Seipp Family Genealogy:Information about William "Longespee", Earl of Salisbury
William "Longespee", Earl of Salisbury (b. Abt. 1173, d. March 07, 1225/26)
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William "Longespee", Earl of Salisbury (son of Henry II "Plantagenet" King of England and Rosamond "Fair Rosamond" De Clifford)20, 21, 22 was born Abt. 1173 in Of England23, 24, and died March 07, 1225/26 in England25, 26.He married Ela (Fitzpatrick) Countess of Salisbury on 1198 in Of, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England27.
Notes for William "Longespee", Earl of Salisbury:The House of Clifford, Chapter 5: Much controversy surrounds the identity of
the Mother of William, for Rosamund was not the king's only mistress, though
there are many who believe she was. Those who dispute Rosamund's claim base
their case on the disparity in the ages of all concerned, but there is other
evidence as well which can not be ignored. Unfortunately, the records date
neither the birth of Rosamund nor that of her father, or her reputed sons.
Documents also indicate an Ida, and an Ykenai as his mother. Died on Crusade.
[arundell.ged]
William Longespee became Earl of Salisbury in right of his wife. In the beginning of King John's reign this noblema n was sheriff of Wiltshire, he was afterwards warden of th e marches of Wales, and then sheriff of the counties of Cam bridge and Huntingdon. About this period (14th John ) [1213 ], the baronial contest commencing, William Longespee at on ce espoused the royal cause and maintained it so stoutly th at he was included by the barons amongst the evil councillo rs of the crown. The next year he was again constituted she riff of Wilts and he held the office from that time durin g the remainder of his life. He had also a grant of the hon our of Eye, in Suffolk, and was the same year a witness t o the agreement made between King John and the barons as gu arantee for the former. He was likewise a witness to the ch arter whereby John resigned his kingdom to the Pope. Afte r this we find him a principal leader in the royal army until the very close of John's reign, when he swerved in his l oyalty and joined, for a short period, the ranks of Lewis o f France. Upon the accession, however, of Henry III [1216] , he did homage to that monarch, particularly for the count y of Somerset, which the king then gave him; and joining wi th William Marshall. governor of the king and kingdom, rais ed the siege of Lincoln when he was constituted sheriff o f Lincolnshire and governor of Lincoln Castle, being invest ed at the same time with sheriff of the co. of Somerset, an d governorship of the castle of Shirburne. His lordship soo n afterwards accompanied the Earl of Chester to the Holy Land, and was at the battle of Damieta, in which the crescen t triumphed. He served subsequently in the Gascon wars, whe nce returning to England, Dugdale relates, "there arose so great a tempest at sea that, despairing of life, he thre w his money and rich apparel overboard. But when all hope s were passed, they discerned a mighty taper of wax burnin g bright at the prow of the ship and a beautiful woman stan ding by it who preserved it from wind and rain so that it g ave a clear and bright lustre. Upon sight of which heavenl y vision both himself and the mariners concluded of their f uture security, but everyone there being ignorant what thi s vision might portend except the earl, he, however, attrib uted it to the benignity of the blessed virgin by reason th at, upon the day when he was honoured with the girdle of knighthood, he brought a taper to her altar to be lighted eve r day at mass when the canonical hours used to be sung, an d to the intent that, for this terrestrial light, he migh t enjoy that which is eternal." A rumour, however, reache d England of the earls having been lost, and Hubert de Burg h, with the concurrence of the king, provided a suitor fo r his supposed widow, but the lady, in the interim, havin g received letters from her husband, rejected the suit wit h indignation. The earl soon after came to the king at Marl borough and, being received with great joy, he preferre d a strong complaint against Hubert de Burgh, adding that , unless the king would do him right therein, he should vin dicate himself otherwise to the disturbance of the public p eace. Hubert, however, appeased his wrath with rich present s, and invited him to his table, where it is asserted tha t he was poisoned, for he retired to his castle of Salisbur y in extreme illness and died almost immediately after, ann o 1226. His lordship left issue, four sons and five daus. , viz., William, his successor; Richard, a canon of Salisbu ry; Stephen, Justiciary of Ireland; Nicholas, bishop of Sal isbury; Isabel, m. to William de Vesci; Ela, m. 1st, to Tho mas, Earl of Warwick, and 2ndly to Philip Basset, of Hedend on; Idonea, m. to William de Beauchamp, Baron of Bedford; Lora, a nun at Lacock; and Ela, jun., m. to William de Oding sells. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited an d Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, England , 1883, p. 167, d'Evereux, Earls of Salisbury]
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I have attached William to Rosamund Clifford as that is ho w it is shown by Brian Tompsett at Directory of Royal Genea logical Data, although he provides the following notes: "Th e House of Clifford, Chapter 5: Much controversy surround s the identity of the Mother of William, for Rosamund was n ot the king's only mistress, though there are many who beli eve she was. Those who dispute Rosamund's claim base thei r case on the disparity in the ages of all concerned, but t here is other evidence as well which can not be ignored. Un fortunately, the records date neither the birth of Rosamun d nor that of her father, or her reputed sons. Documents al so indicate an Ida, and an Ykenai as his mother. Died on Crusade."
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William Longsword, 3rd earl of Salisbury, Longsword also spelled LONGESPÉE (d. March 7, 1226, Salisbury, Wiltshire, En g.), an illegitimate son of Henry II of England, and a prom inent baron, soldier, and administrator under John and Henr y III. He acquired his lands and title from Richard I, wh o in 1196 gave him the hand of the heiress Ela, or Isabel , daughter of William, earl of Salisbury. He held numerou s official positions in England under John.
He was sent on missions to France (1202) and to Germany (12 09). In 1213-14 he organized John's Flemish allies, takin g part in the destruction (1213) of the French fleet at Dam me, then the port of Bruges, and leading the right wing o f the allied army at Bouvines (July 27, 1214), where he wa s captured. He was exchanged and was back in England by Ma y 1215, when he was employed by John in inspecting the defe nses of royal castles and fighting the rebels in the southw est.
During John's war against the barons, Salisbury deserted th e king after the landing of Louis of France (May 1216); h e returned to royal allegiance, however, by March 1217, fou ght at Lincoln (May) and Sandwich (August), and attested th e Treaty of Kingston (September 1217). Salisbury held vario us posts during the minority of Henry III and served agains t the Welsh in 1223 and in Gascony in 1225. He and his wif e were benefactors of Salisbury Cathedral and laid foundati on stones of the new cathedral in 1220. William was burie d there and his effigy, a splendid early example, still sur vives. [Britannica CD '97]
More About William "Longespee", Earl of Salisbury:
Ancestral File Number: 9FTR-5S.27, 28, 29
Baptism (LDS): October 30, 193029
Date born 2: Bef. 1173, England.30, 31
Bullet: 1215, Named In Magna Charta, King John Advisor.32
Burial: Cathedral, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.33, 34, 35
Died 2: March 07, 1224/25, Salisbury Castle, Wiltishire, England.36, 37
Endowment (LDS): October 10, 1934, ARIZO.38
Fact 6: Acceded: Amesbury, Wiltshire.38
Record Change: September 05, 200238
More About William "Longespee", Earl of Salisbury and Ela (Fitzpatrick) Countess of Salisbury:
Marriage: 1198, Of, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.39
Children of William "Longespee", Earl of Salisbury and Ela (Fitzpatrick) Countess of Salisbury are:
- +Stephen de Longespee, b. Abt. 1216, Of, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England39, 40, d. 1260, Sutton, Northamptonshire, England41, 42.