Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk
Encyclopedia
Roger Bigod was 5th Earl of Norfolk
Earl of Norfolk
Earl of Norfolk is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. Created in 1070, the first major dynasty to hold the title was the 12th and 13th century Bigod family, and it then was later held by the Mowbrays, who were also made Dukes of Norfolk...

.

He was the son of Hugh Bigod (Justiciar)
Hugh Bigod (Justiciar)
Hugh Bigod was Justiciar of England from 1258 to 1260. He was a younger son of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk.In 1258 the Provisions of Oxford established a baronial government of which Hugh's elder brother Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk was a leading member, and Hugh was appointed Chief...

, and succeeded his uncle, Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod was 4th Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England.He was the son of Hugh Bigod, and Matilda, a daughter of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and Marshal of England. After the death of his father in 1225 Roger became the ward of William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury...

 as earl in 1270.

This earl is the hero of a famous altercation with Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

 in 1297, which arose out of the king's command that Bigod should serve against the king of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

, while he went to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

. The earl asserted that by the tenure of his lands he was only compelled to serve across the seas in the company of the king himself, whereupon Edward said, "By God, earl, you shall either go or hang," to which Bigod replied, "By the same oath, O king, I will neither go nor hang."

The earl gained his point, and after Edward had left for France he and Humphrey de Bohun
Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun , 3rd Earl of Hereford and 2nd Earl of Essex, was an English nobleman known primarily for his opposition to King Edward I over the Confirmatio Cartarum. He was also an active participant in the Welsh Wars and maintained for several years a private feud with the earl of Gloucester...

, Earl of Hereford, prevented the collection of an aid for the war and forced Edward to confirm the charters in this year and again in 1301. William Stubbs
William Stubbs
William Stubbs was an English historian and Bishop of Oxford.The son of William Morley Stubbs, a solicitor, he was born at Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and was educated at Ripon Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated in 1848, obtaining a first-class in classics and a third in...

 says Bigod and Bohun "are but degenerate sons of mighty fathers; greater in their opportunities than in their patriotism."

The earl had done good service for the King in the past. In August 1282, for instance, contemporary accounts record Bigod "going to Wales on the king's service." In his absence in Ireland, Bigod had sent letters nominating Reginald Lyvet
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...

 and William Cadel to act as his attorney in Ireland for the year. Some scholars have wondered how English lords like Bigod and the de Clares kept such tight hold on their Irish lands during a time when the English grip on Ireland was starting to fade. Apparently part of the secret was delegation of authority, as in this case by the earl to his lieutenants Lyvet and Cadel.

Roger married first Alina Basset, daughter of the justiciar Philip Basset
Philip Basset
Philip Basset was the Justiciar of England.Philip was the son of Alan Basset of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire and his wife, Alice, the daughter of Stephen Gray. He inherited the manor of Wycombe and served as the Justiciar of England between the two terms served by his son-in-law, Hugh le...

 (and widow of Hugh Despenser
Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer
Sir Hugh was an important ally of Simon de Montfort during the reign of Henry III. He served briefly as Justiciar of England in 1260 and as Constable of the Tower of London....

), and secondly Alice d'Avesnes, daughter of John II d'Avesnes, count of Hainaut.

In 1302 the elderly and childless Bigod surrendered his earldom to the king and received it back entailed to the heirs of his body. This had the effect of disinheriting his brother John, and so, when the earl died without issue in December 1306, his title became extinct and his estates reverted to the crown, and were eventually bestowed on Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk
Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk
Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Lord Marshal of England was the son of Edward I of England and Margaret of France.-Early life:...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK