Sir Edmund Fitz Alan

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_FitzAlan,_10th_Earl_of_Arundel

Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey married twice:

Firstly, on 9 February 1321 at Havering-atte-Bower, to Isabel le Despenser (born 1312, living 1356, and may have died circa 1376-7). At that time, the future earl was either eight or fifteen, and his bride nine years old. Later he repudiated this bride, and was granted an annulment by Pope Clement VI in December 1344 on the grounds that he had been underage and unwilling. By this marriage, Richard and Isabel had one son (when Richard was either fourteen or twenty-one, and Isabel fifteen), who was bastardized by the annulment:

Sir Edmund de Arundel, knt (b ca 1327; d 1376-1382), bastardized by the annulment. Edmund was nevertheless knighted, married at the age of twenty, in the summer of 1347 Sybil de Montacute, a younger daughter of William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Catherine Grandison, whose elder sister Elizabeth was married to his maternal uncle, of whom it was said he arranged.

Edmund protested his bastardization bitterly in 1347, but was apparently ignored. After his father's death in 1376, Edmund disputed his half-brother Richard's inheritance of the earldom and associated lands and titles in 1376 and apparently tried to claim the six manors allotted to his deceased mother.

He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1377, and finally freed through the intervention of two of his brothers-in-law (his wife's brother John de Montacute and the second husband of Elizabeth de Montacute, Lady Le Despencer). They had three daughters who were his co-heiresses and who brought a failed suit in 1382 against their half-uncle the Earl:

1. Elizabeth (or Alice) de Arundel, who married Sir Leonard Carew (1343-1369) of Mohuns Ottery in Devon, feudal lord of Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire and lord of the manor of Moulsford in Berkshire. From Alice are descended all the members of the prominent and widespread Carew family, except Carew of Beddington in Surrey, descended from one of Sir Leonard's great-uncles.

2. Philippa de Arundel (died 18 May 1452), who married (as his 2nd wife) Sir Richard Sergeaux, Knt, of Colquite, Cornwall. A Victorian historical novel ascribes the following five children to her: a) Richard, born 21 December 1376, and died childless, 24 June 1396; b) Elizabeth, born 1379, wife of Sir William Marny; c) Philippa, born 1381, wife of Robert Passele; d) Alice, born at Kilquyt, 1 September 1384, wife of Guy de Saint Albino; e) Joan, born 1393, died 21 February 1400. "Philippa became a widow, 30 September 1393, and died 13 September 1399."

3. Alice Sergeaux, later Countess of Oxford (c. 1386-18 May 1452), who married 1stly Guy de St Aubyn of St. Erme, Cornwall, and 2ndly about 1406-7 (as his 2nd wife) the 11th Earl of Oxford and widower of Alice de Holand (dsp. 1406, niece of Henry IV), and was the mother of two sons by him
a)John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford b)Robert de Vere, whose grandson, John, became the 15th Earl of Oxford.

4. Katherine de Arundel, who married Robert Deincourt.


Birth:
Source:
Aileen Lewers Langston and J. Orton Buck, Jr., Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, Vol. II (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1974), 170, 334.

Died:
Source:
Frederick Lewis Weis, The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, 5th ed. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1999).

Edmund married Sybill de Montagu. Sybill (daughter of William de Montagu and Catherine de Grandison) was born ca 1330. [Group Sheet]

1. Philippa Fitz Alan was born ca 1373, Surrey, England; died 13 Sep 1399; was buried , Saint Mary Chapel of Colquite, St Mabyn, Cornwall, England.

Notes:

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_FitzAlan,_10th_Earl_of_Arundel

He was an English nobleman and medieval military leader and distinguished admiral. Arundel was one of the wealthiest nobles during the reign of Edward III.

Richard was born in Sussex, England. His birth date was uncertain perhaps 1306 or 1313. FitzAlan was the eldest son of Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel (8th Earl of Arundel per Ancestral Roots), and his wife Alice de Warenne.

Around 1321, FitzAlan's father allied with King Edward II's favourites, Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester and his namesake son, and Richard was married to Isabel le Despenser, daughter of Hugh the Younger. Fortune turned against the Despenser party, and on 17 November 1326, FitzAlan's father was executed, and he did not succeed to his father's estates or titles. However, political conditions had changed by 1330, and over the next few years Richard was gradually able to reacquire the Earldom of Arundel as well as the great estates his father had held in Sussex and in the Welsh Marches.

Arundel spent much of his time fighting in Scotland (during the Second Wars of Scottish Independence) and France (during the Hundred Years' War). In 1337, Arundel was made Joint Commander of the English army in the north, and the next year he was made the sole Commander.

After a short term as Warden of the Scottish Marches, he returned to the continent, where he fought in a number of campaigns, and was appointed Joint Lieutenant of Aquitaine in 1340. The successful conclusion of the Flanders campaign, in which Arundel saw little fighting encouraged the setting up of the Knights of the Round Table attended every Whitsun by 300 great knights. A former guardian of the Prince of Wales, Arundel was also a close friend of Edward III, and one of the four great earls - Derby, Salisbury, Warwick and himself. With Huntingdon and Sir Ralph Neville he was a Keeper of the Tower and guardian to the prince with a garrison of 20 men-at-arms and 50 archers.

Arundel was one of the three principal English commanders at the Battle of Crécy, his experience vital to the outcome of the battle with Suffolk and the bishop of Durham in the rearguard. Throughout he was entrusted by the King as guardian of the young Prince Edward.

In 1347, he succeeded to the Earldom of Surrey (or Warenne), which even further increased his great wealth. (He did not however use the additional title until after the death of the Dowager Countess of Surrey in 1361.) He made very large loans to King Edward III but even so on his death left behind a great sum in hard cash.

He married twice:

Firstly, on 9 February 1321 at Havering-atte-Bower, to Isabel le Despenser (born 1312, living 1356, and may have died circa 1376-7). At that time, the future earl was either eight or fifteen, and his bride nine years old. Later he repudiated this bride, and was granted an annulment by Pope Clement VI in December 1344 on the grounds that he had been underage and unwilling.

However, Isabel's family was politically weak, compared to the family of his second wife. Historians theorize that after Isabel's father was executed, she was suddenly destitute and had no family estate, Richard simply wished to be rid of her.

By this marriage, Richard and Isabel had one son (when Richard was either fourteen or twenty-one, and Isabel fifteen), who was bastardized by the annulment:

1. Sir Edmund de Arundel, knt (b ca 1327; d 1376-1382), bastardized by the annulment. Edmund was nevertheless knighted, married at the age of twenty, in the summer of 1347 Sybil de Montacute [Montagu], a younger daughter of William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Catherine Grandison, whose elder sister Elizabeth was married to his maternal uncle, of whom it was said he arranged.

Edmund protested his bastardization bitterly in 1347, but was apparently ignored. After his father's death in 1376, Edmund disputed his half-brother Richard's inheritance of the earldom and associated lands and titles in 1376 and apparently tried to claim the six manors allotted to his deceased mother. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1377, and finally freed through the intervention of two of his brothers-in-law (his wife's brother John de Montacute and the second husband of Elizabeth de Montacute, Lady Le Despencer). They had three daughters who were his co-heiresses and who brought a failed suit in 1382 against their half-uncle the Earl:

a)Elizabeth (or Alice de Arundel, who married Sir Leonard Carew (1343-1369) of Mohuns Ottery in Devon, feudal lord of Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire and lord of the manor of Moulsford in Berkshire. From Alice are descended all the members of the prominent and widespread Carew family, except Carew of Beddington in Surrey, descended from one of Sir Leonard's great-uncles.

b)Philippa de Arundel (died 18 May 1452), who married (as his 2nd wife) Sir Richard Sergeaux, Knt, of Colquite, Cornwall. A Victorian historical novel ascribes the following five children to her: Richard, born 21 December 1376, and died childless, 24 June 1396; Elizabeth, born 1379, wife of Sir William Marny; Philippa, born 1381, wife of Robert Passele; Alice, born at Kilquyt, 1 September 1384, wife of Guy de Saint Albino; Joan, born 1393, died 21 February 1400. "Philippa became a widow, 30 September 1393, and died 13 September 1399."

c)Alice Sergeaux, later Countess of Oxford (c. 1386-18 May 1452), who married 1stly Guy de St Aubyn of St. Erme, Cornwall, and 2ndly about 1406-7 (as his 2nd wife) the 11th Earl of Oxford and widower of Alice de Holand (dsp. 1406, niece of Henry IV), and was the mother of two sons by him
John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford and Robert de Vere, whose grandson, John, became the 15th Earl of Oxford.

2. Katherine de Arundel, who married Robert Deincourt.

Secondly on 5 April 1345 he married Eleanor of Lancaster, a young widow, the second youngest daughter and sixth child of Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth. By Papal dispensation he was allowed to marry his first wife's first cousin by their common grandmother Isabella de Beauchamp. Eleanor was the widow of John de Beaumont, 2nd Lord Beaumont. The second marriage may have been a love marriage (there is some evidence that the widowed Eleanor became the earl's mistress on a pilgrimage circa 1343), or Richard may have been waiting to obtain a suitable high-born wife with royal connections.

The king, Edward III, himself a kinsman of both wives, attended this second marriage. By now, the Earl of Arundel had rebuilt the family wealth and was apparently a major financier of the Crown, and financial sweeteners may have been used to reconcile both the Church and the Crown. By this second marriage 5 February 1345, Richard and Eleanor had 3 sons and 3 surviving daughters:

1. Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, who was his son and heir; succeeded him 10th Earl of Arundel.

2.John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel, 1st Baron Maltravers, who was a Marshall of England, and drowned in 1379.

3. Thomas Arundel, who became Archbishop of Canterbury

4. Lady Joan FitzAlan (1348-7 April 1419) who married Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. They were the maternal grandparents of Henry V of England through their daughter Mary de Bohun.

5. Lady Alice FitzAlan (1350-17 March 1416), who married Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, matrilinear brother of King Richard II.

6.Lady Eleanor Fitzalan (1356-before 1366).

Richard died on 24 January 1376 at Arundel Castle, aged either 70 or 63, and was buried in Lewes Priory. He wrote his will on 5 December 1375. In his will, he mentioned his three surviving sons by his second wife, his two surviving daughters Joan, Dowager Countess of Hereford and Alice, Countess of Kent, his grandchildren by his second son John, etc., but left out his bastardized eldest son Edmund.

Richard requested to be buried "near to the tomb of Eleanor de Lancaster, my wife; and I desire that my tomb be no higher than hers, that no men at arms, horses, hearse, or other pomp, be used at my funeral, but only five torches...as was about the corpse of my wife, be allowed."

In his will Richard asked his heirs to be responsible for building FitzAlan Chapel, which was duly erected by his successor. The memorial effigies depicting Richard FitzAlan and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster in Chichester Cathedral.

FitzAlan died an incredibly wealthy man, despite his various loans to Edward III, leaving £60,000 in cash [today's currency value of £118.6 billion]. He had been as astute in business, as he had in diplomatic politics. He was a cautious man, and wisely saved his estate for future generations.



Buried:
Grave location, biography, and effigy photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6732730

Richard married Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel 09 Feb 1321, Havering-atte-Bower, London Borough of Havering, England. Isabel (daughter of Hugh le Despenser, The Younger and Eleanor de la Clare, Lady of Glamorgan) was born 1312, England; died 1356, Herefordshire, England; was buried , Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_le_Despenser,_Countess_of_Arundel

She was the eldest daughter of Hugh Despenser the Younger and Eleanor de Clare. She was descended from Edward I of England through her mother, while her father is famous for being the favorite of Edward II of England.

Though he had stood against Edward II in the past, Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel had loyally supported him since the 1320s. Thus it must have seemed to be politically prudent to Edmund to marry his heir Richard to the eldest daughter of the King's closest friend and adviser Hugh le Despenser. For Hugh's part, a large incentive for him must have been that he could expect his daughter Isabel would one day become Countess of Arundel.

On 9 February 1321 at the royal manor Havering-atte-Bower, Isabel was duly married to Richard FitzAlan, the heir to the earldom of Arundel. Isabel was only eight at the time, while Richard was fifteen (not seven as has been claimed). Their respective ages would come up later when Richard would try to seek an annulment.

Richard and Isabel had one son, Edmund Fitzalan, born in 1327, and in 1331 Isabel's husband became earl of Arundel. However, in December 1344 Richard Fitzalan had their marriage annulled on the grounds that he had never freely consented to marry Isabel and that they both had renounced their vows at puberty but had been "forced by blows to cohabit, so that a son was born". Isabel retired to several manors in Essex that were given to her by her ex-husband. After receiving a papal dispensation, Richard married Isabel's first cousin Eleanor of Lancaster, with whom he had apparently been having an affair.

Richard and Isabel's only child, Edmund Fitzalan, was rendered illegitimate by this annulment and so was unable to inherit his father's earldom. When his father died in 1376 Edmund quarreled with his half-siblings, the children of his father's second marriage, over inheritance rights. Edmund was imprisoned in the Tower of London until he was released in 1377 by request of his brothers-in-law.

After their father was executed for treason in 1326, Isabel and her youngest sister Elizabeth were the only daughters of Hugh the Younger to escape being confined in nunneries, Isabel because she was already married and Elizabeth because of her youth.

Buried:
Grave location, portrait and abbey photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=62397103

There is an inscription on the chapel where she rests. It runs along the outside and inside walls as follows:
"Mementote dne Isabelle le Despenser Comitisse de Warrewick Que hanc capellam fundavit in honore bte Marie Magdalene Et obiit Londiniis apud Minres A° Dni MCCCCXXXIX Die Scti Jhis Evngste Et sepulta e i choro i dextra patris sui cuj. Ame parcet Deus. Amen."

Translation:
"Remember the Lady Isabelle le Despencer, Countess of Warwick, who founded this chapel to the honour of the blessed Mary Magdalene, and died in London in the Minories AD 1439 on the day of Saint John the Evangelist [27th December], and was buried in the Choir on the right hand of her father, on whose soul may God have pity. Amen."

Other Events:

• _UID: C165EBA5F3944BF5AE3C8B09562E99263E3E

Notes:

He was beheaded.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and abbey ruins:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45182985

Edmund married Alice DE WARREN 1305, Arundel, Sussex, England. Alice (daughter of William de Warrene, Earl of Surrey and Joan de Vere) was born 15 Jun 1287, Warren, Sussex, England; died 23 May 1338, Arundel Arun District West Sussex, England; was buried , Haughmond Abbey Shrewsbury Shropshire Unitary Authority Shropshire, England. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• _UID: EE0ACBB7019F4586BB04C32BA4F1CB22149C

Notes:

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_de_Warenne,_Countess_of_Arundel

Alice, the only daughter of William de Warenne (1256-1286) and Joan de Vere, daughter of Robert de Vere, 5th Earl of Oxford, was born on 15 June 1287 in Warren, Sussex, six months after her father was accidentally killed in a tournament on 15 December 1286.

On the death of her paternal grandfather, John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey in 1304, her only sibling John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey succeeded to the earldom. He became estranged from his childless wife and they never reconciled, leaving Alice as the heir presumptive to the Surrey estates and title.

In 1305, Alice married Edmund Fitzalan, 9th Earl of Arundel, the son of Richard Fitzalan, 8th Earl of Arundel and Alice of Saluzzo.

Edmund and his brother-in-law John de Warenne were the only nobles who remained loyal to King Edward II, after Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March returned to England in 1326. He had allied himself to the King's favourite Hugh le Despenser, and agreed to the marriage of his son to Despenser's granddaughter. Arundel had previously been granted many of the traitor Mortimer's forfeited estates, and was appointed Justice of Wales in 1322 and Warden of the Welsh Marches in 1325. He was also made Constable of Montgomery Castle which became his principal base.

Her husband was captured in Shropshire by the Queen's party. On 17 November 1326 in Hereford, Arundel was beheaded by order of the Queen, leaving Alice de Warenne a widow. Her husband's estates and titles were forfeited to the Crown following Arundel's execution, but later restored to her eldest son, Richard.

Alice died before 23 May 1338,[aged 50. Her brother died in 1347 without legitimate issue, thus the title of Surrey eventually passed to Alice's son, Richard.

CHILDREN

Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, known as Copped Hat.

Edward FitzAlan (1308?1398)

Alice FitzAlan (born 1310), married John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford.

Joan FitzAlan (born 1312), married Warin Gerard, Baron L'Isle.

Aline FitzAlan (1314?1386), married Roger le Strange, 5th Baron Strange of Knockyn, by whom she had issue.
John FitzAlan (born 1315)

Catherine FitzAlan (died 1376), married firstly Andrew Peverell, and secondly Henry Hussey of Cockfield. Had issue by her second husband.

Elizabeth FitzAlan (1320?1389), married William Latimer, 4th Baron Latimer, by whom she had one daughter, Elizabeth.
Eleanor FitzAlan



Buried:
Grave location:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45182889

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Despenser_the_Younger

He was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser), and Isabella daughter of William, 9th Earl of Warwick. He rose to national prominence as royal chamberlain and a favourite of Edward II of England. A series of subsequent controversies eventually led to him being hanged, drawn and quartered.

Hugh le Despenser the younger was knight of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, King's Chamberlain, Constable of Odiham Castle, Keeper of the castle and town of Portchester, Keeper of the castle, town and barton of Bristol and, in Wales, Keeper of the castle and town of Dryslwyn, and the region of Cantref Mawr, Carmarthenshire. Also in Wales, he was Lord of Glamorgan which gave him possession of Cardiff Castle. In addition he was Keeper of the castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay, Cantref Selyf, etc., in County Brecon, and, in England of Huntington, Herefordshire. He was given Wallingford Castle although this had previously been given to Queen Isabella for life.

In May 1306 Hugh le Despenser the younger was knighted, and that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 9th Lord of Clare and 7th Earl of Hertford and Joan of Acre.

Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks (£1,000,000 at today's prices) and the marriage settled this debt, and was a reward for the elder Hugh's loyal service.

When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester earldom, and in her right, Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.

Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England, and this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston, the king's favorite (and Hugh's brother-in-law, as Gaveston was married to Eleanor's sister Margaret).

Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law (he relinquished it on discovering that the rightful owner was the Archbishop of Canterbury).

Hugh le Despenser the younger became royal chamberlain in 1318. As a royal courtier, Despenser maneuvered into the affections of King Edward, displacing the previous favorite, Roger d'Amory. This was much to the dismay of the baronage as they saw him both taking their rightful places at court and being a worse version of Gaveston. By 1320 his greed was running free. He also supposedly vowed to be revenged on Roger Mortimer because Mortimer's grandfather had killed Hugh's grandfather, and once stated (though probably in jest) that he regretted he could not control the wind. By 1321 he had earned many enemies in every stratum of society, from Queen Isabella to the barons to the common people. There was even a plot to kill Despenser by sticking his wax likeness with pins.

Finally the barons prevailed upon King Edward and forced Despenser and his father into exile in August 1321. Following the exile of the Despensers, the barons who opposed them fell out among themselves, and the King summoned the two men back to England. Early in the following year, King Edward took advantage of these divisions to secure the surrender of Marcher Lord Roger Mortimer, and the defeat and execution of the Earl of Lancaster, the Despensers' chief opponents. The pair returned and King Edward quickly reinstated Despenser as royal favourite. The time from the Despensers' return from exile until the end of Edward II's reign was a time of uncertainty in England. With the main baronial opposition leaderless and weak, having been defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge, and Edward willing to let them do as they pleased, the Despensers were left unchecked. This maladministration caused hostile feeling for them and, by proxy, Edward II. Despenser repeatedly pressed King Edward to execute Mortimer, who had been held prisoner in the Tower of London, following his surrender. However, Mortimer escaped from the Tower and fled to France.

Like his father, Hugh Despencer the Elder, was accused by a significant number of people of widespread criminality. Despenser seized the Welsh lands of his wife's inheritance, ignoring the claims of his two brothers-in-law and cheated his sister-in-law Elizabeth de Clare out of Gower and Usk. During his exile he became a pirate in the English Channel, "a sea monster, lying in wait for merchants as they crossed the sea". In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren, a Welsh hostage in his custody. He imprisoned Sir William Cokerell in the Tower of London where he was forced to pay to save his life, and he forced Alice de Lacy, Countess of Lincoln, to give up her lands.

Queen Isabella had a special dislike for Hugh le Despenser the younger. (Froissart wrote that "he was a sodomite.")[homosexual] Alison Weir, in her 2005 book Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England, speculates that he had raped Isabella and that was the source of her hatred. While Isabella was in France to negotiate between her husband and the French king, she formed a liaison with Roger Mortimer and began planning an invasion. Despenser supposedly tried to bribe French courtiers to assassinate Isabella, sending barrels of silver as payment.

Roger Mortimer and the Queen invaded England in October 1326. Their forces numbered only about 1,500 mercenaries to begin with, but the majority of the nobility rallied to them throughout October and November. By contrast, very few people were prepared to fight for Edward II, mainly because of the hatred that the Despensers had aroused. The Despensers fled West with the King, with a sizeable sum from the treasury. The escape was unsuccessful. Separated from the elder Despenser, the King and the younger Despenser were deserted by most of their followers, and were captured near Neath in mid-November. King Edward was placed in captivity and later forced to abdicate in favour of his son. The elder Despenser (the father) was hanged at Bristol on 27 October 1326, and younger Despenser (the son) was brought to trial.

Hugh le Despenser the younger tried to starve himself before his trial, but he did face trial on 24 November 1326, in Hereford, before Mortimer and the Queen. In Froissart's account of the execution, Despenser was then tied firmly to a ladder, and ?in full view of the crowd? had his genitals sliced off and burned in his still-conscious sight, then his entrails slowly pulled out, and, finally, his heart cut out and thrown into the fire. Froissart (or rather Jean le Bel's chronicle, on which he relied) is the only source to describe castration, where all other contemporary accounts have Despenser hanged, drawn and quartered (which usually involved castration). Finally, his corpse was beheaded, his body cut into four pieces, and his head mounted on the gates of London.

Four years later, in December 1330, his widow was given permission to gather and bury his remains at the family's Gloucestershire estate, but only the head, a thigh bone and a few vertebrae were returned to her.

Eleanor and Hugh had nine children to survive infancy:

1. Hugh le Despencer, 2nd Baron le Despencer (1308-1349), 2nd Baron Le Despencer, who was restored to his grandfather's title of Baron le Despencer in 1338. He had no surviving children.

2. Gilbert le Despencer

3. Edward le Despenser, (1310-1342), soldier, killed at the siege of Vannes; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter, who became Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357.

4. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel (1312-1356), married Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel.

5. John le Despenser, (1311-June 1366).

6.Eleanor le Despenser, (c. 1315-1351), nun at Sempringham Priory

7. Joan le Despenser, (c. 1317-1384), nun at Shaftesbury Abbey

8.Margaret le Despenser, (c. 1319-1337), nun at Whatton Priory

Elizabeth le Despenser, born 1325, died 13 July 1389, married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.


Buried:
Grave location, photo of tomb, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=84236536

Hugh married Eleanor de la Clare, Lady of Glamorgan. Eleanor (daughter of Gilbert (The Red) de la Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford and 3rd Earl of Gloucester and Princess Joan of Acre) was born 03 Oct 1292, Caerphilly, Wales; died 30 Jun 1337, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England; was buried , Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_de_Clare

She was a powerful English noblewoman who married Hugh le Despenser, 1st Baron Despenser and was the granddaughter of Edward I of England. With her sisters, Elizabeth de Clare and Margaret de Clare, she inherited her father's estates after the death of her brother, Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, 7th Earl of Hereford at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. She was born in 1292 at Caerphilly Castle in Glamorgan, Wales and was the eldest daughter Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, 5th Lord of Glamorgan and HRH Princess Joan of Acre.

As a co-heiress with her sisters Elizabeth de Clare (wife of Roger Damory), and Margaret de Clare (wife of Hugh Audley), in 1314 she inherited the de Clare estates including the huge feudal barony of Gloucester, following the death of her brother, Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Gloucester at the Battle of Bannockburn. The partition was not fully settled until 1317.

During this period the family seat of Caerphilly Castle was held by the king under the stewardship of Payn de Turberville of Coity Castle. In protest against Turberville's mistreatment, the Welsh nobleman Llywelyn Bren and his supporters launched a surprise attack on 28 January 1316, and besieged Caerphilly Castle, which successfully held out under the command of "The lady of Clare" (almost certainly Eleanor) and a small garrison until relieved by Sir William Montacute on 12 March 1316. [Another ancestor]

In May 1306 at Westminster, Eleanor married Hugh le Despenser the Younger, the son of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. Despenser thereby became Lord of Glamorgan. Her grandfather, King Edward I, granted Eleanor a dowry of 2,000 pounds sterling.

Eleanor's husband rose to prominence as the new favourite of her uncle, King Edward II of England. The king strongly favored Hugh and Eleanor, visiting them often and granting them many gifts. One foreign chronicler even alleged that Edward was involved in a ménage à trois with his niece and her husband. Eleanor's fortunes changed drastically after the invasion of Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer, following which her husband Hugh le Despenser was executed.

Eleanor and Hugh had nine children to survive infancy:

1. Hugh le Despencer, 2nd Baron le Despencer (1308-1349), 2nd Baron Le Despencer, who was restored to his grandfather's title of Baron le Despencer in 1338. He had no surviving children.

2. Gilbert le Despencer

3. Edward le Despenser, (1310-1342), soldier, killed at the siege of Vannes; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter, who became Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357.

4. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel (1312-1356), married Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel.

5. John le Despenser, (1311-June 1366).

6.Eleanor le Despenser, (c. 1315-1351), nun at Sempringham Priory

7. Joan le Despenser, (c. 1317-1384), nun at Shaftesbury Abbey

8.Margaret le Despenser, (c. 1319-1337), nun at Whatton Priory

Elizabeth le Despenser, born 1325, died 13 July 1389, married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.

In November 1326, Eleanor was confined to the Tower of London. The Despenser family's fortunes also suffered with the executions of Eleanor's husband and father-in-law. Eleanor and Hugh's eldest son Hugh le Despencer, 2nd Baron le Despencer (1308-1349), who held Caerphilly Castle against the queen's forces until the spring of 1327, was spared his life when he surrendered the castle, but he remained a prisoner until July 1331, after which he was eventually restored to royal favor. Three of Eleanor's daughters were forcibly veiled as nuns. Only the eldest daughter, Isabel, and the youngest daughter, Elizabeth, escaped the nunnery, Isabel because she was already married and Elizabeth on account of her infancy. In February 1328 Eleanor was freed from imprisonment. In April 1328, she was restored to possession of her own lands, for which she did homage.

In January 1329 Eleanor was abducted from Hanley Castle by William la Zouche, 1st Baron Zouche of Mortimer, who had been one of her first husband's captors and who had led the siege of Caerphilly Castle. The abduction may in fact have been an elopement; in any case, Eleanor's lands were seized by King Edward III, and the couple's arrest was ordered.

At the same time, Eleanor was accused of stealing jewels from the Tower of London. Sometime after February 1329, she was imprisoned a second time in the Tower, and was later moved to Devizes Castle. In January 1330 she was released and pardoned after agreeing to sign away the most valuable part of her share of the lucrative Clare inheritance to the crown. She could recover her lands only on payment of the enormous sum of 50,000 pounds in a single day.

Within the year, however, the young future King Edward III (Eleanor's first cousin) overthrew Queen Isabella's paramour, Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and had him executed. Eleanor was among those who benefited from the fall of Mortimer and Isabella.

She petitioned Edward III for the restoration of her lands, claiming that she had signed them away after being threatened by Roger Mortimer that she would never be freed if she did not. In 1331 Edward III granted her petition "to ease the king's conscience" and allowed her to recover the lands on the condition that she should pay a fine of 10,000 pounds, later reduced to 5,000 pounds, in installments. Eleanor made part-payments of the fine, but the bulk of it was outstanding at her death.

Eleanor's troubles were by no means over, however. After Eleanor's marriage to Zouche, John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield claimed that he had married her first. In 1333 Grey was still attempting to claim marriage to Eleanor; the case was appealed to the Pope several times. Ultimately, Zouche won the dispute and Eleanor remained with him until his death in February 1337, only a few months before Eleanor's own death. By Zouche Eleanor had progeny as follows:

William de la Zouche, born 1330, died after 1360, a monk at Glastonbury Abbey and Joyce Zouche, born 1331, died after 4 May 1372, married John de Botetourt, 2nd Lord Botetourt.

Hugh le Despenser the younger and Eleanor are generally credited with having begun the renovations to Tewkesbury Abbey, a foundation of her ancestors, which transformed it into one of the finest example of the decorated style of architecture surviving today.

The famous fourteenth-century stained-glass windows in the choir, which include the armor-clad figures of Eleanor's ancestors, brother and two husbands, were most likely Eleanor's own contribution, although she probably did not live to see them put in place. The naked kneeling woman watching the Last Judgment in the choir's east window may represent Eleanor.



Buried:
Grave location, biography, and stained glass window portrait:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16441442

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_FitzAlan,_8th_Earl_of_Arundel

He was the son of John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel and Isabella Mortimer, daughter of Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Wigmore and Maud de Braose. His paternal grandparents were John Fitzalan, 6th Earl of Arundel and Maud le Botiller.

Richard was feudal Lord of Clun and Oswestry in the Welsh Marches and was knighted by King Edward I of England in 1289.

He fought in the Welsh wars, 1288 to 1294, when the Welsh castle of Castell y Bere (near modern-day Towyn) was besieged by Madog ap Llywelyn. He commanded the force sent to relieve the siege and he also took part in many other campaigns in Wales ; also in Gascony 1295-97; and furthermore in the Scottish wars, 1298-300.

Richard and his mother are buried together in the sanctuary of Haughmond Abbey, long closely associated with the FitzAlan family.

He married sometime before 1285, Alice of Saluzzo (also known as Alesia di Saluzzo), daughter of Thomas I of Saluzzo in Italy. Their children were:

1. Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel.

2. John, a priest.

3. Alice FitzAlan, married Stephen de Segrave, 3rd Lord Segrave.

4. Margaret FitzAlan, married William le Botiller (or Butler).

5. Eleanor FitzAlan, married Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy.


Buried:
Grave location, biography, and photo of abbey ruins:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=84173669

Richard married Alesia (Alice) di Saluzzo, Countess of Arundel. Alesia (daughter of Tommaso (Thomas) I di Saluzzo, Marquess of Saluzzo and Luigia di Ceva, Marquise of Saluzzo) was born 18 May 1269, Saluzzo, Piedmont, Italy; died 25 Sep 1292, Arundel West Sussex, England; was buried , Haughmond Abbey Shrewsbury Shropshire Unitary Authority Shropshire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_of_Saluzzo,_Countess_of_Arundel

She was an Italian-born noblewoman and an English countess. She was a daughter of Thomas I of Saluzzo, and the wife of Richard Fitzalan, 8th Earl of Arundel. Alice was one of the first Italian women to marry into an English noble family. She assumed the title of Countess of Arundel in 1289.

Alesia was born on an unknown date in Saluzzo (present-day Province of Cuneo, Piedmont); the second eldest daughter of Thomas I, 4th Margrave of Saluzzo, and Luigia di Ceva (died 22 August 1291/1293), daughter of Giorgio, Marquis of Ceva and Menzia d'Este. Alesia had fifteen siblings. Her father was a very wealthy and cultured nobleman.

Saluzzo included the territory lying between the Alps, the Po and the Stura, and was extended on several occasions. In the Middle Ages it had a checkered existence, often being in conflict with powerful neighbors, chiefly the Counts (later Dukes) of Savoy.

Sometime before 1285, Alice married Richard Fitzalan, feudal Lord of Clun and Oswestry in the Welsh Marches, the son of John Fitzalan, 7th Earl of Arundel and Isabella Mortimer. Richard would succeed to the title of Earl of Arundel in 1289, thus making Alice the 8th Countess of Arundel. Her marriage had been arranged by the late King Henry III's widowed Queen consort Eleanor of Provence.

Richard and Alice's principal residence was Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire, but Richard also held Arundel Castle in Sussex and the castles of Clun and Oswestry in Shropshire. Her husband was knighted by King Edward I in 1289, and fought in the Welsh Wars (1288?1294), and later in the Scottish Wars. The marriage produced four children:

1. Edmund Fitzalan, 9th Earl of Arundel (1 May 1285- 17 November 1326 by execution), married Alice de Warenne, by whom he had children.

2. John Fitzalan, a priest

3. Alice Fitzalan (died 7 September 1340), married Stephen de Segrave, 3rd Lord Segrave, by whom she had children.

4. Margaret Fitzalan, married William le Botiller, by whom she had children.

5. Eleanor Fitzalan, married Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy, by whom she had children.

Alice died on 25 September 1292 and was buried in Haughmond Abbey, Shropshire. Her husband Richard died on Sep 3, 1301 and was buried alongside Alice. In 1341, provision was made for twelve candles to be burned beside their tombs. The Abbey is now a ruin as the result of a fire during the English Civil War.

Her many descendants included the Dukes of Norfolk, the English queen consorts of Henry VIII, Sir Winston Churchill, Diana, Princess of Wales, and the current British Royal Family.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and abbey photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=84169971

Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Warenne_(1256-1286)

He was the only son of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and his wife Alice de Lusignan and married Joan, daughter of Robert de Vere, 5th Earl of Oxford. They had the following children: John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey (30 June 1286-June 1347) Alice de Warenne (15 June 1287 - 23 May 1338), wife of Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel. William was killed in a tournament at Croydon in 1286, predeceasing his father. It has been suggested that this was murder, planned in advance by William's enemies. On the 5th Earl's death the title went to John, the only son of William. John died without legitimate children, so on his death the title passed to Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, eldest son of Edmund FitzAlan and John' sister Alice.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and photo of abbey ruins:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45182651

William married Joan de Vere. Joan was born ca 1265, Oxfordshire, England; died 23 Nov 1293, East Sussex, England; was buried , Lewes Priory Lewes Lewes District East Sussex, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Buried:
Grave location and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45182752

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_le_Despenser,_1st_Earl_of_Winchester

Sometimes referred to as "the Elder Despenser", he was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England.

He was the son of Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer (or Despenser), and Aline Basset, only daughter and heiress of Philip Basset. His father was killed at the Battle of Evesham when Hugh was just a boy, but Hugh's inheritance was saved through the influence of his maternal grandfather (who had been loyal to the king). He married Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick and Maud FitzJohn.

He served Edward I on numerous occasions in battle and in diplomacy and was created a baron by writ of summons to Parliament in 1295. His son, Hugh Despenser the Younger, became a favorite of Edward II, in what is believed to be a homosexual relationship. Hugh the Elder was loyal to his son and the King, which worried the barons. To that time, his highest office was justice of the forests.

He was one of the few barons to remain loyal to Edward during the controversy regarding Piers Gaveston. Despenser became Edward's loyal servant and chief administrator after Gaveston was executed in 1312, but the jealousy of other barons - and, more importantly, his own corruption and unjust behavior - led to his being exiled along with his son Hugh Despenser the younger in 1321.

Edward found it difficult to manage without them, and recalled them to England a year later, an action which enraged the queen, Isabella, the more so when Despenser was created Earl of Winchester in 1322. Although not as bad as his son, Despencer the Elder was accused by a significant number of people of widespread criminality during the next few years, often involving false accusations of trespass or theft and the extortion of money or land.

When Isabella, Queen of England, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, led a rebellion against her husband Edward, they captured both Despensers?first the elder, later the younger. Queen Isabella interceded for Hugh the elder, but his enemies, notably Roger Mortimer and Henry, Earl of Lancaster, insisted both father and son should face trial and execution.

The elder Despenser was hanged immediately in his armour at Bristol on 27 October 1326. He was then beheaded and his body cut into pieces for the dogs. His head was sent for display to Winchester, which had supported the king.

Pardons were issued to thousands of people who had been falsely accused by Despencer following his death.



Buried:
Grave location, biography, historical photo of death, annd photo of tomb:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16441434

Hugh married Isabella de Beauchamp, Baroness Despenser. Isabella (daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick and Maude Fitzjohn, Countess of Warwick) was born ca 1263, Warwickshire, England; died Bef 30 May 1306, Worcestershire, England; was buried , St Mary the Virgin Church, Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_de_Beauchamp

An English noblewoman and wealthy heiress, she was born in about 1263 in Warwickshire, England, the only daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick and Maud FitzJohn. Her paternal grandparents were William de Beauchamp of Elmley Castle and Isabel Maudit, and her maternal grandparents were Sir John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere, and Isabel Bigod.

She married firstly Sir Patrick de Chaworth, Lord of Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. The marriage produced one daughter, Maud Chaworth (2 February 1282- 1322), married Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, by whom she had seven children.

Following Sir Patrick's death in 1286, Lady Isabella had in her possession four manors in Wiltshire and two manors in Berkshire, assigned to her until her dowry should be set forth along with the livery of Chedworth in Gloucestershire and the Hampshire manor of Hartley Mauditt which had been granted to her and Sir Patrick in frankmarriage by her father.

That same year 1286, she married secondly Sir Hugh le Despenser without the King's licence for which Sir Hugh had to pay a fine of 2000 marks.

Together Lord and Lady Despenser had four children:

1. Hugh le Depenser, Lord Despenser the Younger (1286- executed 24 November 1326), married Eleanor de Clare, by whom he had children.

2. Aline le Despenser (died before 28 November 1353) married Edward Burnell, Lord Burnell

3. Isabella le Despenser (died 4/5 December 1334), married firstly as his second wife, John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, by whom she had three children. Their descendants became the Lords Hastings; she married secondly as his second wife, Sir Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer.

4. Phillip le Despenser (died 1313), married as his first wife Margaret de Goushill, by whom he had issue.


Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, biography, and cemetery photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=103523964

Notes:

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_de_Clare,_7th_Earl_of_Gloucester

Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, 3rd Lord of Glamorgan, 9th Lord of Clare was a powerful English noble. Also known as "Red" Gilbert de Clare or "The red earl", probably because of his hair colour or fiery temper in battle. He held the Lordship of Glamorgan which was one of the most powerful and wealthy of the Welsh Marcher Lordships as well as over 200 English manors.

Gilbert de Clare was born at Christchurch, Hampshire, the son of Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and of Maud de Lacy, Countess of Lincoln, daughter of John de Lacy and Margaret de Quincy. Gilbert inherited his father's estates in 1262. He took on the titles, including Lord of Glamorgan, from 1263. Being under age at his father's death, he was made a ward of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford.

He supported Simon de Montfort in the Battle of Lewes against King Henry. However he changed sides as he fell out with de Montfort, and shared the Prince Edward's victory at Kenilworth on 16 July, and in the Battle of Evesham in which de Montfort was slain. As a reward for supporting Prince Edward, Gilbert was given the castle and title of Abergavenny and honor and castle of Brecknock. At the death of Henry III, 16 November 1272, the Earl took the lead in swearing fealty to Edward I, who was then in Sicily on his return from the Crusade.

During Edward's invasion of Wales in 1282, de Clare insisted on leading an attack into southern Wales. King Edward made de Clare the commander of the southern army invading Wales. However, de Clare's army faced disaster after being heavily defeated at the Battle of Llandeilo Fawr. Following this defeat, de Clare was relieved of his position as the southern commander and was replaced by William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke

In the next year, 1291, he quarreled with the Earl of Hereford, Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, grandson of his onetime guardian, about the Lordship of Brecknock, where de Bohun accused de Clare of building a castle on his land culminated in a private war between them. Although it was a given right for Marcher Lords to wage private war the King tested this right in this case, first calling them before a court of their Marcher peers, then realizing the outcome would be colored by their likely avoidance of prejudicing one of their greatest rights they were both called before the superior court, the Kings own. At this both were imprisoned by the King, both sentenced to having their lands forfeit for life and de Clare, the Earl of Gloucester, as the aggressor, was fined 10,000 marks, and the Earl of Hereford 1,000 marks.They were released almost immediately and both of their lands completely restored to them - however they had both been taught a very public lesson and their prestige diminished and the King's authority shown for all.

Gilbert's first marriage was to Alice de Lusignan, also known as Alice de Valence, the daughter of Hugh XI of Lusignan and of the family that succeeded the Marshal family to the title of the Earl of Pembroke in the person of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke. They married in 1253, when Gilbert was ten years old. She was of high birth, being a niece of King Henry, but the marriage floundered.

After his marriage to Alice de Lusignan was annulled in 1285, Gilbert married Joan of Acre, a daughter of King Edward I of England and his first wife Eleanor of Castile. King Edward sought to bind de Clare, and his assets, more closely to the Crown by this means. By the provisions of the marriage contract, their joint possessions and de Clare's extensive lands could only be inherited by a direct descendant, i.e. close to the Crown, and if the marriage proved childless, the lands would pass to any children Joan may have by further marriage.

King Edward then gave large estates to Gilbert, including one in Malvern. Disputed hunting rights on these led to several armed conflicts with Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, that Edward resolved. Gilbert made gifts to the Priory, and also had a "great conflict" about hunting rights and a ditch that he dug, with Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford, that was settled by costly litigation.

Gilbert had a similar conflict with Godfrey Giffard, Bishop and Administrator of Worcester Cathedral (and formerly Chancellor of England. Godfrey, who had granted land to the Priory, had jurisdictional disputes about Malvern Priory, resolved by Robert Burnell, the then Chancellor.

Thereafter, Gilbert and Joan are said to have taken the Cross and set out for the Holy Land. In September, he signed the Barons' letter to the Pope, and on 2 November, surrendered to the King his claim to the advowson of the Bishopric of Llandaff.

Gilbert and Joan had one son: also Gilbert, and three daughters: Eleanor, Margaret and Elizabeth.

1. Gilbert, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester (1291-1314) succeeded to his father's titles and was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn.

2. Eleanor de Clare (1292-1337) married Hugh Despenser the Younger, favorite of her uncle Edward II. Hugh was executed in 1326, and Eleanor married secondly William de la Zouche.

3. Margaret de Clare (1293-1342) married firstly Piers Gaveston (executed in 1312) and then Hugh de Audley.

4. The youngest sister Elizabeth de Clare (1295-1360) married John de Burgh in 1308 at Waltham Abbey, then Theobald of Verdun in 1316, and finally Roger d'Amory in 1317. Each marriage was brief, produced one child (a son by the 1st, daughters by the 2nd and 3rd), and left Elizabeth a widow.

He died at Monmouth Castle on 7 December 1295, and was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, on the left side of his grandfather Gilbert de Clare. His extensive lands were enjoyed by his surviving wife Joan of Acre until her death in 1307.



Buried:
Grave location, biography, stained glass portrait, photo of Caerphilly Castle and Latin tombs inscription:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=84189824

Gilbert married Princess Joan of Acre. Joan (daughter of Edward I (Longshanks) Plantagenet, King of England and Eleanor of Castile) was born Apr 1272, Acre, Holy Land; died 23 Apr 1307, Clare, Suffolk, England; was buried , Clare Priory, Clare, Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Acre

She was an English princess, a daughter of King Edward I of England and Queen Eleanor of Castile. The name "Acre" derives from her birthplace in the Holy Land while her parents were on a crusade.

She was married twice; her first husband was Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, one of the most powerful nobles in her father's kingdom; her second husband was Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in her household whom she married in secret.

Joan is most notable for the claim that miracles have allegedly taken place at her grave, and for the multiple references to her in literature.

Joan (or Joanna, as she is sometimes called) of Acre was born in the spring of 1272 in the Kingdom of Acre, Outremer, now in modern Israel, while her parents, Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, were on crusade. At the time of Joan's birth, her grandfather, Henry III, was still alive and thus her father was not yet king of England. Her parents departed from Acre shortly after her birth, traveling to Sicily and Spain before leaving Joan with Eleanor's mother, Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, in France. Joan lived for several years in France where she spent her time being educated by a bishop and being spoiled by an indulgent grandmother.

As Joan was growing up with her grandmother, her father was back in England, already arranging marriages for his daughter. He hoped to gain both political power and more wealth with his daughter's marriage, so he conducted the arrangement in a very business like style. He finally found a man suitable to marry Joan (aged 5 at the time), Hartman, son of King Rudolph I, of Germany. Unfortunately for King Edward, his daughter?s suitor died before he was able to meet or marry Joan.

He arranged a second marriage almost immediately after the death of Hartman. Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who was almost thirty years older than Joan and whose marriage had recently been annulled, was his first choice. The earl resigned his lands to Edward upon agreeing to get them back when he married Joan, as well as agreed on a dower of two thousand silver marks. By the time all of these negotiations were finished, Joan was twelve years old.

Gilbert de Clare became very enamored with Joan, and even though she had to marry him regardless of how she felt, he still tried to woo her. He bought her expensive gifts and clothing to try to win favor with her. The couple were married on 30 April 1290 at Westminster Abbey, and had four children together:

1. Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford
2. Eleanor de Clare
3. Margaret de Clare
4. Elizabeth de Clare

Joan had been a widow for only a little over a year when she caught the eye of Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in Joan?s father?s household. Joan fell in love and convinced her father to have Monthermer knighted. It was unheard of in European royalty for a noble lady to even converse with a man who had not won or acquired importance in the household. However, in January 1297 Joan secretly married Ralph. Joan's father was already planning another marriage for Joan to Amadeus V, Count of Savoy, to occur 16 March 1297. Joan was in a dangerous predicament, as she was already married, unbeknownst to her father.

Joan sent her four young children to their grandfather, in hopes that their sweetness would win Edward's favor, but her plan did not work. The king soon discovered his daughter's intentions, but not yet aware that she had already committed to them, he seized Joan?s lands and continued to arrange her marriage to Amadeus of Savoy.

Soon after the seizure of her lands, Joan told her father that she had married Ralph. The king was enraged and retaliated by immediately imprisoning Monthermer at Bristol Castle. The people of the land had differing opinions on the princess? matter. It has been argued that the ones who were most upset were those who wanted Joan?s hand in marriage.

With regard to the matter, Joan famously said, ?It is not considered ignominious, nor disgraceful for a great earl to take a poor and mean woman to wife; neither, on the other hand, is it worthy of blame, or too difficult a thing for a countess to promote to honor a gallant youth.? Joan's statement in addition to a possibly obvious pregnancy seemed to soften Edward?s attitude towards the situation.

Joan's first child by Monthermer was born in October 1297; by the summer of 1297, when the marriage was revealed to Edward I, Joan's condition would certainly have been apparent, and would have convinced Edward that he had no choice but to recognize his daughter's marriage. Edward I eventually relented for the sake of his daughter and released Monthermer from prison in August 1297. Monthermer paid homage 2 August, and being granted the titles of Earl of Gloucester and Earl of Hertford, he rose to favour with the King during Joan's lifetime.

Monthermer and Joan had four children:

1. Mary de Monthermer, born October 1297. In 1306 her grandfather King Edward I arranged for her to wed Duncan Macduff, 8th Earl of Fife.

2.Joan de Monthermer, born 1299, became a nun at Amesbury.

3.Thomas de Monthermer, 2nd Baron Monthermer, born 1301.

4.Edward de Monthermer, born 1304 and died 1339.

Joan died on 23 April 1307, at the manor of Clare in Suffolk. The cause of her death remains unclear, though one popular theory is that she died during childbirth, a common cause of death at the time. While Joan's age in 1307 (about 35) and the chronology of her earlier pregnancies with Ralph de Monthermer suggest that this could well be the case, historians have not confirmed the cause of her death.

Less than four months after her death, Joan?s father died. Joan's widower, Ralph de Monthermer, lost the title of Earl of Gloucester soon after the deaths of his wife and father-in-law. The earldom of Gloucester was given to Joan?s son from her first marriage, Gilbert, who was its rightful holder. Monthermer continued to hold a nominal earldom in Scotland, which had been conferred on him by Edward I, until his death.

Joan?s burial place has been the cause of some interest and debate. She is interred in the Augustinian priory at Clare, which had been founded by her first husband's ancestors and where many of them were also buried. Allegedly, in 1357, Joan?s daughter, Elizabeth De Burgh, claimed to have ?inspected her mother's body and found the corpse to be intact,?, which in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church is an indication of sanctity.

This claim was only recorded in a fifteenth-century chronicle, however, and its details are uncertain, especially the statement that her corpse was in such a state of preservation that "when her paps [breasts] were pressed with hands, they rose up again." Some sources further claim that miracles took place at Joan's tomb, but no cause for her beatification or canonization has ever been introduced.



Buried:
Grave location, portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12535626

The remains of an altar recess on the ruins of the south wall of the abbey are thought to be Joan's tomb.