Royal Service and Reward: the Clare Family and the Crown, 1066-1154

Summary

Landed reward in return for loyal service was expected in mediaeval feudal society, and the importance of the king’s powers of patronage has been emphasised by many historians. In particular, under the Norman kings, the appearance of ‘new men’ at court as curiales and their advance into landed society have been stressed, as has the fact that men who were already magnates also received rewards. Kings and barons were dependent on each other; peace and order in the realm depended on the existence of a good relationship between the two, with the barons providing military service, aid and counsel, and the kings security and protection as well as reward. In addition to the general support given by the baronage as a whole, every king needed his own circle of close advisers, both magnates and curiales, who would serve in the hope and expectation of reward. The backing of such a group would be especially necessary in the early years of a reign when the king was establishing his position.

The Clare family provide a prime example of the rise of a baronial family over three generations, largely as a result of royal service, and it is possible to make an assessment of the comparative significance of royal patronage as against other means of increasing power, to see the variety of service performed, and to gauge how far there was a correlation between service done and reward gained. The family built up their estates largely as a result of their connections with William I and Henry I; they were somewhat in eclipse under Rufus. Before 1066, the family were of little importance among the Norman magnates, but, by the time of the Domesday Survey, Baldwin son of Count Gilbert of Brionne and more particularly his brother Richard were powerful barons, and by 1130 five members of the Clare family ranked among the tenants-in-chief of the Crown, with most of their lands being situated in England and Wales. Throughout their history, the Clares had an insatiable appetite for land and wealth, and were always ready to put forward their demands; the Brut refers to Henry 1’s statement that Gilbert of Tonbridge had often pestered him for land, and at the beginning of Stephen’s reign Richard fitz Gilbert made what the king regarded as excessive requests.