Gilbert de Gant, 1st Earl of Lincoln

Earl of Lincoln

Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First Creation :*William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First...

(c. 1126–1156) was an English nobleman who fought for 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 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...

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He was the son of Walter de Gant and Maud of Brittany. An uncle, Robert de Gant, was Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

 for King Stephen.

While still fairly young, Gilbert fought on the side of king Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln

Battle of Lincoln (1141)

The Battle of Lincoln or First Battle of Lincoln occurred on 2 February 1141. In it Stephen of England was captured, imprisoned and effectively deposed while Empress Matilda ruled for a short time.-Account:...

 in 1141, where he was captured along with the king. He was then compelled to marry Rohese de Clare, daughter of Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford

Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford

Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare was a Norman nobleman, the son of Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare and Adeliza de Claremont. He founded the priory of St, Mary Magdalene, Tonbridge.-Welsh revolt:Richard held the Lordship of Ceredigion in Wales...

 and Adeliza de Meschines, and a niece of Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester

Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester

Ranulf II was an Anglo-Norman potentate who inherited the honour of the palatine county of Chester upon the death of his father Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester...

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In 1149 or 1150 the king made him Earl of Lincoln as a rival to William de Roumare

William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln

William de Romare , 1st Earl of Lincoln, 2nd Baron of Kendall, Lord of Bolingbroke....

, who had gone over to the side of Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...

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He and Rohese had only one child, a daughter, Alice de Gant, who married Simon III de Senlis, son of Simon II de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton

Simon II de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton

Simon II de Senlis, 4th Earl of Northumberland and 4th Earl of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He was the son of Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton and Maud, Countess of Huntingdon...

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He founded Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey is an estate in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. It was originally a Cistercian abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century it became a country house...

 c. 1148 in Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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