Notes:

He was the son of William de Briouze and Maud de Saint Valéry. He married, firstly, Grecia Brieguerre, daughter of William Brieguerre and Beatrice de Vaux, before 1215. He married, secondly, Gwladus Du ferch Llywelyn, daughter of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of North Wales and Tangwystyl Goch, in 1215. He succeeded to the title of Lord Abergavenny [Feudal] on 13 November 1215. On 26 May 1216 he had seizin of his father's lands. After 1220 he gave up Bramber to nephew John, son of his brother William.

Reginald de Braose (died June 1228) was one of the sons of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber and Matilda, also known as Maud de St. Valery and Lady de la Haie. Her other children included William and Giles.

The de Braoses were loyal to King Richard I but grew in power under King John of England. The dynasty was in conflict with King John towards the end of his reign and almost lost everything.

Reginald de Braose was a scion of the powerful Marcher family of de Braose, helped manage its survival and was also related by marriage to the Welsh Princes of Wales.

Magna Carta

He supported his brother Giles de Braose in his rebellions against King John. Both brothers were active against the King in the Baron's War. Neither was present at the signing of Magna Carta in June 1215 because at this time they were still rebels who refused to compromise.

Restoration of royal favour

King John acquiesced to Reginald's claims to the de Braose estates in Wales in May 1216. Reginald became Lord of Brecon, Abergavenny, Builth and held other Marcher Lordships but was also very much a vassal of the Welsh leader Llewelyn Fawr, Prince of Gwynedd who became his father-in-law in 1215 when Reginald married Llywelyn's daughter, Gwladus Ddu.

Henry III restored Reginald to favour and the Bramber estates (confiscated by King John) in 1217.

Welsh wars

At this seeming betrayal, Rhys and Owain, Reginald's Welsh nephews who were Princes of Deheubarth, were incensed and took Builth, except the castle. Llywelyn Fawr also became angry and his forces besieged Brecon. Reginald eventually surrendered to Llewelyn and gave up Seinhenydd (Swansea).

By 1221 they were at war again, with Llewelyn again laying siege to Builth. The siege was relieved by King Henry III's forces. From this time on Llewelyn tended to support the claims of Reginald's nephew John de Braose concerning the de Braose lands in Wales.

Reginald was a witness to the re-issue of Magna Carta by King Henry III in 1225.

He died two or three years later in 1227 or 1228 in Brecon and was succeeded by his son by his first wife, Grecia Briwere, the ill-fated William de Braose, Lord Abergavenny. He is buried at Brecon Cathedral.

It may be that the Matilda de Braose who was the wife of Rhys Mechyll, Prince of Deheubarth was the daughter of Reginald.

Reginald married Grecia Brieguerre Bef 1215. [Group Sheet]

1. William de Briouze was born 1204; died 02 May 1230.

Reginald married Gwladus Du ferch Llywelyn 1215. Gwladus (daughter of Llywelyn, the Great and Joan, Lady of Wales) died 1251, Windsor, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet]

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He succeeded to the title of Lord of Bramber, Sussex [Feudal]. He gained the title of Lord of Brecon [Feudal]. He succeeded to the title of Lord de Briouze, Normandie. He succeeded to the title of Lord Abergavenny [Feudal] after 1179. In 1208 as a result of his well-known quarrel with King John, his lands were forfeited.

William de Braose, (or William de Briouze), 4th Lord of Bramber (1144/1153 - 9 August 1211), court favourite of King John of England, at the peak of his power, was also Lord of Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth, Radnor, Kington, Limerick, Glamorgan, Skenfrith, Briouze in Normandy, Grosmont, and White Castle.

Lineage

William was the most notable member of the de Braose dynasty and his steady rise and sudden fall at the hands of King John is often taken as an example of that king's arbitrary and capricious behaviour towards his barons.

William was the son of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber and his wife Bertha of Hereford, also known as Bertha de Pitres, (born 1130) daughter of Miles Fitz Walter, Earl of Hereford and his wife, Sibyl, daughter of Bernard de Neufmarche. From his father he inherited the Rape of Bramber, in Sussex, and through his mother he inherited a large estate in the Welsh Marches area of modern day Monmouthshire.

Abergavenny Massacre

In 1175, William de Braose carried out the Abergavenny Massacre, luring three Welsh princes and other Welsh leaders to their deaths. His principal antagonist was a Seisyll ap Dyfnwal, of Castell Arnallt near Llanover in the valley of the River Usk near Abergavenny, whom he blamed for the death of his uncle Henry. After having invited the Welsh leaders to a Christmas feast at Abergavenny Castle under the pretence of peace and the start of a new era at the end of the year (a traditional time for settling outstanding differences amongst the Welsh), he had them murdered by his men. This resulted in great hostility against him among the Welsh, who named him the "Ogre of Abergavenny". Gerald of Wales exonerates him and emphasises the religious piety of de Braose and his wife and de Braose generosity to the priories of Abergavenny and Brecon. William de Braose did however reputedly hunt down and kill Seisyll ap Dyfnwal's surviving son, Cadwaladr, a boy of seven.

In 1192 William de Braose was made sheriff of Herefordshire, a post he held until 1199. In 1196 he was made Justice Itinerant for Staffordshire. In 1195 he accompanied King Richard I of England to Normandy and in 1199, William de Braose fought beside Richard at Chalus, where the king was mortally wounded.

He then supported King John's claim to the throne of England, supported the new king in making various royal grants and was in attendance with John in Normandy at the time of Arthur of Brittany's death in 1203. Arthur was John's nephew and was seen by many as the rightful heir to the English throne.

De Braose served in the war of 1204 against King Philip II of France in France.

Royal favourite

He was greatly favoured by King John early in his reign. John granted him all that he might conquer from the Welsh in Radnorshire, gave him lordship over Limerick in Ireland (save for the city itself), possession of Glamorgan castle, and the Lordship of Gower with its several castles.

In 1203, William de Braose was put in charge of Arthur of Brittany, whom he had personally captured the previous year at the Battle of Mirebeau. William was suspected of involvement in Arthur's disappearance and death, although no concrete evidence ever came to light. There is somewhat better evidence that he at least knew the truth of the matter.

In 1206 King John gave William de Braose the three great neighbouring trilateral castles of Gwent (Skenfrith Castle, Grosmont Castle, and White Castle). These have been interpreted as bribes encouraging silence on the demise of Arthur, seen by many as a rightful heir to the throne occupied by John of England.

At this point only an earldom separated him from the greatest in England.

Royal persecution and exiled death

But soon after this William de Braose fell out of favour with King John of England. The precise reasons remain obscure. King John cited overdue monies that de Braose owed the Crown from his estates. But the King's actions went far beyond what would be necessary to recover the debt. He distrained de Braose's English estates in Sussex and Devon and sent a force to invade Wales to seize the de Braose domains there. Beyond that, he sought de Braose's wife, Maud de St. Valery, who, the story goes, had made no secret of her belief that King John had murdered Arthur of Brittany. Gerald of Wales describes Maud as a 'prudent and chaste woman' who bore her husband three sons William, Giles and Reginald de Braose.

De Braose fled to Ireland, then returned to Wales as King John had him hunted in Ireland. In Wales, William allied himself to the Welsh Prince Llywelyn the Great and helped him in rebellion against King John.

In 1210, William de Braose fled Wales disguised as a beggar, to France. His wife and eldest son were captured, and William died the following year in August 1211 at Corbeil, France. He is buried in the Abbey of St. Victor in Paris by a fellow exile and vociferous opponent of King John, Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury. His hopes to return alive to Wales and a burial in Brecon were to be unfulfilled. William's wife, Maud, and eldest son, William, once captured, were murdered by King John, possibly starved to death while incarcerated at Windsor Castle and Corfe Castle in 1210.

While William had aroused the jealousy of the other barons during his rise, the arbitrary and violent manner of his fall very likely discomfited them and played a role in the Baronial uprisings of the next decade. The historian Sidney Painter, in his biography of King John, called it "the greatest mistake John made during his reign, as the King revealed to his Barons once and for all his capacity for cruelty."

The de Braose lineage

William de Braose's eldest son, William, married Maud (Matilda) de Clare (ca. 1184-1213), the daughter of Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford. William was captured with his mother and starved to death in 1210. He had fathered four sons. They were John, Giles, Philip and Walter and although they were also held in prison they were released in 1218. John, the eldest, was said to have been brought up secretly, in Gower, by a Welsh ally or retainer. On release he came under the care of his uncle Giles de Braose. John made a claim to being the rightful heir of the de Braose lands and titles and although the courts did not find for him, his other uncle Reginald de Braose was able to cede by a legal convention the Baronies of both Gower and Bramber to him for a fee. This established John's branch of the family and positioned it for survival at worst and at best opportunity, continued future power and influence.

Later dynasty

The middle son, Giles de Braose, exiled in France until 1213, was Bishop of Hereford from 1200 until his death in 1215. He made peace with King John and agreed terms for regaining de Braose lands in 1215 but had also made alliances with the Welsh leader Llywelyn the Great. He died in 1215 before he could come into the lands.

William's third son, Reginald de Braose reacquired his father's lands and titles for himself through simply seizing them back by force following the death of Giles. Reginald did not actually come to terms with the Crown until 1217 and the new, young King Henry III of England, after the death of King John. This in turn aroused the anger of Llywelyn the Great who had an understanding with Giles de Braose and the seeming duplicity caused the Welsh to attack de Braose lands in Brecon and Abergavenny and Gower. Abergavenny Castle had to be rebuilt as a result. Reginald de Braose died in 1228.

William's eldest daughter Matilda (also called Maud) married a prominent Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Rhys II of Deheubarth. Another daughter, Margaret, married Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath in Ireland and himself another powerful Marcher Lord.

William married Maud de Saint Valéry Abt 1166. Maud (daughter of Bernard de Saint Valéry and Matilda) was born Abt 1155, France; died 1210, Windsor, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

She was the daughter of Bernard de Saint Valéry. She died in 1210 at Corfe Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, starved to death in the dungeons. Maud de Saint Valéry also went by the nick-name of 'Lady of La Haie'.

Maud de Braose, Lady of Bramber (c. 1155-1210) was the wife of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, a powerful Marcher baron and court favourite of King John of England. She would later incur the wrath and enmity of the King who caused her to be starved to death in the dungeon of Corfe Castle along with her eldest son.

She features in many Welsh myths and legends; and is also known to history as Matilda de Braose, Moll Wallbee, and Lady of La Haie.

Family and marriage

She was born Maud de St. Valéry in France in about 1155, the child of Bernard de St. Valéry of Hinton Waldrist in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) and his first wife, Matilda. Her paternal grandfather was Reginald de St. Valéry (died c.1162).

She had many siblings and half-siblings, including Thomas de St. Valery (died 1219), who was a son of Bernard by his second wife Eleanor de Domnart. Thomas married Adele de Ponthieu, by whom he had a daughter, Annora, who in her turn married Robert III, Count of Dreux, by whom she had issue. Thomas fought on the French side, at the Battle of Bouvines on 27 July 1214.

Sometime around 1166, Maud married William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, son of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber and Bertha of Hereford de Pitres. He also held the lordships of Gower, Hay, Brecon, Radnor, Builth, Abergavenny, Kington, Painscastle, Skenfrith, Grosmont, White Castle and Briouze in Normandy. When King John of England ascended the throne in 1199, he became a court favourite and was also awarded the lordship of Limerick, Ireland. Maud had a marriage portion, Tetbury from her father's estate.

Maud supported her husband's military ambitions and he put her in charge of Hay Castle and surrounding territory. She is often referred to in history as the Lady of Hay. In 1198, Maud defended Painscastle in Elfael against a massive Welsh attack led by Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Powys. She successfully held off Gwenwynwyn's forces for three weeks until English reinforcements arrived. Over three thousand Welsh were killed. Painscastle was known as Matilda's Castle by the locals.

Maud and William are reputed to have had 16 children. The best documented of these are listed below.

Issue

William de Braose (1175 - 1210). Starved to death with his mother in Corfe Castle. He married Maud de Clare, daughter of Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford and Amice FitzRobert de Meullant of Gloucester, by whom he had issue, including John de Braose.
Giles de Braose, Bishop of Hereford (1180 - 11 November 1215)
Reginald de Braose (1178 -9 June 1228), he married firstly, Grecia Briwere, daughter of William Briwere and Beatrice de Vaux, and secondly, after 1222, Gwladus Ddu, daughter of Welsh Prince Llewelyn the Great. He had issue by his first wife, including William de Braose, who married Eva Marshal, and Matilda de Braose, who married Rhys Mechyll.
Matilda de Braose (1172 - 29 December 1210), married Gruffydd ap Rhys II, by whom she had two sons, Rhys and Owain.
Margaret de Braose (1177 - after 1255), married Walter de Lacy, 6th Baron Lacy of Trim Castle, Sheriff of Hereford, son of Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath and Rohese of Monmouth, by whom she had issue, including Gilbert de Lacy, Pernel de Lacy, and Egidia de Lacy. Margaret was buried at Priory Church in Holme Lacy.
Annora de Braose (1190 - 1241), married Hugh de Mortimer
Loretta de Braose, married Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester. She died without issue.
John de Braose (c.1180 - 1205), married Amabil de Limesi
Flandrina de Braose, Abbess of Godstow, (elected 1242, deposed 1248).

Enmity of King John

In 1208, William de Braose quarrelled with his friend and patron King John. The reason is not known but it is alleged that Maud made indiscreet comments regarding the murder of King John's nephew Arthur of Brittany. There was also a large sum of money (five thousand marks) de Braose owed the King. Whatever the reason, John demanded Maud's son William be sent to him as a hostage for her husband's loyalty. Maud refused, and stated loudly within earshot of the King's officers that "she would not deliver her children to a king who had murdered his own nephew." Maud, upon realising her grave error, tried to make amends by sending Queen Isabella a herd of four hundred cattle, whose quality she had previously boasted of. The King would not be mollified and quickly led troops to the Welsh border and seized all of the castles that belonged to William de Braose. Maud and her eldest son William fled to Ireland, where they found refuge at Trim Castle with the de Lacys, the family of her daughter Margaret. In 1210, King John sent an expedition to Ireland. Maud and her son escaped but were apprehended on the Antrim coast while trying to sail for Scotland. After being briefly held at Carrickfergus Castle, they were dispatched to England.

Imprisonment at Corfe Castle

Maud and her son William were first imprisoned at Windsor Castle, but were shortly afterwards transferred to Corfe Castle in Dorset where they were placed inside the dungeon. Maud and William both starved to death. Her husband died a year later in exile in France where he had gone disguised as a beggar to escape King John's wrath after the latter had declared him an outlaw, following his alliance with Llywelyn the Great, whom he had assisted in open rebellion against the King, an act which John regarded as treason. He was buried in the Abbey of St. Victor, Paris.

Maud's daughter Margaret de Lacy founded a religious house, the Hospital of St. John, in Aconbury, Herefordshire in her memory. On 10 October 1216, eight days before his death, King John conceded three carucates of land in the royal forest of Aconbury to Margaret for the construction of the religious house. He sent the instructions to her husband Walter de Lacy, who held the post of Sheriff of Hereford, by letters patent.

Maud de Braose features in many Welsh folklore myths and legends. There is one legend which says that Maud built the castle of Hay-on-Wye single handed in one night, carrying the stones in her apron. She was also said to have been extremely tall and often donned armour while leading troops into battle.

The legend about her building Hay Castle probably derives from the time she added the gateway arch to a tower which was built in the 1180s.

In contemporary records, she was described as beautiful, very wise, doughty, and vigorous. She kept up the war against the Welsh and conquered much from them.

The manner in which Maud and her son William met their deaths so outraged the English nobility that Magna Carta, which King John was forced to sign in 1215, contains clause 39; it reads:

No man shall be taken ,imprisoned, outlawed, banished or in any way destroyed, nor will we proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.

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William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber (fl. 1135-1179) was a 12th-century Marcher lord who secured a foundation for the dominant position later held by the Braose family in the Welsh Marches. In addition to the family's English holdings in Sussex and Devon, William had inherited Radnor and Builth, in Wales, from his father Philip. By his marriage he increased the Braose Welsh holdings to include Brecon and Abergavenny.

William remained loyal to King Stephen during the 12th century period of anarchy. He became a trusted royal servant during the subsequent reign of Henry II, accompanying the king on campaigns in France and Ireland. He served as sheriff of Herefordshire from 1173 until 1175. The family's power reached its peak under his son William during the reigns of King Richard I and King John.

Lands and family

William was the eldest son of Philip de Braose, lord of Bramber. His mother was Aenor, daughter of Juhel of Totnes. He was the third in the line of the Anglo-Norman Braose family founded by his grandfather, the first William de Braose. After his father died in the 1130s William inherited lordships, land and castles in Sussex, with his caput at Bramber. He also held Totnes in Devon and Radnor and Builth in the Welsh Marches. He confirmed the grants of his father and grandfather to the abbey of St Florent in Anjou and made further grants to the abbey's dependent priory at Sele in Sussex. In about 1155, he also inherited through his mother's family one half of the honour of Barnstaple in Devon, paying a fee of 1000 marks for the privilege. William became an internationally recognised figure. When Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury was asked by Pope Adrian IV to inquire into the background of a certain Walter, canon of St Ruf, his reply, dated to 1154/9 read:

The facts which you demand need but little enquiry; for they shine so brightly in themselves that they cannot be hid; so great is the brilliance of his noble birth and the glory of all his kin. For Walter, as we know for a fact, was the son of a distinguished knight and born of a noble mother in lawful wedlock, and he is closely related by blood to the noble William de Braose.

William had married Bertha, daughter of Miles of Gloucester and Sibyl de Neufmarché, by 1150. When each of Bertha's four brothers died leaving no issue, William's marriage became unexpectedly valuable. He gained control of the lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny after 1166 when the last brother died. These additional land holdings greatly expanded the territorial power and income of the Braose family. They now held a vast block of territory in the Welsh Marches as well as their extensive interests in Sussex and Devon. William's daughters were able to make good marriages, notably Sibyl to William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby. Maud was married to John de Brompton of Shropshire. William's son and heir, another William de Braose, became a major player in national politics under King John.

Royal service

Empress Maud, the only legitimate living child of Henry I, landed in England in 1139 in an attempt to press her claim to the monarchy. She was soon besieged by King Stephen's forces at Arundel castle. Stephen allowed Maud a safe conduct to Bristol and provided her with an escort, which included William de Braose, suggesting that he was an adherent of King Stephen. William was present as a witness when three charters were issued by Stephen at Lewes dated to the years 1148-53, therefore it appears that he remained loyal to the king until the Treaty of Wallingford ended the hostilities.

William was in Sussex in 1153, but he followed Duke Henry, soon to become King Henry II, to Normandy in 1154. William was frequently with the new king. He was one of the military leaders who supported Henry at Rhuddlan in 1157. He witnessed one of the king's charters at Romsey in 1158, and he is recorded at the king's court in Wiltshire in 1164 when the Constitutions of Clarendon were enacted. He accompanied the king on expedition to France, witnessing at Leons in 1161 and Chinon in 1162. William is also documented on the Irish campaign at Dublin in 1171 and Wexford 1172. William's younger brother, Philip, also accompanied the king to Ireland, and remained with the garrison at Wexford. In 1177 Philip was granted the kingdom of Limerick by Henry but failed to take possession after the citizens set fire to the town.

When Henry was facing war with his sons in 1173, William was appointed as sheriff of Herefordshire at Easter. He maintained the King's interests in Herefordshire until 1175.

Later life and death

King Henry withdrew his favour from the family after William's son organised the murder of Seisyll ap Dyfnwal and other Welsh princes at Abergavenny in 1176. There is little subsequent record of William in public life, and it is likely that he retired to his estates in Sussex. William died after 1179 and was succeeded by his son, William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, who gained the favour of both King Richard I and King John and became a dominant force in the Welsh Marches during their reigns.

William married Bertha of Hereford Bef 1150. Bertha (daughter of Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and Sybil de Neufmarché) was born Abt 1130, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Bertha of Hereford, also known as Bertha de Pitres (born c.1130), was the daughter of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, and a wealthy heiress. She was the wife of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber to whom she brought many castles and Lordships, including Brecknock, Abergavenny, and Hay.

Family

Bertha was born in England in about 1130. She was the second daughter of Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (1097- 24 December 1143) and Sibyl de Neufmarché. She had two sisters, Margaret of Hereford, who married Humphrey II de Bohun, by whom she had issue, and Lucy of Hereford, who married Herbert FitzHerbert of Winchester, by whom she had issue. Her five brothers, included Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, Walter de Hereford, Henry Fitzmiles, William de Hereford, and Mahel de Hereford.

Her paternal grandparents were Walter FitzRoger de Pitres, Sheriff of Gloucester and Bertha de Balun of Bateden, a descendant of Hamelin de Balun, and her maternal grandparents were Bernard de Neufmarché, Lord of Brecon, and Nesta ferch Osbern. The latter was a daughter of Osbern FitzRichard of Richard's Castle, and Nesta ferch Gruffydd. Bertha was a direct descendant, in the maternal line, of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (1007- 5 August 1063) and Edith (Aldgyth), daughter of Elfgar, Earl of Mercia.

Her father Miles served as Constable to King Stephen of England. He later served in the same capacity to Empress Matilda after he'd transferred his allegiance. In 1141, she made him Earl of Hereford in gratitude for his loyalty. On 24 December 1143, he was killed whilst on a hunting expedition in the Forest of Dean.

Marriage and issue

In 1150, she married William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber (1112-1192), son of Philip de Braose, 2nd Lord of Bramber and Aenor, daughter of Judael of Totnes. William and Bertha had three daughters and two sons, including William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber.

In 1173, her brothers all having died without issue, she brought the Lordships and castles of Brecknock and Abergavenny, to her husband. Hay Castle had already passed to her from her mother, Sibyl of Neufmarche in 1165, whence it became part of the de Braose holdings.

In 1174, her husband became Sheriff of Hereford.

Her children include:

William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, (1144/1153- 11 August 1211, Corbeil), married Maud de St. Valery, daughter of Bernard de St. Valery, by whom he had 16 children.
Roger de Braose
Bertha de Braose (born 1151), married c.1175, Walter de Beauchamp (died 1235), son of William de Beauchamp and Joan de Walerie, by whom she had issue, including Walcherine de Beauchamp who married Joan Mortimer.
Sibyl de Braose (died after 5 February 1227), married William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby (1136- 21 October 1190 at Acre on crusade), son of Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby and Margaret Peverel, by whom she had issue.
Maud de Braose, married John de Brompton, by whom she had issue.

Legacy

Bertha died on an unknown date. She was the ancestress of many noble English families which included the de Braoses, de Beauchamps, de Bohuns and de Ferrers; as well as the Irish families of de Lacy and de Burgh.

Bernard — Matilda. [Group Sheet]

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Philip de Braose, 2nd Lord of Bramber (c.1070-c.1134) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Marcher Lord.

Early career

His father, William de Braose (died around 1093-1096) had participated in the victory at the Battle of Hastings in support of William the Conqueror. He had been rewarded with a barony and lands in Sussex and the Welsh Marches. Philip was born about 1070 to 1073 in Bramber, his mother being Eve de Boissey or Agnes de St. Clare. Philip as heir consolidated these lands, and expanded them. In 1096 he confirmed his father's gifts to the Abbey of St. Florent. Through marriage to Aenor, daughter of Juhel of Totnes or Totenais (born 1084) he also acquired land in Totnes, Devon and held this lordship also.

Military achievements

It was Philip de Braose who conquered the Welsh borderlands at Builth and New Radnor and established new Norman lordships over them. At Builth, he constructed a Motte and Bailey fortification at the site where Edward I later built Builth Castle in the 13th century. He seems to have gone on the First Crusade in 1103.

Later life

He supported King Henry I of England against Robert Curthose and then in 1110 revolted against Henry, who then confiscated his estates. He regained his lordships and his lands in 1112 and was thereafter able to retain them, in 1130 passing them intact to his eldest son William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber. He fathered a second son, also called Philip, and two daughters, Basilia and Gillian. It is thought that he died between 1131 and 1139, possibly 1134 on another crusade in the Levant.

Philip de Braose, 2nd Lord of Bramber (c.1070-c.1134) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Marcher Lord.

Origins

Philip was born about 1070 to 1073 in Bramber, Sussex, the son of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber (d. circa 1093/96) by his wife Eve de Boissey or Agnes de St. Clare. William de Braose had participated in the Norman victory at the Battle of Hastings in support of William the Conqueror. He had been rewarded with the feudal barony of Bramber including lands in Sussex and smaller holdings in Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Surrey.

Career

Philip as heir consolidated his paternal lands, and expanded them. In 1096 he confirmed his father's gifts to the Abbey of St. Florent. Philip de Braose conquered the Welsh borderlands at Builth and New Radnor and established new Norman lordships over them. At Builth, he constructed a Motte and Bailey fortification at the site where King Edward I later built Builth Castle in the 13th century. He seems to have gone on the First Crusade in 1103. He supported King Henry I (1100-1135) against the claim to the English throne made by his elder brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, but then in 1110 he revolted against Henry, who then confiscated his estates. He regained his lordships and lands in 1112 and was thereafter able to retain them, but in 1130 settled them intact onto his eldest son William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber.

Marriage & progeny

He married Aenor de Totnes, sister and co-heiress of Alfred de Totnes (d.pre-1139), son of Juhel de Totnes (d.1123/30) feudal baron of Totnes (which he forfeited c.1087) and of Barnstaple both in Devon. In right of his wife Aenor, Philip acquired a moiety of the feudal barony of Barnstaple, the other moiety of which was held by Henry de Tracy (d.pre-1165), Aenor's brother-in-law. He had the following progeny:

William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber, his eldest son and heir.
Philip de Braose junior
Basilia, a daughter.
Gillian, a daughter.

Before 1206 William III de Braose (d.1211) successfully claimed half of the barony of Totnes from Henry de Nonant, to which family it had been granted after its forfeiture by Juhel de Totnes. However in 1208 William III's lands were confiscated by King John.

Death

He died between 1131 and 1139, possibly in 1134 on crusade in the Levant.

Philip — Aenor de Totnes. Aenor (daughter of Juhel de Totnes) was born Abt 1084, Barnstaple, Devon, England. [Group Sheet]

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Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock (1100 - 24 December 1143) was the son of Walter of Gloucester, who served as hereditary sheriff of that county between 1104 and 1121.

Miles (sometimes Latinized Milo) succeeded his father about the latter year. He was high in the service of Henry I between 1128 and 1135. He was appointed Sheriff of Staffordshire (1128-1130) and Sheriff of Herefordshire (1128-1135). He was Constable of England and combined the hereditary office of Sheriff of Gloucester with that of local justiciar for Gloucestershire.

Miles founded Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucester, in 1136.

Civil war allegiances

After the death of King Henry he declared for Stephen, at whose court he appears as constable in 1136. King Stephen granted him the honour of Gloucester and Brecknock. However, in 1139, when the empress Matilda appeared in England, he declared for her, and placed the city of Gloucester at her disposal; he was further distinguished by sacking the nearby royalist city of Worcester, attacking Stephen's siege works at Wallingford Castle and reducing the county of Hereford. He was retained as her Constable.

Earldom

In 1141, he was rewarded with the earldom of Hereford when Matilda ruled the country. He remained loyal to the Empress after her defeat at Winchester the same year. John of Salisbury classes him with Geoffrey de Mandeville and others who were non tam comites regni quam hostes publici. The charge is justified by his public policy; but the materials for appraising his personal character do not exist.

Family and children

He married Sibyl de Neufmarché, daughter of Bernard de Neufmarché, Lord of Brecon and Nest, granddaughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, in 1121. Their children were:

Margaret de Gloucester, married Humphrey II de Bohun, by whom she had issue.
Bertha of Hereford, married William de Braose before 1150, by whom she had issue.
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford. Hereditary Sheriff of Gloucestershire until 1155.
Walter de Hereford died after 1159 in the Holy Land. He was hereditary Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1155-1157 and High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1155-1159.
Henry Fitzmiles Henry of Hereford, died 12 April 1165. He succeeded to the title of Baron Abergavenny in 1141/42.
William de Hereford. He died before 1160 without issue.
Mahel de Hereford, died October 1165 at Bronllys Castle, Breconshire, Wales, mortally hurt when a stone dropped from the tower during a fire; died without issue. Buried at Llanthony Priory.
Lucy of Gloucester, married Herbert FitzHerbert of Winchester, Lord Chamberlain, by whom she had issue. Buried at Llanthony Priory.

Miles was accidentally killed by an arrow while deer hunting in the Forest of Dean in 1143. He was succeeded by his eldest son Roger, who died childless. The grandson of his daughter Margaret was later granted the recreated Earldom.

Miles married Sybil de Neufmarché Abt May 1121. Sybil (daughter of Bernard de Neufmarché, Lord of Brecon and Nest) was born Abt 1100, Brecon, Breconshire, Wales; died Aft 1143, Hempsted, Gloucestershire, England; was buried Hempsted, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Sibyl de Neufmarché, Countess of Hereford, suo jure Lady of Brecknock (c. 1100 - after 1143), was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches. The great-granddaughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, king of Wales, Sibyl was also connected to the nobility of England and Normandy. Sibyl inherited the titles and lands of her father, Bernard de Neufmarché, Lord of Brecon, after her mother, Nest ferch Osbern, had declared her brother Mahel to have been illegitimate. Most of these estates passed to Sibyl's husband, Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, as her dowry. Their marriage had been arranged personally by King Henry I of England in the spring of 1121. Sibyl, with her extensive lands, was central to the King's plans of consolidating Anglo-Norman power in south-east Wales by the merging of her estates with those of Miles, his loyal subject on whom he relied to implement Crown policy.

As an adult, Sibyl lived through King Stephen's turbulent reign, known to history as the Anarchy, in which her husband played a pivotal role. Following Miles' accidental death in 1143, Sibyl entered a religious life at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucestershire, England, which she had endowed up to six years previously. Sibyl is buried at the priory, founded by Miles in 1136.

Family

Ancestry

Sibyl was born in about 1100 in Brecon Castle, Brecon, Wales, the only daughter of Marcher Lord Bernard de Neufmarché, Lord of Brecon, and Nest ferch Osbern. Nest was the daughter of Osbern FitzRichard and Nest ferch Gruffydd. Sybil's maternal great-grandparents were Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, king of Wales, and Ealdgyth (Edith of Mercia). Ealdgyth, the daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia, was briefly Queen consort of England by her second marriage to Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, who was killed at the Battle of Hastings.

Sibyl's father, Bernard, was born at the castle of Le Neuf-Marché-en-Lions, on the frontier between Normandy and Beauvais. Bernard was a knight who had fought under English kings William I, William Rufus and Henry I. According to historian Lynn H Nelson, Bernard de Neufmarché was "the first of the original conquerors of Wales". He led the Norman army at the Battle of Brecon in 1093, during which Rhys ap Tewdwr was killed. Kingship in Wales ended with Rhys' death, and allowed Bernard to confirm his hold on Brycheiniog, becoming the first ruler of the lordship of Brecon. The title and lands would remain in his family's possession until 1521. The name Neufmarché, Novo Mercato in Latin, is anglicised into 'Newmarket' or 'Newmarch'.

Inheritance

Sibyl had two brothers, Philip, who most likely died young, and Mahel. Nest had Mahel disinherited by swearing to King Henry I of England that Mahel had been fathered by another man. According to Giraldus Cambrensis, this was done out of vengeance when Mahel had multilated Nest's lover, a knight whose identity is not disclosed. In the 19th century, Bernard Bolingbroke Woodward proposed that, after Bernard's death, Nest "disgraced herself with an intrigue" with one of his soldiers. Mahel, who had by this time inherited Bernard's estates, disapproved of the liaison to such an extent that he killed Nest's lover. Nest's revenge was to have Mahel disinherited by claiming that Bernard was not Mahel's father. The maritagium (marriage charter) arranged by King Henry in 1121 for the marriage between Sibyl and her future husband Miles, however, makes it clear that Bernard was still alive when it was written; showing Bernard Bolingbroke Woodward's version of the story to diverge from the known facts. Author Jennifer C. Ward suggests that, although the marriage charter recorded that King Henry was acting at the request of Bernard, Nest, and the barons, it was probable he had put considerable pressure on the Neufmarchés to disinherit Mahel in favour of Sibyl and, thereby, Miles. Nevertheless, whatever the timing or reason, the outcome of Nest's declaration was that Sibyl (whom Nest acknowledged as Bernard's child) became the sole lawful heiress to the vast lordship of Brecon, one of the most important and substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches. Henry's maritagium referred specifically to Sibyl's parents' lands as "comprising Talgarth, the forest of Ystradwy, the castle of Hay, the whole land of Brecknock, up to the boundaries of the land of Richard Fitz Pons, namely up to Brecon and Much Cowarne, a vill in England"; the fees and services of several named individuals were also granted as part of the dowry. This made her suo jure Lady of Brecknock on her father's death, and one of the wealthiest heiresses in south Wales.

Marriage

Sometime in April or May 1121, Sibyl married Miles (or Milo) FitzWalter de Gloucester, Sheriff of Gloucester and Constable of England. The marriage was personally arranged by King Henry I, to whom Miles was a trusted royal official. A charter written in Latin (the maritagium), which dates to 10 April/29 May 1121, records the arrangements for the marriage of Sibyl and Miles. Historian C. Warren Hollister found the charter's wording telling, noting that "the king gave the daughter as if he were making a grant of land": "Know that I [King Henry I] have given and firmly granted to Miles of Gloucester Sibyl, daughter of Bernard de Neufmarché, together with all the lands of Bernard her father and of her mother after their deaths … ". Her parents' lands would be conveyed to Miles after their deaths or earlier during "their life if they so wish". Henry also commanded that the fief's tenants were to pay Miles liege homage as their lord.

By arranging a series of matrimonial alliances, similar to that between Sibyl and Miles, King Henry I of England transformed "the map of territorial power in south-east Wales". Such arrangements were mutually advantageous. Hollister describes Miles' marriage to Sibyl as having been a "crucial breakthrough in his career". The new lords, in similar positions to Miles, were the King's own loyal vassals, on whom he could rely to implement royal policy. Sibyl's father died sometime before 1128 (most probably in 1125), and Miles came into possession of her entire inheritance, which when merged with his own estates, formed one honour.

Issue

Together Sibyl and Miles had eight children:

Margaret of Hereford (1122/1123- 6 April 1197), married Humphrey II de Bohun, by whom she had issue. She received the office of constable of England and exercised lordship of Herefordshire as a widow until her death.
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford (before 1125- 22 September 1155). Roger's marriage settlement with Cecily FitzJohn (her first marriage), daughter of Payn FitzJohn and Sibyl de Lacy, was ratified by King Stephen in 1137. The marriage was childless as were Cecily's subsequent marriages.
Walter de Hereford (died 1159/60), whether he married is unknown; however, Walter departed for Palestine on Michaelmas 1159, and died shortly afterwards without leaving legitimate issue.
Henry Fitzmiles (died c.1162), married a woman named Isabella, surname unknown; Henry died without legitimate issue.
Mahel de Hereford (died 1164), no record of marriage; died without legitimate issue.
William de Hereford (died 1166), no record of marriage; died without legitimate issue.
Bertha of Hereford (c.1130-), married William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber, by whom she had issue.
Lucy of Hereford, Lady of Blaen Llyfni and Bwlch y Dinas (died 1219/20), married Herbert FitzHerbert of Winchester, by whom she had issue.

The Anarchy

After Henry I's death in 1135, the throne of England was seized by Stephen of Blois, a grandson of William I of England. Henry's daughter, Empress Matilda (Maud), also claimed the throne, and had the support of the Marcher Lords. On the death of her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V, in 1125, Matilda had returned to England for the first time in 16 years. At the insistence of her father, the barons (including Stephen) swore to uphold Matilda's rights as his heir. Matilda married Geoffrey of Anjou in 1128. They lived together in France, having three sons; the eldest of whom was to become King Henry II of England. Initially, Miles supported Stephen. In about 1136, Stephen granted Sibyl's husband the entire honour of Gloucester and Brecknock; afterward appointing him Constable of England, whereby Miles became known as one of Stephen's "henchmen".

Llanthony Priory had been established near Crucorney, in the Vale of Ewyas, in 1118; Wales' earliest Augustine monastery. Miles' father, Walter de Gloucester, had retired there by 1126. The unrest that had been simmering in Wales during the last years of Henry's reign, boiled over in 1135 on his death. The area around the priory returned to Welsh rule, coming under such “hostile mollestation” from the Welsh that the non-Welsh canons decided to leave. Miles established a new Priory for them in Gloucester, England, which they called Llanthony Secunda, in 1136. Sometime after 1137, Sibyl, together with her husband, made a further endowment to Llanthony Secunda.

Miles transferred his allegiance to Empress Matilda, on her return to England in 1139. According to Professor Edmund King, Miles' decision to support Matilda was guided by expediancy rather than principle, and the necessity of joining forces with Matilda's illegitimate half-brother, the powerful Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, who was the overlord of some of Miles' fiefs. Stephen stripped Miles of the title 'Constable of England' in punishment for having deserted him. On 25 July 1141, in gratitude for his support and military assistance and, according to historian R.H.C. Davis, possibly to compensate Miles for having appeared to have lost the constableship, Matilda invested him as 1st Earl of Hereford. He also received St. Briavels Castle and the Forest of Dean. At the time Matilda was the de facto ruler of England, Stephen having been imprisoned at Bristol following his capture the previous February after the Battle of Lincoln. Sibyl was styled Countess of Hereford, until Miles' unexpected death over two years later. In 1141, Miles received the honour of Abergavenny from Brien FitzCount, the (likely illegitimate) son of Duke Alan IV of Brittany. This was in appreciation of the skilled military tactics Miles had deployed which had spared Brien's castle of Wallingford during King Stephen's besiegement in 1139/1140. Matilda gave her permission for the transfer.

During the Anarchy, which the period of Stephen's reign as King of England was to become known, life was greatly disrupted in her husband's lands. Sibyl would have doubtless suffered as a result, especially after Miles' decision to support Matilda's claim to the throne and to oppose Stephen. When Matilda was defeated at Winchester in late 1141, Miles was compelled to return to Gloucester in disgrace: "weary, half-naked and alone". In November of that same year, Stephen was released from prison and restored to the English throne.

Sibyl's distress would have been heightened in 1143 after the Bishop of Hereford, Robert de Bethune placed an interdict upon Hereford, blocked all the cathedral's entrances with thorns, and excommunicated Miles. In order to raise money to pay his troops and to assist Matilda financially, Miles had imposed a levy on all the churches in his earldom, an act which the bishop had regarded as unlawful. When the bishop protested and threatened Miles with excommunication, Miles in response, sent his men to plunder the diocese of its resources. In retaliation against Miles' earlier attacks on the royalist city of Worcester and the castles of Hereford and Wallingford, King Stephen bestowed the title "Earl of Hereford" on Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester; Miles, however, never surrendered the earldom nor the title to Robert de Beaumont.

Widowhood and death

While on a deer-hunting expedition in his own Forest of Dean, Sibyl's husband was accidentally shot in the chest by an arrow which killed him on 24 December 1143. He had been involved in legal proceedings against the bishop's jurisdiction when he died. Their eldest son, Roger succeeded him in the earldom. In protest against his father's excommunication, Roger remained an outspoken enemy of the Church until close to the end of his life when he entered a Gloucester monastery as a monk. After her husband's death, Sibyl entered a religious life at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucester, which she had previously endowed. Sibyl was buried in the same priory, the dates of death and burial unrecorded.

Sibyl's legacy

Upon the childless death of Roger in 1155, the Earldom of Hereford fell into abeyance until 1199 when King John bestowed the title on Henry de Bohun, Sibyl's grandson through her eldest daughter, Margaret. As her sons all died without legitimate offspring, Sibyl's three daughters became co-heirs to the Brecon honour, with Bertha, the second daughter, passing Sibyl's inheritance on (through marriage) to the de Braoses, thereby making them one of the most powerful families in the Welsh Marches.

The Brecknock lordship would eventually go to the de Bohuns, by way of Eleanor de Braose. Eleanor, a descendant of Sibyl's through Bertha of Hereford, married Humphrey de Bohun, son of the 2nd Earl of Hereford. Eleanor and Humphrey's son, Humphrey de Bohun, succeeded his grandfather to the titles in 1275.

Through the advantageous marriages of her daughters, Sibyl was an ancestress of many of England and Ireland's noblest families including among others, the de Bohun's, de Beauchamps, Mortimers, Fitzalans, de Burghs, de Lacy's, and Bonvilles. Four of her descendants, Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, Eleanor de Bohun, and Mary de Bohun married into the English royal family, while another, Anne Mortimer was the grandmother of Yorkist kings Edward IV and Richard III. By way of Edward's daughter, Elizabeth of York, every monarch of England and, subsequently, the United Kingdom, from Henry VIII up to and including Elizabeth II, descended in a direct line from Sibyl de Neufmarché, as did the various royal sovereigns of Europe who shared a common descent from Mary, Queen of Scots.