of Lanfranc complain of his violence and rebellious tendencies, for which the writer eventually excommunicated him. In 1075 he gave his sister Emma in marriage to Ralf, earl of Norfolk, against the will of the Conqueror, according to Florence of Worcester. At the ‘bride-ale’ there was hatched a conspiracy between the two earls and their friends against William's rule. Roger returning to his earldom rose in revolt, but was prevented by the royal forces from crossing the line of the Severn. For this revolt he was fined in the king's court at the following Christmas (1075), and sentenced to forfeiture of his lands and perpetual imprisonment. His rage against the king, according to Ordericus, made William resolve to keep him in prison so long as he lived, but on his deathbed he sanctioned his release. He was, however, never released, and when Ordericus wrote in the time of Henry I, his two sons, Reginald and Roger, were gallantly striving to regain by their services that royal favour which their house had lost.
[Freeman's Norman Conquest. The history of Roger's revolt is told by Ordericus Vitalis in chap. xiii. of his 4th book.]
FITZWILLIAM, Sir WILLIAM (1460?–1534), sheriff of London, was son of John Fitzwilliam. His mother was Ellen, daughter of William Villiers of Brokesby in Leicestershire. It has been claimed that the family was descended from one William Fitzwilliam of Green's Norton, who is stated to have been a natural son of William the Conqueror. But the existence of this natural son receives no confirmation from contemporary documents, and he is probably a figment of the genealogists. Fitzwilliam lived and traded in Bread Street, London, afterwards in St. Thomas Apostle, having a country house at Gaynes Park, Chigwell, Essex. He was admitted to the livery of the Merchant Taylors' Company of London in 1490, of which he was warden in 1494 and 1498, and master in 1499, obtaining a new charter for the company on 6 Jan. 1502. In 1505 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the shrievalty of London, but was appointed to the office on the king's nomination in 1506, and was elected alderman of Broad Street ward in the same year. Elected sheriff of London in 1510 he refused to serve, and was in consequence disfranchised and fined one thousand marks by the lord mayor. The franchise was restored and the fine remitted by order of the Star-chamber, 10 July 1511. He became treasurer and high chamberlain to Cardinal Wolsey, who appointed him one of the king's council. In 1515 he was nominated sheriff of Essex, was knighted in 1522, and was sheriff of Northampton in 1524. He entertained Wolsey during his disgrace, 1–5 April 1530, at Milton Manor, Northampton (the seat of the present Earl Fitzwilliam), which he purchased in 1506 from Richard Wittelbury. Fitzwilliam rebuilt the church of St. Andrew's Undershaft, London, and the chancel of Marholm, Northamptonshire. By deed (26 May 1533) he settled twelve hundred marks on the Merchant Taylors' Company for certain religious uses since applied (under scheme of 1887) to divinity scholars at St. John's College, Oxford. Fitzwilliam married, first, Ann, daughter of Sir John Hawes: secondly, Mildred, daughter of Sir R. Sackville of Buckhurst; thirdly, Jane, daughter of John Ormond. He had by his first wife issue Sir William, his heir (father of Sir William Fitzwilliam, 1526–1599 [q. v.]), Richard, Elizabeth, and Ann; by his second wife, Christopher, Francis, and Thomas. He died 9 Aug. 1534. His will is dated 21 May 1534. He was buried at Marholm.
[Bibl. Top. Brit. vol. x.; Gibson's Castor, p. 187; Manuscript Records of Merchant Taylors' Company; Corporation of London Repertory Book; Collins's Peerage, iv. 387 sq.; Testamenta Vetusta, ii. 665; Greyfriars Chronicle (Camd. Soc.); Cavendish's Life of Wolsey.]
FITZWILLIAM, WILLIAM, Earl of Southampton (d. 1542), lord high admiral of England, was the younger son of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam of Aldwarke, West Riding of Yorkshire, by Lucy, daughter and coheiress of John Neville, marquis of Montacute. From the time when he was not more than ten years of age he had been brought up with the king, and was perfectly familiar with his personal habits, his likings and dislikings. He shared in the king's love of sportsmanship, but was ignorant of Latin, and though he spoke French fluently was a poor French scholar (Brewer, Reign of Henry VIII). In 1509, as one of the king's cupbearers, he was awarded many grants and privileges; two years later he obtained the place of esquire of the body in reversion. In 1513, being one of the chief commanders in the fleet sent out against the French, he was ‘sore hurt with a quarell’ in a fight near Brest in Brittany (Holinshed, Chronicles, ed. Hooker, 1587, iii. 816). Before the end of that year, on 25 Sept., he was knighted for his good services at the siege of Tournay (ib. p. 824), and shortly afterwards created vice-admiral of England. In 1518 he was treasurer of Wolsey's household. In February 1521 Wolsey sent him as ambassador to the French court, seeing that he would be a useful instrument. He was keen, bold, sagacious, able to resist flattery and cajolery,
