General Notes

REFN: 6650AN
Earl of Salisbury
Spoken of as the Earl of Salisbury, like his father. His father was the il
legitimate son of King Henry II by his mistress Rosamund De Clifford, a
nd thus a Prince of England. His mother was the Countess of Salisbur
y. In otherwards, William was a grandson of Henry II.
Burke wrote:
"... 'commonly called', says Sir William Dugdale, 'by Matthew Faris, and m
ost of our other historians, Earl of Salisbury, but erroneously; for all r
ecords wherein mention is made of him, do not give him that title, but ca
ll him barely William Longespee. Nay, there is an old chronicle who sai
th expressly, that, in anno 1233 (17th Henry III.), he was girt with the s
word of knighthood, but not made Earl of Salisbury." This William made a p
ilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1240, and again in 1247, having assumed t
he cross for a second pilgrimage, prodeeded to Rome, and thus preferr
ed a suit to the sovereign pontiff. 'Sir, you see that I am signed with t
he cross, and am on my journey with the King of France to fight in this pi
lgrimage. My name is great, and of note, viz., William Longespee; but my e
state is slender; for the king of England, my kinsman and liege lord, ha
th bereft me of the title of earl, and of that estate; but this he did jud
iciously, and not in displeasure, and by the impulse of his will; therefo
re I do not blame him for it. Howbeit, I am necessitated to have recour
se to your holiness for favour, desiring your assistance in this distres
s. We see here (quoth he,) that Earl Richard (of Cornwall,) who, thou
gh he is not signed with the cross, yet, through the especial grace of yo
ur holiness, he hath got very much money from those who are signed, and th
erefore I, who am signed, and in want, do intreat the like favour." The po
pe taking into consideration the elegance of his manner, the efficacy of h
is reasoning, and the comeliness of his person, conceded in part what he d
esired: whereupon he received above 1,000 marks from those who had be
en so signed. In about two years after this, anno 1249, having received t
he blessing of his noble mother, Ela, then abbess of Lacock, he commenc
ed his journey at the head of a company of 200 English horse, and being re
ceived with great respect by the king of France, joined that monarch's arm
y. In Palestine he became subsequently pre-eminently distinguished, and fe
ll, in 1250, in a great conflict with the Saracens, near Damietta, havi
ng previously killed above 100 of the enemy with his own hand. It was repo
rted that, the night before the battle, his mother Ela, the abbess, s
aw in a vision the heavens open, and her son armed at all parts (whose shi
eld she well knew), received with joy by the angels. Remembering the occur
rence, when the news of his death reached her in six months after, she he
ld up her hands, and with a cheerful countenance said, 'I, thy handmaid, g
ive thanks to thee, O Lord, that out of my sinful flesh thou hast caused s
uch a champion against thine enemies to be born'. It was also said, th
at in 1252, when messengers were sent to the Soldan of Babylon, for redemp
tion of those who had been taken prisoners, he thus addressed them- 'I mar
vel at you, Christians, who reverence the bones of the dead, why you inqui
re not for those of the renowned and right noble William Longespee, becau
se there be many things reported of them (whether fabulous or not, I cann
ot say), viz., that, in the dark of the night, there have been appearanc
es at his tomb, and that to some, who called upon his God, many things we
re bestowed from Heaven. For which cause, and in regard of his great wor
th and nobility of birth, we have caused his body to be here intombed." Wh
ereupon the messenger desiring it, the remains were delivered to them by t
he Soldan, and thence conveyed to Acre, where they were buried in the chur
ch of St. Cross."
Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct