Gerard de Furnival (c.1175–1219) was a Norman knight and Lord of Hallamshire (now part of Sheffield, England) and Worksop. De Furnival's father was also called Gerard de Furnival, and had fought with Richard I at the Siege of Acre.
De Furnival was married to Maud, the great-granddaughter of William de Lovetot, and it was by this marriage that the lordships of Hallamshire and Worksop came into the Furnival family. However, this inheritance was not without competition, as although the eldest branch of De Lovetot ended in a female heiress, there was another branch still existing, which sprang from the William de Lovetot, by his younger son Nigel. With the death of Maud's father (also called William de Lovetot), the rights of this branch were vested in Maud's cousin, Richard de Lovetot, who seems to have acquiesced in the transit of the great property of the family to Maud, her husband, Gerard de Furnival, and her issue.
During the Fifth Crusade De Furnival travelled to Jerusalem, where he died in 1219. He was succeeded by his son, Thomas de Furnival, who also subsequently died in the Holy Land (1238).
Furnival Gate in Sheffield is named after Gerard.
See also
References
- White, Robert (1875) Worksop, The Dukery, and Sherwood Forest. Transcription at Nicholson, AP: Nottinghamshire History (accessed 28 January 2006).