Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester

Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (c. 1170 – 3 November 1219) (or Saieur di Quinci) was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against King John of England, and a major figure in both the kingdoms of Scotland and England in the decades around the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Saer de Quincy's immediate background was in the Scottish kingdom: his father, Robert de Quincy, was a knight in the service of king William the Lion, and his mother, Orabilis de Mar, was the heiress of the lordship of Leuchars in Fife (see below).

His own rise to prominence in England came through his marriage to Margaret, the younger sister of Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester: but it is probably no coincidence that her other brother was the de Quincy's powerful Fife neighbour, Roger de Beaumont, Bishop of St Andrews. Earl Robert died in 1204, and left Margaret as co-heiress to the vast earldom along with her elder sister. The estate was split in half, and after the final division was ratified in 1207, de Quincy was made Earl of Winchester.

Following his marriage, Winchester became a prominent military and diplomatic figure in England. There is no evidence of any close alliance with King John, however, and his rise to importance was probably due to his newly acquired magnate status and the family connections that underpinned it.

One man with whom he does seem to have developed a close personal relationship is his cousin, Robert Fitzwalter (d. 1235). In 1203, they served as co-commanders of the garrison at the major fortress of Vaudreuil in Normandy. They surrendered the castle without a fight to Philip II of France, fatally weakening the English position in northern France. Although popular opinion seems to have blamed them for the capitulation, a royal writ is extant stating that the castle was surrendered at King John's command, and both Winchester and Fitzwalter endured personal humiliation and heavy ransoms at the hands of the French.

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