Bertram de Criol
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Sir<ref>So styled in 1248 Inspeximus of charter of Robert de Guysnes, Calendar of Charter Rolls: Henry III, 1226-1257 (HMSO 1903), pp. 340-41. He is miles in the 1229 Tunstall attestation (see below).</ref> Bertram de Criol (Criel, Crioill, Cyroyl, or Kerrial; died 1256) was a senior and trusted Steward and diplomat to King Henry III. He served as Constable and Keeper of Dover Castle, Keeper of the Coast and of the Cinque Ports, Keeper of the receipts, expenses and wardships of the archbishopric of Canterbury, Constable of the Tower of London and Sheriff of Kent.
Background and origins
The historian Nicholas Vincent<ref>Vincent, Peter Des Roches: An Alien in English Politics, 1205-1238, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 518.</ref> agrees with the Duchess of Cleveland<ref>Duchess of Cleveland, (C.L.W. Powlett), The Battle Abbey Roll, with some account of the Norman lineages, 3 vols (John Murray, London 1889), II, pp. 11-15, at p. 11.</ref> in deriving the de Criol family from Criel-sur-Mer, Seine-Maritime, though Planché favoured Creil, Oise,<ref>'Criol or Keriel', in J.R. Planché, A Corner of Kent: or, some account of the parish of Ash-next-Sandwich (Robert Hardwicke, London 1864), pp. 291-96.</ref> and Dunlop offered Creully, Calvados.<ref>J. R. Dunlop, 'Pedigree of the Family of Crioll, or Kyriell, of co. Kent', Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica (1927).</ref> In Battle Abbey Roll lists the Duchesne recension has the name as "Escriols",<ref>Cleveland, Battle Abbey Roll, II, p. 11.</ref> the Anglicized "Kyriel" appearing in the earlier Auchinleck manuscript.<ref>'Battle Abbey Roll', Auchinleck manuscript, fols. 105v-107r, no. 504, at fol. 106v column d.</ref> Criel-sur-Mer is likely, because Robert, younger son of Robert, Count of Eu (d. c 1092), obtained it from his father, whose possession of Criel is shown from a charter to the Abbey of St-Michel du Tréport;<ref>'Ashburnham', in The Norman People and their existing descendants (Henry S. King & Co., London 1874), p. 143, citing Gallia Christiana, xi, col. 13, Instrumental.</ref> in the Domesday Survey, Robert de Cruell held Esseborne (Ashburnham), Sussex, from his kinsman the Count of Eu, governor of the Rape of Hastings,<ref>W. Page (ed.), The Victoria History of the County of Sussex Vol. I (James Street, London 1905), p. 396 (Internet archive). J. Morris (ed.), Domesday Book: Sussex (Phillimore, Chichester 1974), sect. 9.7.</ref> and from these the de Criols and the ancient Ashburnham family are both supposed to descend.<ref>Cleveland, Battle Abbey Roll, II, pp. 11-12.</ref><ref>The National Archives (UK), Discovery Catalogue, 'Ashburnham family archive' (East Sussex Record Office).</ref> "Bartholomew" de Criol witnessed the confirmation charter of Henry, Count of Eu to Battle Abbey before 1140.<ref>The National Archives (UK), Discovery Catalogue, ref. BAT/3 - Autograph attestation. (East Sussex Record Office).</ref>
Bertram, or Bertrand, de Criol was the eldest son of John de Criol and his wife Margery. John is known principally for a grant of the advowson of Sarre, in Thanet (to Leeds Priory, Kent) in 1194, title to which he had (perhaps by marriage) inherited from Elias de Crevecoeur,<ref>Planché, 'Criol or Keriel', pp. 291-96.</ref> (son of that priory's founder), who had previously made a similar grant in 1138, confirmed by his Crevecoeur descendants.<ref>L. Sherwood, 'The Cartulary of Leeds Priory', Archaeologia Cantiana LXIV (1951), pp. 24-34, no. 9 (at p. 27).</ref> He may be the same John de Crioile alias Crihuil who granted to Henry de Cornhill his land and tenement at Wyvermerse (Essex<ref>In the Honour of Rayleigh, formerly of Henry de Essex.</ref>) in c. 1179–82 in the presence of Prince John, Ranulf de Glanville, Hubert Walter, Roger fitzReinfrid and others,<ref>'Charters of the Duchy of Lancaster - contd', Thirty-Fifth Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records (HMSO 1874), nos. 162 & 163, p. 16. The National Archives (UK), Discovery Catalogue, refs. DL 27/51 and DL 27/52.</ref> a residual claim to which was released to Hugh de Neville after 1216.<ref>'Charters of the Duchy of Lancaster', nos. 21 & 22, p. 3. The National Archives (UK), Discovery Catalogue, refs. DL 27/8 and DL 27/9.</ref>
Whether the identification of Cecilia, wife of Simon d'Avranches (Lord of Folkestone, died c. 1203) as a de Criol is correct,<ref>Planché, 'Avranches', in A Corner of Kent, pp. 260-64, citing MS Baronagium of William Segar in the College of Arms.</ref> or whether she was the daughter of Simon son of Simon de Brixworth and Beatrice de Fraxineto,<ref>The National Archives, Discovery Catalogue refs. SAS-M/1/331 and SAS-M/1/671.</ref> is undecided. Bertram de Crioll appears in the scutage for Poitiers in 1214.<ref>T.D. Hardy (ed.), Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum In Turri Londinensi Asservati, I: ab anno MCCIV ad annum MCCXXIV (Commissioners, London 1833), p. 200.</ref> He has half a knight's fee in Sarre, from the Archbishop, in 1210–1212.<ref>H. Hall (ed.), The Red Book of the Exchequer, Rolls Series, 3 Vols (1896), Part II, p. 469, fol. 132A, and p. 724, fol. 230d (Hathi Trust).</ref> Bertram's connection with '"his manor of Sarre" is indicated by a market granted by the king in 1219<ref>Fine Rolls, ref C 60/12: 4 Henry III, Fine Roll membrane 8, item 45, image at m. 8 (Henry III Fine Roll Project).</ref> and regranted in 1226, for which Bertram de Crioil was to pay a palfrey.<ref>'Sarre, Kent', in Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516, Centre for Metropolitan History, and citations, and see T.D. Hardy (ed.), Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum 1204-1227, II: Ab anno MDCCXXIV ad annum MDCCXXVII (1844), p. 96 (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern).</ref> "The Salt Water swellith yet up at a Creeke a Myle and more towards a Place called Sarre," says John Leland, "which was the comune Fery when Thanet was full iled."<ref>T. Hearne (ed.), The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary: In Nine Volumes, 2nd Edition (James Fletcher, Oxford 1744), VII, pp. 127-28.</ref>
Castle politics
In 1221 Bertram de Criol, together with Thomas de Blundeville, Osbert Giffard and others, witnessed a charter of Hubert de Burgh, Chief Justiciar of England.<ref>F.J. West, ‘Burgh, Hubert de, earl of Kent (c.1170–1243)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004). Online edition, 2008 Template:Webarchive (subscription required)</ref><ref>Template:Cite DNB</ref> granting the church of Portslade, West Sussex, to St. Radegund's Abbey at Bradsole near Dover.<ref>W. Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum new edition (James Bohn, London 1846), VI Part 2, pp. 939-943, at p. 942, No. VIII. (Monastic Matrix pdf, p. 4). Source: Cartulary of St Radegund's Abbey, Bodleian Library MSS Rawlinson B 336.</ref> In that year Hubert married Margaret of Scotland, and (at King Henry's coming of age) in April 1228 he was granted the castles of Dover, Canterbury, Rochester and Montgomery for life.<ref>Calendar of Charter Rolls, Henry III: 1226-1257 (HMSO 1903), p. 74.</ref>
De Criol, a member of Hubert's household, became acting constable for him at Dover, where he carried out works in 1229, he and Robert de Auberville, castellan of Hastings and Warden of the ports from Portsmouth to Sandwich,<ref>Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III: 1225-1232 (HMSO 1903), p. 180.</ref> being favoured by a writ de intendendo addressed to the barons of the Cinque Ports.<ref>Calendar of Liberate Rolls, Henry III: 1226-1240 (HMSO 1916), p. 139.</ref> In 1228 the king appointed him, with Alan Puignant, keepers of the vacant archbishopric of Canterbury,<ref>Henry III Fine Rolls Project, 'Fine Roll C 60/27, 12 Henry III (1227–1228)', item 222, membrane 4.</ref> to manage revenues, payments and estates.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1226-1240, 168, 175, 178-79.</ref> With Stephen de Segrave and Ralph and William Briton, and many of the bishops, he witnessed the grant and confirmation of Hubert's gift of Tunstall, Kent, to the archbishop in 1229.<ref>J. Nichols, Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica (J. Nichols, London 1780-1790), I, pp. 43-44, citing Bodleian Library, Canterbury Cartulary, Tanner MSS no. 223, fols. 79a and 86b.</ref>
Shortly before the king's departure on a military expedition to Poitou in the spring of 1230, in which de Burgh accompanied him, an order was issued that Margaret was to be admitted to any of his castles without hindrance, and to have freedom of residence, and access to the wine cellars, at her pleasure.<ref>'Quod comitissa Kancie habeat ingressum in castra', Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III, 1225–32 (HMSO 1903), p. 341. (in Latin).</ref> However, in October de Criol, who had been ordered not to let anyone in,<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1227-31 (HMSO 1902), pp. 407-08. (fragmentary, in Latin).</ref> stoutly refused to admit her to Dover Castle.<ref>Related in the "Annals of Dover Priory", British Library Cotton MS Julius D V, fol. 29 r.</ref> As a result, he was dismissed, and in November he was deprived of his wardships by the king's orders,<ref>Vincent, Peter Des Roches, pp. 268-69, 318-19, and sources there cited.</ref> including an estate at Kettleburgh in Suffolk, held in bail for Guy de la Val,<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, pp. 97, 117.</ref> and the manor of Moulsford, Berkshire, held during an heir's minority, which was disputed with John Marshall.<ref>'Parishes: Moulsford', in P.H. Ditchfield and W. Page (eds), A History of the County of Berkshire, Vol. 3 (VCH, London 1923), pp. 504-07, (British History Online, accessed 16 October 2017).</ref><ref>C. Roberts (ed.), Excerpta e Rotulis Finium in Turri Londinensi Asservatis, Henrico Tertio Rege, A.D. 1216-1272, I: A.D. 1216-1246 (Commissioners, 1835), p. 269.</ref><ref>S. Annesley, 'The Countess and the Constable: An exploration of the conflict that arose between Margaret de Burgh and Bertram de Criel', Fine of the Month, July 2008, Henry III Fine Rolls Project, especially section 8, and sources there cited.</ref>
De Criol and the king were reconciled in February 1231, and he was rehabilitated under the stricture that he could not plead his cause against de Burgh before the king's court.<ref>'Criol', in W. Dugdale, The Baronage of England, 3 Vols (London 1675-6), I, pp. 770-71. (Umich/EEBO).</ref> In ordering the return of Moulsford, the king owned that the disseisin had been "at the king's will", a seeming trespass upon those rights in Magna Carta upon which de Burgh himself had insisted.<ref>Vincent, Peter Des Roches, p. 269, citing Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1231-34 (HMSO 1905), p. 29. (in Latin).</ref> De Criol was appointed Sheriff of Kent in June 1232: Hubert's fall from grace followed weeks later.
In September de Criol had custody of Dover Castle under new auspices.<ref>Annesley, Countess and Constable, sections 11-12, and sources there cited.</ref> He was at once entrusted with wardship of the lands and heirs of Simon de Chelefeld,<ref>Calendar of Patent Rolls: Henry III, 1232-1247 (HMSO London 1906), p. 2. Also Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, I, pp. 232-33.</ref> a Kentish justiciar, pending their settlement upon Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke in December.<ref>'Pro comitissa Penbroc',' Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1231-1234, p. 174. (in Latin). See L.J. Wilkinson, Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England (A. & C. Black, London 2012), p. 52.</ref> Similarly he held Tonbridge Castle for the king until the wardship of Richard de Clare in his minority was settled upon Richard de la Lade in June 1234.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 54.</ref> His presence is recorded among the principals at Canterbury on 2 April 1234 at the consecration of Edmund Rich as Archbishop.<ref>'Consecration of St. Edmund', in B.N. Ward, St Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury. His Life, as told by Old English Writers (B. Herder, St Louis, Mo. 1903), pp. 77-80, quoting the St Paul's Cathedral Archives MS, Register A sive I Liber Pilosus (now MS 25501, Guildhall Library) fol. 18.</ref>
De Criol was appointed to the custody of the Cinque Ports in May 1236, the year of the King's marriage.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 144.</ref> Ordered to deliver Rochester Castle to John de Cobham<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 169.</ref> he had to yield the November issues to Cobham for accounting,<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1234-37 (HMSO 1908), pp. 403-04, & p. 418. See C. Flight, 'Rochester castle : Baronies and knight's fees owing castle-guard service to Rochester', Kent Archaeology digiarchive Template:Webarchive, pdf pp. 3-4.</ref> and, being appointed Sheriff of Kent, he was to find county funds for repair works there.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1226-1240, p. 294.</ref> During 1237 his London agent Robert Hurlizun<ref>Presumably of the Herlison family of Cheapside, see D.J. Keene and V. Harding, 'All Hallows Honey Lane 11/1', in Historical Gazetteer of London before the Great Fire, Cheapside (Centre for Metropolitan History, London 1987), p. 10 ff. (British History Online, accessed 7 October 2017).</ref> mediated delivery of 20,000 quarrels to him at Dover, and later that year he had two of the king's galleys refitted and housed at Winchelsea. Works continued at Dover in 1238.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1226-1240, pp. 258, 279, 294.</ref> During the summer his men had custody of a Saracen at Canterbury Castle.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1226-1240, p 342; Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1237-1242, p. 136.</ref>
Constable of the Tower, 1240-1242
At Midsummer 1239 de Criol became Sheriff of Essex, answering jointly with Richard de Grey for the second half of the year.<ref>T. Moore, 'The role of the sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in local and national politics', Henry III Fine Rolls Project, Fine of the month June 2006, note 2, citing Pipe Roll Michaelmas 1238-1239, T.N.A. ref. E 372/83.</ref> On the morrow of St Edmund (21 November) 1239 the king met with his council at Winchester, Stephen de Segrave, brother Geoffrey his Almoner, Bertram de Criol his Seneschal, Master Simon de Steyland, Geoffrey le Despencer and other loyal men, and decreed a reform to moneylending arrangements between the Jews and the Christians of London. In December the king instructed his Treasurer Hugh de Pateshull, Phillip de Assellis and his fellow Justices of the Jews, Peter Grimbald and the Mayor, to send away the present Keepers of the "Archae" (chests, or "arks", in which details of transactions were kept) and their clerks. Instead they, together with the Constable of the Tower of London and two good men chosen by them, should elect two Christian men and two Jews of London to whom the keeping of the Archae should be committed, each to have his own key, and two sworn clerks. Detailed instructions were given for the management and custody of their chirographs, and other matters affecting Jewish residency and practise.<ref>T. Stapleton (ed.), De Antiquis Legibus Liber. Cronica Maiorum et Vicecomitum Londiniarum, Camden Society, Series I no. 34 (London 1846), Appendix, pp. 237-38.</ref>
By the beginning of 1240 de Criol was Constable of the Tower of London, and he held the position until the middle of 1242, latterly with the assistance of Walter de Gray.<ref>Payments, Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1226-1240, pp. 443-44, 452, 486; 1240-45, pp. 38, 43, 76, 98, 130.</ref> Humphrey de Bohun succeeded him as Sheriff in Kent. In the vacancy following the departure of Edmund Rich, his keeping of the archbishopric was assisted by John Maunsell.<ref>Calendar of Liberate Rolls, Henry III: 1240-1245 (HMSO 1930), pp. 38, 90, 112. (Umich)</ref> The constabulary of the Tower had "rights thereto pertaining to the Jews".<ref>J.W. Bayley, The history and antiquities of the Tower of London, II, (T. Cadell, London 1825), pp. 657-58.</ref> Records of the tallage of 20,000 marks upon the Jews of 1241 include de Criol's letter to Jeremiah de Caxton and William Hardel, as Justices of the Jews, concerning remittances to Mosses the son of Josce Crespin the chirographer.<ref>The National Archives (UK), Discovery Catalogue ref. E 101/249/4 m. 2., see at E.L. Margolis, 'Evidence that the Majority of Medieval English Jews were not Moneylenders, with an Emphasis on Document E. 101/249/4', M.A. Dissertation, North Carolina State University, Ralegh (2015), pp. 144-45.</ref>
As one of four keepers of the King's Treasure he brought the jewels of Leo de Melcstret to the Wardrobe<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1240-1245, p. 106.</ref> and delivered large sums to the Treasurer William de Haverhull. In London he was among the dignitaries invited to witness the conveyance by Odo, melter in the king's Exchequer, of his rights to Edward son of Odo the goldsmith, as the grantor prepared to leave for the Holy Land.<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, pp. 249-50.</ref> Late in 1241 he joined distinguished company to witness the king's grant to the Count of Aumale,<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, p. 263.</ref> and in January 1241/42 (at Westminster) witnessed the King's renewal of franchise to the city of Cork.<ref>H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, in the Public Record Office, London, 1171-1251 (HMSO 1875), pp. 380-81, no. 2552 (Internet Archive).</ref> De Criol was granted a fee in Everlond (Overland, in Elham, Kent, close to a royal park)<ref>In the right of the wife of Peter de Bendenges. Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, p. 255. Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, I, p. 333. (in abbreviated Latin).</ref> which was forfeited by Master Simon de Steyland the king's clerk:<ref>'Parishes: West Ilsley', in W. Page and P.H. Ditchfields (eds), A History of the County of Berkshire, Vol. 4 (VCH/HMSO, London 1924), pp. 32-37, citing Testa de Nevill fol. 418b. (British History Online, accessed 3 October 2017).</ref> and this de Criol's heir still retained in 1253.<ref>'(046), Wingham Hundred', in C. Flight, 'Lists of knights' fees in Kent - 1253-4: copy of a lost report: Text - strand 1', Kent Archaeology digiarchive Template:Webarchive, pdf p. 3.</ref>
War with France, 1242
In March 1242, in view of the king's French expedition, de Criol was re-appointed Sheriff of Kent and Constable of the castles of Dover and Rochester,<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 276.</ref> and in April was ordered to hold Dover and to surrender it to no-one but the king himself, or (if the king should die) then to Eleanor the queen, or to one of her Savoy uncles not in the fealty of the King of France.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, pp. 280-81.</ref> The extent of de Criol's tenures of knight's fees in Kent at this date, and their fee-lords, can be read in the Testa de Nevill.<ref>Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum in Curia Scaccarii (Commissioners, London 1807), pp. 205-215. (pending online access to more modern edition, vol. 2.) See also C. Flight, 'List of knight's fees in Kent, 1242-43: Aid for the king crossing the sea to Gascony', Kent Archaeology digiarchive Template:Webarchive.</ref>
In April de Criol was to test all the crossbows or ballistas at Dover and in the Tower for reliability.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1237-1242 (HMSO 1911), p. 409 (Internet archive).</ref> The Cinque Port barons were made intendant to de Criol as Constable at Dover.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 286.</ref> Custody of the archbishopric was granted to him jointly with Jeremiah de Caxton, de Criol himself freely taking responsibility before king and council for rendering accounts.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 289.</ref> He and Chancellor Ralph Neville surveyed the coast and arranged with the barons (including New Romney) for the defence of their ports.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 305.</ref>
He was to build four swift barges for the king, and to receive two galleys at Winchelsea sent from Bristol.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1240-1245, pp. 139, 144.</ref> The Lord Mayor of London was to send him 120 crossbowmen, and liveries were sent. Ships, crews and all the crossbowmen they had were summoned to him at Dover, five each from the bailiffs of Dunwich and Great Yarmouth, and four from Ipswich, Orford and Blakeney. Richard fitzReginald and Fulco fitzWarin<ref>Presumably Fulk FitzWarin IV (died 1264), son-in-law of Robert de Auberville.</ref> were to follow his orders on land and sea, and to be ready at Winchester on 22 August. De Criol was not to impede the merchants of Brabant or of the Count of Flanders, but to take whatever provisions he could from the assets of the French king and of Henry Puchepap of Rye. Ten Winchelsea ships and a galley were to be sent to the king at Portsmouth, and then twenty from the Cinque Ports for the soldiers.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1237-1242, pp. 454-60 (in Latin).</ref> In August he took securities from the Viscount de Beaumont, going into Scotland, against the possibility of betrayal.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 317.</ref> He delivered £100 to the barons of Winchelsea for their maintenance in the war.
De Criol and his clerk Henry de Wengham took in the king's share of booty brought from France to the Cinque Ports, Nicholas de Hadlo assisting, with authority over the port barons. He had to rectify many claims from Flanders and elsewhere for the return of wool and wine wrongly seized.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1237-1242, pp. 454, 470, 475, 478, 491, 500.</ref> He was to hear the complaints against men of Winchelsea at Shipwey,<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 303.</ref> "the place that was of auncient time honested with the Plees and assemblies of the Five Portes."<ref>'Shipwey', in W. Lambarde, A Perambulation of Kent: Conteining the Description, Hystorie, and Customes of that Shire (original 1570/76), (W.Burrill, Chatham 1826), pp. 165-69.</ref> He brought Henry Puchepap to trial for receiving goods plundered from Flemish merchants.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1237-1242, p. 470. Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247 (HMSO 1916), pp. 105-06.</ref> Security in his ports, and transport to and from France, emissary or mercantile, was strictly under his view by royal warrant.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, pp. 334, 336.</ref> In the following February the barons of Winchelsea and the Cinque Ports were, with de Criol's counsel, "to furnish all the galleys they can to grieve the king's enemies by sea and land so long as the war lasts with France."<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 400.</ref>
Croxton Kerrial, 1242
In May 1242 the King granted to de Criol and to his heirs the manor of Croxton (Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire, named from this family) in part exchange for Kettleburgh (near Framlingham Castle), the formerly sequestrated manor. To this were added lands in the manor of Lechton, Sussex (probably Laughton), held by the king in bail from the Queen's uncle Peter II, Count of Savoy, to be held in interim by Bertram for the service of a pair of white gloves.<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, p. 274.</ref> Croxton manor had formerly been a possession of Hubert de Burgh's:<ref>H.M. Colvin, The White Canons in England (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1951), p. 95.</ref> the nearby Premonstratensian abbey of Croxton received repeated gifts from Henry, because the heart of his father King John was buried in the church of St John the Evangelist there.<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-57, p. 463.</ref><ref>'House of Premonstratensian canons: The abbey of Croxton Kerrial', in W.G. Hoskins and R.A. McKinley (eds), A History of the County of Leicestershire Vol. 2 (VCH/HMSO, London 1954), pp. 28-31 (British History Online, accessed 7 October 2017).</ref> By 1246 Croxton manor had passed to Bertram's kinsman Nicholas de Crioll, who was granted a market and fair.<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, p. 311.</ref> But the heirs of Hamo de Valoignes, whom de Criol had in charge, he delivered to William de Cantilupe, to whom their marriages were granted.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1237-1242, p. 474.</ref>
Works and duties
An adjustment to scutage for Bertram and his sons was extended to John and Simon de Criol and to Nicholas de Hadlou.<ref>Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, I, p. 394. 27 Henry III, membrane 6, no. 139. 'Haulou' rendered 'Hadlow' in Henry III Fine Rolls Project.</ref> He received orders in April 1243 to prevent the embarcation of the Master of the Knights Templar in England to answer the summons of the Grand Master to Jerusalem.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247, p. 19.</ref> Four silver bowls were sent for him to place before the shrine of St Thomas at Canterbury.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247, p. 42.</ref>
Preparations for the marriage of Richard, Earl of Cornwall to the queen's sister Sanchia in November 1243 involved de Criol and Caxton in many duties. The hire of ships, boats and galleys, the wages of mariners and serjeants, etc., for the transport of Beatrice Countess of Provence, Sanchia, and their household, and the conveyance of wine from Sandwich to Dover and Canterbury were met from the Canterbury issues.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247, p. 53.</ref> A great sum was expended on candles for the Canterbury churches for the arrival of the Countess, and the keepers had the cost of her journey home.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1240-1245, pp. 200, 211-12, 215.</ref> In December 1243 de Criol witnessed the covenant made between the King and Earl Richard.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, p. 437.</ref> Payments were made for the carriage of many fowl and swans to the king's kitchen at Westminster, and for the king's huntsmen, over the next months.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1240-1245, p. 241.</ref>
Responsibility for Kentish works fell to the Sheriff during 1244, especially for a building to contain the king's engines at Dover, for the repair or rebuilding of houses for the king's galleys at Rye, and for the installation at Dover of the catapult, trebuchet and ram, but all under the supervision of de Criol as Constable.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247, p. 219.</ref> De Criol and Caxton saw to the repair of the gate buildings at Canterbury Castle.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1240-1245, 258-59, 265, 305.</ref> He was occupied with the king's interdictions: during the spring of 1244 armed Scotsmen were to be sought out and arrested, and merchant ships in the ports were not permitted to sail. A year later, religious persons of any kind arriving were to be held and searched for letters, and not permitted to proceed without the king's approval. In May 1246 he was to appoint custodians in every port to prevent English coin being taken out, and no ship, or anything from which a ship could be made, was to be sold to anyone in fealty to the King of France.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247, pp. 243, 245, 350, 424.</ref> He completed repairs to the walls at Rye and Winchelsea, and received contributions for his court at Shipway.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247, pp. 436, 537; 497.</ref>
Meanwhile, the king sent gifts of bucks from the park at Elham, and Nicholas de Croill, royal groom ("vadlettus"), was sent hunting for them. Bertram received a goshawk from Hubert de Rewley, the king's fine for a market at Cattawade, by Orwell Haven.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1242-1247, pp. 313, 493; 129, 226, 314; 496.</ref> Liveried chaplains were appointed for divine service at Dover Castle in 1246, and in 1247 three silver chalices, a censer, and quantities of orphrey, samite and other precious cloths for making chasubles and dalmatics for the Castle chapels, including the pre-conquest church of St Mary in Castro, were supplied to de Criol.<ref>Calendar of Liberate Rolls, Henry III: 1245-1251 (HMSO 1947), pp. 33, 122-23. (Umich)</ref> The King was then engaged in his new works at Westminster Abbey, and was soon to proclaim the Relic of the Holy Blood.<ref>N. Vincent, The Holy Blood: King Henry III and the Westminster Blood Relic (Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 1-2, p. 15.</ref> Dover Castle's best hospitality, at the King's expense, was required for Baldwin II, Emperor of Constantinople, on his journey home in April 1247, but the Constable was to pay his whole passage.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1245-1251, p. 119.</ref> In August he was to prepare a good ship at Sandwich equipped for horses and men to be the king's messengers on a secret errand.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1245-1251, pp. 113, 139.</ref>
De Criol delivered the castles of Rochester and Canterbury to Nicholas de Ores, Sheriff of Kent, in November 1248.<ref>Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III: 1247-1258 (HMSO 1908), p. 32.</ref> At Easter 1249 he, with two other knights, was sent to the Duchy of Gascony for four months on the king's service, being required to deliver £1000 by weight to Simon de Montfort, its viceroy.<ref>Cal. Liberate Rolls, 1245-1251, pp. 227, 284.</ref> Nicholas de Crioll was in Gascony with him for the same period.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1254-1256 (HMSO 1931), pp. 294-95; Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1256-1259, (HMSO 1932), pp. 128-29.</ref> He made arrangements for the transport of Earl Richard "and others of the king's faithful men on his errand over seas", and for two voyages of John de Newburgh (the king's chaplain) as king's messenger, in the following year.
In February 1251 a delegate for the bailiwick of the Cinque Ports was required of him to join the sheriffs in their commission into money counterfeiting and false exchange.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 114.</ref> Great were the arrangements of August and September 1252, when the port barons were to make ready 60 ships to cross from Portsmouth in the first week of October.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1251-53 (HMSO 1927), pp. 239-40.</ref> As the crisis in Gascony came to a head, de Criol witnessed the King's mandate requiring support for a truce among that people, instructing them not to obey Simon de Montfort if he oppose it.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 161.</ref> After witnessing special privileges granted to William of Kilkenny, soon to be the king's Chancellor,<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 189.</ref> in the summer of 1253 he was to prevent any count, baron or magnate leaving for France without royal licence. On 2 October Queen Eleanor and Earl Richard sent orders requiring him to oversee in person the preparation at Winchelsea and Rye of two ships and crews, armed with crossbowmen, to carry the king and his treasure ("thesaurus") to Gascony from Portsmouth 11 days later.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1251-1253, pp. 463; 507-08, 510.</ref>
Services and rewards
Meanwhile, he was granted further wardship of the Bendenges estates,<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 69.</ref><ref>C. Roberts (ed.), Excerpta e Rotulis Finium in Turri Londinensi Asservatis, Henrico Tertio Rege, A.D. 1216-1272, II: A.D. 1246-1272 (Commissioners, 1836), p. 81. (in abbreviated Latin).</ref> and rights to a market and annual fair at his manors of Monigeham and Shoueldon, Kent,<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, p. 356.</ref> and at his manor of Poppeshall (Buckland, Kent), with free warren there and in Cherry Hinton, Cambridgeshire (which he had acquired by exchange with Peter of Savoy) in September 1252.<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, pp. 346, 404.</ref> In June 1252 he witnessed the King's Letters Patent of Incorporation to Faversham,<ref>The National Archives (UK), Discovery Catalogue, ref. Fa/I/1.</ref> and in August his confirmation charter to Bristol.<ref>S. Seyer, The Charters and Letters Patent granted... to the City of Bristol (John Matthew Gutch, Bristol 1812), pp. 16-20.</ref> He was made King's Justice to receive William Pundelarche, an outlaw, into the king's peace,<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 150.</ref> and with his son Simon and kinsman Nicholas he witnessed the resultant grant to William de Valencia.<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, pp. 402-03.</ref> He was not, however, to permit the Earl of Pembroke to make any embarcation.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1251-1253, p. 191.</ref> He was granted wardship and marriage of Helen and Isabel, daughters of Maud de Avranches,<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 155.</ref> one of whom married his grandson.
Seizures of ships, imprisonments of men, manslaughter, and other claims of damages and injuries arose between the barons of Winchelsea and the men of Yarmouth, and he was called upon to summon the barons and bailiffs in February 1253.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 225. Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1251-1253, pp. 449-50.</ref> Meanwhile, the king deferred settlement of the long arrearages owed to Dover Castle by Robert de Nevill,<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1251-1253, pp. 72, 188, 287.</ref> but always looked to de Criol to ensure the regular delivery of his Gascon wines from Sandwich to Westminster. In June 1253, with the king's councillors, he witnessed Henry's charters of confirmation and free warren to Battle Abbey,<ref>The National Archives Discovery Catalogue, item BAT/12, and BAT/14 (East Sussex Record Office).</ref> and his inspeximus charter to the Weavers' Guild of London,<ref>The National Archives (UK), Discovery Catalogue ref. SC 8/85/4239, first item (viewable). 27 June, 37 Henry III.</ref> and in July to the burgesses of Reading.<ref>J. Man, The History and Antiquities, Ancient and Modern, of the Borough of Reading (Reading 1816), p. 342.</ref> As from Portsmouth, he issued a grant to the sons of Jocelin de Oye (sometime King's Serjeant, and one of the keepers of the King's Works)<ref>H.M. Colvin (ed.), R. Allen Brown & A.J. Taylor, The History of the King's Works, Vol. II: The Middle Ages (HMSO 1963), p. 635.</ref> to be conferred by the Queen and Earl Richard.
De Criol himself received a grant of 640 marks a year for the keeping of Dover Castle, so long as he be its keeper, over and above the castle guard rents, the issues and tolls of the town of Dover already granted. He was therewith notified that, in case of the King's death, the castle should not be given into the charge of Prince Edward during his minority without Queen Eleanor's assent.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, pp. 212-14.</ref> In February 1255 there remained £406 8s 11d owing to him of his annual payment of £426. 13s 4d, for the keeping of Dover Castle for the Easter and Michaelmas terms of the previous year. In settlement he received 227 quarters of wheat, 425 quarters of barley, 75 quarters of oats, 125 tuns of wine and 500 lbs. of wax out of the castle's munition stock, as appraised by the barons of the Exchequer.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, pp. 399-400.</ref> In March he was called to supervise the clearing and felling of old oaks and chestnuts for timber in Kent and the Weald, for sale on the king's behalf.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 435.</ref>
Upon the arrival of Eleanor of Castile at Dover in 1255, Henry sent orders that she should at once celebrate the feast of St Edward (13 October) at Canterbury, which de Criol and three others were to provide and superintend. At this time his sons John and Simon de Criol were also in duty to Dover Castle.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1254-1256, pp. 144, 181.</ref> The king did not forget his gifts, and in July 1253, granting six bucks for de Criol and four hinds for his wife, he thoughtfully instructed the park keeper to give him advice and help in catching them.<ref>Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III: 1251-1253, p. 391.</ref> The family origin of Emma de Criol, Bertram's wife, is undecided.<ref>Planché, 'Criol or Keriel', p. 292 and note. Crevecoeur, Kennett and Aurifaber are suggested in informal web sources.</ref>
A diplomatic mission, and death
In January 1256, he was granted
"Power to John Mansell, Provost of Beverley, and Bertram de Crioyl to make, extend and confirm a truce between the king of France and his brothers and their adherents, and the king, Edward the king's son, the king's brothers and their adherents, from the feast of St. Rémy (13 January), when the truce made between the king of France and the king by Simon de Monte Forti, earl of Leicester and Peter de Sabaudia, for three years more after this date ends; with power to them to swear on the king's soul that he will observe it."<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 460.</ref>
Within six months, by June 1256, he had died. A Pardon was granted to his heirs and executors, "in consideration of their having remitted to the king all his debts to the said Bertram, of all the said Bertram's debts to the king; and also of all accounts and reckonings for all receipts and expenses and wardships of the archbishopric of Canterbury, the castle of Dover, and the county of Kent for the whole time that he had the keeping thereof, by the order of the king; and of all other wardships and bailiwicks which he held of the king from the time that he was in the king's service until the time of his death: so that his executors may have free administration of his goods."<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 481.</ref> And since John Maunsell, king's clerk, was for some time attendant to the keeping of the archbishopric with the said Bertram, without whom he could not make due reckoning of the debts and issues for that period of time, the king released John of all reckonings and demands that might be made in that regard.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 480.</ref> A similar remission was made to Stephen de Bokland, de Criol's clerk.<ref>Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, II, p. 232. (in abbreviated Latin).</ref>
De Criol was a most important figure in King Henry's rule, and appears to have held loyally to him throughout. The records of payments of his salary are numerous in the Rolls, often expressing that they must be paid immediately. His son or near kinsman Nicholas de Crioll was for a time Constable of Dover Castle during the early 1260s. The burial place may have been in Battle Abbey, or possibly in the Premonstratensian abbey of St Radegund at Bradsole, near Dover, an Order of which the de Aubervilles and de Criols were patrons.<ref>Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, I, p. 457. The reference to Bertram's tomb at p. 461 is probably to the grandson Bertram. See also T. Tanner, Notitia Monastica (J. Tanner/W. Bowyer, London 1744), p. 218.</ref><ref>Charter of Robert de Polton, in W. Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, sive Pandectae Coenobiorum, 3 Vols (London (Savoy) 1673), III, p. 70. The charter of B de Crioll on p. 71 is probably for his grandson.</ref> John Leland remarked, "Certen of the Crealles were honorably biried at S. Radegund. Creaulles were greate benefactors to Houses of Religion in Est Kent, as appereth by their Armes in many Glase-Windois."<ref>Hearne, The Itinerary of John Leland, VI, p. 8.</ref> De Criols bore "Or two chevrons and a canton gules", rendered in a 13th-century source as "Bertram de Criol, d'or ove deux chevrons et ung quartier de goules".<ref>Planché, 'Criol or Keriel', p. 295, note.</ref>
Matthew Paris provides an epitaph:
"Et circa dies illos obiit dominus Bertrammus de Criol, domini regis dapifer et Doveriae opidanus et custos fidelissimus."
(And in those days died lord Bertram de Criol, steward of the lord king and most faithful citizen and keeper of Dover.)<ref>H.R. Luard (ed.), Matthæi Parisiensis Monachi Sancti Albani Chronica Majora, Rolls Series, 7 Vols (Longmans & Co./Trubner & Co., London 1872-1883), V: A.D. 1248 to A.D. 1259 (1880), p. 576.</ref>
Family
Bertram de Criol had two identified sons:<ref>See 'Inquisitiones post mortem (contd.)', Archaeologia Cantiana V (1863), pp. 292-304, 'XLII: Matilda de Estwelles (1267)', pp. 296-97, XLIII: Simon de Cryel and Matilda his wife (1267), pp. 297-98, and notes 184-86, pp. 303-04.</ref>
- Sir John de Criol, "son and heir".<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 520, concerning a suit over a property in London.</ref> John married in or before 1233<ref>"Bertram de Crioil made a fine with the king for 60 marks for having Matilda for the wife of his son John." (17 Henry III). Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, I, p. 247. (in abbreviated Latin).</ref> to Matilde de Eastwelle (died 1267), whose mother Margeria was living at the time of her death. In 1258 John received royal letters of protection for his intended journey to Santiago (in Galicia).<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 623.</ref> Richard de Clare is said to have died at John's manor of Ashenfield (Hesmeresfeld) at Waltham in 1262.<ref>'The Gesta Regum with its continuation' (sub anno), in W. Stubbs (ed.), The Historical Works of Gervase of Canterbury, II, p. 215; cited in U. Lambert, Blechingley: A Parish History, with some account of the family of De Clare, 2 vols (Mitchell Hughes and Clarke, London 1921), II,
p. 85.</ref> Sir John died in 1264. They were the parents of
- Sir Bertram de Criol, who did homage for his father's lands in 1264, and was heir to his mother in 1267. He married Alianora, one of the four daughters and co-heirs of Hamo de Crevecoeur and Matilda (Maud) de Avranches.<ref>'Inquisitiones post mortem (contd.)', Archaeologia Cantiana III (1860), pp. 243-74, 'XXXV: Hamo de Crevecoeur (1263)', pp. 253-64, and notes.</ref> Sir Bertram died in 1295. Their children included
- John de Criol (born c.1261), who was aged 34 in 1295: died without issue before 1302.<ref>'Parishes: Aldbury', in W. Page (ed.), A History of the County of Hertford, Vol. 2 (VCH/HMSO, London 1908), pp. 143-48 (British History Online, accessed 3 October 2017).</ref>
- Bertram de Criol: died without issue in 1306.<ref>'Parishes: Aldbury.'</ref><ref>Calendar of Inquisitions post mortem Vol. IV: Edward I, 1300-1307 (HMSO 1913), No. 372, pp. 242-243 (Internet Archive).</ref>
- Joan de Crioll, who married Sir Richard de Rokesley. They sold the manor of Aldbury in 1309.<ref>'Parishes: Aldbury.'</ref>
- Sir Bertram de Criol, who did homage for his father's lands in 1264, and was heir to his mother in 1267. He married Alianora, one of the four daughters and co-heirs of Hamo de Crevecoeur and Matilda (Maud) de Avranches.<ref>'Inquisitiones post mortem (contd.)', Archaeologia Cantiana III (1860), pp. 243-74, 'XXXV: Hamo de Crevecoeur (1263)', pp. 253-64, and notes.</ref> Sir Bertram died in 1295. Their children included
- Sir Simon de Criol. Simon married Matilda, daughter and heir of William de Esseteford (of Ashford, Esturt and Packmanstone in Newchurch). In 1252 he was granted immunity from coroner, assize or jury service for life, but in 1258 he was one of four knights selected for Kent for the bringing of inquisitions into trespasses and damages.<ref>Cal. Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, pp. 140, 646.</ref> Matilda was living at her husband's death in 1267.<ref>Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, II, p. 480. (in abbreviated Latin).</ref>
- Simon and Matilda had eight sons, who in 1267 were aged 30, 24, 23, 20, 16, 14, 12 and 11. These sons had an inheritance partible by gavelkind.<ref>Archaeologia Cantiana V, pp. 297-98.</ref>
In 1245/6 Sir John and Sir Simon were together jurors in the inquisition post mortem<ref>'Inquisitiones post mortem (contd.)', Archaeologia Cantiana II (1859), p. 281-326, 'III: Thomas de Normanville (1245-46)', p. 293 and notes.</ref> upon Thomas de Normanville, lord of Kennington, Kent,<ref>A. Collins, The English Baronetage (Thomas Wotton, London 1741), I, p. 339. Godefroy de Normanville was steward to Henry (I) Comte d'Eu.</ref> which constituted part of the barony of the constabularie of Dover.<ref>'Parishes: Kenardington', in E. Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Vol. 7 (Canterbury, 1798), pp. 244-49 (British History Online, accessed 9 October 2017).</ref>
- The relationship of Nicholas de Crioll (fl. 1240–1272) to Bertram is not specified. He is not mentioned in the 1243 scutage payment, where he would be expected. By 1246 Nicholas held the manor of Croxton Kerrial in Leicestershire granted to Bertram and his heirs by King Henry in 1242. Nicholas also became Constable of Dover Castle and Keeper of the Coast. He married Joan de Auberville, daughter of William de Auberville the younger, whose grandfather William the elder was married to Matilda (Maud), one of the three daughters of Ranulf de Glanville. Nicholas witnessed the De Clare and Puntdelarche charters in company with Simon de Criol,<ref>Cal. Charter Rolls, 1226-1257, pp. 334, 403.</ref> and obtained from the king a remission of £12 owing on the estate of John de Criol when John's son Bertram inherited it in 1264.<ref>Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, II, pp. 412-13. (in abbreviated Latin).</ref> He remarried to Margery, believed to have been daughter of Simon de Cray, who survived until 1319 and remarried into the Clifford family.<ref>Various contributors, 'Some corrections and additions to the Complete Peerage: Volume 3: Criol', 'Criol or Kiriel', at Medieval Genealogy website, last update 13 June 2009. References supplied.</ref> His son by Joan,
- Nicholas de Crioll, married Margaret, daughter of Galfred Pecche.<ref>R. Taylor, Index Monasticus (Lackington & Co., London 1821), pp. 93-94.</ref><ref>T. Philipott (with J. Philipott), Villare Cantianum, or, Kent Surveyed and Illustrated (Printed by William Godbid, London 1659), 'Stamford, Folkestone Hundred', p. 302. (Umich/EEBO)</ref>
See also
References
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