01 August, 2018

The Dates of Birth of Edward Burnell, Giles Badlesmere, John Mowbray and Laurence Hastings

Edward Burnell, son and heir of Philip Burnell (d. 1294), great-nephew and heir of Robert Burnell, bishop of Bath and Wells and chancellor of England (d. 1292), nephew of Richard Fitzalan, earl of Arundel (1267-1302), was born on 22 July 1287, not 1286 as some writers including myself have stated. His father Philip's Inquisition Post Mortem states that Edward was "aged seven on the feast of St Mary Magdalene last" in early August 1294; aged "seven years entering the eighth year" on 10 August 1294; and "six at the feast of St Mary Magdalene last" on the eve of St Mary Magdalene in 1294. [CIPM 1291-1300, no. 194] Edward Burnell married Alina Despenser, eldest child of Hugh Despenser the Elder, in or soon after early May 1302 when he was fourteen going on fifteen and she about the same age. They had no children and Edward died on 23 August 1315 at the age of twenty-eight, leaving his younger sister Maud Lovel as his heir.

Giles Badlesmere, son and heir of Bartholomew Badlesmere, was born on 8 October 1314 in Hambleton, Rutland. [CIPM 1327-36, no. 691] This was a manor belonging to Giles' mother Margaret née de Clare from her first marriage to Gilbert Umfraville. One of Giles' godfathers was Sir Robert Wateville, and he had four sisters: Margery, Lady Ros, Elizabeth, countess of Northampton (and the mother of the earls of March and Hereford), Maud, countess of Oxford, and Margaret, Lady Tiptoft. Margery was certainly older than Giles and Margaret was certainly younger, while Elizabeth and Maud were most probably older. Giles' mother Margaret was pregnant with him at the time of the battle of Bannockburn on 23 and 24 June 1314. His father Bartholomew was later accused, in a rather spiteful Latin poem, of abandoning his lord the earl of Gloucester to die on the battlefield.

Giles was in prison at the Tower of London when Roger Mortimer of Wigmore escaped from there on 1 August 1323. He must have been there since late 1321/early 1322 or thereabouts: his father Bartholomew joined the Contrariants in June 1321, and his mother Margaret was sent to the Tower after Edward II besieged Leeds Castle in October 1321 because she had refused to allow Queen Isabella inside. John Mowbray, son of John Mowbray, born November 1310 (below) was also a prisoner there. Edward II imprisoned young children. Awesomeness! [/sarcasm] I don't know when Giles was released from the Tower; his mother Margaret was freed in November 1322 but he wasn't. John Mowbray, below, was also a prisoner in the Tower in August 1323, but had certainly been released by late February or early March 1326 when he and some allies attacked Tickhill Castle in Yorkshire. Giles married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William Montacute, earl of Salisbury (1301-44) and Katherine Grandisson, and died childless in 1338; Elizabeth was almost certainly too young for the marriage ever to have been consummated. The Badlesmere inheritance therefore passed to Giles' four sisters.

John Mowbray, son and heir of John Mowbray (1286-1322) and Aline Braose, was born at Hovingham, Yorkshire on 29 November 1310. [CIPM 1327-36, no. 250] Thomas, earl of Lancaster gave twenty shillings to the messenger who brought him news of Mowbray's birth, and John Mowbray's father John was ill at the time; because of the worry over her husband's condition, Aline née Braose went into labour a few days early. The younger John Mowbray married Joan of Lancaster, fourth daughter of Thomas of Lancaster's brother and heir Henry, in 1328, and they had a son John born in 1340 and two daughters, Blanche and Eleanor.

I've often said myself here on the blog and elsewhere that Laurence Hastings, earl of Pembroke, son and heir of John, Lord Hastings (1286-1325) and Juliana Leyburne (1303/4-1367), was born in March 1320. In fact, now that I've finally got round to checking his proof of age, I see that he was actually born on 20 March 1321, "the feast of St Cuthbert, 14 Edward II." Edward II's fourteenth regnal year ran from 8 July 1320 to 7 July 1321, so the correct date of birth is March 1321, not March 1320. [CIPM 1336-46, no. 337] Laurence was born in Allesley, Warwickshire, and his mother Juliana née Leyburne was sixteen or seventeen at the time. Betrothed to Hugh Despenser the Younger's third daughter Eleanor in 1325 when he was four - she was the same age or a little older - Laurence ultimately married Roger Mortimer's daughter Agnes after his fiancée Eleanor was forced into a convent by Queen Isabella a few weeks after her father Hugh the Younger's execution. Laurence and Agnes' only son John was not born until 29 August 1347, and one year and one day later, at the age of twenty-seven, Laurence Hastings, earl of Pembroke, died. His mother outlived him by almost twenty years.

1 comment:

sami parkkonen said...

Once again a mind boggling amount of detailed historical information. This is heavy weight history. Not the Pop one.