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Ancestors of Robert Erwin William Juch

Twenty-Seventh Generation

(Continued)


76322928. Richard de Clare 4th Earl of Hertford was born about 1153 in Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England. He died 1, 2 1217. Richard married Amicia Countess of Gloucester about 1180. [Parents]

Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, who in the 7th Richard I gave 1000 pounds to the king for livery of the lands of his mother's inheritance with his proportion of those sometime belonging to Giffard, Earl of Buckingham. His lordship m. Amicia, 2nd dau. and co-heiress (with her sisters Mabell, wife of the Earl of Evereux, in Normandy, and Isabel, the divorced wife of King John) of William, Earl of Gloucester, by whom he had issue, Gilbert, his successor, and Joan, m. to Rhys-Grig, Prince of South Wales. This earl, who was one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce Magna Carta, d. in 1218, and was s. by his son, Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p. 119, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford, Earls of Gloucester]

76322929. Amicia Countess of Gloucester 1 was born 1160 in Tewksbury, Gloucestershire, England. She died 2 1 Jan 1224/1225 in England. [Parents]

They had the following children:

M i
Richard (Roger) de Clare was born 1174/1202. He died 1228.
F ii
Matilda de Clare "Maud" 1 was born about 1176 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. She died 1213.
38161464 M iii Gilbert de Clare 3rd Earl of Hertford and Gloucester was born about 1180 and died 25 Oct 1230.

76322930. William Marshal 3rd Earl of Pembroke is printed as #76322890.

76322931. Isabel FitzGilbert de Clare is printed as #76322891.

They had the following children:

M i
William Marshal 4th Earl of Pembroke 1 was born about 1190 in Normandy, France. He died 2 6 Apr 1231 in London, Middlesex, England and was buried 15 Apr 1231 in Temple Church, London, Middlesex, England.

William Marshal, 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 one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Carta, 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, Sayer de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, and David, Earl of Huntingdon. His lordship was subsequently engaged against the Welsh and defeated their Prince, Llewelyn, with great slaughter; and in the 14th Henry III [1230], he was captain-general of the king's forces in Brittany. He m. 1st, Alice, dau. of Baldwin de Betun, Earl of Albemarle; and 2ndly, the Lady Alianore Plantagenet, dau. of King John, and sister of Henry III, but had issue by neither. He d. in 1231, and was s. by his next brother, Richard Marshal.[Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 358, Marshal, Earls of Pembroke]
F ii
Sibyl Marshal 1, 2 was born about 1191 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales. She died before 1238.
F iii
Maud Marshal 1, 2 was born about 1192 in Pembroke, Pembroke, Wales. She died 3 27 Mar 1248 and was buried in Tintern Abbey, Chapel Hill, Monmouthsire, England.

Maud Marshal m. 1st to Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk; 2ndly, to William de Warren, Earl of Surrey; and 3rdly, to Walde de Dunstanville. This lady, upon the decease of her youngest brother, Anselm, Earl of Pembroke, s.p., in 1245, and the division of the estates, obtained as her share the manor of Hempsted-Marshall, in Berks, with the 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, Rogert Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk. Maud, Countess of Norfolk, had likewise the manors of Chepstowand Carlogh. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 358, Marshal, Earls of Pembroke]
M iv
Richard Marshal 6th Earl of Pembroke was born about 1192. He died 16 Apr 1234.
M v
Gilbert Marshal 7th Earl of Pembroke was born about 1193. He died 27 Jun 1241.
F vi
Eva Marshal was born 1194 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales. She died 1 before 1246 in England.
M vii
Walter Marshal 8th Earl of Pembroke was born after 1198. He died 24 Nov 1245.
M viii
Anselm Marshal 9th Earl of Pembroke was born about 1199. He died 1190/1293.
38161465 F ix Isabel Marshal was born 9 Oct 1200 and died 17 Jan 1239/1240.
F x
Joan Marshal 1, 2 was born about 1208 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, England. She died 2 before Nov 1234.

76322932. Roger de Lacy was born about 1171 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. He died 1211. Roger married Matilda de Clare. [Parents]

Roger de Lacy, constable of Chester, assisted at the siege of Acon in 1192 under the banner of the lion-hearted Richard, and shared in the subsequent triumphs of the chivalrous monarch. At the accession of John in 1199, he was a person of great eminence, for we find him shortly after the coronation of that prince deputed with the sheriff of Northumberland and other great men to conduct William, King of Scotland, to Lincoln, where the English king had fixed to give him an interview, and the next year he was one of the barons present at Lincoln, when David, of Scotland, did homage and fealty to King John.

In the time of this Roger, Ranulph, Earl of Chester, having entered Wales at the head of some forces, was compelled by superior numbers to shut himself up in the castle of Rothelan, where, being closely besieged by the Welsh, he sent for aid to the constable of Chester. Hugh Lupus, the 1st Earl of Chester, in his charter of foundation of the abbey of St. Werberg, at Chester, had given a privilege to the frequenters of Chester fair, "That they should not be apprehended for theft or any other offence during the time of the fair, unless the crime was committed therein. "This privilege made the fair, of course, the resort of thieves and vagabonds from all parts of the kingdom. Accordingly, the constable, Roger de Laci, forthwith marched to his relief at the head of a concourse of people then collected at the fair of Chester, consisting of minstrels and loose characters of all descriptions, forming altogether so numerous a body that the besiegers, at their approach, mistaking them for soldiers, immediately raised the siege. For this timely service, the Earl of Chester conferred upon de Lacy and his heirs the patronage of all the minstrels in those parts, which patronage the constable transferred to his steward, Dutton, and his heirs; and it is enjoyed to this day by the family of Dutton.

It is doubtful, however, whether the privilege was transferred to the Duttons by this constable or his successor. The privilege was, "That, at the midsummer fair held at Chester, all the minstrels of that country, resorting to Chester, do attend the heir of Dutton, from his lodging to St. John's Church (he being then accompanied by many gentlemen of the country, one of them walking before him in a surcoat of his arms depicted on taffeta, the rest of his fellows proceeding two and two, and playing on their several sorts of musical instruments."] When divine service terminates, the like attendance upon Dutton to his lodging, where a court being kept by his steward, and all the minstrels formally called, certain orders and laws are made for the government of the society of minstrels.

Roger de Lacy was s. by his son, John de Lacy, constable of Chester.[Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 310-311, Lacy, Earls of Lincoln]

76322933. Matilda de Clare "Maud" 1 was born about 1176 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. She died 1213. [Parents]

They had the following children:

38161466 M i John de Lacy Earl of Lincoln was born about 1192 and died 22 Jul 1240.

76322934. Robert de Quincy Earl of Lincoln 1, 2 was born about 1172 in Winchester Buckley, Hampshire, England. He died 3, 4 Aug 1257 in London, England. Robert married Hawise de Meschines on 1195/1228. [Parents]

76322935. Hawise de Meschines 1 was born 1 1170 in Chester, Cheshire, England. She died 2 before 3 Mar 1242/1243. [Parents]

They had the following children:

38161467 F i Margaret de Quincy was born 1208 and died before 30 Mar 1266.

76322936. Gerald FitzMaurice 1st Baron of Offaly 1 was born 2 about 1150 in Windsor, Berkshire, England. He died 1 before 15 Jan 1203/1204 in Offaly, Kildare, Ireland. Gerald married 2 Eve de Bermingham Heiress of Offaly about 1193. [Parents]

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF IRELAND FOR THE YEAR1914 PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS - PART 11, VOL.XLIV PAPERS

The Fitzgeralds Barons of Offaly

BYGODDA RD H. ORPEN, M.R.I.A., Member [Read 24 February 1914]
When studying afresh the pedigree of the barons of Offaly, from whom sprang the great house of the earls of Kildare, and, more recently, the dukes of Leinster, I was at the outset puzzled to know how they first became entitled to lands in Offaly. Strongbow, cantred of Offelan, the cantred in which Naas is situated, and this district was quite distinct from Offaly. Moreover, about the same time, Strongbow granted Offaly to Robert de Birmingham.

The eldest son of Maurice Fitzgerald was William FitzMaurice, who inherited the lands in Offelan granted to his father, and was confirmed in them by John, Lord of Ireland, in 1185. He was known as Baron of Naas. William gave half the cantred to his brother Gerald FitzMaurice. who thus obtained lands in Offelan, with centers at Maynooth and Rathmore. This grant was also confirmed by John in the reign of Henry II. But besides these lands, and certain lands about Croom (Limerick), in Imokilly, and elsewhere, with which we are not here concerned, as early as 1199 Gerald was in possession of the lands of Lea and Geashill. These places are in Offaly, and gave names to the principal Geraldine manors there. About September, 1199, they were claimed against Gerald FitzMaurice by one Maurice FitzPhilip, who seems to have been an official of King John. It does not seem worth while to make a conjecture about this claim, which is obscurely stated, and appears to have failed. About the same time the King granted letters of protection to Gerald, his chattels, men, and possessions, and at any rate it is clear from a mandate in the Patent Roll (5 John) that at Gerald's death, shortly before January 15, 1204, he was seized in his demesne as of fee of the castles of Lea and Geashill, Gerald FitzMaurice I, then, is rightly regarded as first baron of Offaly.

Even this bare statement of facts would naturally lead us to inquire whether Gerald did not obtain his lands in Offaly by a marriage with a daughter of the house of De Birmingham. He is indeed stated by Gilbert to have married a daughter of Hamo de Valognes, who was justiciar c.1197, but no authority is given for this statement, and I have been unable to find any support for it, While endeavoring to trace the devolution of Offaly, however, I have been led to the following conclusions:-first, that Gerald did, as a matter of fact, marry Eva de Birmingham, presumably daughter of Robert de Birmingham, first grantee of Offaly; that she was the mother of Maurice FitGerald II, second baron of Offaly, and that it was presumably through this marriage the family first acquired lands in Offaly; and secondly, that the heir of Maurice FitzGerald, second baron of Offaly, was not, as usually stated, his son Maurice FitzMaurice, but his grandson, Maurice FitzGerald III, son of an elder son, Gerald, who died in his father's lifetime, c.1243, that this grandson, who married as his second wife Agnes de Valence, the King's cousin, and was drowned in the Irish Channel in 1268. was the third baron of Offaly, and was succeeded in the barony by his son; and that Maurice FitzMaurice, who died in 1286, was never baron of Offaly at all. These are the main new points I hope to establish in this paper.

In dealing with the early pedigree of the Geraldines, it must be borne in mind that throughout the thirteenth century, at any rate, the family had no fixed surname. Members of the family are always designated in the contemporary documents by personal patronymies, changing with each generation. Thus in Latin documents we read of Mauricius filius Geraldi, Geraldus filius Mauricii, Thomas filius Maurieii, Johannes filius Thome, andc. So it was in French, substituting fiz (fitz) for filius and eve nearly Irish writers, though more ready to fix on a permanent patronymic, speak of Mac Muiris as well as Mac Gerailt. Neglect of this custom has contributed to the confusion which has beset the early steps in the pedigree of some branches, and yet the custom, if borne in mind, assists rather than impedes the correct affiliation of individuals. As, however, the names Maurice, Gerald, Thomas, and John recur more than once in the same or in different branches of the family, we must be on our guard against hasty identifications from identity of name. Dates must of course be carefully noted; but even but even accurate dates often fail to distinguish different individuals of the same name, and then the most important clue to identity is often to be found in the careful tracing of the devolution of lands in the various lines. For the purpose of this paper it will be necessary to follow out the devolution of Offaly.

On the death of Gerald FitzMaurice, first baron of Offaly, his heir, as will presently appear, was his son Maurice FitzGerald, then a minor of about nine years of age. There was therefore a long minority. On January 15, 1204, the custody of the castles of Lea and Geashill, and the wardship of Gerald's heir, were assigned to Earl William Marshal as lord of Leinster. Early in 1207, William Marshal went to Ireland, where dissensions had arisen between the justiciar, Meiler, FitzHenry, and the barons of Leinster and Meath. It appears that Meiler, acting on the King's order, had taken Offaly into the King's hand, and that this and other high-handed proceedings had incensed the barons against him. On May 23, 1207, the King reprimanded the barons for presuming to create a new assize without his consent, and for demanding that the justiciar should restore Offaly. In my Ireland under the Normans (vol. ii, pp. 209-215) I have endeavored to piece together the story of the discord between the earl and the justiciar, as far as it can be gathered from L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marhal, and from allusions in the records, and I need not here repeat it. Suffice it is to say that in March, 1208, the earl made his peace with the King who ordered Meiler to give seisin to the earl of the land of Offaly, with its castles. Maurice FitzGerald II appears to have come of age shortly before July 5, 1215, when he made a fine with the King of 60 marks to have the lands of Gerald, his father, in Ireland, with the castles of Crumeth (Croom), and of Dungarvan, in Oglassin (in Imokilly). On November 26, 1216, one of the first acts of the new King, or rather of Earl William Marshal, "rector regis et regne, " was to order Geoffrey de Marisco, the justiciar, to "cause Maurice FitzGerald to have seis in of the land of Maynooth, and of the lands whereof Gerald, his father, died seized in Ireland." Nothing is said expressly about Lea and Geashill, or the lands of Offaly.

It is not until the close of 1226 that we get a clue as to what had become of Offaly. It is, perhaps, not irrelevant to note that at this time the second Earl William Marshal, then lord of Leinster, was at enmity with Geoffrey de Marisco, who, in the preceding June, had superseded the earl as justiciar, the earl, as I have elsewhere shown, being strongly opposed to the new policy of confiscation which Geoffrey was appointed to carry out with regard to the King of Connacht. On December 10, 1226, the King issued a mandate to the "barons, knights, and free-tenants of Leinster" touching a plaint before the court of William Earl Marshal between Maurice FitzGerald, plaintiff, and Geoffrey de Marisco, justiciar of Ireland, defendant. Now, this mandate is preceded by a noteworthy preamble stating in general terms the law applicable to the case. I give this preamble and mandate as rendered from the Patent Roll, inserting in square brackets what I conceive to be its application to the case in question. After referring to King John's having ordained that English laws should be in force in Ireland, the preamble proceeds as follows:-

"Whereas the law and custom of England is that if a man [in this case Geoffrey de Marisco] marry a woman [Eva de Birmingham], whether widow [as in the case if Eva] or other, having an inheritance [Offaly], and he afterwards have issue by her [Robert de Marisco and perhaps other issue]whose cry shall be heard within four walls, that man, if he survive his said wife, shall have for his life the custody of his wife's inheritance, even though she may have an heir of full age [Maurice FitzGerald] by a former husband [Gerald FitzMaurice]. We therefore command you that in the plaint which is in the court of Earl William Marshal, between Maurice Fitzgerald, plaintiff, and Geoffrey de Marisco, our justiciar of Ireland, defendant, or in any like case, ye in no wise presume to give judgment to the contrary. Witness the King at Westminster, 10 December [1226]."

Now there is no doubt that Geoffrey de Marisco married Eva de Birmingham. She was his wife in February 1218, and was still his wife in June, 1223. It would seem then to follow that Eva de Birmingham was the mother of Maurice FitzGerald, and therefore had been wife of Gerald FitzMaurice. On no other supposition does the statement of law appear relevant to the case. The lands being in Leinster, and of the heritance of Eva de Birmingham, were presumably in Offaly. Thus our conjecture that Gerald FitzMaurice obtained Lea and Geashill, in Offaly, by a Birmingham marriage receives curious confirmation. If these lands were inherited by Eva de Birmingham, she would have been entitled to hold them of the Marshals, lords of Leinster, for her life. She died ex hypothesi shortly before the plaint was brought by her son and heir, Maurice FitzGerald, to recover the lands against Geoffrey; but the King intervened with a statement of the law, and Geoffrey remained entitled by "the curtsey of England."

But let us examine the circumstances a little more closely, and, in the first place, see how the dates work out. As Maurice FitzGerald came of age about 1215, he was born about 1194, and Eva was married to Gerald, his father, probably in or shortly before 1193. Gerald was dead in January 1204, and we next hear an Eva de Birmingham - presumably the same Eva-as the wife of Geoffrey FitzRobert, who mentions her as his wife in two deeds, to which Hugh le Rous, Bishop of Ossory (1202-1218), was one of the witnesses. He was, perhaps, the Geoffrey FitzRobert who was the second husband of Basilia, widow of Raymond le Gros, and at any rate he was one of William Marshal's most trusted vassals. He held from him the barony of Kells, in Ossory, and, early in the thirteenth century, was his seneschal of Leinster. He died in 1211, leaving Eva free to marry as her third husband Geoffrey de Marisco.

The Birmingham pedigree at this time is unfortunately obscure. With the exception of Robert de Birmingham, Strongbow's feoffee of Offaly, and this Eva, we hear of no one of the name in Ireland until about the year 1234, when mention is made of the land of Peter de Birmingham in Tethmoy. This Peter sided against Richard Marshal in this year, took part in the conquest of Connacht in the next, and in 1245 joined the expedition in aid of King Henry at Gannoe, in North Wales - in all three cases following the lead of Maurice FitzGerald.

I think he held his lands in Tethmoy as tenant of Maurice FitzGerald, and did not inherit them from Robert de Birmingham. It is noteworthy that the Birminghams, both in Leinster and in Connacht, were always surnamed by the Irish "Mac Fheorais," i.e. FitzPiers, and probably this Peter was the cponym of the clan. I conclude, then, that Eva, whether daughter or grand-daughter of Robert de Birmingham, was sole heiress of Offaly, and brought nominally the whole of it to her heir, Maurice FitzGerald II. There were indeed parts of Offaly in which the Normans never settled, but the early occupation was not confined to Lea (Clanmalier), Geashill, and Tethmoy. John FitzThomas of Desmond held the tuath of Oregan (ui Riagain), in Offaly, of Maurice Fitz Gerald III (to be mentioned later)for the moiety of the service of one knight with suit of court at Geashill.

According to the interpretation I have given of the mandate of December 10, 1226, Geoffrey de Marisco would, in ordinary course, have retained possession of Lea and Geashill up to his death. Now, eight years later, in consequence of the part he took against the Crown in the war of Richard Marshal, Geoffrey was thrown into prison, and his lands taken into the King's hands. Maurice FitzGerald took the leading part against Richard Marshal, and was rewarded by the King. It is clear from what follows that Maurice now obtained some lands of his which Geoffrey had held - and these lands were presumably Lea and Geashill. In September, 1234, when peace was made by the King at Marlborough between Gilbert Marshal and his brothers of the other part, and the community of Magnates of Ireland of the other part, the King granted to Maurice Fitzgerald that, notwithstanding the peace so made, he should have judgment of the King's Court touching certain tenements which Geoffrey de Marisco and others held of his (Maurice's) tenements. These tenements, we may infer with probability, were Lea and Geashill. Perhaps Geoffrey, facilitated the matter by surrendering the tenements to Maurice, for when, on August 3 1235, the King remitted his ire against Geoffrey, and ordered seisin to be given to him of his lands, he did so, "saving to the justiciar[Maurice] the lands which Geoffrey granted to him."

But if the conclusion that Eva de Birmingham, before she married Geoffrey de Marisco, was the wife of Gerald FitzMaurice should still seem no more than a plausible conjecture, fitting in with and explaining several facts indeed, but perhaps leaving open a chink for the admission of some other possible explanation, the following document - the last I shall quote on this point - will, I think , clinch the matter.

On August 19 1240, Maurice FitzGerald, the justiciar of Ireland, was granted provisionally "the custody of the land in Kerry which belonged to Robert de Mariscis who was the justiciar's brother, and the custody of Robert's heir." It is clear from this that Maurice FitzGerald, the justiciar in 1240, and Robert de Mariseis, were brothers of the half-blood, i.e. that they had the same mother. There can be little doubt that Robert de Mariscis was a son of Geoffrey de Marisco, or de Mariscis- the name is written in both ways - and bearing in mind what we have already established, the conclusion is irresistible: the mother of both Maurice and Robert was Eva de Birmingham.

To pass now to my second point, viz., that the heir of Maurice Fitzgerald, second baron of Offaly, was not his son known as Maurice FitzMaurice, but his grandson, another Maurice FitzGerald, son of his eldest son Gerald. This will perhaps be most conclusively shown by following out the devolution of Offaly; but it will be best to take first the crucial document which, properly understood, really settles the point. This document is calendered from the Close Roll, 42 Henry III, but not quite correctly, by Sweetman. Feeling great doubt about the correctness of the fifth line in Sweetman's abstract, which speaks of "the minority of Maurice, son and heir of the said Maurice FitzGerald, "I obtained from my friend Mr. Philip H. Hore a transcript of the entry in the Close Roll, and I found that the words here (when expanded) are: "ratione Mauricii filii Geraldi filii et heredis predicti Maureii filii Geraldiiqui infra ctatem est." Now in this passage the second filii must, I think, be taken in apposition to the immediately preceding Geraldii, and not to Maurieii, so that we have here four generations-Maurice, son of Gerald, son of Maurice, son of Gerald, which is, I think, correct. If the second filii be taken in apposition to Maurieii, we obtain the intrinsically absurd statement that Maurice, son of Gerald, was son of somebody else, viz., another Maurice, son of Gerald, and it is only through his omitting the first Gerald that this intrinsic absurdity does not appear on the face of Sweetman's abstract.

With this emendation, Sweetman's abstract is substantially correct. The document is an agreement made before the King, at Westminster, on Christmas Day, 1257, between the Lord Edward, the King's son, and Margaret, Countess of Lincoln, touching Offaly. The circumstances, partly recited in the document, were as follows:- Margaret, Countess of Lincoln, daughter of Robert de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, was widow of Walter Marshal, late Lord of Leinster (not, as stated in Burke, widow of Maurice Fitzgerald II), and as such she had obtained as dower the whole county of Kildare, and apparently the barony of Offaly. Accordingly, on the death of Maurice FitzGerald, second baron of Offaly, Margaret claimed the custody of the castles and lands of Offaly during the minority of the heir, namely, Maurice, son of the deceased baron's eldest son Gerald. It appears, however, that Maurice, younger (post nalus) son of the deceased baron, claimed the lands as against Maurice, his nephew (nepos suus), by virtue of his father's feoffment, or as his astrarius, or in some other way, and pending the decision of this claim, the Lord Edward would not give seisin to the countess. The agreement then virtually was that if Maurice (post nalus) persisted in his claim, the lands should be assigned to John FitzThomas [of Shanid]3 to hold pending the decision of the Lord Edward's court, and that if Maurice (post nalus) should make good his claim there under the feoffment or otherwise, then he should render fealty and relief to the countess; while if he should not make good his claim, then the lands and castles were to be restored to the custody of the countess during the minority of the heir.

It is really quite clear from this document that Maurice FitzMaurice was not, as stated in the received pedigrees, the eldest son and heir of Maurice FitzGerald II, who died in 1257, but a younger son (post nalus), and that the heir was Maurice FitzGerald III, grandson of the deceased, and nephew (nepos) of Maurice FitzMaurice. But, it may be asked, may not Maurice FitzMaurice have made good his claim to Offaly under his father's feoffment, and thus be rightly styled third baron, even though he was not the heir?

This question leads to a further correction. The feoffment alluded to appears to have been actually transcribed into the Red Book of the Earl of Kildare, begun in 1503. A sort of table of contents was compiled by William Roberts, Ulster King-at-Arms, and prefixed to a transcript of the Red Book made by him in 1633. This table has been printed in the Appendix to the Ninth Report of the Historical MSS. Commission, but it is incomplete, and sometimes misleading. The feoffment in question is there described as follows (p. 266):-"A graunt from Maurice, the sonne of Gerald, to his sonne Maurice, of all the lands of Offaly, Rathmoore, Fermayle, Carbry, with the castell of Sligath, all the lands of Fernanath, with the castle of Kilwisky, with lands in Tirconnell." Now from various documents, to some of which I shall refer, I was convinced that, as a matter of fact, Offaly did not go to Maurice FitzMaurice, but to his nephew Maurice FitzGerald III, and from him to his son Gerald FitzMaurice III. When recently, by the courtesy of Lord Frederick FitzGerald, I was given an opportunity of examining the Red Book, I turned up the deed in question, and found that it has been misunderstood, and is entirely misrepresented in the above-mentioned table of contents. As it is important to clear up this misconception, and as the deed has never, so far as I know, been printed, I give the essential parts of it here:-

"Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Mauricius filius Geraldi dedi et hacpresenti carta mea confirmani Mauricio filio meo pro homagio et serviciosuo et pro quieto clamio quam [sic] 1 michi fecit de tota terra Offalyecum omnibus suis pertinentiis et de terris de Maynooth Rathmore et deffermayll cum omnibus carum pertinenciis totam terram de Carbry cum Castro de Slygath tam in servicio quam redditibus et omnibus pertinenciissuis totam terram de ffermanath cum castro de Kylwysky2 tam andc. totamterram de Tirconyll tam andc. habendas et tenendas dicto Maurico etheredibus suis de me et heredibus meis iure hereditario libereandc. reddendo andc. unum falconem sorum vel decem solidos sterling andc. Hiistestibus domino Johanne filio Thome domino Johanne Pincerna Phillippode Stantona Mauricio filio Johannis Galfrido de Appilby Galfrido de Norragh Walerano de Wallesley Philippo de Hyntebyria (?) 3 Henrico de Capella Ricardo filio Willielmi Alexandro Crok Johanne filio Roberti Johanne Purcell Alano filio Mathei Ricardo de Santo fflorentio Nicholas de Dunheuyde Johanne le Poer Johanne de Capella Andrea le Poer Willclmode Punchardon Johanne Marescallo Roberto Crok Phillippo Wychecote et aliis." I think it will be seen that this deed is a grant from Maurice Fitzgerald to his son Maurice of certain lands in Sligo, Fermanagh, and Tirconnell, "in consideration of his homage and service, and inconsideration of the quit-claim which he has made to me of all the land of Offaly with all its appurtenances, and of the lands of Maynooth, Rathmore, and Fermayle with all their appurtenances."

So far from Offaly, andc., being included in the grant to Maurice FitzMaurice, his giving op to his father all claim to Offaly, andc., was the consideration for the grant of the other lands. The deed was perhaps executed not very long before the death of Maurice FitzGerald in 1257, and, at any rate, after the death of his eldest son Gerald, in 1243, when Maurice FitzMaurice may have been in actual possession of Offaly, asastrarius. Maurice FitzGerald II is said to have taken the habit of a Franciscan monk before his death, and to have died in the monastery which he had founded at Youghal.

I have now mentioned two documents - the only two so far as I know-which, as unfortunately described in the printed sources, may have misled previous writers into thinking that Maurice FitzMaurice was heir to his father, Maurice FitzGerald, the justiciar, and - though this is somewhat inconsistent-that Maurice FitzMaurice obtained Offaly by feoffment from his father. I have, however, shown that the documents themselves contain no such indications, but that the first clearly points to Maurice Fitzgerald, the justiciar's grandson, as the justiciar's heir, and the second plainly indicates that Offaly did not pass from the justiciar to his son Maurice. Positive Proof that Offaly passed to the justiciar's grandson and heir, Maurice FitzMaurice III, and that they were therefore third and fourth lords or barons of Offaly, respectively, will appear in the sequel; but it will help to a clearer understanding if we give some notes with regard to the justiciar's eldest son and his descendants, so as to establish the true succession in the senior line. They are not so well known as his second son, Maurice FitzMaurice.

Of Gerald, the justiciar's eldest son, we know little. He joined the King's expedition to Poiton in 1242, when he can hardly have been more than twenty-five years of age. He was paid and rewarded for his services, and is said to have died in Gascony in 1243. He left two infant children, a son and heir, Maurice FitzGerald III, and a daughter, Juliana, afterwards married to John de Cogan. There are several grants by Juliana in the Red book, to one of which we may here refer, as it is sufficiently establishes this part of the pedigree. It is a release and quit-claim from "Julianna Cogan, filia Geraldi filii Maurieii," to John FitzThomas, of all her rights, "ratione hereditarie successionis Mauricii filii Geraldi avi mei, Mauricii filii Geraldi fratris mei, et Geraldi filii Mauricii consanguinei mei," and it bears a date in July 1293.

Maurice FitzGerald III, who was still a minor in 1257, when his grandfather died, was numbered among the chief magnates of Ireland by 1262. He was implicated in the dissensions which arose in 1264 between the Geraldines and the Burkes, but probably his uncle, Maurice FitzMaurice, was the principal opponent of Walter de Burgh, the newly made Earl of Ulster. He was drowned when crossing the Channel to Ireland in July 1268, when he was about twenty-seven years of age. He was twice married, first to a wife whose name is unknown, by whom he had a son and heir, Gerald, born about February 1265, and secondly in 1266, to Agnes de Valence, the King's cousin. The Limerick lands were settled on this second marriage, but there was no issue from it.

There was now another long minority, and he wardship passed from hand to hand. Prince Edward granted the custody to Thomas de Clare, in recognition, no doubt, of the services of the House of Gloucester before and at battle of Evesham. By a deed of March 30, 1270, Thomas de Clare, for a fine of 3500 marks, sold to William de Valence the custody of the lands "which belonged to Maurice FitzGerald [III], deceased, with the marriage of his heirs, the custody of the castle of Leye and the manor of Rathingan." Here it appears plain enough for all to read that Maurice FitzMaurice (who was still alive) did not succeed to the lands in Offaly. Geashill is not specifically mentioned, perhaps because the castle had already been taken by the Irish, or more probably because Lea was "the chief castle of the barony," as stated in another document. From this last, indeed, it appears that Maurice FitzGerald III held the barony of Offaly of the lords of Leix, the chief of whom was Roger de Mortimer, by the service of twelve knights, and in 1274 it was decided before the King that Roger de Mortimer, and Matilda, his wife, were entitled to the "custody of the castle and honor of Leghey (Lea) till the age of Maurice's heirs, Maurice having held the castle and honor of them by knight service." Finally, in December 1283, Geoffrey de Geneville bound himself to William de Valence in 1200 "for the commission of lands of Maurice FitzGerald [III] and for the marriage of Gerald, son and heir of the said Maurice, under age, and in the custody of the said William. "This entry indeed suggests another correction in the received pedigree. It was clearly Gerald FitzMaurice III that married Joan, daughter of Geoffrey de Geneville, and not, as stated in Burke, Gerald FitzMaurice II, who died in 1243, before Geoffrey 's marriage. Gerald FitzMaurice III, fourth baron of Offaly, while not yet quite of age, appears to have led his vassals in the army of the justiciar into Wales in 1283-4, 1 at the time of the final conquest of that country. It was probably while he was absent in Wales that his castle of Lea was taken and burned by the Irish in 1284.2 Next year he was taken prisoner by "his own Irish of Offaly," to whom he was known as "Rothfalyaht" i.e. probably, Ruadh Failgheach, "the Red One of Offaly." In May 1285, he was granted a fair at Maynooth, and in 1287 he died. Accordingly to one (late, but probably correct) account he was slain in battle in Thomond along with Thomas de Clare, the husband of his father's cousin, Juliana. If so, he died on August 29, 1287. At his death he was Capitaneus Geraldinorum, "chief of the Geraldines," but he had only reached the middle of his twenty-third year.

I have now, I think, proved the two main points which I set out to prove; but these notes on the Geraldine barons of Offaly would be very incomplete if I did not at least indicate how John FitzThomas(after-wards first earl of Kildare), the fifth and most remarkable of them all, acquired the property and position he held. There can be little doubt that his father, Thomas, was a younger son of Maurice FitzGerald II-younger, probably, than his brother Maurice FitzMaurice. In one of the grants from Juliana de Cogan to John FitzThomas, transcribed in the Red Book, he is called "Johannes filius Thome filii Mauricii." We know little about Thomas FitzMaurice, except that he was given by his brother Maurice "the land of Bennede [Banada], in the cantred of Lune [now Leyny, Sligo], excepting the castle of Rathardereth" [Arderee, in the parish of Kilvarnet], and three villatas of land belonging to the said castle. In 1265 the castles of Bennfhada and Rathairderaibhe [Banada and Arderee] were burned and demolished by Aedh O'Conor; and in 1271 Thomas FitzMaurice died at his brother's castle of Lough Mask.

Now at the death, in 1287, of Gerald FitzMaurice, fourth baron of Offaly, his heir was his Aunt, Juliana, widow of John de Cogan; while the heirs of Maurice FitzMaurice, who died in 1286, were his two daughters, Juliana, wife (soon to be widow) of Thomas de Clare, and Amabil, seemingly a widow without children. Juliana de Cogan had a son, John, of full age, or nearly so; and Juliana de Clare had a son, Gilbert, an infant; but the nearest male descendant in the male line of Maurice Fitzgerald II would seem to have been his grandson, John FitzThomas. In recording the death of Gerald FitzMaurice, Capitaneus Geraldinorum, in 1287, Friar Clyn adds, hereditatem suam detit domino Johanni filio Thome filio adwunculi sui." This entry is, of course, not a contemporary one, but it does stand alone. By an inquisition concerning the manor of Athlacca. Limerick, taken in 1310, and transcribed at length in the Red Book, it was found (inter alia) that when Gerald FitzMaurice [III] came of age, and was seized of the manors of Maynooth, Rathangan, and Lea, in the county of Kildare, he enfeoffed John FitzThomas of them to hold to him and his heirs of the chief lords of the fee, together with the reversion of the aforesaid manors in county Limerick, and with all other reversions which might or should revert to himself in any way throughout all Ireland. The document is too long for a complete abstract of it to be here given. Suffice it to say that John FitzThomas did not get seisin of the Limerick manors during the lifetime of Gerald FitzMaurice; that the reversions, and c., fell to the lot of Juliana de Cogan, aunt of the said Gerald; and that she afterwards granted and released all her rights to John FitzThomas. There were further complications about the seisin, which John FitzThomas took in an irregular way; but the jury conclude by saying that "they do not know anyone to whom the said manor ought to remain, descend, or revert by hereditary right, or in any other way, unless to the said John FitzThomas." From another document it appears that John FitzThomas, in consideration of his services to Edward I in Scotland and Flanders, and to Edward II in Ireland, was pardoned for his intrusions on the said lands.

I could not find any deed of feoffment from Gerald FitzMaurice to John FitzThomas in the Red Book, but as regards Offaly, it contains the following Letters of Attorney - one from Gerald FitzMaurice, lord of Offaly, appointing John, the clerk, formerly provost (preposilus) of Leye, to deliver seisin of the manor of Leye to John FitzThomas or his attorney; and the other from John FitzThomas, authorizing Friar Roger, abbot of Rosglas [Monasterevin], to receive seisin of the manor of Leye. They are both dated at Rathymegan [Rathdangan], the former on the day of SS. John and Paul, a. r. Ed. XV [26 June 1287], and the latter on Tuesday next after the Feast of St. Swithin, a.r. Ed.XV [22 July 1287].

This was only a few weeks before the death of Gerald FitzMaurice.

It is clear, however, that John FitzThomas did not rely solely upon the feoffment from Gerald FitzMaurice. He soon set about getting in, so far as he could, all the rights or claims of the female heirs. He does not seem to have acquired the share of Juliana de Clare in the property of Maurice FitzMaurice; but the Red Book contains a great number of grants and releases between the years 1293 and 1297 from Juliana de Cogan and her son, John de Cogan, and from Amabil, daughter of Maurice FitzMaurice, conveying to John FitzThomas all their rights and claims to the succession of the several lands in connacht, Tirconnell, Fermanagh, county Limerick, Imokilly, Offaly, and Maynooth, which belonged to either Gerald FitzMaurice or to Maurice FitzMaurice at their respective deaths. In this way, and by other purchases, and finally by the grant of Kildare from the King, John FitzThomas became the most powerful landholder in Ireland, with the possible exception of his rival and antagonist, the Red Earl of Ulster.

76322937. Eve de Bermingham Heiress of Offaly 1 was born 1165 in Offaly, Kildare, Ireland. She died 1, 2 before Dec 1226. [Parents]

They had the following children:

38161468 M i Maurice FitzGerald 2nd Baron of Offaly Justiciar of Ireland was born about 1190 and died 1257.

76322938. John de Cogan 1 was born about 1190 in Bampton, Devonshire, England. He died 1 1278. John married Maria de Prendergast. [Parents]

76322939. Maria de Prendergast 1 was born about 1208 in Ireland. [Parents]

They had the following children:

38161469 F i Juliane de Cogan was born about 1223.

76322940. William Longespee Earl of Salisbury 1, 2 was born 1 before 1173 in England. He died 1 7 Mar 1225/1226 in Salisbury Castle, Wiltishire, England. William married 1 Ela FitzPatrick Countess of Salisbury on 1198. [Parents]

William Longespee became Earl of Salisbury in right of his wife. In the beginning of King John's reign this nobleman was sheriff of Wiltshire, he was afterwards warden of the marches of Wales, and then sheriff of the counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon. About this period (14th John)[1213], the baronial contest commencing, William Longespee at once espoused the royal cause and maintained it so stoutly that he was included by the barons amongst the evil councilors of the crown. The next year he was again constituted sheriff of Wilts and he held the office from that time during the remainder of his life. He had also grant of the honor of Eye, in Suffolk, and was the same year a witness to the agreement made between King John and the barons as guarantee forth former. He was likewise a witness to the charter whereby John resigned his kingdom to the Pope. After this we find him a principal leader in the royal army until the very close of John's reign, when he swerved in his loyalty and joined, for a short period, the ranks of Lewis of France. Upon the accession, however, of Henry III [1216], he did homage to that monarch, particularly for the county of Somerset, which the king then gave him; and joining with William Marshall. governor of the king and kingdom, raised the siege of Lincoln when he was constituted sheriff of Lincolnshire and governor of Lincoln Castle, being invested at the same time with sheriff of the co. of Somerset, and governorship of the castle of Shirburne. His lordship soon afterwards accompanied the Earl of Chester to the Holy Land, and was at the battle of Damieta, in which the crescent triumphed. He served subsequently in the Gascon wars, whence returning to England, Dugdale relates, "there arose so great a tempest at sea that, despairing of life, he threw his money and rich apparel overboard. But when all hopes were passed, they discerned mighty taper of wax burning bright at the prow of the ship and beautiful woman standing by it who preserved it from wind and rain so that it gave a clear and bright luster. Upon sight of which heavenly vision both himself and the mariners concluded of their future security, but everyone there being ignorant what this vision might portend except the earl, he, however, attributed it to the benignity of the blessed virgin by reason that, upon the day when he was honored with the girdle of knighthood, he brought a taper to her altar to be lighted ever day at mass when the canonical hours used to be sung, and to the intent that, for this terrestrial light, he might enjoy that which is eternal. "Arumour, however, reached England of the earls having been lost, and Hubert de Burgh, with the concurrence of the king, provided a suitor for his supposed widow, but the lady, in the interim, having received letters from her husband, rejected the suit with indignation. The earl soon after came to the king at Marlborough and, being received with great joy, he preferred a strong complaint against Hubert de Burgh, adding that, unless the king would do him right therein, he should vindicate himself otherwise to the disturbance of the public peace. Hubert, however, appeased his wrath with rich presents, and invited him to his table, where it is asserted that he was poisoned, for he retired to his castle of Salisbury in extreme illness and died almost immediately after, anno 1226. His lordship left issue, four sons and five daus., viz., William, his successor; Richard, a canon of Salisbury; Stephen, Justiciary of Ireland; Nicholas, bishop of Salisbury; Isabel, m. to William de Vesci; Ela, m. 1st, to Thomas, Earl of Warwick, and 2ndly to Philip Basset, of Hedendon; Idonea, m. to William de Beauchamp, Baron of Bedford; Lora, a nun at Lacock; and Ela, jun., m. to William de Odingsells. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, England, 1883, p. 167, d'Evereux, Earls of Salisbury]

----------

I have attached William to Rosamund Clifford as that is how it is shown by Brian Tompsett at Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, although he provides the following notes: "The House of Clifford, Chapter 5: Much controversy surrounds the identity of the Mother of William, for Rosamund was not the king's only mistress, though there are many who believe she was. Those who dispute Rosamund's claim base their case on the disparity in the ages of all concerned, but there is other evidence as well which can not be ignored. Unfortunately, the records date neither the birth of Rosamund nor that of her father, or her reputed sons. Documents also indicate an Ida, and an Ykenai as his mother. Died on Crusade."

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William Longsword, 3rd earl of Salisbury, Longsword also spelled LONGESPEE (d. March 7, 1226, Salisbury, Wiltshire, Eng.), an illegitimate son of Henry II of England, and a prominent baron, soldier, and administrator under John and Henry III. He acquired his lands and title from Richard I, who in 1196 gave him the hand of the heiress Ela, or Isabel, daughter of William, earl of Salisbury. He held numerous official positions in England under John.

He was sent on missions to France (1202) and to Germany (1209). In 1213-14 he organized John's Flemish allies, taking part in the destruction (1213)of the French fleet at Damme, then the port of Bruges, and leading the right wing of the allied army at Bouvines (July 27, 1214), where he was captured. He was exchanged and was back in England by May 1215, when he was employed by John in inspecting the defenses of royal castles and fighting the rebels in the southwest.

During John's war against the barons, Salisbury deserted the king after the landing of Louis of France (May 1216); he returned to royal allegiance, however, by March 1217, fought at Lincoln (May) and Sandwich (August), and attested the Treaty of Kingston (September 1217).Salisbury held various posts during the minority of Henry III and served against the Welsh in 1223 and in Gascony in 1225. He and his wife were benefactors of Salisbury Cathedral and laid foundation stones of the new cathedral in 1220. William was buried there and his effigy, a splendid early example, still survives. [Britannica CD '97]

76322941. Ela FitzPatrick Countess of Salisbury 1, 2, 3 was born BET. 1187 - 1191 in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. She died 1 24 Aug 1261 in Lacock, Wiltshire, England. [Parents]

They had the following children:

F i
Idonea Ida Longespee 1 was born about 1207 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. She died 1269.
M ii
Sir William Longespee 1 was born about 1212 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. He died 1 7 Feb 1249/1250 in Slain by Saracens at Battle of Mansura, Nile Delta, Egypt.

William de Longespee, eldest son of William, Earl of Salisbury, "commonly called," says Sir William Dugdale, by Matthew Paris, and most of our other historians, Earl of Salisbury, but erroneous, for all records wherein mention is made of his do not give him that title, but called him barely William Longespee. Nay, there is an old chronicle who saith expressly, that, in anno 12233 (17th Henry III), he was girt with the sword of knighthood, but not made Earl of Salisbury." This William made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1240, and again in 1247, having assumed the cross for a second pilgrimage, proceeded to Rome, and thus preferred a suit to the sovereign pontiff. "Sir, you see that I am signed with the cross and am on my journey with the King of France to fight in this pilgrimage. My name is great and of note, viz., William Longespee, but my estate is slender, for the king of England, my kinsman and liege lord, hath bereft me of the title of earl and of that estate, but this he did judiciously, and not in displeasure, and by the impulse of his will; therefore I do not blame him for it. Howbeit, I am necessitated to have recourse to your holiness for favor, desiring your assistance in this distress. We see here (quoth he) that Earl Richard (of Cornwall)who, though he is not signed with the cross, yet, through the especial grace of your holiness, he hath got very much money from those who are signed, and therefore, I, who am signed and in want, do in treat the like favor. "The pope taking into consideration the elegance of his manner, the efficacy of his reasoning, and the comeliness of his person, conceded in part what he desire; whereupon he received above 1,000 marks from those who had been so signed. In about two years after this, anno 1249, having received the blessing of his noble mother, Ela, then abbess of Lacock, he commenced his journey at the head of a company of 200 English horse and, being received with great respect by the king of France, joined that monarch's army. In Palestine he became subsequently pre-eminently distinguished and fell, in 1250, in a great conflict with the Saracens, near Damieta, having previously kill above 100 of the enemy with his own hand. It was reported that, the bight before the battle, his mother Ela, the abbess, saw in a vision the heavens open and her son armed at all parts (whose shield she well knew), received with joy by the angels. Remembering the occurrence when the news of his death reached herein six months after, she held up her hands, and, with a cheerful countenance, said, "I, thy handmaid, give thanks to thee, O Lord, that out of my sinful flesh thou hast caused such a champion against thine enemies to be born." It was also said that, in 1252, when messengers were sent to the Soldan of Babylon for redemption of those who had been taken prisoner, he thus addressed them -- "I marvel at you, Christians, who reverence the bones of the dead, why you inquire not for those of the renowned and right noble William Longespee, because there be many things reported of them (whether fabulous or not I cannot say), viz., that, in the dark of the night there have been appearances at his tomb, and that to some, who called upon his God, many things were bestowed from Heaven. For which cause, and in regard of his great worth and nobility of birth, we have caused his body to be here entombed." Whereupon the messenger desiring it, the remains were delivered to them by the Soldan, and thence conveyed to Acre where they were buried in the church of St. Cross. This eminent and heroic personage m. Idonea, dau. and heir of Richard de Camville, and had issue, William de Longespee, his son and heir. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, England, 1883, p. 168, d'Evereux, Earls of Salisbury]
F iii
Ida de Longespee 1, 2 was born about 1215 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. She died after 1267.
38161470 M iv Stephen de Longespee Earl of Ulster Justiciar of Ireland was born 1216 and died 23 Jan 1274/1275.

76322942. Walter de Ridelisford 1 was born about 1181 in Carriebenan, Kildare, Ireland. He died 2 12 Dec 1244. Walter married Annora. [Parents]

76322943. Annora 1 was born about 1186 in England.

They had the following children:

38161471 F i Emmeline de Ridelisford was born 1216 and died 1276.

76322944. Henry II "Curt Mantel" Plantagenet King of England 1, 2 was born 3, 4 25 Mar 1133 in Le Mans, Maine, France. He died 2, 3 6 Jul 1189 in Chinon near Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France and was buried in Fontevraud Abbey, France. Henry married 3, 5 Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine on 18 May 1152 in Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, France. [Parents]

Reigned 1154-1189. He ruled an empire that stretched from the Tweed to the Pyrenees. In spite of frequent hostilities with the French King his own family and rebellious Barons (culminating in the great revolt of 1173-74) and his quarrel with Thomas Becket, Henry maintained control over his possessions until shortly before his death. His judicial and administrative reforms which increased Royal control and influence at the expense of the Barons were of great constitutional importance. Introduced trial by Jury. Duke of Normandy.

Henry II was born at Le Mans in 1133. He was the eldest son of the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I, by her second marriage to Geoffrey the Fair of Anjou. His parents' marriage was tempestuous, and both parties were glad when politics brought a separation, with Matilda going to England to fight King Stephen, and Geoffrey of Normandy to win a heritage for young Henry.

He first came to England at the age of nine when his mother made her dramatic escape from Oxford where she was besieged by Stephen, across the ice and snow, dressed all in white, to welcome him at Wallingford. His next visit, when he was fourteen, showed his character: he recruited a small army of mercenaries to cross over and fight Stephen in England, but failed so miserably in the execution of his plans that he ended up borrowing money from Stephen to get back home. A third expedition, two years later, was almost as great a failure. Henry was not a soldier, his were skills of administration and diplomacy; warfare bored and sometimes frightened him. For the meanwhile he now concentrated on Normandy, of which his father had made him joint ruler. In 1151, the year of his father's death, he went to Paris to do homage to Louis VII for his duchy. There he met Queen Eleanor, and she fell in love with him.

Henry was by no means averse. To steal a king's wife does a great deal for the ego of a young duke; he was as lusty as she, and late in their lives he was still ardently wenching with 'the fair Rosamund' Clifford, and less salubrious girls with names like 'Bellebelle'; finally, she would bring with her the rich Duchy of Aquitaine, which she held in her own right. With this territory added to those he hoped to inherit and win, his boundaries would be Scotland in the north, and the Pyrenees in the south.

Henry was, apart from his prospects, a 'catch' for any woman. He was intelligent, had learned Latin and could read and possibly write; immensely strong and vigorous, a sportsman and hard rider who loved travel; emotional and passionate, prone to tears and incredible rages; carelessly but richly dressed, worried enough in later life to conceal his baldness by careful arrangement of his hair, and very concerned not to grow fat.

But now he was in the prime of youth, and in 1153, when he landed with a large force in Bristol, the world was ready to be won. He quickly gained control of the West Country and moved up to Wallingford for a crucial battle with Stephen. This was avoided, however, because in the preparations for the battle Henry fell from his horse three times, a bad omen. Henry himself was not superstitious -- he was the reverse, a cheerful blasphemer -- but he disliked battles and when his anxious advisers urged him to heed the omen, he willingly agreed to parley privately with Stephen. The conference was a strange occasion: there were only two of them there, at the narrowest point of the Thames, with Henry on one bank and Stephen on the other. None the less, they seem to have come to an agreement to take negotiations further.

That summer Stephen's son died mysteriously, and Eleanor bore Henry an heir (about the same time as an English whore Hikenai produced his faithful bastard Geoffrey). The omens clearly showed what was soon confirmed between the two -- that when Stephen died, Henry should rule in his place. A year later Stephen did die, and in December 1154, Henry and Eleanor were crowned in London.

Henry was only 21, but he soon showed his worth, destroying unlicensed castles, and dispersing the foreign mercenaries. He gave even-handed justice, showing himself firm, but not unduly harsh. A country racked by civil war sighed with relief. Only two major difficulties appeared: first Henry's failure in his two Welsh campaigns in 1157 and 1165, when guerilla tactics utterly defeated and on the first occasion nearly killed him; second was the reversal of his friendship for Becket when he changed from being Chancellor to Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162.

The quarrel with Becket was linked with the King's determination to continue his grandfather's reform of the administration of justice in the country. He was anxious for a uniform pattern, operated by royal justices, to control the corrupt, ill-administered and unequal local systems operated by barons and churchmen. At Clarendon in 1166 and Northampton in 1176, he got his council's agreement to a series of measures which established circuits of royal justices dealing with the widest range of criminal activities. The method of operation was novel, too, relying on a sworn jury of inquest of twelve men. Though not like a modern jury, in that they were witnesses rather than assessors, the assize juries were the ancestors of the modern English legal system.

Henry traveled constantly, and much of the time in his Continental territories, for there were constant rebellions to deal with, usually inspired or encouraged by Louis of France. Henry was determined to keep the integrity of his empire, and to pass it on as a unity. To do this was no small task, but in 1169 Henry held a conference with the King of France which he hoped would achieve his objectives: he himself again did homage for Normandy, his eldest son Henry did homage for Anjou, Maine and Brittany, and Richard for Aquitaine. The next year he had young Henry crowned in his own lifetime. If anything could preserve the succession, surely this would, yet, in fact, it brought all the troubles in the world onto Henry's head, for he had given his sons paper domains, and had no intention that they should rule his empire. Yet a man with a title does not rest until he has that title's power.

Late in 1171 Henry had a pleasant interlude in Ireland - escaping from the world's condemnation for the murder of Becket. He spent Christmas at Dublin in a palace built for him out of wattles by the Irish.

Meanwhile, Eleanor had been intriguing with her sons, urging them to revolt and demand their rights. Early in 1173 they trooped off to the French court, and with Louis joined in an attack on Normandy. Henry clamped Eleanor into prison and went off to meet the new threat. Whilst he was busy meeting this, England was invaded from Flanders and Scotland, and more barons who fancied a return of the warlord days of Stephen broke into revolt.

Plainly it was St. Thomas's revenge, and there was no hope of dealing with the situation without expiation. In July 1174 Henry returned to England, and went in pilgrim's dress to Canterbury. Through the town he walked barefoot, leaving a trail of blood on the flinty stones, and went to keep his vigil of a day and a night by the tomb, not even coming out to relive himself. As he knelt, the assembled bishops and all the monks of Christchurch came to scourge him -- each giving him three strokes, but some with bitterness in their hearts laying on with five.

It was worth it though, for the very morning his vigil ended Henry was brought the news that the King of Scotland had been captured. He moved quickly northwards, receiving rebels' submission all the time. He met up with Geoffrey who had fought valiantly for him, and commented, 'My other sons have proved themselves bastards, this one alone is my true and legitimate son.'

Returning to France, he quickly came to an agreement with Louis and his three rebel sons, giving each a substantial income, though still no share of power.

Richard set to work reducing the Duchy of Aquitaine to order, and quickly proved himself an able general who performed tremendous feats, such as capturing a fully manned and provisioned castle with three walls and moats to defend it. But the people were less easy to subdue - they loved war for its own sake as their poet-leader, Bertrand de Born, shows well in his works: '. . . I love to see amidst the meadows tents and pavilions spread; and it gives me great joy to see drawn up on the field knights and horses in battle array; and it delights me when the scouts scatter people and herds in their path; and my heart is filled with gladness when I see strong castles besieged, and the stockades broken and overwhelmed, and the warriors on the bank, girt about by fosses, with a line of strong stakes, interlaced . . . Maces, swords, helms of different hues, shields that will be riven and shattered as soon as the fight begins; and many vassals struck down together; and the horses of the dead and wounded roving at random. And when battle is joined, let all men of good lineage think of naught but the breaking of heads and arms: I tell you I find no such savor in food or in wine or in sleep as in hearing the shout "On! On!" from both sides, and the neighing of steeds that have lost their riders, and the cries of "Help! Help!"; and in seeing men great and small go down on the grass beyond the fosses; in seeing at last the dead, with the pennoned stumps of lances still in their sides.'

These robust knights were actively encouraged by the young King Henry. He was handsome, charming and beloved of all, but also feckless and thoughtless -- far keener on tournaments and frivolity than the serious business of government. Then in the middle of his new rebellion he caught dysentery and shortly died. His devoted followers were thunderstruck --one young lad actually pined to death -- and the rebellion fizzled out.

The young king was dead, but Henry, wary of previous errors, was not going to rush into making a new one. He called his favorite youngest son, John, to his side and ordered Richard to give his duchy into his brother's hands. Richard -- his mother's favorite -- had made Aquitaine his home and worked hard to establish his control there; he refused to give his mother's land to anyone, unless it were back to Eleanor herself.

Henry packed John off to Ireland (which he speedily turned against himself) whilst he arranged to get Eleanor out of her prison and bring her to Aquitaine to receive back the duchy. Meanwhile the new King of France, Philip, was planning to renew the attack on English territories, all the while the three, Henry, Richard, and Philip, were supposed to be planning a joint crusade.

In 1188 Henry, already ill with the abscessed anal fistula that was to cause him such an agonizing death, refused point blank to recognize Richard as his heir. The crazy project for substituting John was at the root of it all, though Henry may have deluded himself into thinking he was playing his usual canny hand.

But diplomacy was giving way to the Greekest of tragedies. In June 1189, Philip and Richard advanced on Henry at his birthplace in Le Mans, and he was forced to withdraw with a small company of knights, showering curses on God. Instead of going to the safety of Normandy, he rode hard, his usual long distance, deep into Anjou. This worsened his physical condition and, in high fever, he made no effort to call up forces to his aid. Forced to meet Philip and Richard, he was so ill he had to be held on his horse whilst he deliriously mumbled his abject agreement to their every condition for peace.

Back in bed after his last conference he was brought the news that John, for whom he had suffered all this, had joined the rebels' side. Two sons-- both rebels -- were dead, two sons -- both rebels -- lived, and it was his bastard Geoffrey who now tended him in his last sickness. There was not even a bishop in his suite to give him the last rites. Over and again he cried out in agony "Shame! shame on a vanquished king!"

After his death the servants plundered him, leaving him in a shirt and drawers. When the marshal came to arrange the burial he had to scratch around for garments in which to dress the body. A bit of threadbare gold edging from a cloak was put around Henry's head to represent his sovereignty.

And yet Henry had foreseen it all. According to Gerald of Wales, he had long before ordered a fresco for one of his rooms at Winchester: the picture showed an eagle being pecked by three eaglets, and a fourth perched on his head, ready to peck out his eyes when the time should come. [Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1995]

76322945. Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine 1, 2 was born 3 about 1122 in Chateau de Belin, Guinne, France. She died 3 31 Mar 1204 in Mirabell Castle, Poitiers, France and was buried in Fontevraud Abbey, France. [Parents]

They had the following children:

M i
William Plantagenet was born 17 Aug 1152 in Normandy, France. He died about Apr 1156 in Wallingford Castle, Berkshire, England and was buried in Reading Abbey, Berkshire.

Burke says born 1155 died 1156.
M ii
Henry Plantagenet Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou. was born 28 Feb 1154/1155 in Bermondsey Palace, Surrey, England. He died 11 Jun 1183 in Martel Castle, Turenne, France and was buried in Rouen Cathedral, Rouen, France.

Crowned in 1170.

Stammtafeln says married 21 Aug 1172.
F iii
Matilda (Maud) Plantagenet was born Jun 1156 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England. She died 28 Jun 1189 in Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany and was buried in Brunswick Cathedral, Brunswick, Germany.
M iv
Richard I Plantagenet King of England was born 8 Sep 1157 in Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England. He died 6 Apr 1199 in Chalus, Limousin, France and was buried in Fontevraud Abbey, France.

Reigned 1189-1199. Prisoner in Germany 1192-1194.

A hero of Medieval legends spent all but 6 months of his reign abroad. He became Duke of Aquitaine in 1168 and of Poitiers in 1172. He joined the 3rd crusade in 1189 and conquered Messina and Cyprus before arriving in the Holy Land. His victory at Arsuf gained Joppa (1191). On his way home he was captured in Austria and was only released by Emperor Henry VI after payment of an enormous ransom (1194). He returned briefly to England but died in France.
M v
Geoffrey II Plantagenet Earl of Bretagne. Earl of Richmond was born 23 Sep 1158 in England. He died 19 Aug 1186 in Paris, Seine, France and was buried in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, Seine, France.

Killed at a tournament by his horse.
F vi
Eleanor Plantagenet Princess of England 1, 2 was born 3 13 Oct 1161 in Domfront, Normandy, France. She died 4 25 Oct 1214 in Las Huelgas, Brugos, Spain and was buried in Abbey of las Huelgas, Burgos, Castile.
F vii
Joan Plantagenet was born Oct 1165 in Angers Castle, Anjou, France. She died 4 Sep 1199 in Fontevrault Abbey, France and was buried in Fontevrault Abbey, France.

Died in childbirth, having been veiled a nun on her deathbed.
38161472 M viii John I "Lackland" Plantagenet King of England was born 24 Dec 1166 and died 19 Oct 1216.

76322948. Alphonso II Count of Provence was born 1169/1182. He died 1209. Alphonso was married 1193. [Parents]

He had the following children:

38161474 M i Raymond V Berenger 4th Count of Provence was born 1198 and died 19 Aug 1245.

76322950. Thomas de Maurienne Count of Savoy was born 20 May 1177. He died 1233. Thomas married Margaret of Geneva on May 1195. [Parents]

76322951. Margaret of Geneva was born about 1175. She died 13 Apr 1236 in Pierre Chatel, Hautecombe, France.

They had the following children:

38161475 F i Beatrice of Savoy was born 1201 and died Dec 1266.
M ii
Amadeus IV Count of Savoy was born 1198/1224. He died 1253.
M iii
Thomas de Savoie Count of Flanders was born 1198/1224. He died 1204/1304.
M iv
Peter II Count of Savoy was born 1198/1224. He died 1268.
M v
Phillip Count of Savoy was born 1198/1224. He died 1285.
M vi
Boniface Archbishop of Canterbury was born 1198/1224. He died 1270.

76322952. Ferdinand II King of Leon was born 1137. He died 22 Jan 1187/1188 in Benavente, Zamora, Spain. Ferdinand married Urraca of Portugal on 1165. [Parents]

76322953. Urraca of Portugal was born about 1151. She died 16 Oct 1188. [Parents]

They had the following children:

38161476 M i Alphonso IX King of Leon was born 15 Aug 1171 and died 24 Sep 1230.

76322954. Alfonso VIII King of Castile was born 11 Nov 1155 in Castile, Spain. He died 5 Oct 1214 in Avevalo. Alfonso married Eleanor Plantagenet Princess of England on 21 Sep 1177 in Burgos Cathedral, Castile, Spain. [Parents]

76322955. Eleanor Plantagenet Princess of England 1, 2 was born 3 13 Oct 1161 in Domfront, Normandy, France. She died 4 25 Oct 1214 in Las Huelgas, Brugos, Spain and was buried in Abbey of las Huelgas, Burgos, Castile. [Parents]

They had the following children:

F i
Mafalda was born 1177/1201. She died 1204 in Salamanca.
M ii
Berengar of Castile was born 1180/1203. He died 1185/1284.
F iii
Eleanor of Castile was born 1180/1203. She died 1185/1287.
M iv
Henry of Castile was born 1180/1203. He died 1185/1284.
M v
Sancho was born 1181 in Burgos, Castile, Spain. He died 1181 in Burgos, Castile, Spain.
38161477 F vi Berengaria Queen of Castile was born Aug 1181 and died 8 Nov 1244.
F vii
Sancha was born 1182. She died after 3 Feb 1183/1184.
F viii
Urraca of Castile was born 1186. She died 3 Nov 1220 in Lisbon, Portugal.
F ix
Blanche of Castile was born 4 Mar 1187/1188 in Palencia, Castile, Spain. She died 30 Nov 1253 in Palais du Louver, Paris, Seine, France.
M x
Fernando was born 29 Sep 1189. He died 14 Oct 1211 in Madrid.
F xi
Leonor was born 1202. She died 1244 in Burgos, Castile, Spain.
F xii
Constanza Abbess of las Huelgas was born after 1203. She died 1243 in Las Huelgas, Castile.
M xiii
Enrique I King of Castile was born 14 Apr 1204. He died 6 Jun 1217 in Palencia.

76322958. William II Count of Ponthieu was born 1153/1173. He died 1225. William married Alix of France, Countess of Vexin on 1184/1212. [Parents]

76322959. Alix of France, Countess of Vexin was born about 1170. She died 1188/1264. [Parents]

They had the following children:

38161479 F i Marie (Jeanne) Countess of Ponthieu was born 1188/1211 and died 1251.

76322960. Louis VIII "The Lion" Capet King of France was born 5 Sep 1187 in Paris, France. He died 7 Nov 1226 in Montpensier, Auvergne, France. Louis married Blanche of Castile on 23 May 1200 in Bapaume, Normandy, France. [Parents]

76322961. Blanche of Castile was born 4 Mar 1187/1188 in Palencia, Castile, Spain. She died 30 Nov 1253 in Palais du Louver, Paris, Seine, France. [Parents]

They had the following children:

M i
Alphonse Capet Count of Artois was born 1207/1226. He died 1271.
38161480 M ii Louis IX "St. Louis" Capet King of France was born 21 Apr 1214 and died 25 Aug 1270.
M iii
Robert I Capet Count of Artois was born Sep 1216. He died 9 Feb 1249/1250.
M iv
Charles I d'Anjou Count of Anjou was born Mar 1225/1226. He died 7 Jan 1284/1285 in Foggia, Kingdom of Naples.

76322962. Raymond V Berenger 4th Count of Provence is printed as #38161474.

76322963. Beatrice of Savoy is printed as #38161475.

They had the following children:

38161481 F i Marguerite Berenger was born 1221 and died 20 Dec 1295.
F ii
Eleanor Berenger was born 1222 in Aix-en-Provence, France. She died 24 Jun 1291 in Ambresbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England.

After King Henry died she took the veil at Amesbury.
F iii
Beatrice Berenger was born 1224 in Provence, France. She died 12 Jul 1267.

76322964. Pedro II "The Catholic" King of Aragon was born 1171/1191. He died 12 Sep 1213. Pedro married Maria of Montpellier on 1204. [Parents]

76322965. Maria of Montpellier was born 1175/1192. She died 1211/1281. [Parents]

They had the following children:

38161482 M i Jaime I "The Conqueror" King of Aragon was born 1208 and died 1276.

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