Richard (Montfichet) de Montfichet (abt. 1193 - 1267)

Born about 1193 in England

Ancestors

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Magna Carta Surety Baron Richard II de Montfichet was one of the twenty-five medieval barons who were surety for Magna Carta in 1215. Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta

Biography

Richard de Montfichet was the son of Richard de Montfichet and his wife Millicent.^[1][2] He was about ten when his father died in 1203,^[1] pointing to a birth date of about 1193. On the death of his father, his wardship was granted to Roger de Lacy,^[1] who paid £1000 for this.^[3] Richard came of age in the period 1212-1214,^[3] which also supports the estimate of his birth year.

Richard's inheritance included the Barony of Stansted Mountfitchet, based in Essex,^[1][3] with almost 50 knights' fees,^[1] and the hereditary office of custodian of the royal forests in Essex, which was granted to him at the time of the Magna Carta.^[1]

In 1214 Richard witnessed a number of charters,^[4] and also participated in King John's expedition to Poitou.^[1]

In 1215 Richard joined the barons who compelled King John to sign the Magna Carta, of which he was one of the Sureties.^[1][5] As with other rebel Barons, his lands were confiscated later that year.^[1]

Richard remained in rebellion until early in the reign of Henry III. He was captured during the Second Battle of Lincoln in May 1217, and returned to allegiance in October 1217, leading to the restoration of his lands and of the office of custodian of the king's Essex forests.^[1]

In 1225 Richard was a witness to the reissue of the Magna Carta. In 1230 he took part in an expedition to Brittany. In 1234 he was a Baron of the Exchequer. In 1236 he was made Chief Justice of the forests in the southern counties of England. The following year he witnessed a further confirmation of the Magna Carta.^[1]

From 1242 to 1246 Richard was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire.^[1]

In 1244 he was among the barons charged with examining a request for a subsidy (a form of taxation).^[1]

During Simon de Montfort's rebellion of the mid-1260s, Richard appears to have maintained a degree of neutrality.^[1]

Richard married twice, though the family origins of his wives are not known. His first wife was Alice^[1] or Agnes^[6]: she was alive in 1217.^[1][6] His second wife was Joyce,^[1] probably widow of Sir Gilbert de Greinville.^[6]

Richard died without surviving issue in 1267.^[1][3] He was the last survivor of the Magna Carta Surety Barons. A little before his death he had transferred the office of custodian of the royal forests in Essex to Thomas de Clare.^[1] His lands were inherited by the descendants of his three sisters.^[3] His second wife outlived him, dying before 12 July 1274.^[6]

Research Notes

Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Biography

For the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015, Professor Nigel Saul wrote a set of biographies of the Surety Barons. He and the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee generously gave permission for them to be reproduced on WikiTree. They can be viewed here.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Montfichet, Richard de', print and online 2004, revised online 2005
2. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, Salt Lake City: the author, 2013, Vol IV p. 383 PLAIZ 5. See also WikiTree's source page for ‘’Royal Ancestry’’.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} I J Sanders. English Baronies. A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1960, p. 83
4. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 38, pp. 281-282, entry for 'Montfichet, Richard de', Wikisopource
5. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011, Vol. I p. ix. See also WikiTree's source page for "Magna Carta Ancestry".
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Charles Cawley. 'Medieval Lands. A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families', hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG), Richard de Montfichet (-1267) Gilbert de Montfichet 1b

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Montfichet, Richard de', print and online 2004, revised online 2005, available online via some libraries
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 38, pp. 281-282, entry for 'Montfichet, Richard de', Wikisopource
• Cawley, Charles. "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). See also WikiTree's source page for MedLands.
  • England, Untitiled English Nobiliby L-O, Chapter 19, Montfichet: 1a Richard de Montfichet (-1267) Gilbert de Montfichet 1b
• Wikipedia: Richard de Montfichet

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Bill Fikes for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Bill and others.

Magna Carta Project

As a surety baron, Richard de Montfichet's profile is managed by the Magna Carta Project, even though he is one of the eight barons who had no descendants past the fourth generation. ~ Noland-165 00:08, 27 January 2018 (EST)

This profile was revised and approved for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 20 April 2020.