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LONGESPEE William
Birth: ABT 1212 of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Death: 7 Feb 1250 Al-Mansura, Egypt
Burial: Acre, Palestine
Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_II_Longesp%C3%A9e
Sir William Longespée (c. 1212 – 8 February 1250) was an English knight and
crusader, the son of William Longespée and Ela, Countess of Salisbury. His death
became of significant importance to the English psyche, having died as a martyr due
to the purported mistakes of the French at the Battle of Mansurah, near Al-Mansurah
in Egypt.
Biography[edit]
Barons' Crusade[edit]
Longespée made two pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The first was as a participant in
the second wave of crusaders of the Barons' Crusade. On 10 June 1240 he left
England in the service of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall with roughly a dozen English
barons and several hundred knights. They made their way to Marseilles in mid-
September, and landed at Acre on 8 October. Longespée and Richard's men saw no
combat there, but this group did complete the negotiations for a truce with Ayyubid
leaders made by Theobald I of Navarre just a few months prior during the first wave of
the crusade. They rebuilt Ascalon castle, and notably handed over custody of it to
Walter Pennenpié, the imperial agent of Frederick II in Jerusalem (instead of turning it
over to the local liege men of the Kingdom of Jerusalem who strongly opposed to
Frederick's rule). On 13 April 1241 they exchanged Muslim prisoners with Christian
captives who had been seized during Henry of Bar's disastrous raid at Gaza five
months earlier. They also moved the remains of those killed in that battle and buried
them at the cemetery in Ascalon. Longespée almost certainly departed with Richard
for England on 3 May 1241.
Seventh Crusade[edit]
Longespée again made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, this time in the Seventh
Crusade of 1247. He proceeded to Rome and made a plea to Pope Innocent IV for
support:
"Sir, you see that I am signed with the cross and am on my journey with the King of
France to fight in this pilgrimage. My name is great and of note, viz., William
Longespée, but my estate is slender, for the King of England, my kinsman and liege
lord, hath bereft me of the title of earl and of that estate, but this he did judiciously,
and not in displeasure, and by the impulse of his will; therefore I do not blame him for
it. Howbeit, I am necessitated to have recourse to your holiness for favour, desiring
your assistance in this distress. We see here (quoth he) that Earl Richard (of Cornwall)
who, though he is not signed with the cross, yet, through the especial grace of your
holiness, he hath got very much money from those who are signed, and therefore, I,
who am signed and in want, do intreat the like favour."[1]
Having succeeded in gaining the favour of the Pope, Longespée raised a company of
200 English horse to join with King Louis on his crusade. To raise funds for his
expedition, he sold a charter of liberties to the burgesses of the town of Poole in 1248
for 70 marks.[2] During the Seventh Crusade, Longespée commanded the English
forces. He became widely known for his feats of chivalry and his subsequent
martyrdom. The circumstances of his death served to fuel growing English animosity
toward the French; it is reported that the French Count d'Artois lured Longespée into
attacking the Mameluks before the forces of King Louis arrived in support. D'Artois,
Longespée and his men, along with 280 Knights Templar, were killed at this time.
It is said that his mother, Countess Ela, had a vision of the martyr being received into
heaven by angels on the day of his death. In 1252, the Sultan delivered Longespée's
remains to a messenger who conveyed them to Acre for burial at the church of St
Cross. However, his effigy is found amongst family members at Salisbury Cathedral, in
England.
Marriage and issue[edit]
Longespée married Idoine de Camville, daughter of Richard de Camville and Eustacia
Basset. They had three sons and a daughter:
Ela Longespée, married James De Audley (1220–1272), of Heleigh Castle,
Staffordshire, son of Henry De Audley and Bertred Mainwaring
William III Longespée, married Maud de Clifford, granddaughter of Llewelyn ap
Iorwerth, Prince of North Wales. Their daughter Margaret married Henry de Lacy, 3rd
Earl of Lincoln.[3]
Richard Longespée, married Alice le Rus, daughter of William le Rus of Suffolk and
died shortly before 27 December 1261.[4]
Edmund Longespée, The Book of Lacock names “Guill Lungespee tertium, Ric´um,
Elam et Edmundum” as the children of “Guill Lungespee secundus” & his wife.
Parents
LONGESPEE William (ABT 1176 - 7 Mar 1226)
FITZ PATRICK [OF SALISBURY] Ela (ABT 1191 - 24 Aug 1261)
Siblings
LONGESPEE Ida (Idonea) (ABT 1210 - ABT 1269)
LONGESPEE William (ABT 1212 - 7 Feb 1250)
LONGESPEE Stephen (ABT 1214 - 1260)
Marriage To DE CAMVILLE Idoine (ABT 1209 - 1 Jan 1251)
m.
Notes
Parents
DE CAMVILLE Richard (ABT 1177 - )
BASSET Eustachia (ABT 1176 - 1215)
Children by DE CAMVILLE Idoine ABT 1209 - 1 Jan 1251
LONGSPEE Ela (ABT 1226 - 22 Nov 1299)
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