Gervase de Cornhill (sometimes Gervase of Cornhill; 1110 – c. 1183) was an Anglo-Norman royal official and

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

. Beginning his royal service as a justice in London in 1147, he continued to serve both King

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 113 ...

and

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

until his death around 1183. He played a minor role in the

Becket controversy The Becket controversy or Becket dispute was the quarrel between Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England from 1163 to 1170.Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' pp. 401–402 The controversy culminated ...

in 1170.

Early life

According to medievalist Katharine Keats-Rohan, Gervase was the son of Roger, who was the nephew of Hubert, the queen's chamberlain. Other scholars are less sure that Gervase was Roger's son, and argue that Gervase was Hubert's nephew. Gervase was likely born around 1110.Harvey "Cornhill, Gervase of" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He married Agnes, the daughter of Edward of Cornhill. After his marriage, he became known as ''de Cornhill'' because of his wife's property.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 411

Royal administrator

Gervase was royal justice in London in 1147, and continued to claim that title through the 1170s on his personal seal. He was one of the members of the royal administration under King

.Warren ''Henry II'' p. 34 Gervase was also a merchantKing ''King Stephen'' p. 366 and financier. Around 1143 he loaned money to Stephen's wife Matilda of Boulogne, and received in pledge land at Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire. The queen was unable to repay the debt, and the lands pledged eventually became Gervase's.King ''King Stephen'' p. 190 Gervase also loaned money to Hugh Tirel, son of Walter Tirel, in 1146 to enable Hugh to go on the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...

. In return, Hugh pledged the manor of Langham in Essex to Gervase.King ''King Stephen'' p. 231 Gervase held the office of

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

in 1155 through 1157, 1160 and 1161, and may have held that office between 1159 and 1160 as well. He also held the office of Sheriff of Surrey from 1163 until his death as well as the office of

Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instru ...

from 1167 to 1174. Gervase was named a judge on one of the eyre circuits in 1170.Stenton ''English Justice'' p. 73

Later life

In 1170, Gervase was involved with attempts to keep Thomas Becket, who had been in exile, from returning to England. Working with Gervase were Roger de Pont L'Évêque the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

Gilbert Foliot Gilbert Foliot (Wiktionary:circa, c. 1110 – 18 February 1187) was a medieval English monk and prelate, successively Abbot of Gloucester, Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Born to an ecclesiastical family, he became a monk at C ...

the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, Josceline de Bohon the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

Reginald de Warenne Reginald de Warenne (sometimes Rainald de Warenne; between 1121 and 1126 – 1179) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and royal official. The third son of an earl, Reginald began his career as an administrator of his brother's estates and contin ...

the Sheriff of Sussex, and

Ranulf de Broc Ranulf de Broc (sometimes Rannulf de Broc;Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 351 died around 1179) was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman nobleman and royal official during the reign of King Henry II of England. He held two offices in the roya ...

.Barlow ''Thomas Becket'' p. 223 Gervase was part of the party that met Becket at

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

on 1 December 1170 when the archbishop returned to England. The lay members of the group, led by Gervase, complained that the archbishop was sowing dissension in the land by his excommunication of the three ecclesiastics who were with the group, but Becket managed to calm the officials by stating he would consider the matter and reply to them the next day. The next day the group was accompanied by some clergy sent by the ecclesiastics who had been excommunicated by Becket. Nothing further was accomplished by this meeting except further offers from Becket to consider other options.Barlow ''Thomas Becket'' pp. 224–227 Afterwards, Gervase and Ranulf de Broc tried to discover which of the citizens of London had welcomed Becket back into the kingdom, but were frustrated by refusal of the London clergy to appear and by the laymen refusing to answer to anything but royal

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

s.Barlow ''Thomas Becket'' p. 231 Gervase may be identical with the Gervase who in 1174 presented a loyalty speech to King

from the citizens of London. In 1177 Gervase, along with

Richard de Luci Richard de Lucy, Luci, Lucie, or Lusti (1089– 14 July 1179), also known as Richard the Loyal, was first noted as High Sheriff of Essex, after which he was made Chief Justiciar of England. Life The De Lucy family took its surname from Lucé ...

, the

justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term or (meaning "judge" or "justice"). The Chief Justiciar was the king's chief minister, roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Justiciar of Ireland was ...

and Roger fitzReinfrid, assessed land taxes and heard judicial cases in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

.West ''Justiciarship in England'' p. 47 Gervase held lands in London inherited from his father-in-law, lands in Kent from his father, and lands in Gamlingay which he got through a mortgage. He also acquired other lands in Essex and Surrey. He also gave lands at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

and East Lewisham to St. Peter's Abbey in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and other lands to Holy Trinity Priory at

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

Death and legacy

Gervase died between

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

in 1183 and Michaelmas 1184. Gervase's offspring were Henry, Reginald (or Rainald), and Ralph. Ralph was also Sheriff of Kent (1191–1192) and Surrey (1191–1194). The medieval writer William of Canterbury said that Gervase was "thinking of his usurious two-thirds and hundredths rather than of what was good and right".Quoted in Harvey "Cornhill, Gervase of" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornhill, Gervase de High sheriffs of Kent Sheriffs of the City of London High sheriffs of Surrey 1110s births 1180s deaths Year of death uncertain