Richard Herriard (sometimes Richard of Herriard) (died 1208) was an English

royal justice Royal justices were judges in medieval England with the power to hear pleas of the Crown. They were roving officials of the History of the English monarchy, king of England, sent to seek out notorious robbers and murderers and bring them to justic ...

. Herriard's first appearance in the historical record is in 1184 when he is mentioned in connection with the pardoning of payment of

scutage Scutage was a medieval English tax levied on holders of a knight's fee under the feudal land tenure of knight-service. Under feudalism the king, through his vassals, provided land to knights for their support. The knights owed the king militar ...

on some land he held in Wiltshire. At that time, he was a knight serving

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. History Earl ...

. Herriard also held land in

Herriard Herriard is a village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Basingstoke, which lies north. The village is situated mainly on the A339 road between Alton, and Basingstoke. At the 200 ...

and

Southrope Southrope is a hamlet in the civil parish of Herriard, Hampshire. It has one pub, named the Fur and Feathers. The hamlet was once considered a part of the civil parish Bentworth, until the late 19th century. Its nearest town is Alton, which lie ...

in Hampshire, and took his name from the first village. The lands in Hampshire were held from

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, the

Earl of Salisbury Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury. Background The title was first created for Patrick de Sa ...

.Turner ''English Judiciary'' p. 92 Herriard had married before 1183, and his wife was named Ela, and she was the co-heir, along with her sister, of lands at Somerford in Wiltshire. She and her sister were the daughters of Roger fitzGeoffrey.Turner ''English Judiciary'' pp. 113–114 Herriard's first service as an administrator was for Geoffrey fitzPeter, where he served as the undersheriff for Essex and Herefordshire in 1192.Turner ''Men Raised From the Dust'' p. 50 From 1194, during the reign of King

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

, Herriard appears regularly as a royal justice, along with

Richard Barre Richard Barre ( c. 1130 – c. 1202) was a medieval English justice, clergyman and scholar. He was educated at the law school of Bologna and entered royal service under King Henry II of England, later working for Henry's son and successor R ...

William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

Ralph Foliot Ralph Foliot (died c. 1198) was a medieval English clergyman and royal justice. Early career Foliot was a nephew of Gilbert Foliot, first Bishop of Hereford and later Bishop of London, but the names of Ralph's parents and his place of birth are ...

, and William de Warenne. These men constituted a set of professional judges, brought into being by

Hubert Walter Hubert Walter ( – 13 July 1205) was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter be ...

, 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 ...

.Turner ''English Judiciary'' pp. 73–74 He remained a justice for 10 years, retiring from the bench in 1204.Turner ''English Judiciary'' p. 80 Unconnected with his judicial duties, in 1195 Herriard was in charge of the delivery of a shipment of horses to King Richard, which entailed the justice crossing the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

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 ...

to deliver them. In 1198 Herriard was sent to deliver a subsidy to Richard's nephew,

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, who was attempting to be proclaimed German Emperor.Turner ''English Judiciary'' pp. 87–88 Another duty, unconnected with justice, appears in the Memoranda Roll for the first year of King

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

's reign, where it appears that Herriard was responsible for paying prostitutes for the new king.Turner ''English Judiciary'' pp. 157–158 Herriard died about 6 April 1208. He had a son, also named Richard, with whom he is occasionally confused in the records.Turner ''English Judiciary'' p. 117 The elder Richard also had a daughter, who married Richard de Sifrewast.Turner ''English Judiciary'' p. 120 After Herriard's death, Geoffrey fitzPeter took custody of both the heir to Herriard's lands and the lands themselves.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herriard, Richard 12th-century English judges 1208 deaths Year of birth unknown 13th-century English judges