Nicholaa de la Haye, the famed castellan and sheriff who defended Lincoln Castle and shaped the outcome of the First Barons' War, died on 20 November 1230.
Nicholaa de la Haye died on 20 November 1230, according to one detailed historical account, though other summaries record only the year 1230 without a precise day, reflecting the patchy survival of administrative and family records from this period of medieval England.
By the time of her death, Nicholaa had lived an extraordinarily long and eventful life for her era, likely reaching her late seventies or early eighties. She had inherited the hereditary custodianship of Lincoln Castle from her father Richard de la Haye in 1169, successfully defended it against attack in 1191 during Prince John's rebellion against Richard I, served as Sheriff of Lincolnshire in her own right from 1216, and famously held the castle through the pivotal siege of 1217 during the Battle of Lincoln Fair, an engagement that helped save the throne for the young King Henry III.
She had retired from actively managing her estates around 1226, handing responsibilities to her family, but her legacy as one of medieval England's most formidable female landholders and royal officials endured. Her death marked the end of a remarkable career that saw her navigate the turbulent reigns of Henry II, Richard I, John, and the minority of Henry III, all while holding offices and responsibilities almost never entrusted to women of her time.