William Malet (Magna Carta baron)

William Malet (fl. born before 1175–1215), feudal baron of Curry Mallet in Somerset, was one of the guarantors of Magna Carta. He served as Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset in 1209. The precise nature of his relationship to an earlier William Malet is unknown.

Amongst the manors comprising his feudal barony were his caput of Curry Mallet, where stood his castle, and Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

He married twice but left no male progeny, only three daughters and co-heiresses. He married as follows:

First wife (name unknown)

By his first wife, whose name is unknown, Malet had a daughter.

• Mabel Malet, wife of Hugh de Vivonia, Sheriff of Somerset, whose son and heir was:
  • William de Vivonia (alias de Forz). Concerning his new adopted surname, during the next half-century there were three generations of barons with the same name, beginning with William de Forz (died 1195). Both William Malet and William de Forz were barons named in Magna Carta (1216). Some have suggested a relationship between the families. He married, as his second wife, Maud de Ferrers, daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby by his wife Sybil Marshall.
    • Joan de Forz was the daughter of William de Forz and Maud de Ferrers. She married, as her second husband, Reginald Fitz Piers (son of Peter FitzHerbert), as his second wife.
      • Reginald FitzReginald was the son of Reginald FitzPiers and Joan de Forz. He married Joan Martel, daughter of Robert Martel.
        • Herbert FitzReginald was son of Reginald FitzReginald and Joan Martel. He married Lucy Peverell, daughter of Andrew Peverell.
          • Reginald FitzHerbert was son of Herbert FitzReginald and Lucy Peverell. He married a certain Joan.
            • Edmund FitzHerbert was son of Reginald FitzHerbert and Joan. He married a cetain Joan.
            • Alice FitzHerbert was the sister of Edmund FitzHerbert and daughter of Reginald FitzHerbert and Joan. She married Thomas West.
              • Thomas West, 1st Baron West, was son of Alice FitzHerbert and Thomas West.

Second wife, Alice Basset

By his second wife, Alice Basset, who was a daughter of Thomas Basset, Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, William Malet had a daughter:

• Hawise Malet, wife of Robert Muscegros.
  • John Muscegros was the son of Hawise Malet and Robert Muscegros. He married Cecily Avenel.
    • Robert Muscegros was the son of John Muscegros and Cecily Avenel. He married Agnes.
      • Hawise Muscegros was the daughter of Robert Muscegros and Agnes. She married John de Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Chartley.
        • Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Chartley, was the son of Hawise Muscegros and John de Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers. He married firstly a certain Margaret and secondly Elizabeth Boteler.
          • Robert Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Wem was the son of Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Chartley and Elizabeth Boteler. He married Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland.

• Royal Archaeological Institute (1861) The Archaeological Journal, Vol 18 pg 57 (via Google)
• Weis, F.L., Sheppard, W.L., Faris, D. (1992) Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists ... Genealogical Publishing Co. (via Google)
• Burke, J. (1838) A Genealogical and Heraldic History of ... Colburn (via Google)
• Collinson, J., Rack, E. (1791) The history and antiquities of the county of Somerset (via Google)
• Richardson, Douglas (2011) Magna Carta Ancestry:A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition (via Google)
• Dillon, C. R. (2002) Royals and Nobles: .. iUniverse (via Google)
• The Complete Peerage, volume V chart between pp. 320-321

He died without male progeny when his three daughters became his co-heiresses:

• • Bertha Malet (d.pre-1221), who inherited 1/3 of her father's estates and died unmarried.
  • Helewise Malet, who inherited 1/3 (later increased to a moiety of 1/2) of her father's estates and who at some time before 23 March 1217 married Hugh I Poyntz (d.1220). She married secondly Robert de Mucegros (d.1254) of Brewham, Somerset.
  • Mabel Malet, who inherited 1/3 (later increased to a moiety of 1/2) of her father's estates. She married firstly Nicholas Avenel and secondly, before November 1223, Hugh de Vivonia (d.1249) (alias de Forz) of Chewton, Somerset.

• Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, pp.38-9, Curry Malet