William de Vescy of Kildare
William de Vescy of Kildare | |
|---|---|
| Baron de Vesci (1313-1314) | |
 Coat of arms of William de Vescy | |
| Born | bef. 1297 |
| Died | 24 June 1314 Bannockburn |
| Noble family | de Vesci |
| Father | William de Vesci |
William de Vescy, sometimes spelt Vesci, Baron de Vesci (died 24 June 1314), was an illegitimate child of William de Vesci and Devorgille, daughter of Donal Roe Macarthy Mor, Prince of Desmond. He was born in Kildare, Ireland, and after his father died in 1297, as he was underage, his properties in England were in trust under Antony Bek, Bishop of Durham.
In 1300, William was summoned to serve in an army against the Scots.
He or his guardian Antony Bek, Prince Bishop of Durham, sold Alnwick Castle on 19 November 1309 to Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy. (For more details, see the entry on Lord Percy). It is unclear how much of the money William actually received. William was summoned to parliament on 8 January 1313, as Baron Vesci of Malton.
On 24 June 1314, while serving as a retainer of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, William perished at the Battle of Bannockburn.[1] His body was conveyed to York and interred in the chancel of St Mary's Abbey, York.[2]
Marriage and legacy
Although it is sometimes said that William married Maud, widow of Thomas Neville of Cleatham, this is unlikely.[1] On William's death, his estates devolved upon his distant cousin in law, Gilbert de Ayton, husband of Margery, daughter of Warin de Vesci, a son of Eustace de Vesci.
Arms
William's coat of arms is recorded by the fourteenth-century Parliamentary Roll. It is emblazoned: Or, a plain cross Sable. The same coat of arms was borne by his uncle, John de Vesci (died 1289).[3] William's stone effigy of an armed knight, that seems to have originally sat at St Mary's Abbey, shows the Vescy family coat of arms differenced with a bend.[4]
Citations
- ^ a b Waugh (2005).
- ^ I'Anson (1924) pp. 130–131.
- ^ McAndrew (2006) p. 74.
- ^ I'Anson (1929) pp. 3–5; I'Anson (1924) pp. 130–131.
References
- I'Anson, W (1924). "Some Yorkshire Effigies". The Yorkshire Archæological Journal. 27: 117–139 – via Internet Archive.
- I'Anson, W (1929). "The Mediaeval Military Effigies of Yorkshire". The Yorkshire Archæological Journal. 29: 1–67 – via Internet Archive.
- McAndrew, BA (2006). Scotland's Historic Heraldry. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 9781843832614 – via Google Books.
- Waugh, SL (2005). "Vescy, William de, Lord Vescy (1245–1297)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (October 2005 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28256. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Vescy, William de". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
