The Legal Battle Over Roger de Busli's Land

Back to Roger Busli of Tickhill, Yorkshire

For a description of Roger de Busli's capital and personal landholdings see Roger de Busli's Landholdings and also Roger de Busli's Land in the Domesday Book

When Roger de Busli died in 1099 the land which he had held directly from the king was taken back into the king's escheat. Roger's heir was his young son Roger II who inherited the property which Roger had acquired from other parties and so held in his own right. When Roger II died in 1101 his heir was his cousin Jordan de Builli of Kimberworth whose line continued for two more generations in the male line to John de Builli who died in 1213 leaving as his heir his daughter Idonea de Builli who was married to Robert Vipond, who had earlier been appointed by King John as the custodian of Tickhill. So there was a proven line of inheritance in ther male line from Roger de Busli to Robert Vipond through his wife Idonea de Builli.

While the king held the Honour of Tickhill there was no attempt to claim any inheritance rights but when King John's died in 1216 in the midst of the First Barons War, leaving his 9 year old son Henry as king which resulted in a major power shift to the Barons, Robert Vipond and Idonea felt this was the perfect time to solidify Robert's custodianship of Tickhill by claiming her hereditary right to the honour. In response Alice, Countess of Eu claimed her own hereditary right through Roger de Busli's daughter Beatrix.

Roger de Busli's daughter, Beatrix, had married William Count of Eu which even for a de Busli was a big step upwards. He held an extensive barony in Normandy, adjacent to the de Busli land, as well as extensive land in England. Their son Henry married a niece of King Stephen's. Their son John married the daughter of the Earl of Arundel and Adeliza of Louvain (who, widowed, married King Henry in 1121). Their son Henry married the daughter of the Earl of Warenne. Their daughter Alice, married to Ralph de Lusignan, Lord of Mello-en-Poitou, inherited the title Countess of Eu. While this line of descent was through a daughter of Roger's it should have been a weaker claim than the Vipond's but it had tremendous connections to powerful nobles.

The legal case that followed was ultimately decided in Countess Alice's favour. Robert had to give up his custody of the Honour although Alice had to send men to evict him from Tickhill Castle where he had taken up residence during his custodianship.

Robert and Idonea received 100 libras sterlingorum (pounds sterling) from the Countess who also acknowledged that the Viponds still held the 7 ½ knights fees in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire within her Tickhill holdings which had been held by Ernold’s line since shortly after the conquest (but since had been reduced to 6 ½ knights fees at some point) as well as some other holdings that Ernold's son Jordan had inherited from Roger de Busli Jr and had been passed on down to Idonea. ref. All of which is made clear in the pedigree included in the ruling of the court which gives us the definitive documentation of the competing lines of descent from Roger de Busli.

The 6 ½ knights fees are listed in the claim settlement as the Manors of Maltby, Sandbec, Kymberworth, Scausby, Faldam, Stanford-on-Sore, Pevelthorp, Brodesworth and Torlakeston. As Robert had lost the benefit of having Tickhill Castle the King granted him the Castle of Carleol in exchange.

A more detailed account of the case is given in Bannerman's Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, volume 2, p. 254-255.

Many of the de Busli histories by authors who were not aware of this case contain serious errors in his or his brother Ernold's families.

The de Busli pedigree as established by the King's court in 1222 to establish whether the rightful heir to Roger de Busli's Honour of Tickhill was Roger's son Roger II's cousin and heir, Jordan de Busli's great-grand-daughter Idonea de Busli or Alice Countess of Eu, the great-great-grand-daughter of Roger's daughter Beatrix de Busli.