THE WILLIAM CANTILUPE MURDER 1375
A MEDIEVAL WHODUNNIT
Dr Melissa Julian-Jones
William Cantilupe was brutally murdered in 1375 and, thanks to Dr Melissa Julian-Jones of Cardiff University, Cowbridge U3A’s History Group was able, in June 2017, to hear all the gory details in a tale of violence and sex (fortunately, all the audience were over 18!). Nearly all the court case papers are still available.
The brothers Nicholas and William Cantilupe each inherited half of their grandfather’s estate as children because their father, although living, had, for an unknown reason, been removed from the will. The family seat was in Nottinghamshire and lands were held in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
In 1370, Nicholas married Katherine, daughter of the powerful and notorious Ralph Paynel. The arranged union was not a success and Katherine accused her husband of being unable to consummate the marriage – because he had no genitalia! To disprove the accusation, a man would have to consent to an embarrassing examination (in front of “wise” women), the results of which would be a matter of open discussion. Perhaps sensibly, Nicholas refused to appear in court or “take the test” and Katherine returned to her father’s household.
When Nicholas, in his late 20s, died a few years later, all his wealth was bestowed on his brother, William, and Katherine was left nothing, not even the return of her dowry.
William, by now married to Maud Neville and rising in affluence and status, was attached to the household of John of Gaunt, third surviving son of King Edward III. His prospects for advancement looked excellent.
It was in March 1375, however, that William disappeared from the manor where his wife and he were residing. That same night, the whole household was closed down and Maud went to stay with Ralph Paynel, Katherine’s father.
William’s body, clothed in riding apparel, was discovered in a field outside a village several miles away, about a month later. He had been stabbed multiple times with a knife or knives, but there were no holes or rents in his clothing, indicating he had possibly been naked at the time of his death or, at the very least, re-dressed after the murder.
Melissa investigated the “Where?, Why? and Who?” of the foul deed. For example, only three people had a key to William’s bedchamber, his wife, her maid and him.
There was a detailed review of households in the 14th Century and the rôle of the servants, many of whom spent only their adolescence in service. It did not seem feasible that a body could be carried through a crowded, prosperous medieval house to the stables without anyone noticing something was amiss.
15 people, including Maud, were indicted for the heinous crime. To avoid spoiling the story, in case the reader ever has the opportunity of hearing Melissa’s tale, suffice to say that two people were found guilty of murder and hanged, but they were almost certainly hired minions and the real instigators of the slaying escaped punishment.
As a postscript, it appears that Candleston Castle, near Merthyr Mawr, derives its name, though much corrupted, from a branch of the Cantilupe family who held the land in the 12th Century.
Steve Monaghan
