Eustace Folville facts for kids

Eustace Folville (around 1288 – 1347) was an English outlaw and criminal. He is known for killing Sir Roger de Beler. Beler was a powerful government official who worked for the unpopular King Edward II and his advisor Hugh le Despenser. Eustace was the most active member of the Folville Gang. This group was involved in vigilantism and breaking the law in Leicestershire in the early 1300s. They often acted on behalf of other people.

The Folville Family

Eustace was the second of seven sons. His father was Sir John Folville, a respected member of the gentry. His father often served as a Commissioner or a knight of the shire for Rutland and Leicestershire.

Eustace's older brother, also named Sir John Folville, inherited all of their father's lands in 1309. He mostly stayed away from the law-breaking activities of his younger brothers. Records show that Eustace and his siblings were the children of a Sir Eustace and Dame Alice.

England's Troublesome Times

When the respected King Edward I died, his son Edward II became king. Edward II was not as skilled as his father. He favored a young knight named Piers Gaveston over other important nobles. Gaveston was corrupt, and this caused problems between the King and his subjects. Gaveston was eventually exiled and then executed in 1312.

Another knight, Hugh Despenser the Younger, soon became the King's new favorite. Despenser and his father were very greedy and corrupt. This led to a war in 1321–1322, known as the Despenser War. The King and Despenser won this war. Many rebels were put in prison, including Roger Mortimer, who later escaped to France.

As problems continued, and after a terrible famine, people remained unhappy. Despenser and his father were given lands that belonged to a rebel leader, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. These lands included some in Leicestershire.

Sir Roger de Beler, a government official, was ordered to arrest rebels in 1323. These rebels were accused of stealing from Despenser's lands. Sir William Trussell, a rebel leader, had to flee to France. There, he joined Roger Mortimer and planned revenge against the Despensers and the King. Queen Isabella joined them in 1325. She had been separated from Edward II for some time.

By early 1326, supporters of Isabella, Mortimer, and Trussell were getting ready for an invasion of England.

The Folville Gang's Actions

The Folville Gang committed many different crimes. These included murder, demanding money from people, and kidnapping.

The Killing of Roger Beler

One of the most famous acts of the gang was the killing of Sir Roger de Beler. This happened in 1326. Beler was widely disliked because of his close ties to the corrupt Despenser family. He used his power to take land and money for them. Many people, including other landowners, were unhappy with Beler. Eustace's partners in this act included members of the Halewell and Zouche families. This shows that many different groups disliked Sir Roger.

Eustace's Later Life

A year after a kidnapping incident involving another official named Willoughby, Eustace Folville was fighting for King Edward III. He fought against the Scottish and may have been at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333. Because of his military service, Eustace received a full pardon for his past crimes. He fought again in 1337 and 1338 in Scotland and Flanders.

Eustace Folville died in 1347. He was a member of the council for the Abbot of Crowland. He was never put on trial for any of the charges against him. He is buried at St Mary's church in Ashby Folville.

Why Eustace Was Not Punished

Eustace Folville faced little trouble for his crimes during his life. He was never legally punished, even though he was known as a criminal for twenty years. Two main reasons might explain his good fortune.

First, the political chaos of the 1320s helped him. This was especially true for his worst crime, the murder of Beler. Beler was closely connected to the Despensers. He used his position to gain favor with that powerful family.

Second, and most importantly, many people believed that Eustace and others like him were basically honest. They were seen as more honest than the authorities who tried to catch them. This made it very hard for judges and clerks to do their jobs in Folville's home area. Local people often helped the gang and protected them. This support likely came from a feeling that the Folvilles were allies of ordinary people. They were seen as fighting against a corrupt system that was unfair to them.

There is some truth to this idea. Eustace's two main victims were indeed very corrupt. Beler used his office to take land and money. Willoughby, another official, was also unpopular. He was later imprisoned by Edward III for corruption. Eustace was respected for standing up to such figures, even if that wasn't his only reason for acting.

Eustace's Reputation Over Time

For many years after Eustace's death, people's positive view of the Folville gang grew. Later stories saw them not just as law-breakers, but as people who enforced an unofficial kind of justice. This justice was seen as being outside the normal laws and less likely to be abused.

In William Langland's famous poem Piers Plowman (written around 1377–1379), he saw the Folvilles as tools of a divine order. While he criticized the popular admiration for Robin Hood, he spoke well of "Folvyles lawes." The family's crimes were shown as ways to correct the "false" legal system. Langland even listed the "Folvyles" among the "treasures" given to fight against evil.

The writer Henry Knighton was also sympathetic to Eustace. He described Beler and Willoughby as fair targets. He said Willoughby's ransom was lowered, and Beler was the one who threatened his neighbors and wanted their possessions. The kidnapping of Willoughby was seen as a direct conflict between the outlaws and the official justice system.

For people living at the time or soon after, Eustace Folville was clearly more than just a violent criminal. He was seen as someone who enforced "God's law and the common custom." This was different from the law of the state or the lords, but it was still a form of social order.

See also

• Bulla Felix
• Rob Roy MacGregor