Robert Marmion
Encyclopedia
Robert Marmion was an English
nobleman and itinerant justice
. He was reputed to have been the King's Champion. He was descended from the lords of Fontenay le Marmion in Normandy
, who are said to have been hereditary champions of the Dukes of Normandy.
, when Roger Marmion (died 1130) appears as the holder of Tamworth
and Scrivelsby. Roger's son, Robert, was a warlike man: in 1140 Geoffrey of Anjou captured his castle of Fontenay, because he held Falais against him. Three years later this Robert expelled the monks of Coventry
, and made a castle of their church. Soon after, on 8 September 1143, in a fight with the Earl of Chester
he was thrown from his horse and he broke his thigh. As he lay on the ground was despatched bv a cobbler with his knife. He was buried at Polesworth
, Warwickshire, in unconsecrated ground as an excommunicated person. His son Robert (died 1185) married Elizabeth, daughter of Gervase, count of Rethel, who was brother to Baldwin II of Jerusalem
. Robert Marmion the justiciar, and the subject of this article, was this Robert's son.
in 1177. He was one of the justices before whom fines were levied in 1184, and from 1185 to 1189 was High Sheriff of Worcestershire
. He was an itinerant justice for Warwickshire
and Leicestershire
in 1187-8, Staffordshire
in 1187-92, Shropshire
in 1187-94, Herefordshire
in 1188-90, Worcestershire
in 1189, Gloucestershire
in 1189-91 and 1193, and Bristol
in 1194.
Marmion had taken the vow to join the crusade
, but had bought his way out of it. In 1195 he was with Richard
in Normandy
, and in 1197 witnessed the treaty between Richard and Baldwin of Flanders. During the early years of John
's reign he was in attendance on the king in Normandy. In 1204-5 he was again one of the justices before whom fines were levied. He sided with the barons against the king, but after John's death rejoined the royal party and served under John in Poitou
in 1214. He died on 15 May 1218. He gave a mill at Barston
, Warwickshire, to the Templars, and was a benefactor of Kirkstead Abbey
, Lincolnshire.
, Stoke Marmion, and of Aynho
, to which branch Shackerley Marmion
the dramatist belonged; and lastly Phllip (died 1276). Robert Marmion the younger was father of William Marmion, who was summoned to parliament in 1264, and ancestor of the Lords Marmion of Witrington, Lincolnshire, summoned in 1294 and 1297-1313.
Marmion's eldest son Robert the Elder married Juliana de Vassy, and had a son, Philip, died 1291. This Philip was High Sheriff of Warwickshire
and Leicestershire
in 1249, and of Norfolk and Suffolk
in 1261. He served in Poitou in 1254, and was imprisoned when on his way home through France at Pons. He was one of the sureties for the king in December 1263, and fighting for him at Lewes
, on 14 May 1264, was there taken prisoner. Philip Marmion married, first, Jane, daughter of Hugh de Kilpeck, by whom be had two daughters, Jane and Mazera; and secondly, Mary, by whom he had another daughter Jane, who married Thomas de Ludlow, and was by him grandmother of Margaret de Ludlow. Tamworth passed to Jane, daughter of Mazera Marmion, and wife of Baldwin de Freville, and Scrivelsby eventually passed with Margaret de Ludlow to Sir John Dymoke
, in whose family it has since remained.
of 1349, where it is stated that the holder of Scrivelsby was accustomed to do this service. From this people may perhaps have assumed that Philip Marmion at least had filled the office at the coronation of Edward I
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
nobleman and itinerant justice
Eyre (legal term)
An Eyre or Iter was the name of a circuit traveled by an itinerant justice in medieval England, or the circuit court he presided over , or the right of the king to visit and inspect the holdings of any vassal...
. He was reputed to have been the King's Champion. He was descended from the lords of Fontenay le Marmion in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, who are said to have been hereditary champions of the Dukes of Normandy.
Ancestry
The first definite record of the family in England was in the reign of Henry IHenry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, when Roger Marmion (died 1130) appears as the holder of Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
and Scrivelsby. Roger's son, Robert, was a warlike man: in 1140 Geoffrey of Anjou captured his castle of Fontenay, because he held Falais against him. Three years later this Robert expelled the monks of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, and made a castle of their church. Soon after, on 8 September 1143, in a fight with the Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
he was thrown from his horse and he broke his thigh. As he lay on the ground was despatched bv a cobbler with his knife. He was buried at Polesworth
Polesworth
Polesworth is a large village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. In the 2001 census it had a population of 8,439, inclusive of the continuous sub-villages of St Helena, Dordon and Hall End directly to the south...
, Warwickshire, in unconsecrated ground as an excommunicated person. His son Robert (died 1185) married Elizabeth, daughter of Gervase, count of Rethel, who was brother to Baldwin II of Jerusalem
Baldwin II of Jerusalem
Baldwin II of Jerusalem , formerly Baldwin II of Edessa, also called Baldwin of Bourcq, born Baldwin of Rethel was the second count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and the third king of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death.-Ancestry:Baldwin was the son of Hugh, count of Rethel, and his wife Melisende,...
. Robert Marmion the justiciar, and the subject of this article, was this Robert's son.
Career
Robert Marmion was probably the 6th baron of Tamworth. He first appears as a justiciar at CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
in 1177. He was one of the justices before whom fines were levied in 1184, and from 1185 to 1189 was High Sheriff of Worcestershire
High Sheriff of Worcestershire
This is a list of Sheriff and since 1998 High Sheriffs of Worcestershire.The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
. He was an itinerant justice for Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
in 1187-8, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
in 1187-92, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
in 1187-94, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
in 1188-90, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
in 1189, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
in 1189-91 and 1193, and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in 1194.
Marmion had taken the vow to join the crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
, but had bought his way out of it. In 1195 he was with Richard
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...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, and in 1197 witnessed the treaty between Richard and Baldwin of Flanders. During the early years of John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
's reign he was in attendance on the king in Normandy. In 1204-5 he was again one of the justices before whom fines were levied. He sided with the barons against the king, but after John's death rejoined the royal party and served under John in Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
in 1214. He died on 15 May 1218. He gave a mill at Barston
Barston
Barston is a village and civil parish in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands of England. It is about six km east of Solihull and is located inside a large meander of the River Blythe. The nearest large city is Birmingham. According to the 2001 UK Census, the parish had a...
, Warwickshire, to the Templars, and was a benefactor of Kirkstead Abbey
Kirkstead Abbey
Kirkstead Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Kirkstead, Lincolnshire, England.The monastery was founded in 1139 by Hugh Brito, , lord of Tattershall, and was originally colonised by an abbot and twelve monks from Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire...
, Lincolnshire.
Family and descendants
Marmion was married twice, first, to Matilda de Beauchamp, by whom he had a son, Robert the Elder, and two daughters; secondly, to Philippa, by whom he had four sons; Robert the younger; William, who was dean of Tamworth; Geoffrey, who was ancestor of the Marmions of CheckendonCheckendon
Checkendon is a village and civil parish about west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire, England.-Parish church:The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is a 12th century Norman building...
, Stoke Marmion, and of Aynho
Aynho
Aynho is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England, on the edge of the Cherwell valley about southeast of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury and southwest of Brackley...
, to which branch Shackerley Marmion
Shackerley Marmion
Shackerley Marmion , also Shakerley, Shakerly, Schackerley, Marmyon, Marmyun, or Mermion, was an early 17th-century dramatist, often classed among the Sons of Ben, the followers of Ben Jonson who continued his style of comedy...
the dramatist belonged; and lastly Phllip (died 1276). Robert Marmion the younger was father of William Marmion, who was summoned to parliament in 1264, and ancestor of the Lords Marmion of Witrington, Lincolnshire, summoned in 1294 and 1297-1313.
Marmion's eldest son Robert the Elder married Juliana de Vassy, and had a son, Philip, died 1291. This Philip was High Sheriff of Warwickshire
High Sheriff of Warwickshire
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 transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
and Leicestershire
High Sheriff of Leicestershire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Leicestershire. 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 transferred...
in 1249, and of Norfolk and Suffolk
High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county and presided at the Assizes and other important county meetings...
in 1261. He served in Poitou in 1254, and was imprisoned when on his way home through France at Pons. He was one of the sureties for the king in December 1263, and fighting for him at Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, on 14 May 1264, was there taken prisoner. Philip Marmion married, first, Jane, daughter of Hugh de Kilpeck, by whom be had two daughters, Jane and Mazera; and secondly, Mary, by whom he had another daughter Jane, who married Thomas de Ludlow, and was by him grandmother of Margaret de Ludlow. Tamworth passed to Jane, daughter of Mazera Marmion, and wife of Baldwin de Freville, and Scrivelsby eventually passed with Margaret de Ludlow to Sir John Dymoke
Dymoke
Dymoke is the name of an English family holding the office of king's champion. The functions of the champion were to ride into Westminster Hall at the coronation banquet, and challenge all comers to impugn the King's title . The earliest record of the ceremony at the coronation of an English king...
, in whose family it has since remained.
King's Champion
Scrivelsby is said to have been held by the Marmions by grand serjeanty on condition of performing the office of King's Champion at the coronation. But this rests purely on tradition, and there is no record of any Marmion having ever performed the office. The first mention of the office of champion occurs in a writ of Edward IIIEdward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
of 1349, where it is stated that the holder of Scrivelsby was accustomed to do this service. From this people may perhaps have assumed that Philip Marmion at least had filled the office at the coronation of 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...
.