Article of the day for December 28, 2016
The Article of the day for December 28, 2016 is Pain fitzJohn . Pain fitzJohn (died 1137) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and administrator, one of King Henry I of England's "new men", the ones who owed their positions and wealth to the king. Pain's family originated in Normandy, but there is little to suggest that he had many ties there, and he appears to have spent most of his career in England and the Welsh Marches. A son of a minor nobleman, he rose to become an important royal official during Henry's reign. In 1115 he was rewarded with marriage to an heiress, thereby gaining control of the town of Ludlow and its castle, which he augmented with further acquisitions. He became the sheriff in two counties near the border between England and Wales, and heard legal cases as a royal justice in much of western England. He was generous in his gifts of land to monastic houses. After Henry's death in 1135 Pain supported Henry's nephew, King Stephen. In July 1137 ...
