4th Countess of Pembroke and Striguil Isabel De Clare

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15700

Notes:

Isabel de Clare, suo jure Countess of Pembroke and Striguil (1172-1220), was a Cambro-Norman-Irish noblewoman and one of the greatest heiresses in Wales and Ireland. She was the wife of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 - 14 May 1219)

Family:

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, the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and Mor O'Toole. 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, and abetted by Dermot MacMurrough.

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 died at the age of twelve having succeeded their father in 1176 as the 3rd Earl of Pembroke. 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 pleasant, gentle, and extremely attractive. After her brother Gilbert's death in 1185, she became one of the wealthiest heiresses in the kingdom, owning besides the suo jure 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.[1] She was a ward of King Henry II.

Marriage:

The new King Richard I arranged her marriage in August 1189 to William Marshall, the greatest knight and soldier in the realm. Henry II had promised Marshall he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son Richard upheld the promise one month after his ascension to the throne. William Marshall would serve as Lord Marshal of England, four kings in all: Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III. After his marriage to Isabel, Marshall became the jure uxoris 1st Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Striguil, and 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. In 1189, shortly after their marriage, Marshall 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 Marshalls 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 Marshall's arrival in Ireland and records that Isabella set about building a lovely city on the banks of the Barrow.

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

List of children:

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, 6th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had issue, including John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey who married Alice le Brun de Lusignan; she married thirdly, Walter de Dunstanville.
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.
Sibyl Marshal (1201 - before 1238), married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, by whom she had issue.
Joan Marshal (1202 - 1234), married Warin de Munchensi, Lord of Swanscombe, by whom she had issue.
Eva Marshal (1203-1246), married William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny. She had issue, from whom descended, queens consort Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.

Legacy

Isabel died in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1220 at the age of forty-eight. Her husband had died the year before. She is buried at Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire.

Although her daughters had many children, her five sons, curiously, died childless. This is supposedly attributed to a curse placed upon William Marshal by the Irish Bishop of Ferns.[3]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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_de_Clare,_3rd_Countess_of_Pembroke

Buried:
Tintern Abbey

Isabel — William Marshal. William (son of John Marshal and Sibyl of Salisbury) was born 1146; died 14 May 1219; was buried , London, England. [Group Sheet]

1. Eva Marshal was born 1203, Pembrokeshire, Wales; died 1246.
2. William Marshal was born 1190; died 6 Apr 1231.
3. Richard Marshal was born 1191; died 16 Apr 1234.
4. Mehelt Marshal was born 1194; died 27 Mar 1248.
5. Gilbert Marshal was born 1197; died 27 Jun 1241.
6. Walter Marshal was born 1199; died Nov 1245.
7. Isabel Marshal was born 9 Oct 1200; died 17 Jan 1240.
8. Sibyl Marshal was born 1201; died 27 Apr 1245.
9. Anselm Marshal was born 1198; died 22 Dec 1245.
10. Joan Marshal was born 1202; died 1234.

Other Events:

• Name: Strongbow
• Reference Number: 15703

Notes:

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland (1130 - 20 April 1176), was also known as Strongbow. He was a Cambro-Norman lord notable for his leading role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. He was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Beaumont. His father Gilbert died when Richard was about eighteen years old, and he inherited the title Earl of Pembroke, but it was probably not recognized at Henry II's coronation

The Marriage of Aoife and Strongbow (1854) by Daniel Maclise, a romanticised depiction of the union between the Aoife MacMurrough and Strongbow in the ruins of Waterford.

In 1168 Dermot MacMurrough (Turlain Mac Murchada), King of Leinster, driven out of his kingdom by Rory O'Connor (Irish Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair), High King of Ireland with the help of Tiernan O'Rourke (Irish Tighearnán Ua Ruairc), came to solicit help from Henry II. He was pointed in the direction of Richard and other Marcher barons and knights by King Henry, who was always looking to extend his power in Ireland. Diarmuid secured the services of Richard, promising him the hand of his daughter Aoife and the succession to Leinster. An army was assembled that included Welsh archers. The army, under Raymond le Gros, took Wexford, Waterford and Dublin in 1169 and 1170, and Strongbow joined them in August 1170. The day after the capture of Waterford, he married MacMorrough's daughter, Aoife of Leinster.

The success was bittersweet, as King Henry, concerned that his barons would become too powerful and independent overseas, ordered all the troops to return by Easter 1171. However, in May of that year, Diarmuid died, and Strongbow claimed the kingship of Leinster in the right of his wife. The old King's death was the signal of a general rising, and Richard barely managed to keep Roderick out of Dublin. Immediately afterwards, Richard hurried to England to solicit help from Henry II, and in return surrendered to him all his lands and castles. Henry invaded in October 1172, staying six months and putting his own men into nearly all the important places, and assumed the title Lord of Ireland. Richard kept only Kildare, and found himself again largely disenfranchised.

In 1173, Henry's sons rose against him in Normandy, and Richard went to France with the King. As a reward for his service he was reinstated in Leinster and made governor of Ireland, where he faced near-constant rebellion. In 1174, he advanced into Connaught and was severely defeated, but 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.

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 buried in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral where an alleged effigy can be viewed. Strongbow's original tomb-effigy was destroyed when the roof of the Cathedral collapsed in the 16th century. The one that is on display now actually bears the coat of arms of the Earls of Kildare and dates from c.15th century and actually is the effigy of another local Knight. Strongbow is actually buried in the graveyard of the Ferns Cathedral in Ferns, Ireland, where his grave can be seen in the graveyard.

He left a young son Gilbert who died in 1185 while still a minor, and a daughter Isabel. King Henry II promised Isabel in marriage to William the Marshal together with her father's lands and title. Strongbow's widow, Aoife, lived on and was last recorded in a charter of 1188.

Richard also held the title of Lord Marshal of England.

The English Strongbow Cider was named in honour of Richard de Clare.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_de_Clare,_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke


Buried:
Ferns Cathedral

Richard married Aoife of Leinster Aug 1170. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15704

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15738

Gilbert married Isabel De Beaumont 1130. Isabel (daughter of Robert De Beaumont and Elizabeth of Vermandois) was born 1102; died 1172. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15739

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 16018

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15741

Gilbert — Alice De Claremont. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15742

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15743

Robert married Elizabeth of Vermandois 1096. Elizabeth (daughter of I Hugh and Adelaide of Vermandois) was born 1081; died 13 Feb 1131. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Isabel de Vermandois
• Reference Number: 15744

Notes:

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.
[edit]Countess of Leicester

In 1096, while under age (and probably aged 9 or 11), Elizabeth married Robert de Meulan, 1st Earl of Leicester. Meulan was over 35 years her senior, which was an unusual age difference even for this time period. 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.
[edit]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.
[edit]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 Evreux, but the marriage never took place. She probably died young, or entered a convent.[1]
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 two times:
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 two times:
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 Warenne, 1st Earl of Warenne and Surrey 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.