Baldwin FitzGilbert ( 1030 – 1086/1091) (''alias'' Baldwin the Sheriff, Baldwin of Exeter, Baldwin de Meulles/Moels and Baldwin du Sap) was a Norman magnate and one of the 52

Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the we ...

of King

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, of whom he held the largest fiefdom in Devon, comprising 176 holdings or manors. He was

feudal baron of Okehampton The feudal barony of Okehampton was a very large feudal barony, the largest mediaeval fiefdom in the county of Devon, England,Thorn & Thorn, part 2, chapter 16 whose ''caput'' was Okehampton Castle and manor. It was one of eight feudal baronie ...

, seated at

Okehampton Castle Okehampton Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in Devon, England. It was built between 1068 and 1086 by Baldwin FitzGilbert following a revolt in Devon against Norman conquest of England, Norman rule, and formed the centre of the Honou ...

in Devon.

Origins

He was originally from Meulles or nearby

Le Sap Le Sap () is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It is classed as a Petites Cités de Caractère. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Sap-en-Auge.Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

, Normandy. He was a younger son of

Gilbert, Count of Brionne Gilbert (or Giselbert) de Brionne, Count of Eu and of Brionne ( – ), was an influential nobleman in the Duchy of Normandy in Northern France.Deck, S. (1954). Le comté d'Eu sous les ducs. In Annales de Normandie (Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 99-116 ...

and of Eu, in Normandy.

Career

Together with his eldest brother Richard FitzGilbert, in 1066 Baldwin participated in the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of England. Following the successful siege of the Saxon city of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

appointed Baldwin castellan of the newly built royal castle there,

Rougemont Castle Rougemont Castle, also known as Exeter Castle, is the historic castle of the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built into the northern corner of the Roman Exeter city walls, city walls starting in or shortly after the year 1068, following ...

. He also appointed him hereditary

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

, a position he held until his death. Exeter Castle was thenceforth the official seat of the Sheriff of Devon. King William I also granted him the very large

feudal barony of Okehampton The feudal barony of Okehampton was a very large feudal barony, the largest mediaeval fiefdom in the county of Devon, England,Thorn & Thorn, part 2, chapter 16 whose '' caput'' was Okehampton Castle and manor. It was one of eight feudal baron ...

in Devon, at the ''

caput A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may not ...

'' of which he built

English landholdings

Baldwin's

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

in Devon was the largest in that county, listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as comprising 176 holdings, mostly manors or estates, except the first two listed holdings which consisted of groups of houses in Exeter and Barnstaple. He is listed in the Domesday Book as ''"Baldvinus Vicecomes"'', literally translated as "Baldwin the

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

", a Norman title signifying that he had an administrative responsibility over the county of Devon, which office had become almost synonymous with the

, an Anglo-Saxon office. For this reason Baldwin is commonly known as "Baldwin the Sheriff". These landholdings comprised the

, later held by the

Courtenay family The House of Courtenay is a medieval noble house of French origins, with branches in France, England and the Holy Land. One branch of the Capetian dynasty bore the name of Courtenay through mariage to a Courtenay heiress and became a royal h ...

, later also feudal barons of Plympton and

Earls of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay family. ...

Marriage and children

His first wife was named Albreda, whom

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

refers to as a daughter of the aunt of

, presumably niece of his mother

Herleva Herleva () was an 11th-century Norman people, Norman woman known for having been the mother of William the Conqueror, born to an extramarital relationship with Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and also of William's prominent half-brothers Odo of Baye ...

. In the Domesday Book, his wife appears as Emma. He had three sons who all died childless, and two daughters: *Robert FitzBaldwin, Baldwin's heir in Normandy *William FitzBaldwin, inherited Baldwin's English lands *Richard FitzBaldwin *Adeliza FitzBaldwin, heiress to her three brothers, died childless *(? Matilda) FitzBaldwin, wife, successively, of

William fitzWimund William fitzWimund was a Norman landholder in England after the Norman Conquest. FitzWimund was from Avranches in Normandy, where he held land. In ''Domesday Book'' fitzWimund is recorded as holding land in Exeter as a tenant of Baldwin fitzGilbert ...

and Ranulf Avenel. William fitzWimund is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as holding land at Dolton, Devon in North Tawton Hundred, from his father-in-law Baldwin. Baldwin also had an illegitimate child, Wiger, a monk at Bec.

Death and succession

Baldwin was living in 1086. He had died by 1091 according to Orderic.Ormerod, George. (1861) "Descent of the Anglo-Norman Lords of Strugil", ''Strigulensia: Archæological Memoirs Relating to the District Adjacent to the Confluence of the Severne and the Wye'', pp. 62–63, citing Ordericus Following the deaths of his three sons without heirs, his daughter Adeliza was his ultimate sole heiress.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgilbert, Baldwin 11th-century births 1090s deaths Normans in England Norman warriors High sheriffs of Devon Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief