The Lands and Patronage of Walter Giffard I, II and III, Lords of Longueville-sur-Scie and Earls of Buckingham, 1010-1164

Abstract

At the Battle of Hastings Walter Giffard I was a known companion of William the Conqueror; his son, Walter Giffard II, was prominent in the time of William Rufus; and when Stephen was crowned King of England, Walter Giffard III, his grandson, was one of only six English earls. A few studies have examined these three Walters primarily using the narrative sources, but there has never been a comprehensive analysis of the Walters and their cross-Channel lordships, despite an awareness that these men were from a significant aristocratic family who traced their lineage back to the Norman dukes in the tenth century.

This research examines key aspects of the Walters’ lives: their foundation and patronage of religious houses in Normandy and England, their Norman and English titles, castles, estates and lands, and the structure of their households. At the centre of this analysis are charters from Normandy and England, and this thesis compiles a body of 156 charters from Normandy and England that the Walters issued, where the Walters are referred to in the charter and where the Walters acted as witnesses. Through using a much wider body of evidence than previously considered for the Walters, this thesis adds new depths to how aristocratic families functioned in the Anglo-Norman realm, and provides new insights into these three aristocratic men, including highlighting how the women in the family enabled the Walters and how generations of loyal knights, tenants and household staff supported the family.

Over the course of 150 years the Walters demonstrated how to build a great lordship, how to expand a lordship through predatory pursuit, and how to maintain lordship and status in both Normandy and England. Their power derived from being part of the wider ducal family, their marriages and their leadership qualities through sieges and battles, resulting in rewards of titles, money, castles and property. Above all the Walters retained all they acquired and maintained a harmony with the dukes of Normandy and the kings of England, even in the succession crises of 1087, 1100 and 1135 when other lords were losing their titles and lands.