Urse d'Abetot

Urse d'Abetot
Sheriff of Worcestershire
In office
c. 1069–1108
Preceded byCyneweard of Laughern[1]
Succeeded byRoger d'Abetot
Royal constable
In office
after 1087 – 1108
Personal details
Bornc. 1040
Normandy, France
DiedSummer of 1108
SpouseAlice
ChildrenRoger d'Abetot, daughter (perhaps named Emmeline)

Urse d'Abetot[a] (c. 1040 - 1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, and was appointed sheriff in about 1069. Little is known of his family in Normandy, who were not prominent, but he probably got his name from the village Abetot (today Saint-Jean-d’Abbetot, Abetot about 1050–1066, hamlet of La Cerlangue). Although Urse's lord in Normandy was present at the Battle of Hastings, there is no evidence that Urse took part in the invasion of England in 1066.

Urse built the earliest form of Worcester Castle in Worcester, which encroached on the cathedral cemetery there, earning him a curse from the Archbishop of York. Urse helped to put down a rebellion against King William I in 1075, and quarrelled with the Church in his county over the jurisdiction of the sheriffs. He continued in the service of William's sons after the king's death, and was appointed constable under William II and marshal under Henry I. Urse was known for his acquisitiveness, and during William II's reign was considered second only to Ranulf Flambard, another royal official, in his rapacity. Urse's son succeeded him as sheriff but was subsequently exiled, thus forfeiting the office. Through his daughter, Urse is an ancestor of the Beauchamp family, who eventually became Earls of Warwick.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlectoNorman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 72
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Loyd1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Intro3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Hollister "Henry I and the Anglo-Norman Magnates" Proceedings of the Battle Conference II p. 95


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