Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex (c. 1162–1213) was a prominent member of the government of England during the reigns of Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...

 and John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

. The patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...

 is sometimes rendered Fitz Piers, for he was the son of Piers de Lutegareshale, forester of Ludgershall
Ludgershall, Wiltshire
Ludgershall is a town and civil parish north east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, at grid SU264509. The population was: 535 in 1831; 1,906 in 1951; and 3,775 in 2001. Ludgershall is now officially a town.-Historical features:...

.

Life

He was from a modest landowning family that had a tradition of service in mid-ranking posts under Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

. Geoffrey's elder brother Simon of Pattishall
Simon of Pattishall
Simon of Pattishall was an English judge and civil servant who is considered the first Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. The first appearance of Pattishall in the records was in 1190, where he served as the escheator for Northamptonshire and also as a judge, serving in Westminster and as a...

 was at various times High Sheriff of Northamptonshire, Essex, and Hertfordshire. Geoffrey, too, got his start in this way, as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire
High Sheriff of Northamptonshire
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...

 for the last five years of Henry II's reign.

Around this time Geoffrey married Beatrice de Say, daughter and eventual co-heiress of William de Say II. This William was the son of William de Say I and Beatrice, sister of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex
Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex
Geoffrey de Mandeville II, 1st Earl of Essex was one of the prominent players during the reign of King Stephen of England. His biographer, the 19th-century historian J. H...

. This connection with the Mandeville family was later to prove unexpectedly important. In 1184 Geoffrey's father-in-law died, and he received a share of the de Say inheritance by right of his wife, co-heiress to her father. He also eventually gained the title of earl of Essex by right of his wife, becoming the 4th earl.

When Richard I left on crusade, he appointed Geoffrey one of the five judges of the king's court, and thus a principal advisor to Hugh de Puiset
Hugh de Puiset
Hugh de Puiset was a medieval Bishop of Durham and Chief Justiciar of England under King Richard I. He was the nephew of King Stephen of England and Henry of Blois, who both assisted Hugh's ecclesiastical career...

, Bishop of Durham, who, as Chief Justiciar
Justiciar
In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...

, was one of the regents during the king's absence. Late in 1189, Geoffrey's wife's cousin William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex
William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex
William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex was a loyal councilor of Henry II and Richard I of England.He was the second son of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex and Rohese de Vere, Countess of Essex. After his father's death while in rebellion , William grew up at the court of the Count of...

 died, leaving no direct heirs. His wife's inheritance was disputed between Geoffrey and his in-laws, but Geoffrey used his political influence to eventually obtain the Mandeville lands (but not the earldom, which was left open) for himself.

He served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The High Sheriff of Yorkshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman conquest onwards can be found below...

 from 1198 to 1201 and again in 1203 and as High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. One sheriff was appointed for both counties from 1125 until the end of 1575, after which date separate sheriffs were appointed...

 from 1200 to 1205 . On 11 July 1198, King Richard appointed Geoffrey Chief Justiciar
Justiciar
In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...

, which at that time effectively made him the king's principal minister. He continued in this capacity after the accession of king John until his death on 14 October 1213. On his coronation day the new king ennobled Geoffrey as Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...

.

Spouses

  • m1. Beatrice de Say, daughter of William de Say.
  • m2. Aveline, daughter of Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford
    Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford
    Roger de Clare was a son of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare and Alice de Gernon. He succeeded to the earldom when his brother Gilbert died without issue. In 1164 he assisted with the Constitutions of Clarendon. From his munificence to the Church and his numerous acts of piety, Roger was called the...

    , Earl of Hertford.

Children of Beatrice

Note that his sons by this marriage took the de Mandeville surname.
  • Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex and 6th Earl of Gloucester was an English peer and member of the House of Lords...

    .
  • William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex
    William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex
    William fitz Geoffrey de Mandeville was the third Earl of Essex of the second creation from 1216 to his death. He was the second son of Geoffrey fitz Peter and Beatrice de Say and he succeeded his elder brother Geoffrey fitz Geoffrey as earl and inheritor of the Mandeville barony...

    .
  • Henry, Dean of Wolverhampton.
  • Maud Fitzgeoffrey, who married Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford
    Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford
    Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.He was Earl of Hereford and Hereditary Constable of England from 1199 to 1220.- Lineage :...

    .

Children of Aveline

  • John Fitzgeoffrey
    John FitzGeoffrey
    John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere and Justiciar of Ireland was an English nobleman.John FitzGeoffrey was the son of Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex and Aveline de Clare, daughter of Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford and his wife Maud de Saint-Hilaire. He was Justiciar of Ireland...

    , Lord of Shere and Justiciar of Ireland.
  • Cecily Fitzgeoffrey.
  • Hawise Fitzgeoffrey.


Geoffrey's first two sons died without issue. Apparently the earldom was associated with their mother's Mandeville heritage, for the earldom was inherited by Henry De Bohun
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.He was Earl of Hereford and Hereditary Constable of England from 1199 to 1220.- Lineage :...

, the husband of their sister Maud, instead of their half-brother John
John FitzGeoffrey
John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere and Justiciar of Ireland was an English nobleman.John FitzGeoffrey was the son of Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex and Aveline de Clare, daughter of Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford and his wife Maud de Saint-Hilaire. He was Justiciar of Ireland...

.

External links

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