Geoffrey de Mandeville

Geoffrey de Mandeville was a great landowner in Essex and elsewhere and hereditary constable of the Tower of London. His holding and his prominence in English politics rose in 1140 when Stephen (r. 1135-1154), who could not dispense with his support against Matilda, a rival claimant for the throne, made him hereditary earl of Essex, by the earliest charter granting an English earldom extant or even known.

De Mandeville change sides when Stephen was captured by Matilda’s supporters in February 1141. However, Stephen’s queen brought Geoffrey back to the royalist side by more concessions, possibly including the viceregal powers in London, Middlesex, and Hertfordshire, which were formally granted to him by Stephen in December 1141.

In 1143 Stephen had second thoughts about his loyalty and arrested de Mandeville who gave up his offices and castles in return for his freedom. De Mandeville initiated a rebellion in 1143, in which both sides wrecked such havoc that the chroniclers noted that “Men said openly that Christ and all his saints slept”. In August 1144 Geoffrey was mortally wounded by a chance shot while laying siege to Burwell, and he died the following month.

At his peak, de Mandeville was worth about £4,000. In 2010 he would be worth £5.5bn.