King John, Henry III and England's Lost Civil War by John Paul Davis;

Author:John Paul Davis;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Royalty
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
Published: 2021-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

1224 The Baying of Bedford

At the same time that the king’s lands in Poitou and Gascony were under unremitting attack, in England Henry was encountering other problems. Re-establishing law and order, though good progress had been made in recent years, remained an ongoing task and continued to pose complex problems.

One of the most challenging aspects related to dealing with acts of ‘novel disseisin’: defined in English law as the unlawful appropriation of another man’s land. Throughout the spring of 1224, the king’s justices travelled the country hearing individual pleas. Among the most significant cases, no less than thirty such accusations had been made against the controversial Norman, Falkes de Breauté.

Exactly who Falkes was has become something of a bone of contention. French-born and of Anglo-Norman ancestry, there is considerable doubt as to whether he was the illegitimate son of a French knight – most likely of the village of Bréauté in Normandy – or whether, like Hubert, he had risen through the ranks after entering the world as a commoner. In the view of the majority of the chroniclers, it was almost certainly the latter; however, xenophobic prejudice clearly influenced their overall perception. An example of the contempt in which he was held is their conclusion that his Christian name was a consequence of the scythe he had once used to commit murder. Similar retorts were uttered from the lips of Archbishop Langton, who remarked of Falkes and his fellow aliens: ‘Here is the scourge of the earth! Here the affliction of the natives, to whom the people of England were so often given over as booty!’1

Regardless of his background, since his arrival in England, Falkes had done well for himself. It was the view of Bishop Stubbs, who had been so critical of Aumale, that Falkes was a clever refugee of the adventurous kind who had attached himself to John. That John had been grateful for his subsequent devotion is indisputable. Since entering royal service no later than 1206, Falkes had served the king in Poitou and became entrusted with the wardenships of Glamorgan and Wenlock on his return a year later. Around this time, he was knighted, as well as made constable of the Marshal lands of Cardigan and Carmarthen. Control of these developed him a reputation among the Marches as something of a despot. That he deserved it is easily illustrated. On being sent to destroy the Cistercian abbey of Strata Florida in Ceredigion for its opposition to John, only the hefty price of 700 marks ensured the building’s survival.2

By the end of the First Barons’ War, Falkes’s authority had reached near unprecedented heights. In control of six sheriffdoms by 1215, John further rewarded his loyalty by appointing him steward of the king. Throughout the conflict, he performed well: capturing Hanslope in Buckinghamshire and holding Oxford before joining with Ranulf at the sieges of Worcester and Mountsorrel. On the death of the fourth earl of Devon, he was awarded the hand of the wealthy countess, ipso

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