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 The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

, after which he was made Chief

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 ...

of England.

Life

The

De Lucy de Lucy or de Luci (alternate spellings: Lucey, Lucie, Luce, Luci) is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lucé in Normandy, one of the great baronial Anglo-Norman families which became rooted in England after the Norma ...

family took its surname from Lucé in southern

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, then still held by the English kings. Richard inherited from his father estates in Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Normandy. His mother was Aveline, the niece and heiress of William Goth. In the charter for

Sées Cathedral Sées Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church and national monument of France in Sées (formerly also Séez) in Normandy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Séez. The cathedral was declared a basilica minor on 7 March 1871. The Gothic cathedral d ...

in February 1130–31

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

refers to Richard de Lucy and his mother, Aveline. His brother,

Walter de Luci Walter de Luci (also Walter de Lucy), Abbot of Battle Abbey, was the brother of Richard de Luci, who was Chief Justiciar of England. Walter de Luci (or de Lucy) was a Benedictine monk at Lonlay-l'Abbaye in Normandy, before being elected Abbot ...

, was abbot of

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now o ...

.Knowles ''The Monastic Order in England'' p. 589 De Lucy's wife, Rohese, who is named in several documents, was possibly a sister of Faramus de Boulogne.Richardson, D. (2011) ''Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study ...'' p. 202 (vi
Google
Rohese and Faramus were children of William de Boulogne who was the son of Geoffrey fitz Eustace (son of

Eustace II, Count of Boulogne Eustace II, (), also known as Eustace aux Grenons ("Eustace with long moustaches"),Heather J. Tanner, 'Eustace (II), count of Boulogne (d. c.1087)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. was Count of Boulogne fro ...

) and Beatrice, daughter of Norman magnate Geoffrey de Mandeville. An early reference to the family refers to the render by

of the lordship of Diss,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

to Richard de Lucy, Governor of Falaise,

, after defending it with great valour and heroic conduct when besieged by Geoffrey, Earl of Anjou. In 1153–4 De Lucy was granted

Chipping Ongar Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

by William, son of King Stephen and his wife, Maud of Boulogne. He may have built the motte-and-bailey

Ongar Castle Ongar Castle, or Chipping Ongar Castle, is a late 11th- or early 12th-century motte and bailey castle in Chipping Ongar, Essex. Only the earthworks and a single block of masonry survive today. History The castle may have been built by Eustace ...

, although it is also attributed to Eustace II Count of Boulogne (). Richard de Lucy was appointed

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 ...

of both Essex and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

for 1156. When

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 ...

came to the throne in 1154, De Lucy was made Chief

of England jointly with Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. When de Beaumont died in 1168, De Lucy continued to hold the office in his own right. One of the members of his household was

Roger fitzReinfrid Roger fitzReinfrid (sometimes Roger fitzReinfrey;Dalton "Fitzreinfrey, Gilbert" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' died 1196) was a medieval English sheriff and royal justice. Probably born into a knightly family, Roger first was in t ...

, the brother of

Walter de Coutances Walter de Coutances (died 16 November 1207) was a medieval Anglo-Norman bishop of Lincoln and archbishop of Rouen. He began his royal service in the government of Henry II, serving as a vice-chancellor. He also accumulated a number of eccl ...

. Roger became a royal judge and later donated land to

Lesnes Abbey Lesnes Abbey is a former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, England. It is a scheduled monument, and the abbey's ruins are listed at Grade II by Historic England. The adjacent Lesnes Abbey Wo ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, which had been founded by De Lucy. He resigned his office between September 1178 and Easter of 1179, and retired to Lesnes Abbey, where, three months later on 14 July 1179, he died and was buried.

Legacy

Richard's son Godfrey de Lucy entered the clergy and became

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

(11891204). Richard's eldest son Geoffrey de Lucy predeceased him and Geoffrey's two sons Geoffrey and Richard died without children early in the reign of RichardI (r.11891199). This led to protracted litigation over his estate between Richard and Geoffrey's daughters that lasted until the reign of HenryIII (r.12161272).

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * * . * . * .

External links

The Lucy & Lucey Family net
* Knowles, Dom David ''The Monastic Order in England: From the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council'' Second Edition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1976 reprint {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucy, Richard De 1089 births 1179 deaths People from Epping Forest District Anglo-Normans Justiciars of England High sheriffs of Essex High sheriffs of Hertfordshire People from Chipping Ongar