Earl Roger Bigod NORFOLK

   Other names for Roger were MARSHAL Earl and NORFOLK Earl.

   General Notes:

Earl MARSHAL, Earl of NORFOLK.

Signer of Provisions of Oxford, first English Constitution 11 Jun 1258.

BOOKS
Political History of England 1216-1377, Vol III, T F Tout, AMS Press, 1905, p100: "...On June 11 [1258] the magnates once more assembled, this time at Oxford. A petition of twenty-nine articles was presented, in which the abuses of the [Henry III] administration were laid bare in detail. A commission of twenty-four was appointed who were to redress the grievances of the nation, and to draw up a new scheme of government. According to the compact Henry himself selected half this body...
"...In strong contrast to these creatures of court favour were the twelve nominees of the barons. The only ecclesiastic was Walter of Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester, and the only alien was Earl Simon of Leicester. With him were three other earls Richard of Clare, Earl of Gloucester, Roger Bigod, earl marshal and Earl of Norfolk, and Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford. Those of Baronal rank were Roger Mortimer, the strongest of the marchers, Hugh Bigod, the brother of the earl marshal, John Fitz Geoffrey, Richard Grey, William Bardolf, Peter Montfort, and Hugh Despenser.
"...The twenty-four drewup a plan of reform which left little to be desired in thoroughness. The Provisions of Oxford, as the new constitution was styled, were speedily laid before the barons and adopted...For the first time in our history the king was forced to stand aside from the discharge of his undoubted functions, and suffer them to be exercised by a committee of magnates. The conception of limited monarchy, which had been foreshadowed in the early struggles of Henry's long reign, was triumphantly vindicated, and, after weary years of waiting, the baronial victors demanded more than had ever been suggested by the most free interpretation of the Great Charter..."

Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Genealogical Chart, Anne Taute and Romilly Squire, Taute, 1990: "Isabella, Daughter of William I King of Scotland, Mar Roger Bigod 4th Earl of Norfolk.

A History of the Plantagenets, Vol III, The Three Edwards, Thomas B Costain, 1958, Doubleday & Co
p50: "It was the marshal, Roger Bigod, who was most outspoken. When all the sons of the great William the Marshal died without issue in the middle years of the century, the post had gone to the son of Matilda, the oldest daughter, who married Hugh Bigod. The son of this marriage died in 1270 and his nephew, Roger, succeeded to the earldom and the baton of marshal. This was the member of the nobility who now took it on himself to oppose his will to that of the king.

A History of the Plantagents, Vol II, The Magnificent Century, Thomas B Costain, 1951, Popular Library
p178: "...Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, who was marshal of England because he was the son of Matilda, oldest daughter of William Marshal, interceded for Robert de Ros, who lay heavily under the King's displeasure. There was a good reason for Bigod's championship, his wife being a Scottish princess, but Henry took it amiss. He glared at his marshal and declared that anyone who could beg easy treatment for such a man must be a traitor himself.
"`You lie!' said the earl. `I have neverbeen a traitor and I never shall be. And it's not in your power to harm me.'
"Henry fell into a towering rage. `Ha! I can seize your corn and thresh it and sell it!' he retorted.
"`And I,' declared Bigod, `can send back your thresherswithout their heads.'
"The quarrel simmered down after others intervened. Robert de Ros suffered no other punishment than dismissal from office. But from that time on Roger Bigod was on the popular side in the great struggle between the barons and the King. Henry's sharp tongue was always doing him disservice..."
p242: "The spokesman of the barons was a more attractive figure than the unpredictable Earl of Gloucester. Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, had been initiated as marshal of England when the last of the five Marshal sons died, his mother being the oldest daughter of the Good Knight. Further luster had been added to his name by marriage with Princess Isabella of Scotland. He was outspoken and courageous, with a stronger hand on the lance in a tilting than a head for serious counsel.
"Because he was marshal of England it was natural for him to act as spokesman, but it was manifest to all that he could never be considered a leader. Roger Bigodwas a remarkably good lieutenant and admirable in the role of sword arm. He was, noreover, without guile; and the leader of a popular cause must have cool inner reserves, a capacity for shrewd planning and contriving, a willingness even to sacrifice men and some part of principle to the main issue..."

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, 1981, Vol II, Bigod,
p12: "Also spelled Bigot, the name of an Anglo-Norman family conspicuous for its opposition to the crown. Hugh (died 1177), created earl of Norfolk by King Stephen, was a leader of the rebellion (1173-1174) against Henry II. His son Roger (died 1221) joined the barons against King John (1215), and Roger's grandson Roger (died 1270) opposed Henry III in the Baron's War (1264-1267)..."

Political History of England 1216-1377, Vol III, T F Tout, AMS Press, 1905,
p23: "...Powerful husbands were sought for the king's three sisters...Four years later [in 1225], Isabella, the King of Scot's younger sister, was united with Roger Bigod, the young Earl of Norfolk, a grandson of the great William Marshal, whose eldest son and successor, William Marshal the younger, was in 1224 married to the king's third sister, Eleanor..."
p66: "...[1244]At last a committee of twelve magnates was appointed to draw up a plan of reform...The unanimity of all orders was shown by the co- operation on this body of prelates,...while among the secular lords, Richard of Cornwall and Simon of Leicesterworked together with baronial leaders like Norfolk and Richard of Montfichet, a survivor of the twenty-five executors of Magna Carta."
p99: "...[1258] An opposition party formed itself under the Earls of Gloucester, Leicester, Hereford, and Norfolk..."
p100: "...In strong contrast to these creatures of court favour were the twelve nominees of the barons. The only ecclesiastic was Walter of Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester, and the only alien was Earl Simon of Leicester. Withhim were three other earls, Richard of Clare, Earl of Gloucester, Roger Bigod, earl marshal and Earl of Norfolk, and Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford. Those of baronial rank were Roger Mortimer, the strongest of the marchers, Hugh Bigod, the brother of the earl marshal, John FitzGeoffrey, Richard Grey, William Bardolf, Peter Montfort, and Hugh Despenser.
"The twenty-four drew up a plan of reform which left little to be desired in thoroughness. The Provisions of Oxford, as the new constitution was styled, were speedily laid before the barons and adopted..."
p103: "...[1258] It was useless for Archbishop Boniface, John Mansel, and the Earl of Warwick to stand up against the Bishop of Worcester, the Earls of Leicester, Norfolk, Hereford, and Gloucester, against John FitzGeoffrey, Peter Montfort, Richard Grey, and Roger Mortimer..."

ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File Ver 4.10 9HMP-06 Roger BIGOD [Earl of Norfolk] Mar Bef 29 Oct 1271 Aline (Aliva) BASSETT (AFN:9FSB-GG), Ver 4.13 G8BM-0N Roger BIGOT Mar Aline BASSET (AFN:G8BL-GX).

   Marriage Information:

Roger married Princess Isabella SCOTLAND, daughter of King William SCOTLAND, I and Queen Ermengarde De Beaumont SCOTLAND, in May 1225 in Alnwick, Northumberland, England. (Princess Isabella SCOTLAND was born after 1198.)

   Marriage Information:

Roger also married Countess Aline Bassett NORFOLK, daughter of Sir Philip BASSETT and Hawise De LOVAINE, before 29 Oct 1271 in , , England. (Countess Aline Bassett NORFOLK was born about 1212-1241 in Wooten Basset, Wiltshire, England, christened about 1271 and died before 11 Apr 1281.)