Roger fitzReinfrid

Roger fitzReinfrid (sometimes Roger fitzReinfrey;^[1] died 1196) was a medieval English sheriff and royal justice. Probably born into a knightly family, Roger first was in the household of a nobleman before beginning royal service. His brother, Walter de Coutances, was a bishop and archbishop and likely helped advance Roger's career. Besides holding two sheriffdoms, Roger was entrusted with the control of a number of royal castles.

Roger fitzReinfrid
Ruins of Lesnes Abbey in Bexley, where Roger donated property
Royal justice
In office 1176–1196
Sheriff of Sussex
In office 1176–1186
Sheriff of Berkshire
In office 1186–1189
Personal details
Died	1196
Spouse	Alice
Relations	Brother Walter de Coutances Brother or nephew John of Coutances
Children	Gilbert fitzReinfrey William
Occupation	Royal administrator

Early life

Roger was the brother^[2] or brother-in-law^[3] of Walter de Coutances, who was Archbishop of Rouen from 1184 to 1207.^[2] Another relative was John of Coutances, who was either the brother of Walter and Roger,^[4] or their nephew.^[5] John went on to become Bishop of Worcester from 1196 to 1198. Possibly another brother of Roger's was Odo of Coutances, a canon at Rouen Cathedral.^[4] Roger and Walter's family was probably of knightly rank.^[6]

Early career

In 1161, Roger paid scutage on property in Dorset, which was probably his inheritance.^[6] From 1168 to 1178, Roger was in the household of Richard de Lucy. Later he served as a royal justice.^[2] Another patron of Roger's was Simon de Senlis, the Earl of Huntingdon and Earl of Northampton, who gave a soke in London to Roger in July 1175.^[7] Roger was regularly employed by the king as a justice.^[8] In 1176, Henry II summoned Roger as a Serjeant-at-law, one of the first identifiable members of that order in the historical record.^[9][a] In 1177 Roger, along with Richard de Luci, the justiciar, and Gervase de Cornhill, assessed land taxes and heard judicial cases in Middlesex and Hampshire.^[10]

Royal service

In 1173, Roger was granted custody of Windsor Castle, and retained control of Windsor until 1193,^[11] gaining the title of constable of the castle in 1179.^[12] In 1176, Roger was one of the 18 men named as justicias errantes, who were sent out in three panels of six men after the Assize of Northampton in January 1176. These panels were sent to hear cases and dispense justice as needed throughout the country.^[13] King Henry II of England named Roger as Sheriff of Sussex in 1176, which office he retained until 1187. Roger was also Sheriff of Berkshire from 1186 until the death of King Henry II in 1189.^[11]

After the death of King Henry, Roger's brother or brother-in-law Walter was put in charge of England while Henry's son Richard I was away on Crusade from 1191 to 1193. Roger profited from his brother's rise to power by receiving custody of Wallingford Castle, the Tower of London, and Bristol Castle.^[11]

Roger granted land to Launceston Priory for his and his wife's souls. He also held land at Ramsden Bellhouse, half a knight's fee, which he was granted by Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London. The church on this land was later granted to Lesnes Abbey by Roger.^[2]

Legacy

Roger's son Gilbert fitzReinfrey became a royal administrator.^[1] It appears, however, that Gilbert was illegitimate, as he did not inherit his father's lands,^[14] nor is the name of his mother known.^[1] Another son was William, who became a canon of Lincoln Cathedral, and was named Archdeacon of Rouen by Walter de Coutances.^[4]

Roger's wife was named Alice.^[2] Roger died in 1196,^[15] and his wife and mother were to be buried at St Mary Clerkenwell.^[16]

Notes

1. The others summoned by Henry were: 1168: Reginald de Warenne 1174: John de Cumin, William fitzRalph, and William fitzStephen 1176: William Basset along with Roger 1177: Hugh de Cressy 1179: Hugh de Gaerst, Ranulf de Glanvill, and Hugh Murdac 1182: William de Auberville and Osbert fitzHervey 1184: Ralph fitzStephen.^[9]

Citations

1. Dalton "Fitzreinfrey, Gilbert" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2. Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 942
3. Duggan "Roman, Canon, and Common Law" Historical Research p. 403
4. Turner English Judiciary p. 62
5. Greenway "Archdeacons of Oxford" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae
6. Turner English Judiciary p. 27
7. Turner English Judiciary p. 30
8. Richardson and Sayles Governance of Mediaeval England p. 250
9. Warren "Serjeants-at-Law" Virginia Law Review p. 919 and footnote 18
10. West Justiciarship in England p. 47
11. Turner English Judiciary p. 42
12. Bond "Medieval Constables" English Historical Review p. 238
13. Turner English Judiciary p. 20
14. Turner English Judiciary p. 59
15. Turner English Judiciary pp. 74–75
16. Turner English Judiciary p. 264 and footnote 29

References

• Bond, Shelagh (April 1967). "The Medieval Constables of Windsor Castle". The English Historical Review. 82 (323): 225–249. doi:10.1093/ehr/lxxxii.cccxxiii.225. JSTOR 560383. S2CID 159925109.
• Dalton, Paul (2004). "Fitzreinfrey, Gilbert (b. before 1181, d. 1220)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47248. Retrieved 29 July 2010.(subscription or UK public library membership required)
• Duggan, Anne (2010). "Roman, Canon and Common Law in Twelfth-century England: the Council of Northampton (1164) Re-examined". Historical Research. 83 (221): 379–408. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2281.2009.00502.x. S2CID 159356723.
• Greenway, Diana E. (1977). "Archdeacons of Oxford". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 3: Lincoln. Institute for Historical Research. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
• 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.
• Richardson, H. G.; Sayles, G. O. (1963). The Governance of Mediaeval England. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press. OCLC 492704680.
• Turner, Ralph V. (2008). The English Judiciary in the Age of Glanvill and Bracton, c. 1176–1239 (Reprint ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-07242-7.
• Warren, Edward H. (May 1942). "Serjeants-at-Law: The Order of the Coif". Virginia Law Review. 28 (7): 911–950. doi:10.2307/1068630. JSTOR 1068630. S2CID 158404423.
• West, Francis (1966). The Justiciarship in England 1066–1232. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 1146491223.