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Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester

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Gilbert de Clare
Earl of Hertford
Earl of Gloucester
Lord of Glamorgan
Coat of Arms of Clare family
Tenure1262–1295
PredecessorRichard de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford
SuccessorGilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford
Other titles9th Lord of Clare
9th Lord of Tonbridge
8th Lord of Cardigan
Born2 September 1243
Christchurch,Hampshire
Died7 December 1295 (aged 52)
MonmouthCastle
BuriedTewkesbury Abbey
51°59′25″N2°09′37″W/ 51.9903°N 2.1604°W/51.9903; -2.1604
NationalityEnglish
Wars and battlesSecond Barons' War
Welsh war of 1282
Spouse(s)Alice de Lusignan of Angoulême
Joan of Acre
IssueIsabella de Clare
Joan de Clare
Gilbert de Clare
Eleanor de Clare
Margaret de Clare
Elizabeth de Clare
ParentsRichard de Clare
Maud de Lacy

Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford,[1]7th Earl of Gloucester(2 September 1243 – 7 December 1295) was a powerful Englishmagnate.He was also known as "Red" Gilbert de Clare or "The Red Earl", probably because of his hair colour or fiery temper in battle. He held theLordship of Glamorganwhich was one of the most powerful and wealthy of the WelshMarcher Lordshipsas well as over 200 English manors (172 in the Honor of Clare).[2]

Lineage[edit]

Gilbert de Clare was born atChristchurch,Hampshire, the son ofRichard de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester,and ofMaud de Lacy,daughter ofJohn de LacyandMargaret de Quincy.[3]Gilbert inherited his father's estates in 1262. He took on the titles, including Lord of Glamorgan, from 1263. Being underage at his father's death, he was made a ward ofHumphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford.

Massacre of the Jews at Canterbury[edit]

During theSecond Barons' Warin April 1264, Gilbert de Clare led the massacre of the Jews atCanterbury,[4]asSimon de Montfort's supporters had done elsewhere.[5]Gilbert de Clare's castles ofKingstonandTonbridgewere taken by the King,Henry III.However, the King allowed Clare's CountessAlice de Lusignan,who was in the latter, to go free because she was his niece; but on 12 May Clare and Montfort were denounced as traitors.

The Battle of Lewes[edit]

Two days later, just before theBattle of Lewes,on 14 May, Simon de Montfort knighted the Earl and his brother Thomas. The Earl commanded the central division of the Baronial army, which formed up on the Downs west of Lewes. When Prince Edward had left the field in pursuit of Montfort's routed left wing, the King and Earl of Cornwall were thrown back to the town. Henry took refuge in the Priory of St Pancras, and Gilbert accepted the surrender of the Earl of Cornwall, who had hidden in a windmill. Montfort and the Earl were now supreme and Montfort in effectde factoKing of England.

Excommunication[edit]

Douce Apocalypse,c. 1265–70. The dragon, who is Satan, comes forth again (Rev. 20:7). Among the flags of the host of Satan is that of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who had opposed Henry III.

On 20 October 1264, Gilbert and his associates were excommunicated byPope Clement IV,and his lands were placed under aninterdict.[6]In the following month, by which time they had obtained possession ofGloucesterandBristol,the Earl was proclaimed to be a rebel. However at this point he changed sides as he fell out with Montfort and the Earl, to prevent Montfort's escape, destroyed ships at the port ofBristoland the bridge over theRiver SevernatGloucester.[7]Having changed sides, Clare shared the Prince's victory atKenilworthon 16 July, and in theBattle of Evesham,4 August, in which Montfort was slain, he commanded the second division and contributed largely to the victory.[8]On 24 June 1268, having been reconciled to Prince Edward, he and the prince took the Cross together atNorthampton.[8]

Activities as a Marcher Lord[edit]

In October 1265, as a reward for supporting Prince Edward, Gilbert was given the castle and title ofAbergavennyand the honour and castle ofBrecknock.AtMichaelmashis disputes withLlewelyn the Lastwere submitted to arbitration, but without a final settlement. Meanwhile, he was buildingCaerphilly Castleinto a fortress.[9]On 6 October 1265 he received the papal absolution of his excommunication, and on 9 October that year the pardon of the King for his former support of Montfort.

At the end of 1268 he refused to obey the King's summons to attend parliament, alleging that, owing to the constant inroads ofLlewelyn the Last,his Welsh estates needed his presence for their defence. At the death ofHenry III,16 November 1272, the Earl took the lead in swearing fealty toEdward I,who was then in Sicily on his return from theCrusade.The next day, with theArchbishop of York,he entered London and proclaimed peace to all, Christians and Jews, and for the first time, secured the acknowledgement of the right of the King's eldest son to succeed to the throne immediately. Thereafter, he was joint Guardian of England, during the King's absence, and on the new King's arrival in England, in August 1274, entertained him atTonbridge Castle.

The Welsh war in 1282[edit]

See also:Conquest of Wales by Edward I

During Edward's invasion of Wales in 1282, Clare insisted on leading an attack into southern Wales. King Edward made Clare the commander of the southern army invading Wales. However, Clare's army faced disaster after being heavily defeated at theBattle of Llandeilo Fawr.Following this defeat, Clare was relieved of his position as the southern commander and was replaced byWilliam de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke(whose son had died during the battle).

Private Marcher War[edit]

In the next year, 1291, he quarrelled with theEarl of Hereford,Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford,grandson of his onetime guardian, about the Lordship ofBrecknock,where Bohun accused Clare of building a castle on his land culminated in a private war between them. Although it was a given right forMarcher Lordsto wage private war the King tested this right in this case: he first called them before a court of their Marcher peers; then, realising the outcome would be coloured by their likely avoidance of prejudicing one of their greatest rights, they were both called before the superior court, the King's own. At this both were imprisoned by the King, both sentenced to having their lands forfeit for life and Clare, theEarl of Gloucester,as the aggressor, was fined 10,000 marks, and the Earl of Hereford 1,000 marks. They were released almost immediately and both of their lands were completely restored to them—however, they had both been taught a very public lesson and their prestige diminished and the King's authority shown for all.

Marriage and succession[edit]

Gilbert married (1st)Alice de Lusignan,also known as Alice de Valence, daughter ofHugh XI of Lusignanand of the family that succeeded the Marshal family to the title of theEarl of Pembrokein the person of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke. They married in 1253 when Gilbert was ten years old. She was of high birth, being a niece of KingHenry(Hugh XI was the king's half-brother). Gilbert and Alice separated in 1267; allegedly, Alice's affections lay with her cousin, PrinceEdward.Previous to this, Gilbert and Alice had produced two daughters:

After his marriage to Alice de Lusignan was annulled in 1285, Gilbert married (2nd)Joan of Acre,a daughter of KingEdward I of Englandand his first wifeEleanor of Castile.King Edward sought to bind Clare, and his assets, more closely to the Crown by this means. By the provisions of the marriage contract, their joint possessions and Clare's extensive lands could only be inherited by a direct descendant, i.e. close to the Crown, and if the marriage proved childless, the lands would pass to any children Joan may have by further marriage.

On 3 July 1290, the Earl gave a great banquet atClerkenwellto celebrate his marriage of 30 April 1290 withJoan of Acre(1272 – 23 April 1307) after waiting for the Pope to sanction the marriage. Edward then gave large estates to Gilbert, including one inMalvern.Disputed hunting rights on these led to several armed conflicts withHumphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford,that Edward resolved.[10]Gilbert made gifts to the Priory, and also had a "great conflict" about hunting rights and a ditch that he dug, withThomas de Cantilupe,Bishop ofHereford,that was settled by costly litigation.[11]Gilbert had a similar conflict withGodfrey Giffard,Bishop and Administrator of Worcester Cathedral (and formerlyChancellor of England). Godfrey, who had granted land to the Priory, had jurisdictional disputes aboutMalvern Priory,resolved byRobert Burnell,the then Chancellor.[12]Thereafter, Gilbert and Joan are said to have taken the Cross and set out for theHoly Land.In September, he signed the Barons' letter to the Pope, and on 2 November, surrendered to the King his claim to the advowson of the Bishopric ofLlandaff.

Gilbert and Joan had one son, Gilbert, and three daughters: Eleanor, Margaret and Elizabeth.

Death and burial[edit]

He died atMonmouthCastle on 7 December 1295, and was buried atTewkesbury Abbey,on the left side of his grandfatherGilbert de Clare.His extensive lands were enjoyed by his surviving wifeJoan of Acreuntil her death in 1307.

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Clare, Gilbert de [called Gilbert the Red], seventh earl of Gloucester and sixth earl of Hertford ". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5438. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^Page, W. (1927) Parishes: Chilton. A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4. Ed. London, England: Victoria County History.
  3. ^Harrison, B.H. (2009). The Family Forest Descendants of Milesius of Spain for 84 Generations. The Family Forest National Treasure Edition. Kamuela, HI: Millicent Publishing Company, Inc.
  4. ^Richard Huscroft,Expulsion: England's Jewish Solution(2006), p. 105.
  5. ^Robin R. Mundill (9 August 2010),"The King's Jews",Continuum,London (published 2010),ISBN9781847251862,LCCN2010282921,OCLC466343661,OL24816680M,p89-91
  6. ^"Sede Vacante 1264–1265".California State University Northridge.Retrieved18 February2022.
  7. ^Coxe, William (1904).A Historical Tour Through Monmouthshire.Brecon: Davies. p. 70.Retrieved18 February2022.
  8. ^abArcher, Thomas Andrew(1887)."Clare, Gilbert de (1243-1295)".Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 10. pp. 378–382.
  9. ^"Llywelyn ap Gruffydd – An unsettled reign".BBC Wales.Retrieved31 July2018.
  10. ^Clive H. Knowles,Clare, Gilbert de [called Gilbert the Red], seventh earl of Gloucester and sixth earl of Hertford (1243–1295), magnate,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
  11. ^Nott, James (1885).Some of the Antiquities of Moche Malvern (Great Malvern).Malvern: John Thompson. p. 14.Retrieved6 January2010.
  12. ^Susan J. Davies,Giffard, Godfrey (1235?–1302), administrator and bishop of Worcester,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

External links[edit]

Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford
Born:2 September 1243Died:7 December 1295
Peerage of England
Preceded by Earl of Hertford
1262–1295 		Succeeded by
Earl of Gloucester
1262–1295
  1. ^"Clare, Gilbert de, eighth earl of Gloucester and seventh earl of Hertford".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5439.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
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