4th Lord of Bramber William De Braose

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• Reference Number: 15930

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

William de Braose' eldest son, William, although captured in hiding with his mother and starved to death in 1210, had fathered four sons. They were John, Giles, Phillip and Walter and although they were also held imprisoned they were granted release in 1218. John, the eldest, was said to have been brought up in secret, on Gower, by a Welsh ally or retainer. On release he came under the care of his uncle Giles de Braose. John made a claim to being rightful heir of the de Braose lands and titles and although the courts did not find for him, his other uncle Reginald de Braose was able to cede by a legal convention the Baronecies of both Gower and Bramber to him for a fee. Thus establishing the junior branch of the dynasty in its own right and further positioning the dynasty for survival at worst and at best opportunity, continued future power and influence.

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

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

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

The story of the death of Maud de St. Valery and the conflict of her family with John Lackland is covered in several novels, notably Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine. Erskine describes the life of Maud by sending a woman of the 20th century by psychological regression back into the 12th century.

William married Maud De St. Valéry Abt 1166. Maud (daughter of Bernard De St. Valéry and Matilda) was born 1155, France; died 1210. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 15928

Notes:

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

The de Braoses were loyal to King Richard I but grew in power under King John of England. The dynasty was in conflict with King John towards the end of his reign and almost lost everything.
Reginald de Braose was a scion of the powerful Marcher family of de Braose, helped manage its survival and was also related by marriage to the Welsh Princes of Wales.

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

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

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

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

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

Reginald was a witness to the re-issue of Magna Carta by King Henry III in 1225.
He died two or three years later in 1227 or 1228 in Brecon and was succeeded by his son by his first wife, Grecia de Briwere, the ill-fated William de Braose, Lord Abergavenny. He is buried at Brecon Cathedral. His daughter Matilda de Braose was the wife of Rhys Mechyll, Prince of Deheubarth.

Buried:
Brecon Cathedral

Reginald — Grecia De Briwere. Grecia was born 1186, Devon, England. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 15937

William — Maud De Clare. Maud (daughter of Richard De Clare and Amice Fitzrobert) was born Abt 1184; died 1213. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 15938

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• Reference Number: 16011

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• Reference Number: 16012

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• Reference Number: 16013

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• Reference Number: 16015

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• Reference Number: 16014

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• Reference Number: 16016

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• Name: Gwilym Ddu, Black William
• Reference Number: 15668

Notes:

William de Braose (c. 1197 - 2 May 1230) was the son of Reginald de Braose by his first wife, Grecia de Briwere (born 1186) from Stoke in Devon. He was an ill-fated member of a powerful and long lived dynasty of Marcher Lords.

William de Braose was born in Brecon, probably between 1197 and 1204. The Welsh, who detested him and his family name, called him Gwilym Ddu, Black William. He succeeded his father in his various lordships in 1227, including Abergavenny and Builth.

William married Lady Eva Marshal, daughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. They had four daughters:
Isabella de Braose (born c. 1222), wife of Prince Dafydd ap Llywelyn
Maud de Braose (born c. 1224 - 1301), wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Wigmore another very powerful Marcher dynasty.
Eleanor de Braose (c. 1226 - 1251), wife of Humphrey de Bohun and mother of Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford.
Eve de Braose (c. 1227- July 1255), wife of William de Cantelou.

He was captured by the Welsh forces of Prince Llywelyn the Great, in fighting in the commote of Ceri near Montgomery, in 1228. William was ransomed for the sum of £2,000 and then furthermore made an alliance with Llywelyn, arranging to marry his daughter Isabella de Braose to Llywelyn's only legitimate son Dafydd ap Llywelyn.

However on a later visit to Llywelyn during Easter 1230 William de Braose was found in Llywelyn's private bedchamber with Llywelyn's wife, Joan, Lady of Wales.

The Chronicle of Ystrad Fflur's entry for 1230 reads:
"In this year William de Breos the Younger, lord of Brycheiniog, was hanged by the Lord Llywelyn in Gwynedd, after he had been caught in Llywelyn's chamber with the king of England's daughter, Llywelyn's wife."

Llywelyn had William publicly hanged on 2 May 1230, possibly at Crogen, near Bala. though others believe the hanging took place near Llywelyn's palace at Garth Celyn.

With William's death by hanging and his having four daughters, who divided the de Braose inheritance between them and no male heir, the titles now passed to the junior branch of the de Braose dynasty, the only male heir was now John de Braose who had already inherited the titles of Gower and Bramber from his far-sighted uncle Reginald de Braose.

William's wife Eva continued to hold de Braose lands and castles in her own right, after the death of her husband. She was listed as the holder of Totnes in 1230, and was granted 12 marks to strengthen Hay Castle by King Henry III on the Close Rolls (1234-1237).

William married Eva Marshal Bef 1221. Eva (daughter of William Marshal and Isabel De Clare) was born 1203, Pembrokeshire, Wales; died 1246. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 16017

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• Reference Number: 15661

Maud married Roger De Mortimer 1247. Roger (son of Ralph De Mortimer and Gwladus Ferch Llywelyn) was born 1231; died 30 Oct 1282; was buried Wigmore Abbey. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 15705

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• Reference Number: 15706

Eve — William De Cantelou. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 15708

Eleanor — Humphrey De Bohun. [Group Sheet]