Nicolaa de la Haye - Sheriff of Lincoln
Nicolaa (also sometimes spelled Nicola of Nicholaa) was born around 1160. She was the daughter of the hereditary castellan and sheriff of Lincoln, England. Since her father had no male heir, she inherited both offices when he died. Her first husband died in 1178 and she married a second time to Gerard de Camville in the late 1180s and gave birth to two sons.
Though her husband governed her possessions at that time, Nicolaa showed an indomitable spirit. The couple was involved in a violent dispute between the royal chancellor and the future King John in 1191 during King Richard I’s absence on the Third Crusade. In spring 1191, Gerard pledged himself to John and as a result, Nicolaa found herself besieged in Lincoln’s castle during her husband’s absence.
According to Richard of Devizes, Nicolaa “not thinking about anything womanly, defended … [Lincoln] castle manfully” against chancellor William de Longchamp’s forces. She held for a month until he lifted the siege. When Richard I went back to England in 1194, Nicolaa and her husband were punished for their disloyalty and had to win back the royal favor.
Gerard died in 1215 and Nicolaa assumed both roles of castellan and sheriff in her own right. It was unusual, though not unheard off, for a woman to hold an office with military responsibilities. Some women indeed served as sheriffs during the 13th century. Ela Longespée (1244-1276) was for instance sheriff of Wiltshire and Isabella de Clifford and Idonea de Leyburn were two sisters who served as joint sheriffs of Westmorland under Edward I.
In the wake of the conflict between king John and his barons, she defended Lincoln castle again in 1216. Nicolaa met with king John the same year and went out with the keys of the castle and asked to be removed from the office arguing that: “she was a woman of great age and had endured many labours and anxieties in the […] castle and was not able to endure such [burdens] any longer”. The king, however, asked her to keep the castle. Nicolaa was also later rewarded with additional properties.
Her skills were once again put to the test in 1217. Nicolaa commanded the royalist garrison in Lincoln and was besieged by a rebel army. Her allies praised her from being a “worthy lady” deserving of god’s protection in “body and soul” while her foes said that she was a “a very cunning, bad-hearted and vigorous old woman”. Finally, a royalist army came to help this “matron who defended herself so manfully”, as wrote Walter of Coventry. Nicolaa’s efforts has helped to secure a decisive royalist victory and to protect the crown.
Nicolaa was afterward relieved from the office of sheriff by king Henry III, but managed to keep control of her castle and her city. She had to defend her home several times against the earl of Salisbury. She finally relinquished the castle in 1226 and died in 1230.
Balfour David, “Nicolaa de la Haye”, in: Higham Robin, Pennington Reina (ed.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.1
Coulson Charles, Castles in medieval society
Wilkinson Louise, “Lady Nicholaa de la Haye”,
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