Notes:

Isabella de Clare, Countess of Pembroke is the daughter of Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Aoife MacMorrough. She married William Marshal, son of John FitzGilbert and Sybil de Salisbury, in August 1189 at London, England. She gained the title of 4th Countess of Pembroke [E., 1138], suo jure.

Isabella de Clare, Countess of Pembroke is the daughter of Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Aoife MacMorrough. She married William Marshal, son of John FitzGilbert and Sybil de Salisbury, in August 1189 at London, England. She gained the title of 4th Countess of Pembroke [E., 1138], suo jure.

Isabel de Clare, suo jure Countess of Pembroke and Striguil (1172 - 1220), was a Cambro-Norman-Irish noblewoman and one of the wealthiest heiresses in Wales and Ireland. She was the wife of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, who served four successive kings as Lord Marshal of England. Her marriage had been arranged by King Richard I.

Family inheritance

Isabel was born in 1172 in Ireland, the eldest child of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1130 - 20 April 1176), known to history as "Strongbow", and Aoife of Leinster, who was the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, the deposed King of Leinster and Mor Ui Thuathail. The latter was a daughter of Muitchertach O'Toole and Cacht Inion Loigsig O'Morda. The marriage of Strongbow and Aoife took place in August 1170, the day after the capture of Waterford by the Cambro-Norman forces led by Strongbow.

Isabel's paternal grandparents were Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabella de Meulan. She had a younger brother Gilbert de Striguil who, being a minor, was not formally invested with either the earldom of Pembroke or of Striguil. It is unlikely that his father could have passed on the title to Pembroke as he himself did not possess it. When Gilbert died in 1185, Isabel became Countess of Pembroke in her own right (suo jure) until her death in 1220. In this way, she could be said to be the first successor to the earldom of Pembroke since her grandfather Gilbert, the first earl. By this reckoning, Isabel ought to be called the second countess, not the fourth countess of Pembroke. In any event, the title Earl was re-created for her husband as her consort. She also had an illegitimate half-sister Basile de Clare, who married three times. Basile's husbands were: Robert de Quincy; Raymond Fitzgerald, Constable of Leinster: Geoffrey FitzRobert, Baron of Kells.

Isabel was described as having been "the good, the fair, the wise, the courteous lady of high degree". She allegedly spoke French, Irish and Latin. After her brother Gilbert's death, Isabel became one of the wealthiest heiresses in the kingdom, owning besides the titles of Pembroke and Striguil, much land in Wales and Ireland. She inherited the numerous castles on the inlet of Milford Haven, guarding the South Channel, including Pembroke Castle. She was a legal ward of King Henry II, who carefully watched over her inheritance.

Marriage

The new King Richard I arranged her marriage in August 1189 to William Marshal, regarded by many as the greatest knight and soldier in the realm. Henry II had promised Marshal he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son and successor Richard upheld the promise one month after his accession to the throne. At the time of her marriage, Isabel was residing in the Tower of London in the protective custody of the Justiciar of England, Ranulf de Glanville. Following the wedding, which was celebrated in London "with due pomp and ceremony", they spent their honeymoon at Stoke d'Abernon in Surrey which belonged to Enguerrand d'Abernon.

Marriage to Isabel elevated William Marshal from the status as a landless knight into one of the richest men in the kingdom. He would serve as Lord Marshal of England, four kings in all: Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III. Although Marshal did not become the jure uxoris 1st Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Striguil until 1199, he nevertheless assumed overlordship of Leinster in Ireland, Pembroke Castle, Chepstow Castle, as well as Isabel's other castles in Wales such as the keep of Haverford, Tenby, Lewhaden, Narberth, Stackpole.

Shortly after their marriage, Marshal and Isabella arrived in Ireland, at Old Ros, a settlement located in the territory which belonged to her grandfather, Dermot MacMurrough. A motte was hastily constructed, a medieval borough quickly grew around it, and afterwards the Marshals founded the port town by the river which subsequently became known as New Ross. The Chronicles of Ros, which are housed in the British Museum, described Isabella and Marshal's arrival in Ireland and records that Isabella set about building a lovely city on the banks of the Barrow.

In 1192, Isabel and her husband assumed the task of managing their vast lands; starting with the rebuilding of Kilkenny Castle and the town, both of which had been damaged by the O'Brien clan in 1173. Later they commissioned the construction of several abbeys in the vicinity.

The marriage was happy, despite the vast difference in age between them. William Marshal and Isabel produced a total of five sons and five daughters.

Issue

William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1190 - 6 April 1231). Chief Justiciar of Ireland. He married firstly, Alice de Bethune, and secondly, Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of King John. He died childless.
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1191 - 1 April 1234) Kilkenny Castle, Ireland), married Gervase le Dinant. He died childless.
Maud Marshal (1192 - 27 March 1248). She married firstly, Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, by whom she had issue; she married secondly, William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had issue, including John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey who married Alice le Brun de Lusignan; she married thirdly, Walter de Dunstanville. Queen consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and Catherine Parr are descendants.
Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (1194 - 27 June 1241). He married firstly, Margaret of Scotland; and secondly, Maud de Lanvaley. He died childless.
Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (1196 - 24 November 1245). He married Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln, widow of John de Lacy, 1st Earl of Lincoln, as her second husband. The marriage was childless.
Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (1198 - 22 December 1245). He married Maud de Bohun. He died childless.
Isabel Marshal (9 October 1200 - 17 January 1240). She married firstly, Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford; and secondly, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. She had issue by both marriages. Queen consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr were descendants.
Sibyl Marshal (1201 - before 1238), married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, by whom she had issue. Queen consort Catherine Parr was a descendant.
Joan Marshal (1202-1234), married Warin de Munchensi, Lord of Swanscombe, by whom she had issue. Both queen consorts Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr were descendants.
Eva Marshal (1203-1246), married William de Braose (died 1230). She had issue, from whom descended, queens consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr.

Legacy

Isabel died in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1220 at the age of forty-eight. Her husband had died the year before. She was buried at Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire; however a cenotaph was discovered inside St. Mary's Church in New Ross, Ireland whose slab bears the partial inscription "ISABEL: LAEGN" and her engraved likeness.

It was suggested in 1892 by Paul Meyer that Isabel might have encouraged the composition of the Song of Dermot which narrates the exploits of her father and maternal grandfather. However, the Song of Dermot as now known was composed a few years after her death (though based on earlier writings).

Although her daughters had many children, Isabel's five sons, curiously, died childless. This is supposedly attributed to a curse placed upon William Marshal by the Irish Bishop of Ferns. The title of marshal subsequently passed to Hugh de Bigod, husband of Isabel's eldest daughter Maud, while the title of Earl of Pembroke went to William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke, the husband of Joan de Munchensi, daughter of Joan Marshal. He was the first of the de Valence line of the earls of Pembroke.

Isabella married William, 1st Earl of Pembroke (2nd Creation) Aug 1189, London, England. William (son of John FitzGilbert and Sybil de Salisbury) was born 1146; died 14 May 1219, Caversham, Berkshire, England; was buried London, England. [Group Sheet]

1. William Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke was born Abt 1190; died 24 Apr 1231; was buried London, England.
2. Richard Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke was born 1191; died 16 Apr 1234.
3. Maud Marshal, Countess of Norfolk Countess of Surrey was born 1192; died 27 Mar 1248; was buried Tintern, Monmouthshire, Wales.
4. Lady Isabella Marshal was born 09 Oct 1200, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales; died 17 Jan 1239/40, Hertfordshire, England; was buried Beaulieu, Hampshire, England.
5. Eve Marshal was born 1203, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales; died 1246.
6. Gilbert Marshal, 7th Earl of Pembroke died 27 Jun 1241.
7. Sibyl Marshal
8. Anselm Marshal, 9th Earl of Pembroke died 22 Dec 1245.
9. Johanna Marshal
10. Margaret Marshal
11. Walter Marshal, 8th Earl of Pembroke died 24 Nov 1245.

Notes:

He was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabella of Meulan. He married Aoife MacMorrough, daughter of Dermot MacMorrough, King of Leinster, circa 26 August 1171. He died on 20 April 1176, without surviving male issue.

Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke also went by the nick-name of Richard 'Strongbow'. He was styled as Earl of Buckingham. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Earl of Pembroke [E., c. 1138] in 1149. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Dictionary of National Biography

Clare, Richard de, or Richard Strongbow, second Earl of Pembroke and Strigul d. 1176, was son of Gilbert Strongbow, or De Clare, whom Stephen created earl of Pembroke in 1138, and grandson of Gilbert de Clare d. 1115? [qv.] (Ord. Vit. xiii. 37). His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester and Mellent (Will. of Jumièges, viii. 37; Dugdale, i. 84). He appears to have succeeded to his father's estates in 1148 (Marsh, p. 55; Dugdale, i. 208); but the name of Richard, count of Pembroke, first appears among the signatures to the treaty of Westminster (7 Nov. 1153), which recognised Prince Henry as Stephen's successor (Brompton, 1039n. 60). It appears that he was allowed to retain his title even after the accession of Henry II, when so many of Stephen's earldoms were abolished; but according to Giraldus Cambrensis he had either forfeited or lost his estates by 1167-8 (Expugn. Hib. i. cxii). We learn from Ralph de Diceto (i. 330) that he was one of the nobles who accompanied Princess Matilda on her marriage journey to Minden in Germany early in 1168.

According to the Irish historians it was in 1166 that Dermot [see MacMurchada, Diarmid], driven from Leinster by the combined forces of Roderic O'Connor, king of Connaught, and Tighernan O'Ruarc, king of Breifni, appealed to Henry for aid in the recovery of his kingdom (Annals of Four Masters, i. 1161). This date, according to Giraldus, seems two years too early. Henry gave letters empowering any of his subjects to assist the dethroned monarch, who secured the services of Earl Richard, promising in return for his assistance to give him his eldest daughter in marriage, together with the succession to Leinster (Gir. Camb. v. 227-8; Anglo-Norman Poet, ll. 328, &c.). The earl engaged to cross over with an army in the ensuing spring; but stipulated that he must have express permission from Henry before starting (Gir. 228; Anglo-Norm. Poet, ll. 356-7). Earlier aid was promised by Robert FitzStephen and Maurice FitzGerald, who appear to have crossed over to Wexford about 1 May 1169 (Gir. 230; A. F. M. i. 1173). If this date be correct, the meeting of Dermot and the earl must have taken place about July 1168, to which year Hoveden assigns the invasion of Ireland (i. 269; Gir. 229, with which cf. A.-N. P. pp. 16-19). In the conquest of Wexford and the expeditions against Ossory and Dublin Earl Richard took no part; but according to Giraldus he was represented in this campaign by his nephew, Hervey de Mountmaurice.

It was apparently towards the close of this year that Dermot, despairing of the arrival of the Earl of Strigul, offered his daughter to Robert FitzStephen and Maurice FitzGerald, and on their refusal sent a pressing invitation to the earl: The swallows have come and gone, yet you are tarrying still. On receiving this letter, Earl Richard, after much deliberation, crossed over to Henry and received the requisite permission to carve out a heritage for himself in foreign lands; but, according to Giraldus, the king granted his request ironically rather than seriously (246-8). A much later writer, Trivet (c. 1300), has preserved a tradition that the earl had been an exile in Ireland previous to this (Trivet, 66-7).

Before crossing to Ireland himself, Earl Richard sent forward a small force under one of his own men, Raymond le Gros, the nephew of FitzStephen and FitzGerald. Landing near Waterford about the beginning of May 1170, he was immediately joined by Hervey de Mountmaurice (Gir. 248, &c.; A.-N. P. pp. 67, &c.). According to the Anglo-Norman Poet, Earl Richard crossed very soon after (ll. 1500-3); both accounts agree that he appeared before Waterford with from twelve to fifteen hundred men on St. Bartholomew's eve (23 Aug.) Within two days the city had fallen; but Dermot, accompanied by Maurice and Robert, came up in time to save the lives of the captives. The marriage between Eva and the earl was celebrated at once, and the whole army set out for Dublin, after setting an English guard at Waterford (A.-N. P. ll. 1508-1569; Gir. 255-6). If the Anglo-Norman Poet may be trusted, there were from four to five thousand English who took part in the march to Dublin, before which town they arrived on 21 Sept. (l. 1626). Meanwhile, Roderic of Connaught had mustered thirty thousand men for its relief. While peace negotiations were going on, Milo de Cogan and Raymond le Gros took the city by assault, without the consent of either Dermot or the earl (A.-N. P. ll. 1680-2; Gir. 256-7). Asculf MacTurkill, the Danish ruler, was driven into exile, and his town handed over to Earl Richard, who appears to have resided here till the beginning of October, when he started to attack O'Ruarc in Meath, leaving Dublin in charge of Milo de Cogan (Gir. 257; A.-N. P. ll. 1709-23; A. F. M. 1177). From Meath he seems to have withdrawn to Waterford for the winter; while Dermot took up his abode at Ferns, where he died on 1 May 1171 (Gir. 263; A.-N. P. 1724-31).

Meanwhile, Henry II, who had grown jealous of his vassal's success, had forbidden the transport of fresh forces to Ireland, and ordered all who had already crossed to return by Easter 1171 (28 March). To prevent the enforcement of this decree, the earl despatched Raymond le Gros to the king in Aquitane, with instructions to place all his conquests at the king's disposal (Gir. 259).

On the death of Dermot there was a general combination against the English. All the earl's allies, excepting some three or four, (A.-N. P. ll. 1732-43), deserted him, and a force of sixty thousand men was collected under Roderic O'Connor to besiege Dublin about Whitsuntide (16 May) 1171. Earl Richard, to whose assistance Raymond le Gros had already returned, sent for aid to FitzStephen at Wexford, from which place he received a reinforcement of thirty-six men, a step which so weakened the Wexford garrison, that it had to surrender later (? c. 1 July). On hearing of this disaster the earl, fearing starvation, offered to do fealty to Roderic for Leinster. Roderic, however, refused to concede more than the three Norse towns, Waterford, Dublin, and Wexford; if these terms were rejected, he would storm the town on the morrow (A.-N. P. pp. 85-9; Gir. 265, &c.). In this emergency the earl ordered a sudden sally in three directions, led by Milo, Raymond, and himself. A brilliant success was achieved; the siege was raised, and the earl was left free to set out to the relief of FitzStephen, whom the Irish had shut up in the island of Becherin. Dublin was once more entrusted to Milo de Cogan. On his march through Idrone he was attacked by O'Ryan, the king of this district; but hearing that the Irish had left Wexford for Becherin, he proceeded to Waterford, whence he sent a summons to his brother-in-law, the king of Limerick, to aid in an attack on MacDonchid, the king of Ossory. The Anglo-Norman Poet (pp. 97-101) says that it was only the chivalrous honour of Maurice de Prendergast that now prevented the earl from acting with the utmost treachery to the latter king. The earl then departed for Ferns, where he stayed eight days before going in pursuit of Murrough O'Brien, who was put to death at Ferns, together with his son. About the same time, acting as the over-king of Leinster, he confirmed Muirchertad (Murtherdath) in his kingdom of Hy-Kinsellagh (near Wexford), and gave the pleis of Leinster to Donald Kevenath, the faithful son of Dermot (A.-N. P. pp. 103-5).

Probably about the middle of August Hervey de Mountmaurice returned from a second mission to the king, and urged the earl to lose no time in making peace with Henry personally (Gir. 273; A.-N. P. pp. 105). After entrusting Waterford to Gilbert de Borard, Strongbow crossed over to England with Hervey, found the king at Newnham in Gloucestershire, and, after much trouble, succeeded in pacifying him, by the resignation of all his castles and maritime cities. On 18 Oct. the king reached Waterford, which was at once handed over to Robert FitzBernard (Gir. 273; Bened. i. 24, &c.; A.-N. P. 125). From Waterford the king marched through Ossory to Dublin, receiving the homage of the Irish princes as he went. He spent Christmas at Dublin, which on his departure he gave in charge to Hugh de Lacy (A.-N. P. ll. 2713-16). It would seem that during the greater part of the six months Henry spent in Ireland Earl Richard kept his own court at Kildare.

A Dyvelin esteit li reis HenrizEt à Kildare li quens gentils(ll. 2695-6).

That the king to some extent distrusted the intentions of his great vassal is evident by the steps he took to weaken the earl's party and power (Gir. 284).

Towards the beginning of Lent (c. 1 March 1172) Henry reached Wexford. Three or four weeks later came the news of the threatened rebellion of his sons; but his passage to England was delayed till Easter Monday (17 April). Before leaving Ireland he had made Hugh de Lacy lord of Meath, and entrusted Wexford to William FitzAldhelm. Meanwhile, Earl Richard withdrew to Ferns, where he married his sister Basilia to Robert de Quenci, who was given the constableship of Leinster (Bened. i. 25; Gir. 287; A.-N. P. ll. 2741-50).

For the next two years Kildare seems to have been Earl Richard's headquarters (ll. 2769-72), whence he appears to have made forays on the district of Offaly. On one of these expeditions Robert de Quenci was slain, upon which Raymond le Gros demanded the widow in marriage. This request, which implied a claim to the constableship of Leinster and the guardianship of Basilia's infant daughter, was refused, although the refusal seems to have cost the earl the services of Raymond and his followers, who at once returned to Wales (A.-N. P. pp. 133-6; but cf. Gir. 310).

On the breaking out of the rebellion of 1173 (c. 15 April 1173) Henry summoned the earl to his assistance in Normandy, where, according to the Anglo-Norman Poet, he was given the castle of Gisors to guard. From Ralph de Diceto we know that he was present at the relief of Verneuil (9 Aug.) (cf. Eyton, 172, 176). He was apparently dismissed before the close of the first year of war, and as a reward of his fidelity received the restoration of Wexford, Waterford, and Dublin. On reaching Ireland he at once despatched Robert FitzBernard, FitzStephen, and others to aid against the rebels in England, where, if we may trust the Anglo-Norman Poet, the Irish forces were present at the overthrow of the Earl of Leicester (17 Oct.) at Bury St. Edmunds (A.-N. P. pp. 136-41; Diceto, i. 375, 377; Gir. 298, but cf. remarks in list of authorities at end of article).

On Raymond's departure Earl Richard gave the constableship to Hervey de Mountmaurice (Gir. 308). Dissatisfied with his generalship, the troops clamoured for the reappointment of Raymond, whom Henry had sent back to Ireland with the earl, and their request was granted (ib. 298). About the latter part of 1174 the earl led his army into Munster, against Donald of Limerick, and met with the great disaster that forced him back to Waterford, where he was closely besieged by the Irish, while Roderic O'Connor advanced to the very walls of Dublin. In this emergency the earl sent over a messenger begging that Raymond would come to his aid, and promising him his sister's hand. The two nobles met in an island near Waterford. Earl Richard was brought back to Wexford, where the marriage was celebrated. On the next day Raymond started to drive the king of Connaught out of Meath (A. F. M. ii. 15-19, with which cf. Gir. 310-12; A.-N. P. pp. 142-4). It was now that, at Raymond's suggestion, the earl gave his elder daughter Alina to William FitzMaurice. To Maurice himself he assigned Wicklow Castle; Carbury to Meiler FitzHenry, and other estates to various other knights. Dublin was handed over to the brothers from Hereford. With his sister Earl Richard granted Raymond Fothord, Idrone, and Glaskarrig (Gir. 314; for full list, see A.-N. P. pp. 144-8). It appears that the earl was now supreme in Leinster, having hostages of all the great Irish princes (ll. 3208, &c.).

It was probably in 1175 that Earl Richard was called upon to relieve Hugh de Lacy's newly built castle of Trim. After this success he withdrew to Dublin, having determined to send his army under Raymond against Donald O'Brien of Limerick. He does not seem to have taken any personal share in the latter expedition (c. 1 Oct. 1175), and indeed may possibly have been in England in this very month (Eyton, 196). After the fall of Limerick Hervey persuaded the king to recall his rival Raymond, whom, however, the peril of the English garrison detained in Ireland long after the receipt of the summons, since the earl's men refused to advance under any other leader. On Tuesday, 6 April 1176, Raymond once more entered Limerick, from which town he soon started for Cork, to relieve Dermot Macarthy, prince of Desmond. While thus engaged he received a letter from his wife, Basilia, informing him that that huge grinder which had caused him so much pain had fallen out. By this phrase he understood that Earl Richard was dead (c. 1 June according to Giraldus; but 5 April according to Diceto). After Raymond's arrival the earl was buried in the church of the Holy Trinity, where his tomb is still shown. Other accounts make him buried at Gloucester (A.-N. P. ll. 3208, &c.; Giraldus; Diceto, i. 407).

Earl Richard seems to have left an only daughter, Isabella by name. At the age of three she became the heiress to her father's vast estates, and was married by King Richard to William Marshall in 1189 (Hoveden, iii. 7; Diceto, i. 407). The question as to whether he had other issue has been fiercely contested by genealogists; but there seems to be no reason for doubting that he was married before espousing Dermot's daughter. The earl's daughter, Alina, mentioned above, cannot well have been his child by Eva. In the Irish Annals we read (a.d. 1171) of a predatory expedition led into Kildare by the earl's son (A. F. M. 1185). A Tintern charter granted by the younger William Marshall, and dated Strigul 22 March 1206, makes mention of Walter, filius Ricardi, filii Gilberti Strongbowe, avi mei (Dugdale, v. 267). But even this evidence can hardly be considered to confirm the current story as to how the earl met his son fleeing before the enemy and, enraged at such cowardice, clave him asunder with his sword. A tomb is still shown in Christ Church, Dublin, which passes for that of Richard Strongbow. This monument, which is described as displaying the cross-legged effigy of a knight, is said to have been restored by Sir Henry Sidney in 1570. On the left lies a half-figure of uncertain sex, which is popularly supposed to represent the earl's son. On it are inscribed the lines:Nate ingrate mihi pugnanti terga dedisti:Non mihi sed genti, regno quoque terga dedisti.

But there is no evidence as to the original state of this monument or the extent of Sir Henry's restorations. The whole legend was well known to Stanihurst in 1584; but it may date much further back than the sixteenth century (Marsh, 62).

According to Giraldus's rhetorical phrase, Richard de Clare was vir plus nominis hactenus habens quam ominis, plus genii quam ingenii, plus successionis quam possessionis. More trustworthy, perhaps, is Giraldus's personal description of the earl: A man of a somewhat florid complexion and freckled; with grey eyes, feminine features, a thin voice and short neck, but otherwise of a good stature. He was rather suited, continues the same historian, for the council chamber than the field, and better fitted to obey than to command. He required to be urged on to enterprise by his followers; but when once in the press of the fight his resolution was as the standard or the rallying-point of his side. No disaster could shake his courage, and he showed no undue exhilaration when things went well. In the pages of Giraldus the earl appears as a mere foil to the brilliant characters of the Fitzgeralds, and is never credited with any very remarkable military achievement. On the other hand, in the pages of the Anglo-Norman Poet he fills a much more prominent position; he leads great expeditions, and is specially distinguished at the siege of Dublin. But even in the verse of this writer his special epithets are, li gentils quens, le bon contur. It is more rarely that we find him styled li quens vailland.

Sources:

The two principal authorities for the career of Richard Strongbow are Giraldus Cambrensis and a poet who, towards the close of the twelfth century, wrote an account of the conquest of Ireland in Norman-French verse. The narrative of the latter, according to its author's statement, is largely based on the information derived from Dermot's interpreter or clerk, Maurice Regan. In many points these two writers are not in absolute accord, and the chronology is rendered still more obscure by the fact that the Anglo-Norman Poet gives no yearly dates at all, while Giraldus is not entirely consistent with himself. Each author supplies much that is peculiar to himself at other times, when they seem to differ it may be that they refer to different occasions. The latter view has been taken in the article in the case of Raymond's return to England. Giraldus Cambrensis, Expugnatio Hibernica, ed. Dimock (Rolls Series), v.

Anglo-Norman Poet, ed. Wright and Michel (London, 1837)
Eyton's Itinerary of Henry II
Green's English Princesses, i.
Benedict of Peterborough and Ralph de Diceto, ed. Stubbs (Rolls Series)
Trivet, ed. Hog (Engl. Hist. Soc.)
Dugdale's Baronage, i., and Monasticon (ed. 1817-1846)
William of Jumièges ap. Migne, cxxxix. col. 906
Brompton's Chronicon, ap. Twysden's Decem Scriptores
Annals of the Four Masters, ed. Donovan
Marsh's Chepstow Castle
Orderic Vitalis (Bohn), iv. 203
Journal of Archæological Association, x. 265.

Contributor: T. A. A. [Thomas Andrew Archer]

Published: 1887

He was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabella of Meulan. He married Aoife MacMorrough, daughter of Dermot MacMorrough, King of Leinster, circa 26 August 1171. He died on 20 April 1176, without surviving male issue.

Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke also went by the nick-name of Richard 'Strongbow'. He was styled as Earl of Buckingham. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Earl of Pembroke [E., c. 1138] in 1149. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Dictionary of National Biography

Clare, Richard de, or Richard Strongbow, second Earl of Pembroke and Strigul d. 1176, was son of Gilbert Strongbow, or De Clare, whom Stephen created earl of Pembroke in 1138, and grandson of Gilbert de Clare d. 1115? [qv.] (Ord. Vit. xiii. 37). His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester and Mellent (Will. of Jumièges, viii. 37; Dugdale, i. 84). He appears to have succeeded to his father's estates in 1148 (Marsh, p. 55; Dugdale, i. 208); but the name of Richard, count of Pembroke, first appears among the signatures to the treaty of Westminster (7 Nov. 1153), which recognised Prince Henry as Stephen's successor (Brompton, 1039n. 60). It appears that he was allowed to retain his title even after the accession of Henry II, when so many of Stephen's earldoms were abolished; but according to Giraldus Cambrensis he had either forfeited or lost his estates by 1167-8 (Expugn. Hib. i. cxii). We learn from Ralph de Diceto (i. 330) that he was one of the nobles who accompanied Princess Matilda on her marriage journey to Minden in Germany early in 1168.

According to the Irish historians it was in 1166 that Dermot [see MacMurchada, Diarmid], driven from Leinster by the combined forces of Roderic O'Connor, king of Connaught, and Tighernan O'Ruarc, king of Breifni, appealed to Henry for aid in the recovery of his kingdom (Annals of Four Masters, i. 1161). This date, according to Giraldus, seems two years too early. Henry gave letters empowering any of his subjects to assist the dethroned monarch, who secured the services of Earl Richard, promising in return for his assistance to give him his eldest daughter in marriage, together with the succession to Leinster (Gir. Camb. v. 227-8; Anglo-Norman Poet, ll. 328, &c.). The earl engaged to cross over with an army in the ensuing spring; but stipulated that he must have express permission from Henry before starting (Gir. 228; Anglo-Norm. Poet, ll. 356-7). Earlier aid was promised by Robert FitzStephen and Maurice FitzGerald, who appear to have crossed over to Wexford about 1 May 1169 (Gir. 230; A. F. M. i. 1173). If this date be correct, the meeting of Dermot and the earl must have taken place about July 1168, to which year Hoveden assigns the invasion of Ireland (i. 269; Gir. 229, with which cf. A.-N. P. pp. 16-19). In the conquest of Wexford and the expeditions against Ossory and Dublin Earl Richard took no part; but according to Giraldus he was represented in this campaign by his nephew, Hervey de Mountmaurice.

It was apparently towards the close of this year that Dermot, despairing of the arrival of the Earl of Strigul, offered his daughter to Robert FitzStephen and Maurice FitzGerald, and on their refusal sent a pressing invitation to the earl: The swallows have come and gone, yet you are tarrying still. On receiving this letter, Earl Richard, after much deliberation, crossed over to Henry and received the requisite permission to carve out a heritage for himself in foreign lands; but, according to Giraldus, the king granted his request ironically rather than seriously (246-8). A much later writer, Trivet (c. 1300), has preserved a tradition that the earl had been an exile in Ireland previous to this (Trivet, 66-7).

Before crossing to Ireland himself, Earl Richard sent forward a small force under one of his own men, Raymond le Gros, the nephew of FitzStephen and FitzGerald. Landing near Waterford about the beginning of May 1170, he was immediately joined by Hervey de Mountmaurice (Gir. 248, &c.; A.-N. P. pp. 67, &c.). According to the Anglo-Norman Poet, Earl Richard crossed very soon after (ll. 1500-3); both accounts agree that he appeared before Waterford with from twelve to fifteen hundred men on St. Bartholomew's eve (23 Aug.) Within two days the city had fallen; but Dermot, accompanied by Maurice and Robert, came up in time to save the lives of the captives. The marriage between Eva and the earl was celebrated at once, and the whole army set out for Dublin, after setting an English guard at Waterford (A.-N. P. ll. 1508-1569; Gir. 255-6). If the Anglo-Norman Poet may be trusted, there were from four to five thousand English who took part in the march to Dublin, before which town they arrived on 21 Sept. (l. 1626). Meanwhile, Roderic of Connaught had mustered thirty thousand men for its relief. While peace negotiations were going on, Milo de Cogan and Raymond le Gros took the city by assault, without the consent of either Dermot or the earl (A.-N. P. ll. 1680-2; Gir. 256-7). Asculf MacTurkill, the Danish ruler, was driven into exile, and his town handed over to Earl Richard, who appears to have resided here till the beginning of October, when he started to attack O'Ruarc in Meath, leaving Dublin in charge of Milo de Cogan (Gir. 257; A.-N. P. ll. 1709-23; A. F. M. 1177). From Meath he seems to have withdrawn to Waterford for the winter; while Dermot took up his abode at Ferns, where he died on 1 May 1171 (Gir. 263; A.-N. P. 1724-31).

Meanwhile, Henry II, who had grown jealous of his vassal's success, had forbidden the transport of fresh forces to Ireland, and ordered all who had already crossed to return by Easter 1171 (28 March). To prevent the enforcement of this decree, the earl despatched Raymond le Gros to the king in Aquitane, with instructions to place all his conquests at the king's disposal (Gir. 259).

On the death of Dermot there was a general combination against the English. All the earl's allies, excepting some three or four, (A.-N. P. ll. 1732-43), deserted him, and a force of sixty thousand men was collected under Roderic O'Connor to besiege Dublin about Whitsuntide (16 May) 1171. Earl Richard, to whose assistance Raymond le Gros had already returned, sent for aid to FitzStephen at Wexford, from which place he received a reinforcement of thirty-six men, a step which so weakened the Wexford garrison, that it had to surrender later (? c. 1 July). On hearing of this disaster the earl, fearing starvation, offered to do fealty to Roderic for Leinster. Roderic, however, refused to concede more than the three Norse towns, Waterford, Dublin, and Wexford; if these terms were rejected, he would storm the town on the morrow (A.-N. P. pp. 85-9; Gir. 265, &c.). In this emergency the earl ordered a sudden sally in three directions, led by Milo, Raymond, and himself. A brilliant success was achieved; the siege was raised, and the earl was left free to set out to the relief of FitzStephen, whom the Irish had shut up in the island of Becherin. Dublin was once more entrusted to Milo de Cogan. On his march through Idrone he was attacked by O'Ryan, the king of this district; but hearing that the Irish had left Wexford for Becherin, he proceeded to Waterford, whence he sent a summons to his brother-in-law, the king of Limerick, to aid in an attack on MacDonchid, the king of Ossory. The Anglo-Norman Poet (pp. 97-101) says that it was only the chivalrous honour of Maurice de Prendergast that now prevented the earl from acting with the utmost treachery to the latter king. The earl then departed for Ferns, where he stayed eight days before going in pursuit of Murrough O'Brien, who was put to death at Ferns, together with his son. About the same time, acting as the over-king of Leinster, he confirmed Muirchertad (Murtherdath) in his kingdom of Hy-Kinsellagh (near Wexford), and gave the pleis of Leinster to Donald Kevenath, the faithful son of Dermot (A.-N. P. pp. 103-5).

Probably about the middle of August Hervey de Mountmaurice returned from a second mission to the king, and urged the earl to lose no time in making peace with Henry personally (Gir. 273; A.-N. P. pp. 105). After entrusting Waterford to Gilbert de Borard, Strongbow crossed over to England with Hervey, found the king at Newnham in Gloucestershire, and, after much trouble, succeeded in pacifying him, by the resignation of all his castles and maritime cities. On 18 Oct. the king reached Waterford, which was at once handed over to Robert FitzBernard (Gir. 273; Bened. i. 24, &c.; A.-N. P. 125). From Waterford the king marched through Ossory to Dublin, receiving the homage of the Irish princes as he went. He spent Christmas at Dublin, which on his departure he gave in charge to Hugh de Lacy (A.-N. P. ll. 2713-16). It would seem that during the greater part of the six months Henry spent in Ireland Earl Richard kept his own court at Kildare.

A Dyvelin esteit li reis HenrizEt à Kildare li quens gentils(ll. 2695-6).

That the king to some extent distrusted the intentions of his great vassal is evident by the steps he took to weaken the earl's party and power (Gir. 284).

Towards the beginning of Lent (c. 1 March 1172) Henry reached Wexford. Three or four weeks later came the news of the threatened rebellion of his sons; but his passage to England was delayed till Easter Monday (17 April). Before leaving Ireland he had made Hugh de Lacy lord of Meath, and entrusted Wexford to William FitzAldhelm. Meanwhile, Earl Richard withdrew to Ferns, where he married his sister Basilia to Robert de Quenci, who was given the constableship of Leinster (Bened. i. 25; Gir. 287; A.-N. P. ll. 2741-50).

For the next two years Kildare seems to have been Earl Richard's headquarters (ll. 2769-72), whence he appears to have made forays on the district of Offaly. On one of these expeditions Robert de Quenci was slain, upon which Raymond le Gros demanded the widow in marriage. This request, which implied a claim to the constableship of Leinster and the guardianship of Basilia's infant daughter, was refused, although the refusal seems to have cost the earl the services of Raymond and his followers, who at once returned to Wales (A.-N. P. pp. 133-6; but cf. Gir. 310).

On the breaking out of the rebellion of 1173 (c. 15 April 1173) Henry summoned the earl to his assistance in Normandy, where, according to the Anglo-Norman Poet, he was given the castle of Gisors to guard. From Ralph de Diceto we know that he was present at the relief of Verneuil (9 Aug.) (cf. Eyton, 172, 176). He was apparently dismissed before the close of the first year of war, and as a reward of his fidelity received the restoration of Wexford, Waterford, and Dublin. On reaching Ireland he at once despatched Robert FitzBernard, FitzStephen, and others to aid against the rebels in England, where, if we may trust the Anglo-Norman Poet, the Irish forces were present at the overthrow of the Earl of Leicester (17 Oct.) at Bury St. Edmunds (A.-N. P. pp. 136-41; Diceto, i. 375, 377; Gir. 298, but cf. remarks in list of authorities at end of article).

On Raymond's departure Earl Richard gave the constableship to Hervey de Mountmaurice (Gir. 308). Dissatisfied with his generalship, the troops clamoured for the reappointment of Raymond, whom Henry had sent back to Ireland with the earl, and their request was granted (ib. 298). About the latter part of 1174 the earl led his army into Munster, against Donald of Limerick, and met with the great disaster that forced him back to Waterford, where he was closely besieged by the Irish, while Roderic O'Connor advanced to the very walls of Dublin. In this emergency the earl sent over a messenger begging that Raymond would come to his aid, and promising him his sister's hand. The two nobles met in an island near Waterford. Earl Richard was brought back to Wexford, where the marriage was celebrated. On the next day Raymond started to drive the king of Connaught out of Meath (A. F. M. ii. 15-19, with which cf. Gir. 310-12; A.-N. P. pp. 142-4). It was now that, at Raymond's suggestion, the earl gave his elder daughter Alina to William FitzMaurice. To Maurice himself he assigned Wicklow Castle; Carbury to Meiler FitzHenry, and other estates to various other knights. Dublin was handed over to the brothers from Hereford. With his sister Earl Richard granted Raymond Fothord, Idrone, and Glaskarrig (Gir. 314; for full list, see A.-N. P. pp. 144-8). It appears that the earl was now supreme in Leinster, having hostages of all the great Irish princes (ll. 3208, &c.).

It was probably in 1175 that Earl Richard was called upon to relieve Hugh de Lacy's newly built castle of Trim. After this success he withdrew to Dublin, having determined to send his army under Raymond against Donald O'Brien of Limerick. He does not seem to have taken any personal share in the latter expedition (c. 1 Oct. 1175), and indeed may possibly have been in England in this very month (Eyton, 196). After the fall of Limerick Hervey persuaded the king to recall his rival Raymond, whom, however, the peril of the English garrison detained in Ireland long after the receipt of the summons, since the earl's men refused to advance under any other leader. On Tuesday, 6 April 1176, Raymond once more entered Limerick, from which town he soon started for Cork, to relieve Dermot Macarthy, prince of Desmond. While thus engaged he received a letter from his wife, Basilia, informing him that that huge grinder which had caused him so much pain had fallen out. By this phrase he understood that Earl Richard was dead (c. 1 June according to Giraldus; but 5 April according to Diceto). After Raymond's arrival the earl was buried in the church of the Holy Trinity, where his tomb is still shown. Other accounts make him buried at Gloucester (A.-N. P. ll. 3208, &c.; Giraldus; Diceto, i. 407).

Earl Richard seems to have left an only daughter, Isabella by name. At the age of three she became the heiress to her father's vast estates, and was married by King Richard to William Marshall in 1189 (Hoveden, iii. 7; Diceto, i. 407). The question as to whether he had other issue has been fiercely contested by genealogists; but there seems to be no reason for doubting that he was married before espousing Dermot's daughter. The earl's daughter, Alina, mentioned above, cannot well have been his child by Eva. In the Irish Annals we read (a.d. 1171) of a predatory expedition led into Kildare by the earl's son (A. F. M. 1185). A Tintern charter granted by the younger William Marshall, and dated Strigul 22 March 1206, makes mention of Walter, filius Ricardi, filii Gilberti Strongbowe, avi mei (Dugdale, v. 267). But even this evidence can hardly be considered to confirm the current story as to how the earl met his son fleeing before the enemy and, enraged at such cowardice, clave him asunder with his sword. A tomb is still shown in Christ Church, Dublin, which passes for that of Richard Strongbow. This monument, which is described as displaying the cross-legged effigy of a knight, is said to have been restored by Sir Henry Sidney in 1570. On the left lies a half-figure of uncertain sex, which is popularly supposed to represent the earl's son. On it are inscribed the lines:Nate ingrate mihi pugnanti terga dedisti:Non mihi sed genti, regno quoque terga dedisti.

But there is no evidence as to the original state of this monument or the extent of Sir Henry's restorations. The whole legend was well known to Stanihurst in 1584; but it may date much further back than the sixteenth century (Marsh, 62).

According to Giraldus's rhetorical phrase, Richard de Clare was vir plus nominis hactenus habens quam ominis, plus genii quam ingenii, plus successionis quam possessionis. More trustworthy, perhaps, is Giraldus's personal description of the earl: A man of a somewhat florid complexion and freckled; with grey eyes, feminine features, a thin voice and short neck, but otherwise of a good stature. He was rather suited, continues the same historian, for the council chamber than the field, and better fitted to obey than to command. He required to be urged on to enterprise by his followers; but when once in the press of the fight his resolution was as the standard or the rallying-point of his side. No disaster could shake his courage, and he showed no undue exhilaration when things went well. In the pages of Giraldus the earl appears as a mere foil to the brilliant characters of the Fitzgeralds, and is never credited with any very remarkable military achievement. On the other hand, in the pages of the Anglo-Norman Poet he fills a much more prominent position; he leads great expeditions, and is specially distinguished at the siege of Dublin. But even in the verse of this writer his special epithets are, li gentils quens, le bon contur. It is more rarely that we find him styled li quens vailland.

Sources:

The two principal authorities for the career of Richard Strongbow are Giraldus Cambrensis and a poet who, towards the close of the twelfth century, wrote an account of the conquest of Ireland in Norman-French verse. The narrative of the latter, according to its author's statement, is largely based on the information derived from Dermot's interpreter or clerk, Maurice Regan. In many points these two writers are not in absolute accord, and the chronology is rendered still more obscure by the fact that the Anglo-Norman Poet gives no yearly dates at all, while Giraldus is not entirely consistent with himself. Each author supplies much that is peculiar to himself at other times, when they seem to differ it may be that they refer to different occasions. The latter view has been taken in the article in the case of Raymond's return to England. Giraldus Cambrensis, Expugnatio Hibernica, ed. Dimock (Rolls Series), v.

Anglo-Norman Poet, ed. Wright and Michel (London, 1837)
Eyton's Itinerary of Henry II
Green's English Princesses, i.
Benedict of Peterborough and Ralph de Diceto, ed. Stubbs (Rolls Series)
Trivet, ed. Hog (Engl. Hist. Soc.)
Dugdale's Baronage, i., and Monasticon (ed. 1817-1846)
William of Jumièges ap. Migne, cxxxix. col. 906
Brompton's Chronicon, ap. Twysden's Decem Scriptores
Annals of the Four Masters, ed. Donovan
Marsh's Chepstow Castle
Orderic Vitalis (Bohn), iv. 203
Journal of Archæological Association, x. 265.

Contributor: T. A. A. [Thomas Andrew Archer]

Published: 1887

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (of the first creation), Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland (1130 - 20 April 1176). Like his father, he was also commonly known as Strongbow (French: Arc-Fort). He was a Cambro-Norman lord notable for his leading role in the Norman invasion of Ireland.

Richard was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Beaumont. Richard's father died when he was about eighteen years old and Richard inherited the title Earl of Pembroke. It is probable that this title was not recognized at Henry II's coronation.

Career

As the son of the first Earl, he succeeded to his father's estates in 1148, but was deprived of the title by King Henry II of England in 1154 for siding with King Stephen of England against Henry’s mother, the Empress Matilda. Richard was in fact, described by his contemporaries as the Earl of Striguil, Striguil being where he had a fortress at a place now called Chepstow, in Monmouthshire on the Wye. He saw an opportunity to reverse his bad fortune in 1168 when he met Dermot MacMurrough (Irish: Diarmait Mac Murchadha), King of Leinster.

Dispossession of the King of Leinster

In 1167, the King of Leinster was deprived of his kingdom by the High King of Ireland - Rory O'Connor (Irish: Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair). The grounds for the dispossession were that MacMurrough had, in 1152, abducted Derbforgaill, the wife of the King of Breifne, Tiernan O'Rourke (Irish: Tighearnán Ua Ruairc). To recover his kingdom, MacMurrough solicited help from Henry II of England.

Dermot MacMurrough left Ireland for Bristol from near Bannow on 1 August 1166. He met King Henry II in Aquitaine in autumn 1166. Henry could not help him at this time, but provided a letter of comfort for willing supporters of Dermot’s cause in his kingdom. However, after his return to Wales he failed to rally any forces to his standard. Eventually he met the Earl of Striguil (nicknamed "Strongbow") and other barons of the Welsh Marches. MacMurrough came to an agreement with de Clare: for the Earl’s assistance with an army the following spring, he could have Aoife, Dermot's eldest daughter in marriage and the succession to Leinster. As Henry’s approval or licence to Dermot was a general one, the Earl of Striguil thought it prudent to obtain Henry's specific consent to travel to Ireland: he waited two years to do this. The licence he got was to aid Dermot in the recovery of his kingdom of Leinster.

The invasion of Leinster

An army was assembled that included Welsh archers. It was led by Raymond Fitzgerald (also known as Raymond le Gros) and in quick succession it took the Viking or Scandinavian-established towns of Wexford, Waterford and Dublin in 1169-1170. Strongbow, however, was not with the first invading party, only arriving later, in August 1170.

In May 1171, Dermot died and his son, Donal MacMurrough-Kavanagh (Irish: Domhnall Caemanach mac Murchada) claimed the kingdom of Leinster in accordance with his rights under the Brehon Laws. The Earl of Striguil also claimed the kingship in the right of his wife. The old king's death was the signal of a general rising, and Richard barely managed to keep Rory O'Connor out of Dublin.

Royal intervention

The success of the invasion made King Henry concerned that his barons would become too powerful and independent overseas. He therefore ordered all troops to return to England by Easter 1171. Richard delayed his return until he had repulsed the High King. Immediately afterwards, he hurried to England to solicit help from Henry II, who instead stripped Strongbow of his new holdings. Henry himself invaded in October 1171, staying six months and putting his own men into nearly all the important places, claiming the title "Lord of Ireland". Strongbow returned to favour, and power in Ireland, in 1173 when he aided the king in his campaign against his rebelling sons. Richard went to Normandy to assist the king in the Revolt of 1173-1174. However, he was only permitted to retain the county of Kildare and found himself largely disinherited. The King later concluded a treaty with the High King of Ireland - the Treaty of Windsor 1175. By the terms of the treaty, Rory was left with a kingdom consisting of Ireland outside the petty kingdoms of Leinster, Mide (as they were then), Dublin and County Waterford, as long as he paid tribute to Henry II, and owed fealty to him. All of Ireland was also subject to the new religious provisions of the papal bull Laudabiliter and the Synod of Cashel (1172). In contravention of the royal treaty, de Clare invaded Connacht in 1172 but was severely defeated. Raymond le Gros, his chief general, re-established his supremacy in Leinster. After another rebellion in 1176, Raymond took Limerick for Richard, but just at this moment of triumph, Strongbow died of an infection in his foot.

Marriage and issue

The day after the capture of Waterford, Strongbow married MacMurrough's daughter, Aoife of Leinster. Their children were

Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, a minor who died in 1185
Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, who became Countess of Pembroke in her own right in 1185 (on the death of her brother) until her own death in 1220.

King Henry II had promised Sir William Marshal that he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son Richard I upheld the promise one month after his ascension to the throne. The earldom was given to her husband as her consort. Marshall was the son of John the Marshal, by Sibylle, the sister of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury.

Strongbow's widow, Aoife, lived on and was last recorded in a charter of 1188.

Legacy

Strongbow was the statesman, whereas Raymond was the soldier, of the conquest. He is vividly described by Giraldus Cambrensis as a tall and fair man, of pleasing appearance, modest in his bearing, delicate in features, of a low voice, but sage in council and the idol of his soldiers. He was first interred in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral where an alleged effigy can be viewed. Strongbow's actual tomb-effigy was destroyed when the roof of the Cathedral collapsed in 1562. The one on display dates from around the 15th century, bears the coat of arms of the Earls of Kildare and is the effigy of another local Knight. Strongbow is actually buried in the graveyard of the Ferns Cathedral, Ferns, where his grave can be seen in the graveyard.

Richard also held the title of Lord Marshal of England.

Richard married Aoife MacMorrough 29 Aug 1170, Waterford, Ireland. Aoife (daughter of Dermot MacMorrough, King of Leinster and Mor O'Toole) was born 1145; died Aft 1189. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Aoife MacMurrough (1145-1188, Irish: Aoife Ní Diarmait), also known by later historians as Eva of Leinster, was the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough (Irish: Diarmait MacMurchada), King of Leinster, and his wife Mor O'Toole (c.1114-1191).

Marriage

On the 29 August 1170, following the Norman invasion of Ireland that her father had requested, she married Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, better known as Strongbow, the leader of the Norman invasion force, in Reginald's Tower in Waterford. She had been promised to Strongbow by her father who had visited England to ask for an invasion army. He was not allowed to give his daughter away, as under Early Irish Law Aoife had the choice of whom she married, but she had to agree to an arranged marriage.

Under Anglo-Norman law, this gave Strongbow succession rights to the Kingdom of Leinster. Under Irish Brehon law, the marriage gave her a life interest only, after which any land would normally revert to male cousins; but Brehon law also recognised a transfer of "swordland" following a conquest. Aoife conducted battles on behalf of her husband and is sometimes known as Red Eva (Irish: Aoife Rua). She had two sons and a daughter with her husband Richard de Clare, and within several generations her descendants included much of the nobility of northwestern Europe, including Robert the Bruce and Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall who was elected King of the Romans in 1257.

Aoife is the ancestress of many Kings of England by a number of lineal descent, such as that of her granddaughter Eva Marshal, whose daughter Maud de Braose, married Roger de Mortimer. All the monarchs of England from 1413, as well as Mary, Queen of Scots, were directly descended from Maud, as is the current British Royal Family. Queen consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr were also notable descendants of Aoife through multiple lines. By her descendant, Lady Katherine Mortimer, who married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, Aoife and Strongbow were ancestors of the Earls of Warwick and the last of the Plantagenet kings which included Richard III of England and his wife, Lady Anne Neville.

Notes:

He was the son of Gilbert fitz Richard and Adeliza de Clermont. He married Isabella of Meulan, daughter of Robert de Meulan, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois.

Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke also went by the nick-name of Gilbert 'Strongbow'. He was also known as Gilbert FitzGilbert. He was created 1st Earl of Pembroke [England] circa 1138.

Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare (c. 1100 - 6 January 1147/8), son of Gilbert Fitz Richard and Alice de Claremont, was sometimes referred to as "Strongbow", although his son is better remembered by this name, was the first Earl of Pembroke from 1138.

Born at Tonbridge, Gilbert de Clare became a Baron, that is, a tenant-in-chief, obtaining the estates of his paternal uncles, Roger and Walter, which included the baronies and castles of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy, the lordship of Nether Gwent and the castle of Striguil (later Chepstow). King Stephen created him Earl of Pembroke, and gave him the rape and castle of Pevensey. Gilbert de Clare decided to live near the roof in the Great Hall so he could see what was going on at all times.

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

He married Isabel de Beaumont (ca. 1102 - ca. 1172), around 1130, daughter of Sir Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan, and Elizabeth de Vermandois. Isabel had previously been the mistress of King Henry I of England. By her he had two daughters (Agnes and Basilia) and two sons (Baldwin and Richard).

Gilbert married Isabel de Beaumont Abt 1130. Isabel (daughter of Robert de Meulan, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth of Vermandois, Countess of Leicester) was born Between 1102 and 1107; died Aft 1172. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name:

Notes:

Isabel (Elizabeth) de Beaumont (after 1102 - after 1172), daughter of Robert de Beaumont, sister of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester. She married Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke, in 1130. She was also known as Isabella de Meulan.

Isabella of Meulan was born between 1102 and 1107. She was the daughter of Robert de Meulan, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois. She married Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke, son of Gilbert fitz Richard and Adeliza de Clermont. She died after 1172. As a result of her marriage, Isabella of Meulan was styled as Countess of Pembroke.

Notes:

Diarmait Mac Murchada (Modern Irish: Diarmait mac Murchadha or Diarmaid mac Murchadha), anglicized as Dermot MacMurrough or Dermod MacMurrough (1110-1 May 1171), was a King of Leinster in Ireland. In 1167, he was deprived of his kingdom by the High King of Ireland - Turlough Mór O'Connor (Irish: Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair). The grounds for the dispossession were that MacMurrough had, in 1152, abducted Derbforgaill, the wife of the King of Breifne, Tiernan O'Rourke (Irish: Tighearnán Ua Ruairc). To recover his kingdom, MacMurrough solicited help from King Henry II of England. In return, MacMurrough pledged an oath of allegiance to Henry, who sent troops in support. As a further thanks for his reinstatement, MacMurrough's daughter Aoife was married to Richard de Clare, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke (nicknamed "Strongbow"). Henry II then mounted a larger second invasion in 1171 to ensure his control over Strongbow, resulting in the Lordship of Ireland. MacMurrough was later known as Diarmait na nGall (Irish for "Diarmait of the Foreigners").

Early life and family

MacMurrough was born around 1110, a son of Donnchad mac Murchada, King of Leinster and Dublin. His father's grandmother Dervorgilla (Derbforgaill) was a daughter of Donnchad, King of Munster and therefore she was a grand-daughter of Brian Boru. His father was killed in battle in 1115 by his cousin Sigtrygg Silkbeard, king of the Dublin Vikings, and was buried by them in Dublin along with the body of a dog, considered to be a huge insult.

MacMurrough had two wives (as allowed under the Brehon Laws), the first of whom, Sadb of Uí Faeláin, was mother of a daughter named Órlaith who married Domnall Mór, King of Munster. His second wife, Mór Uí Tuathail, was mother of Aoife / Eva of Leinster and Conchobar Mac Murchada. He had two legitimate sons, Domnall Caemhánach (died 1175) and Énna Cennselach (blinded 1169).

King of Leinster

After the death of his older brother, Enna mac Donnchada Mac Murchada, Dermot unexpectedly became King of Leinster. This was opposed by the then High King of Ireland, Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair who feared (rightly) that Mac Murchada would become a rival. Toirdelbach sent one of his allied Kings, the belligerent Tigernán Ua Ruairc (Tiernan O'Rourke) to conquer Leinster and oust the young Mac Murchada. Ua Ruairc went on a brutal campaign slaughtering the livestock of Leinster and thereby trying to starve the province's residents. Mac Murchada was ousted from his throne, but was able to regain it with the help of Leinster clans in 1132. Afterwards followed two decades of an uneasy peace between Ua Conchobair and Diarmait. In 1152 he even assisted the High King to raid the land of Ua Ruairc who had by then become a renegade.

Mac Murchada also is said to have "abducted" Ua Ruairc's wife Derbforgaill (English: Dervorgilla) along with all her furniture and goods, with the aid of Derbforgaill's brother, a future pretender to the kingship of Meath. It was said that Derbforgaill was not exactly an unwilling prisoner and she remained in Ferns with MacMurrough, in comfort, for a number of years. Her advanced age indicates that she may have been a refugee or a hostage. Whatever the reality, the "abduction" was given as a further reason for enmity between the two kings.

Church builder

As king of Leinster, in 1140-70 Dermot commissioned Irish Romanesque churches and abbeys at:

Baltinglass - a Cistercian abbey (1148)
Glendalough
Ferns (his capital - St Mary's Abbey Augustinian Order)
Killeshin

He sponsored convents (nunneries) at Dublin (St Mary's, 1146), and in c.1151 two more at Aghade, County Carlow and at Kilculliheen near Waterford city.

He also sponsored the successful career of churchman St Lawrence O'Toole (Lorcan Ua Tuathail). He married O'Toole's half-sister Mor in 1153 and presided at the synod of Clane in 1161 when O'Toole was installed as archbishop of Dublin.

Exile and return

In 1166, Ireland's new High King and Mac Murchada's only ally Muirchertach Ua Lochlainn had fallen, and a large coalition led by Tigernán Ua Ruairc (Mac Murchada's arch enemy) marched on Leinster. Ua Ruairc and his allies took Leinster with ease, and Mac Murchada and his wife barely escaped with their lives. Mac Murchada fled to Wales and from there to England and France, in order to have King Henry II's consent to be allowed to recruit soldiers to bring back to Ireland and reclaim his kingship. On returning to Wales, Robert Fitz-Stephen helped him organize a mercenary army of Norman and Welsh soldiers, including Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, alias Strongbow.

In his absence Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (son of Mac Murchada's former enemy, the High King Turlough Mór O'Connor) had become the new High King of Ireland. Mac Murchada planned not only to retake Leinster, but to oust the Uí Conchobair clan and become the High King of Ireland himself. In 1167 he quickly retook Dublin, the Kingdom of Ossory and the Norse-Gaelic settlement of Waterford. Within a short time, all Leinster was again in his control. He then marched on Tara (the political capital at the time) to oust Ruaidrí. Mac Murchada gambled that Ruaidrí would not hurt the Leinster hostages which he had (including Mac Murchada's eldest son, Conchobar Mac Murchada). However Ua Ruairc forced his hand and they were all killed.

Diarmait's army then lost the battle. He sent word to Wales and pleaded with Strongbow to come to Ireland as soon as possible. Strongbow's small force landed in Wexford with Welsh and Norman cavalry thereby precipitating the Norman invasion of Ireland. The Cambro-Norman barons and knights quickly took over both Waterford and Wexford. The capture of Dublin followed soon after. MacMurrough was devastated after the death of his son, Domhnall, retreated to Ferns and died a few months later.

Strongbow married Dermot's daughter Aoife of Leinster in 1170, as she was a great heiress, and as a result much of his (and his followers') land was granted to him under Norman law but contrary to Brehon law.

The scholar Áed Ua Crimthainn was probably Diarmait's court historian. In his Book of Leinster, Áed seems to be the first to set out the concept of the rí Érenn co fressabra, the "king of Ireland with opposition", later more widely adopted. This described Diarmait's ambitions and the achievements of his great-grandfather Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó.

Later reputation

In Irish history books written after 1800 in the age of nationalism, Diarmait Mac Murchada was often seen as a traitor, but his intention was not to aid an English invasion of Ireland, but rather to use Henry's assistance to become the High King of Ireland himself. He had no way of knowing Henry II's ambitions in Ireland. In his time, politics was based on dynasties and Ireland was not ruled as a unitary state. In turn, Henry II did not consider himself to be English or Norman, but a French Angevin, and was merely responding to the realities on the ground.

Gerald of Wales, a Cambro-Norman historian who visited Ireland in 1185 and whose uncles and cousins were prominent soldiers in the army of Strongbow, repeated their opinions of Mac Murchada:

"Now Dermot was a man tall of stature and stout of frame; a soldier whose heart was in the fray, and held valiant among his own nation. From often shouting his battle-cry his voice had become hoarse. A man who liked better to be feared by all than loved by any. One who would oppress his greater vassals, while he raised to high station men of lowly birth. A tyrant to his own subjects, he was hated by strangers; his hand was against every man, and every man's hand against him."

Death and descendants

After Strongbow's successful invasion, Henry II mounted a second and larger invasion in 1171 to ensure his control over his Norman subjects, which succeeded. He then accepted the submission of the Irish kings in Dublin in November 1171. He also ensured that his moral claim to Ireland, granted by the 1154 papal bull Laudabiliter, was reconfirmed in 1172 by Pope Alexander III, and also by a synod of all the Irish bishops at the Synod of Cashel. He added "Lord of Ireland" to his many other titles. Before he could consolidate his new Lordship he had to go to France to deal with his sons' rebellion in 1173.

Ua Conchobair was soon ousted, first as High King and eventually as King of Connacht. Attempting to regain his provincial kingdom, he turned to the English as Mac Murchada had before him. The Lordship directly controlled a small territory in Ireland surrounding the cities of Dublin and Waterford, while the rest of Ireland was divided between Norman and Welsh barons. The 1175 Treaty of Windsor, brokered by St Lawrence O'Toole with Henry II, formalized the submission of the Gaelic clans that remained in local control, like the Uí Conchobair who retained Connacht and the Uí Néill who retained most of Ulster.

Diarmait's male-line descendants such as Art Mac Art continued to rule parts of Leinster until the Tudor conquest of Ireland in the 16th century. Today they live on with the surname "MacMurrough Kavanagh" at Borris in Co. Carlow and at Maresfield, East Sussex, being one of the few surviving "Chiefs of the name". The currently recognized chief of the name is William Butler Kavanagh, The MacMorrough Kavanagh, Prince of Leinster (b. 1944).

Through his daughter Aoife, Diarmait is also an ancestor of a great number of historically-famous people, including George Washington, Marie-Antoinette, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Robert Emmet, Charles Darwin and Winston Churchill.

More notably he is the ancestor (through Aoife's granddaughter Eva Marshal and her daughter Maud who married Roger Mortimer) of the kings of England Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, and all kings from Henry VIII onwards. There are other notable descents from Aoife's daughter Isabel de Clare such as that of Katherine Mortimer, Aoife's great-granddaughter, who married Thomas de Beauchamp 11th Earl of Warwick, and was therefore an ancestor of the Earls of Warwick and Kings of England from Edward IV onwards (with the exception of Henry VII).

Dermot married Mor O'Toole 1153. Mor (daughter of Muirchertach Ua Tuathail, King of the Uí Muirdeaigh and Cacht Ní Morda) was born Abt 1114, Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland; died 1191, Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mór Ní Tuathail (c. 1114-1191) was a Queen-consort of Leinster as the first wife of King Diarmait Mac Murchada. Under Brehon Law, Irish men were allowed more than one wife. King Dermot's second wife was Sadhbh Ní Fhaolain.

Mór was the mother of Aoife of Leinster, the wife of Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, known to history as Strongbow.

Family

Mór was born in Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland in about 1114, the daughter of Muirchertach Ua Tuathail, King of the Uí Muirdeaigh, and Cacht Ní Morda.

Her paternal grandparents were Gilla Comgaill Ua Toole and Sadbh Ní Domnail and her maternal grandparents were Loigsig Ua Morda, King of Laois and Gormlaith Ní Caellaide.

One of Mor's four half-brothers was St. Lorcán Ua Tuathail, Archbishop of Dublin, who was canonised in 1225 by Pope Honorius III.

Marriage and issue

In 1152, King Diarmait Mac Murchada of Leinster abducted Derbforgaill Ní Mhaol Seachlainn, the wife of the King of Breifne, Tighearnán Ua Ruairc (Irish: Tighearnán Ua Ruairc).

Together Dermot and Mór had about three children:

Conchobhar Mac Murchada (died 1167)
Aoife MacMurrough (1145-1188), married 29 August 1170, Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known to history as Strongbow, by whom she had two children, including Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, who became the heiress to her father's titles and estates.
Órlaith of Leinster, married Domnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond, by whom she had issue.

In 1167, Mór's son Conchobhar was killed by Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, High King of Ireland, after having been taken hostage while Diarmait waged war against Ruaidrí with the aim of overthrowing him in order to take his place as the High King.

Queen Mór died in 1191, three years after her eldest daughter, Aoife. Her husband predeceased her on 1 May 1171 in Ferns, shortly after the Cambro-Norman invasion of Ireland led by their son-in-law, Strongbow.

Notes:

He was the son of Richard fitz Gilbert and Rohese Giffard. He married Adeliza de Clermont, daughter of Hugues, Comte de Clermont and Marguerite de Montdidier, circa 1083. He was also known as Gilbert de Tonbridge. He was also known as Gilbert de Clare. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Lord of Clare [feudal baron] circa 1090. In 1090 he founded the Priory at Clare.

Gilbert Fitz Richard (died 1114/7) was son and eventual heir of Richard Fitz Gilbert of Clare and heiress Rohese Giffard. He succeeded to his father's possessions in England in 1091; his brother, Roger Fitz Richard, inherited his father's lands in Normandy. Gilbert's inheritance made him one of the wealthiest magnates in early twelfth-century England. He was the earl of Hertfordshire, but references rarely indicated the county; he was consistently called Earl Gilbert or Gilbert earl of Clare.

Gilbert may have been present at the suspicious death of William II in the New Forest in 1100. He was granted lands and the Lordship of Cardigan by Henry I, including Cardigan Castle. He founded the Cluniac priory at Stoke-by-Clare, Suffolk.

He married Adeliza/Alice de Claremont, daughter of Hugh, Count of Clermont, and Margaret de Roucy. She remarried one of the sons of Hervé de Montmorency after his death. Gilbert and Adeliza had at least eight children:

Walter de Clare, d. 1149
Adelize/Alice de Clare, d. 1163, m. (ca. 1105), Aubrey II de Vere, son of Aubrey I de Vere and Beatrice. She had 9 children and in her widowhood was a corrodian at St. Osyth's, Chich, Essex.
Margaret de Clare, d. 1185, m. (ca. 1108), Sir William de Montfitchet, Lord of Stanstead Mountfitchet.
Baldwin Fitz Gilbert de Clare, Lord of Bourne, d. 1154, m. Adeline de Rollos.
Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare, d. 1136
Hervey de Clare
Gilbert Fitz Gilbert de Clare, d. 1148, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Rohese de Clare, d. 1149, m. (ca. 1130), Baderon of Monmouth

He was the son of Richard fitz Gilbert and Rohese Giffard. He married Adeliza de Clermont, daughter of Hugues, Comte de Clermont and Marguerite de Montdidier, circa 1083. He was also known as Gilbert de Tonbridge. He was also known as Gilbert de Clare. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Lord of Clare [feudal baron] circa 1090. In 1090 he founded the Priory at Clare.

Gilbert married Adeliza de Clermont Abt 1083. Adeliza (daughter of Hugh, Count of Clermont and Margaret de Roucy) was born Abt 1058, Northamptonshire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

She is the daughter of Hugues, Comte de Clermont and Marguerite de Montdidier. She married, firstly, Gilbert fitz Richard, son of Richard fitz Gilbert and Rohese Giffard, circa 1083. She married, secondly, Bouchard de Montmorency after 1117.

Notes:

He is the son of Roger de Beaumont, Seigneur de Portaudemer and Adeline de Meulan. He married Elizabeth de Vermandois, daughter of Hugh de Crépi, Comte de Vermandois et de Valois and Aelis de Vermandois, Comtesse de Vermandois, in 1096.

He gained the title of Comte de Meulan, in France. He gained the title of 1st Earl of Leicester.

Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan (between 1040 and 1050 - 5 June 1118) was a powerful English and French nobleman, revered as one of the wisest men of his age. Chroniclers speak highly of his eloquence, his learning, and three kings of England valued his counsel.

He accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066, where his service earned him more than 91 lordships and manors. When his mother died in 1081, Robert inherited the title of Count of Meulan in Normandy, also the title of Viscount Ivry and Lord of Norton. He did homage to Philip I of France for these estates and sat as French Peer in the Parliament held at Poissy.

At the Battle of Hastings Robert was appointed leader of the infantry on the right wing of the army.

He and his brother Henry were members of the Royal hunting party in the New Forest, when William Rufus received his mysterious death wound, 2 August 1100. He then pledged alligience to William Rufus' brother, Henry I of England, who created him Earl of Leicester in 1107.

On the death of William Rufus, William, Count of Evreux and Ralph de Conches made an incursion into Robert's Norman estates, on the pretence that they had suffered injury through some advice that Robert had given to the King; their raid was very successful for they collected a vast booty.

According to Henry of Huntingdon, Robert died of shame after "a certain earl carried off the lady he had espoused, either by some intrigue or by force and stratagem." His wife Isabella remarried in 1118 to William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey.

Family and children

He was the eldest son of Roger de Beaumont and Adeline of Meulan, daughter of Waleran III, Count de Meulan, and an older brother of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick.

In 1096 he married (Isabel) Elizabeth de Vermandois, daughter of Hugh Magnus (b. 1053, d. 18 Oct 1101) a younger son of the French king and Adelaide de Cleremont (b. 1050, d. 23 Sep 1120). Their children were:

Emma de Beaumont (born 1102)
Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (born 1104)
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (born 1104)
Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born c. 1106)
Adeline de Beaumont, married twice:

Hugh IV of Montfort-sur-Risle
Richard de Granville of Bideford (d. 1147)

Aubree de Beaumont, married Hugh II of Château-neuf-Thimerais.
Maud de Beaumont, married William Lovel. (b. c. 1102)
Isabel de Beaumont, a mistress of King Henry I of England. Married twice:

Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke;
Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland

Robert married Elizabeth of Vermandois, Countess of Leicester 1096. Elizabeth (daughter of Hugh, I of Vermandois and Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois) was born Abt 1081; died 17 Feb 1130/31. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name:

Notes:

Elizabeth de Vermandois is the daughter of Hugh de Crépi, Comte de Vermandois et de Valois and Aelis de Vermandois, Comtesse de Vermandois. She married, firstly, Robert de Meulan, 1st Earl of Leicester, son of Roger de Beaumont, Seigneur de Portaudemer and Adeline de Meulan, in 1096. She married, secondly, William II de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, son of William I de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and Gundreda, after 5 June 1118.

She was also known as Isabel de Vermandois. She was also known as Isabel de Crépi. From 1096, her married name became de Beaumont. Her married name became de Warenne.

Elizabeth of Vermandois, or Elisabeth or Isabel de Vermandois (ca. 1081 - 13 February 1131), was a niece of Philip I of France who was twice married to influential Anglo-Norman magnates.

Family

Elizabeth of Vermandois was the third daughter of Hugh Magnus and Adelaide of Vermandois, and as such represented both the Capetian line of her paternal grandfather Henry I of France, and the Carolingian ancestry of her maternal grandfather Herbert IV of Vermandois. Her father was a younger brother of Philip I of France.

Countess of Leicester

In 1096, at age 15, Elizabeth married Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and 1st Earl of Leicester. The count was 46 at the time of the marriage, which was an unusual age difference even for the late 11th century. He was a nobleman of some significance in France, having inherited lands from his maternal uncle Henry, Count of Meulan, and had fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 under the command of his distant kinsman William the Conqueror. For this service, he was awarded English lands in addition to those in Meulan and Normandy he had inherited. However, at the time of the marriage, he held no earldom in England while his younger brother was already styled Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick. Meulan was a respected advisor to three reigning monarchs: William II of England, Robert Curthose of Normandy and Philip I of France.

According to Middle Ages custom, brides were often betrothed young - 8 being the legal age for betrothal and 12 for marriage (for women). The young betrothed wife would often go to her husband's castle to be raised by his parents or other relatives and to learn the customs and ways of her husband's family. The actual wedding would not take place until much later. Some genealogists speculate that the usual age at which a noble bride could expect the marriage to be consummated would be 14. This is consistent with the date of birth of Elizabeth's first child Emma in 1102 when she would be about 15 to 17.

The marriage produced several children, including most notably two twin sons (born 1104) who both become important noblemen. These men, known to historians of this period as the Beaumont twins, were Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and his younger twin Robert Bossu (the Humpback) or Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester. Another notable child of this marriage was Elisabeth or Isabel de Beaumont, one of the youngest mistresses of Henry I of England and later mother (by her first marriage) of Richard Strongbow.

William II of England died suddenly in a purported hunting accident, and was hastily succeeded not by the expected heir but by the youngest brother Henry. This seizure of the throne led to an abortive invasion by the older brother Duke Robert of Normandy, followed by an uneasy truce between the brothers. The reprieve was only temporary, and there was unrest in both England and Normandy for some time (stirred up by Duke Robert, and by an exiled nobleman Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury). Finally, Henry invaded Normandy and in the Battle of Tinchebray (September 28, 1106) destroyed organized opposition to his takeover of Normandy and imprisoned his ineffectual older brother for his lifetime. Meulan and his brother Warwick were apparently supporters of Henry during this entire period, and Meulan was rewarded with the earldom of Leicester in 1103. By 1107, Meulan was in possession of substantial lands in three domains. In 1111, he was able to revenge himself on the attack on his seat Meulan by Louis VI of France by harrying Paris.

Countess of Surrey

Elizabeth, Countess of Meulan apparently tired of her aging husband at some point during the marriage. The historian Planche says (1874) that the Countess was seduced by or fell in love with a younger nobleman, William de Warenne (c. 1071-11 May 1138) himself the thwarted suitor of Edith of Scotland, Queen consort of Henry I of England. Warenne was said to want a royal bride, and Elizabeth fitted his requirements, even though she was also another man's wife.

In 1115, the Countess was apparently carried off or abducted by Warenne, which abduction apparently concealed a long-standing affair. There was some kind of separation or divorce between Meulan and his wife, which however did not permit her to marry her lover. The elderly Count of Meulan died, supposedly of chagrin and mortification in being thus publicly humiliated, in the Abbey of Preaux, Normandy on 5 June 1118, leaving his properties to his two elder sons whom he had carefully educated.

Elizabeth married, secondly, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, sometime after the death of her first husband. By him, it is alleged, she already had several children (all born during her marriage to Meulan). She also had at least one daughter born while she was living out of wedlock with Warenne (1115-1118). It is unclear whether this daughter was Ada de Warenne, wife of Henry of Scotland or Gundrede de Warenne, wife of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick (her half-brothers' first cousin).

The later life of Elizabeth de Vermandois is not known. Her sons by her first marriage appear to have a good relationship with their half-brother William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey although on opposing sides for much of the wars between Stephen and Matilda. Her eldest son Waleran, Count of Meulan was active in supporting the disinherited heir William Clito, son of Robert Curthose until captured by King Henry. He was not released until Clito's death without issue in 1128. Her second son Robert inherited his father's English estates and the earldom of Leicester and married the heiress of the Fitzosbern counts of Breteuil. Her daughter Isabel however became a king's concubine or mistress at a young age; it is unclear whether her mother's own life or her eldest brother's political and personal travails in this period played any part in this decision. Before her mother died, Isabel had become wife of Gilbert de Clare, later (1147) Earl of Pembroke, so had adopted a more conventional life like her mother.

Children and descendants

During her first marriage (1096-1115) to Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (d 5 June 1118), Elizabeth had 3 sons (including twin elder sons) and 6 daughters:

Emma de Beaumont (born 1102), was betrothed as an infant to Aumari, nephew of William, Count of Évreux, but the marriage never took place. She probably died young, or entered a convent.
Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (born 1104) married and left issue.
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (born 1104) married and left issue (his granddaughter Isabella of Gloucester was the unfortunate first wife of King John.
Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born c. 1106) lost his earldom, left issue
Adeline de Beaumont (b ca 1107), married twice:

Hugh IV, 4th Lord of Montfort-sur-Risle to whom she was married firstly by her brother Waleran
Richard de Granville of Bideford (d. 1147)

Aubree (or Alberee) de Beaumont (b ca 1109), married by her brother Waleran to Hugh II of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais (possibly son of Hugh I of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais and his wife Mabille de Montgomerie, 2nd daughter of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury)
Maud de Beaumont (b ca 1111), married by her brother Waleran to William Lovel, or Louvel or Lupel, son of Ascelin Goel, Lord of Ivri.
Isabel de Beaumont (b Aft. 1102), a mistress of King Henry I of England. Married twice:

Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke by whom she was mother of Richard Strongbow, who invaded Ireland 1170
Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland (this marriage is not conclusively proven)

In her second marriage, to William de Warenne, Elizabeth had three sons and two daughters (for a total of fourteen children - nine during her first marriage, and five during her second):

William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey and Warenne (b. 1119 dspm 1147) whose daughter Isabelle de Warenne, Countess of Surrey married 1stly

William, Count of Boulogne (dsp), yr son of King Stephen, and married 2ndly
Hamelin Plantagenet, an illegitimate half-brother of King Henry II of England by whom she had issue, later earls of Surrey and Warenne.

Reginald de Warenne, who inherited his father's property in upper Normandy. He married Adeline, daughter of William, lord of Wormgay in Norfolk, by whom he had a son William, whose daughter and sole heir Beatrice married first Dodo, lord Bardolf, and secondly Hubert de Burgh;
Ralph de Warenne (dsp)
Gundrada de Warenne, (Gundred) who married first

Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick and had issue; second (as his 2nd wife)
William de Lancaster and is most remembered for expelling king Stephen's garrison from Warwick Castle; and they had issue.

Ada de Warenne (d. ca. 1178), who married Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, younger son of King David I of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon by his marriage to the heiress Matilda or Maud, 2nd Countess of Huntingdon (herself great-niece of William I of England) and had issue. They were parents to Malcolm IV of Scotland and William I of Scotland and their youngest son, David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, who was ancestor of all Kings of Scotland since 1292.

Other Events:

• Name:

Muirchertach — Cacht Ní Morda. [Group Sheet]