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Roger was one of King John's messengers sent with letters patent of saf e c o n d u ct, to summon the King of Scotland to do homage to the King of E ng l a n d a t Lincoln, and he was also one of the witnesses to the act of h o m a g e , being named first among the barons by Roger Hoveden, a contempor a r y a n d n eighbouring historian. He continued to be a trusty and honoure d s e r v a nt, and in May 1201, on the recommencement of hostilities, was s en t b y t h e k ing with a hundred knights to defend Normandy against the m e n o f P o i tou.
The murder of the unhappy prince Arthur followed shortly, and led to an a l m o s t g eneral insurrection in John's Norman provinces. Castle after cas t l e f e l l; but Roger de Lacy who had been made governor of the strong fo r t r e s s of Chateau Gaillardd, also called Buttevant, which the late King R i c h a r d had built in 1198 on an island at the mouth of the Seine, defend e d h i m s elf stoutly and stood there a very obstinate and famous siege, o n l y g i v ing way when short of food, and deserted by his king, whose lett e r p r a c tically giving the garrison permission to surrender if reduced t o e x t r e mities is preserved in Duchesne (1059).
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1171 - 1211 (40 years)