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Urse d'Abetot (sometimes Urse of Abetot) (c.1040–1108), was a medieval Norman sheriff of Worcester and royal official under Kings William I, William II and Henry I. A native of Normandy, he came to England shortly after the Norman Conquest of England, and was appointed sheriff around 1069. He helped to put down a rebellion against King William I in 1075, and continued to serve William's sons, being named constable under William II and marshal under Henry. He was known for his aquisitiveness, and during William II's reign was considered second only to Ranulf Flambard in his rapacity. Through his daughter, he was the ancestor of the Beauchamp family.

Background and sheriff

Urse came from an undistinguished family, and made his way on military reputation. He was from St Jean d'Abbetot in Normandy, where his family had lands, and where he himself was a tenant of the lords of Tancarville. Ralph, the lord of Tancarville during the reign of King William I of England and who was Urse's lord in Normandy, was at the Battle of Hastings, but there is no evidence that Urse was present at Hastings. The Urse d'Abetot who was added as a witness to a charter of William, prior to the invasion of England, is probably the same Urse that became sheriff after Hastings. The historian Lewis Loyd refers to him as "in origin a man of no importance who made his way as a soldier of fortune".

Urse was appointed sherif of Worcester shortly after the Norman Conquest of England, probably around 1069. He built Worcester Castle in Worcester, but nothing remains of the castle. In the rebellion of 1075, Urse, along with Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, Abbot Æthelwig of Evesham, and Walter de Lacy, prevented Roger de Breteuil, the Earl of Hereford, from crossing the River Severn. Roger was one of the rebels who plotted to revolt against the king in 1075, in combination with rebels in Brittany and an invasion by the king of Denmark, Sweyn II, who had a distant claim to the English throne. Urse's actions kept the rebels from seizing the Severn Valley, and joining up with the other English rebels, Waltheof, the Earl of Northumbria, and Ralph de Gael, the Earl of Norfolk.

The medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury records a story that shortly after Urse was appointed sheriff, he encroached on the cemetery of the cathedral chapter of Worcester Cathedral, Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, pronouced a rhyming curse on Urse, saying "Thou are called Urse. May you have God's curse." Other chroniclers record that Urse stole monastic lands, including those of Evesham Abbey. Great Malvern Priory, however, claimed him as a founder in a fourteenth century document. Urse's reputation was that he was avaricious and grasping, especially of church lands.

Service to William II and Henry I

After the death of King William I of England, d'Abetot continued to serve William's sons, Kings William II and Henry I. He was a constable in the king's household for both William II and Henry I. He also held the office of marshal under William II. Under William II, Urse's estates grew, as they were larger in 1100 than they were in 1087, the date of the Domesday Survey. Urse served as an assistant to William II's main minister, Ranulf Flambard. Urse also served as a royal judge. The historian Emma Mason argues that Urse, along with Flambard, Robert Fitzhamon, Roger Bigod, Haimo the dapifer, or seneschal, and Eudo, another dapifer, were the first recognizable barons of the Exchequer. In 1088, Urse was present at the trial of William de St-Calais, the Bishop of Durham.

Although he did not attest the charter Henry issued after he seized the throne, Urse was at court shortly afterwards. When Henry's elder brother, Robert Curthose, invaded England in 1101 in an attempt to take the English throne, Urse supported Henry. Urse was present at the court held at Winchester on 2 August 1101, when a peace treaty was ratified between Henry and Robert. During Henry's reign, the king regranted Urse's lands back to Urse, this time as a tenant-in-chief. Previously Urse had held his lands as a sub-tenant, and not directly from the king. Urse continued to attest many of Henry's charters until 1108.

Death and legacy

He died sometime in 1108. His wife was named Alice, and Urse was suceeded as sheriff by his son Roger d'Abetot, and Roger's successor Osbert d'Abetot probably was a brother of Urse. Urse also had a daughter, probably named Emmeline, who married Walter de Beauchamp. Walter was Urse's eventual heir, after the exiling of Roger around 1110. Another brother was Robert Despenser, sometimes known as Robert fitz Thurstin, who was a royal official and died about 1097. Urse inherited Robert's lands. A charter for Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey may indicate that Urse had another son named Robert in addition to Roger. Urse may have had another daughter who married Robert Marmion, as some of Urse's estates went to Marmion's family as well as the Beauchamps.

Urse earned a reputation for extortion and financial exactions. During the reign of William II, he was considered second only to the king's minister Ranulf Flambard in his rapacity. The first mention of his exactions is in a cartulary written about 1095 by a monk named Hemming, usually titled Hemming's Cartulary. Further details were given by the medieval chroniclers William of Malmesbury and Gerald of Wales, both of whom relate Ealdred's curse. Through his daughter, he was the ancestor of the Beauchamp family, and the family's symbol of a bear likely derived from the symbol that Urse probably likely used.

Citations

1. Barlow William Rufus p. 72
2. ^ Round "Abetot, Urse d' (c.1040–1108)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
3. Barlow William Rufus pp. 188–189
4. ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 152
5. ^ Keats-Rohan Domesday People p. 439
6. Green Aristocracy p. 33
7. Loyd Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families pp. 1-2
8. Pettifer English Castles p. 280
9. Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 60 footnote 67
10. ^ Douglas William the Conqueror pp. 231-232
11. Prestwich "Military Household" English Historical Review p. 22
12. Quoted in Bates William the Conqueror p. 153
13. Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 32
14. Barlow William Rufus p. 95
15. Green Government p. 35
16. Barlow William Rufus p. 202
17. Hollister Henry I p. 171
18. Hollister Henry I pp. 363–364
19. ^ Mason William II p. 75
20. Green Government p. 169 footnote 137
21. Hollister Henry I p. 133
22. Hollister "Anglo-Norman Civil War" English Historical Review p. 329
23. Newman Anglo-Norman Nobility p. 117
24. Newman Anglo-Norman Nobility pp. 183-184
25. Barlow William Rufus p. 141
26. White "King Stephen's Earldoms" Transactions p. 71 and footnote 1
27. Southern "Ranulf Flambard" Transactions of the Royal Historical Society pp. 110–111
28. Mason "Legends of the Beauchamps' Ancestors" Journal of Medieval History pp. 34–35

References

• Barlow, Frank (1983). William Rufus. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04936-5.
• Bates, David (2001). William the Conqueror. Stroud, UK: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-1980-3.
• Chibnall, Marjorie (1986). Anglo-Norman England 1066–1166. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-15439-6.
• Green, Judith A. (1997). The Aristocracy of Norman England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52465-2.
• Green, Judith A. (1986). The Government of England Under Henry I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37586-X.
• Hollister, C. Warren (1973). "The Anglo-Norman Civil War: 1101". The English Historical Review. 88 (347): 315–334. doi:10.1093/ehr/LXXXVIII.CCCXLVII.315. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Hollister, C. Warren (2001). Henry I. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08858-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. (1999). Domesday People: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066–1166: Domesday Book. Ipswich, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-722-x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Loyd, Lewis Christopher (1975). The Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families (Reprint of 1951 edition ed.). Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8063-0649-1. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
• Mason, Emma (1984). "Legends of the Beauchamps' Ancestors: The Use of Baronial Propaganda in Medieval England". Journal of Medieval History. 10: 25–40. doi:10.1016/0304-4181(84)90023-X.
• Mason, Emma (2005). William II: Rufus, the Red King. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-3528-0.
• Newman, Charlotte A. (1988). The Anglo-Norman Nobility in the Reign of Henry I: The Second Generation. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-8138-1.
• Pettifer, Adrian (1995). English Castles: A Guide by Counties. Woodbridge: Boydell. ISBN 0-85115-782-3.
• Prestwich, J. O. (1981). "The Military Household of the Norman Kings". The English Historical Review. 96 (378): 1–35. doi:10.1093/ehr/XCVI.CCCLXXVIII.1. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Round, J. H. (2004). "Abetot, Urse d' (c.1040–1108)" (fee required). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. revised by Emma Mason. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 3 February 2009
• Southern, R. W. (1933). "Ranulf Flambard and Early Anglo-Norman Administration". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Fourth Series. 16: 95–128. doi:10.2307/3678666.
• White, Geoffrey H. (1930). "King Stephen's Earldoms". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Fourth Series. 13: 51–82. doi:10.2307/3678488.
• Williams, Ann (2000). The English and the Norman Conquest. Ipswich: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-708-4.

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• Normans
• 1108 deaths