Sir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke

Notes:

William Marshal, born in 1146 and died in 1219, was of the great baronial family of Marischal, marshal to the king. See Burke, pg. 358-359. This William is first mentioned as receiving from Prince Henry, the rebellious son of Henry II., upon the prince's deathbed, his cross, as his most confidential friend, to convey to Jerusalem. He married Isabel (Eva) Clare, only child and heiress of Richard de Clare (surnamed Strongbow), Earl of Pembroke, conqueror of Ireland and Justice of Ireland. She had been under the guardianship of Henry II., who gave her in marriage in 1189. Through his wife, William acquired the Earldom of Pembroke, in which rank he bore the royal scepter of gold surmounted by the cross, at the coronation of King Richard I.; and he was soon afterwards, on the king's purposing a journey to the Holy Land, appointed one of the assistants to Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William, Earl of Albemarle, Chief Justice of England, in the government of the realm. He was brother and male heir, of John Marshal, otherwise Mareschall. This family enjoyed the office of marshal of the King's House, and from that post assumed its surname; which gave occasion, says Banks, to their being often styled Earls Marshal, as well as Earls of Striguil and Pembroke; but such denomination was matter of curiality more then of reality. The manor of Hempsted-Marshal, in Berkshire, belonging to the Marshals, was held of old by grand serjeanty of the Kings of England, to be the knights marshal, as the offices of steward, constable, etc. were in those times granted. Upon the decease of his brother, John Mareschall, marshal of the king's house, in 1199, he became Lord Marshal; and on the day of the coronation of King John, he was invested with sword of the Earldom of Pembroke, being then confirmed in the possession of the said inheritance. In the first year of the monarch's reign, he was appointed sheriff of Gloucestershire, and likewise of Sussex, wherein he was continued for several years. In the 5th year he had a grant of Goderich Castle, in the co. Hereford, to hold by the service of two knight's fees; and in four years afterwards, he obtained, by grant from the crown, the whole province of Leinster, in Ireland, to hold by the service of one hundred knight's fees. Upon the breaking out of the baronial insurrection, the Earl of Pembroke was deputed, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, by the king, to ascertain the grievances and demands of those turbulent lords; and at the demise of King John, he was so powerful as to prevail upon the barons to appoint a day for the coronation of Henry III., to whom he was constituted guardian, by the rest of the nobility, who had remained firm in their allegiance. He subsequently took up arms in the royal cause, and after achieving a victory over the barons at Lincoln, proceeded directly to London, and investing that great city, both by land and water, reduced it to extremity, for want of provisions. Peace, however, being soon after concluded, it was relieved. His lordship, at this period, executed the office of sheriff for the cos. of Essex and Hertford. This eminent nobleman was no less distinguished by his wisdom in the council and valor in the field, than by his piety and his attachment to the church, of which his numerous munificent endowments bear ample testimony. He had by his wife, Isabel, five sons, who succeeded each other in his lands and honors, and five daughters.

William married Isabel DE CLARE, Countess of Pembroke in Aug 1189 in London, Greater London, England. Isabel (daughter of Richard 'Strongbow' DE CLARE and Aoiffe MAC MURROUGH OF LEINSTER) was born in 1172 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales, England; died in 1220; was buried in Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke. He was restored to the whole of the late earl's lands by the king, although he had taken part in the proceedings of that nobleman. But not withstanding this act of grace, he never appears to have been cordially reconciled to the crown. His death occurred in 1241, and was occasioned by a fall from his horse at a tournament. He married (1) Margaret, daughter of William, King of Scotland, and (2) Maud de Lanvaley; but having no issue, he was succeeded, at his death in 1241, by his brother, Walter.

Notes:

Anselme Marshall, 6th Earl of Pembroke, who enjoyed the honors but eighteen days. He died December 5, 1245, d.s.p., by his wife, Maud Bohun, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, whereupon all his honors became extinct, and his great inheritance devolved upon his sisters, as co-heirs.

Anselme married Matilda (Maud) de Bohun. (daughter of Humphrey IV de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford and Maude de Lusignan) [Group Sheet]

Notes:

William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, who , in the time of his father, was as strenuous a supporter of the baronial cause as that nobleman was of the royal interests, and was constituted a Surety, one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of the Magna Charta, being then styled "Comes Mareschal, Jun." After the decease of King John, however, he made his peace, and becoming loyally attached to the new monarch, obtained grants of the forfeited lands of his former companions, Saier de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, and David, Earl of Huntingdon. He was subsequently engaged against the Welsh, and defeated their Prince, Llewellyn, with great slaughter; and in the 14th year of Henry III., he was captain-general of the king's forces in Brittany. He married Alice Betun, daughter of Baldwin de Betun, Earl of Albemarle; and (2) Eleanor (Alianore) Plantaganet, daughter of King John, and sister of Henry III., but had issue by neither. He died in 1231, and was succeeded by his next brother, Richard.

William married Eleanor PLANTAGENET. Eleanor (daughter of John I "Lackland" KING OF ENGLAND and Lady Isabella Taillefer OF ANGOULEME) was born in 1215; died on 3 Apr 1275 in Montargis Abbey, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. He returned to England upon the decease of his brother, and repairing to the king, then in Wales, offered to do homage for his inheritance, but Henry, at the suggestion of Hubert de Burgh, justiciary of England, declined receiving it, under the plea that the late earl's widow had been left in a state of pregnancy, and the king, at the same time, commanded Marshal forthwith to depart the realm within fifteen days; upon which he repaired to Ireland, where his brother then were, who, with the army, received him cordially, and, delivering up the castles to him, did their homage. He immediately afterwards took possession of the castle of Pembroke, and prepared to enforce his rights by arms; but the king, fearing to disturb the public tranquillity, accepted his fealty, and acknowledged him Earl of Pembroke. This reconciliation was not, however, of long endurance, for we find him soon afterwards in open hostility to the king, defending his own castles, storming and taking others, fighting and winning pitched battles, until his gallant career was finally arrested by the treachery of his own followers in Ireland, where, being inveigled, under the pretext of entering into a league of amity, he was assailed by superior numbers, and mortally wounded. Described by Matthew Paris as the "flower of chivalry", he died in 1234, and was buried at Kilkenny. As he was unmarried, his estates and honors devolved upon his brother, Gilbert.

Notes:

Maud Marshal, married (1) Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk; (2) William de Warren, Earl of Surrey; and (3) Walter de Dunstanville. This lady, upon the death of her youngest brother, Anselme, Earl of Pembroke, s.p., in 1245, and the division of the estates, obtained as her share, the manor of Hempsted-Marshal, in Berks, with office of Marshal of England, which was inherited by her son, Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, and surrendered to the crown by her grandson, Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk. Maud, Countess of Norfolk, had likewise the manors of Chepstow and Carlogh.

Notes:

Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke. He had no little difficulty in obtaining livery of his inheritance, for when he came to do his homage, the king upbraided him with the injuries he had sustained from his predecessors. First, that Earl William, his father, had traitorously suffered Louis of France to escape out of England. Next, that Earl Richard, his brother, was a public enemy, and slain in fight as his enemy. That Gilbert, his brother, to whom at the instance of Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, he had more through grace than favor, vouchsafed livery of his lands, had against his expressed prohibition, met at the tournament, wherein he was killed. "And thou," continued the king, "in contempt of me, wast also there. With what face, therefore, canst thou lay claim to that inheritance?" Whereupon Walter replied: "Though I could give a reasonable answer to what you have said, nevertheless I refer myself solely to your highness. You have hitherto been gracious to me, and reputed me as one of your family, and not amongst the meanest of your servants. I never demerited your favor, but how, in being at this tournament with my brother, whom I could not deny; and if all who were there should be thus disinherited, you would raise no small disturbances in your realm. Far be it from a good king, that I should suffer for the faults of all, and that amongst so great a number be the first punished." The king soon after, through the intercession of the Bishop of Durham, vouchsafed him livery of the earldom and the marshal's office. He married Margaret Quincy, daughter of Robert de Quincy, but dying s. p. in 1245, was succeeded by his only remaining brother, Anseleme.

Eve married William V "Black Will" 6TH BARON OF BRAOSE. William (son of Reginald DE BRAOSE and Groecia (Alice) BRUERE) was born about 1180 in Brecknock, Surrey, England; died on 2 May 1230. [Group Sheet]

Isabela married Earl Richard OF CORNWALL. Richard (son of John I "Lackland" KING OF ENGLAND and Lady Isabella Taillefer OF ANGOULEME) was born on 5 Jan 1209; died on 2 Apr 1272 in Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England. [Group Sheet]

Isabela married Geoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex. Geoffrey (son of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex and Rohesia DE VERE) died in 1166. [Group Sheet]

Eleanor married Humphrey V de Bohun. Humphrey (son of Humphrey IV de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford and Maude de Lusignan) was born about 1229; died on 27 Oct 1265. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Humphrey de Bohun VII. was born circa 1249. He succeeded his grandfather as the 3rd Earl of Hereford and the 2nd Earl of Essex and Lord High Constable. He is said to have inherited the high and daring spirit of his predecessors, often strenuously opposed to the measures of the court, and was often therefore in disgrace, but he appears at the close of his career to have regained royal favor, for we find him attending the king into Scotland in 1298 when that monarch (Edward I.) obtained a great victory near Roxburgh. He married Maud Fiennes, daughter of Ingelram (Enguerrand) de Fiennes, Seigneur de Fiennes in Guisnes, by _______, daughter of Jacques, Seigneur de Conte, Bailleul, and Moriammez in Hainault, and granddaughter of William de Fiennes, by Agnes de Dammartin, daughter of Alberic, Count of Dammartin. Simon de Dammartin, Count of Aumale, by his wife Marie, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale, was father of Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale, who married King Ferdinand III. of Castile. Maud died before her husband and was buried at Walden. He was associated with Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, and other barons in their opposition to what was considered to be unfair taxation by King Edward I. He died in Pleshey (Boroughbridge), in 1297, and was succeeded by his son, Humphrey.

Humphrey married Maude de Fiennes. Maude (daughter of Ingelram (Enguerrand) DE FIENNES) was born about 1231; and died. [Group Sheet]