Nicholas de Moels
Nicholas de Moels or Nicholas Molis was an AngloNorman royal administrator and household knight of King Henry III of England. In this capacity he was assigned many and varied offices and duties, often of a temporary nature. He married a wealthy heiress from North Cadbury in Somerset which transformed him into a major landholder and feudal baron. In 1244 whilst serving as Seneschal of Gascony, he inflicted a defeat on the King of Navarre, whom he took prisoner in the field.
Origins
His parentage is unknown. His surname appears to derive from the Norman manor of Meulles in Calvados, southwest of Orbec, in the Diocese of Lisieux. Devonshire historian Tristram Risdon stated that he "descended of an ancient lineage in this shire" but provided no further detail. One of the many tenants of Devonshire baron Baldwin de Meulles, a Domesday Book tenant in chief, was a certain "Roger de Moles", who held from him at least the two manors or estates of Lew Trenchard and Waddlescot / Warson. His successor in 1066 was a Joel de Moels. In 1242, as recorded in the Book of Fees, Lew Trenchard and Waddlescot were held by a certain "John de Molis" from John de Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton, who had inherited much of the land formerly held by Baldwin de Meulles. This John de Molis, perhaps a brother of Nicholas, would also hold Lashbrook, Dornaford, Exbourn and Highampton, which had been held by a Roger de Molis in 1086.Nicholas was born about 1195 and appears to have spent some of his early life in the court of King John of England, whose son King Henry III he would later serve.
Career
During the reign of Henry III, Nicholas served as Sheriff of Hampshire, Sheriff of Devon, and Sheriff of Yorkshire, and also as Constable of Winchester Castle, Pembroke Castle, Haverfordwest Castle, Cilgerran Castle, Tenby Castle, Rochester Castle, Canterbury Castle and Corfe Castle. He was also Governor of the Channel Islands.Seneschal of Gascony
The contemporary Benedictine monk Matthew Paris wrote as follows concerning events in 1243:Which may be translated as follows:
In September 1243, Henry III left Gascony to return to England, having on 17 June 1243 appointed Nicholas de Moels as Seneschal of Gascony, as related by Matthew Paris in his Chronica Majora, with a marginal illustration of the King and Queen on board a ship with a man in a small boat alongside, apparently de Moels seeing him off. The Latin text following the illustration is as follows:
Translated as:
In 1244, de Moels inflicted a defeat on Theobald I, King of Navarre, capturing him in person on a battlefield in Gascony, according to the Devonshire historian Tristram Risdon. He was relieved of that office, with commendation for his service, in July 1245.
The event is related as follows by Matthew Paris:
Which may be translated:
Return to England
Nicholas returned to England to fight in the Welsh wars and was made governor of Caernarvon Castle and Cardigan Castle. He was made Constable of Dover Castle in 1246, Sheriff of Kent in 1247 and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1258.Landholdings
Many of the gifts of land he received from the king were temporary in nature, comprising lands forfeited by other landholders but later restored to them. In 1217 he was granted a lease of the manor of Watlington in Oxfordshire "for his sustenance in the king's service". In 1226 he was granted Little Berkhamstead, which was later confirmed to him in fee. After his marriage in 1230 to Hawise de Newmarch, heiress of North Cadbury and many other manors, he became a major landholder in his own right. He continued to receive royal grants. In 1230 he was granted the royal demesne manors of King's Carswell and Diptford in Devon. In 1250 or 1251 he was granted free warren in his manors of Cadbury and nearby Mapperton in Dorset.Personal life
In or after 1230, Nicholas married Hawise de Newmarch, widow of John de Botreaux and younger daughter and coheiress of James de Newmarch, feudal baron of North Cadbury in Somerset. Hawise's sister, Isabel de Newmarch, married Ralph Russell, son of her guardian Sir John Russell of Kingston Russell in Dorset, who was also a household knight of King John and of the young King Henry III to whom he also acted as steward.Nicholas and Hawise had several children, including:
- James de Moels, eldest son and heir apparent who predeceased his father. In 1243 he was assigned to be educated with Prince Edward, son of King Henry III.
- Roger de Moels, second but eldest surviving son and heir, Marshal of the Army and Governor of Lampsdervour Castle in Ceredigion. His second son was John de Moels, 1st Baron Moels.
- Agnes de Moels, born at Cadbury, the second wife of William de Braose, 1st Baron Braose, feudal baron of Bramber and Gower.
- Maud de Moels, married Richard de L'Orti, or de Urtiaco, heir to the barony of Stoke Trister, Somerset.
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Moels, Nicholas de
Moels, Nicholas de
Moels, Nicholas de
Category:13th-century English Navy personnel
Category:High sheriffs of Hampshire
Category:High sheriffs of Yorkshire
Category:High sheriffs of Kent
Category:High sheriffs of Devon