Urse d’Abetot
Urse d’Abetot was first feudal baron of Salwarpe in Worcestershire. He followed King William the Conqueror to England, and served as Sheriff. Urse built the earliest form of Worcester Castle in Worcester, which encroached on the cathedral cemetery.
About Urse d’Abetot in brief
Urse d’Abetot was first feudal baron of Salwarpe in Worcestershire. He followed King William the Conqueror to England, and served as Sheriff. Urse built the earliest form of Worcester Castle in Worcester, which encroached on the cathedral cemetery there. He helped to put down a rebellion against King William I in 1075, and quarrelled with the Church in his county over the jurisdiction of the sheriffs. He continued in the service of William’s sons after the king’s death, and was appointed constable under William II and marshal under Henry I. He was known for his acquisitiveness, and during William II’s reign was considered second only to Ranulf Flambard, another royal official, in his rapacity. Through his daughter, Urse is an ancestor of the Beauchamp family, who eventually became Earls of Warwick. He came from an undistinguished family, and made his way on military reputation. The main sources for Urse’s life are English documents such as charters and writs which mention his activities. There are also mentions of Urse in Norman sources, such as charters for Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey. His last name derives from his ancestral village in Normandy, where he himself was a tenant of the lords of Tancarville. It is not certain that Urse had a brother called Robert Despenser, sometimes known as Robert Thurstinin, who also became a royal dispenser during the royal household of Ralph Tancerville.
His brother’s last name, Despenser, is the usual name of his usual household dispenser, that is, Lord Ralph Thurst in the household of Lord Tancorville. He is thought to have been a forename, perhaps given on account of his tenacious temperament, rather than a nickname. He may have been born in about 1040, but the exact date is unknown. There is no evidence that he took part in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, although his feudal overlord in Normandy was present at the battle. The only English noblemen who fought in the battle lost their lands, which were distributed to Normans and others from the continent who had supported William’s invasion. The rebellions of the years 1068 to 1071 led to fresh confiscations of English land, again distributed to William’s continental followers. By 1086, when William ordered the compilation of Domesday Book to record landholders in England, most of the native English nobility had been replaced by Norman and other continental nobles. The most powerful English noble, Harold Godwinson, took the initiative and was crowned king on 6 January 1066. Some medieval writers state that shortly before Edward’s death he named his brother-in-law, Earl of Wessex, as his heir. Others claim that Edward had promised the throne to his cousin, William, Duke of Normandy, a powerful autonomous ruler in northern France.
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This page is based on the article Urse d’Abetot published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
