Elizabeth de Badlesmere
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth de Badlesmere, Countess of Northampton (1313 – 8 June 1356) was the wife of two English noblemen, Sir Edmund Mortimer
and William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
. She was a co-heiress of her brother Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere
.
At the age of eight she was sent to the Tower of London
along with her mother, Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere and her four siblings after the former maltreated Queen consort Isabella
by ordering an assault upon her and refusing her admittance to Leeds Castle
.
, Kent
, England in 1313 to Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere
and Margaret de Clare. She was the third of four daughters. She had one younger brother Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere who married Elizabeth Montagu, but did not have any children.
Her paternal grandparents were Guncelin de Badlesmere and Joan FitzBernard, and her maternal grandparents were Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond
and Juliana FitzGerald
of Offaly.
Elizabeth's father was hanged, drawn and quartered
on 14 April 1322 for having participated in the Earl of Lancaster's rebellion against King Edward II of England
; and her mother imprisoned in the Tower of London
until 3 November 1322. She had been arrested the previous October for ordering an assault upon Queen consort Isabella
after refusing her admittance to Leeds Castle
, where Baron Badlesmere held the post of Governor. Elizabeth and her siblings were also sent to the Tower along with their mother. She was eight years old at the time and had been married for five years to her first husband; although the marriage had not yet been consummated due to her young age.
In 1328, Elizabeth's brother Giles obtained a reversal of his father's attainder
, and he succeeded to the barony as the 2nd Baron Badlesmere. Elizabeth, along with her three sisters, was a co-heiress of Giles who had no children by his wife. Upon his death in 1338, the barony fell fell into abeyance. The Badlesmere estates were divided among the four sisters, and Elizabeth's share included the manors of Drayton in Sussex, Kingston and Erith in Kent, a portion of Finmere in Oxfordshire as well as property in London.
By the order of King Edward III
, Elizabeth's father-in-law, the Earl of Mortimer was hanged in November 1330 for having assumed royal power, along with other crimes. His estates were forfeited to the Crown
, therefore Elizabeth's husband did not succeed to the earldom and died a year later. Elizabeth's dower included the estates of Maelienydd and Comot Dueddwr in the Welsh Marches.
In 1335, just over three years after the death of Edmund Mortimer, Elizabeth married secondly William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
(1312–1360), fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford
and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan
. He was a renowned military commander and diplomat. Their marriage was arranged to end the mutual hostility which had existed between the Bohun and Mortimer families. A papal dispensation
was required for their marriage as de Bohun and her first huband, Sir Edmund Mortimer were related in the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity by dint of their common descent from Enguerrand de Fiennes, Seigneur de Fiennes. Elizabeth and de Bohun received some Mortimer estates upon their marriage.
By her second marriage, Elizabeth had two more children:
In 1348, the earldom of March was restored to her eldest son Roger who succeeded as the 2nd Earl.
, London. She left a will dated 31 May 1356, requesting burial at the priory. Mention of Elizabeth's burial is found in the records (written in Latin) of Walden Abbey which confirm that she was buried in Black Friars:
Anno Domini MCCCIxx.obiit Willielmus de Boun, Comes Northamptoniae, cujus corpus sepelitur in paret boreali presbyterii nostri. Et Elizabetha uxor ejus sepelitur Lundoniae in ecclesia fratrum praedictorum ante major altare.
Edmund Mortimer
-Members of the Marcher family of Mortimer:*Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore*Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, and his second son*Edmund Mortimer, son of the 3rd Earl*Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March...
and William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, KG was an English nobleman and military commander.-Lineage:He was the fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. He had a twin brother, Edward...
. She was a co-heiress of her brother Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere
Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere
Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere was an English nobleman, the son and heir of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere by Margaret de Clare of Inchinquin and Youghal.-Family inheritance:...
.
At the age of eight she was sent to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
along with her mother, Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere and her four siblings after the former maltreated Queen consort Isabella
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
by ordering an assault upon her and refusing her admittance to Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....
.
Family
Elizabeth was born at Castle BadlesmereBadlesmere, Kent
Badlesmere is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about five miles south of Faversham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 111....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England in 1313 to Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere , English nobleman, was the son and heir of Gunselm de Badlesmere , and fought in the English army both in France and Scotland during the later years of the reign of Edward I of England.-Life:In 1307 he became governor of Bristol Castle. Edward II...
and Margaret de Clare. She was the third of four daughters. She had one younger brother Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere who married Elizabeth Montagu, but did not have any children.
Her paternal grandparents were Guncelin de Badlesmere and Joan FitzBernard, and her maternal grandparents were Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond
Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond
Thomas de Clare, Lord of Inchiquin and Youghal was a Hiberno-Norman peer and soldier. He was the second son of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester and his wife Maud de Lacy...
and Juliana FitzGerald
Juliana FitzGerald
Juliana FitzGerald, Lady of Thomond was a Norman-Irish noblewoman, the daughter of Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly, and the wife of Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond, a powerful Anglo-Norman baron in Ireland, who was a younger brother of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford. Juliana was...
of Offaly.
Elizabeth's father was hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
on 14 April 1322 for having participated in the Earl of Lancaster's rebellion against King Edward II of England
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
; and her mother imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
until 3 November 1322. She had been arrested the previous October for ordering an assault upon Queen consort Isabella
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
after refusing her admittance to Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....
, where Baron Badlesmere held the post of Governor. Elizabeth and her siblings were also sent to the Tower along with their mother. She was eight years old at the time and had been married for five years to her first husband; although the marriage had not yet been consummated due to her young age.
In 1328, Elizabeth's brother Giles obtained a reversal of his father's attainder
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
, and he succeeded to the barony as the 2nd Baron Badlesmere. Elizabeth, along with her three sisters, was a co-heiress of Giles who had no children by his wife. Upon his death in 1338, the barony fell fell into abeyance. The Badlesmere estates were divided among the four sisters, and Elizabeth's share included the manors of Drayton in Sussex, Kingston and Erith in Kent, a portion of Finmere in Oxfordshire as well as property in London.
Marriages and issue
On 27 June 1316, when she was just three years old, Elizabeth married her first husband Sir Edmund Mortimer (died 16 December 1331) eldest son and heir of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March and Joan de Geneville. The marriage contract was made on 9 May 1316, and the particulars of the arrangement between her father and prospective father-in-law are described in Welsh historian R. R. Davies' Lords and Lordship in the British Isles in the late Middle Ages. Lord Badlesmere paid Roger Mortimer the sum of £2000, and in return Mortimer endowed Elizabeth with five rich manors for life and the reversion of other lands. The marriage, which was not consummated until many years afterward, produced two sons:- Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March (11 November 1328 Ludlow CastleLudlow CastleLudlow Castle is a large, partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...
- 26 February 1360), married Philippa Montacute, daughter of William Montacute, 1st Earl of SalisburyWilliam Montacute, 1st Earl of SalisburyWilliam I Montagu, alias de Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 3rd Baron Montacute, King of Mann was an English nobleman and loyal servant of King Edward III....
and Catherine GrandisonCatherine Montacute, Countess of SalisburyCatherine Montacute , Countess of Salisbury was an English noblewoman, remembered for her relationship with King Edward III of England and possibly the woman in whose honour the Order of the Garter was originated. She was born Catherine Grandison, daughter of William de Grandison, 1st Baron...
, by whom he had issue, including Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March). - John Mortimer (died young)
By the order of King Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
, Elizabeth's father-in-law, the Earl of Mortimer was hanged in November 1330 for having assumed royal power, along with other crimes. His estates were forfeited to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
, therefore Elizabeth's husband did not succeed to the earldom and died a year later. Elizabeth's dower included the estates of Maelienydd and Comot Dueddwr in the Welsh Marches.
In 1335, just over three years after the death of Edmund Mortimer, Elizabeth married secondly William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, KG was an English nobleman and military commander.-Lineage:He was the fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. He had a twin brother, Edward...
(1312–1360), fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford was a member of a powerful Anglo-Norman family of the Welsh Marches and was one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II's excesses.-Family background :...
and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan
Elizabeth of Rhuddlan
Elizabeth of Rhuddlan was the eighth and youngest daughter of Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile...
. He was a renowned military commander and diplomat. Their marriage was arranged to end the mutual hostility which had existed between the Bohun and Mortimer families. A papal dispensation
Dispensation (Catholic Church)
In the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, a dispensation is the suspension by competent authority of general rules of law in particular cases...
was required for their marriage as de Bohun and her first huband, Sir Edmund Mortimer were related in the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity by dint of their common descent from Enguerrand de Fiennes, Seigneur de Fiennes. Elizabeth and de Bohun received some Mortimer estates upon their marriage.
By her second marriage, Elizabeth had two more children:
- Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of HerefordHumphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of HerefordHumphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, KG was an important medieval English noble during the reign of King Edward III of England.- Lineage :...
6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton (24 March 1342- 16 January 1373), after 9 September 1359, married Joan FitzalanJoan FitzalanJoan FitzAlan, Countess of Hereford, Countess of Essex and Countess of Northampton , was the wife of the 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton. She was the mother of Mary de Bohun, the first wife of Henry of Bolingbroke who later reigned as King Henry IV, and Eleanor...
, by whom he had two daughters, Eleanor de BohunEleanor de BohunEleanor de Bohun was the elder daughter and co-heiress with her sister Mary de Bohun, of their father Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. Her mother was Lady Joan Fitzalan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster.-Marriage:In 1376 she...
Duchess of Gloucester, and Mary de BohunMary de BohunMary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne.-Early life:...
, wife of Henry of Bolingbroke (who later reigned as King Henry IVHenry IV of EnglandHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
). - Elizabeth de BohunElizabeth de BohunElizabeth de Bohun, Countess of Arundel, Countess of Surrey was a member of the Anglo-Norman Bohun family, which wielded much power in the Welsh Marches and the English government...
(c.1350- 3 April 1385), on 28 September 1359, married Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel and 9th Earl of Surrey KG was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.-Lineage:...
, by whom she had seven children including Thomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of ArundelThomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of ArundelThomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel and 10th Earl of Surrey, KG was an English nobleman, one of the principals of the deposition of Richard II, and a major figure during the reign of Henry IV.-Lineage:...
, Elizabeth FitzAlan, and Joan FitzAlan, Baroness Bergavenny.
In 1348, the earldom of March was restored to her eldest son Roger who succeeded as the 2nd Earl.
Death
Elizabeth de Badlesmere died on 8 June 1356, aged about forty-three years old. She was buried in Black Friars PrioryBlackfriars
Blackfriars is an area of central London, which lies in the south-west corner of the City of London.The name Blackfriars was first used in 1317 and derives from the black cappa worn by the Dominican Friars who moved their priory from Holborn to the area between the River Thames and Ludgate Hill in...
, London. She left a will dated 31 May 1356, requesting burial at the priory. Mention of Elizabeth's burial is found in the records (written in Latin) of Walden Abbey which confirm that she was buried in Black Friars:
Anno Domini MCCCIxx.obiit Willielmus de Boun, Comes Northamptoniae, cujus corpus sepelitur in paret boreali presbyterii nostri. Et Elizabetha uxor ejus sepelitur Lundoniae in ecclesia fratrum praedictorum ante major altare.