Key Facts

Parents:	134503952William de Say 134503953Beatrice de Mandeville
Born:	unknown
Died:	by 1214 location unknown
Buried:	unknown

There are good, evidence-based descriptions of 67251976Geoffrey de Say in: (1) Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd edition, (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013), volume IV, page 562; and (2) G. H. White, ed., The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant, 2nd edition, volume XI (1949), pages 465-468. Because adequate descriptions of 67251976Geoffrey already exist, this profile is deliberately short and non-inclusive. Below I will present some essential genealogical facts (e.g., who 67251976Geoffrey's parents were, whom he married, etc.) but little else. Be aware that 67251976Geoffrey shares the same name as his more famous son, 33625988Geoffrey de Say, and (confusingly enough) another son also named Geoffrey de Say. Differentiating the men can be a challenge.

67251976Geoffrey de Say is the son of 134503952William de Say1-5 and 134503953Beatrice de Mandeville.1,2,6,7

67251976Geoffrey married 67251977Alice de Cheyne sometime between late 1175 and 1180, as explained below.

Problem: Resolved Whom did 67251976Geoffrey (first) marry, and when? In an 1180 record, 67251976Geoffrey is strongly implied to be married to uxore Hug̃ de Periers ("the wife of Hugh de Periers").8 In late 1775, Hugh de Periers seems to have been preparing for his impending death: In a deed, he makes preparations to give land monachis de Wenloc ("to the monks of Wenlock") pro salute animæ meæ ("for the safety of my soul").9 We can presume he died soon thereafter; a contemporary tax record loosely supports this conclusion.10 In the same deed, he also mentions his wife: "Aliziæ de Clemez." 9 In addition to the 1180 record mentioned above (wherein 67251976Geoffrey's wife is mentioned as uxore Hug̃ de Periers), in a different 1180 record 67251976Geoffrey mentions his wife by name: "Adelisa de Chemey." 11 From these few records, one can conclude that 67251977Alice had been married to Hugh de Periers, who died around late 1775, and then 67251977Alice subsequently married 67251976Geoffrey by 1180.

An 1180 deed suggests that 67251976Geoffrey was probably in Normandy at that time,9 and in 1184 he owed money to support the Château de Gisors,12 a castle to defend Anglo-Norman territory against French invasion.

Sometime between 118513 and 119814 67251976Geoffrey married his second wife, Alice de Vere,4 by whom he had a son named Geoffrey de Say15 (not to be confused with 33625988Geoffrey de Say).

Sometime between 1189 and 1199 67251976Geoffrey gave some land to a servant, and the seal he used on the document is extant. Below is an image of a mold cast of that seal.16

A cast of a seal 33625988Geoffrey used in the 1190's.16

67251976Geoffrey died by 1214.17

Sources Cited:

1: Monasticon Anglicanum, Volume IV, page 149, charter number VI. Notice these phrases: "Beatricia de Say [...] pro anima Galfridi comitis Essexiæ, fratris mei, et Willielmi de Say, sponsi mei, et Willielmi filii mei."

2: Monasticon Anglicanum, Volume IV, page 150, charter number IX. Notice these phrases: "Beatricia de Say [...] pro anima domini mei Willielmi de Say, et Williel. de Say filii mei [...] pro anima Gaufridi comitis fratris mei."

3: A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds in the Public Record Office, Volume III (London, 1900), 338-339

4: A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds in the Public Record Office, Volume II (London, 1894), page 503, entry C 2287

5: UK National Archives reference E 40/1969. I have not seen the original record and merely used the abstract at the link provided.

6: Monasticon Anglicanum, Volume IV, page 150, charter number VII. Notice these phrases: "Galfridus de Say [...] Beatricis matris meae." This charter is also described in: J. W. Binns et al., The Book of the Foundation of Walden Monastery (Clarendon Press, 1999), pages 182-183, charter #8. Binns' Book states that the corresponding manuscript is Harley MS 3697, folio. 19v-20r, number 8 and further states, "[...] this confirmation by Geoffrey de Say is to be assigned to the brief period between December 1189 and the summer of 1190 when he had seisin of the honour of Mandeville."

7: J. W. Binns et al., The Book of the Foundation of Walden Monastery (Clarendon Press, 1999), pages 183-184, charter #9. The corresponding manuscript is Harley MS 3697, folio 20r, number 9. The charter is dated 3 April 1177.

8: Thomæ Stapleton, ed., Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae sub Regibus Angliae, Volume I (London, 1840), pages cxxiv and 90

9: R. W. Eyton, Antiquities of Shropshire, Volume III (1861), pages 331-333

10: The Publications of the Pipe Roll Society, Volume XXV (1904), page 55

11: Monasticon Anglicanum [...], Volume V, page 73, footnote y, deed 1 ("The Deed of Geoffry de Say for the Manor of Dudintun")

12: Méoires de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie, Volume VIII, Part II (Paris, 1834), page 361

13: John Thorpe, ed., Registrum Roffense [...] (London, 1769), page 378. The charter mentions Gilbert, Bishop of Rochester, who took office in 1185.

14: Calendar of Documents Preserved in France, Illustrative of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 1: A.D. 918-1206, page 95, entry 280.

15: Monasticon Anglicanum, Volume IV, page 151, charter number XII

16: UK National Archives reference PRO 23/4007. I slightly the modified the image from its original appearance; see the original.

17: Thomas Duffy Hardy, ed., Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinensi, Volume I: MCCIX-MCCXXIV (London, 1833), page 204