Murder of William de Cantilupe

The murder of Sir William de Cantilupe by members of his household took place in Scotton, Lincolnshire, in March 1375. The chief suspects were two neighbours, a local knight, and the sheriff, Sir Thomas Kydale. Multiple people were indicted for the crime, although only two were convicted and, in the end, executed for it. The last trial and acquittal was in 1378, although the case had long-term consequences.

About Murder of William de Cantilupe in brief

The murder of Sir William de Cantilupe by members of his household took place in Scotton, Lincolnshire, in March 1375. The chief suspects were two neighbours, a local knight, and the sheriff, Sir Thomas Kydale. Multiple people were indicted for the crime, although only two were convicted and, in the end, executed for it. Other influential local figures, such as the Sheriff, were accused of aiding and abetting the criminals. The last trial and acquittal was in 1378, although the case had long-term consequences. No motive has been established for the killing; historians consider it most likely that responsibility rested with de Cantillupe’s wife, her lover, the cook and their neighbour, with a mix of motives including love and revenge. The precise date of the crime is unknown; the juries that heard the indictments offered dates varying from 13 February to 11 April. It was probably the maid, Agatha Lovel, who gave the blood-up water, according to the later court records, so that they could not be discredited by the effusion of blood of his corpse. A later jury established that de CantILupe was “at peace with God and the lord king”, and Pedersen has taken this to indicate that he had prayed, and was therefore, therefore, to retire for the night. In fact, it is probably the former date, the former Friday evening of March 23 or March 23, as most probable, as that is the most probable date for the murder.

The de Cantlupes were a long-established Lincolnshire family based at Scotton in the northeast of the county. They were also major landholders in the Midlands, with estates in Greasley, Ilkeston, and Withcall. The family had traditionally played an important role in both local society and central government with a history of loyal and diligent service to the crown. Not only were they lords of the realm—”one of the richest and most influential families in fourteenth-century England”, suggests the scholar Frederick Pedersen—but the family possessed Saint Thomas de cantilupe in its ancestry, and considered themselves to be under his special protection. They were among the first to come within the purview of the act, as were the subsequent trials of Maud and several members of her staff, The family considered themselves under the protection of the king, and were said to have been loyal to him for many years. It is possible that Maud was conducting an affair with Kyd Dale, during her husband’s frequent absences on service in France. The household, as named in later indictments, comprised Maud and her husband, Richard Gyse, squire; Roger Cooke, thecook and their seneschal; John Barneby de Beckingham; John de Barnaby, the household chamberlain; William Chaumberleyn; Walter de Hole; Henry Taskare; Augustine Forster; Augustine Warner and John Astyn.

Related posts:

MAUD Committee Saint Maud William Cragh Murder of Yvonne Fletcher