Osbert fitzHervey

Osbert was from East Anglia, where he held lands. He was a younger brother of Hubert Walter, later Archbishop of Canterbury,Turner English Judiciary p. 92 and thus the son of Hervey WalterGreenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300 and his wife Maud de Valoignes, one of the daughters (and co-heiresses) of Theobald de Valoignes, lord of Parham in Suffolk.Cokayne Complete Peerage: Volume Two p. 447Young Hubert Walter p. 4 Osbert was one of six brothers. The older brothers, Theobald Walter and Hubert, were helped in their careers by their uncle, Ranulf de Glanvill.{{efn|The Complete Peerage lists Theobald as the eldest brother, but other historians are less certain.Mortimer "Family of Rannulf de Glanville" Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research p. 9}} Glanvill was the chief justiciar for Henry II; and was married to Maud de Valoignes' sister, Bertha. The other three brothers – Roger, Hamo (or Hamon) and Bartholomew – only appear as witnesses to charters.Stacey "Walter, Hubert" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography{{efn|Osbert had a relative with the same name who was the brother of his uncle Glanvill, and with whom this Osbert should not be confused.}}

Osbert's lands were chiefly in Norfolk and Suffolk, but he also had some lands in Essex and some from the Count of Perche.West Justiciarship in England pp. 161–163 Other lands were held from two monastic houses in East Anglia: St Benet Holme and Bury St Edmunds.Turner English Judiciary p. 123

Osbert served as a royal judge under three English kings: Henry II,West Justiciarship in England p. 84 Richard I, and John. He was often sent as an itinerant justice to East Anglia;Turner English Judiciary p. 80 the historian Barbara Dodwell said of him that "of all the justices his knowledge of East Anglian disputes was probably the greatest".Quoted in Turner English Judiciary p. 80 It appears that Osbert's royal service was confined to judicial matters, as no other evidence of any other offices has surfaced.Turner English Judiciary p. 88

The treatise Tractatus of Glanvill, which is traditionally attributed to Osbert's uncle Ranulf de Glanvill,Turner "Who Was the Author of Glanvill?" Law and History Review pp. 98–99{{efn|That Glanvill was the author of the treatise is no longer considered likely by most historians.}} and to which Osbert himself may have contributed, names only seven judges, including Osbert.Turner "Who Was the Author of Glanvill?" Law and History Review p. 119 and footnote 162 He was one of a group of royal justices that included Simon of Pattishall, Ralph Foliot, Richard Barre, William de Warenne, and Richard Herriard, used by Hubert Walter, the Justiciar of England during Richard's reign, and chosen for their ability rather than any familial ties. This group replaced the previous system of using mostly local men, and represent the first signs of a professional judiciary.Heiser "Households of the Justiciars" Haskins Society Journal pp. 226–227 In 1194 Osbert was one of the collectors of the carucage in eastern England, along with Barre and de Warrene.Appleby England without Richard p. 217

In 1198 Osbert married Margaret of Rye,{{efn|She is sometimes known as Margaret de Ria or Margaret of Brancaster, which may mean that she was a widow.Turner English Judiciary p. 113}} with whom he had at least one son. Osbert paid the king 20 pounds for the right to marry Margaret.Appleby England without Richard p. 226 Osbert died in 1206, without having made a will.Turner "Religious Patronage" Albion p. 10 At his death, his yearly income was more than 240 pounds.Turner "Reputation of Royal Judges" Albion p. 315 Ralph of Coggeshall mentions Osbert, without using his name, as a royal judge who would go to Hell in his "Vision of Thurkill". This work detailed the punishments that awaited sinners, and Osbert was accused of accepting gifts from both sides of lawsuits.Turner "Reputation of Royal Judges" Albion pp. 305–306 Coggeshall did state that Osbert was "most expert in worldly law" and was famous for "his overflowing eloquence and experience in the law".Quoted in Turner "Reputation of Royal Judges" Albion pp. 305–306 According to Coggeshall, Osbert's punishment in Hell would consist of having to swallow hot coins and then being forced to vomit the coins back up. After his death, William of Huntingfield offered King John a fine for the right to the custody of Osbert's heir and lands,Turner "Huntingfield, William of" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography the fine amounting to 200 marks and two palfreys.Turner English Judiciary p. 116

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• {{cite book |author=Appleby, John T.|title=England Without Richard: 1189–1199 |publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, NY |oclc=399130 }}
• {{cite book |author=Cokayne, George E. |title=The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant: Volume Two Bass to Canning |publisher=A. Sutton |location=Gloucester, UK |year=1982 |isbn=0-904387-82-8 |edition=Microprint |author-link=George Cokayne }}
• {{cite book |author=Greenway, Diana E. |title=Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300|volume=6: York |year=1999 |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |url=http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=10458 |access-date=16 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003516/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=10458 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite encyclopedia |author=Heiser, Richard |title=The Households of the Justiciars of Richard I: An Inquiry into the Second Level of Medieval English Government |encyclopedia=Haskins Society Journal |volume=2 |year=1990 |editor=Patterson, Robert B. |publisher=Hambledon Press |location=London |isbn=1-85285-059-0 |pages=223–235 }}
• {{cite journal |author=Mortimer, Richard |title=The Family of Rannulf de Glanville |journal=Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research |volume=liv |issue=129 |date=May 1981 |pages=1–16 |doi= 10.1111/j.1468-2281.1981.tb02034.x }}
• {{cite encyclopedia |author= Stacey, Robert C. |title=Walter, Hubert (d. 1205) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28633 |access-date=16 March 2008 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/28633 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url-access=subscription }} {{ODNBsub}}
• {{cite book |author=Turner, Ralph V. |title=The English Judiciary in the Age of Glanvill and Bracton, c. 1176–1239 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2008 |edition=Reprint |isbn=978-0-521-07242-7 }}
• {{cite encyclopedia |author=Turner, Ralph V. |title=Huntingfield, William of (d. in or before 1225) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14238 |access-date=25 March 2013 |doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/14238 |url-access=subscription }} {{ODNBsub}}
• {{cite journal |author=Turner, Ralph V. |title=Religious Patronage of Angevin Royal Administrators, c. 1170–1239 |journal=Albion|volume=18 |issue=1 |date=Spring 1986 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.2307/4048700 |jstor= 4048700 }}
• {{cite journal |author=Turner, Ralph V. |title=The Reputation of Royal Judges Under the Angevin Kings |journal=Albion |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=301–316 |date=Winter 1979 |doi=10.2307/4048542 |jstor=4048542 }}
• {{cite journal |author=Turner, Ralph V. |title=Who Was the Author of Glanvill? Reflections on the Education of Henry II's Common Lawyers |journal=Law and History Review |volume=8 |issue=1 |date=Spring 1990 |pages=97–127 |doi=10.2307/743677 |jstor=743677 |s2cid=145197921 }}
• {{cite book |author=West, Francis |title=The Justiciarship in England 1066–1232 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1966 |location=Cambridge, UK }}
• {{cite book |author=Young, Charles R. |title=Hubert Walter: Lord of Canterbury and Lord of England |year=1968 |publisher=Duke University Press |location= Durham, NC |oclc=443445 }}

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Category:13th-century English judges

Category:12th-century English judges

Category:Anglo-Normans

Category:1206 deaths

Category:Year of birth unknown