Margaret of Hereford
Encyclopedia
Margaret of Hereford was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
by his wife, the wealthy Cambro-Norman
heiress Sibyl de Neufmarché
. Margaret married Humphrey II de Bohun
, by whom she had five children. Margaret held the office of Constable of England and as a widow, exercised lordship of Herefordshire until her own death. She was the benefactress of several religious institutions.
and Sibyl de Neufmarché
, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches
. She had five younger brothers and two sisters. These were: Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford
, Walter de Hereford
, Henry Fitzmiles
, Mahel de Hereford
, William de Hereford
, Bertha of Hereford
, and Lucy of Hereford.
The Historia fundationis cum fundatoris genealogia of Abergavenny Priory named Margaretam, Bertram and Luciam as the three daughters of Miles and Sibyl.
, an Anglo-Norman aristocrat and steward of King Henry I of England
, on an unknown date before 1139. Like Margaret's father, Humphrey later supported Empress Matilda against her rival King Stephen
during the period of civil war that raged over England, known to history as The Anarchy
. Together Margaret and her husband founded Farleigh Priory although the charter is undated. The marriage produced a total of five children:
. As a consequence of these events, Miles' lands and properties were divided between Margaret and her two sisters. Being the eldest daughter, she received the lordship of Herefordshire and the office of Constable of England. This office was later passed to her eldest son Humphrey, grandson Henry, and would continue to be held by her direct descendants. As a widow she exercised lordship until her own death, over thirty years later. In her book Women of the English Nobility and Gentry 1066-1500, Jennifer C. Ward described Margaret as having exemplified "the roles which a woman could play in her estates". As lady of Herefordshire, she fulfilled her duties to her overlord King Henry II
, having in 1166 returned the carta which named her knights; it documented 17 knights' fees of the old enfeoffment and three and three quarters of the new. She aided the King in the marriage of one of his daughters, and in 1167-1168 made an account to the Red Book of the Exchequer for her assistance. She also accounted to the Exchequer at the end of King Henry's reign and during that of his successor, King Richard I
for scutage
due to her from her vast holdings. In the lordship over which she ruled, she used her father as role model, having confirmed earlier grants of land to her tenants and made her own land grants to those who served her well.
Margaret was a generous benefactress of several religious institutions, and she strove to carry out her late brothers' grants. She gave all her land in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire
for the salvation of her brothers' souls. Her own grant was given to save the souls of King Henry II, her chidren, parents, husband, and the rest of her family.
Priory in Gloucester
which had been founded by her father and where her mother, Sibyl had entered a religious life after her husband's untimely death. Margaret herself had made endowments to the Augustian priory.
Two years following Margaret's death, King John
confirmed the possessions of Llanthony Secunda Priory by charter which was dated 30 July 1199. These included the donation of duas partes de Onedesleye made by Margar de Bohun in accordance with the division made inter ipsam et Luciam suam sororem. On 28 April 1200, King John recreated the earldom of Hereford for Margaret's grandson Henry
, of whom she had had custody during his minority.
Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock was the son of Walter de Gloucester, who served as hereditary sheriff of that county between 1104 and 1121....
by his wife, the wealthy Cambro-Norman
Cambro-Norman
Cambro-Norman is a term used for Norman knights who settled in southern Wales after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Some historians suggest that the term is to be preferred to Anglo-Norman for the Normans who invaded Ireland after 1170 — many of whom originated in Wales. However, the term...
heiress Sibyl de Neufmarché
Sibyl de Neufmarché
Sibyl de Neufmarché, Countess of Hereford, suo jure Lady of Brecknock , was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches...
. Margaret married Humphrey II de Bohun
Humphrey II de Bohun
Humphrey II de Bohun was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, the third of his family after the Norman Conquest. He was the son and heir of Humphrey I and Maud, a daughter of Edward of Salisbury, an Anglo-Saxon landholder in Wiltshire...
, by whom she had five children. Margaret held the office of Constable of England and as a widow, exercised lordship of Herefordshire until her own death. She was the benefactress of several religious institutions.
Family
Margaret was born in about 1122/1123, the eldest child of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of HerefordMiles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock was the son of Walter de Gloucester, who served as hereditary sheriff of that county between 1104 and 1121....
and Sibyl de Neufmarché
Sibyl de Neufmarché
Sibyl de Neufmarché, Countess of Hereford, suo jure Lady of Brecknock , was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches...
, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
. She had five younger brothers and two sisters. These were: Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, was born some time before 1125 and, according to the Hereford Cathedral Book of Obits, died on 22 September 1155...
, Walter de Hereford
Walter de Hereford
Walter de Hereford was a holder of the feudal title Baron Bergavenny or Lord Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid twelfth century.- Lineage :...
, Henry Fitzmiles
Henry FitzMiles
Henry FitzMiles , Baron Abergavenny was a Norman baron and a Marcher Lord in the Welsh Marches.- Birth :...
, Mahel de Hereford
Mahel de Hereford
Mahel de Hereford was a holder of the feudal lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid 12th century.- Lineage :Mahel de Hereford was a younger son of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and his wife Sibyl of Neufmarche, daughter of Bernard de Neufmarche, Lord of...
, William de Hereford
William de Hereford
William de Hereford was a holder of the feudal lordship of Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid twelfth century.- Lineage :William de Hereford was a son of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and his wife Sybil de Neufmarche, daughter of Bernard de Neufmarche of Brecon.His brothers...
, Bertha of Hereford
Bertha of Hereford
Bertha of Hereford, also known as Bertha de Pitres , was the daughter of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, and a wealthy heiress. She was the wife of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber to whom she brought many castles and Lordships, including Brecknock, Abergavenny, and...
, and Lucy of Hereford.
The Historia fundationis cum fundatoris genealogia of Abergavenny Priory named Margaretam, Bertram and Luciam as the three daughters of Miles and Sibyl.
Marriage and issue
She married Humphrey II de BohunHumphrey II de Bohun
Humphrey II de Bohun was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, the third of his family after the Norman Conquest. He was the son and heir of Humphrey I and Maud, a daughter of Edward of Salisbury, an Anglo-Saxon landholder in Wiltshire...
, an Anglo-Norman aristocrat and steward of King Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, on an unknown date before 1139. Like Margaret's father, Humphrey later supported Empress Matilda against her rival King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
during the period of civil war that raged over England, known to history as The Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
. Together Margaret and her husband founded Farleigh Priory although the charter is undated. The marriage produced a total of five children:
- Humphrey III de BohunHumphrey III de BohunHumphrey III de Bohun was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and general who served Henry II as Constable. He was the son of Humphrey II de Bohun and Margaret of Hereford, the eldest daughter of the erstwhile constable Miles of Gloucester. He had succeeded to his father's fiefs, centred on Trowbridge, by 29...
(died 1180), married as her second husband, Margaret of Huntingdon, Duchess of Brittany, by whom he had issue. Held the office of Constable of England. - Milo de Bohun (died young)
- Richard de Bohun (died young)
- Matilda de Bohun (1140/1143 - after 1194/1199), married firstly Henry d'Oilly, by whom she had issue; secondly Juhel de Mayenne; thirdly Walter FitzRobert
- Margaret de Bohun (died before 1196), possibly married Waleran de Beaumont, 4th Earl of WarwickWaleran de Beaumont, 4th Earl of WarwickWaleran de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Warwick was the younger son of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick and Gundred de Warrenne, daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey and Elizabeth de Vermandois...
, although Warwick's wife is alternatively named as Margery d'Oilly, who was her niece. The 1192 birthdate of his son and heir makes Margery d'Oilly the likely spouse.
Lordship of Herefordshire and Constable of England
Following the death of her father in a hunting accident in 1143, and sometime before Margaret's husband died in about 1165, all five of her brothers died without legitimate offspring. After her eldest brother Roger's death, the earldom of Hereford fell into abeyanceAbeyance
Abeyance is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly...
. As a consequence of these events, Miles' lands and properties were divided between Margaret and her two sisters. Being the eldest daughter, she received the lordship of Herefordshire and the office of Constable of England. This office was later passed to her eldest son Humphrey, grandson Henry, and would continue to be held by her direct descendants. As a widow she exercised lordship until her own death, over thirty years later. In her book Women of the English Nobility and Gentry 1066-1500, Jennifer C. Ward described Margaret as having exemplified "the roles which a woman could play in her estates". As lady of Herefordshire, she fulfilled her duties to her overlord King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, having in 1166 returned the carta which named her knights; it documented 17 knights' fees of the old enfeoffment and three and three quarters of the new. She aided the King in the marriage of one of his daughters, and in 1167-1168 made an account to the Red Book of the Exchequer for her assistance. She also accounted to the Exchequer at the end of King Henry's reign and during that of his successor, King Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
for scutage
Scutage
The form of taxation known as scutage, in the law of England under the feudal system, allowed a knight to "buy out" of the military service due to the Crown as a holder of a knight's fee held under the feudal land tenure of knight-service. Its name derived from shield...
due to her from her vast holdings. In the lordship over which she ruled, she used her father as role model, having confirmed earlier grants of land to her tenants and made her own land grants to those who served her well.
Margaret was a generous benefactress of several religious institutions, and she strove to carry out her late brothers' grants. She gave all her land in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
for the salvation of her brothers' souls. Her own grant was given to save the souls of King Henry II, her chidren, parents, husband, and the rest of her family.
Death and legacy
Margaret died on 6 April 1197 and was buried in Llanthony SecundaLlanthony Secunda
Llanthony Secunda Priory is a ruined former Augustinian priory in Hempsted, Gloucester, England. Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, founded the priory for the monks of Llanthony Priory, Vale of Ewyas, in what is now Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1136....
Priory in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
which had been founded by her father and where her mother, Sibyl had entered a religious life after her husband's untimely death. Margaret herself had made endowments to the Augustian priory.
Two years following Margaret's death, King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
confirmed the possessions of Llanthony Secunda Priory by charter which was dated 30 July 1199. These included the donation of duas partes de Onedesleye made by Margar de Bohun in accordance with the division made inter ipsam et Luciam suam sororem. On 28 April 1200, King John recreated the earldom of Hereford for Margaret's grandson Henry
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.He was Earl of Hereford and Hereditary Constable of England from 1199 to 1220.- Lineage :...
, of whom she had had custody during his minority.