Robert Fitz Walter Lord of Dunmow Castle

  General Notes:

Weis's Magna Charta Surities, 50:1 Robert Fitz Walter, Leader of the Magna Charta Barons of Woodham, died 9 Dec 1235, Lord of Dunmow Castle, married Rohese ⁵²⁶

  Information about this person:

• Background Information: From The Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 7. ⁹⁴⁰
Robert Fitz Walter (died 1235), baronial leader, lord of Dunmow and Baynard's Castle, was the son of Walter Fitz Robert, by his wife Matilda, daughter of Richard de Lucy, the faithful justiciar of Henry II. Walter was the son of Robert, steward of Henry I, to whom the king had granted the lordship of Dunmow and of the honour or soke of Baynard's Castle in the southwest angle of the city of London, both of which had become forfeited to the crown by William Baynard.

Baron Walter died in 1198, and was buried at Little Dunmow, in the choir of the priory of Austin canons [Dugdale, Monasticon, vi. 147, ed. Caley]. Robert Fitz Walter now succeeded to his estates, being already more than of full age. His mother and father are said to have been married in 1148, though this hardly seems likely [ib. vi. 147]. He was already married to Gunnor, daughter and heiress of Robert of Valognes [Rot. Curiæ Regis, i. 157], from whom he inherited 30 1/3 Knight's fees, mainly situated in the north, so that his interests now became largely identical with the 'Aquilonres,' whom he afterwards led in the struggle against King John. He also acquired two knight's fees through her uncle Geoffrey of Valognes, and about 1204 obtained livery of seisin of the lands of his own uncle, Geoffrey de Lucy, bishop of Winchester [Dugdale, Baronage. i. 218].

In 1200 Robert Fitz Walter was surety for half the fine incurred by his brother, Simon Fitzwalter, for marrying without the royal license [Rotuli de Oblatis, p. 111]. In 1201 he made an agreement in the curia regis with St. Albans Abbey with respect to the wood of Northawe ['Ann. Danst.' in Ann. Mon. iii. 28]. He was now engaged in several other lawsuiits. One of these sprang from his claim to the custody of the castle Hertford, as of ancient right [Rot. Curiæ Regis, ii. 185]. But he withdrew this suit for a time, though in August 1202 he procured his appointment as warden of Hertford Castle by royal letters patent [Rot. Lit. Pat. i. 17 b].

Early in 1203 Fitz Walter was in attendance on King John in Normandy. In February and March he was with John at Rouen [Rot. Norm. pp. 74, 78, 80, 82; Hist. MSS. Comm. 9th Rep. i. 353]. But he was now made joint-governor of Vaudreuil Castle (near the mouth of the Eure) with Saer de Quincy, afterwards Earl of Winchester. After Easter King Philip of France took the field. The governors of Vaudreuil were so disgusted with John that they surrendered at the first summons. They thus incurred the derision of the whole French army, and Philip, disgusted at their cowardice, shut them up in close confinement at Compiègne [Coggeshall, pp. 143-4; Matt. Paris, Hist. Major, ii. 482]. There they remained until redeemed by the heavy ransom of five thousand marks. On 5 July John issued letters patent from Rouen to certify that they had surrendered the castle by his precept [Rot. Lit. Pat._ i. 31]. But at the end of November his cousin William of Albini was still engaged in selling some of Fitzwalter's lands to raise his ransom [ib. i. 37 b].

In October 1206, Fitz Walter witnessed the truce between John and Philip Augustus at Thouars [Fœdera, i. 95, Record edit.] The misgovernment of John provoked his profound resentment, and in 1212 he entered into intrigues with Eustace de Vescy and Llewelyn ab Iorwerth against the king. John's suspicions were aroused by private intelligence as he was preparing at Nottingham to march against his rebellious son-in-law, the Welsh prince. Most of the barons cleared themselves, but Fitz Walter and De Vescy, who were afraid to appear, were condemned to perpetual exile [Coggeshall, p. 171]. But John was so much alarmed that he shut himself up from his subjects, and abandoned his projected Welsh campaign. Eustace escaped to Scotland, and Robert took refuge in France [Walt. Cov. ii. 207; 'Ann. Wav.' in Ann. Mon. ii. 268; 'Ann. Wig.' in Ann. Mon. iv. 400]. John now seized upon Fitz Walter's estates, and on 14 Jan. 1213 destroyed Castle Baynard. He also demolished Robert's castle of Bennington and his woods in Essex ['Ann. Dunst.' in Ann. Mon. iii. 35].

Fitz Walter remained in exile until John's submission to Innocent III. On 13 May 1213 John promised peace and security to him as part of the conditions of his reconciliation with Rome [Matt. Paris, ii. 542], and on 27 May issued letters patent informing him that he might safely come to England [Rot. Lit. Parl. i. 99]. On 19 July his estates were restored (ib. i. 101). John also granted a hundred marks to his steward as compensation [Rot. Lit. Claus. i. 146], and directed a general inquest into his losses like those made in the case of the clerks who had suffered by the interdict. Fitz Walter, however, was a vigorous opponent of John's later measures. It was said that John specially hated him, Archbishop Langton, and Saer de Quincy [Matt. Paris, ii. 482]. In 1215, Fitz Walter was the first mentioned in the list of barons who assembled in Easter week (April 19-26) at Stamford [Ib._ ii. 585; Walt. Cov. ii. 219]. He accompanied the revolted lords on the march to Brackley in Northamptonshire (27 April). But John now formally refused to accept the long list of demands which they forwarded to him at Oxford. Thereupon the barons elected Fitz Walter their general, with the title of 'Marshal of the army of God and Holy Church.' They solemnly renounced their homage to John and proceeded to besiege Northampton. They failed there and at Bedford, where Fitz Walter's standard-bearer was slain. But the adhesion of London secured their success. On 17 May the lord of Baynard's Caslte entered the city at the head of the 'army of God,' though the partisans of John still held out in the Tower. Fitz Walter and the Earl of Essex specially busied themselves with repairing the walls of London, using for the purpose the stones taken from the demolished houses of the Jews [Coggeshall, p. 171]. On 15 June John gave way and signed the Great Charter. Fitz Walter was one of the twenty-five executors appointed to see that its provisions were really carried out [Matt. Paris, ii. 605].
For a short time nominal peace prevailed. Fitz Walter now got back the custody of Hertford Castle [Rot. Lit. Pat. i. 144 b]. But the barons remained under arms, and Fitz Walter was still acting as 'Marshal of the army of God and Holy Church.' He now made a convention with John, by which London remained in the barons' hands till 15 Aug. [Fœdera, i. 133]. But he was so fearful of treachery that within a fortnight of the Runnymede meeting he thought it wise to postpone a tournament fixed to be held at Stamford on the Monday after the feast of SS. Peter and Paul (29 June), for another week, and chose as the place of its meeting Hounslow Heath, that the barons might be near enough to protect London [ib. i. 134]. After the failure to arrange terms at a meeting at Stalnes on 26 Aug. open war broke out. The twenty-five executors assigned to themselves various counties to secure them for their side. Fitz Walter, who with Eustace de Vescy was still the leading spirit of the movement, became responsible for Northamptonshire [Walt. Cov. ii. 224]. On 17 Sept. John granted Fitz Walter's Cornish estates to his young son Henry [Rot. Lit. Claus. i. 228; cf., however, i. 115 b, 200]. But the pope's annulling the charter had paralysed the clerical supporters of the popular side, and the thoroughgoing policy of the twenty-five under Fitz Walter's guidance had alienated some of the more moderate men. Fearing lest Archbishop Langton might be forced to surrender his castle of Rochester, Fitz Walter, with the assent of the warden of the castle, Reginald of Cornhill, secretly occupied it with a large force. John's troops soon approached, and strove, by burning Rochester bridge and occupying the left bank of the Medway, to cut off Fitz Walter from his London confederates. But Fitz Walter succeeded in keeping his position, though before long hs was forced (11 Oct.) to retreat to London, and allow the royalists to occupy the town and besiege the castle [Coggeshall, pp. 174-5]. John now tried to decieve him by forged letters [ib. p. 176]. Fitz Walter, conscious of the weakness of his position, sought to negotiate. On 9 Nov. he received with the Earl of Hertford and the citizens of London a safe-conduct for a conference; but nothing came of it. In vain the beleagured garrison of Rochester bitterly reproached him for deserting them [Matt. Paris, ii. 624]. On 16 Nov. the were forced to surrender. On 16 Dec. the barons, including Fitz Walter, were excommunicated by name [Fœdera, i. 139].

French help was now their only refuge. Fitz Walter went over to France with the Earl of Winchester and offered the throne to Louis, the son of King Philip, putting into his hands twenty-four hostages and assuring him of the support of their party. Fitz Walter was back in England early in 1216. Louis landed in May, and, as John made great progress in the east, Fitz Walter busied himself in compelling Essex and Suffolk, his own counties, to accept the foreign king [Matt. Paris, ii. 655-6]. The tide of fortune now turned, but after John's death on 19 Oct. Fitz Walter's difficulties increased. Gradually the English went over to the side of Henry III. Those who remained in arms were not respected by the French. On 6 Dec. Louis captured Hertford Castle from the followers of the new king Henry. Fitz Walter naturally asked for the custody of a stronghold that had already been so long under his care. The French urged that a traitor to his own lord was not to be trusted, and Louis told him he must wait until the end of the war [ib. iii. 5]. Fitz Walter was too deeply pledged to Louis to join the desterters. He was set from London on 30 Apr 1217 at the head of a strong French force to raise the siege of Mountsorrel in Leicestershire, now closely pressed by the Earl of Chester [Walt. Cov. ii. 237]. On his way he rested at St Albans, where his hungry troops ate up all the supplies of the abbey [Matt. Paris, iii. 16]. He raised the siege of Mountsorrel and advanced to Lincoln. He was met by the regent, William Marshall, whose forces were now joined by the Earl of Chester with the army that had besieged Mountsorrel. Fitz Walter was anxious for an immediate battle. On 20 May the battle of Lincoln was fought, and the baronial forces thoroughly defeated. Fitz Walter himself was taken prisoner along with his son [Gervase Cant. ii. 111] and most of the leaders of his party. The Londoners still held out until Hubert de Burgh's great naval victory on 24 Aug. On 11 Sept. the treaty of Lambeth ended the struggle. But the reissue of the charter as the result of the treaty showed that Fitz Walter's cause had triumphed in spite of his personal failure.
On 8 Oct. 1217 Fitz Walter's release from prison was ordered [Rot. Lit. Claus. i. 328 b]. On 24 Jan. 1218 the king granted him his scutage [ib. i. 349 b]. In July he received the custody of his nephew, Walter Fitzsimon Fitzwalter, whose father was now dead [ib. i. 379 b; Excerpta e Rot. Finium, i. 15]. In the same year, he witnessed the understanding that the great seal was to be affixed to no letters patent or charters until the king came of age [Fœdera, i. 152]. But the fifth crusade must have offered a convenient opportunity to him and others. In 1219, he sailed for the Holy Land along with Earl Saer of Winchester and Earl of William of Arundel. Before he arrived the crusading host had been diverted to the siege of Damiotta. There he seems to have arrived along with Saer de Quincy and other English, at the same time as the cardinal legate Pelagius [Flores Hist. iv. 44; Matt. Paris, iii .41]. This was in the autumn of 1219 [Kugler, Geschichte der Kreüzzuge, p. 319]. Saer de Quincy died on 3 Nov. ['Ann. Wav.' in Ann. Mon. ii. 292]. This date makes impossible the statement of Walter of Coventry that they only arrived after Damietta had been captured [ii. 246]. The town fell into the crusaders' hand on 5 Nov. Fitz Walter, therefore, though he is not mentioned, must have taken part in the latter part of the siege. Eracles, in 'Recueil des Histor. des Croisades,'' ii. 343 says that Fitz Walter arrived in the seventh month of 1218 [cf. also Publications de la Société de l'Orient Latin, Série Historique, iii. 55, 62, 65, 69].

The crusaders remained in Egypt until August 1221. But Fitz Walter had gone home sick ['Ann. Dunst.' in Ann. Mon._ iii. 56], probably at some earlier period. He spent the rest of peaceably in England, thoroughly reconciled now to the government of Henry III. He must have by this time become well advanced in years. He was called 'Robert Fitz Walter, senior,' in the list of executors of the charter, and his son, presumably Robert Fitz Walter, junior, was taken prisoner along with him at Lincoln. On 11 Feb. 1225 Fitz Walter was one of the witnesses of Henry III's third confirmation of the great charter ('Ann. Burton.' in Ann. Mon. i. 232]. In June 1230 he was one of those assigned to hold the assize of arms in Essex and Hertfordshire (Shirley, Royal Letters, i. 375]. He died on 9 Dec. 1235 ('Ann. Theok.' in Ann. Mon. i. 99; Matt. Paris, iii. 334), and was buried before the high altar at Dunmow priory, the chief foundation of his house. He is described by Matthew Paris [iii. 334] as a 'noble baron, illustrious by his birth, and renowned for his martial deeds.' Administration of his goods and chattels was granted to his executors on 16 Dec. [Excerpta e Rot. Finium, i. 294]. His heir, Walter, was at the time under age, so that the son who fought with him at Lincoln must have been dead [ib. i. 301]. This Walter (d. 1257) must have been either a younger son or a grandson. After the death of Gunnor (she was alive in 1207) it is said that Fitz Walter married a second wife, Rohese, who survived him. He had also a daughter, Christina, who married William Mandeville, earl of Essex [Doyle, Official Baronage, i. 685].

A large and legendary and romantic history gradually gathered round the memory of the first champion of English liberty. A picturesque tale, first found in the manuscript chronicle of Dunmow [MS. Cotton. Cleop. C. 3, f. 29], and reproduced in substance in the 'Monasticon' [ed. Caley, Ellis, and Bandinel, vi. 147], tells how Fitz Walter had a very beautiful daughter named Matilda, who indignantly rejected the immoral advances of King John. At last, as the maiden proved obdurate, John caused her to be poisoned, so that the bitterest sense of personal wrong drove Fitz Walter to take up the part of a constitutional leader. So generally was the story believed that an alabaster figure on a grey altar-tomb in Little Dunmow Church is still sometimes pointed out as the effigy of the unfortunate Matilda. Several poems and plays have been based upon this picturesque romance. In them the chaste Matilda is curiously mixed up with Maid Marian, the mistress of Robin Hood. Such are the plays called 'The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntingdon, afterwards called Robin Hood, with his Love to Chaste Matilda, the Lord Fitz Walter's daughter, afterwards his faire Maid Marian', and 'The Death of Robin Hood with the lamentable Tragedy of Chaste Matilda, his faire Maid Marian, poisoned at Dunmowe by King John.' Both were printed in 1601, and were written by Henry Chettle and Anthony Munday. They are reprinted in the eighth volume of Hazlitt's 'Dodsley.' Michael Drayton also published in 1594 a poetical account of 'Matilda, the faire and chaste Daughter of the Lord Robert Fitz Walter,' as well as two letters in verse, purporting to be written between her and King John. Before 1639 Robert Davenport wrote another play, 'The Tragedy of King John and Matilda.' I t was also believed in the seventeenth century that Robert Fitz Walter, 'or one of his successors,' was the founder of the famous Dunmow custom of giving a flitch of bacon to the couple that had never repented of their union for a year and a day.

Sources sited by the author, Thomas Frederick Tout:

Matthew Paris's Hist. Major, vols. ii. and iii., ed. Luard; Flores Historiarum, vols. iii. and iv. (Engl. Hist. Soc.); R. de Coggeshall's Chronicon Anglicanum (Rolls Ser.); Walter of Coventry's Memoriale (Rolls Ser.); Annales Monastici (Rolls Ser.); Rymer's Fœdera, vol. i., Record ed.; Rotuli Literarum Patentium, Rotuli Literarum Clausarum, Record Commission; Dugdale's Baronage, i. 209, 218-220; Dugdale's Monasticon, vi. 147-9, ed. Caley, Ellis, and Bandinel; Thompson's Essay on Magna Carta, especially pp. 504-11.

~The Dictionary of Nation Biography, Vol. VII, pp. 219-223

Robert married Rohese ⁵²⁶.^,940 (Rohese was born about 1180 in Baynard, Exxex, England and died after 1235 in England ⁹⁴⁰.)