Robert Despenser
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Robert Despenser (sometimes Robert Despensator,[1] Robert Dispenser,[2] or Robert fitzThurstin;[3] died after 1098) was a Norman officeholder and landholder in post-Conquest medieval England.
Career
Despenser was the brother of Urse d'Abetot, who was sheriff of Worcestershire shortly after the Conquest.[1] Despenser and his brother were originally from Normandy, and were tenants of the lords of Tancarville there.[3] Despenser held the office of royal steward, or dispenser, under King William II.[1] Despenser's surname derived from his office.[4][note 1] Although Despenser was married, the name of his wife is not known for sure. He may be the Robert de Abitot referred to in a confirmation charter of King Stephen of England's, but this identification is not certain.[1]
In 1086, Despenser was listed in Domesday Book as holding lands as a tenant-in-chief in Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire, as well as holding lands in Worcestershire from the Bishop of Worcester.[3]
Robert was still alive in 1098, as he restored some estates to Westminster Abbey,[3] but likely died shortly thereafter.[4] In Normandy, Robert was a benefactor to the Priory of St. Barbe-en-Auge, which had been founded by the Tancarville lords.[6]
Legacy
Despenser appears to have had no legitimate male children, as his heir was his brother Urse.[1] He may have had a daughter, as some of his lands were inherited by the Marmion family, but it is also possible that they acquired the lands via marriage with a daughter of Urse.[4] Despenser's office as steward may also have gone to Urse, as later the office passed to Urse's heirs.[3] The medieval writer Orderic Vitalis states that it was Despenser who gave Ranulf Flambard his surname of Flambard, which means torch-bearer or incendiary. This was applied to Flambard because of his overwhelming personality.[2]
Notes
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Citations
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- ↑ a b c d e Keats-Rohan Domesday People p. 383
- ↑ a b Mason William II p. 75
- ↑ a b c d e Barlow William Rufus pp. 141–142
- ↑ a b c Round "Abetot, Urse d' (c.1040–1108)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ↑ Reaney and Wilson Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames p. 420
- ↑ Newman Anglo-Norman Nobility p. 150
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Sources
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