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Summary This thesis explores the personal, territorial/economic and spiritual networks of the Cantilupes and the Corbets, two families from different levels of the thirteenth century gentry. The Cantilupes were curiales; the Corbets were established Marchers who did not enter the king’s court. The study shows that each had a strong command of their respective power centres, yet the main branch of administrative Cantilupes deliberately pushed towards the Welsh March from King John’s reign onwards, while the Corbets, who were without the same networks of power and the consequent resources of these royal stewards, were also pushing for expansion within their own territory. This comparison illuminates the differences between these two families, neither of them great magnates per se, but both with strong links to the upper echelons of the aristocracy, and both with acquisitional and expansionist ambitions. The thesis identifies patterns of patronage and land-holding, and analyses their networks of relationships. Interaction between the two families is also considered, and the means by which family power and identity was represented and expressed are explored. The thesis concludes by identifying the common threads of a family strategy that, potentially, was followed by many thirteenth century gentry families of varying levels of social status. It considers the impact of the Welsh March on such strategies, and questions the ‘peripheral’ nature of such borderlands to those without Marcher territories. i Acknowledgements A great debt of thanks is owed to my supervisor, Prof. Peter R. Coss, for all the support and advice he has given me since my MA, and for taking me on despite approaching retirement! Thanks also goes to Dr. Bill Aird, without whom I would not have begun my PhD, and Prof. Helen Nicholson, Prof. Peter Edbury and Dr. David Wyatt, for their ongoing support, encouragement and advice, and the opportunities for personal and professional development they have presented me with and supported me through. I would also like to thank Prof. Dan Power, Prof. Bjorn Weiler and Dr Elizabeth New for all their support and helpful comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks to the staff at Shrewsbury Record Office, Hereford Cathedral, Hereford Record Office, the British Museum, the British Library, the National Archives, and the National Archives and Library of Wales. Thanks also to all those who helped support my PhD and helped me to crowdfund the last term’s fees – my mother Lynne Evans, Lynne and Duncan Strong, Ian and Tracy Braithwaite, Charlotte Ashley, Len Webster, JC McDowell, Herge Hermansen, Max Campanella, Maja Škvorc, David Cooper, and several anonymous donors. Thank you also to my family, friends and colleagues at Cardiff University, Moriah Baptist Church and Soma Choir for all their support. Thanks to Fiona and Warren especially, for keeping me sane during long archive trips and giving me a place to stay in London. Lastly, so important he gets his own mention, thank you Rhys Davies, for putting up with papers and books on every available surface in the house. For four years. ii Contents Summary ............................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ii Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables.................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ................................................................................................................. xii INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 Not Another Medieval Case Study ............................................................................... 1 Marcher Scholarship: An Overview.............................................................................. 8 Family Studies: An Overview ..................................................................................... 15 CANTILUPES [AND EXTENDED BRANCHES] ....................................................... 27 CANTILUPES [CONT.] ................................................................................................. 28 The Cantilupes ............................................................................................................ 29 CORBETS OF CAUS [AND EXTENDED BRANCHES] ............................................ 32 The Corbets ................................................................................................................. 33 Methodology and Source Material .............................................................................. 37 CHAPTER 1: .................................................................................................................. 44 PERSONAL NETWORKS ............................................................................................. 44 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 44 THE CANTILUPES ....................................................................................................... 53 The Cantilupes’ Early Years: Family Background ..................................................... 53 The Cantilupes c.1199-1239 ....................................................................................... 58 The Cantilupes 1240-1254 .......................................................................................... 74 The Cantilupes 1254-c.1300 ....................................................................................... 84 THE CORBETS .............................................................................................................. 88 The Early Years: Family Background......................................................................... 88 The Corbets c.1199-1222 ............................................................................................ 96 The Corbets 1222-1274 ............................................................................................. 109 The Corbets 1274-c.1300 .......................................................................................... 123 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 135 CHAPTER TWO: ......................................................................................................... 138 TERRITORIAL NETWORKS ..................................................................................... 138 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 138 THE CANTILUPES ..................................................................................................... 144 iii The Cantilupes c.1199-1205 ..................................................................................... 144 Figure 1: PRS Entries of Cantilupe Interests 1199-1205 .............................................. 150 The Cantilupes 1206-1215 ........................................................................................ 154 The Cantilupes 1216-1239 ........................................................................................ 157 Figure 2: PRS Entries of Cantilupe Interests 1206-20 .................................................. 159 The Cantilupes 1240-1273 ........................................................................................ 161 The Cantilupes 1273- c.1300 .................................................................................... 172 Figure 3: George de Cantilupe's Centres of Power ....................................................... 172 THE CORBETS ............................................................................................................ 176 The Corbets c.1199-1205 .......................................................................................... 176 Figure 4: Corbet Centres of Power ............................................................................... 184 The Corbets 1206-1222 ............................................................................................. 186 The Corbets 1222-1274 ............................................................................................. 191 The Corbets 1274-c.1300 .......................................................................................... 200 Figure 5: Peter Corbet's Centres of Power .................................................................... 204 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 207 CHAPTER THREE: ..................................................................................................... 209 PIETY, POWER AND STRATEGY ............................................................................ 209 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 209 THE CANTILUPES ....................................................................................................