An old man and full of days, quick-witted, prudent
in council,
moderate in peace, circumspect in war, a true friend and a loyal
subject. His stature was passing tall, his limbs all of a size
as not
to exceed their just proportions, and yet to be well matched with
his great height. His hair was still black, his beard long and
flowing,
his forehead wide and noble, his eyes large and bright, his face
broad but well featured, his voice like the sound of a trumpet,
setting off his natural eloquence of speech with a certain majesty
of sound.(1)
Walter Espec was one of the ‘new men’ raised by Henry
I (1100-1135). He officiated as a royal justice of forests and
an itinerant justice of the North, which meant that he oversaw
the king’s rights here. Walter may have been associated with
the d’Aubigny family and come from St Martin of d’Aubigny.(2) The
head of his honour was at Helmsley, and his castle once stood on
the site of the present thirteenth-century remains (see photo).
It was here that Walter entertained King David’s steward,
Aelred, whom he introduced to the community
in 1134 and who later became abbot of Rievaulx and the most prominent
theologian in the
country.
Walter was an enthusiastic supporter of religious reform and founded
an Augustinian priory at Kirkham in 1122, before founding the first
Cistercian abbey in Yorkshire, at Rievaulx;
he also founded Rievaulx’s
daughter-house at Warden, Bedfordshire.(3)
Walter was in some way associated
with Geoffrey Gaimar, who composed the first known romance history in
the vernacular, the ‘L’Estoire des Engleis’, c. 1140.
Gaimar evidently obtained Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History from Walter – albeit
in a rather indirect way – and in his own work refers to a Nicholas
de Trailli, who was Walter’s brother-in-law or nephew.
Espec led the Yorkshire barons against King David of Scotland in
1138 at the Battle of the Standard, which was fought at Northallerton,
Yorkshire, following the Scots’ incursion into the North
of England. Aelred, who wrote on the battle, knew both sides and
attributed blame on the Picts of Galloway. His account underlines
the futility of war.
Walter took an active interest in his community
and was evidently highly regarded by the monks of Rievaulx. He
entered the community
shortly before his death and burial there c. 1153/5, but died
leaving no male heirs.(4) His
inheritance was divided and patronage of Rievaulx
passed to the Ros family.
