See also

Family of Gilbert of CLARE and Joan of ACRE

Husband: Gilbert of CLARE (1243-1295)
Wife: Joan of ACRE (1272-1307)
Children: Gilbert of CLARE (1291- )
Eleanor of CLARE (1292- )
Margaret *of CLARE (1292-1342)
Elizabeth + of CLARE (1295-1360)
Marriage 30 Apr 1290 Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Middlesex, England

Husband: Gilbert of CLARE

Name: Gilbert of CLARE
Sex: Male
Nickname: The Red
Father: Richard * of CLARE (1222-1262)
Mother: Maud * + of LACY (1223-1288)
Birth 2 Sep 1243 Christchurch, Hampshire, England
Occupation Earl of Gloucester
Death 7 Dec 1295 (age 52) Monmouth Castle, Monmouthshire, England
Burial Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, England

Wife: Joan of ACRE

Name: Joan of ACRE
Sex: Female
Father: Edward I + (1239-1307)
Mother: Eleanor + of CASTILE (1241-1290)
Birth 1272 Acre, Hafazon, Palestine
Occupation Princess of England
Title Princess of England
Death 23 Apr 1307 (age 34-35) Clare, Resbridge, Suffolk
Burial Austin Friar's Church, Clare, Suffolk, England

Child 1: Gilbert of CLARE

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Gilbert of CLARE

Name: Gilbert of CLARE
Sex: Male
Birth 1291

Child 2: Eleanor of CLARE

Name: Eleanor of CLARE
Sex: Female
Birth 1292

Child 3: Margaret *of CLARE

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Margaret *of CLARE

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Spouse: Hugh * of AUDLEY

Name: Margaret *of CLARE
Sex: Female
Spouse: Hugh * of AUDLEY (1289-1347)
Birth 12 Oct 1292 Tonbridge, Kent, England
Death 13 Apr 1342 (age 49) France

Child 4: Elizabeth + of CLARE

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Elizabeth + of CLARE

Name: Elizabeth + of CLARE
Sex: Female
Spouse 1: John of BURGH (c. 1290- )
Spouse 2: Theobald II + of VERDUN ( -1316)
Spouse 3: Roger + of AMORY (1284-1321)
Birth 16 Sep 1295 Tewkesbury, Gloucester, England
Death 4 Nov 1360 (age 65)

Note on Husband: Gilbert of CLARE

Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester (2 September 1243 – 7 December 1295) was a powerful English noble. Also known as "Red" Gilbert de Clare, probably because of his hair colour.

 

Gilbert de Clare was born at Christchurch, Hampshire, the son of Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and of Maud de Lacy, Countess of Lincoln, daughter of John de Lacy and Margaret de Quincy. Gilbert inherited his father's estates in 1262. He took on the titles, including Lord of Glamorgan, from 1263.

 

Being under age at his father's death, he was made a ward of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford.

 

Massacre of the Jews at CanterburyIn April 1264, Gilbert de Clare led the massacre of the Jews at Canterbury,[1] as Simon de Montfort had done in Leicester.

 

Gilbert de Clare’s castles of Kingston and Tonbridge were taken by the King, Henry III. However, the King allowed de Clare's Countess Alice de Lusignan, who was in the latter, to go free because she was his niece; but on 12 May de Clare and de Montfort were denounced as traitors.

 

The Battle of LewesTwo days later, just before the Battle 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 de Montfort in effect de facto King of England.

 

ExcommunicationOn 20 October 1264, Gilbert and his associates were excommunicated by Pope Clement IV, and his lands placed under an interdict.

 

In the following month, by which time they had obtained possession of Gloucester and Bristol, the Earl was proclaimed to be a rebel. However at this point he changed sides as he fell out with de Montfort and the Earl, in order to prevent de Montfort's escape, destroyed ships at the port of Bristol and the bridge over the River Severn at Gloucester.

 

Having changed sides, de Clare shared the Prince's victory at Kenilworth on 16 July, and in the Battle of Evesham, 4 August, in which de Montfort was slain, he commanded the second division and contributed largely to the victory.

 

On 24 June 1268 he took the Cross at Northampton in repentance and contrition for his past misdeeds.

 

Activities as a Marcher LordIn October 1265, as a reward for supporting Prince Edward, Gilbert was given the castle and title of Abergavenny and honour and castle of Brecknock.

 

At Michaelmas his disputes with Llewelyn the Last were submitted to arbitration, but without a final settlement. Meanwhile he was building Caerphilly Castle into a fortress. At the end of the year 1268 he refused to obey the King's summons to attend parliament, alleging that, owing to the constant inroads of Llewelyn the Last, his Welsh estates needed his presence for their defence.

 

At the death of Henry III, 16 November 1272, the Earl took the lead in swearing fealty to Edward I, who was then in Sicily on his return from the Crusade. The next day, with the Archbishop of York, he entered London and proclaimed peace to all, Christians and Jews, and for the first time, secured the acknowledgment 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 at Tonbridge Castle.

 

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

 

Private Marcher WarIn the next year, 1291, he quarrelled with the Earl of Hereford, Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, grandson of his onetime guardian, about the Lordship of Brecknock, where de Bohun accused de Clare of building a castle on his land culminated in a private war between them. Although it was a given right for Marcher Lords to wage private war the King tested this right in this case, first calling 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 Kings own. At this both were imprisoned by the King, both sentenced to having their lands forfeit for life and de Clare, the Earl 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 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.

 

Death and burialHe died at Monmouth Castle on 7 December 1295, and was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, on the left side of his grandfather Gilbert de Clare.

 

His extensive lands were enjoyed by his surviving wife Joan of Acre until her death in 1307. Gilbert and Joan had a descendant named Ursula Hildyard of Yorkshire, who in 1596 married (Sir) Richard Jackson of Killingwoldgraves, near Beverley in the East Riding. Jackson died in 1610 and was interred at Bishop Burton. In 1613, James posthumously awarded a coat of arms and a knighthood to Richard for meretorious military service in the Lowlands of Scotland.

 

Marriage and successionGilbert's first marriage was to Alice de Lusignan, also known as Alice de Valence, the daughter of Hugh XI of Lusignan and of the family that succeeded the Marshal family to the title of the Earl of Pembroke in 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 King Henry, but the marriage floundered.

 

Gilbert and Alice separated in 1267; allegedly, Alice's affections lay with her cousin, Prince Edward. Previous to this, Gilbert and Alice had produced two daughters:

 

1.Isabella de Clare (10 March 1262-1333), after a marriage with Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick having been contemplated, or possibly having taken place and then annulled, married Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley

2.Joan de Clare (1264-after 1302), married (1) Duncan Macduff, 7th Earl of Fife; (2) Gervase Avenel

After his marriage to Alice de Lusignan was annulled in 1285, Gilbert was to be married to Joan of Acre, a daughter of King Edward I of England and his first wife Eleanor of Castile. King Edward sought to bind de Clare, and his assets, more closely to the Crown by this means. By the provisions of the marriage contract, their joint possessions and de 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 at Clerkenwell to celebrate his marriage of 30 April 1290 with Joan of Acre (1272 - 23 April 1307) after waiting for the Pope to sanction the marriage. Edward then gave large estates to Gilbert, including one in Malvern. Disputed hunting rights on these led to several armed conflicts with Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, that Edward resolved.[2] Gilbert made gifts to the Priory, and also had a "great conflict" about hunting rights and a ditch that he dug, with Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford, that was settled by costly litigation.[3] Gilbert had a similar conflict with Godfrey Giffard, Bishop and Administrator of Worcester Cathedral (and formerly Chancellor of England. Godfrey, who had granted land to the Priory, had jurisdictional disputes about Malvern Priory, resolved by Robert Burnell, the current Chancellor. [4]

 

Thereafter, Gilbert and Joan are said to have taken the Cross and set out for the Holy 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 of Llandaff.

 

Gilbert and Joan had one son: also Gilbert, and three daughters: Eleanor, Margaret and Elizabeth. Gilbert, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester (1291–1314) succeeded to his father's titles and was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn. Eleanor de Clare (1292–1337) married Hugh Despenser the Younger, favourite of her uncle Edward II. Hugh was executed in 1326, and Eleanor married secondly William de la Zouche. Margaret de Clare (1293–1342) married firstly Piers Gaveston (executed in 1312) and then Hugh de Audley. The youngest sister Elizabeth de Clare (1295–1360) married John de Burgh in 1308 at Waltham Abbey, then Theobald of Verdun in 1316, and finally Roger d'Amory in 1317. Each marriage was brief, produced one child (a son by the 1st, daughters by the 2nd and 3rd), and left Elizabeth a widow.

Note on Wife: Joan of ACRE

Joan of Acre (April 1272 – 23 April 1307) was the daughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile.[2] The name "Acre" derives from her birthplace in the Holy Land while her parents were on a crusade.

 

She was married twice; her first husband was Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, one of the most powerful nobles in her father's kingdom; her second husband was Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in her household whom she married in secrecy.

 

Joan is most notable for the claim that miracles have allegedly taken place at her grave, and for the multiple references of her in literature.

 

Joan (or Joanna, as she is sometimes called) of Acre was born in the spring of 1272 in Syria, while her parents, Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, were on crusade.[3] At the time of Joan's birth, her grandfather, Henry III, was still alive and thus her father was not yet king of England. Her parents departed from Acre shortly after her birth, traveling to Sicily and Spain[4] before leaving Joan with Eleanor's mother, Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, in France.[5] Joan lived for several years in France where she spent her time being educated by a bishop and “being thoroughly spoiled by an indulgent grandmother.”[6] Joan was free to play among the “vine clad hills and sunny vales”[7] surrounding her grandmother’s home, although she required “judicious surveillance.”[8]

 

As Joan was growing up with her grandmother, her father was back in England, already arranging marriages for his daughter. He hoped to gain both political power and more wealth with his daughter's marriage, so he conducted the arrangement in a very “business like style”.[9] He finally found a man suitable to marry Joan (aged 5 at the time), Hartman, son of King Rudoph I, of Germany. Edward then brought her home from France for the first time to meet him.[10] As she had spent her entire life away from Edward and Eleanor, when she returned she “stood in no awe of her parents”[6] and had a fairly distanced relationship with them.

 

Unfortunately for King Edward, his daughter’s suitor died before he was able to meet or marry Joan. The news reported that Hartman had fallen through a patch of shallow ice while “amusing himself in skating” while a letter sent to the King himself stated that Hartman had set out on a boat to visit his father amidst a terrible fog and the boat had smashed into a rock, drowning him.[11]

 

[edit] First marriageEdward arranged a second marriage almost immediately after the death of Hartman.[12] Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who was almost thirty years older than Joan and newly divorced, was his first choice.[13] The earl resigned his lands to Edward upon agreeing to get them back when he married Joan, as well as agreed on a dower of two thousand silver marks.[14] By the time all of these negotiations were finished, Joan was twelve years old.[14] Gilbert de Clare became very enamored with Joan, and even though she had to marry him regardless of how she felt, he still tried to woo her.[15] He bought her expensive gifts and clothing to try to win favor with her.[16] The couple were married on 30 April 1290 at Westminster Abbey, and had four children together.[17] They were:

 

1.Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford

2.Eleanor de Clare

3.Margaret de Clare

4.Elizabeth de Clare

Joan's first husband, Gilbert de Clare died on 7 December 1295.[18]

 

[edit] Secret second marriageJoan had been a widow for only a little over a year when she caught the eye of Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in Joan’s father’s household.[19] Joan fell in love and convinced her father to have Monthermer knighted. It was unheard of in European royalty for a noble lady to even converse with a man who had not won or acquired importance in the household. However, in January 1297 Joan secretly married [20] Ralph. Joan's father was already planning another marriage for Joan to Amadeus V, Count of Savoy,[20] to occur 16 March 1297. Joan was in a dangerous predicament, as she was already married, unbeknownst to her father.

 

Joan sent her four young children to their grandfather, in hopes that their sweetness would win Edward's favor, but her plan did not work.[21] The king soon discovered his daughter's intentions, but not yet aware that she had already committed to them,[18] he seized Joan’s lands and continued to arrange her marriage to Amadeus of Savoy.[17] Soon after the seizure of her lands, Joan told her father of that she had married Ralph. The king was enraged and retaliated by immediately imprisoning Monthermer at Bristol Castle.[17] The people of the land had differing opinions on the princess’ matter. It has been argued that the ones who were most upset were those who wanted Joan’s hand in marriage.[22]

 

With regard to the matter, Joan famously said, “It is not considered ignominious, nor disgraceful for a great earl to take a poor and mean woman to wife; neither, on the other hand, is it worthy of blame, or too difficult a thing for a countess to promote to honor a gallant youth.”[23] Joan's statement in addition to a possibly obvious pregnancy seemed to soften Edward’s attitude towards the situation.[22] Joan's first child by Monthermer was born in October 1297; by the summer of 1297, when the marriage was revealed to Edward I, Joan's condition would certainly have been apparent, and would have convinced Edward that he had no choice but to recognize his daughter's marriage. Edward I eventually relented for the sake of his daughter and released Monthermer from prison in August 1297.[17] Monthermer paid homage 2 August, and being granted the titles of Earl of Gloucester and Earl of Hertford, he rose to favor with the King during Joan's lifetime.[24]

 

Monthermer and Joan had four children:

 

1.Mary de Monthermer, born October 1297. In 1306 her grandfather King Edward I arranged for her to wed Duncan Macduff, 8th Earl of Fife.

2.Joan de Monthermer, born 1299, became a nun at Amesbury.

3.Thomas de Monthermer, 2nd Baron Monthermer, born 1301.

4.Edward de Monthermer, born 1304 and died 1339.

[edit] Relationship with familyJoan of Acre was the seventh of Edward I and Eleanor’s fourteen children. Most of her older siblings died before the age of seven, and many of her younger siblings died before adulthood.[25] Those who survived to adulthood were Joan, her younger brother, Edward of Caernarfon (later Edward II), and four of her sisters: Eleanor, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth.[26]

 

Joan, like her siblings, was raised outside her parents' household. She lived with her grandmother in Ponthieu for four years, and was then confided to the same caregivers who looked after her siblings.[27] Edward I did not have a close relationship with most of his children while they were growing up, yet “he seemed fonder of his daughters than his sons.”[26]

 

However, Joan of Acre’s independent nature caused numerous conflicts with her father. Her father disapproved of her leaving court after her marriage to the Earl of Gloucester, and in turn “seized seven robes that had been made for her.”[28] He also strongly disapproved of her second marriage to Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in her household, even to the point of attempting to force her to marry someone else.[28][29] While Edward ultimately developed a cordial relationship with Monthermer, even giving him the title of Earl,[28] there appears to have been a notable difference in the Edward’s treatment of Joan as compared to the treatment of the rest of her siblings. For instance, her father famously paid messengers substantially when they brought news of the birth of grandchildren, but did not do this upon birth of Joan’s daughter.[30]

 

In terms of her siblings, Joan kept a fairly tight bond. She and Monthermer both maintained a close relationship with her brother, Edward II, which was maintained through letters. After Edward II became estranged from his parents and lost his royal seal, “Joan offered to lend him her seal” .[31]

 

[edit] DeathJoan of Acre died on 23 April 1307, at the manor of Clare in Suffolk.[24] The cause of her death remains unclear, though one popular theory is that she died during childbirth, a common cause of death at the time. While Joan's age in 1307 (about 35) and the chronology of her earlier pregnancies with Ralph de Monthermer suggest that this could well be the case, historians have not confirmed the cause of her death.[32]

 

Less than four months after her death, Joan’s father, Edward I died. Joan's widower, Ralph de Monthermer, lost the title of Earl of Gloucester soon after the deaths of his wife and father in law. The earldom of Gloucester was given to Joan’s son from her first marriage, Gilbert, who was its rightful holder. Monthermer continued to hold a nominal earldom in Scotland that had been conferred on him by Edward I until his death.

 

Joan’s burial place has been the cause of some interest and debate. She is interred in the Augustinian priory at Clare, which had been founded by her first husband's ancestors and where many of them were also buried. Allegedly, in 1357, Joan’s daughter, Elizabeth De Burgh, claimed to have “inspected her mother's body and found the corpse to be intact,”,[32] which in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church is an indication of sanctity. This claim was only recorded in a fifteenth-century chronicle, however, and its details are uncertain, especially the statement that her corpse was in such a state of preservation that "when her paps (breasts) were pressed with hands, they rose up again." Some sources further claim that miracles took place at Joan's tomb,[32] but no cause for her beatification or canonization has ever been introduced.

 

[edit] Joan in fictionJoan of Acre makes an appearance in Virginia Henley's historical romance, entitled Infamous. In the book, Joan, known as Joanna, is described as a promiscuous young princess, vain, shallow and spoiled. In the novel she is only given one daughter, when she historically has eight children. There is no evidence that supports this picture of Joan.[33]

 

In The Love Knot by Vanessa Alexander, Edward the II’s sister, Joan of Acre is an important heroine. The author portrays a completely different view of the princess than the one in Henley’s novel. The Love Knot tells the story of the love affair between Ralph de Monthermer and Joan of Acre through the discovery of a series of letters the two had written to each other.[34]

 

Between historians and novelists, Joan has appeared in various texts as either an independent and spirited woman or a spoiled brat. In Lives of the Princesses of England by Mary Anne Everett Green, Joan is portrayed as a “giddy princess” and neglectful mother.[35] Many have agreed to this characterization; however, some authors think there is little evidence to support the assumption that Joan of Acre was a neglectful or uncaring mother.[36]