John Warenne Earl de Warren & Surrey

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information. ¹⁴¹
John de Warenne, seventh Earl of Surrey, only son and heir of William de Warenne and Maud Marshal, was born in or after August 1231. His mother released to him his father's lands in Norfolk on 1 April 1248, and the King allowed him to have seisin, though he was not of age. In December 1252 he was forbidden to take part in the dispute between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop-elect of Winchester. In 1254 he joined the King at Bordeaux; and on 14 September offered himself as hostage for the King's debt there.

In 1255 John de Warenne joined the other nobles in their resistance to the influx of foreigners into England, and in September he was instructed to escort the King of Scotland to the King. About the same time he was granted to himself and heirs weekly markets at several of his manors. In 1257 he went with Richard, Earl of Cornwall, King elect of the Romans, to Almain. By writ dated 14 Mar 1257/8 he was summoned to Chester to perform his service against the Welsh, and frequently thereafter until 1294. In June 1258 he was present at a Parliament at Oxford, when the nobles demanded the observance of Magna Charta. In July he was one of the Earls assigned as escort to the King's brothers to Dover and Witsand; in October he was sick at Hampstead Marshall. In March 1260 he was summoned to London with horses and arms, and was directed to live at Clerkenwell or the New Temple. In April 1260 the King returned from France, bringing with him many foreigners and exasperating the nobles, including the Earl.

By 28 December the Earl had gone overseas in the service of Prince Edward. On 20 Mar 1262/3 he landed at Dover, and in May he was summoned to Worcester; in August he was appointed to treat of peace with Llewelin, son of Griffith. On 18 September he was granted all the lands of the Normans which he had, or which fell within his fee. Between October and December he with many of the magnates joined Simon de Montfort and Prince Edward. On 16 December he assented to the King's agreement to submit the question of the Provisions of Oxford to arbitration by the King of France. On 24 December he was appointed Keeper of the counties of Surrey and Sussex. In April 1264, he garrisoned the Castle of Rochester, where he was besieged for about a week by Simon de Montfort, until he was relieved by the King. He was in the Prince's army at the battle of Lewes on 14 May, whence he and the King's brothers fled to Pevensey, subsequently crossing to France.

On 10 May 1265, John de Warenne landed at Pembroke with William de Valence and a body of armed men, and the King issued warnings to the sheriffs and others not to encourage them. On 24 May he sued for the return of his lands. On 8 June Prince Edward joined them at Ludlow and on 28 June they were holding many towns. On 1 August they reached Kenilworth. On 7 May 1266 it was ordered that archers should be sent to London to him; and on 27 May, with William de Valence, he went to Bury St. Edmunds to fine the Abbey and the burgesses. Towards the end of May 1267, his negotiations to induce the Earl of Gloucester to submit were successfully concluded. In the Octave of Michaelmas, he received a pardon for excesses committed in the recent time of disturbance. On 10 Mar 1267/8 was pardoned for non-observance of the Provisions of Oxford. On the Octave of St. John in 1270, he quarreled in Westminster Hall with Alan la Zouche, and attacked him so violently that Alan died on 10 August, his son escaping with difficulty. The Earl fled to his castle at Reigate, pursued by Prince Edward, and begged for mercy; and on 4 Aug 1270 he was pardoned on his undertaking to pay a substantial sum to the King.

On 20 Nov 1272, four days after the King's death, John de Warenne swore allegiance to Prince Edward, then on his way home from a Crusade, and the Earl was one of the guardians of the realm until his return. In March 1277/8 he was assigned with others to escort the King of Scotland to London; and at Michaelmas 1278 was present in Parliament when the King did his homage. In 1278, he was interrogated under the Statute of Quo Warranto as to the title by which he held his lands. He is alleged to have produced in open court an ancient rusty sword saying, "Here, my Lord, is my warrant. My ancestors coming in with William the Bastard won their lands with the sword, and with the sword I will hold them against all comers." He won the sympathy of his brother nobles, and the King gave in. In September 1285 he was going with the King to Scotland. On 14 February 1289/90 he was going as the King's envoy to Scotland, and on 20 June 1290 was appointed with others to treat with the Scots.

On 28 August Prince Edward appointed John de Warenne as his procurator in the negotiations for his marriage to Margaret Queen of Scotland, and on 1 September he was accredited to meet the envoys of the King of Norway in the Isle of Orkney. On 16 Apr 1291 he was summoned to be at Norham with horses and arms in connection with the claims to the throne of Scotland; and in the same year was appointed Keeper of Scotland. He was appointed to the custody of the seacoast on 16 Sep 1295, of the counties beyond Trent on 5 October, and of the castle of Bamburgh on 6 October. On 18 October he was about to go to Scotland on the King's service. On 27 Ap 1296 he was attacked by the Scots near Dunbar, but repulsed them without loss, and the castle of Dunbar was captured. On 3 September he was appointed Keeper of the realm of Scotland.

In May 1297, John set out for Scotland, but remained in the north of England for safety, until he was ordered by the King, then in Flanders, to take action against the Scots. In August the Scots attacked his advance guard, under Henry de Percy, but were repelled, and many submitted; but on 10 September the Earl was defeated with great slaughter at Stirling, and fled to Berwick, which he abandoned and lost. On 10 Dec 1297 he was appointed Captain of the army to oppose the invading Scots; and in January and February 1297/8 marched into Scotland. In 1299 and 1300 he was in Scotland, but he was at the Archbishop's banquet in September 1299 after the King's marriage. In July 1300 he was at Carlisle with the King, and he commanded the second division at the siege of Carlaverock. On 1 March 1300/1 he was appointed with others to treat with the envoys of Philip, King of France, on losses inflicted by the Scots. His seal was appended to the Barons's Letter to the Pope, which bears date 12 Feb 1301/2.

John de Warenne married, August 1247, Alice, the uterine sister of the King, being daughter of Hugh le Brun, comté la Brun, comté la Marche and Lord of Lusignan and Valence, by Isabel, widow of John, King of England, and daughter of Ademar, comté de Angoulême. She died 9 February 1255/6. The Earl died about Michaelmas 1304 at Kennington, near London, and was buried before the high altar at Lewes Priory.

~Cokayne's Complete Peerage, 2nd Edition, (Surry), Vol. XIIA pp. 503-507

John married Alice de Lusignan, daughter of Lord Hugues X "le Brun" de Lusignan and Isabel de Angoulême Queen of England, in Aug 1247.¹⁴¹