Urse De Arbitot

Urse De Arbitot ¹ ² ³ ⁴

Birth:	About 1056 in Tancarville, Le Havre, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, France
Death:	1118 in Worchestershire, England
Sex:	M
Father:	Aumary De Arbitot b. About 1036 in Tancarville, Le Havre, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, France
Mother:

Changed: 27 Mar 2004 17:16

Spouses & Children

Adeline (Adelisa) (Wife) b. About 1056 in Derbyshire, England

Marriage:	27 Mar 2004 17:16
Children:
? De Arbitot b. About 1072 in Tamworth Castle, Warwickshire, England Emeline D'arbitot b. About 1076 in Worcester, Worcestershire, England

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Notes

Individual:
Urso the Viscout, or Urso of Worcester, as he is styled in Domesday, held a great domain in that county, as well as in Hereford, Warwick, and Gloucestershire, and "earned an evil notoriety which lasted long after he was dead. It is mentioned in the Survey that: 'Urso the sheirff, had so oppressed the tenants on the virgate of land at Droitwich belonging to Brictric's late manor of Sodbury, that they cannot now pay the salt due from them.' This is not the only instance of his rapacity; and the lands of the see of Worcester and of the abbeys of Evesham and Pershore, were systematically despoiled by him without redress. His brother Robert, the King's Despencer, aided and abetted him. Urso gave lands belonging to the see in dowry with his own daughter, despite remostrance and appeal." -A.S. Ellis. Worst of all, while building his castle at Worcester, he encroached upon some ground that had been consecrated as the cemetery of the adjoining convent. for this sacrilege the malediction of the Church was pronounced upon him by the Archbishop of York, "with mine and that of all holy men, unless thou removest thy castle from hence; and know of a truth that thine offspring shall not long hold the land of St Mary to their heritage." This malediction, preserved in an old couplet,
"Highest thou Urse,
Have thou the curse."
seems in no wise to have troubled or disturbed its recipient; yet, though thus insensible to the thunders of the Chruch, Urso was himself among her benefactors. He was the founder of Malvern Priory, which became a cell to Westminster Abbey. [Battle Abbey Roll I:349]

_____________________________

Urse d'Abetot (fl 1086), sheriff of Worcestershire, derived his name from St Jesn d'Abbetot, near Tancarville. He appears in 'Domesday' as a tenant-in-chief in the counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, and Warwick, being also styled in it 'Urso de Wirecestre' from his office as sheriff of Worcestershire. William of Malmesbury, describing him as 'Vicecomes Wigorniae a rage constitutus,' tells the story of his encroaching on the cemetery of Worcester Abbey to make his castle ditch, and of his stern rebuke for it by Archbishop Ealdred: 'Highest thou Urse, have thou God's curse.' He figures largely in Worcestershire as a despoiler of the church, especially of the monks of Worcester, in one case seizing on a manor as an endowment for his daughter. Evesham and Pershore also suffered at his hands. On the other hand, he was traditionally the founder of Mavern Priory. On the revolt of the Earl of Hereford in 1074 he joined the bishop of Worcester and the abbot of Evesham in defeating the earl's forces. Freeman states that he was sheriff of Gloucestershire as well as Worcestershire, but this seems to be in error.

Throughout the reign of William Rufus, Urse is found as a witness to royal charters, and the charter of Henry I, for holding the local courts, issued between 1108 and 1112, is addressed to him as sheriff of Worcestershire.

He was succeeded in his reign by his son Roger, who offended Henry I by slaying one of his officers. There can be little doubt (though the fact has escaped notice) that this was the Roger 'Vicecomes de Wirecestra' to whom is addressed a writ of Henry I, and the Roger de Worcester whose lands were granted by Henry I to Walter de Beauchamp in a charter entered in the Warwick cartulary. With him Urse's male issue seems to have become extinct, though members of the house of Abetot continued in the country, giving name to Croome d'Abitot and Redmarley d'Abitot. The 'Evesham Chronicle' speaks of them as 'Ursini.' Freeman speaks, at the battle of Lincoln, of 'Richard, the son of Urse, a descendant, it would seem, of the old enemy, Urse of Abetott, whose exploits that day might be taken as some atonement for the crimes of his kindred. But there seems to have been no connection between the two.

Walter de Beauchamp, who married Urse's daughter Emmeline, obtained from Henry I a confirmation of the lands given him by Adelisa, Urse's widow, together with the shrievalty of Worcestershire and the office of constable. These grants, which are recorded in the Warwick cartulary, founded the greatness of the Beauchamps, whose descendants, it is said, preserved the memory of Urse in the well-known 'bear' congnisance of the earls of Warwick.

It is well ascertained that Robert the Despencer, another tenant-in-chief, was brother to Urse, and his office of despencer was obtained by Watler de Beauchamp. It is usually stated that the Marmions were heirs of Robert, but it is certain that much of his property passed to the Beauchamps. [Dictionary of National Biography XX:52-53]

Sources

in, and the United Kingdom; GE Cokayne, Sutton Publishing LtdTitle: Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Brita
in, and the United Kingdom; GE Cokayne, Sutton Publishing LtdPage: VIII:505-6d
Quality: 3
Title: The Plantagenet Ancestry, by William Henry Turton, 1968
Page: 117
Quality: 3
n English Documents 1066-1166, K B S Keats-RohanTitle: Domesday Descendants, A Prosopography of People Occurring i
n English Documents 1066-1166, K B S Keats-RohanPage: 262, 314, 1032
Quality: 3
s, Vols 1-21 (Orignially published 1885-90),Ed by Sir Leslie StephenTitle: Dictionary of National Biography, George Smith, Oxford Pres
s, Vols 1-21 (Orignially published 1885-90),Ed by Sir Leslie StephenPage: XX:52-53
Quality: 3

Full View

Pedigree

Print

Extract GEDCOM

File Home

List of Individuals

List by Surname

Submitter Info

Brought to you by:


Take the guided tour of Family Tree Legends!


"All in all, Family Tree Legends version 2.0 is a significant improvement to an already first-class program. It is powerful and easy to use and now is maturing into a strong competitor against the established products that have been available for some years."

-Dick Eastman

"Easiest introduction to putting my family tree together I could have found. Step by step and a professional look and feel at the end, and I like the SmartMatches as well, great idea!!"

- Greg S



	Family Tree Legends™, SmartMatching™, Real-Time Internet Backup™, Real-Time Internet Publishing™, WebFacts™, QuickHelp™, GenGrams™, and GenCircles™ are trademarks of Pearl Street Software™. Copyright 2002-2005, All Rights Reserved.