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FITZJOHN, Eustace

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DC0325
Was created Baron of Alnwick and was the owner of vast possessions.
He seems to have been a man of remarkable ability, who played an important part in public affairs. He espoused the cause of the Empress Matilda against Stephen and joined forces with David, King of Scotland, to whom he surrendered Alnwick Castle in 1138; but the combined Scottish andNorthumbrian army was defeated at the Battle of the Standard near Northallerton in the same year.
Soon afterwards he was reconciled to Stephen, who granted him further lands in Yorkshire.
He was killed on an expedition in Wales in 1157.
Alnwick Castle at this date was substantially the same design as at present; it took the form of a circular keep composed of a series of towers surrounding a courtyard, with two outer courts or baileys; and it must have been one of the earliest Norman Castles to assume this form instead of that of the simple square keep surrounded by a walled enclosure.That it covered practically the same area as at present is proved by the early twelfth century Norman masonry which can be seen here and there throughout the whole extent of the curtain walls.
/DC0325

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