LuttrellPsalterFol202vGeoffLutrellMounted

Sir Geoffrey Luttrell III (1276 – 23 May 1345)

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as s ...

of Irnham in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

was a mediaeval knight remembered principally today as having commissioned the Luttrell Psalter, a rare and profusely illustrated manuscript now in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

in London.

Origins

Geoffrey Luttrell was born in 1276 and was the son of Robert Luttrell (died 1296). He succeeded his father in 1297. He was a descendant of Sir Geoffrey de Luterel. He was referred to as the 2nd Lord of Irnham. His family's arms were: ''Azure, a bend between six martlets argent''. Another branch of the Luttrell family, which bore the same arms but differenced by tincture (''Or, a bend between six martlets sable''), in 1376 he acquired Dunster Castle in Somerset, where they were seated until the extinction of the male line in 1737 (although the family continued at Dunster until 1976 via a female line which adopted the surname and arms of Luttrell).

Career

Within the last five years before his death in 1345 he commissioned the Luttrell Psalter, the illustrations to which include a representation of him, his wife and his daughter-in-law, with profuse display of his armorials. Although he has been praised for his patronage of the arts, it seems that Luttrell, like many medieval landowners, was capable of ruthlessness and violence. A private war which he conducted together with his neighbours

Roger de Birthorpe Roger de Birthorpe (c.1280–c.1345) was an English landowner and lawyer who had a distinguished career in Ireland as a judge, becoming Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1327.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John M ...

, Edmund Colville and Guy Goband against the monks of Sempringham Priory was considered serious enough to warrant a Royal Commission of Inquiry in 1312. However, it has been argued that Birthorpe was the principal offender and that Luttrell was to blame only for supporting his friend; this may be borne out by the fact that while Birthorpe was outlawed for a time, Luttrell seems to have escaped any censure.

Marriage and children

Sir Geoffrey married Agnes the daughter of Sir Richard of Sutton. She died in June 1339 or 1340. Their Issue: 1. Robert, d. 1320 2. Andrew, his heir. 3. Sir Geoffrey, who married Constance, daughter of Geoffrey Scrope. 4. Robert, a Knight of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. 5. Isabel, a Gilbertine nun. 6. Elizabeth, who married Walter, son of Sir Walter Gloucester.

Notes

External links

Inquisition Post Mortem
#406, dated 1296, reflecting the inheritance going to his son Geoffrey.
A History of Dunster and of the Families of Mohun & Luttrell
Volume 2, Public Domain. {{DEFAULTSORT:Luttrell, Geoffrey 1276 births 1345 deaths 13th-century English people 14th-century English people Medieval English knights People from South Kesteven District Geoffrey