Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          ABT 1160 of Hertfordshire, England
Death:          1258 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_FitzWarin
obtained Whittington Castle in 1204, was the subject of the famous legend Romance 
of Fouke le Fitz Waryn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulk_FitzWarin
Fulk III FitzWarin (c. 1160–1258; alias Fulke, Fouke, FitzWaryn, FitzWarren, Fitz 
Warine, etc., Latinised to Fulco Filius Warini, "Fulk son of Warin") 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. 
He founded, between 1221 and 1226, Alberbury Priory in Shropshire which he granted 
to the Augustinian canons of Lilleshall but later transferred to the Order of Grandmont. 
His grandson was Fulk V FitzWarin, 1st Baron FitzWarin (1251–1315).[3]
Origins[edit]

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.[4] Fulk II was a marcher lord of 
Shropshire,[5] 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 
Meer", from Lorraine.[4]

Earliest ancestry[edit]

Warin of Meer the patriarch is however a "shadowy or mythical figure",[4] about whom 
little is certain. The later mediaeval romance Fouke le Fitz Waryn gives his name as 
"Warin de Meer". Whatever his true place of origin it is however generally believed 
that the head of the Warin family came to England during the reign of William the 
Conqueror (1066–1087). Neither the father nor his sons were during that reign tenants-
in-chief, that is to say important vassals or feudal barons, rather their grants of lands 
were obtained from later kings.[6]

Fulk I (d.1170/1) was rewarded by King Henry II (1154–1189) for his support of his 
mother Empress Matilda in her civil war with King Stephen (1135–1154) and conferred 
to him in 1153 the royal manor of Alveston in Gloucestershire and in 1149 the manor of 
Whadborough in Leicestershire. Fulk II held those properties after the death of his 
father in 1171.[7]

Career[edit]

Land dispute[edit]

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.[8] 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.[9]

Whittington Castle lies on the English side of Offa's Dyke, which during the Norman 
era and before was the border between England and Wales. The site was fortified as 
a castle by William Peverel in 1138, in support of Empress Matilda, the daughter of 
King Henry I (1100–1135), in her struggle (known as The Anarchy) for the throne 
against King Stephen (1135–1154), grandson of William the Conqueror. In the late 
1140s the lordship of Whittington, like Oswestry and Overton ceased to be part of 
England and became part of the Kingdom of Powys and a Welsh marcher lordship.[10] 
In 1165 Henry II granted the castle of Whittington on Roger de Powis, a Welsh leader, 
to whom he gave funds for its repair in about 1173.[11] Roger de Powis was followed 
by his son Meurig (or Maurice), who was followed by his son Werennoc. A rival claim 
was made by Fulk III FitzWarin (c. 1160–1258).[2][12]

Rebellions[edit]

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.[13]

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. [2][12]

Fulk's rebellion is not related in detail by chroniclers but was clearly considerable as in 
the spring of 1201, while King John crossed into Normandy and Poitou to suppress a 
revolt by the Lusignans,[14] he ordered Hubert de Burgh, with 100 knights, to counter 
the rebellion of Fulk and William Marsh, a Somersetshire knight who was raiding 
shipping off the coast of Devon.[15]

In July 1202 Fulk and his men are reported to have taken refuge in Stanley Abbey in 
Wiltshire. Another man, Gilbert de Duure, is mentioned in records as "...having been 
an outlaw associated with Fulk Fitz Warin". Yet another, Eustace de Kivilly, was 
pardoned earlier in 1202 by King John for "being associated with Fulk".[16]

After many years of being an outlaw, on 11 November 1203 Fulk was pardoned 
together with over thirty of his followers, including his brothers William, Phillip and 
John and his cousins. In October 1204, on payment of a fine of 200 marks, Fulk at last 
received "right and inheritance" in Whittington.[17] Whittington Castle thereafter 
descended in the FitzWarin family, all subsequent holders bearing the first-name Fulk, 
until the death of Fulk XI FitzWarin, 7th Baron FitzWarin (1405–1420) in 1420.[18]

In 1207 Fulk III was clearly highly regarded by many of the king's barons as evidenced 
by the identity of men known to have provided surety for Fulk's fine of 1,200 marks to 
marry the heiress daughter of Robert le Vavasur. The suretors included the Peverels, 
Alan Basset, William de Braose (d.1230), a de Lacy, William Longespιe, 3rd Earl of 
Salisbury and Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford.[19]

On 9 February 1214, when King John again set sail for Poitou, Fulk was among the 
barons who accompanied him. He is believed then to have been a vassal of Geoffrey 
de Mandeville, Earl of Gloucester.[20]

In 1215 Fulk was one of many giving great trouble to the Sheriff of Shropshire. Before 
1216 and the accession of the infant King Henry III (1216–1272), John's son, Fulk's 
manor of Alveston had been seized by the crown and in the following year 1217 all of 
his other lands in Gloucestershire were likewise seized. By 1218 however Fulk had 
made peace and his lands were ordered restored by the regents of Henry III.[21]

By 1220 Fulk had regained some favour with the young King Henry III and had been 
allowed to rebuild and fortify Whittington. In 1223 however it fell to Llywelyn the 
Great, prince of Wales. Fulk regained it the following year although his disputes with 
Llywelyn continued and more of Fulk's lands were seized.[22]

By 1228 a truce seems to have been reached between Fulk and Llywelyn following the 
intervention of the king.[23]

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.[24]

Marriages and progeny[edit]

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.[25] 
He secured pledges for the marriage from his brother William and from Maud's father, 
Robert le Vavasour, who was a tenant of the feudal barony of Skipton in Yorkshire.
[26][27] Maud died in 1226 and was buried at her husband's foundation Alberbury 
Priory (alias New Abbey, Alberbury) in Shropshire.[28][29][30] He had the following 
progeny by Maud le Vavasour:
1.Fulk IV FitzWarin (d.1264)[31]
2.Fulk Glas[31]
3.Hawise FitzWarin, wife of William Pantulf, a Marcher Lord[31]
4.Joan FitzWarin[31]
5.Eva FitzWarin[31]
Fulk married secondly to Clarice de Auberville, daughter and heiress of Robert de 
Auberville of Iden and Iham, Sussex The progeny from this second marriage appears 
to have been a single surviving daughter:
1.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[28][31]

Death & burial[edit]

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.[32]

Romance of Fouke le Fitz Waryn[edit]

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.[33]

The biography of Fulk III survives in a French prose "ancestral romance", extant in a 
manuscript containing English, French and Latin texts, which is based on a lost verse 
romance. A 16th-century summary of a Middle English version has also been 
preserved. The work is part of the Matter of England.[34] The outline of the work is as 
follows. As a young boy, Fulk was sent to the court of King Henry II (1154–1189), 
where he grew up with the king's younger son, the future King John (1199–1216). John 
became his enemy after a childhood quarrel during a game of chess. As an adult, King 
John retained his animosity toward Fulk whom he stripped of his ancestral holdings. 
Fulk thereupon took to the woods as an outlaw and lived a life of adventure. The 
story may in fact have confused aspects of the lives of two FitzWarins, Fulk I (d. 
1171) and Fulk II (d. 1197), father and son. The romance of Fulk FitzWarin is noted 
for its parallels to the legend of Robin Hood.[35]

Parents
FITZ WARIN Fulk II (ABT 1143 - 1198)
DE DINAN Hawise (ABT 1143 - )

Siblings
FITZ WARIN Fulk III (ABT 1160 - 1258)
FITZ WARIN Eva (ABT 1179 - )

Marriage To LA VAVASOUR Maude (1176 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
LE VAVASOUR Robert (ABT 1155 - BEF 1231)
DE BIRKIN ----- (ABT 1155 - )

Children by LA VAVASOUR Maude 1176 - 
FITZ WARIN Fulk IV (ABT 1210 - 14 May 1264)

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017