CLARE
1. GODFREY de BRIONNE
b.c.953
d.c.1015
Godfrey was the illegitimate son of Richard,
"The Fearless", Duc de Normandie. He was the Comte de Brionne, Normandy
and was also known as Godfrey d'Eu.
Issue-
· 2I. GILBERT- b.c.1000, m. GUNNORA
2I. GILBERT de BIENFAITE (GODFREY 1)
b.c.1000 Normandy
m. GUNNORA d'AUNOU
d.c.1040 Assassinated
Gilbert, Comte de Brionne was also known as Gilbert 'Crispin' de Brionne. He
inherited Brionne, becoming one of the most powerful landowners in Normandy.
Gilbert was a generous benefactor to Bec Abbey founded by his former knight
Herluin in 1031.
When Robert II, Duke of Normandy
died in 1035 his illegitimate son William inherited his father's title. Several
leading Normans, including Gilbert of Brionne, Osbern the Seneschal and Alan of
Brittany, became William's guardians.
A number of Norman barons including Raoul de Gacé would not accept an
illegitimate son as their leader. In 1040 an attempt was made to kill William
but the plot failed. Gilbert however was murdered while he was peaceably riding
near Eschafour. It is believed two of his killers were Ralph of Wacy and Robert
de Vitot. This appears to have been an act of vengeance for wrongs inflicted
upon the orphan children of Giroie by Gilbert, and it is not clear what Raoul
de Gacé had to do in the business. Fearing they might meet their father's fate,
his sons Richard and his brother Baldwin were conveyed by their friends to the
court of Baldwin, Count of Flanders.
Issue-
· 3I. RICHARD- b.c.1024, m.c.1054 ROHESE GIFFARD, d.c.1090, bur. St.
Neots, Hunts.
· 13II. BALDWIN- m. EMMA, d. 1095
Ref:
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and
the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new edition"- G.E.
Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand
and Lord Howard de Walden, editors- vol. III, p. 242
3I. RICHARD, Lord of Bienfaite et Orbec, Normandy
(GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2)
b.c.1024 Bienfaite, Normandy
m.c.1054 ROHESE GIFFARD (b.c.1034 Longueville, Normandy, d. after 1113),
d. of Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville sur Scie and Agnes Ermentrude Fleitel
d.c.1090
bur. St. Neots, Huntingdonshire
"Richard de Clare, founder of the house of Clare, was a son of Count
Gilbert. Though here, for convenience, inserted among the Clares, he was known
at the time as Richard de Bienfaite, Richard the son of Count Gilbert, Richard
FitzGilbert, or Richard of Tonbridge, the last three of these styles being
those under which he appears in Domesday. He is, however, once entered (in the Suffolk invasiones) as
Richard de Clare (Domesday, ii. 448 a). It was probably in 1070 that, with his
brother, he witnessed a charter of William at Salisbury. On William's departure for Normandy he was
appointed, with William of Warrenne, chief justiciar (or regent), and in that
capacity took a leading part in the suppression of the revolt of 1075. He is
further found in attendance on the king at Berkeley,
Christmas 1080 and again, with his brother, at Winchester in 1081. The date of his death is
somewhat uncertain. Ordericus alludes to him as lately (nuper) dead in 1091,
yet apparently implies that at this very time he was captured at the siege of
Courcy. From Domesday we learn that he received in England
some hundred and seventy lordships, of which ninety-five were in Suffolk, attached to his castle of Clare.
In Kent he held another stronghold, the castle of Tunbridge, with its appendant
Lowy (Lega), of which the continuator of William of Jumièges asserts that he
received it in exchange for his claim on his father's comté of Brionne, while
the Tintern Genealogia states that he obtained it by exchange from the see of
Canterbury, which is confirmed by the fact that, in later days, it was claimed
by Becket as having been wrongly alienated, and homage for its tenure exacted
from the earls. By Stapleton and Ormerod it has been held that he received the
lordship of Chepstow as an escheat in 1075, but for this there is no
foundation. The abbey of Bec received from him a cell, afterwards an alien
priory, at Tooting. He married Rohaise, the daughter of Walter Giffard the
elder, through whom his descendants became coheirs to the Giffard estates. She
held lands at St. Neot's (Domesday), and there founded a religious house, where
her husband is said to have been buried. She was still living as his widow in
1113 and is commonly, but wrongly, said to have married her son-in-law, Eudes
the sewer (Eudo Dapifer). By her Richard FitzGilbert left several children. Of
these Roger, mentioned first by Ordericus, was probably the eldest, though he
is commonly, as by Stapleton, styled the second. He had sided with Robert in
the revolt of 1077-8, and is said by the continuator of William of Jumièges to
have received from Robert the castle
of Hommez in exchange for
his claims on Brionne, but it was, according to Ordericus, his cousin Robert
FitzBaldwin who made and pressed the claim to Brionne. Roger, who witnessed as
Roger de Clare (apparently the earliest occurrence of the name) a charter to
St. Evreul about 1080, was his father's heir in Normandy, but left no issue. The other sons
were Gilbert (d. 1115?), the heir in England, Walter, Robert, said to be
ancestor of the Barons FitzWalter, and Richard a monk of Bec, who was made
abbot of Ely on the accession of Henry I, deprived in 1102, and restored in
1107. There was also a daughter Rohaise, married about 1088 to Eudes the
sewer."(1)
Ruins of Clare Castle
Clare Castle is a ruin in the small town of Clare
in Suffolk. The
first structure on the site was a wooden castle which was erected around 1070
on a high motte overlooking two baileys. In the 12th or 13th century a stone
castle was erected by later members of the de Clare family who also by now had
large holdings in south Wales
and Thomond in North Munster. Initially there
was a polygonal shell keep with unusual triangular buttresses. Later the castle
was strengthened with stone walls on top of the earth banks, three towers and a
gateway. All that now remains of the castle is a high mound with a ruined
tower. The extensive earth ramparts, which cover about 20 acres have been
developed into Clare
Castle Country
Park.
Issue-
· I.
Roger- d.s.p.
· 4I. GILBERT- m. ADELIZE de CLERMONT,
d. 1117
· III. Walter- Lord of Nether Gwent, d. 1138
· IV. Robert- Lord of Little Dunmow, Baron of
Baynard, d. 1136. ancestor of the Barons FitzWalter
· V. Richard- Richard was a monk of Bec and
then abbot of Ely
· VI. Rohaise- m.c.1088 Eudes the sewer
· VII. Adelize- m. Walter Tirel, d. 1138
Ref:
(1) Dictionary of National Biography- H.C.G.
Matthew ed., Oxford
Univ. Press
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and
the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new edition"- G.E.
Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand
and Lord Howard de Walden, editors- vol. III, p. 242-3; VI, 498; II, 387
4I. GILBERT de CLARE (GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2, RICHARD 3)
b. before 1066 Clare, Suffolk
m. ADELIZA de CLERMONT, d. of Hugues de Clermont and Marguerite de
Montdidier
d. 1114
Gilbert FitzRichard was also known as Gilbert de Tonbridge and Gilbert de
Clare. He was granted the lands and lordship of Cardigan by Henry I including Cardigan Castle. He succeeded to the title of
Lord of Clare c.1090. In 1090 he founded the Cluniac Priory at Stoke-by-Clare.
Issue-
· 5I. RICHARD- b.c.1084, m. ALICE de
MESCHINES, murdered 15 Apr. 1136 Abergavenny
· 6II. GILBERT- b.c.1100, m.c.1130 ISABEL
de BEAUMONT, d.c.Jan. 1147, 1st Earl of Pembroke
· III. Walter- d. 1149
· IV. Margaret- m. Sir William de Montfitchet,
Lord of Stanstead Mountfitchet
· 15V. ADELIZE/ALICE- m. AUBREY de VERE
· VI. Baldwin-
m. Adeline de Rollos
· VII. Hervey-
· VIII. Rohese- m. Baderon of Monmouth
· IX. Margaret-
Ref:
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and
the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new edition"- G.E.
Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand
and Lord Howard de Walden, editors- vol. III, p. 242
5I. RICHARD de CLARE (GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2, RICHARD 3,
GILBERT 4)
b.c.1084
m. ALICE de MESCHINES (b.c.1086, d.c.1136), d.
of Ranulph le Meschin, Earl of Chester
murdered 15 Apr. 1136 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
"Richard de Clare was son and heir of Gilbert FitzRichard and was
probably the first of his family who adopted the surname of Clare. He is
generally believed to have been also the first of the earls of Hertford, and to
have been so created by Stephen, if not by Henry I. It may be doubted, however,
whether there is ground for this belief. It is as Richard FitzGilbert that he
figures in 1130 when the Pipe Roll reveals him in debt to the Jews, and under
the same that he appears when surprised and killed by the Welsh under command
of Iorwerth ab Owain near Abergavenny on his way to Cardigan either in 1135, or
more probably 1136, on 15 April. His death was the signal for a general rising,
and his castles were besieged by the rebels. His widow, Adelize, took refuge in
Cardigan castle which was successfully defended by Robert fitz Martin. She was
rescued by Miles of Gloucester, but his brother Baldwin, whom Stephen
despatched to suppress the rising and avenge his death, failed discreditably.
Richard, who was buried at Gloucester,
was founder of Tunbridge Priory, and about 1124 removed the religious house
which his father had founded at Clare to the adjacent hill of Stoke. He married
a sister of Randulf, earl of Chester, whose name
is said by Brooke to have been Alice."(1)
Tunbridge Priory
Issue-
· I. Gilbert-
c. 1152, 1st Earl of Hertford
· 7II. ROGER- m. MAUD de St. HILARY,
d. 1173
· III. Alice-
m.1. c.1133 Sir. William de Percy, Lord of Topcliffe, 2. Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd
· IV. Robert- probably d.s.p.
· V. Rohese- m. Gilbert de Gant, Earl of
Lincoln
Ref:
(1) Dictionary of National Biography- H.C.G.
Matthew ed., Oxford
Univ. Press
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and
the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new edition"- G.E.
Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand
and Lord Howard de Walden, editors- vol. III, p. 243
7II. ROGER- (GODFREY
1, GILBERT 2, RICHARD 3, GILBERT 4, RICHARD 5)
m. MAUD De St. HILARY (m.2. William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel
(d. 24 Dec. 1193)), d. of James de St. Hilary and Aveline
d. 1173
"Roger de Clare, fifth Earl of Clare and third Earl of Hertford, was
the younger son of Richard de Clare, and succeeded to his brother Gilbert's
titles and estates in 1152. In 1153 he appears with his cousin, Richard Strongbow,
earl of Pembroke, as one of the signatories to the treaty at Westminster, in
which Stephen recognises Prince Henry as his successor. He is found signing
charters at Canterbury and Dover in 1156. Next year, according to
Powell, he received from Henry II a grant of whatever lands he could conquer in
South Wales. This is probably only an
expansion of the statement of the Welsh chronicles that in this year (about 1
June) he entered Cardigan and stored the castles of Humfrey, Aberdovey, Dineir,
and Rhystud. Rhys ap Gruffudd, the prince of South Wales, appears to have
complained to Henry II of these encroachments, but being unable to obtain
redress from the king of England
sent his nephew Einion to attack Humfrey and the other Norman fortresses. The
Annales Cambriæ seem to assign these events to the year 1159 and the Brut adds
that Prince Rhys burnt all the French castles in Cardigan. In 1158 or 1160
Clare advanced with an army to the relief of Carmarthen Castle,
then besieged by Rhys, and pitched his camp at Dinweilir. Not daring to attack
the Welsh prince, the English army offered peace and retired home. In 1163 Rhys
again invaded the conquests of Clare, who, we learn incidentally, had at some
earlier period caused Einion, the capturer of Humfrey Castle,
to be murdered by domestic treachery. A second time all Cardigan was wrested
from the Norman hands and things now wore so threatening an aspect that Henry
II led an army into Wales in 1165, although, according to one Welsh account,
Rhys had made his peace with the king in 1164, and had even visited him in
England. The causes assigned by the Welsh chronicle for this fresh outbreak of
hostility are that Henry failed to keep his promises—presumably of
restitution—and secondly that Roger, earl of Clare, was honourably receiving
Walter, the murderer of Rhys's nephew Einion. For the third time we now read
that Cardigan was overrun and the Norman castles burnt, but it is possible that
the events assigned by the Annales Cambriæ to the year 1165 are the same as
those assigned by the Brut y Tywysogion to 1163.
In the intervening years Clare had been abroad, and is found signing
charters at Le Mans, probably about Christmas
1160, and again at Rouen
in 1161. In July 1163 he was summoned by Becket to do homage in his capacity of
steward to the archbishops of Canterbury for the
castle of Tunbridge. In his refusal, which he
based on the grounds that he held the castle of the king and not of the
archbishop, he was supported by Henry II. Next year he was one of the
recognisers of the constitutions of Clarendon. Early in 1170 he was appointed
one of a band of commissioners for Kent,
Surrey, and other parts of southern England. His last known signature
seems to belong to June or July 1171, and is dated abroad from Chevaillée. He
appears to have died in 1173, and certainly before July or August 1174, when we
find Richard, earl of Clare, his son, coming to the king at Northampton.
Tonbridge Castle
Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted the land in Tonbridge, Kent
to guard the crossing of the River Medway and erected a simple Motte-and-bailey
castle. To dig the moat and erect the motte 50,000 tonnes of earth were moved.
In 1088, the family rebelled against King William II who besieged the castle.
After holding for two days the castle fell and as punishment the king had both
the castle and the town of Tonbridge
burnt to the ground. Before 1100, the de Clares replaced the wooden castle with
a stone shell keep. This was reinforced during the thirteenth century, and in
1295 a stone wall was built around the town. The twin towered gatehouse was
built by Richard de Clare, sixth Earl of Hertford or his son Gilbert.
Construction of the gatehouse took 30 years, being completed in 1260. The
gatehouse shares many similarities with the ones at Caerphilly Castle
built by Gilbert in 1268-1271. The great seal of England
was temporarily kept here during one of Edwards visits to France. The
mansion was added in 1793.
Clare married Matilda, daughter of James de St. Hilary, as we learn from an
inspeximus (dated 1328) of one of this lady's charters to Godstow. He was
succeeded by his son Richard, who died, as it is said, in 1217. Another son,
James, was a very sickly child, and was twice presented before the tomb of
Thomas à Becket by his mother. On both occasions a cure is reported to have
been effected."(1)
Issue-
· 8I. RICHARD-
m. AMICE FITZROBERT, Countess of Gloucester
(d. 1 Jan. 1224/5), d. c.28 Nov. 1217
· II. Aveline- m.1. Geoffrey FitzPiers, Earl of
Essex, 2. Sir William Muchensyd. before 4 June
1225
· III. Mabel- m.c.1175 Nigel de Mowbray, d.
1204
· IV. James-
· V. Roger- d. 1241 Middleton, Norfolk
· VI. John-
· VII. Henry-
Ref:
(1) Dictionary of National Biography- H.C.G.
Matthew ed., Oxford
Univ. Press
"Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"-
Vol.II, p.87
8I. RICHARD (GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2, RICHARD
3, GILBERT 4, RICHARD 5, ROGER 6)
b.c.1153
m.c.1180 (divorced 1200), AMICE FITZROBERT
(d. 1 Jan. 1224/5), d. of William Fitz Robert, Earl of Gloucester
d. c.28 Nov. 1217
Sir Richard was the 6th Lord of Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford and Gloucester. He was
present at the coronations of King Richard the Lionheart at Westminster on 3 Sept. 1189 and King John on
27 May 1199. He was also present at the homage of King William the Lion of
Scotland at Lincoln.
In 1176, king Henry II engaged his son John (the future king) to Isabel, the
younger sister of Amice. As part of this arrangement, he disinherited her
sisters from their rights to inherit the Gloucester
earldom, compensating their husbands, the Earl of Hertford and the future Count
of Evreux with £100 annuities. Sometime before 1198, Earl Richard and his wife
Amice were ordered to separate by the Pope on grounds of consanguinity. They
separated for a time because of this order but apparently reconciled their
marriage with the Pope later on.
He sided with the Barons against King John, even though he had previously
sworn peace with the King at Northampton, and
his castle of Tonbridge was taken. He played a leading
part in the negotiations for Magna Carta, being one of the twenty five
sureties. On 9 November 1215, he was one of the commissioners on the part of
the Barons to negotiate the peace with the King. In 1215, his lands in counties
Cambridge, Norfolk,
Suffolk and Essex
were granted to Robert de Betun. He and his son were among the Barons
excommunicated by the Pope in 1215.
Issue-
· 9I. GILBERT-
b.c.1180, m. 9 Oct. 1217 ISABEL MARSHALL (d.
17 Jan. 1239/0 Berkhampstead), d. 25 Oct. 1230 Penros, Brittany
Ref:
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and
the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new edition"- G.E.
Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand
and Lord Howard de Walden, editors- vol. III, p. 244
"Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol.II,
pp.87,114
9I. GILBERT (GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2,
RICHARD 3, GILBERT 4, RICHARD 5,ROGER 6, RICHARD 7)
b.c.1180
m. 9 Oct. 1217 Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire, ISABEL MARSHALL (b. 9 Oct. 1200 Pembroke Castle, m.2. 13
Mar. 1231 Fawley Church, Buckinghamshire, Richard Plantagenet, 1st Earl of
Cornwall & King of the Romans (b. 5 Jan. 1209 Winchester Castle, d. 2 Apr.
1272 Berkhamsted Castle), d. 17 Jan. 1240 Berkhamsted Castle, Hertfordshire) d.
of Sir William Marshall, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
d. 25 Oct. 1230 Penros, Brittany
"Gilbert de Clare, seventh Earl of Clare, fifth Earl of Hertford, and
sixth Earl of Gloucester was the son of Richard, sixth earl of Clare and
Hertford by his wife Amicia, one of the three coheiresses of William, earl of Gloucester. On the death
of his mother and the failure of issue to her two sisters, Mabel and Isabella
(the divorced wife of King John, afterwards married to Geoffrey de Mandevil and
Hubert de Burgh), he succeeded to the vast Gloucester estates apparently in the
year 1217. He also inherited the estates of his grandmother, Maud de St.
Hilary, and a moiety of the honour of Giffard from his father, who had been
confirmed in this possession by Richard I as one of the coheirs of his
ancestress, Rohais, daughter of Walter Giffard, earl of Buckingham. According
to Dugdale his father died in 1206, but this is evidently a mistake, as both
Richard, earl of Clare, and his son Gilbert appear in the patent rolls of 14
John, while the Earl of Clare and Gilbert de Clare are to be found among the
twenty-five barons appointed to carry out the great charter in June 1215, and
were both excommunicated by Innocent III in the beginning of 1216. After the
death of John he sided with the dauphin, and is said to have been taken
prisoner at the battle of Lincoln
by William Marshall, the earl of Pembroke, who married him to his daughter
Isabella on St. Denis's day, 9 Oct. 1217. In 1223 he accompanied his
brother-in-law, Earl Marshal, in an expedition into Wales. In February 1225 he was
present at the confirmation of the great charter at Westminster. Two years later we find him
taking the part of Richard, earl of Cornwall,
in his quarrel with the king, demanding a renewal of the forest acts and
ascribing all the faults of the government to Hubert de Burgh. About May 1230
he appears to have attended Henry III abroad on his expedition to Brittany; but died in
ipso reditu, at Penros in that duchy, 25 Oct. 1230. He seems to have made his
first will before starting on this campaign, 30 April 1230, at
Suwik-super-Mare; his second, just before his death, on 23 Oct. His body was
conveyed to Plymouth, and thence, by way of
Cranborne, to Tewkesbury, where he was buried before the great altar on the
Sunday following St. Martin's day, in the
presence of an innumerable concourse. To Tewkesbury Abbey he was a great
benefactor in his lifetime, and bequeathed it a silver cross and the wood of
Mutha. His widow Isabella set up a memorial stone 28 Sept. 1231. In the course
of the same year she married Richard, earl of Cornwall. Clare was engaged in many Welsh
expeditions. He is found fortifying Builth
Castle in 12 John. In
1228 he set out with a great army against the Welsh, on which occasion we read
that he found silver, iron, and lead. The same year he captured Morgan Cam and
sent him prisoner to England,
but a little later released him for hostages. His widow, Isabel, died 17 Jan.
1239-40, and was buried at Beaulieu. Her heart, however, was brought to Tewkesbury by the prior in a silver-gilt casket (cuppa)
and interred before the great altar." (1).
Tewkesbury
Abbey
Issue-
· I.
Agnes- d.s.p.
· II. Amice- b.c.1220, m.1., int. Oct. 1226, Baldwin de Reviers, 6th Earl of Devon (d. 1245), 2. after
1246 Robert de Guines (d. 1283), d. 1284
· III. Richard- b. 4 Aug. 1222, m. 25 Jan.
1237/8 Maud De Lacy (d. before 10 Mar. 1288/9), d. 15 July 1262. Sir Richard
was the Earl of Gloucester
and Hertford.
· 10IV. ISABEL- b. 2 Nov. 1226, m. May
1240 ROBERT BRUCE (b. 1226, d. 31 Mar. 1295), d.
after 1264
· V. William- d.s.p. 1258
· VI. Gilbert- Gilbert was a priest
Ref:
(1) Dictionary of National Biography- H.C.G.
Matthew ed., Oxford
Univ. Press
"Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy"- Alison Weir, The
Bodley Head, London, 1999- p. 68
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the
United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new edition"- G.E. Cokayne;
with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord
Howard de Walden, editors- Vol. II, p. 359; vol. III, p. 244
"Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol.II,
pp.87,114
6II. GILBERT- 1st Earl of Pembroke (GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2, RICHARD 3,
GILBERT 4)
b.c.1100 Tonbridge, Kent
m.c.1130 ISABEL de BEAUMONT (b.c.1102,
mistress of Henry I, d.c.1172)
d.c. Jan.
1147
Seal
of Gilbert fitz Gilbert from Lansdowne Manuscript 203
Gilbert de Clare became a baron, that is, a tenant-in-chief, obtaining the
estates of his paternal uncles, Roger and Walter, which included the baronies
and castles of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy,
the lordship of Nether Gwent and the castle
of Striguil (later
Chepstow). King Stephen created him Earl of Pembroke, and gave him the rape and
castle of Pevensey. Gilbert de Clare decided to
live near the roof in the Great Hall so he could see what was going on at all
times.
After Stephen's defeat at Lincoln on 2
February 1141, Gilbert was among those who rallied to Empress Matilda when she
recovered London in June, but he was at Canterbury when Stephen
was recrowned late in 1141. He then joined Geoffrey's plot against Stephen, but
when that conspiracy collapsed, he again adhered to Stephen, being with him at
the siege of Oxford
late in 1142. In 1147 he rebelled when Stephen refused to give him the castles
surrendered by his nephew Gilbert, 2nd Earl of Hertford, whereupon the King
marched to his nearest castle and nearly captured him. However, the Earl
appears to have made his peace with Stephen before his death the following
year.
Issue-
· 11I. RICHARD- b.c.1130, m. Aug. 1170 AIFE
Mac MURCHADA, d. 5 Apr. 1176 Dublin
· II. Basilea- m. Raymond le Gros FitzWilliam
Ref:
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and
the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new edition"- G.E.
Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand
and Lord Howard de Walden, editors- Vol. II, p. 359; vol. III, p. 243
11I. RICHARD (GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2, RICHARD 3, GILBERT 4,
GILBERT 5)
b.c.1130
m. Aug. 1170 AOIFE Mac MURCHADA,(see LEINSTER) d. of Diarmuid
MacMurrough, King of Leinster and Mor O'Toole
d. 5 Apr. 1176 Dublin
Richard was known as Strongbow and was invited by Diarmuid MacMurrough, Ling
of Leinster to help expell his enemies in Ireland. Diarmuid gave Richard his
daughter Aife in marriage and the heirship of the kingdom of Leinster.
This invitation by Diarmuid to Richard gave the English a foothold in Ireland which
occupation was to last for almost 750 years. I must say that in all my ancestor
digging over the years I have yet to find relatives who led to the misery of an
entire race of people for centuries such as Richard and Diarmuid. As a
consequence of the invasion, Richard was Lord of Leinster, Striguil, Earl
Marshal and Justiciar of Ireland.
"Richard de Clare, or Richard Strongbow, second Earl of Pembroke and
Strigul, was son of Gilbert Strongbow, or De Clare, whom Stephen created earl
of Pembroke in 1138, and grandson of Gilbert de Clare. His mother was
Elizabeth, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester and Mellent. He
appears to have succeeded to his father's estates in 1148; but the name of
Richard, count of Pembroke, first appears among the signatures to the treaty of
Westminster (7
Nov. 1153), which recognised Prince Henry as Stephen's successor. It appears
that he was allowed to retain his title even after the accession of Henry II,
when so many of Stephen's earldoms were abolished; but according to Giraldus
Cambrensis he had either forfeited or lost his estates by 1167-8. We learn from
Ralph de Diceto that he was one of the nobles who accompanied Princess Matilda
on her marriage journey to Minden in Germany early
in 1168.
According to the Irish historians it was in 1166 that Dermot, driven from
Leinster by the combined forces of Roderic O'Connor, king of Connaught,
and Tighernan O'Ruarc, king of Breifni, appealed to Henry for aid in the
recovery of his kingdom. This date, according to Giraldus, seems two years too
early. Henry gave letters empowering any of his subjects to assist the
dethroned monarch, who secured the services of Earl Richard, promising in
return for his assistance to give him his eldest daughter in marriage, together
with the succession to Leinster. The earl
engaged to cross over with an army in the ensuing spring; but stipulated that
he must have express permission from Henry before starting. Earlier aid was
promised by Robert FitzStephen and Maurice FitzGerald, who appear to have
crossed over to Wexford about 1 May 1169. If this date be correct, the meeting
of Dermot and the earl must have taken place about July 1168, to which year
Hoveden assigns the invasion of Ireland.
In the conquest of Wexford and the expeditions against Ossory and Dublin Earl Richard took
no part; but according to Giraldus he was represented in this campaign by his
nephew, Hervey de Mountmaurice.
It was apparently towards the close of this year that Dermot, despairing of
the arrival of the Earl of Strigul, offered his daughter to Robert FitzStephen
and Maurice FitzGerald, and on their refusal sent a pressing invitation to the
earl: The swallows have come and gone, yet you are tarrying still. On receiving
this letter, Earl Richard, after much deliberation, crossed over to Henry and
received the requisite permission to carve out a heritage for himself in
foreign lands; but, according to Giraldus, the king granted his request
ironically rather than seriously. A much later writer, Trivet (c. 1300), has
preserved a tradition that the earl had been an exile in Ireland
previous to this.
Before crossing to Ireland
himself, Earl Richard sent forward a small force under one of his own men,
Raymond le Gros, the nephew of FitzStephen and FitzGerald. Landing near Waterford about the
beginning of May 1170, he was immediately joined by Hervey de Mountmaurice.
According to the Anglo-Norman Poet, Earl Richard crossed very soon after; both
accounts agree that he appeared before Waterford
with from twelve to fifteen hundred men on St. Bartholomew's eve (23 Aug.)
Within two days the city had fallen; but Dermot, accompanied by Maurice and
Robert, came up in time to save the lives of the captives. The marriage between
Eva and the earl was celebrated at once, and the whole army set out for Dublin, after setting an English guard at Waterford. If the Anglo-Norman Poet may be
trusted, there were from four to five thousand English who took part in the
march to Dublin,
before which town they arrived on 21 Sept. Meanwhile, Roderic of Connaught had
mustered thirty thousand men for its relief. While peace negotiations were
going on, Milo de Cogan and Raymond le Gros took the city by assault, without
the consent of either Dermot or the earl. Asculf MacTurkill, the Danish ruler,
was driven into exile, and his town handed over to Earl Richard, who appears to
have resided here till the beginning of October, when he started to attack
O'Ruarc in Meath, leaving Dublin
in charge of Milo de Cogan. From Meath he seems to have withdrawn to Waterford for the winter;
while Dermot took up his abode at Ferns, where he died on 1 May 1171.
Meanwhile, Henry II, who had grown jealous of his vassal's success, had
forbidden the transport of fresh forces to Ireland, and ordered all who had
already crossed to return by Easter 1171 (28 March). To prevent the enforcement
of this decree, the earl despatched Raymond le Gros to the king in Aquitane,
with instructions to place all his conquests at the king's disposal.
On the death of Dermot there was a general combination against the English.
All the earl's allies, excepting some three or four, deserted him, and a force
of sixty thousand men was collected under Roderic O'Connor to besiege Dublin
about Whitsuntide (16 May) 1171. Earl Richard, to whose assistance Raymond le
Gros had already returned, sent for aid to FitzStephen at Wexford, from which
place he received a reinforcement of thirty-six men, a step which so weakened
the Wexford garrison, that it had to surrender later (? c. 1 July). On hearing
of this disaster the earl, fearing starvation, offered to do fealty to Roderic
for Leinster. Roderic, however, refused to
concede more than the three Norse towns, Waterford,
Dublin, and
Wexford; if these terms were rejected, he would storm the town on the morrow.
In this emergency the earl ordered a sudden sally in three directions, led by Milo, Raymond, and himself. A brilliant success was
achieved; the siege was raised, and the earl was left free to set out to the
relief of FitzStephen, whom the Irish had shut up in the island of Becherin.
Dublin was once
more entrusted to Milo de Cogan. On his march through Idrone he was attacked by
O'Ryan, the king of this district; but hearing that the Irish had left Wexford
for Becherin, he proceeded to Waterford, whence
he sent a summons to his brother-in-law, the king of Limerick,
to aid in an attack on MacDonchid, the king of Ossory. The Anglo-Norman Poet
says that it was only the chivalrous honour of Maurice de Prendergast that now
prevented the earl from acting with the utmost treachery to the latter king.
The earl then departed for Ferns, where he stayed eight days before going in
pursuit of Murrough O'Brien, who was put to death at Ferns, together with his
son. About the same time, acting as the over-king of Leinster, he confirmed
Muirchertad (Murtherdath) in his kingdom
of Hy-Kinsellagh (near Wexford), and
gave the pleis of Leinster to Donald Kevenath,
the faithful son of Dermot. Probably about the middle of August Hervey de
Mountmaurice returned from a second mission to the king, and urged the earl to
lose no time in making peace with Henry personally. After entrusting Waterford to Gilbert de Borard, Strongbow crossed over to England with
Hervey, found the king at Newnham in Gloucestershire, and, after much trouble,
succeeded in pacifying him, by the resignation of all his castles and maritime
cities. On 18 Oct. the king reached Waterford,
which was at once handed over to Robert FitzBernard. From Waterford
the king marched through Ossory to Dublin,
receiving the homage of the Irish princes as he went. He spent Christmas at Dublin, which on his
departure he gave in charge to Hugh de Lacy. It would seem that during the
greater part of the six months Henry spent in Ireland Earl Richard kept his own
court at Kildare.
A Dyvelin esteit li reis HenrizEt à Kildare li quens gentils.
That the king to some extent distrusted the intentions of his great vassal
is evident by the steps he took to weaken the earl's party and power.
Towards the beginning of Lent (c. 1 March 1172) Henry reached Wexford. Three
or four weeks later came the news of the threatened rebellion of his sons; but
his passage to England
was delayed till Easter Monday (17 April). Before leaving Ireland he had
made Hugh de Lacy lord of Meath, and entrusted Wexford to William FitzAldhelm.
Meanwhile, Earl Richard withdrew to Ferns, where he married his sister Basilia
to Robert de Quenci, who was given the constableship of Leinster.
For the next two years Kildare seems to have been Earl Richard's
headquarters, whence he appears to have made forays on the district of Offaly.
On one of these expeditions Robert de Quenci was slain, upon which Raymond le
Gros demanded the widow in marriage. This request, which implied a claim to the
constableship of Leinster and the guardianship of Basilia's infant daughter,
was refused, although the refusal seems to have cost the earl the services of
Raymond and his followers, who at once returned to Wales.
On the breaking out of the rebellion of 1173 (c. 15 April 1173) Henry
summoned the earl to his assistance in Normandy,
where, according to the Anglo-Norman Poet, he was given the castle of Gisors
to guard. From Ralph de Diceto we know that he was present at the relief of
Verneuil (9 Aug.). He was apparently dismissed before the close of the first
year of war, and as a reward of his fidelity received the restoration of
Wexford, Waterford, and Dublin. On reaching Ireland he at once
despatched Robert FitzBernard, FitzStephen, and others to aid against the
rebels in England, where, if we may trust the Anglo-Norman Poet, the Irish
forces were present at the overthrow of the Earl of Leicester (17 Oct.) at Bury
St. Edmunds.
On Raymond's departure Earl Richard gave the constableship to Hervey de
Mountmaurice. Dissatisfied with his generalship, the troops clamoured for the
reappointment of Raymond, whom Henry had sent back to Ireland with
the earl, and their request was granted. About the latter part of 1174 the earl
led his army into Munster, against Donald of
Limerick, and met with the great disaster that forced him back to Waterford, where he was closely besieged by the Irish,
while Roderic O'Connor advanced to the very walls of Dublin. In this emergency the earl sent over
a messenger begging that Raymond would come to his aid, and promising him his
sister's hand. The two nobles met in an island near Waterford. Earl Richard was brought back to
Wexford, where the marriage was celebrated. On the next day Raymond started to
drive the king of Connaught out of Meath. It
was now that, at Raymond's suggestion, the earl gave his elder daughter Alina
to William FitzMaurice. To Maurice himself he assigned Wicklow Castle;
Carbury to Meiler FitzHenry, and other estates to various other knights. Dublin was handed over to the brothers from Hereford. With his sister
Earl Richard granted Raymond Fothord, Idrone, and Glaskarrig. It appears that
the earl was now supreme in Leinster, having
hostages of all the great Irish princes.
It was probably in 1175 that Earl Richard was called upon to relieve Hugh de
Lacy's newly built castle
of Trim. After this
success he withdrew to Dublin, having determined
to send his army under Raymond against Donald O'Brien of Limerick.
He does not seem to have taken any personal share in the latter expedition (c.
1 Oct. 1175), and indeed may possibly have been in England in this very month. After
the fall of Limerick Hervey persuaded the king to recall his rival Raymond,
whom, however, the peril of the English garrison detained in Ireland long after
the receipt of the summons, since the earl's men refused to advance under any
other leader. On Tuesday, 6 April 1176, Raymond once more entered Limerick,
from which town he soon started for Cork,
to relieve Dermot Macarthy, prince of Desmond. While thus engaged he received a
letter from his wife, Basilia, informing him that that huge grinder which had
caused him so much pain had fallen out. By this phrase he understood that Earl
Richard was dead (c. 1 June according to Giraldus; but 5 April according to
Diceto). After Raymond's arrival the earl was buried in the church of the Holy
Trinity, where his tomb is still shown. Other accounts make him buried at Gloucester.
Earl Richard seems to have left an only daughter, Isabella by name. At the
age of three she became the heiress to her father's vast estates, and was
married by King Richard to William Marshall in 1189. The question as to whether
he had other issue has been fiercely contested by genealogists; but there seems
to be no reason for doubting that he was married before espousing Dermot's
daughter. The earl's daughter, Alina, mentioned above, cannot well have been
his child by Eva. In the Irish Annals we read of a predatory expedition led
into Kildare by the earl's son. A Tintern charter granted by the younger
William Marshall, and dated Strigul 22 March 1206, makes mention of Walter,
filius Ricardi, filii Gilberti Strongbowe, avi mei. But even this evidence can
hardly be considered to confirm the current story as to how the earl met his
son fleeing before the enemy and, enraged at such cowardice, clave him asunder
with his sword. A tomb is still shown in Christ
Church, Dublin, which passes for that of Richard
Strongbow. This monument, which is described as displaying the cross-legged
effigy of a knight, is said to have been restored by Sir Henry Sidney in 1570.
On the left lies a half-figure of uncertain sex, which is popularly supposed to
represent the earl's son. On it are inscribed the lines: Nate ingrate mihi
pugnanti terga dedisti: Non mihi sed genti, regno quoque terga dedisti.
"This: ayncyent: monument: of: Rychard: Strangbowe: called: comes:
Strangvlensis: Lord: of: Chepsto: and: Ogny: the: fyrst: and: pryncypall: invader:
of: Irland: 1169: Qui: Obiit: 1177.:
The: monument: was: brocken: by: the: fall: of: the: roff: and: bodye: of:
Christeschurch: in: Anna: 1562:
and: set: up: agayne: at: the: chargys: of: the: Right: Honorable: Sr: Henry:
Sydney: Knyght: of: the: noble: order: L: President: of: Wailes: L: Deputy: of:
Irland: 1570."
But there is no evidence as to the original state of this monument or the
extent of Sir Henry's restorations. The whole legend was well known to
Stanihurst in 1584; but it may date much further back than the sixteenth
century.
Strongbow's
original tomb
The
"new" tomb, built in the 16th century
According to Giraldus's rhetorical phrase, Richard de Clare was vir plus nominis hactenus habens quam
ominis, plus genii quam ingenii, plus successionis quam possessionis. More
trustworthy, perhaps, is Giraldus's personal description of the earl: A man of
a somewhat florid complexion and freckled; with grey eyes, feminine features, a
thin voice and short neck, but otherwise of a good stature. He was rather
suited, continues the same historian, for the council chamber than the field,
and better fitted to obey than to command. He required to be urged on to
enterprise by his followers; but when once in the press of the fight his
resolution was as the standard or the rallying-point of his side. No disaster
could shake his courage, and he showed no undue exhilaration when things went
well. In the pages of Giraldus the earl appears as a mere foil to the brilliant
characters of the Fitzgeralds, and is never credited with any very remarkable
military achievement. On the other hand, in the pages of the Anglo-Norman Poet
he fills a much more prominent position; he leads great expeditions, and is
specially distinguished at the siege of Dublin.
But even in the verse of this writer his special epithets are, li gentils
quens, le bon contur. It is more rarely that we find him styled li quens
vailland.
The two principal authorities for the career of Richard Strongbow are
Giraldus Cambrensis and a poet who, towards the close of the twelfth century,
wrote an account of the conquest of Ireland in Norman-French verse. The
narrative of the latter, according to its author's statement, is largely based
on the information derived from Dermot's interpreter or clerk, Maurice Regan.
In many points these two writers are not in absolute accord, and the chronology
is rendered still more obscure by the fact that the Anglo-Norman Poet gives no
yearly dates at all, while Giraldus is not entirely consistent with himself.
Each author supplies much that is peculiar to himself. At other times, when
they seem to differ it may be that they refer to different occasions. The
latter view has been taken in the article in the case of Raymond's return to England."(1)
Issue-
· 12 I. ISABEL- b.c.1175, m. Aug. 1189 London, WILLIAM MARSHALL,
Earl of Pembroke (b.c.1146, d.c.
Apr. 1219 Caversham), d. 1220
Ref:
(1) Dictionary of National Biography- H.C.G.
Matthew ed., Oxford
Univ. Press
13II. BALDWIN (GODFREY 1, GILBERT 2)
m. EMMA ______
d. 1095
Baldwin Fitz Gilbert, Seigneur de Meules was Sheriff of Devon and Lord of
Okehampton. He was made castellan of Rougemont
Castle in Exeter by William the Conqueror.
Issue-
· 14I. MATILDA- m. WILLIAM d'AVRANCHES (d. before 1130)
Ref:
Dictionary of National Biography- Leslie Stephen, Ed., Oxford
University Press- see Round's Clare article
The Complete Peerage- St. Catherine Press, London- Vol. IV, pp.
308-9, p. 317
Domesday People- K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, Boydell Press, 1999- pp. 164,
363
Domesday Descendants- K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, Boydell Press, 2002- p.
263
Tim Powys-Lybbe's web page at: http://www.tim.ukpub.net
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