Josce de Dinan

Josce de Dinan^[a](died 1166) was anAnglo-Normannobleman who lived during and after thecivil warbetween KingStephen of Englandand his cousinMatildaover the throne of England. He was a landholder in theWelsh Marcheswhen he was married by Stephen to the widow ofPain fitzJohn,a union that gave Josce control ofLudlow Castle.Control of the castle was contested by other noblemen, and the resulting warfare between the nobles forms the background to a late medievalromanceknown asFouke le Fitz Waryn,which is mainly concerned with the actions of Josce's grandson, but also includes some material on Josce's lifetime. Josce eventually lost control of Ludlow and was granted lands in compensation by Matilda and her son, KingHenry II of England,who succeeded Stephen in 1154.

Background and early life

Following KingHenry I'sdeath in 1135, the succession was disputed between the king's nephews—Stephenand his elder brother,Theobald II, Count of Champagne—and Henry's surviving legitimate childMatilda,usually known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to theHoly Roman Emperor,Henry V.King Henry's only legitimate son,William,had died in 1120. After Matilda was widowed in 1125, she returned to her father, who married her toGeoffrey, Count of Anjou.

All the magnates of England and Normandy were required to declare fealty to Matilda as Henry's heir, but after the king's death in 1135 Stephen rushed to England and had himself crowned before either Theobald or Matilda could react. The Norman barons accepted Stephen as Duke of Normandy, and Theobald contented himself with his possessions in France.

But Matilda was less sanguine, and secured the support of her maternal uncle, the Scottish kingDavid I,and in 1138 also that of her half-brotherRobert, Earl of Gloucester,an illegitimate son of Henry I.^[b]Nobles in the Welsh Marches revolted against Stephen in 1136, but the revolt was not settled until 1138. In 1139, Matilda invaded southern England with her half-brother's support and the period of civil war began.^[7]

Josce was the youngest son of Geoffrey de Dinan and Radegonde Orieldis,^[8]and had two older brothers, Oliver of Dinan and Alan of Becherel.^[2]Josce's family was from Brittany, and he was described by the historianMarjorie Chibnallas an "obscure Breton adventurer".^[9]

Josce moved from Devon in southern England to the Welsh Marches, the border between England and Wales, because the lords ofMonmouthwere also of Breton extraction. While in the Marches he joined King Stephen's household.^[10]

Ludlow Castle

Josce was married toSybil,the widow ofPain fitzJohn.Pain died in 1137 and Sybil held Ludlow Castle against Stephen in 1139, but surrendered after a siege. Ludlow was an important strategic stronghold for control of theWelsh Borders,and Stephen decided to marry Pain's widow to someone he felt was trustworthy.^[11]Upon his marriage Josce also acquired control of the castle, built in the late 11th century.^[1]^[c]Josce probably also received many of thede Lacyfamily's holdings in southern Shropshire,^[4]but he rebelled against Stephen and fortified Ludlow against the king. Josce's position was so strong that when Stephen granted much of the surrounding lands toRobert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester,Ludlow was specifically exempted. Stephen told Robert that he would have a royal grant of the castle if he could secure Josce's submission as a vassal.^[1]

Custody of Ludlow was contested not only by Stephen but also byGilbert de Lacy,whose efforts to wrest the castle from Josce are the background to the medieval romanceFouke le Fitz Waryn;^[14]the extant prose version dates from the 14th century, but it was originally a 13th-century poem, now lost.^[15]Gilbert claimed the castle through his familial link with Sybil, fitzJohn's widow, who was a member of the de Lacy family.^[16]Others trying to take Ludlow wereHugh de Mortimerand Gilbert de Lacy.^[17]According to theChronicle of Wigmore Abbey,some time after September 1148^[d]Mortimer and Josce became embroiled in a private war, during which Josce seized Mortimer while the latter was travelling. Josce imprisoned his captive in Ludlow and demanded a ransom of 3,000 silvermarks,^[18]as well as, according to theChronicle,Mortimer's "plate, his horses, and his birds".^[19]^[e]Presumably, Mortimer met the ransom, as he is later known to have been a free man.^[18]

While Josce was absent from Ludlow, Gilbert de Lacy was able to take the castle. Josce laid siege to the castle but was unsuccessful in his attempt to retake it,^[17]and retreated toLambournwith his military forces.^[1]Although the exact date of this event is unknown, it appears to have been some time about 1150 or shortly before.^[20]Matilda gave Josce some lands around Lambourn after Ludlow's fall as compensation.^[21]Later he was given land in Berkshire by King Henry II (became king in 1154), Matilda's son, as further recompense for the loss of Ludlow.^[8]In 1156 Josce held lands in Berkshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Devonshire and Somerset. These holdings included the manor of Lambourn, worth £76 in income per year, as well as the manor of Stanton (now known asStanton Fitzwarrenin Wiltshire) in addition to the lands scattered in other counties.^[22]

Josce's grandsonFulk fitzWarin,who died in 1258, is ostensibly the hero of a lostromantic poemcalledFouke le Fitz Waryn.The work survives as French prose in a loose corpus of medieval literature known as theMatter of England.^[23]However, it appears to confuse events of Fulk fitzWarin's lifetime with those of his grandfather's.^[24]Other errors in the work include transposing some of theWelsh Marcherbarons of KingHenry I of England's reign into nobles ofWilliam the Conqueror's time, and omitting an entire generation of fitzWarins.^[25]Although scholars believeFouke le Fitz Waryndraws on genuine tradition, the difficulty in separating the fitzWarin biographies makes it a problematic source.^[24]

Family

Josce died in 1166. He was survived by two daughters: Sibil, who married Hugh de Pulgenet and died in 1212, and Hawise who marriedFulk fitzWarin,who died in 1197.^[8]In 1199 his two daughters petitioned the king regarding the ownership of the town and castle of Ludlow but were turned down.^[26]

Notes

^Sometimes known asJoce de Dinan,^[1]Josselin de Dinan,^[2]Joce de Dynan;^[3]Jocelin de Dinan,^[4]Joyce de Dinan,orJoceas de Dinan.^[5]
^Henry I had more than 20 illegitimate children.^[6]
^A bridge located near Ludlow Castle is named Dinham Bridge, and this is often erroneously held to have been named after Josce.^[2]The poemFouke le Fitz Warynclaims the town now known as Ludlow was called Dinham "for a very long time".^[12]The derivation of "Dinham" is uncertain, and it has been suggested that the word may be Saxon in origin, though it is possible the town adopted the name from Josce de Dinan.^[13]
^The date is determined by the elevation ofGilbert FoliotasBishop of Hereford,which took place in September 1148.^[18]
^Plate in this would refer to his eating utensils, usually made of silver or other precious metals. His birds here would have referred to his hawks or falcons used infalconry.

Citations

^^a ^b ^c ^dChibnallEmpress Matildapp. 123–124
^^a ^b ^cJonesFamily of Dinan,p. 20
^Hathaway, et al. "Introduction"Fouke le Fitz Warinp. xvi
^^a ^bHoldenLords of the Central Marchesp. 18
^Burgess "Introduction: The Romance of Fouke Fitz Warin"Two Medieval Outlawsp. 96
^HollisterHenry Ip. 41
^HuscroftRuling Englandpp. 71–73
^^a ^b ^cKeats-RohanDomesday Descendantsp. 434
^Quoted in ChibnallEmpress Matildap. 123
^Coplestone-Crow. "From Foundation to the Anarchy"Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildingsp. 27
^CrouchReign of King Stephenp. 102 and footnote 55
^Coplestone-Crow "From Foundation to the Anarchy"Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildingsp. 21
^ShoesmithTown of Ludlowpp. 9, 11
^Coplestone-Crow "Payn fitzJohn and Ludlow Castle"Shropshire History and Archaeologyp. 181
^Burgess "Introduction"Two Medieval Outlawsp. 91
^Coplestone-Crow "Payn fitzJohn and Ludlow Castle"Shropshire History and Archaeologyp. 180
^^a ^bPettiferEnglish Castlesp. 212
^^a ^b ^cCoplestone-Crow "From Foundation to the Anarchy"Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildingsp. 32
^Quoted in Coplestone-Crow "From Foundation to the Anarchy"Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildingsp. 32
^Coplestone-Crow "From Foundation to the Anarchy"Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildingsp. 34
^ChibnallEmpress Matildap. 125
^JonesFamily of Dinanp. 28
^CartlidgeBoundaries in Medieval Romance,pp. 29–42
^^a ^bJonesFamily of Dinanp. 30
^Hathaway, et al. "Introduction"Fouke le Fitz Warinp. xxviii
^Coplestone-Crow "End of the Anarchy to the de Genevilles"Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildingspp. 36–37

References

Burgess, Glyn S. (1997). "Introduction: The Romance of Fouke Fitz Warin".Two Medieval Outlaws: Eustace the Monk and Fouke Fitz Warin.Cambridge, UK: D. S. Brewer. pp. 91–131.ISBN 0-85991-438-0.
Cartlidge, Neil, ed. (2008).Boundaries in Medieval Romance.Rochester, NY: D. S. Brewer.ISBN 978-1-84384-155-5.
Chibnall, Marjorie(1991).The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English.Oxford: Blackwell.ISBN 0-631-19028-7.
Coplestone-Crow, Bruce (1995). "Payn fitzJohn and Ludlow Castle".Shropshire History and Archaeology Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society.LXX:171–183.
Coplestone-Crow, Bruce (2000). "From Foundation to the Anarchy". In Shoesmith, Ron; Johnson, Andy (eds.).Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildings.Logaston Press. pp. 21–34.ISBN 1-873827-51-2.
Coplestone-Crow, Bruce (2000). "The End of the Anarchy to the de Genevilles". In Shoesmith, Ron; Johnson, Andy (eds.).Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildings.Logaston Press. pp. 35–44.ISBN 1-873827-51-2.
Crouch, David (2000).The Reign of King Stephen: 1135–1154.New York: Longman.ISBN 0-582-22657-0.
Hathaway, E. J.; Ricketts, P. T.; Robson, C. A.; Wilshire, A. D (1975). "Introduction".Fouke le Fitz Warin.Anglo-Norman Texts. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.ISBN 0-631-17000-6.
Hollister, C. Warren(2001). Frost, Amanda Clark (ed.).Henry I.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.ISBN 0-300-08858-2.
Holden, Brock W. (2008).Lords of the Central Marches: English Aristocracy and Frontier Society, 1087–1265.Oxford Historical Monographs. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-954857-6.
Huscroft, Richard (2005).Ruling England 1042–1217.London: Pearson/Longman.ISBN 0-582-84882-2.
Jones, Michael (1987).The Family of Dinan in England in the Middle Ages.Dinan, France: Bibliothèque Municipale.ISBN 2-905952-02-4.
Keats-Rohan, K. S. B.(1999).Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066–1166: Pipe Rolls to Cartae Baronum.Ipswich, UK: Boydell Press.ISBN 0-85115-863-3.
Pettifer, Adrian (1995).English Castles: A Guide by Counties.Woodbridge: Boydell.ISBN 0-85115-782-3.
Shoesmith, Ron (2000). "The Town of Ludlow". In Shoesmith, Ron; Johnson, Andy (eds.).Ludlow Castle: Its History & Buildings.Logaston Press.ISBN 1-873827-51-2.