Clare Notes

NOTES:
a. Styled as "de Bienfaite", "de Clare", and "de Tonbridge". As Lord of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy, he accompanied his kinsman, William the Conqueror, into England, and was rewarded by him with no less than 176 Lordships, including the castle of Clare and the castle of Tonbridge in Kent. He served as Joint Chief Justiciar in William's absence, and thus played a major part in suppressing the revolt of 1075.

b. Succeeded to his father's possessions in England, his brother, Roger Fitz Richard, succeeding to his father's lands in Normandy. He was granted the Lordship of Cardigan by Henry I, and founded the Priory at Clare.

c. Son and heir, he founded the priory of Tonbridge. In April 1136, he was caught by surprise and slain by the Welsh, near Abergavenny. His widow, Adelize, was rescued from the Welsh by Miles of Gloucester.

d. He is described in Complete Peerage as "Robert, the sewer of William de Percy", and "son of Robert, son of Fulk."

e. He appears to have been granted the Earldom by Henry II no later than Jan 1155/56. He was engaged against Rhys ap Gruffydd in Wales in 1157-1158, and in 1164 took part in the Constitutions of Clarendon. In 1170, he was a commissioner as to the proceedings of the sheriffs of Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Bedfordshire. His widow married secondly, William d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel, who also predeceased her. Roger de Clare and Maud had two other sons, John and Richard, as well as a daughter, Mabel, who married William de Helion.

f. Earl of Hertford, more commonly known as Earl of Clare, he had a grant of the moiety of the Giffard estates from his ancestor, Rohese Giffard. He was present at the coronation of Richard I at Westminster 1189, and In 1193 he and others were enjoined by the Chancellor to accompany him on his return to the King, who at the time was being held prisoner in Germany. Upon the accession of John in 1199, he was one of those of whom Archbishop Hubert and the partisans of the King "entertained most doubt", and he thus received a summons to Northampton, where an oath was taken that King John would restore to every man his right, if they would keep peace with him, and they swore accordingly to do so. That May he was present at King John's coronation at Westminster, as well as at the homage of King William of Scotland at Lincoln. When he sided against the King in favor of the Barons, his castle of Tonbridge was taken. He played a leading part in the negotiations for Magna Carta, being one of the 25 Barons appointed as guardians, and in Nov of 1215 was one of the commissioners on behalf of the Barons to treat for peace with the King. In March the following year, his lands in Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex were granted to Robert de Betun, and not long after, his other lands were as well, although these grants unlikely had much effect in reality. He and wife Amice, eventually sole heir of William Fitz Robert, Earl of Gloucester, appear to have been separated prior to 1200. Whatever the nature of their separation, it did not affect the position of their son, Gilbert.

g. Son and heir, he inherited from his father's Clare estates, and from his mother, those of Gloucester, as well as the honour of St. Hilary of his mother, and from his ancestress, Rohese, the moiety of the Giffard estates. Upon the death of her sister, Gilbert's mother, Amice, became her father's sole heir, and was recognized as Countess of Gloucester from whence her son became Earl of Gloucester. In Jun 1215, along with his father, he was among the 25 Barons made guardians of Magna Carta. He fought on the side of Louis of France at Lincoln, May 1217, and was taken prisoner by William Marshal (eventually his father-in-law). In Nov of 1217, he appears to have been recognized as Earl of Gloucester. He joined his brother-in-law, Earl Marshal, in an expedition into Wales in 1223, and in 1225 was present at the confirmation of the Great Charter by Henry III. He lead an army against the Welsh in 1228, capturing Morgan Gam. On an expedition into Brittany, he died on his way back, 25 Oct 1230. By Isabel, the daughter of William Marshal, he had Richard, his son and heir; William who d 23 Jul 1258; Gilbert; Amice, wife of Baldwin de Reviers, Earl of Devon; Agnes; and Isabel, wife of Robert de Brus.

h. She married, secondly, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, 30 Mar 1231, and died of jaundice in childbed, Jan 1239/40.

i. Custody of his lands and his wardship and marriage were given to Hubert de Burgh, the Justiciar, upon whose fall from power, said wardship was assumed by the King. He was of full age in 1243, and did homage, whereupon all his lands were surrendered to him. Through his mother he inherited a fifth part of the Marshal estates, including Kilkenny and other lordships in Ireland. On 4 Jun 1245, he was knighted by the King in London. Throughout his very active public life, he appears to have remained loyal to the Crown, and was frequently in close attendance to the King, both abroad and at home. He was equally adept at keeping the peace both with the monarchy, as well as the Bishops. Having survived an attempt on his life by poisoning in July 1258, his death at John de Criol's manor of Ashenfield in Waltham, near Canterbury, 15 July 1262, was rumored to have been by poisoning. He left sons (1) Gilbert, his heir; (2) Thomas, knighted by Simon de Montfort at Lewes, died in Ireland Feb 1287/88; (3) Bevis (or Benet, Bogo, Bozo), a clerk of Oxford, who died in Oct 1294, and possibly Robert. Additionally he left four daughters, (1) Isabel wife of the Marquess of Montferrat; (2) Margaret wife of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall; (3) Rohese, wife of Roger de Mowbray; and (3) Eglentine, who died an infant.

j. "The Red Earl", Gilbert was under age at his father's death and under the wardship of Humphrey de Bohun. On 22 Mar 1262/63, he refused to the take the oath of allegiance to Prince Edward, and in May acted with Montfort in the Oxford Parliament, and thus became recognized as one of the leaders of the Baron's party. The honour of Clare was granted him 8 Jul 1263, and on 3 Aug, though still not of age, the King took his homage and he had livery of his lands in Wales. He was in attendance to the King at Windsor on 12 Oct the same year, and in Apr of 1264, he lead a massacre of the Jews at Canterbury. His castles of Kingston and Tonbridge were taken by the King, and on 12 May he and Montfort were denounced as traitors. Just before the battle of Lewes, Montfort knighted the Earl and his brother Thomas, and at the battle itself, the Earl took the King prisoner. But dissentions grew between the Earl and Montfort, the Earl complaining that Montfort monopolized the government and did not fairly divide the forfeited lands, also that he, the Earl, had been robbed of his prisoners. When news reached Earl Gilbert that Llewelyn was ravaging his lands, he went to Wales, and an invitation by Montfort to attend a tournament was rejected by Gilbert, and Montfort set out for Wales, taking the King and Prince Edward with him. Though they were reconciled, it was only temporary, for several days later the Earl attempted to seize the King and Montfort on their way to Hereford. On 26 May, Prince Edward managed to escape from Montfort and joined the Earl at Ludlow. The following month, after taking Gloucester and Bristol, the Prince and Earl were proclaimed rebels, whereupon both began an active campaign against Montfort. In order to prevent Montfort's escape the Earl destroyed the ships at Bristol as well as the bridge over the Severn, and in the battle of Evesham, 4 August, Montfort was slain. At the Parliament held the following month, the Earl was accused of being eager for the lands of the forfeited rebels, and of opposing the pardon of the younger Simon de Montfort, but this lacked credit as he was afterwards the champion of the "disinherited". On 6 Oct he received pardon from the King for his services at Evesham, and on 25 Oct the castle of Abergavenny was committed to his charge, and shortly after the honour of Brecknock as well. Tensions then arose between the Earl and the King, Gilbert protesting that the lands forfeited by the rebels had not been restored, and that the Provisions of Oxford were not being met. Getting no satisfaction, he gathered his forces, and on 8 Apr marched to London and occupied it, but kept his men in control, allowing no plundering of the citizens. Peace was made 16 Jun, and the Earl took care to secure pardons for those citizens which had aided him. On 24 Jun 1268, he took the Cross at Northampton, and in Jan 1270/71, the Earl secured restoration of estates to all those "disinherited" in the Baron's wars. At the death of Henry III, 16 Nov 1272, the Earl took the lead in swearing fealty to Edward I, and the following day, with the Archbishop of York, entered London and proclaimed peace to all, Christians and Jews, and secured acknowledgment of the right of the King's eldest son to succeed to the throne immediately. Thereafter he was Joint Guardian of England during the King's absence. In 1291, his quarrels with the Earl of Hereford, which had begun in 1288/89, culminated in private war, for which both were imprisoned by the King, and Gilbert de Clare, as the aggressor was fined 10,000 marks. In Jun 1291 he was at Norham Castle with the King when he settled the claims to the Crown of Scotland, and was present 7 Nov at Berwick when Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale, surrendered his rights to the Scottish crown to his son, Robert, Earl of Carrick. His first wife, Alice de Lusignan, was said to have been a hypochondriac, and they were divorced in Jul 1271. Upon his marriage to Joan of Acre, Gilbert surrendered the majority of his estates to the King, who then regranted said estates to Gilbert and Joan and their issue. In addition to his son and successor, Gilbert, he left three daughters (utlimately became his heirs), (1) Eleanor, wife of Sir Hugh le Despenser and William la Zouche; (2) Margaret, wife of Piers de Gaveston and Hugh de Audley; and (3) Elizabeth, wife of John de Burgh, Theobald de Verdun, and Roger Damory.

k. After Gilbert's death, she married, clandestinely, Ralph de Monthermer. The King sought to coerce her to abandon the marriage by degradation and loss of her estates. Eventually, he appears to have been at least partly mollified, and her lands, excepting Tonbridge, were restored.

l. Knighted, along with elder brother, Gilbert, by Simon de Montfort, 14 May 1264, just before the battle of Lewes, and in April the year following, the castle of St. Briavel was given into his charge.

m. Became a great baron, obtaining the estates of his paternal uncles, Roger and Walter, who both died s.p., which included the baronies and castles of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy, the lordship of Nether Gwent and the castle of Strigoil (later Chepstow). King Stephen created him Earl of Pembroke, and gave him the rape and castle of Pevensey. At Stephen's defeat at Lincoln 2 Feb 1240, he was among those who rallied to Empress Maud when she recovered London in June, but was at Canterbury when Stephen was recrowned late in 1141. He then joined Geoffrey's plot against Stephen, but when that conspiracy collapsed, he was 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, first 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.

n. Earl of Pembroke by right of his father, he was among the 1168 escort of Princess Maud to Germany for her marriage to the Duke of Saxony. About this year he made a promise to Dermot, exiled King of Leinster, to aid him in recovery of his kingdom in return for promise of his daughter in marriage. By ca. 1170, he had accomplished the subjugation of Ireland, but had also aroused the jealousy of Henry II. Eventually, the Earl and the King made peace and Richard agreed to surrender Dublin and to do homage for the rest of Leinster. In 1173, he joined the King in Normandy, and Henry is said to have made him Constable of Gisors, and to have given him Wexford, with the custody of Waterford and Dublin, and at Rouen, the King committed to him the custody of Ireland. Eventually his supremacy in Leinster was undisputed.

o. While Complete Peerage states that Richard had two much older daughters, almost certainly illegitimate, one being Basilea, daughter of Gilbert, and thus Richard's sister, and she did not marry Robert de Quincy, Douglas Richardson claims proof that Basile was one of the elder, illegitimate daughters of Richard, and did marry Robert de Quincy, such finding to appear in his upcoming edition of Plantagenet Ancestry.

CLOSE this window