William de Longespée (also known as “Longsword”) was an English noble born in

1176, and he was the illegitimate son of Henry II, the King of England from 1154
to 1189. Though the true identity of William’s mother was unknown for many years,
a charter mentioning William was later found that referenced “Comitissa Ida, mater
mea,” and this “Ida” happened to be the wife of Roger Bigod, the 2nd Earl of
Norfolk. King Henry did acknowledge William as his son and bestowed on him the
lands of Appleby, Lincolnshire in 1188.

William received his lands and title of the 3rd Earl of Salisbury when his half-
brother King Richard I married him to Ela (also called Isabel), the countess of
Salisbury and daughter of William the 2nd of Earl of Salisbury.

Under the reign of King John (1199 - 1216), Earl Longespée held several offices:
sheriff of Wiltshire, lieutenant of Gascony, constable of Dover and warden of the
Cinque Ports, and later warden of the Welsh Marches. He served as a commander in
King John’s army during the king’s Irish and Welsh expeditions of 1210 - 1212.

William de Longespée is most known for his command of the English forces at the
Battle of Damme in Flanders. In the year 1213, Longespée led a fleet across the
channel to Flanders, where a fleet of French ships was preparing to invade
England. Longespée successfully destroyed and siezed a major portion of this
fleet, ending the invasison threat but not the war between England and France.

In 1214, King John sent Longespée to Germany to assist Otto IV in Germany’s

invasion of France. At the Battle of Bouvines, the French slaughtered Otto’s army
and Longespée was captured. The French later made an exchange for Longespée, and
Earl William returned to England in May 1215.

In the rebellion against King John, Longespée remained loyal to the king for a
time but later deserted after the French prince Louis (later Louis VIII) landed on
the southern coast of England and joined the rebel barons in their cause against
the crown.

Longespée, however, returned to the king’s cause after the death of John and the
departure of Louis. By this time, Henry III, John’s son, was King of England.
Early in the king’s reign, William held an influential position in government, and
later he fought in Gascony to help secure the remaining English posesssions in
France.

William de Longespée died on March 7, 1226, and he was buried in Salisbury

Cathedral. He and his wife were benefactors of the cathedral, and they laid the
foundation stones of the new cathedral in 1220. Roger of Wendover claimed Hubert
de Burgh poisoned Longespée, though actual evidence is inconclusive. When
Longespée’s tomb was opened in 1791, however, a well-preserved corpse of a rat
with traces of arsenic was discovered inside William’s skull, lending possible
proof to the idea that Longespée was indeed poisioned.

Copyright © Steven Till 2008

http://steventill.com

Sources:

“William Longsword, 3rd earl of Salisbury.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008.

Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 01 Sep. 2008
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/519371/William-Longsword-3rd-earl-of-
Salisbury>.

“William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury.” Genealogics.org. 01 Sep. 2008.

<http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00028335&tree=LEO>.

*wikipedia’s entry on William Longespée also has several sources cited that might
be useful for further information