, pre-publication PDF of article in English Historical review, 2010, p. 26, web, accessed 17 May 2020
4. ↑ Kent Extracts from Pipe Rolls, website of Kent Archaeological Society, The Great Roll of the Pipe for the 13th year of the reign of King John, Michaelmas, 1210-1211, accessed 19 May 2020
5. ↑ C R Cheney. King John's Reaction to the Interdict on England, in 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society', Vol. 31, 1949, p. 141, JSTOR (free registration required)
6. ↑ Kent Extracts from Pipe Rolls, website of Kent Archaeological Society, The Great Roll of the Pipe for the 14th year of the reign of King John, Michaelmas, 1211-1212, accessed 19 May 2020
7. ↑ C R Cheney. King John's Reaction to the Interdict on England, p. 146
8. ↑ Transcripts - in Latin - available at http://neolography.com/timelines/JohnItinerary.html
9. ↑ Footprints of London website, 'Kings and Queens in London – John', accessed 19 May 2020
10. ↑ 'Parishes: Odiham', in A History of the County of Hampshire (Victoria County History), Volume 4, ed. William Page (London, 1911), pp. 87-98, British History Online, accessed 19 May 2020
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Advisers of King John', online, 2015 (subscription required)
12. ↑ Wikipedia: High Sheriff of Surrey
13. ↑ David S Bachrach. Administration and Organization of War in Thirteenth-Century England, Routledge, 2020, snippets with unnumbered pages on Google Books
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5} 'Parishes: Kirtlington', in A History of the County of Oxford (Victoria County History), Volume 6, ed. Mary D Lobel (London, 1959), pp. 219-232, British History Online, accessed 30 May 2016
15. ↑ A charter linking John's widow Gunnora to Kirtlington can be viewed at http://monasterium.net/mom/DEEDS/00740251/charter, accessed 17 May 2020
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Francis Blomefield, 'East Flegg Hundred: Ormesby', in An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 11 (London, 1810), pp. 231-240, British History Online, accessed 17 May 2020
17. ↑ G Eyre and A Spottiswoode. Rotuli chartarum in Turri Londinensi asservati, Vol. I, Part I, Public records Office, 1837, p. 207, Google Books
18. ↑ N Vincent. 'King John's Diary & Itinerary', 24 May 1215-30 May 1215, "John negotiates with the Pope and archbishop Langton", The Magna Carta Project website (no connection with the WikiTree Project), accessed 17 May 2020
19. ↑ Patent Rolls, 17 John, viewable (in Latin) at http://neolography.com/timelines/JohnItinerary.html (p. 142)
20. ↑ N Vincent, 'King John's Diary & Itinerary', Dec 1215-Jan 1216, "John spends Christmas at Nottingham", The Magna Carta Project website, accessed 17 May 2020
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1 21.2} Christopher Tyneman. "England and the Crusades, 1095-1588", University of Chicago Press, 1996, p. 209, Google Books
22. ↑ Lord Arthur Hervey. Ickworth and the Family of Hervey, in 'Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology', Vol. II, 1848, Appendix II, p. 413, Google Books
23. ↑ Jennifer Ward. Women in England in the Middle Ages, A & C Black, 2006, p. 65, Google Books