Sir Giles Capell

1476 - 1556  (80 years)

• Name	Giles Capell  [1]
  Title	Sir
  Birth	1476	Rayne, Essex, England
  	Capell-153
  Gender	Male
  Death	29 May 1556	Rayne, Essex, England
  Person ID	I7230	FelsingFam
  Last Modified	21 Dec 2024

  
  

  Father	Sir William Capell,   b. 1446   d. 7 Sep 1515 (Age 69 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Margaret Arundell,   b. Abt 1452, Cornwell, England d. Abt 1519, Emg;amd (Age ~ 67 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F2300	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Isabel Newton,   b. Abt 1488
  Children	+ 1. Margaret Capel,   b. 1504, Rayne, Essex, England d. Abt 19 May 1577, Homersfield, Suffolk, England (Age 73 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F2301	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Dec 2024

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1476 - Rayne, Essex, England Death - 29 May 1556 - Rayne, Essex, England  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Biography European Aristocracy Sir Giles Capell was a member of the aristocracy in England. Giles Capell, son of Sir William Capell; was born about 1486 on one of his father's newly purchased estates at Rayne, Essex. Given his father's accumulation of vast weatlh, Giles was provided the opportunity to be raised at and around the court. Giles was a friend and courtier of Henry VIII. He had a well documented career, fighting at the Siege of Tournai and and the Battle of the Spurs in 1513, after which he was invested as a knight. He participated at the famous tournament, Field of the Cross of Gold in 1520. He became Sheriff of Essex in 1529, and later the Sheriff of Hertsforshire. He added more estates to those left to him by his father. These names of forgotten battles and grand tournee's have lost their meaning to the casual reader. Only someone steeped in the history of the times can appreciate the significance. Sir Giles 'Beste Helmet' Perhaps most notable was his last will and testament, wherein he directed that his best helmet and his arming sword should be set over his "Funeralls" according to the device of the herald. He was entombed in the Rayne church, and there, for over three hundred years his helmet hung upon an iron bar. The church was demolished in 1840 and all the Capell tombs destroyed in the process. All the find stonework and debris was sold to the builder. Noticing the helmet, the builder, one William Parmenter of Bocking, removed it. It was found with another on a peg in his workshop by a Miss Courtauld, who had rememebered seeing it at the workshop then in the hands of the builder's son some years later. She became Madame Arendrup. She bought it and gave it to Baron de Cosson, the then greatest living authority on the history of arms and armour. It was exhibited in London in 1880 and later acquired by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. It remains on permanent display in Gallery 371 to this day. It is possibly the finest extant example of a helm from this time period. Baron de Cosson was so enthralled by the gift of the helm, that he made a point of researching everything he could about the Capell family. His account describes the life of both Sir Giles and his father. No better account picks up the flavor of the period as does his. The following excerpts are provided from that essay. Early Life His son and successor, Sir Giles, was a man of a different stamp, but also one who made his mark in the days when he lived. A doughty soldier by land and by sea, a hardy jouster, an assiduous courtier and accomplished gentleman, he was well fitted to take a prominent part in the brilliant feasts and warlike enterprises which characterised the early part of the reign of Henry VIII, and wherever the names of those who figured in the jousts, the masks and revels, the warlike expeditions of the young king, have been preserved, there are we almost sure to find that of Giles Capell. When he was born does not appear, but as his eldest son was born in 1507 and he himself lived until 1556, it was probably somewhere about the time when his father purchased Rayne Hall, that is to say, about 1486. It may have been before that date, but could scarcely have been later. Already in 1509 he is found at the coronation of the king, taking part in the festivities with which the monarch of eighteen began his reign. Great jousts were held at Westminster, and we read - " Next to them came on horseback eight persons, whose names were Sir John Pechie, Sir Edward Neville, Sir Edward Guildeford, Sir John Carre, Sir William Parre, Sir Giles Capell, Sir Griffith Dun, and Sir Kouland, armed also at all points with shields of their own arms, with rich plumes and devices on their head pieces, their baases and trappers of tissue, cloth of gold, silver and velvet." These eight champions were brought forward by a knight, who announced "how he had been informed that Dame Pallas had presented six of her scholars to the king, but whether they had come to learn or to teach feats of arms he knew not ; any way his knights were come to do feats of arms for love of the ladies, wherefore he besought her grace's " (the queen's) " licence for them to prove their skill against Dame Pallas's scholars." These disciples of Pallas were the " emprisers " or holders of the jousts, the " tenans " as they are called in French accounts of tournaments. They were Thomas Lord Howard, Sir Edward Howard his brother, the Lord Richmond, brother to the Marquess of Dorset, Sir Thomas Knevet and Charles Brandon, Esquire. On the second day of the joust the leader of the eight knights who on the first day fought without announcing who they were, declared themselves the servants of the goddess Diana. Exploits in France In 1512 he is mentioned in a list of "names of them which be appointed to go in their own persons with the number of men which they have granted to bring with them to serve the king's grace by land."' Whether he accompanied any expedition in that year is not shown, but next year he took an active and honourable part in the war against Louis XII of France which ended in the capture of Thirouanne and Toumay and of which the Battle of the Spurs is the most memorable incident. It is well-known that Henry, having joined the Holy Alliance, under took to land in Picardy with a force of 5,000 horse and 40,000 foot, the Emperor Maximilian joining the expedition as a simple captain under Henry's orders, with a wage of 100 crowns a day for himself and his men. The army landed at Calais in June 1513, and on the 17th July sat down before Thirouanne. On the 16th August was fought the battle at Guinegate which, the French men-at-arms making more use of their spurs than of their lances, came to be known as the Battle of the Spurs. " Th' Englishemen folowed the chace three myle long from the felde to a water in a valey, and there a Frenchman sayde to Sir Giles Capell that one daye they would have a daye, which answered hym agayne in Frenche, that was a bragge of Fraunce ; and so th' Englyshemen returned to the king which was comyng forward, who gave them thanks with greate praisynges for their valiantness." Knighthood Sir Giles's repartee was, perhaps, less keen than his sword, but the record of his speech by Hall shows that he was already a noted soldier. Theroaunne fell, and was burnt with the exception of the churches and other holy buildings, and for the valour he had displayed during the siege and at the Battle of the Spurs, we find Sir Giles Capell named amongst " the knights made at Tourayno " (Therouanne) " in the church after the king came from mass under his banner in the church" The Field of Cloth and Gold The summer of 1520 is memorable for one of the most famous knightly pageants ever seen, the Field of Cloth of Gold, and here again Sir Giles is to be found amongst those knights who, with the kings of England and France at their head, undertook to hold the lists for thirty days against all comers. Each king had seven gentlemen as companions in this feat of arms, the English being the Duke of Suffolk, the Marquis of Dorset, Sir William Kingston, Sir Giles Capell, Sir Nicholas Carew and Sir Anthony Knevet. The French king headed an equal number of well tried lances. His appearance at this time is strikingly drawn by Hall. " A goodlie prince, statlie of countenance, merrie of cheere, brown coloured, great eies, high nosed, big lipped, faire brested, broad shoulders, small legs and long feet.The portrait of him as a youth, in the Louvre, by Clouet, and his suit of armour at the Musee d'Artillerie, exactly tally with and complete this description. King Henry and Monsieur de Grandeville opened the tilting on the 11th June, and at the second stroke the king "gave the said Monsieur Grandevile such a stroke that the charnell of his head piece, although the same was very strong, was broken." Later we learn that " the king's noble grace never disvisored nor breathed until he ran the five courses.On the 20th June began the "toumies," they ended on the next day, and ou the 22nd they did " batell on foot at the barriers," which ended " all the justs, toumies and batells on foot at the barriers by the said two kings and their aids." On leaving Ouiues King Henry went to Gravelines, where he met the Emperor Charles V, who in no way rivalled the pomp and splendour of his brethren of France and England, but with a small retinue, accompanied Henry as far as Calais. Here again, in a list of "noblemen and others appointed to attend upon the king at Gravelines"1 for his meeting with Charles V, 10th July 1520, we find the name of Sir Giles Capell. The complete essay is available for further study in [1] There were more events of the day where Sir Giles Capell is in the thick of things. In later years upon orders of the King, he went back to France and pillaged and burned towns in some of the uncountable and endless wars between England and France. All of these are recounted in the essay. Baron de Cosson also found in the Calendar of State Papers one dated 10 July 1516 which provided Sir Giles Livery of the lands of his deceased wife Isabella, daughter and heir of Richard Newton and Eleanor his wife. Another document mentions Mary Roos as his second wife in 1530. She bore him no children. All the children were born of Isabell Newton. Sir Giles was witness to the end of a great age. In his lifetime he saw the skills he had dedicated himself to mastery, slowly become obsolete. The increasing use of the arquebus transformed soldiering completely. Perhaps he realized this as he passed out of court and public life. Biography from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Capell-153: Sir Giles spends his last twenty years living quietly on his estate. He dies in 1556 and was entombed in the church at Rayne where he lay undisturbed for three hundred years. It is possible his bones were interred again, but not known. His bones may have ultimately met some ignoble and obscure end. Yet we are left with tales of one of the last of the knight's of old... and his tournament helmet. Sources ↑ The Archaeological Journal, Volume 40 http://tinyurl.com/met7mgy The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/capell-sir-henry-1505-58 Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, - Cokayne reprint 2000 Sutton, 13 vols http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/21997 Archaelogia Cambresis Google Books http://tinyurl.com/mjga552 Marlyn_Lewis Notes When William Capel died in 1515 he left the manor to his widow, Margaret. She resided there until her own death in 1522, at which time it was inherited by their son, Sir Gyles Capel (1486-1556). A good friend of Henry VIII, he was chosen to select the English Knights for jousting against the French at the Field of Cloth of Gold in June 1520. In his will Sir Giles Capel directed, that his best helmet and his arming sword should be set over his "Funeralls" according to the device of the herald, and for nearly three hundred years the helmet hung on an iron bar over his altar shaped tomb in Rayne church. When the church was pulled down in 1840 all the Capel tombs were destroyed except the fine heraldic brass to Lady Katherine Capel, 1572. The helmet was removed by the builder, William Parmenter of Bocking. It was found with another on a peg in his workshop by a Miss Courtauld, later Madame Arendrup. She bought it and gave it to Baron de Cosson, the then greatest living authority on the history of arms and armour. It was exhibited in London and later acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of New York who sent a copy back to England. Rayne Church: the tower was built by Sir William Capel, whose arms Appear in the brickwork near the foundation, on either side of the belfry door: the old church, supposed to have been built temp. Henry II. was once famous for an altar and chapel on the south aide, erected in honour of the Blessed Virgin: of the present structure the tower is by far the most ancient part: there are memorial windows, besides several mural monuments and a large brass, with arms to the Capel family: there were interred here Sir Giles Capel kt. ob.1556. a distinguished leader at the sieges of Terrouenne and Tourney, and the battle of Spars, all in 1513, and to his wife; Sir Edward Capel kt. oh. 1577 and his daughter Grace. ob. 1587; Sir Henry Capel kt. ob. 1588 and Katherine (Manners) his wife, daughter of Thomas, 1st Earl of Rutland K.G. ; Henry Capel esq. 1615 and Thomas, son of Sir Arthur Capel, 1621: there is also a brass with arms and inscription to Lady Manners, ob. 1572. Giles married Isabel Newton, daughter of Sir Thomas Newton and Eleanor Daubeney.-Entered by Richard Ragland.

  
  

• Sources

  [S943] Gary Boyd Roberts, The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the Unite States, (Name: Genealogical Publishing Co; Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Date: 2008;).