Geoffrey De Mandeville: Rebel And Outlaw

 

The reign of King Stephen was chaotic as he desperately sought to keep the throne he had stolen off his cousin, the Empress Matilda, in 1135. England descended into civil war that would become known as the Anarchy. The struggle for power swung back and forth. In 1141, Matilda appeared to strike a decisive blow when forces loyal to her defeated Stephen at Lincoln. But Matilda didn’t have enough support across the country to establish herself as Queen and worse was to follow for her when her key ally Robert of Gloucester, her half brother, was captured. Although Matilda had King Stephen in captivity, it was clear that hopes of her taking the crown depended largely on the support of Robert. As a result, an exchange took place with Stephen and Robert both being freed. It was now a stalemate.

During these dark and difficult times, the loyalty of men was sorely tested. One such example was Geoffrey De Mandeville, Earl of Essex. Geoffrey, described as a knight proven in battle, had been an important supporter of King Stephen in the early years of the Anarchy. But for Geoffrey, things would take a dark and sinister turn. He was accused of treason by people with a clear agenda against him. What didn’t help Geoffrey’s cause was that Stephen was a rather weak willed man and prone to listening  to those he shouldn’t be listening to. Geoffrey was arrested in St Albans in 1143, charged with treason. Geoffrey was forced to surrender his castles at Pleshey and Saffron Walden in Essex. Needless to say, Geoffrey and his allies were seething and Stephen had, yet again, created another big problem for himself with rebellion very much on Geoffrey’s mind.

Although he was deprived of his strongholds, Geoffrey still managed to gather together a group of supporters to aid his rebellion, primarily using bribery to do so. Geoffrey’s band of men was something of a motley crew, ranging from battle hardened knights and archers to out and out crooks. Setting himself up in the Isle of Ely, where, famously, the Anglo Saxon Hereward The Wake had been based, Geoffrey began to attack the king’s lands, setting fire to some and looting others. Whatever Geoffrey took in the pillaging, he used to pay off his knights for their services. Geoffrey’s rebellion then became much more serious with the arrival in England, from Normandy, of his sister with her second husband who was, evidently, a fearsome fighter.Now relying heavily on his brother in law, Geoffrey’s rebellion marched on unrelenting as he began to attack and destroy churches and religious buildings. 

At one abbey in Cambridgeshire, Geoffrey, early in the morning, forced entry and drove all the monks out into the early morning air, no doubt dazed and confused. As well as helping himself to anything valuable inside the abbey, Geoffrey strengthened the abbey and turned it into a makeshift stronghold, garrisoning it with his now sizeable army. However, Geoffrey had pushed his luck too far. He found himself excommunicated and, soon after, was to meet his end. Geoffrey attacked the small and insignificant castle at Burwell. Whilst he was laying siege to Burwell, Geoffrey was struck in the head by an arrow. As he lay dying, Geoffrey, predictably, asked God for forgiveness. 

The fact he was to die excommunicated was a problem for Geoffrey as this meant he could be refused burial in Holy Grounds. Geoffrey would have been aware of this as he lay dying and probably would have been of some distress. He died in 1144 and his body was accepted by the Templars and entombed at Temple church. Whilst Geoffrey’s rebellion had been taking place, King Stephen had been desperately trying to put a stop to it as well as dealing with a whole host of other problems. News of Geoffrey De Mandeville’s death would have been welcome to him but there was another factor beginning to emerge in Stephen’s war with Matilda and that came in the shape of Matilda’s son, Henry, who had just been knighted by his Great Uncle, David I of Scotland.. The young boy of 11 was fast maturing and now an obvious alternative to those unsure of the possibility of Matilda taking the crown with female rule an alien thought to many in the Middle Ages. Even though Stephen would fight on, he must have felt the possibility of him establishing a lasting dynasty was a prospect fast slipping away from him