William de Beaumont, Norwich 1217

Three entries in the Patent Roll from September 1217 show a William de Bello Monte involved in the affairs of Norwich and its castle. This follows the Treaty of Lambeth at which the incursion of Prince Louis of France into England was being brought to a close, and normal government restored.

Who was this William?

Here I will set out
(a)  the entries from the Patent Roll
(b) what Blomefield had to say about this (I think he exaggerates somewhat)
(d) some old notes I made from the Pipe Roll for King John's 17th year.
(e) a comment about Hervey Belet.

I cannot reach any conclusion, at present.

(a) The entries from the Patent Roll
The following references are from the printed Patent Rolls, 1216-1225 pp. 94-95. Do not think of these as proper translations. Can anyone help me?

The king to all men &c. Be it known that we have given our safe conduct to William de Bello Monte, lord Louis' marshall, and to all who ?went with him, either to the city or castle of Norwich, as well as others with their harnesses and accoutrements .......together with their hostages.....[see note below]....  If indeed the said marshall does not wish to hand over the said hostages into our hands we would permit them safe custody [to the use of] Louis until the said marshall shall question them, unless the said hostages are able to enquire of [against] the said Louis that they should have his peace, but if they do not do this we make them go for good faith into Louis' power. Further the said [safe-] conduct is to remain in force for 15 days after All Saints. As witness the said earl at Lambeth, 23 September 1217.

Note: there is the phrase: in eundo [et] morando per totam potestatem nostram -  which I tentatively translate as: "being [and] tarrying there by our full authority." The phrase "eundo, morando, et redeundo" might be used to say that the person is protected [eg from arrest] if he is "going, remaining, or returning" - in the course of doing what he is authorised or required to do (Tayler's Law Glossary, 1819). So I think the Regent's government was not in control of Norwich, and so, to mask its lack of real authority, gave William and the others, unnamed and presumably unknown, permission to remain there temporarily sorting things out. I'd be grateful for any advice about the translation and what might be implied from it. I am inclined to think it may point to this William being a Frenchman, but unconclusively.

The king to all upright men of Norwich, Dunwich, Yarmouth, [King's] Lynn and other bailiwicks and to their faithful men,greetings. We order you with the utmost speed that concerning all debts which to conclude [implement] the treaty are due to Louis, [such debts] may [should] be paid to William de Bello Monte, marshall of the said Louis, or to his authorised agent, lest we may hear of larger claims, because for the sake of a good peace we have [made a treaty] [so agreed] with the said Louis. As witness the said earl at Lambeth, 23 September 1217.

The king to William de Bello Monte, greetings. We order you without delay to deliver to earl William Marshall, our and our kingdom's ruler, or to his ambassador bearing these letters, all charters and cyrographs held by Isaac the Jew of Norwich and other Jews. Isaac the Jew of Norwich has indefinite letters of[safe-] conduct.] [Same date and place]

A few pages later (p.98) is an order to the constable of Norwich (not named - note that William is not given that title), about Isaac.

(b) Blomefield's account (from his volume 3):

King John being dead, Henry, his eldest son, was proclaimed King, and was crowned at Gloucester the 28th of October following. Lewis and the Barons in the mean time being not able to win Dover castle, removed their seige, and came to London the 6th of Nov. following, determining to subdue the smaller castles first; and accordingly they went to Hartford castle, and beseiged it Nov. 12, and it was yielded to them Dec. 6, in the mean time, Lewis's men had won all Ely Isle, except one fortress, in which the King's people were enclosed, and so went from place to place, conquering all as they went, till after Christmas, and then the said Lewis called all his favourers to a council at Cambridge, and no peace being made there, he made a great cavalcade or military progress into Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, (fn. 1) 

Stow, 176. Essay, &c. 25. Atlas, 312. Hol. fo. 192, places this in King John's time, just before his death in 1216; but it seems rather as I have placed it, by the generality of historians, Hol. fo. 192, 3, fo. 198, he makes it twice sacked and taken by Lewis, in 1216, and 1218, but it is not agreeable to other historians.

and miserably wasted those counties, taking the castles of Heningham and Orford: as soon as Hubert de Burgh found he marched this way, he sent to Thomas de Burgh, his brother, who was chatelain or keeper of this castle under him, to defend it as well as he could, but he was not in a condition to resist, for want of forces, and therefore upon the approach of the Frenchmen to the city, he fled out, in hope to escape, but was taken prisoner, and put under safe keeping; and Lewis seizing the castle, put a garrison into it, and made William de Bellomont or Beaumont, his Marshal, constable thereof, plundered the citizens, and reduced the city to a poor condition. But being afterwards forced to quit the realm, in 1217, Hubert de Burgh, who was constable of the castle, and sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk from the first to the ninth year of his reign, took possession of the castle upon Lewis's departure to France, and the King being reconciled, Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk, was then made constable thereof, and indeed the constables and lords of castles in the seignories or liberties thereto belonging, exercised more arbitrary regality over their vassals, than the kings themselves, so that Mat. Paris and others say of them, "quot domini castellorum, tot tyranni, (fn. 2) 

Cotton Post. 14. Madox, 262.

as many constables of castles as there were, there were so many tyrants.

(c) Some notes I made
I include these unsatisfactory notes because of the intriguing reference to a French marshall. Could anyone look it up and check for me? Pipe Roll Society NS Volume 37 contains, I think, the Pipe Roll for the year 17 John (1215-16).

Roger de Cressi seems to have succeded his half-brother John as sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk after Easter, with William "fil.Joscelini" for him. He then seems to have been replaced by Hubert de Burgh (Walter de Elingham for him) and then Roger seems to have become sheriff again (Simon de Hised for him) until about Christmas ["natalem"] when "marescallus Franc' vic'" took over until the peace ["usque ad pacem"] with Fulk Bagnard for him (Pipe Roll NS vol.37 p.10).

(d) Hervey Belet
Numerous letters in the Patent & Close Rolls in 1216 address Hervey Belet as constable of Norwich castle up to the time, or shortly before the time, of King John's death.