Ranulf de Glanvill (aliasGlanvil,Glanville,Granville, etc., died 1190) wasChief Justiciar of England during the reign of KingHenry II (1154–89) and was the probable author ofTractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie (The Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England), the earliest treatise on the laws of England.^[1][2][3]

There are no primary sources citing when or where he was born. He is first heard of asSheriff of Yorkshire,Warwickshire andLeicestershire from 1163 to 1170 when, along with the majority of High Sheriffs, he was removed from office for corruption.

However, in 1173, he was appointedSheriff of Lancashire and custodian of the honour of Richmond. In 1174, when he wasSheriff of Westmorland, he was one of the English leaders at theBattle of Alnwick, and it was to him that the king ofScotland,William the Lion, surrendered.

In 1175, he was reappointed Sheriff of Yorkshire, in 1176 he became justice of theking's court and a justice itinerant in the northern circuit, and in 1180 Chief Justiciar of England.^[4] It was with his assistance that Henry II completed his famous judicial reforms, though many had been carried out before he came into office. He became the king's right-hand man, and during Henry's frequent absences was in effect regent of England. In 1176, he was also made custodian ofQueen Eleanor, who was confined to her quarters inWinchester Castle.

After the death of Henry in 1189, Glanvill was removed from his office byRichard I on 17 September 1189^[4] and imprisoned until he had paid a ransom, according to one authority, of £15,000. Shortly after obtaining his freedom hetook the cross, and he died at thesiege of Acre in 1190.^[5]

He founded two monasteries, both in Suffolk:Butley Priory, forBlack Canons, was founded in 1171,^[6] andLeiston Abbey, forWhite Canons, in 1183.^[7] He also built aleper hospital atSomerton, in Norfolk.

Ranulf married Bertha de Valoignes, daughter of Theobaldde Valoines,lord of the manor of Parham, Suffolk,^[9] by whom he had three daughters:^[10]

• Matilda (Maud) de Glanville, who married Sir William de Auberville ofWestenhanger, Kent:^[11] they were the founders ofLangdon Abbey inKent.^[12]
• Ammabil (Mabel) de Glanville, who married a certainde Arden.^[11]
• Helewis de Glanville, who married Robert fitz Ralph fitz Ribald:^[11] she was the foundress ofSwainby Abbey, which was afterwards moved toCoverham Abbey,North Yorkshire.^[13]

Perhaps at the instigation of Henry II, Glanvill wrote or oversaw the writing ofTractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie (The Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England), a practical discourse on the forms of procedure in the king's court, which was often known simply asGlanvill.^[14] As the source of our knowledge regarding the earliest form of thecuria regis, and for the information it affords regarding ancient customs and laws, it is of great value to the student of English history. It is now generally agreed that the work of Glanvill is of earlier date than the Scottish law book known from its first words asRegiam Majestatem, which bears a close resemblance to his.

The treatise of Glanvill was first printed in 1554.^[15] An English translation, with notes and introduction byJohn Beames, was published at London in 1812.^[16] A French version is found in various manuscripts, but has not yet been printed. The treatise was then edited and translated by G.D.G. Hall for theOxford University Press in 1965.^[17]

The authorship of theTractatus, while certainly within the sphere of Ranulf, is debated, other candidates for its authorship or co-authorship including Ranulf's nephewsHubert Walter (Chief Justiciar andLord Chancellor of England under Richard I^[18]) andOsbert fitzHervey.^[19]

• British History Online Deans of York accessed on 10 September 2007
• Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. FrydeHandbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London: Royal Historical Society 1961

• R. Mortimer, 'The family of Rannulf de Glanville',Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research Vol. 54 (1981), pp. 1–16.
• R.V. Turner, 'The reputation of royal judges under the Angevin kings',Albion 11 part 4 (winter 1979), pp. 301–16.
• R.V. Turner, 'Religious patronage of Angevin royal administrators, c. 1170–1239',Albion 18 part 1 (Spring 1986), pp. 1–21.

• A Translation of Glanville atProject Gutenberg
• Beames, John (1900),A Translation of Glanville, Washington, D. C.: John Byrne & Co.
• Scrutton, Thomas Edward (1885),"Roman Law in Glanvil",The Influence of the Roman Law on the Law of England, Cambridge, pp. 74–77{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Caveat

• W.U.C. Glanville-Richards,Records of the Anglo-Norman House of Glanville from A.D. 1050 to 1880 (Mitchell & Hughes, London 1882)(Google). "much of this is incorrect or very questionable" –F.W. Maitland, c. 1890. "little reliance can be placed on this work" –C.W. David, 1936. See: C.J. Wright, 'The man who wrote on the manuscripts in the British Museum',British Library Journal 1986,pp. 76–85 (British Library pdf).

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Glanvill, Ranulf de".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 77.

• People from Suffolk Coastal (district)
• Justiciars of England
• Christians of the Third Crusade
• 1110s births
• 1190 deaths
• 12th-century English judges
• 12th-century writers in Latin
• Anglo-Normans
• High sheriffs of Westmorland
• High sheriffs of Lancashire
• High sheriffs of Yorkshire
• High sheriffs of Warwickshire
• High sheriffs of Leicestershire
• 12th-century English writers

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