Geoffrey de Clinton (d. c. 1134) was an Anglo-Norman noble, chamberlain and treasurer to King Henry I of England. The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066, although Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Henry I (c 1068/1069 – 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William I the Conqueror, the first King of England after the Norman He was foremost amongst the men king Henry "raised from the dust". [1]. He married Lescelina
Clinton's family origins are a little obscure. The surname probably derives from the village of Glympton in Oxfordshire. Glympton is a village near Woodstock in West Oxfordshire, containing Glympton Park. [2], though the family ultimately derived from Saint-Pierre-de-Semilly (Manche, arr. Saint-Pierre-de-Semilly is a Village and commune in the Manche département of north-western France. St. Lô, canton St. -Clair) in western Normandy. [3]
It appears that Clinton spent some years as a minor official of the king's, until the 1118 fall of the treasurer Herbert camerarius, who was accused of plotting against the king. By 1120 Clinton had taken his place.
Not too long afterwards Clinton was appointed sheriff of Warwickshire (by 1121), to act as counterweight to the Earl of Warwick, Roger de Beaumont, who Henry I did not trust. Roger de Beaumont 2nd Earl of Warwick (1102 &ndash 12 June 1153) was the elder son of Henry de Beaumont 1st Earl of Warwick and Marguerite daughter The 1122 rebellion of Roger's cousin Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester increased the king's suspicions still further, and he compelled Roger to grant Clinton a substantial part of his Warwickshire domains. Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, 1st Earl of Worcester (1104 &ndash 9 April 1166, Preaux) was the son of Robert de Beaumont [4]
Clinton further secured his position by starting work on the great castle of Kenilworth, only two miles from the earl's central fortress at Warwick. Kenilworth Castle is a castle located in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England ( Warwick Castle (, like warren) is a medieval Shell keep Castle in Warwick, the County town of Warwickshire, [5]
Clinton received other land grants from Henry I, and he used his position of political influence to enrich himself in other ways[6]. In sum his total wealth was just below the level of the greatest magnates of the kingdom. [7] He had enough to spend 2,000 pounds to insure his nephew Roger de Clinton's election as Bishop of Coventry. Roger de Clinton was a medieval Bishop of Coventry. Life He was the nephew of Geoffrey de Clinton, an advisor to King Henry I of England [8]
Around Easter 1130 Clinton was accused of treason, but was acquitted by a panel including David I of Scotland, who was sitting in his capacity as Earl of Huntingdon. David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: Daibhidh I mac Chaluim; b Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The substance of the accusations against Clinton are not known, although since he was Henry I's treasurer, financial malfeasance of some sort is possible. [9] The Beaumonts were back in favor, and it may be that they were behind the proceedings. [10]
Clinton remained in the royal service, though he was never as influential as he had been. He died sometime between 1133 and 1135. [11]
It appears that Clinton's land-holding must have been primarily life tenencies since his descendants property was not nearly so imposing. [12] His son and successor, also named Geoffrey, became engaged in a violent quarrel with the Earl of Warwick early in the reign of King Stephen of England. The Clintons nearly lost everything, but in the end a settlement was reached (probably in the summer of 1138) by which the younger Geoffrey de Clinton married Warwick's daughter Agnes. [13]
The direct Clinton male line seems to have died out during the reign of Henry III. Henry III (1 October 1207 &ndash 16 November 1272 was the son and successor of John "Lackland" as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 The later Baron Clintons, Earls of Lincoln, and Dukes of Newcastle-Under-Lyne descend from the elder Geoffrey de Clinton's nephew Osbert. Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1298 for John de Clinton. Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England. Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England. [14]
Notes
- ^ in Orderic Vitalis' famous phrase, as quoted in Archer
- ^ Southern p. Orderic Vitalis (1075&ndashc 1142 was an English chronicler who wrote one of the great contemporary Chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and 214
- ^ Round
- ^ Crouch p. 116-117
- ^ Crouch p. 118
- ^ Southern p. 215
- ^ Hollister p. 338
- ^ Southern p. 217
- ^ Green p. 207
- ^ Crouch p. 120
- ^ Crouch p. 130
- ^ Green p. 245
- ^ Crouch p. 121, Round
- ^ Archer
References
- Archer, T. A. (1887). "Geoffrey de Clinton". Dictionary of National Biography 11. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 93-94.
- Crouch, David (1982). "Geoffrey de Clinton and Roger, earl of Warwick: new men and magnates in the reign of Henry I". Historical Research 60: 113-24.
- Green, Judith. Henry I: King of England. ISBN 9780521591317.
- Hollister, C. Warren (2001). Henry I, Yale Monarchs series. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300098294.
- Round, J. H. (1904). John Horace Round (born 22 February 1854 in Hove, England, died 24 June 1928 in Hove was a Historian and Genealogist of the English Medieval "A great marriage settlement". Ancestor 11: 153-7.
- Southern, R.W. (1970). Sir Richard William Southern (1912-2001 was a notable English medieval Historian, based at the University of Oxford. "King Henry I", Medieval Humanism and Other Studies, 206-33. , reprinted from Southern, R. W. (1962). "The Place of Henry I in English History". Proceedings of the British Academy 48: 127-70.
- Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Line 70A-26
- The Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families by Lewis C. Loyd, Page 30.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic