William De St Awbrey

Notes:

The book "COLONIAL FAMILIES OF PHILADELPHIA" Philadephia, PA by John W Jordan Published by Lewis Publishers of New York in 1911 VOL II
Has two families that are related to Aubrey/Awbrey family by marriage; Bevan and Thomas. In that family history they give the history of the Aubrey family. The Thomas family gives the same lineage lines as Bevan but there are some names that are different.

Stiant Awbrey, founder of the Aubrey family in Great Britain was " second brother to the Lord Awbrey, Earle of Bullen and Earle Marechal of France and came to England with William ye Conqueror in Anno 1066"

Sir Rinalt Awbrey son of Stiant, married a daughter of the Earle of Clare and Priany. Reginald (Rinalt) de St. Awbrey (de Sancto Alberico)born: abt 1175 died ?.Reginald wife was Isabel de Clare and their second son

St. Almedha, though not included in the ordinary lists, is said to have been a daughter of Brychan, and sister to St. Canoc, and to have borne the name of Elevetha, Aled, or Elyned, latinised into Almedha. The Welsh genealogists say, that she suffered martyrdom on a hill near Brecknock, where a chapel was erected to her memory; and William of Worcester says she was buried at Usk. Mr. Hugh Thomas (who wrote an essay towards the history of Brecknockshire in the year 1698) speaks of the chapel as standing, though unroofed and useless, in his time; the people thereabouts call it St. Tayled. It was situated on an eminence, about a mile to the eastward of Brecknock, and about half a mile from a farm-house, formerly the mansion and residence of the Aubreys, lords of the manor of Slwch, which lordship was bestowed upon Sir Reginald Awbrey by Bernard Newmarche, in the reign of William Rufus. Some small vestiges of this building may still be traced, and an aged yew tree, with a well at its foot, marks the site near which the chapel formerly stood.



William de Sto Alberico or Awbrey , of Abercynfrig, county Brecknock, Wales, married Joan Gunter , daughter of Sir William Gunter, Knight. �Sable a ~chevron between 3 gauntlets or�
[Moore_from ancestry_09262007.FTW]

The book "COLONIAL FAMILIES OF PHILADELPHIA" Philadephia, PA by John W Jordan Published by Lewis Publishers of New York in 1911 VOL II
Has two families that are related to Aubrey/Awbrey family by marriage; Bevan and Thomas. In that family history they give the history of the Aubrey family. The Thomas family gives the same lineage li nes as Bevan but there are some names that are different.

Stiant Awbrey, founder of the Aubrey family in Great Britain was " second brother to the Lord Awbrey, Earle of Bullen and Earle Marechal of France and came to England with William ye Conqueror in Ann o 1066"

Sir Rinalt Awbrey son of Stiant, married a daughter of the Earle of Clare and Priany. Reginald (Rinalt) de St. Awbrey (de Sancto Alberico)born: abt 1175 died ?.Reginald wife was Isabel de Clare and th eir second son

St. Almedha, though not included in the ordinary lists, is said to have been a daughter of Brychan, and sister to St. Canoc, and to have borne the name of Elevetha, Aled, or Elyned, latinised into Alm edha. The Welsh genealogists say, that she suffered martyrdom on a hill near Brecknock, where a chapel was erected to her memory; and William of Worcester says she was buried at Usk. Mr. Hugh Thomas ( who wrote an essay towards the history of Brecknockshire in the year 1698) speaks of the chapel as standing, though unroofed and useless, in his time; the people thereabouts call it St. Tayled. It wa s situated on an eminence, about a mile to the eastward of Brecknock, and about half a mile from a farm-house, formerly the mansion and residence of the Aubreys, lords of the manor of Slwch, which lor dship was bestowed upon Sir Reginald Awbrey by Bernard Newmarche, in the reign of William Rufus. Some small vestiges of this building may still be traced, and an aged yew tree, with a well at its foot , marks the site near which the chapel formerly stood.



William de Sto Alberico or Awbrey , of Abercynfrig, county Brecknock, Wales, married Joan Gunter , daughter of Sir William Gunter, Knight. �Sable a ~chevron between 3 gauntlets or�

William married Joan Gunter in 1240. Joan (daughter of Sir William Gunter) was born in 1223; and died in Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Thomas Awbrey was born in 1243 in Abercynfrig, Brecknockshire, Wales; and died in Abercynfrig, Brecknockshire, Wales.

Notes:

Common Welsh Surnames
http://www.daire.org/names/welshsurs.html

Awbrey - Welsh adaptation of Norman name de Alberico, who a
rrived in Wales shortly after the Conquest. Records show two prominent families, the Awbreys of Abercynrig, and of Ynyscedwin. Aubrey, Obray.


" The Norman People"
page 144

"Aubrey, Sir Reginald Aubrey, 1088, was granted lands in Brecknock by Bernard de Newmarhe'. The Norman origian of this family admitted. It maybe th same as the family of Alver of Alfrey.
Osmond de Alebrai and Samon de A. occur Normandy, 1198 (Mrs) Hence the Baronest Aubrey.

Alberic,Earl of Boulgne and Dammartin, and Earl Mareschal of France in 1066, is said to have been elder brother of a certain.

I. Saunders de Sancto Alberico or de Alta Ripa, was bc ? in France & reportedly a brother of Alberic, Earl of Boulogne & Dammartin, & Earl Fareschal of France in 1066. (He invaded Eng. with William the Conqueror in 1066.) Father of Reginald

Sir Reginald de Sancto Alberico ) son of Saunders de Sancto Alberico married a daughter of the Earle of Clare and Priany. Reginald (Rinalt) de St. Awbrey (de Sancto Alberico) born: ? died ?marr. Isabel de Clare (bc in Normandy, France to Richard de Clare, Earl of Briones & Earl of Claire & Tunbridge). Sir Reginald accompanied Bernard Newmarch in conquering Brecknock, where he reputed to have won Abercynfrig & Siwch. He owned the manor of Abercynfrig & Slough & other properties in Wales. Reginald wife was Isabel de Clare. Isabel de Clare is a descend of Charlemagne

Journey Through Hay and Brecheinia

Almedha, though not included in the ordinary lists, is said to have been a daughter of Brychan, and sister to St. Canoc, and to have borne the name of Elevetha, Aled, or Elyned, latinised into Almedha. The Welsh genealogists say, that she suffered martyrdom on a hill near Brecknock, where a chapel was erected to her memory; and William of Worcester says she was buried at Usk. Mr. Hugh Thomas (who wrote an essay towards the history of Brecknockshire in the year 1698) speaks of the chapel as standing, though unroofed and useless, in his time; the people thereabouts call it St. Tayled. It was situated on an eminence, about a mile to the eastward of Brecknock, and about half a mile from a farm-house, formerly the mansion and residence of the Aubreys, lords of the manor of Slwch, which lordship was bestowed upon Sir Reginald Awbrey by Bernard Newmarche, in the reign of William Rufus. Some small vestiges of this building may still be traced, and an aged yew tree, with a well at its foot, marks the site near which the chapel formerly stood.




Records show Sir William was born in Llanelieu (in Breconshire), but that location is now reorganized as part of the extended community of the town of Talgarth 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the west. Llanelieu is a small settlement and former civil parish (community) in Powys, Wales on the northern edge of the Black Mountains within the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was formerly in the county of Brecknockshire.

The last name in Wales was spelled Awbrey, but in the United States it became Aubrey toward the end of the 18th century. Actually the name was originally in a Norman form as "de Sancto Alberico."

William Awbrey was the son of Sir Edward Awbrey and Joan Havard. Sir Edward was born in Abercynrig and Tredomen,
and Jane, born about 1559 in Tredomen, South Wales,
England was a member of the Havards who were a very notable family in Breconshire.

Sir William married Elizabeth Johns on Dec. 24, 1595
in Llandilo Fawr, Carmarthenshire, Wales. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Johns and Jane Puleston.

There were eight children of the marriage, and the names of three sons are known:
- Henry;
- John (see link below);
- Thomas

Sir William Awbrey was the High Sheriff of Brecon, and was given the nickname "The Extravagant" when he sold the family estate Abercynfrig and spent the fortune left him by his grandfather, Dr. William Awbrey. He evidently died
penniless in 1631. Abercynrig was later purchased and returned to the family by a cousin (Jeffries) who acquired the Brecknockshire lands about 1656.

The will of Sir William was proved at Brecon in 1631.

----------------------------------------------------------

Although Sir William's sons went to the colonies, the connection with the family and Wales was not forgotten but was published in Virginia. Now it is possible to trace the family line back to Charlemagne as found in the table below.
What was to become the Awbrey family in Wales had made a marriage alliance with the family that became the Earls of Clare in England, and thus we start with this line since it is traced further back to Charlemagne.

- Richard I of Normandy (b. 28 Aug 933 in Fecamp, Normandy, France; d. 20 Nov 996 in Fecamp, Normandy, France; son of Guillaume I "Longsword" Of Normandy and Sprota of Senlis {St. Liz, sometimes said to be the daughter of Herbert, Count of Senlis and Vermandois who was a great, great grandson of Charlemagne}; Richard 1st married Emma in 960, daughter of Hugh, who was - in all but name- King of France; Richard I, "The Fearless" was named his father's heir on 29 May, 942; Richard was betrothed to Emma for some time but did not marry her until about 960, after the death of her father, Hugh the Great, in 956; Richard was the guardian of Hugh's son, the Duke of Paris, and eventually married Emma to strengthen his position; he did not treat her unkindly, he merely loved Gunnora; Emma passed her life at Rouen alone and solitary, and eventually died about the year 962; Richard then officially married 2nd Gunnora De Crepon).
- Godfrey of Brionne (son of Richard I Of Normandy and Gunnora De Crepon; born in France, and d. ca. 1015).
- Gilbert "Grispin" (d. 1040; married Gonnor {Gunnor}, daughter of Baldric the Teuton, and a niece of Gilbert,
Count of Brionne; for a short period following the sudden death (murder?) of Count Alan of Brittany, Gilbert was chief tutor to the young WIlliam the Conqueror;said to have been murdered in 1040 by his cousin, Ralph of Gace.
- Richard Fitzgilbert De Clare, b. 1035, Beinfaite, Normandy, France; d. 1090, England; the eldest son of Gislebert, Count of Eu and Brionne, a descendant of Emperor Charlemagne; he was a lawyer and Chief Justice of England and the founder of the House of Clare in England, being the first Lord of Clare; accompanied Duke William into England in 1075, and took a leading part in the suppression of the revolt there; later held one hundred and seventy-six lordships or manors; at the time of the General Survey, which was towards the close of King William's reign, he is called Ricardus de Tonebruge, from his seat at the castle of Tonebruge {now Tunbridge} which he obtained from the Archbishop of Canterbury, in lieu of the castle of Brion; at which time he enjoyed thirty-eight lordships in Surrey, thirty-five in Essex, three in Cambridgeshire, with some others in Wilts and Devon, and ninety-five in Suffolk, among those was Clare, whence he was styled Richard de Clare; and that place in a few years afterwards becoming the chief seat of the family, his descendants are said to have assumed thereupon the title of Earls of Clare {Burke, pg. 118-119}; he is known under three names in the "Doomsday' book - Richard de Bienfaite {Richard the son of Count Gilbert}, Richard FitzGilbert, and Richard of Tonbridge; Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Clare {died 1217} was one of the leading barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Charta in 1215.
- Isabel Fitzgilbert De Clare, daughter of Richard Fitzgilbert De Clare and Rohese Giffard; married Reginald De Sto Alberico (Norman form of the name which became Awbrey in Wales)

Awbrey Line

- Saunders de Sancto Alberico or de Alta Ripa, born in France, elder brother to Alberic, Earl of Boulgne and Dammartin, and Earl Mareschal of France; he invaded England with William the Conqueror in 1066).
- Reginald De Sto Alberico (accompanied Bernard Newmarch in conquering Brecknock, where he reputed to have won Abercynfrig and Siwch; owned the Manor of Abercynfrig and
Slough, and other properties in Wales; married Isabel Fitzgilbert De Clare, daughter of Richard Fitzgilbert De Clare and Rohese Giffard).
- William De Sto Alberico (Awbrey in Welsh - married Joan Gunter, daughter of William Gunter.
- Thomas Awbrey (b. in Abercynfrig, Wales; married Joan {or Dorothy} Carew, daughter of John Lord Carew).
- Thomas Awbrey (b. ca. 1240 in Abercynfrig, Wales; married Joan Trahearn).
- Thomas Awbrey (b. ca. 1270 in Breck-Nockshire, Wales; married Nest Verch Owain Gethyn; he served as an officer under the Duke of Buckingham and was the Constable and Ranger of the Forest of Brecknock; noted for his red hair).
- Richard Awbrey (b. ca. 1300 in Abercynfrig, Wales; married Creslie or Cresly Ap Elidur).
- John Awbrey (b. ca. 1329 in Abercynfrig, Wales; married the daughter off Thomas Of Cwrt Rhadir).
- Walter Awbrey (b. ca. born 1359 in Aberkynfrig, Wales; married Joan Morgan).
- Morgan Awbrey (b. ca. 1389 in Aberkynfrig, Wales; married Alive Wenllian Lloyd).
- Jenkin Awbrey (b. ca. 1423 in Abercynfrig, Brecknockshire, Wales; married Gwendoline Verch Owen).
- Hopkin Awbrey (b. 1448 in Abercynrig, Breconshire, Wales; married Ann Griffith on 1480 in Wales, daughter of John Griffith and Alson).
- Thomas Awbrey (b. 1481 in Abercynfrig, Brecknockshire, Wales; married Joan Vaughn, daughter of Thomas Vaughn and Maud William).
- William Awbrey (b. 1529 in Cantreff, Brecknockshire, Wales, and d. 25 Jun 1595 in England; married Willigford Millicent Williams on 1555 in England.
- Sir Edward Awbrey (b. ca. 1555 in Abercynfrig, Wales; married Joan Havard, daughter of William Havard)
- Sir William Awbrey (ca. 1581-1631)


The Awbrey Family

The Aubrey/Awbrey Family: was an ancient Welsh family, which, for many generations, had been seated in Brecknockshire. The pedigree of the family is preserved in the ancient roll or chart, dated 1633, in the hands of an English descendant. The chart also contains pedigrees of various families allied by marriage to the Awbreys, together with designs of coats of arms, about sixty in all. The Awbrey pedigree traces descent from Saunders de St. Awbrey, brother of Lord St. Awbrey, Lord Marshall of France and Earl of Boulogne, who came into England in 1066. The name seems to have been Teutonic, and was formerly Alberic or The White King. Sir Reginald Awbrey, knight, son of former, “came to the conquest of Brecknockshire with Bernard Newmarke in 1092, by whome he was granted the manors of Aberkynfrig and Slwch” (Slough).

A descendant of Saunders de Sancto, Alberico Reginald Awbrey was the first Aubrey established in Wales around 1175 A.D. Saunders de Alberico was born circa 1030 in France and reportedly a brother of Alberic, Earl of Boulogne & Dammartin, & Earl Fareschal of France in 1066. He invaded England with William the Conqueror in 1066.

Sir Reginald Awbrey (born circa1055 Wales) married. Isabel de Clare (born circa 1072 Normandy, France to Richard de Clare, Earl of Briones & Earl of Claire & Tunbridge). Sir Reginald accompanied Bernard Newmarch in conquering Brecknock, where he reportedly won Abercynfrig and Siwch. He owned the manor of Abercynfrig and Slough and other properties in Wales. Sir Reginald and Isabel became the parents of Reginald (born circa 1088), William (1090), Joan ( 1093) and Agnes (1096).

The likelihood is that the marriage of Reginald de Sancto Alberico (Awbrey) and Isabel de Clare is part of a pedigree which was falsified in antiquity. The earliest documented reference to the Awbreys in Brecon indicates that they were burgesses of the town, and hence not of sufficiently high social standing to intermarry with the de Clares, the most powerful Norman family in south Wales at the time. The Awbreys claimed that Reginald was granted the manor of Abercynrig and Slwch (near Brecon) by Bernard de Neufmarche (Newmarch) as a reward for his assistance in the conquest of Brycheiniog but no such manor is mentioned in any early records. The Awbreys probably came in with the second wave of Norman migrants after the country was subdued.

The Aubrey family claims descent from Sir Reginald Aubrey of the eleventh century, another knight of Bernard Newmarch, but this claim is not authenticated in a leading reference such as Bartrum. Probably, the first authentic Aubrey ancestor is Awbrey, William DeSoto (1209) William Aubrey married Joan Gunter (1210), descended from another knight of Bernard Newmarch.

Awbrey - Welsh adaptation of Norman name de Alberico, who arrived in Wales shortly after the Conquest. Records show two prominent families, the Awbreys of Abercynrig, and of Ynyscedwin. Aubrey, Obray Found on this site http://members.tripod.co.uk/michael_jones_2/id24.htm
(Richard Anderson webpage has the deClare family are descendant of Charlemagne. The DeClare do link to Charlemagne but the link with Aubrey/Awbrey family has not been proven. Richard thinks that this maybe one day proven but for now it is dream. I am related to deClare family but not through the Awbrey family.)
Here is Richard Anderson webpage.
The Richard B. Anderson Jr. Family Home Page
I found the information on the Stiant Awbrey information came from this site. Click here and you read where I found this information. ()
The Web on-line Library and Reading room
(" **Stiant Awbrey, founder of the Aubrey family in Great Britain was " second brother to the Lord Awbrey, Earle of Bullen and Earle Marechal of France and came to England with William ye Conqueror in Anno 1066"
**Sir Rinalt Awbrey son of Stiant, married a daughter of the Earle of Clare and Priany. Reginald (Rinalt) de St. Awbrey (de Sancto Alberico)born: abt 1175 died ?.Reginald wife was Isabel de Clare and their second son.
St. Almedha, though not included in the ordinary lists, is said to have been a daughter of Brychan, and sister to St. Canoc, and to have borne the name of Elevetha, Aled, or Elyned, latinised into Almedha. The Welsh genealogists say, that she suffered martyrdom on a hill near Brecknock, where a chapel was erected to her memory; and William of Worcester says she was buried at Usk. Mr. Hugh Thomas (who wrote an essay towards the history of Brecknockshire in the year 1698) speaks of the chapel as standing, though unroofed and useless, in his time; the people thereabouts call it St. Tayled. It was situated on an eminence, about a mile to the eastward of Brecknock, and about half a mile from a farm-house, formerly the mansion and residence of the Aubreys, lords of the manor of Slwch, which lordship was bestowed upon Sir Reginald Awbrey by Bernard Newmarche, in the reign of William Rufus. Some small vestiges of this building may still be traced, and an aged yew tree, with a well at its foot, marks the site near which the chapel formerly stood.")
Now for what I found in book name "ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES of THE COUNTIES and COUNTY FAMILES OF WALES” by Thomas Nicholas.
"Subtitle: “BRECONSHIRE; Extinct Families of Norman Origin”
P 86
OLD FAMILES OF NORMAN BLOOD
As was the custom under the Norman feudal system, Bernard Newmarch divided the land of Bycheiniog between himself and his chief follows; and these became in course of time, through intermarriage with the Welsh, more that Norman. It has already been intimated that a large proportion of William the Conqueror’s forces were pure or mixed Celts from Brittany, Normandy, and elsewhere,- many of them , indeed, descendants of Cynry from Wales, who had sought refuge and settlement in Brittany during the Saxon and Danish troubles; and it is more than probable that some of Newmarch’s companions wer of this description, and only restored the purity of their Celtic blood by alliances with the people of Brycheiniog. The example of marrying into Welsh families was set by Bernard Newmarch himself, who took to wife the notorious Nest, daughter of Trahaearn ap Caradog, and niece of Llywelyn as Seissyllt.
The Descendants of the Norman fief-holders of Brycheiniog best know to out times are the BURGHILLS, the GUNTERS, the AWBREYS, the HAVARDS, the PETOUS, the WALBEOFFES. When Powel wrote his HISTORIE OF CAMBRIA- or, rather, annotated and publish Caradog ap Ilancarvan’s Chronicle- in early part of the seventeenth century, most of the leading knights who fought with Newmarch had still representatives who claimed a share in their original estates. Powel says,-
“here came manie gentleman with the said Bernard Newmarch……upon whom he bestowed divers manours, which their heirs do possess and enjoy even to our time” He then mentions some of them by name, with manors. “The ASBERYES” had received the manours of ABERCYNRIG and SLOWCH; the WALBIEFES, the manour of Llanhamlach and Taly-Lhyn; the “GUNTERS, the manour of Gilston” (rather of Tregunter, whence they removed to Gilston); and the “HAVARDS, the manour of Pont-wiym”----HIST. CAMBR., p. 150.
AWBREYS OF ABERCYNRIG
The AWBREYS, derived from the Norman De Alberico, corrupted into Awbrey, were contemporary with the Conquest. Sir Riginald Awbery was on of Newmarch’s chief men, and got as his reward the lands of Abercynrig and Slwch. In the fifth generation after him, John Awbrey, according to Jones, sold Slwch to Richard, of the line of Caradog ’Freichfras, whose descendants resided there for upwards of four centuries, latterly under the name of Thomas, Abercynrig continued the seat of Awbreys until their decline, but this also was sold in more recent times, The family in the third generation after Bernard Newmarch’s conquest, began to intermarry with the Welsh, and in course of time became a Substantially Welsh family.

Reginald married Iswabel De Clare Beaumont. Iswabel (daughter of Richard Strongbow Fitzgilbert DeClare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Eva Aoife - Countess Pembroke Princess Of Leinster Mcmurrough) was born in 1172 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales; died in 1220 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Saunders de Sancto Alberico or de Alta Ripa, was bc ? in France & reportedly a brother of Alberic, Earl of Boulogne & Dammartin, & Earl Fareschal of France in 1066. (He invaded Eng. with William the Conqueror in 1066.) Father of Reginald

AKA Alexander de Sancto Alberico, second brother to the Lord Awbrey, Earle of Bullen and Earle Marechal of France and came to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror.

Alberic is a Teutonic (Frankish?) name meaning "The White King". Saunder's brother was Lord St. Awbrey, Lord Marshall of France and Earl of Boulogne, who came in 1066 with William the Conquerer; chamberlain to Matilda, William's wife?



Saunders was brother to Alberic, Earl of Bullen and Dammartin, and second brother to Lord Awbrey (Eric), Earle of Boulogne and Earle Marechal of France; the Awbreys were of royal blood from France

Richard married Eva Aoife - Countess Pembroke Princess Of Leinster Mcmurrough on 26 Aug 1171 in Waterford, Waterford, Ireland. Eva was born on 26 Apr 1141 in Leinster, Dublin, Ireland; died in 1188 in Leinster, Dublin, Ireland; was buried in Tintern, Monmouthshire, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare (c. 1100 – 6 January 1147/8), son of Gilbert Fitz Richard and Alice de Claremont, was sometimes referred to as "Strongbow", although his son is better remembered by this name, was the first Earl of Pembroke from 1138.
Born at Tonbridge, Gilbert de Clare became a Baron, that is, a tenant-in-chief, obtaining the estates of his paternal uncles, Roger and Walter, which included the baronies and castles of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy, the lordship of Nether Gwent and the castle of Striguil (later Chepstow). King Stephen created him Earl of Pembroke, and gave him the rape and castle of Pevensey. Gilbert de Clare decided to live near the roof in the Great Hall so he could see what was going on at all times.
After Stephen's defeat at Lincoln on 2 February 1141, Gilbert was among those who rallied to Empress Matilda when she recovered London in June, but he was at Canterbury when Stephen was recrowned late in 1141. He then joined Geoffrey's plot against Stephen, but when that conspiracy collapsed, he again adhered to Stephen, being with him at the siege of Oxford late in 1142. In 1147 he rebelled when Stephen refused to give him the castles surrendered by his nephew Gilbert, 2nd Earl of Hertford, whereupon the King marched to his nearest castle and nearly captured him. However, the Earl appears to have made his peace with Stephen before his death the following year.
He married Isabel de Beaumont (ca. 1102 – ca. 1172), around 1130, daughter of Sir Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan, and Elizabeth de Vermandois. Isabel had previously been the mistress of King Henry I of England. By her he had two daughters (Agnes and Basilia) and two sons (Baldwin and Richard.

Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare (c. 1100 – 6 January 1148), was created Earl of Pembroke in 1138. He was nicknamed Strongbow[a] for his skilled use of the long bow.





Life

Born at Tonbridge, Gilbert de Clare was a son of Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare and Alice de Claremont.[1] He started out without land and wealth of his own but was closely related to very powerful men, specifically his uncles Walter de Clare and Roger de Clare.[2]



In 1136 Gilbert fitz Gilbert led an expedition against Exmes and burned parts of the town, including the church of Notre Dame, but was interrupted by the forces of William III, Count of Ponthieu and escaped the resulting melee only after suffering heavy losses.[3] Gilbert was a Baron, that is, a tenant-in-chief in England, and inherited the estates of his paternal uncles, Roger and Walter, which included the baronies and castles of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy. He held the lordship of Nether Gwent and the castle of Striguil (later Chepstow). King Stephen created him Earl of Pembroke, and gave him the rape and castle of Pevensey.



After Stephen's defeat at Lincoln on 2 February 1141, Gilbert was among those who rallied to Empress Matilda when she recovered London in June, but he was at Canterbury when Stephen was recrowned late in 1141.[4] He then joined Geoffrey's plot against Stephen, but when that conspiracy collapsed, he again adhered to Stephen, being with him at the siege of Oxford late in 1142. In 1147 he rebelled when Stephen refused to give him the castles surrendered by his nephew Gilbert, 2nd Earl of Hertford, whereupon the King marched to his nearest castle and nearly captured him. However, the Earl appears to have made his peace with Stephen before his death the following year.[5]



Family

He married Isabel de Beaumont, before 1130, daughter of Sir Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan, and Elizabeth de Vermandois.[6] Isabel had previously been the mistress of King Henry I of England.[7]



By her Gilbert had:



Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke[b][8]

Basilia who married Raymond FitzGerald.[9]

a daughter who married William Bloet.[10]

Notes[edit]

Jump up ^ He was called 'Strongbow' but his son Richard is much more readily associated with that nickname.

Jump up ^ William Dugdale had credited Gilbert, the first Earl of Pembroke, with a second son who was named Baldwin fitz Gilbert; but Round showed that this Baldwin was really his brother. See: CP: X, Appendix H, p. 100.

References

Jump up ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and All its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol. X, Eds. H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, & Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1945), p. 348

Jump up ^ David Walker, Medieval Wales (Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 40

Jump up ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and All its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol. X, Eds. H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, & Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1945), p. 348, & footnote (a)

Jump up ^ J. H. Round, Geoffrey de Mandeville (Longmans, Green, 1892), p. 158

Jump up ^ Paul Dalton, Graeme J. White. King Stephen's Reign (1135-1154)King Stephen's Reign (1135-1154) (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2008), pp. 88-89

Jump up ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and All its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol. X, Eds. H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, & Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1945), p. 351

Jump up ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and All its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol. VII, Eds. H. A. Doubleday & Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1929), p. 526, footnote (c)

Jump up ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and All its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol. X, Eds. H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, & Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1945), p. 352-57, Appendix H, pp. 102-04

Jump up ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage; or, A History of the House of Lords and All its Members from the Earliest Times, Vol. X, Eds. H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, & Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1945), Appendix H, p. 100

Jump up ^ David Crouch, William Marshal; Court, Career and Chivalry in the Angevin Empire 1147-1219 (London & New York: Longman, 1990), p. 139

Gilbert married Isabel Elizabeth de Beaumont in 1130 in Tonbridge, Kent, England. Isabel was born in 1102 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England; died in 1147 in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gilbert married Adeliza De Clermont in 1076 in Clare, Suffolk, England. Adeliza was born in 1058 in , Northamptonshire, England; died in 1117 in London, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

de Clare

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The de Clare family of Norman lords were associated with the Welsh Marches, Suffolk, Surrey, Kent (especially Tonbridge) and Ireland. They were descended from Richard fitz Gilbert, who accompanied William the Conqueror into England during the Norman conquest of England. In the paternal line they were illegitimate descendants of the House of Normandy, through one of Richard I, Duke of Normandy's sons.

Origins

The Clare family descends from Gilbert Crispin, Count of Brionne and Eu, whose father Godfrey was the eldest of the illegitimate sons of Richard I, Duke of Normandy. Gilbert was one of the guardians of William II, who became Duke of Normandy as a child in 1035. When Gilbert was assassinated in 1039 or 1040, his young sons Baldwin de Meules et du Sap and Richard de Bienfaite et d'Orbec fled with their guardians to Baldwin V, Count of Flanders; they returned to Normandy when William married Baldwin's daughter in 1053, and William took them into high favour.

After the conquest of England Richard received huge estates including Clare and Tonbridge, the estate whose name was normally coupled with his. According to Richard Mortimer, he was "the founder of the English, Welsh, and Irish baronial family which historians usually call ‘of Clare’." [1]

Historical sources are vague and sometimes contradictory about when the name de Clare came into common usage, but Richard fitz Gilbert (of Tonbridge) is once referred to as Richard of Clare in the Suffolk return of the Domesday Survey.[2] Baldwin de Meules was left in charge of Exeter on its submission (1068) and made sheriff of Devonshire. Large estates in Devonshire and Somersetshire are entered to him in Domesday as "Baldwin of Exeter" or "Baldwin the Sheriff". [3]

On his death, Richard's English estates passed to his son Gilbert Fitz Richard (died 1114/7). Gilbert's eldest son Richard (died ca. 1136) was the ancestor of the earls of Hertford and Gloucester. Gilbert's younger son Gilbert, establishing himself in Wales, acquired the earldom of Pembroke or of Striguil. The elder line obtained (probably from King Stephen)[4] the earldom of Hertford, and were thenceforth known as earls of Hertford or of Clare.

John Horace Round suggested that it was probably because[Gilbert] and the Clares had no interests in Hertfordshire that they were loosely and usually styled the earls of (de) Clare.[3]

In the Dictionary of National Biography he stated that investigation showed that the claim that they were "styled earls of Clare" before they were earls of Hertford was not true; they were alternately called Hertford or of Clare.[5] On the other hand, Frank Barlow places Gilbert de Clare as Earl of Hertford in the group of barons given earldoms between 1138 and 1142, and states that they all had "substantial local interests".[6] Ralph Henry Carless Davis states that Gilbert was a witness as Earl of Hertford at Christmas 1141, and it is generally believed that he had been Earl since 1138; but that there is no prospect of clarifying the matter because of the others of the same name. He notes also that "In a military capacity earls figure largely in the capacity of defenders of their counties in the chronicles of Stephen's reign." He therefore argues against the title as a personal dignity at that period.[7] The general scholarly view is now that the title earl of Clare was self-assumed.

In 1217–20 Gilbert de Clare, earl of Hertford or Clare (died 1230), inherited the estates of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (died 1183), including the earldom and honour of Gloucester and the lordship of Glamorgan. Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (died 1176), known as Strongbow, had no sons and with his death this line came to an end, his many Irish and Welsh possessions passing to his daughter Isabel, who married William Marshal, (c. 1146 – 14 May 1219) who then became known as William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.[5]

Bibliography

J. C. Ward, "Fashions in monastic endowment: the foundations of the Clare family, 1066–1314", Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol. 32 (1981), p. 427-451

J. C. Ward, "Royal service and reward: the Clare family and the crown, 1066–1154", Anglo-Norman Studies, vol. 11 (1988), p. 261-278.

Michael Altschul, A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares, 1217-1314, The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1965. See online summary.

References

^ Richard Mortimer, Clare, Richard de [Richard fitz Gilbert] (1030x35–1087x90), magnate, in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online by subscription.

^ Suffolk return of the Domesday Survey (c. 1086) (ed. A. Rumble, Suffolk, 2 vols (Chichester, 1986), 67 ~ 1^ a b Chisholm 1911.

^ John Horace Round, 1911 Britannica article Clare (Family), http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Clare_%28Family%29.^ a b Round 1887.

^ Frank Barlow, The Feudal Kingdom of England, 1042-1261 (4th edition 1988), p. 213.

^ R. H. C. Davis, King Stephen (1977), p. 136, and p. 129.

^ The Archaeological Journal, Article 51, pg 43- published under the direction of The Council of The Royal Archaeological Insutute of Great Britain and Ireland, available at Google books online at http://books.google.com/books?id=yZg8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA48

Attibution

Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Clare (family)". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Round, John Horace (1887). "Clare, de". In Leslie Stephen. Dictionary of National Biography 10. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 375–376.

External links

• de Clare Family History

Richard married Rohese de Longueville Giffard in 1054 in France, Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine, France. Rohese was born on 13 Apr 1034 in Longueville, Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine, France; died in 1117 in Warwick Parrish, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]