9691 Individuals
in our Database | |  | | | | Gervase D Eyncourt Sex: Male | | | |  | | Birth Date | 1155 | | Death Date | 1180 ENGLAND | | Father | | Born: | | | Mother | | Born: | | | Gervase D Eyncourt
Notes: | About Gervase dEyncourt Gervase dEyncourt, who was granted Sizergh towards the end of the twelfth century by William de Lancaster II, lord of Kendal; but the intervening generations have never been correctly worked out, and the printed information on the subject is too fragmentary to be of much assistance. A tentative chart of the Westmorland dEyncourts (though without any supporting proofs) was, indeed, published some years ago by the late Canon Ragg (Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Society, New Series, vol. XVI, pp. 167-8), ... Gervase dEyncourt, the Sizergh grantee, was undoubtedlysome cadet of the great baronial house of dEyncourt of Thurgarton, co. Nottingham, and Blankney, co. Lincs.; for the arms of the two families differed only in tincture, the Sizergh branch bearing Silver a fesse dancetti between six billets sable, while the dEyncourts of Blankney bore Azure a fesse dancetti between six billets It is not impossible that Gervases father was Ralph, third and youngest son of the first Ralph dEyncourt, lord of Blankney and Thurgarton. The latter in turn was the eldest surviving son of the Domesday tenant, Walter dEyncourt or dAincourt, one of the leading Norman magnates in the North Midlands temp. William the Conqueror. Walter derived his surname from Aincourt in the French Vexin, between Mantes and Magny. He appears as a tenant in chief in Doomsday, holding over sixty manors, Blankney being the cakut of his barony. In 1670 an inscription was discovered in Lincoln Cathedral, commemorating Walters son, William, who died in his fathers lifetime. William is described as filius Walteri Aiencuriensis consanguinei Remigii episcopi Lincoliensis [Remigius of Fecamp, Bishop of Lincoln] qui hanc ecclesiamfecit. How William was connected with Bishop Remigius (who also seems to have been a kinsman of the Amundevilles of Kingerby) 77 is not apparent; but his royal blood presumably came through his mother, the wife of Walter dAincourt, who was no doubt some relative of the Dukes of Normandy
| | Notes: | Gervase himself makes his initial appearance in Westmorland as a knight of the household of the second William de Lancaster (lord of Kendal between 1 170 and 11 84) ; and it is interesting to observe that Gervase witnessed the aforesaid Williams confirmation of the manor of Docker to the hospital of St. Peters, York, simply as Geruasio milite (cf. Charter Roll, 22 Edward I [1293-941, no. 80, m. 9). Gervases name does not occur as attesting any of the grants of the earlier William de Lancaster (died 11 70)-with the solitary exception of this Williams conveyance of the manors of Heversham, Morland, and Grayrigg to Alexander de Windsor, his son-in-law.... In the meantime, further documents illustrate Gervase dEyncourts position as one of the second William de Lancasters farnilia. Thus, along with Williams second wife Helewise (de Stuteville), Gervase attested a grant of half the land of Crook (in Strickland Ketel, co. Westmorland) made by William to his cook, Walter, and another grant of the remaining portion of Crook to William fitz Geoffrey (Levens MSS.). He also attested William de Lancasters conveyance bestowing half of Sockbridge in Kendal upon his natural son, Gilbert-among the other witnesses on that occasion being Walter, Abbot of Furness, Norman (de Redman) the Sewer, and "Michael le Fleming of Furness and Anselm his son" (Lowther MSS.). Moreover, circa 1175-1 180 Gervase was formally enfeoffed of fifteen "librates" in Westmorland, including the lands of Sizergh, to hold by the service of three-fourths of a knights fee: and the charter of feoffment, which is th.e first in the long series of family muniments preserved at Sizergh Castle, would seem to be of sufficient importance to warrant its being quoted in toto:
| | Notes: | About the same date, for the witnesses are similar, William de Lancaster granted Gervase an additional twelve and a half "librates" in Whelpside and Whinfell (which lie adjacent to Sizergh), for which he was to render the service of one-fourth of a fee (Sizergh MSS.) ; and another Sizergh charter (in Norman- French) records that the said William de Lancaster afterwards released him from all services due from his lands in Westmorland, in exchange for a rent of 50s Sachent prescns ct advenir g je Gillem de Loncastrc garauntr ct quite ay claymc a Gcrvase de Haencurt et ses hticrs dc moy et mes hcicrs ct a ccst ma present chartre ay confcrmc au dit Gcrvase tous maniers de rentes et services a il et ces heiers dount fair a moy ct mcs heins pour aucun de ces maniers, terrrs, ou tenements dedans la counte dc Westmcrland, en la cxchaingt pour la nntc de sine quant souvs en Wcstrncrlaund, lcs gut anoc le dit Geruasc et ccs htiGrs avaunt deletsse a moy et mes heiers a touejours. Tcsmoignes: Norman dapifcr, Robert dc Heriic, Amelme, Orme fitz Rober Ze Chamurleyn, Gillem de Croft, Gillcm le Person dc Warton, Johan le Clerk, Ricardyn lec Chamburleyn, Gillem dc Pultyngton, et autrcs. Gervase thus became the holder of a considerable fief in the Kendal district, including Sizergh, Natland, Hutton, Routhworth, High and Low Windergh, Whinfell, and Whelpside, besides other holdings in north Westmorland at Sockbridge, Hackthorpe, Barton, and Lowther. After the death of William de Lancaster in 1184, William Marshale (afterwards Earl of Pembroke), the guardian of de Lancasters young daughter and heiress Helewise, confirmed Gervase in these possessions (Sizergh MSS.) : and a few years later the latter received a fresh confirmation from Gilbert fitz Renfrid (Levens MSS.), who had become lord of Kendal through his marriage to Helewise in 1189. Gilbert fitz Renfrid likewise gave Gervase quittance from the ancient tribute of "n~utgeld",f~or~ w hich release Gervase paid twenty marks in silver (Sizergh MSS.); and in the Dodsworth MSS. are two charters of property in Levens, co. Westmorland, granted to Gervase de "Aencurt" by Ketel de Levens and Orm de Ninezergh (ibid., vol. 149, PB 134 d., 135 d.) . Gervase himself was still living as late as 121 0, when he served on two inquisitions at Carlisle (Prescott, Wetherhal, p. 339) ; but he probably died before May 1211, when the name of his son and successor, Ralph dEyncourt, replaces his own as witness to a grant made by Robert de Vieuxpont to the abbey of Shap (Dugdale, Monasticon, 1st edit., 11, p. 595
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