Bohun, Earls of Hereford
Richard de Meri b abt 1032, of Bohon, Normandy, d bef 1068. He md Billeheud abt 1052. She was b abt 1036.
Children of Richard de Meri and Billeheud were: Humphrey I de Bohun [a], b abt 1058, of Bohon, Normandy, and Tataford, Norfolk, England, d bef 1093. The names of his wives are not known.
Child of Humphrey I de Bohun was:

Sir Humphrey II de Bohun [b], Constable of England, b abt 1079, of Bohon, Normandy and England, d abt 1129. He md Maud of Salisbury abt 1097, daughter of Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire. She was b abt 1084, of Wiltshire, England, d 1142.
Child of Humphrey II de Bohun and Maud of Salisbury was:

Sir Humphrey III de Bohun [c], Constable of England, b 1109, d 6 Apr 1187. He md Margaret of Hereford abt 1137, daughter of Sir Miles Fitz Walter, Constable, Earl of Hereford, and Sibyl de Neufmarche.
Child of Humphrey III Bohun and Margaret of Hereford was:

Humphrey IV de Bohun [d] b abt 1143, Gloucestershire, England, d 1182. He md Margaret de Huntingdon 1175, daughter of Sir Henry de Huntingdon, Earl of Huntingdon, and Ada/Adelaide de Warenne.
Child of Humphrey IV de Bohun and Margaret de Huntingdon was:

Sir Henry de Bohun [e], Magna Carta Surety, Earl of Hereford, Constable of England, b 1176, d 1 Jun 1220. He md Maud Fitz Geoffrey de Mandeville abt 1197, Essex, England, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Fitz Piers, Earl of Essex, and Beatrice de Say.
Child of Henry de Bohun and Maud Fitz Geoffrey was:

Sir Humphrey V de Bohun [f], Earl of Hereford and Essex, b abt 1208, of Essex, England, d 24 Sep 1275, Gloucestershire, England. He md:
[1] Maud d'Eu abt 1225, France, daughter of Raoul I de Lusignan and Alice d'Eu.
Children of Humphrey V de Bohun and Maud d'Eu were:
    • Sir Humphrey VI de Bohun b abt 1228.
    • Alice de Bohun b abt 1233, d 1255, Gloucestershire, England. She md Sir Roger V de Toeni, Lord of Flamstead, bef 1255, son of Sir Ralph VI de Toeni, Lord of Flamstead, and Petronilla de Lacy.

    Sir Humphrey VI de Bohun [g], Earl of Hereford and Essex, b abt 1228, prob Gloucestershire, England, d 27 Aug 1265, Beeston Castle, Chester, Cheshire, England. He md Eleanor de Braose abt 1245, Wales, daughter of Sir William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny, and Eva Marshal.
    Children of Humphrey VI de Bohun and Eleanor de Braose were:

    • Sir Humphrey VII de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, b abt 1246.
    • Eleanor de Bohun b abt 1250, d 20 Feb 1313/14. She md Sir Robert de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, 26 Jun 1269, son of Sir William de Ferrers and Margaret de Quincy.
    • Margery de Bohun b abt 1252, d bef 1304. She md [2] Sir Theobald de Verdun, Constable of Ireland, Lord Verdun, abt 1272, son of Sir John de Verdun and Margaret de Lacy.

    Sir Humphrey VII de Bohun [h], Earl of Hereford and Essex, b abt 1246, of Herefordshire, England, d 31 Dec 1298, Pleshey, Essex, England. He md Maud de Fiennes 1275, daughter of Enguerrand/Ingelram II de Fiennes, Baron Tingry, and Daughter de Conde.
    Child of Humphrey VII de Bohun and Maud de Fiennes was:

    Sir Humphrey VIII de Bohun [i], Earl of Hereford and Essex, Constable of England, b 1276, Pleshey, Essex, England, d 12 Mar 1321/22, battle of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, England. He md Elizabeth Plantagenet 14 Nov 1302, daughter of Edward I Plantagenet, King of England, and Eleanor of Castile.
    Children of Humphrey VIII de Bohun and Elizabeth Plantagenet were:

    • Eleanor de Bohun b bef 17 Oct 1304, Hereford, Herefordshire, England, d 7 Oct 1363. She md Sir James Butler, Earl of Ormonde, 17 Oct 1326, Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England, son of Sir Edmund Butler, Justiciar and Governor of Ireland, Knight, and Joan Fitz Gerald.
    • Sir Humphrey IX de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, b abt 1305, d 15 Oct 1361; unmd.
    • Sir John de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, b 24 Nov 1306, d s.p. 20 Jan 1335; md [1] Alice Fitz Alan 1325, and [2] Margaret Basset.
    • Agnes de Bohun b Nov 1309, Caldecott, Northamptonshire, England.
    • Margaret de Bohun b 3 Apr 1311, Caldecott, Northamptonshire, England, d 16 Dec 1391, Exeter Devonshire, England. She md Sir Hugh de Courtenay, Earl of Devon, Knight of the Garter, 31 May 1325, son of Sir Hugh de Courtenay, Earl of Devon, Lord Courtenay, and Agnes de St. John.
    • Sir William de Bohun b abt 1312.
    Sir William de Bohun [j], Earl of Northampton, Knight of the Garter, b abt 1312, Caldecott, Northamptonshire, England, d 16 Sep 1360. He md Elizabeth de Badlesmere 1338, Kent, England, daughter of Sir Bartholomew de Badlesmere, Lord Badlesmere, and Margaret de Clare.
    Children of William de Bohun and Elizabeth de Badlesmere were:
    • Sir Humphrey X de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, b 25 Mar 1342, d s.p.m. 16 Jan 1373; md Joan Fitz Alan aft 9 Sep 1359.
    • Elizabeth de Bohun b abt 1344, d 3 Apr 1385. She md Sir Richard Fitz Alan, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, abt 1358, son of Sir Richard Fitz Alan, Earl of Arundel, and Eleanor de Lancaster.
[2] Maud de Avenbury aft 1241. She was b abt 1220.
Child of Humphrey V de Bohun and Maud de Avenbury was:
NOTES:
a. He evidently married three times, but the names of his wives have never been discovered.

b. Documents signed by him reveal that he was in England 1103-1109, in Avranches 1113, Rouen in 1119, back in England in 1121, in Rouen again in 1125, and in England 1128. Through the dowry of his wife, Maud, he held estates in Wiltshire, as well as the barony of Trowbridge. He and Maud are stated to have had two children, Humphrey, his successor, and a daughter, Maud.

c. Steward (dapifer) to Henry I, he witnessed that King's charter to Bec Abbey in 1131, as well as King Stephen's Charter of Liberties in 1136. Later, as a follower of the Empress, he had a charter of confirmation from her, ca 1144-46, of all the lands he held at the death of Henry I.

d. Hereditary Constable of England, he married Margaret, the sister of William the Lion, King of Scotland.

e. Hereditary Constable of England, and nephew of William the Lion, King of Scotland, he inherited, through his grandmother, Margaret (daughter of Miles Fitz Walter), the principal estates of the former earls, and was created 28 Apr 1200 by charter, Earl of Hereford. In late 1200 he was sent, with several others, to conduct his aforesaid uncle, William, from Scotland, to do homage before King John at Lincoln. In siding with the Barons, he was elected one of the 25 sureties of the Great Charter in 1215, and was among those excommunicated by the Pope. After King John's death, he adhered to the party of Louis of France, and fought at the battle of Lincoln, where, on 20 May 1217, he was taken prisoner. In 1220, he appears to have started on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but whether this actually took place is not known, and he died in June of that same year. His widow, Countess Maud, sister of William de Mandeville, the Earl of Essex, and daughter of Geoffrey Fitz Piers, married secondly, Roger de Dauntesey. Upon her brother's death she became, suo jure, Countess of Essex, in 1266/67. They were later divorced, when Maud took livery of her inheritance, but upon revocation of the sentence of divorce, Roger had livery of her lands in July 1236.

f.Constable of England, the King took his homage, at the instance of the King of Scots and the magnates of England, whereby he had livery of Caldicot (Monmouthshire) and of Walton in Surrey, ca 1221. He sided with the Earl of Cornwall in his quarrel with the King in 1227. He had livery of his mother's lands 9 Sep 1236, thus becoming, in addition to Earl of Hereford, the Earl of Essex. In 1237 he went on pilgrimage to Santiago, and in Feb 1238/39, was appointed constable of Dover Castle, also serving, during these years, as sheriff of Kent. He was present at the Great Council of 1248, and, in 1250, he was among those who took the Cross. A protection was granted to him 15 Nov 1253, for as long as the King remained in Gascony, and was with him there in 1254, but withdrew (with the King's permission) after failing to obtain satisfaction in a matter relating to his jurisdiction as constable. In 1257, he was appointed to keep the marches between Montgomery and the land of the Earl of Gloucester, and had a protection 22 Oct on staying in Wales in the service of Prince Edward. The following year he was one of the 24 councillors to draw up the Provisions of Oxford, being chosen among the Barons' twelve, and was thereafter one of the fifteen chosen to advise the King on all points; and was also one of the twelve elected by the Barons to represent the community in three annual parliaments. In 1259 he was the King's reprsentative, with the Count of Aumale, for the preservation of peace between France and England, later being one of the commissioners to ratify the treaty between the two kingdoms. On 18 Jul 1262, he had a grant of the custody of the lands of the late Earl of Gloucester. In the struggle of 1263/64, he took the side of the King, and served as one of the keepers of the City of London 9 Oct 1265. He was twice married, first to Maud, daughter of Raoul (de Lusignan), Count of Eu (after his marriage), and Alice, daughter of Henry, Count of Eu, and secondly, to Maud de Avenbury, sometime after 1241.

g. He had a grant in 1254, as eldest son of Humphrey, Earl of Hereford and Essex, of 80 marks a year at the Exchequer until the King could provide for him in lands of that yearly value. He was with his father in 1257, being among those who assisted in keeping the marches between Montgomery and the land of the Earl of Gloucester, and in 1263 was ordered to join his father at Hereford to defend the lands and fortify the castles on the marches against Llewelyn. He joined the Barons against the King, and on 23 Jul 1264, he had custody of the Castle of Winchester, which he was ordered to surrender 3 Jun 1265. He also had, 15 Sep 1264, the Island and Castle of Lundy, and, 17 Nov 1264, the manor of Havering in Essex. He fought at the battle of Evesham 4 Aug 1265, where he was taken prisoner. He married twice, first to Eleanor, daughter and coheir of William de Braose, and secondly, to Joan, eldest daughter and coheir of Robert de Quincy. He died v.p. at Beeston Castle in Chester, and thus, did not become the Earl of Hereford and Essex.

h. Constable of England, Earl of Hereford and Essex, grandson and heir, his father having died during his grandfather's lifetime. The King took his homage, and he had livery of his mother's lands 8 Nov 1270, and on 14 Jan 1270/71, he had a grant of 40 marks a year as long as he remained in the King's service. During his grandfather's life, he was his deputy in the constableship of England. On 26 Oct 1275, he had livery of his grandfather's lands, as well as the purparty of Eve de Braose, his grandmother on 12 Nov 1275. He was present at the judgment given against Llewlyn on 12 Nov and on 17 Nov 1276, was going to the marches of Wales on the King's affairs. On 10 May 1285 he was going overseas, and on 5 Feb 1286/87 was staying in Wales by the King's command, and on 6 Nov 1287, he was granted at pleasure lands in Carmarthen. He was fighting against the Earl of Gloucester in 1289, regarding boundaries of their domains, but they (appearing at the King's chapel at Westminster before the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Durham, and the Earl of Cornwall) were later reconciled. In 1297 he conducted the Princess Elizabeth and her husband, John, Count of Holland, on their journey from England. At the so-called Parliament which met at Salisbury on 24 Feb 1296/97, occurred the famous passage between the King and the Earls of Norfolk and Hereford, when the King was defied, the two Earls, one as Marshal and the other as Constable, refusing to do service in Gascony unless the King was present. Both were deprived of their offices. He died at Pleshey, 31 Dec 1298, his wife, Maud, having predeceased him.

i. Earl of Hereford and Essex and Constable of England, the King took his homage, whereby he had livery of his father's lands 16 Feb 1298. He attended the marriage of Edward I to Queen Margaret at Canterbury 9 Sep 1299, and served in Scotland, being present at the siege of Carlaverock on 1 Jul 1300. In 1302, prior to his marriage to the King's daughter, he surrendered his castles, towns, manors, and lands in Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Huntingdonshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, the cos. Gloucester and Herefore, and Wales, and made a further surrender of his right, honour and dominion, by virtue of the name of Earl in cos. Hereford and Essex, as well as the constableship of England. After his marriage, these were again restored to him and his wife as to be held as fully as he held them before quitclaiming to the King. On 11 Apr 1306, he had a grant of Annandale with all of its liberties in arms of the sea with the castle of Lochmaben, late of Robert de Bruce, Earl of Carrick, escheated to the King by his felony in slaying John Comyn of Badenoch before the high altar of the Friars Minor at Dumfries. He took part in the proceedings leading up to the appointment of the Lords Ordainers in 1310 (of which he was one), and having been deprived of the constableship, he had restoration thereof 28 Aug 1311. He fought at Bannockburn and was taken prisoner, whereupon he was exchanged for Elizabeth (de Burgh), wife of King Robert de Bruce. On 11 Feb 1315/16, he was appointed captain of all forces against Llewelyn (ap Rhys) in Glamorgan. When summoned to attend the Council at Gloucester in 1321, he sent word that he could not do so while Hugh le Despenser (the younger) was in the King's comitiva; he was then ordered to attend at Oxford, and, preparing to attack the said Despenser, was ordered to abstain, 1 May 1321. But during May and June the Despenser lands were ravaged. His lands were taken into the King's hand by writs dated 25 Dec 1321, and 4 and 23 Jan and 8 Feb 1321/22, and various orders for his arrest issued. He was killed at the battle of Boroughbridge the following month, when endeavoring to force his way across the bridge. By his will, dated at Gosforth 11 Aug 1319, he made many pious bequests and remembered those in his employ. His wife, Elizabeth, daughter King Edward I, predeceased him.

j. Fifth and youngest son, his two surviving elder brothers, John and Humphrey, both succeeded to the earldoms of Hereford and Essex, John dying s.p. in 1334/36, was succeeded by Humphrey, who died, unmarried in 1361, one year after William's death. He and his elder brother, Humphrey, were closely associated with Edward III's seizure of Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, in 1330, and from this time on, William was one of the King's most active councillors. He was knighted by July 1331, and in that same year was on service in Scotland, and again during the entire summer of 1336. On 16 Mar 1336/37, he was created, with consent of Parliament, Earl of Northampton, and in 1338 he became Constable of England (by grant of his brother Humphrey). On 24 Jun 1340, he took a leading role in the King's victory at Sluys, and was with him at the siege of Tournay. After service in Scotland in 1341, he was made the King's Lieutenant in Brittany on 20 Jul 1342. He fought in the 1st division, led by Prince Edward, at Crecy, and participated in the siege of Calais. By the latter part of 1349, he was Knight of the Garter. In Aug 1350, he took part in the victory over the Spanish fleet off Winchelsea, and in October of that year was made Warden of the Scottish Marches. He was also appointed Admiral of the Fleet in the North, 1351-54, and was in the expedition to France in 1359-60, being one of the witnesses to the Treaty of Bretigny 8 May 1360. His wife, Elizabeth (widow of Sir Edmund de Mortimer), predeceased him by four years. She was the third of four sisters and coheirs to Giles de Badlesmere and brought to her marriage a great inheritance, as well as her Mortimer dower.
SOURCES:
CP: Vol VI[457-472], Vol IX[664-667], Vol XI[373-374]; AR: Line 6[29-30], Line 7[29-30], Line 15[29-31], Line 68[29-30], Line 65[34], Line 84[29], Line 97[26-32], Line 98[29], Line 123[29], Line 193[5-6]; SGM/GMED: Douglas Richardson [identification of Margery, wife of Theobald de Verdun, as Margery de Bohun], Todd Farmerie [Adelaide sister to Humphrey I]; Bohon.
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