Fulk FitzWarin, III

Male 1160 - 1258  (98 years)


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  • Name Fulk FitzWarin 
    Suffix III 
    Born 1160  Shropshire Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 1258 
    Notes 
    • Wikipedia
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulk_FitzWarin

      Also called Fulke, Fouke, FitzWaryn, FitzWarren, Fitz Warine, etc., he was a powerful marcher lord seated at Whittington Castle in Shropshire in England on the border with Wales, and also at Alveston in Gloucestershire. He rebelled against King John (1199-1216) from 1200 to 1203,[2] mainly over a dispute concerning his familial right to Whittington Castle, and was declared an outlaw. He was the subject of the famous mediaeval legend or "ancestral romance" entitled Fouke le Fitz Waryn, which relates the story of his life as an outlaw and his struggle to regain his patrimony from the king.

      Fulk III was the son of Fulk II FitzWarin (died 1197) by his wife Hawise le Dinan, a daughter and co-heiress of Josce de Dinan. Fulk II was a marcher lord of Shropshire, the son and heir of Fulk I FitzWarin (d.1170/1) of Whittington and Alveston, who himself was the son of (i.e. in Norman French Fitz, in modern French fils de) the family's earliest known ancestor, thus deemed the family patriarch, "Warin of Metz", from Lorraine.

      Land Disputes

      At some time before 1178 Fulk II (d.1197) married Hawise de Dinan, a wealthy heiress, a daughter and co-heiress of Josce de Dinan, who held Ludlow Castle in the Welsh marches for the Empress Matilda during the civil war between herself and King Stephen. Throughout his lifetime he encountered numerous problems in receiving his patrimony and his other claims to land. These land disputes included estates his father held in-chief from the crown and others which he had held from the Peverel family as overlords.

      Other lawsuits concerned Whittington Castle held by the Peverels during the reign of King Stephen. Although he won the right to Whittington in or about 1195, he never received formal legal seisin and it remained in Welsh hands at the time of his death in 1197.

      Fulk III continued the claim to Whittington made by his father. After his father's death in 1197 Fulk III offered relief of £100 for the inheritance of Whittington. However Maurice of Powis (d.1200), the son of Roger of Powis, who had offered half that amount, on 11 April 1200 was granted Whittington by King John. Again, after Maurice's death in August 1200, King John granted it to Maurice's heirs.

      It is not known why King John refused to recognise Fulk's claim to Whittington as his rightful inheritance but by April 1201 Fulk was in open rebellion against the King. He was accompanied by approximately fifty-two followers including his brothers William, Phillip and John, his cousins, and by the family's many tenants and allies in the Marches.

      After many years of being an outlaw, on 11 November 1203 Fulk was pardoned together with over thirty of his followers, including his brothers and his cousins. In October 1204, on payment of a fine of 200 marks, Fulk at last received "right and inheritance" in Whittington.

      Throughout these years Fulk's relations with the King were changeable and seemed to be directly dependent on the state of affairs in Wales. As a marcher lord Fulk's role as a protector of the English border against the Welsh was vital to the English King. He arbitrated several border disputes on behalf of the King and although there were more personal disagreements, there were no more rebellions on the part of Fulk III.

      Fulk III FitzWarin married twice:

      Firstly, in about 1207, to Maud le Vavasour (d.1226), (alias Matilda), daughter of Robert le Vavasour and widow of the powerful Lancashire baron Theobald Walter. He had the following progeny by Maud le Vavasour: Fulk IV FitzWarin (d.1264), Fulk Glas, Hawise FitzWarin, wife of William Pantulf, a Marcher Lord, Joan FitzWarin and Eva FitzWarin.

      And secondly to Clarice de Auberville, daughter and heiress of Robert de Auberville of Iden and Iham, Sussex (a great-grandson of Ranulf de Glanvill) by his wife Clarice de Gestling. The progeny from this second marriage appears to have been a single surviving daughter:

      Mabel FitzWarin (?1297), who married 1stly William de Crevequer (no issue), and 2ndly John de Tregoz, Lord Tregoz (d. before 6 Sept 1300), by whom she had two daughters and coheirs, Clarice and Sybil.

      Fulk III lived to a great age and at some time before his death in 1258, he handed over control of much of his responsibilities to his son and heir Fulk IV. In 1252 he made his will in which he stated his wish to be buried at the priory he founded, Alberbury Priory.

      Romance of Fouke le Fitz Waryn

      After Foulk's death he became the subject the famous "ancestral romance" known as Fouke le Fitz Waryn, which contains a highly embellished account of his life and family history. It survives in a manuscript containing English, French and Latin texts. The romance of Fulk FitzWarin is noted for its parallels to the legend of Robin Hood.
    Person ID I36013  Master File
    Last Modified 7 Sep 2016 

    Father Fulk FitzWarin, II,   d. 1197 
    Mother Hawise de Dinan 
    Family ID F14839  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Clarice de Auberville 
    Children 
     1. Mable FitzWarin,   b. ca 1228, Whittington, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 May 1297  (Age ~ 69 years)
    Last Modified 7 Sep 2016 
    Family ID F14837  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart