[3] Peter's first appearance in the historical record was in 1202,[1] when he received land around Loudun in exchange for Moncontour.
[8][b] According to the medieval chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall, Maulay was the murderer of John's nephew Arthur of Brittany.
[1] Besides the custody of Richard of Cornwall, Maulay was also responsible for supervising the confinement of John's niece, Eleanor of Brittany,[10] who, as elder sister of Arthur,[11] had a strong claim to the English throne and had been held captive since 1202.
[12] At times, he was also responsible for keeping John's wife, Isabella of Angouleme and his heir, Prince Henry, safe from rebels, as long as they were at Corfe.
[16] In October 1217, Maulay was summoned to the royal court to answer charges that he had waged a private war against the earl over control of Somerset and that he had broken a truce that had held between the two men.
[17] The dispute was finally solved in February 1218 when Maulay was confirmed by the regent as custodian of Sherborne Castle and in the office of Sheriff of Somerset.
[19][d] He also paid nothing into the Exchequer from Somerset or Dorset for the period from 1218 to 1220,[21] with the total owed to the government amounting to a bit over 1500 pounds.
The specific crime was alleged to be a plot to hand over Eleanor of Brittany, still held at Corfe Castle, to King Louis IX of France.
[28] The loss of the city of Damietta in Egypt in September meant that the three men postponed their departure,[29] and in November 1221 Maulay was replaced as sheriff.
The seizures were made to teach the nobles a lesson and curb their dissension from the royal government, which was in the hands of Roches' rival de Burgh.
Most of the manors, including Upavon, were returned to their previous holders in April after a settlement between de Burgh and those who resented his government.
[31] Around this time Maulay began work on Mulgrave Castle, in Yorkshire, which was part of his wife's inheritance.
[1] In June and July 1224, Maulay was present on the royal side at the siege of Bedford Castle, which was held by de Breauté against the government.
[37] Henry opened a case of quo warranto and then declined to recognise his own charter as valid, thus granting the manor to Maulay.
[6] Although the case could be made that Maulay's right to the manor was better than Basset's, it is more probable that the dispute over Upavon and its ownership was the opening move in an effort to curtail the influence of Richard Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke.
[6] Maulay was briefly in disgrace but managed to return to favour,[1] and was named constable of Devizes Castle in January 1234, his first royal appointment since 1221.