Comes Pontivi (3)

On 19 June 1279, after a couple of weeks touring their new lordship of Ponthieu, Edward I and Eleanor of Castile sailed for England. They left a seneschal to govern the county in their absence, also called a 'custos' or 'locum tenens'.

The administration of Ponthieu was quite conventional. Below the seneschal was a receiver in charge of finances, and then lesser officials such as bailiffs, foresters, serjeants and so forth. As the representative of his absent lord, the seneschal's job was to maintain the count's justice inside Ponthieu, and jealously guard his rights outside it. Among his many duties was to lead the men of Ponthieu when Edward's overlord, the king of France, demanded military service.

Since Ponthieu was a small county, the seneschal was on a salary of just £2-300 of Paris a year, as opposed to the £5-600 paid to the seneschal of Gascony. The receiver was on a wage of £1-200 of Paris, while the bailiffs were on £40 per annum, lesser officials £30. The first English seneschal of Ponthieu was Thomas of Sandwich, who held the office from 1279-88. He had started out as a Montfortian, only to be pardoned at Edward's insistence in November 1265. Afterwards he entered royal service as a clerk, was made a knight, and became keeper, bailiff and chamberlain of Sandwich. This rising star was then appointed Sheriff of Essex, accompanied Edward on crusade, and employed on diplomatic missions to Aragon and Brabant.

Thomas was capable in many ways, but his career was dogged by controversy. He provoked complaints and disagreements in all his terms of office, although this can be viewed two ways: either he was unusually corrupt or annoyingly efficient. The lack of evidence of corruption would imply he was rather too good at his job, and perhaps tactless into the bargain. In 1289 Thomas was appointed mayor of Bordeaux in Gascony, at the other end of the Plantagenet dominions, where (true to form), he provoked a riot.

Crucially, Thomas was very good at serving his master's will. Edward's first priority as count was to secure his grip on the county and expand its borders. The seneschal did these things with alacrity: from 1279 he arranged the purchase and exchange of lands, buying out tenants and shortening the links of the feudal chain. For instance, one Gerard de Abbeville wished to grant 100 librates of land to his sister Agnes. This he was allowed to do, but only if Agnes agreed to hold the land 'en plein hommage' from the count. On another occasion, in May 1283, the Count of Guelders was induced to sell all his land in Ponthieu to Edward for £1000 of Paris. To complete the deal, Thomas had to go to Brabant to meet the count, since he dared not come any nearer to his estranged uncle, the Bishop of Liege.