Hugh de Vivonne
Savaric was back at Bristol on 11 November, when a meeting of the leading men of the realm met there at the summons of the papal legate Guala Bicchieri.
[6] In 1217 the regent of England, William Marshal, granted the Barton, a collection of royal properties attached to Bristol Castle for the upkeep of its garrison,[c] to Gilbert de Clare as an appurtenance to his earldom of Gloucester.
This was an act of patronage, generally acceptable and expected according to the norms of the time, for Gilbert had just married the regent's daughter, Isabel Marshal.
He was also, however, a former rebel, who had fought against the king in the Barons' War, supported the rival kingship of Louis the Lion and stood as surety for Magna Carta.
[7][9] Hugh was ordered to hand over the Barton to the earl on 17 November 1217,[8] but he refused unless he was compensated with other properties with which to finance Bristol Castle.
He was promised 100 marks and 100 pounds in rents from other properties, but had not received them when he again refused an order to hand over the Barton even after the regent's grant had been confirmed by a Great Council on 6 May 1218.
[4][10] He refused a third order in January 1219 and on 7 March 1219 he was warned by Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester, that unless he complied all his lands would be forfeited to the Crown.
Regarding the threatened seizure of his lands, Hugh responded to King Henry III as a wounded loyal servant: "You can easily do that, but I certainly do not think I deserve it.
[20][21] He was commissioned to recover the king's rights and his term was expected to last three years, although Hugh himself suspected that "misfortune" would end it sooner.
[22] Before going he extracted a promise from the regency that if he were removed from the seneschalcy before his term was up, he would be restored to Bristol Castle, since the agreement of August 1220 had not yet expired.
The French king then returned to Paris by way of Poitou, leaving the count and the Poitevin seneschal he had appointed, Geoffroy de Builli, to mop up in Gascony.
"[26][27] In the face of strong resistance from Bordeaux and Bayonne, the Count of La Marche abandoned Gascony in October.
Henry III also wrote the mayor, council and jurats of Bordeaux instructing them to turn over any revenues granted them by Trubleville without royal approval to Hugh.
Randolf de Talemunt, who likewise refused to hand over some arms and armor from the castle of Oléron, only surrendered when Hugh procured a royal letter.
[32] When Henry III came to Aquitaine at the head of an army in 1242, he frequently bypassed his actual seneschal, deputing others to carry out his executive orders.
[34][35][36] He was one of the last "curial" sheriffs who held his shrievalty on account of his connection to the royal court and relied on under-sheriffs for the day-to-day responsibilities of the job.
Owing to his high position, Hugh governed Somerset and Dorset on more favourable terms than the merely local knights who held most shrievalties by the 1240s.
[38] On 20 December 1215 Hugh was granted the estates confiscated from William Malet, a leading baron of Somerset and a Magna Carta surety.
[40][41] Hugh's purpose in arranging the marriage was, according to a letter he wrote to the chief justiciar in January 1220, "so that I and mine can stay in England".
By that time he had already received approval for the marriage from Peter des Roches and Pandulf Verraccio, papal legate to England.
[36] He and Robert de Mucegros, husband of Mabel's sister Helewise, also acquired their father-in-law's extensive debts.
