Roger de Lacy
d. 1211
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Roger de Lacy, Constable of Chester, earned his place in every chronicle of the age by holding Chateau Gaillard, Richard the Lionheart's great castle above the Seine, for King John against Philip Augustus through the winter of 1203 into 1204 - months of siege, starvation and mining, until the castle fell around him and he was taken sword in hand. The French king, admiring, ransomed rather than imprisoned him. His son John became a Magna Carta surety against the very king Roger had served so hard.
Research notes
✓ DOCUMENTED (web-confirmed 25 Jul 2026): ROGER DE LACY, Constable of Chester, Baron of Halton and Pontefract (c.1170-1211) - famous for his long defence of Chateau Gaillard for King John, 1203-04; m. Maud de Clere. Son of John FitzRichard (the Lacy/FitzEustace constables of Chester above him note-only). Father of John de Lacy the surety (our line). Direct ancestor. Added 25 Jul 2026.