Beatrice STAFFORD

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: LWR2-L6G

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: KJ4B-PPF
• Name: Ralph DE STAFFORD
• MilitaryService: 1327; Sir Knight Banneret
• Occupation: 1327; Steward of the Royal Household
• MilitaryService: 11 Aug 1332; Commanding Officer of Archers at the Battle of Dupplin Moor in Scotland
• TitleOfNobility: 29 Nov 1336; Lord Stafford
• MilitaryService: 26 Aug 1348; and was captured during the Siege of Nantes
• MilitaryService: 1352, Gascogne, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France; and served as King's Lieutenant in Gascogne
• Occupation: 1361, France; Royal Envoy
• TitleOfNobility: 26 Aug 1384; 5th Knight of the Order of the Garter

Notes:

Ralph de Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, KG (24 September 1301 ? 31 August 1372) was an English nobleman and notable soldier during the Hundred Years War against France.
Ralph was born on 24 September 1301, the son of Edmund de Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Margaret Basset. Having lost his father at the age of seven, Ralph grew up in the midlands with his mother's relatives, including her second husband Thomas Pipe. He had his first experience of royal service, along with his brothers and stepfather, when he joined the retinue of Ralph, 2nd Lord Basset.

Career
Stafford was made a Knight banneret in 1327 and was fighting the Scots shortly afterwards. He supported the plot to free Edward III of England from the control of Roger Mortimer, which earned the king's gratitude. By the summer of 1332, he was a commissioner of the peace in Staffordshire and had served abroad on royal business, accompanying Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester. He was also still fighting the Scots, commanding archers at the Battle of Dupplin Moor on 11 Aug 1332 and on three further Scottish campaigns.
He was first summoned to Parliament by writ as Lord Stafford on 29 November 1336 and continued to attend until 1350.

His military career continued, accompanying King Edward to France in 1338 as an advisor and being present at the naval battle of Sluys on 24 June 1340. He also fought at the relief of Brest and the siege of Morlaix. He was captured at Vannes but was exchanged in time to negotiate a truce at Malestroit.
On 6 January 1341, he was made Steward of the Royal Household but resigned that post on 29 March 1345 having assumed the office of Seneschal of Aquitaine, an English possession in France, where he stayed for about a year. He took part in the Gascon campaign of 1345 including the battles of Bergerac and Auberoche, the siege of Aiguillon, from where he escaped prior to its lifting, a raid on Barfleur and the English victory at the Battle of Crecy, on 26 August 1346. He became one of the twenty-six founding members and the fifth knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348.

In November 1347, his wife's father died; they were able to take possession of his estates without paying the king's homage, an indication of the relationship between them. Ralph was now a very wealthy man, from his estates and from the many prizes from the French war.
Edward III created a number of new peerage titles to honour his war captains and to mark his jubilee year. Ralph was created the 1st Earl of Stafford on 5 March 1350, with an annuity of 1000 marks. He now replaced Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster as the king's lieutenant in Gascony. He committed to serve with 200 men at his own expense with the expectation of this being doubled in March 1353 at the king's expense. The campaigns provided several captives that were ransomed, but were ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the appointment of Edward, Prince of Wales to command.
Even at the age of sixty, Stafford continued to command troops and act as a royal envoy, both in France and in Ireland in 1361, accompanying Lionel of Antwerp to try and restore English control.

Marriages and children
Around 1326, Stafford married his first wife, Katherine de Hastang. Katherine was the daughter of Sir John de Hastang, Knight, of Chebsey, Staffordshire.
Ralph and Katherine had two daughters:
1. Margaret, married Sir John de Stafford, Knight, of Bramshall.
2. Joan, married Sir Nicholas de Beke, Knight.

He later sensationally abducted Margaret de Audley, 2nd Baroness Audley, daughter of Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester and Margaret de Clare, who was worth at least ?2,314 a year, more than ten times his own estates. Her parents filed a complaint with King Edward III of England, but the King supported Stafford's actions. In compensation, the King appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh the 1st Earl of Gloucester.

Margaret de Audley and Stafford married before 6 July 1336 and they subsequently had two sons and four daughters:
1. Ralph de Stafford (d. 1347), married Maud of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Isabel de Beaumont in 1344.
2. Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, born circa 1336 in Staffordshire, England, married Philippa de Beauchamp; they were the ancestors of the Dukes of Buckingham (1444 creation).
3. Elizabeth de Stafford, born circa 1340 in Staffordshire, England, died 7 August 1376, married firstly Fulk le Strange; married secondly, John de Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley; married thirdly Reginald de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham.
4. Beatrice de Stafford, born circa 1341 in Staffordshire, England, died 1415, married firstly, in 1350, Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond (d. June 1358); married secondly, Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros, of Helmsley; married thirdly Sir Richard Burley, Knt.
5. Joan de Stafford, born in 1344 in Staffordshire, England, died 1397, married firstly, John Charleton, 3rd Baron Cherleton; married secondly Gilbert Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot.
6. Katherine de Stafford, born circa 1348 in Staffordshire, England and died in December 1361. On 25 December 1357, she married Sir John Sutton III (1339 ? c. 1370 or 1376), Knight, Master of Dudley Castle, Staffordshire. Burke reports that she died without issue. However, Burke is often erroneous and incomplete, and later evidence supports that she is the mother of John Sutton IV, 3rd Baron Sutton of Dudley, probably having died in childbirth.

Death
He died on 31 August 1372 at Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England. He was buried at Tonbridge Priory, next to his second wife and her parents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stafford,_1st_Earl_of_Stafford

Ralph married Margaret AUDLEY on 5 Jul 1336 in Tonbridge Castle, Tonbridge, Kent, England. Margaret (daughter of Hugh DE AUDLEY and Margaret DE CLARE) was born in 1318 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England; was christened in 1347; died on 7 Sep 1349 in Tonbridge, Kent, England; was buried in Sep 1349 in Tonbridge, Kent, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: LHDG-NGQ
• Name: Margaret DE AUDLEY
• Name: suo jure Lady Audley
• TitleOfNobility: Bef 6 Jul 1336, Castle Church, Staffordshire, England; Countess of Stafford
• Title: 10 Nov 1347; 2nd Baroness Audley

Notes:

Margaret de Audley, 2nd Baroness Audley and Countess of Stafford (between 1347 and 1351) was an English noblewoman. She was the only daughter of Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester by his wife Lady Margaret de Clare. Her mother was the daughter of Joan of Acre, Princess of England; thus making Margaret a great-granddaughter of King Edward I by his first consort, Eleanor of Castile. As the only daughter and heiress of her father, she succeeded to the title of 2nd Baroness Audley on 10 November 1347.

Marriage and issue
Margaret was abducted by Ralph, Lord Stafford, who had helped Edward III take the throne. At the time, her worth was at least ?2314 a year, which was more than ten times Stafford's own estates. (However, he eventually rose to Earl of Stafford in 1350.) After the abduction, her parents filed a complaint with the king, but Edward supported Stafford. In compensation, the king appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh the 1st Earl of Gloucester.

Margaret de Audley and Stafford married before 6 July 1336. They subsequently had two sons and four daughters:

1.) Sir Ralph de Stafford (d. 1347), married Maud of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Isabel of Beaumont in 1344.

2.) Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, born circa 1336 in Staffordshire, England, married Philippa de Beauchamp; they were the ancestors of the Dukes of Buckingham (1444 creation).

3.) Elizabeth de Stafford, born circa 1340 in Staffordshire, England, died 7 August 1376, married firstly Fulk le Strange; married secondly, John de Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley; married thirdly Reginald de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham.

4.) Beatrice de Stafford, born circa 1341 in Staffordshire, England, died 1415, married firstly, in 1350, Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond (d. June 1358); married secondly, Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros, of Helmsley; married thirdly Sir Richard Burley, Knt.

5.) Joan de Stafford, born in 1344 in Staffordshire, England, died 1397, married firstly, John Charleton, 3rd Baron Cherleton; married secondly Gilbert Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot.

6.) Katherine de Stafford, born circa 1348 in Staffordshire, England and died in December 1361. Married on 25 December 1357 Sir John de Sutton III (1339-1370 or 1376), Knight, Master of Dudley Castle, Staffordshire. They were parents of Sir John de Sutton IV, hence grandparents of Sir John de Sutton V.

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: LBK6-4Z2

Edmund married Lady Margaret BASSETT - BARONESS STAFFORD. Lady was born in 1280 in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England; died on 17 Mar 1337 in Tunbridge, Kent, England; was buried in Mar 1337 in Saint Mary's Churchyard, Tysoe, Warwickshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: 9H5K-G3X

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: GJJ9-DYL
• Name: Hugh "Earl Glouchester" DE AUDLEY
• Name: Sir Hugh DE AUDLEY
• Occupation: Aft 1316, Rutland, England; Sheriff of Rutland
• TitleOfNobility: 20 Nov 1317; 1st Lord Audley
• TitleOfNobility: 16 Mar 1336, England; 1st Earl of Gloucester

Notes:

Hugh de Audley, 1st Baron Audley and 1st Earl of Gloucester (3rd Creation) (c. 1291-10 November 1347) was the second son of Sir Hugh de Audley, Lord Audley by Iseult de Mortimer and Great great grandson of King Henry II. He held many offices including Knight of Stratton in Stratton Audley, Oxfordshire, of Gratton, Staffordshire, the King's bachelor, Sheriff of Rutland, and was the English Ambassador to France in 1341.

Family
His father, Hugh I de Audley (ca. 1267- ca. 1326), was from Stratton Audley in the English County of Oxfordshire. His mother was Isolde (Iseult) (c. 1260-1336 or after), daughter of Roger de Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer, a member of the Mortimer family of Marcher Lords, many of whom were Earl of March. Isolde was the widow of Sir Walter de Balun. Hugh de Audley and Isolde had two children in addition to Hugh, John de Audley, born circa 1293, and Alice de Audley, born circa 1304 who married firstly Ralph de Greystoke, 1st Baron Greystoke and later Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby.

Life
Hugh de Audley was born in Stratton Audley in the English County of Oxfordshire. He married Margaret de Clare, widow of Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall), who was the favourite (and possibly lover) of King Edward II of England. They had a daughter, Margaret de Audley (born c. 1318 in Stafford), who was abducted as a wife by Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford. He served as High Sheriff of Rutland from 1316 to 1324 and again from 1327 to 1349. Following his death, de Audley was buried in Tonbridge Priory.

Hugh married Margaret DE CLARE on 28 Apr 1317 in Windsor, Berkshire, England. Margaret (daughter of Gilbert I "The Red Earl" De CLARE, Sir Knight/9Th Earl/Gloucester and Princess Joan PLANTAGENET, of Acre) was born on 12 Oct 1293 in Tonbridge Castle, Tonbridge, Kent, England; died on 9 Apr 1342 in Chebsey, Staffordshire, England; was buried on 13 Apr 1342 in Tonbridge Priory, Tonbridge, Kent, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: KN8D-HH9
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1307 and 1342; Countess of Cornwall
• Order to live at Sempringham Priory: 1322, Sempringham Abbey, Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England

Notes:

Margaret de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, Countess of Cornwall (12 October 1293-9 April 1342), was an English noblewoman, heiress, and the second eldest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and his wife, Joan of Acre, making her a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Her two husbands were Piers Gaveston and Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester.

Marriage to Piers Gaveston
She was married to Piers Gaveston, the favourite of her uncle Edward II on 7 November 1307. At the time of her marriage she was 14 years of age. According to the Vita Edwardi Secundi, this marriage was arranged by the King "to strengthen Piers and surround him with friends". Lord Gaveston celebrated the marriage with a lavish tournament at Wallingford Castle. The marriage of such a high-born heiress to a foreigner did not please the English nobility and engendered a great deal of unpopularity. Their daughter, Amy de Gaveston, was born on 6 January 1312 in Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England. It is alleged that they had another child named Joan de Gaveston born around 1310, but there is little evidence outside of hearsay to validate this claim. There are also claims that Amy was born to a mistress of Piers Gaveston. However, the evidence is circumstantial and the official records list Amy de Gaveston as born to Lord de Gaveston and Lady de Clare.

King Edward arranged a lavish celebration after the birth of this little girl, complete with minstrels. However, Piers Gaveston was executed only six months later, leaving Margaret a widow with a small child. Her dower rights as Countess of Cornwall were disputed, and so King Edward instead assigned her Oakham Castle and other lands. She joined the Royal household and in 1316 accompanied the King in his journey from London to York.

Inheritance and second marriage
Following the death of their brother, Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Margaret and her sisters, Elizabeth and Eleanor de Clare received a share of the inheritance. Margaret was now one of the co-heiresses to the vast Gloucester estate, and King Edward arranged a second marriage for her to another favourite, Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester. She was High Sheriff of Rutland from 1313 to 1319. On 28 April 1317 Margaret de Clare wed Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester at Windsor Castle. They had one daughter: Margaret de Audley, born between January 1318 and November 1320.

Despenser War
Hugh and Margaret were among the victims of their brother-in-law, Hugh the younger Despenser. In his rashness and greed for the Clare lands, he robbed Margaret of much of her rightful inheritance. In 1321, Hugh de Audley joined the other Marcher Barons in looting, burning, and causing general devastation to Despenser's lands which subsequently became the Despenser War. Hugh was captured at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, and was saved from a hanging thanks to the pleas of his wife. He was imprisoned, and two months later Margaret was sent to Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire. She remained there until 1326, when Hugh escaped prison and she was released from Sempringham.

Countess of Gloucester
Hugh and Margaret were reunited sometime in 1326. In summer 1336, their only daughter, Margaret Audley, was abducted by Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford. Her parents filed a complaint, but King Edward III of England supported Stafford. He appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh Earl of Gloucester. Margaret was henceforth styled Countess of Gloucester.

Death
Margaret died on 9 April 1342 and her sister Lady Elizabeth de Clare paid for prayers to be said for her soul at Tonbridge Priory located in Kent, England, where she was buried.

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: 9CQN-28Q

Hugh married Iseult LE RUS. Iseult was born in 1270 in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England; was christened in in (Baroness of, Audley); died about 4 Aug 1338 in Stratton Audley, Oxfordshire, England; was buried in 1338 in St. Bartholomew's Church, Ledbury, Herefordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: LYY2-QC3

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: LZ1V-JW1
• Name: The Red Earl
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1262 and 1295; 3rd Lord of Glamorgan
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1262 and 1295; 6th Earl of Hertford
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1262 and 1295; 7th Earl of Gloucester
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1262 and 1295; 8th Lord of Cardigan
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1262 and 1295; 9th Lord of Clare
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1262 and 1295; 9th Lord of Tonbridge
• Military: 14 May 1264, Lewes, Sussex, England; Battle of Lewes

Notes:

One of the greatest of the Clares was Gilbert de Clare, 9th earl of Clare, 7th earl of Hertford, and 6th earl of Gloucester (1243-1295), known as the Red Earl. A leader of the barons in the early stages of the Barons' War against King Henry III, he deserted the baronial side in 1265, thus helping to ensure a royal victory at the Battle of Evesham. Two years later he changed sides again, captured London, and forced the king to accept a negotiated settlement. In 1290 he married Joan of Acre, a daughter of Henry's successor, King Edward I.

Source: A Baronial Family in Medievil England: The Clares, 1217-1314, Michael Altschul, The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1965. p 94: "Gilbert de Clare, the "Red Earl" of Gloucester and Hertford, was after Simon de Montfort the single most important figure in the later stages of the baronial opposition to Henry III. From his father Earl Richard he inherited not only the great Clare estates and lordships in England, Wales, and Ireland, but also a position of leadership among the magnates of the realm; and he was destined to play an even more decisive role in the civil wars which determined the fate of the struggle between king and baronage than his father had played in the initial stages of the movement for reform." From same p 104, 107-108: "The victory at Lewes [over Henry III, 14 May 1264] marked the high point of Simon de Montfort's fortunes. Ominously, a number of Simon's supporters deserted him, including the Earl of Gloucester. (P) Gilbert's defection proved the decisive factor in the situation. The chroniclers record a long list of grievances, and the chancery records bear at least some of them out. He had become increasingly dissatisfied with Simon's regime and reproached the earl for his supposed autocratic rule. He was jealous of the position the earl's sons held in the government. He quarreled with Simon over the control of royalist castles and manors, and the exchange of prisoners. He objected to the use of foreign knights in important castles and the failure to expel all the aliens from court. His support for Simon had not been unqualified, as the letter written in the winter of 1263-64 had shown. A combination of grievances thus drove him into opposition." From same, p 108-110: "Simon [de Montfort] took [Lord] Edward and Henry [III] with him to the west, and encamped at Hereford until May 24 [1265]. Attempted negotiations proved fruitless, for Gilbert had already worked out a plan with Edward and Roger Mortimer which would seal Simon's fate. On May 28, with the assistance of Thomas de Clare, Earl Gilbert's younger brother, Edward managed an escape. He joined forces with [Roger] Mortimer at Wigmore, and the next day Gilbert joined them in Ludlow. Wykes, perhaps the best informed chronicler of this period, records an important set of cnditions that Earl Gilbert demanded as the price of his support. The earl made Edward swear a solemn oath that, if victorious, he would cause the "good old laws" of the realm to be observed' evil customs would be abolished, aliens banished from the king's council and administration; and the king would rule with the counsel of his faithful subjects. If Wykes' account of the oath is substantially correct, it clearly shows that Gilbert remained firmly attracted to the principles of the Provisions [of Oxford (1258) and Westminster (1259), granted to the barons by Henry III but not much adhered to], however vaguely envisioned and conventionally expressed, and to the xenophobia which the movement engendered. If he withdrew his support from Simon, it was not because he was willing, like his father Earl Richard in 1260, to repudiate the Provisions, but because he felt that Simon did not distinguish between the baronial ideals and his personal ambition. The cause of reform, in short, was not the exclusive prerogative of the earl of Leicester. (P) The military operations are quickly told. Under the leadership of Edward and Earl Gilbert, the royalists gathered at Gloucester, cutting off Simon's retreat across the Severn at that point. Boldly making his way into the march, Simon renewed his alliance with Llywelyn in the middle of June. He then went through Monmouth to the borough of Newport in the Clare lordship of Gwynllwg and attempted to cross over to Bristol, but this plan was foiled when Earl Gilbert destroyed the convoy sent for that purpose. Simon managed to return to Hereford, and tried to join forces with an army led by his son. Edward and Gilbert, however, surprised the younger Simon at Kenilworth in Warwick on August 1, routed his forces, and immediately doubled back to intercept Earl Simon. The earl reached the Worcester manor of Evesham on August 3, but was surrounded by the royalists. The next day battle [of Evesham] was joined. As Simon advanced on a troop led by Roger Mortimer, Earl Gilbert, who commanded the second line, suddenly attacked from the rear. The outcome was less a battle than a slaughter. The only important marcher who fought with Simon, Humphrey de Bohun the younger, was captured and imprisoned at Beeston castle in Cheshire, where he died on October 27. Two other men with marcher affiliations, Henry de Hastings and John fitz John, were also imprisoned. Otherwise the royalists showed no mercy. Simon de Montfort, his son Henry, his loyal friend Peter de Montfort the elder, the justiciar Hugh Despenser and many others were slain. King Henry himself was rescued by Roger Leyburn. The Montfortian experiment was ended. (P) The death of Simon de Montfort did not produce peace. The ferocity with which the royalists had crushed their enemies carried over into a period of widespread seizures of rebel lands and indiscriminate plundering which produced further turmoil and unrest. In addition, the territorial policy adopted by the restored royal government provoked those supporters of Earl Simon still at large into guerilla operations which turned into full-scale warfare and prevented a final pacification of the kingdom until the end of 1267. In this period the actions of Gilbert de Clare again proved decisive. His support for the disinherited rebels was a major factor in the establishment of internal order following the two years of continued civil strife which constituted the aftermath of the battle of Evesham."

From same, p 120-121: "The most striking feature of Gilbert de Clare's role in the later stages of the baronial movement is its consistency. The Red Earl's shifting allegiance was a sign not of vaillation but of independence. He was the moderating force against the extremes of both the royalist and the Montfortian sides. He was attracted to the baronial movement as a whole, but even more than his father Earl Richard, he drew the crucial distinction between its policies and the great earl whose name is inseparably associated with the movement. Earl Gilbert was not convinced that Simon de Montfort's actions were always and indisputably right, and he withdrew his support when he felt that Simon's regime was no better in its way than King Henry's had been. His adherence to the royalists, however, was no less qualified. When two years of continued resistance to the restored government of Henry III produced further social and political unrest, Earl Gilbert's rising proved the decisive factor in restoring unity and tranquillity to the realm. Unlike Earl Richard, Gilbert had not accepted Henry's repudiation of the principles which underlay the Provisions of Oxford and Westminster. His activities, while strongly colored by personal animosities and conditioned by personal interests, nevertheless reveal a continuity of purpose which did much in helping to incorporate those principles into the fabric of the common law and the conduct of monarchy. From same, p 155-156: "On December 7 [1295] he [Gilbert] died at Edmund of Lancaster's castle of Monmouth, and was buried two weeks later at Tewkesbury Abbey. Most of the chroniclers merely noted his death without further comment, although an interpolation in the chronicle of Walter of Guisborough refers, in rather conventional fashion, to the earl's military prowess and staunch defense of his rights. The Red Earl's last years were spent under the shadow of Edward I's domination, and his stormy career ended in dispirited humiliation. Perhaps the soundest judgment is that contained in the otherwise undistinguished Osnay chronicle. In referring to the earl's marriage to Joan of Acre in 1290, the chronicler calls Gilbert the greatest of the magnates of the realm in nobility and eminence, and incomparably the most powerful man in the kingdom -- next to the king. Later events proved that the chronicler's qualification was more significant than he could have realized at the time." From same, p 41-42: "Taken as a whole, the Clare family represents what might be termed one of the most successful joint enterprises in medieval English history. More than two centuries of steady territorial growth raised the family to a position of pre-eminence in the ranks of the higher nobility. The major factors in this development in the twelfth century were undoubtedly royal favor and shrewdly chosen marriages. The Clares prospered from their intimate connections with successive rulers of England, and the male members of the house were rewarded with a series of important fiefs and well-placed ladies. The power and prestige of the family reached their highest level in the thirteenth century and the fortunes of its members help illuminate almost every aspect of the social and political life of the English baronage in this period."

REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: May 1263 the young Earl of Gloucester led an Army west & captured the Bishop of Hereford, the most hated of the foreign advisors to Henry III then left after the expulsion of the de Lusignans. He threw the Bishop into prison, laid siege to the royal castle at Gloucester, where de Montfort assumed command. The army then went north to Bridgenorth, where they coordinated their attack with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd; the twon & castle surrendered. de Montfort then headed south for London, where a panicked Henry took refuge in the Tower. On April 5 1264 the defeat at Northampton by Prince Edward of Simon de Montfort's forces crippled Simon's forces. Northampton defenses had been allowed to decay in the years previous to de Montfort's occupation there, plus the battle was lost due to the treachery of the Prior at St. Andrew's. After the defeat, Edward allowed his army to have their sport on the town, culminating in utter destruction, rapine, murder, etc. of its inhabitants. Some 80 barons & knights were taken prisoner & the rebel army was gutted. The defeat touched off a riot in London on Apr 9, 1264 in which hundreds, mainly Jews, were slain. Sir Hugh le Despenser, Simon's Justicialar & Thomas FitzThomas, Mayor of London, attempted to control the crowds & saved some lives by offering sanctuary in the Tower. FitzThomas then begged Simon to return to London to quell the Londoners' fear. In May 1264 Edward looted lands of Robert de Ferrers, the Earl of Derby, after he lost Tutbury Castle, Derby defected from Simon's support. King Henry meanwhile took Leicester & Nottingham. Simon & Gilbert de Clare attacked Rochester Castle (which surrendered) & besieged the town when Edward approached London so Simon went back to defend it. King Henry & Edward were practicing fierce cruelty by chopping off the nads & feet of all common soldiers captured from de Montfort's army. The Cinque Ports & Dover Castle held fast for Simon, & did not obey Henry & Edward's command for a naval force to attack London. Thwarted, Edward took Gilbert de Clare's Tonbridge Castle. Simon continued to hold London, but is surrounded by Edward & Henry. Gilbert lets his men loose on the Canterbury Jews using as a weak (& unproven) excuse that they were in league with the King. de Clare had a fairly long histroy of intense hatred for Jews. On the eve of the Battle of Lewes, 14 May 1264, after Henry had refused the entreaty of the Bishops of London & Worcester (Walter de Cabntelou) to negotiate, de Clare followed Simon de Montfort's lead & formally renounced all allegiance to King Henry. With Robert de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, de Clare had the most to lose of any of the rebel supporters. In late July, he joined forces with Montfort & Llywelyn ap Gruffydd & put down a rebellion of the Welsh Marcher Lords, including Roger de Mortimer. In October 1264 he was excommunicated by Papal edict along with other Montfort supporters & Simon himself; however, the sentecne of anathema was not practiced by the English Church. Clare had an extremely prickly sense of pride, & held a mixture of rancor toward Montfort's sons & jealosy of Montfort himself, both of his acclaim & his personal popularity with the people. Clare also could have split because of his intense anti-Jewish sentiment & Montfort's refusal to condone pogroms, etc. In November 1264, Clare had the latest of many quarrels with Montfort's son Bran de Montfort, but this one spilled bad blood for the first time over to Gilbert's brother Thomas de Clare too. Before Nov 1264, Montfort awarded his sons several lucrative appointments; when Clare complained he was brushed off by Montfort. Although after Lewes Clare received the lands of John de Warenne, William de Lusignan & Peter de Savoie, but Montfort rejected his demand for the ransom of Richard of Cornwall (despite the Mise of Lewes proclaiming no ransoms to be paid for prisoners from the battle). Montfort called a Parliament January 1265; at this Parliament Montfort had a very public clash with Clare; Clare withdrew to his estates on the Welsh Marches. Clare was harboring Marcher Lords in violation of the government expulsion edict. Clare was grieved at Montfort's unilateral appointment of his son Amaury as treasurer of York & when in late 1264 Montfort arrested the Earl of Derby & threw him into the Tower of London for wanton lawlessness, extortion & plundering of his neighbors. Many lords, while not feeling sorry for Derby, felt this set a dangerous precedent. Lord paid for political transgressions; not criminal ones. By April/May 1265, Simon & Clare had supposedly patched up a peace again, but Clare was only stalling for time in order to free Prince Edward from the custody of Henry de Montfort & Robert de Ros. Edward had again played his cousin Henry for the fool, gradually getting Henry to trust him & allow him more freedom. While Clare made a visit to King Henry to make a false oath of fealty to the King & Simon's government, he engineered Roger de Mortimer's rescue of Edward from Henry de Montfort to Wigmore castle in May 1265. Gilbert almost goes to war with Roger de Mortimer over the lands of Humphrey de Bohun, who died in captivity soon after Evesham (Aug 4 1265). Gilbert was as uneasy in his new alliance with Edward as he had been formerly with Simon; he simmered until April 1267 he siezed London. He held London for two months until he was able to negotiate an amnesty with Henry. His wife (they shared a mutual hatred for one another) tried to warn her uncle King Henry of Gilbert's intention but he did not believe her until it was too late.

Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, 7th Earl of Hertford and 3rd Earl of Gloucester, who, by the king's procurement, m. in 1257, Alice, dau. of Guy, Earl of Angoulme, and niece of the king of France, which monarch bestowed upon the lady a marriage portion of 5,000 marks. This nobleman, who, like his predecessors, was zealous in the cause of the barons, proceeded to London immediately after the defeat sustained by the insurrectionary lords at Northampton (48th Henry III) [1264], in order to rouse the citizens, which, having effected, he received the honour of knighthood from Montfort, Earl of Leicester, at the head of the army at Lewes; of which army, his lordship, with John Fitz-John and William de Montchensi, commanded the second brigade, and having mainly contributed to the victory in which the king and prince became prisoners, while the whole power of the realm fell into the hands of the victors, the earl procured a grant under the great seal of all the lands and possessions lying in England of John de Warren, Earl of Surrey, one of the most faithful adherents of the king, excepting the castles of Riegate and Lewes, to hold during the pleasure of the crown, and he soon after, with some of the principal barons, extorted from the captive monarch a commission authorizing Stephen, then bishop of Chichester, Simon Montford, Earl of Leicester, and himself, to nominate nine persons of "the most faithful, prudent, and most studious of the public weal," as well prelates as others, to manage all things according to the laws and customs of the realm until the consultations at Lewes should terminate. Being jealous, however, of the power of Leicester, the earl soon after abandoned the baronial cause and, having assisted in procuring the liberty of the king and prince, commanded the second brigade of the royal arm at the battle of Evesham, which restored the kingly power to its former lustre. In reward of these eminent services he received a full pardon for himself and his brother Thomas of all prior treasons, and the custody of the castle of Bergavenny during the minority of Maud, wife of Humphrey de Bohun. His lordship veered again though in his allegiance and he does not appear to have been sincerely reconciled to the royal cause until 1270, in which year, demanding from Prince Edward repayment of the expenses he had incurred at the battle of Evesham, with livery of all the castles and lands which his ancestors had possessed and, those demands having been complied with, he thenceforward became a good and loyal subject of the crown. Upon the death of King Henry, the Earl of Hertford and Gloucester was one of the lords who met at the New Temple in London to proclaim Prince Edward, then in the Holy Land, successor to the crown, and so soon as the new monarch returned to England, his lordship was the first to entertain him and his whole retinue with great magnificence for several days at his castle of Tonebruge. In the 13th Edward I [1285], his lordship divorced his wife Alice, the French princess, and in consideration of her illustrious birth, granted for her support during her life, six extensive manors and parks, and he m. in 1289, Joan of Acre, dau. of King Edward I, upon which occasion he gave up the inheritance of his castles and manors, as well in England as i Wales, to his royal father-in-law, to dispose of as he might think proper; which manors, &c., were entailed by the king upon the earl's issue by the said Joane, and in default, upon her heirs and assigns, should she survive the lordship. By this lady he had issue, Gilbert, his successor, Alianore, Margaret, and Elizabeth. His lordship d. in 1295, and the Countess Joan surviving, m. a "plain esquire," called Ralph de Monthermer, clandestinely, without the king, her father's, knowledge, but to which alliance he was reconciled through the intercession of Anthony Beke, the celebrated bishop of Durham, and became eventually much attached to his now son-in-law. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, pp. 119-120, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford, Earls of Gloucester]

----------

Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester (1243-1295), 8th earl of Gloucester and 9th earl of Clare, was born at Christchurch, Hampshire, on Sept. 2, 1243. He married Alice of Angoulme, niece of king Henry III, succeeded his father in July 1262, and joined the baronial party led by Simon de Montfort. With Simon, Gloucester was at the battle of Lewes in May 1264, when the king himself surrendered to him, and after this victory he was one of the three persons selected to nominate a council. Soon, however, he quarreled with Simon. Leaving London for his lands on the Welsh border he met Prince Edward, afterward king Edward I, at Ludlow, just after his escape from captivity; and contributed largely to the prince's victory at Evesham in August 1265. But this alliance was as transitory as the one with Leicester, Gloucester championed the barons who had surrendered at Kenilworth in November and December 1266, and after putting his demands before the king, secured possession of London (April 1267). The earl quickly made his peace with Henry III and with Prince Edward. Under Edward I he spent several years in fighting in Wales, or on the Welsh border; in 1289 when the barons were asked for a subsidy he replied on their behalf that they would grant nothing until they saw the king in person (nihi prius personaliter viderent in Anglia faciem regis), and in 1291 he was fined and imprisoned on account of levying private war on Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford. Having divorced his wife Alice, he married in 1290 Edward's daughter Joan, or Johanna (d. 1307). The "Red Earl," as he is sometimes called, died at Monmouth on Dec. 7, 1295, leaving, in addition to three daughters, a son, Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, killed at Bannockburn. [Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1961 ed., Vol. 10, p. 434, GLOUCESTER, GILBERT DE CLARE, EARL OF.]

***********

3d Earl of Gloucester and 7th Earl of HertfordOne of the greatest of the Clares was Gilbert de Clare, 9th earl of Clare, 7th earl of Hertford, and 6th earl of Gloucester (1243-95), known as the Red Earl. A leader of the barons in the early stages of the Barons' War against King Henry III, he deserted the baronial side in 1265, thus helping to ensure a royal victory at the Battle of Evesham. Two years later he changed sides again, captured London, and forced the king to accept a negotiated settlement. In 1290 he married Joan of Acre, a daughter of Henry's successor, King Edward I. When Gilbert de Clare, 10th earl of Clare (1291-1314), died childless, the male line of the Clares came to an end. His sister, Elizabeth de Clare (1291?-1360), founded Clare College at the University of Cambridge.
"Clare (family)," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

******

Gilbert married Princess Joan PLANTAGENET, of Acre on 9 May 1290 in Westminster, Middlesex, England. Joan (daughter of King Edward I "Longshanks" PLANTAGENET and Queen Eleanor DE CASTILLE, Queen Consort of England) was born in Apr 1272 in Acre/Akko, Hazafon, Kingdom of Jerusalem; died on 23 Apr 1307 in Clare Castle, Clare, Suffolk, England; was buried on 26 Apr 1307 in Church of Austin Friars Clare, Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Affiliation: ; House of Plantagenet
• FamilySearch ID: 9MK6-P6Z
• TitleOfNobility: ; Countess of Gloucester
• TitleOfNobility: ; Countess of Hertford

Notes:

Joan was a remarkably active woman in the dozen years following the Red Earl's death. By the terms of the marriage agreement of 1290, the entire inheritance was off jointly on Gilbert and Joan. This meant that it would not be possible for her father Edward I to grant her only a third of the estates and control the rest himself during the long minority of her son Gilbert. Joan was thus sole mistress of the inheritance, and she controlled it with marked ability. In1297, much to Edward's displeasure, she secretly married another wise obscure knight in her *familia*, Ralph de Monthermer (d. 1325). Ralph was styled earl of Gloucester *jure uxoris* and for the next decade administered the estates with the king's daughter. After Joan's death, his rights to the estates and title lapsed, and he was thenceforth treated as an ordinary baron. His children by Joan of Acre were likewise excluded from the inheritance, and had no future connection with the Clares, aside from a daugher, Mary, who was married in 1307 to Duncan,son and heir of Duncan, earl of Fife, and Joan, the Red Earl's daughter by his first marriage to Alice de Lusignan. Joan of Acre died in April, 1307, but during her tenure of the inheritance important modifications were introduced in its administrative structure. After Isabella de Fortibus, dowager countess of Devon and Aumale (1262 93), Countess Joan stands as perhaps the best example in thirteenth century English historyof the ability of a widow to run the estates and otherwise manage the complex affairs of a great comital house."

Joan of Acre died in April, 1307, but during her tenure of the inheritance of Gloucester important modifications were introduced in its administrative structure. After Isabella de Fortibus, dowager countess of Devon and Aumale (1262-93), Countess Joan stands as perhaps the best example in thirteenth century English history of the ability of a widow to run the estates and otherwise manage the complex affairs of a great comital house."
--- Michael Altschul, *A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares,
1217-1314*, Baltimore MD (Johns Hopkins Press) 1965. p 38-39.

Gilbert de Clare was not young when he married the fiery-spirited, sloe-eyed Joanna and took her to live at his country retreat in Clerkenwell not far from the Tower, where the king and queen were again in residence. She left for her new home with great fanfare, laden with royal gifts. After being a widow a year, she secretly married a completely unknown squire in her husbands retinue, Ralph de Monthermer. Through this marriage he became possessed in his own right of the earldoms of Gloucester & Hertford. The fact that a royal princess had dared to marry this obscure fellow became a cause celebr which for a time separated her from the affection of her father. It proved to be a marriage, however, leading ultimately to a firm friendship between the new son-in-law and Edward.

*********