Pain fitzJohn

Pain fitzJohn
Modern ruins of Ludlow Castle
Sheriff of Herefordshire
In office
between 1123 and 1127 – after 1136
Preceded byAdam de Port[1]
Succeeded byHumphrey[1]
Sheriff of Shropshire
In office
after 1126 – after 1135
Preceded byRichard de Baumais[2]
Succeeded byWilliam fitzAlan[2]
Personal details
Died10 July 1137
Resting placeGloucester Abbey
NationalityAnglo-Norman
SpouseSybil
RelationsEustace (brother)
William (brother)
Alice (sister)
Agnes (sister)
John fitzRichard (father)
ChildrenCecily
Agnes
Parent

Pain fitzJohn[a] (before 1100 – 10 July 1137) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and administrator, one of King Henry I of England's "new men", who owed their positions and wealth to the king.

Pain's family originated in Normandy, but there is little to suggest that he had many ties there, and he appears to have spent most of his career in England and the Welsh Marches. A son of a minor nobleman, he rose through ability to become an important royal official during Henry's reign. In 1115, he was rewarded with marriage to an heiress, thereby gaining control of the town of Ludlow and its castle, which he augmented with further acquisitions.

Although later medieval traditions described Pain as a chamberlain to King Henry, that position is not securely confirmed in contemporary records. He did hold other offices, however, including that of sheriff in two counties near the border between England and Wales. In his capacity as a royal justice, Pain also heard legal cases for the king throughout much of western England.

After King Henry's death in 1135, Pain supported Henry's nephew, King Stephen, and was with the new king throughout 1136. In July 1137, Pain was ambushed by the Welsh and killed while leading a relief expedition to the garrison at Carmarthen. His heirs were his daughters, Cecily and Agnes. Cecily married the son of one of Pain's close associates, Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford. Pain was generous in his gifts of land to a number of monastic houses.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Sheriff45 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Green English Sheriffs p. 72
  3. ^ Cokayne Complete Peerage XII/2 pp. 270–271
  4. ^ Green Government of England p. 15
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference DD919 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).