A Crisis of Lordship: Robert Ogle,Fifth Lord Ogle,and the Rule of Early Tudor Northumberland*

Henry Tudor’s diffusion of power in the English far north, and his savage pruning of resources for his wardens there to maintain good rule and defence, were perhaps necessary steps initially to prevent further challenges from overmighty subjects. Twenty years later, this was no longer an issue; and once peace with Scotland collapsed, the absence of the region’s traditional ruling magnates was keenly felt. Under Henry VIII, an obscure border baron, Lord Ogle of Bothal, was often Northumberland’s only resident lord, precipitating a crisis of lordship described as ‘the decay of the borders’. Unable to recruit as warden a reliable magnate on acceptable terms, Henry VIII then decided that, as a matter of principle, he would ‘not be bound, of a necessity, to be served there with lords’. The King appointed himself as warden-general, delegating the real work to gentlemen deputy wardens whose manraed was enhanced by feeing other leading local landowners, including Lord Ogle. Ogle’s kin and connection thus supplied successive wardens with an adequate following in peacetime; but in the ensuing war Ogle was overwhelmed with his warden on Ancrum Moor, becoming the only nobleman in England under Henry VIII to die in battle.     

Dynasty and diaspora in the Latin East: the case of the Sourdevals

Though primarily a pious exercise, the First Crusade formed part of a broader medieval ‘aristocratic diaspora’ – a movement often attributed to those from Normandy – and offered enterprising figures the chance of a new life in the East. This article examines how one such figure, the Italo-Norman Robert of Sourdeval, whose wider kinship group was also found throughout the Anglo-Norman world, forged a career in the newly formed Crusader States. It outlines how his descendants continued, and built upon, Robert’s foundations, securing influence in the Latin East during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by demonstrating an impressive ability to cross political divides, forge political relationships, and use periods of turmoil to their advantage. Through this family, therefore, important insights can be gained into the dynastic strategies deployed by crusading nobles seeking to forge positions of power, but also, more broadly, into the nature of the so-called Norman diaspora.     

Pope Clement V and the crusades of 1309–10

There were three crusading expeditions in 1309– 1310: against the Muslims in the eastern Mediterranean, the Moors in Granada, and the Venetian soldiers occupying the papal city of Ferrara. The campaigns illustrate the continuing vitality of the crusading movement despite the setbacks of the previous decades; but they also reveal the consequences of extending the crusade to various ‘fronts’, both outside and within the frontiers of Christendom. For Clement V's original intention of concentrating the crusading energy of the West on his project for a Hospitaller passagium particulare was frustrated first by insistent Aragonese and Castilian demands for crusade privileges and taxes for the Granada campaign, and later by the draining-off of papal funds to the Ferrara war. It was the crusade against Venice which proved most successful, and the lesson was clear to the papal court: in a period of soaring military costs and growing suspicion about the real motives of crusading kings and princes, the papacy could best promote the cause of Christ by concentrating on the ‘home front’, the policy pursued by Clement's successor, John XXII.     

The knighthood in and around late medieval Brussels

This article focuses on the social and political features of the knighthood in one of the most densely populated areas of the Low Countries, the administrative district of Brussels, known as the ammanie, in the fifteenth century. A systematic identification of all knights (rather than a selection) enables us to correct Huizinga’s picture and that of other, more recent, historians of the late medieval nobility as a social group in decay. Moreover, this case study contributes to ongoing debates on the position and status of late medieval knighthood. First, the data make it possible to assess the impact of Burgundian policies on the social, political and military relevance of the knighthood of Brabant. Second, special attention is given to their feudal possessions, in particular lordships and fortified residences, in order to establish stratification within the knighthood. Finally, the status and position of bannerets within the Brabantine knighthood is highlighted since they played a crucial role as intermediaries between the duke of Brabant and the urban elites of Brussels.     

Aristocratic patronage,political networking and the shaping of a private sanctuary: Countess Clemence of Flanders and the early years of Bourbourg Abbey (c.1103–21)

This article discusses the geopolitical manoeuvres of the comital House of Flanders, especially of Countess Clemence of Burgundy, to consolidate comital influence and power in the border region of western Flanders, specifically in the area of Bourbourg. By analysing and mapping the shifting patterns of interaction between alliances of both secular and ecclesiastical stakeholders in the charters issued for the abbey of Bourbourg, a female house, during the first decades of the twelfth century, it argues that the foundation and patronage of Bourbourg were engineered to create a symbolic and geo-strategic key site where the interests of the counts of Flanders and their local representatives, the abbot of Saint-Bertin, and members of the local elite converged, and alliances balanced each other. Moreover, through an anthropological approach in which the charters are also considered within the supra-institutional context of the reform movement, this study offers new insights into the dynamic role of Countess Clemence as a promoter and benefactor of Bourbourg Abbey, and also as a manager of her personal network of allies.     

Kingship and good lordship in practice in late medieval England: Henry VII,the earl of Oxford and the case of John Hale, 1487

This article opens up a neglected source-base for the study of late medieval England: royal writs under the privy seal to the chief justice of the King’s Bench ordering a halt to legal proceedings. These writs gave the king a greater degree of flexibility than simply pardoning someone, including allowing him the option of reopening cases. This article demonstrates the value of this neglected instrument of royal power by placing one example in a broader context. The case study focuses on a writ sent by Henry VII to his chief justice halting the case against John Hale, a yeoman, who was in the contingent of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, in the lead up to the Battle of Stoke. It illuminates the nature of kingship and good lordship in late medieval England, showing how the two ideas could interact for the benefit of king, lord and servant.