Isabel Bigod
Encyclopedia
Isabel Bigod, Lady of Shere (c. 1212–1250) was an English noblewoman, the only daughter of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk
. She was the wife of Gilbert de Lacy, of Ewyas Lacy, and John FitzGeoffrey
, Lord of Shere.
in about 1212, the only daughter of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, a Magna Carta
surety, and Maud Marshal
(1192 – 27 March 1248). Her paternal grandparents were Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk
and Ida de Tosny, a former mistress of King Henry II of England
. Her maternal grandparents were William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke. She had four brothers including Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk
and Hugh Bigod
. She also had two younger half-siblings John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Isabelle de Warenne, by her mother's second marriage to William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey. Isabel's father had died in 1225.
, Lord of Trim Castle
and Ludlow Castle
, and Margaret de Braose
. Gilbert and Isabel's chief residence was Ewyas Lacy in Herefordshire
; however, they spent the last two years of their marriage on his father's estates in Ireland
, where their youngest child, Maud was born, and Gilbert would shortly afterwards die. Together they had three children:
Gilbert died on 25 December 1230 at Trim Castle, in County Meath, Ireland leaving Isabel a widow at the age of eighteen with three small children. Sometime before 12 April 1234, Isabel married her second husband, John FitzGeoffrey
, Lord of Shere, Justiciar of Ireland. The marriage produced six children:
In early 1241, Isabel's eldest son by her first husband died. Upon the death of her former father-in-law, Walter de Lacy shortly afterwards on 24 February, the vast de Lacy estates and lordships were passed down to Margery and Maud, her daughters by Gilbert. Their marriages were personally arranged by King Henry III
to ensure that the estates they inherited were retained in the hands of trusted servants of the Crown.
Isabel Bigod died in 1250. She was about thirty-eight years old. Her second husband John died eight years later.
Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk
Hugh Bigod was the eldest son of Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk, and for a short time the 3rd Earl of Norfolk.In 1215 he was one of the twenty-five sureties of Magna Carta of King John...
. She was the wife of Gilbert de Lacy, of Ewyas Lacy, and John FitzGeoffrey
John FitzGeoffrey
John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere and Justiciar of Ireland was an English nobleman.John FitzGeoffrey was the son of Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex and Aveline de Clare, daughter of Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford and his wife Maud de Saint-Hilaire. He was Justiciar of Ireland...
, Lord of Shere.
Family
Isabel was born in Thetford, NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
in about 1212, the only daughter of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, a Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
surety, and Maud Marshal
Maud Marshal
Maud Marshal, Countess of Norfolk, Countess of Surrey was an Anglo-Norman noblewoman and a wealthy co-heiress of her father William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and her mother Isabel de Clare suo jure 4th Countess of Pembroke. Maud was their eldest daughter...
(1192 – 27 March 1248). Her paternal grandparents were Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod was the son of Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk and his first wife, Juliana de Vere. Although his father died 1176 or 1177, Roger did not succeed to the earldom of Norfolk until 1189 for his claim had been disputed by his stepmother for her sons by Earl Hugh in the reign of Henry II...
and Ida de Tosny, a former mistress of King Henry II of England
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...
. Her maternal grandparents were William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Sir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke , also called William the Marshal , was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He was described as the "greatest knight that ever lived" by Stephen Langton...
and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke. She had four brothers including Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod was 4th Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England.He was the son of Hugh Bigod, and Matilda, a daughter of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and Marshal of England. After the death of his father in 1225 Roger became the ward of William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury...
and Hugh Bigod
Hugh Bigod (Justiciar)
Hugh Bigod was Justiciar of England from 1258 to 1260. He was a younger son of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk.In 1258 the Provisions of Oxford established a baronial government of which Hugh's elder brother Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk was a leading member, and Hugh was appointed Chief...
. She also had two younger half-siblings John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Isabelle de Warenne, by her mother's second marriage to William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey. Isabel's father had died in 1225.
Marriages and issue
In 1225, the year of her father's death, Isabel married her first husband, Gilbert de Lacy, of Ewyas Lacy (c. 1202 – 25 December 1230). He was the son of Walter de LacyWalter de Lacy
Walter de Lacy was Lord of Meath in Ireland and Ludlow in Shropshire in the Welsh Marches.- Life :With his father Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath he built Trim Castle , Trim, County Meath....
, Lord of Trim Castle
Trim Castle
Trim Castle , Trim, County Meath, Ireland, on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of Ireland's largest Anglo-Norman castle...
and Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle
Ludlow 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...
, and Margaret de Braose
Margaret de Braose
Margaret de Braose, Lady of Trim , was an Anglo-Welsh noblewoman, the daughter of Marcher Lord William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber and the legendary Maud de St. Valéry, who was left to starve to death by orders of King John of England. Margaret founded a religious house, the Hospital of St. John...
. Gilbert and Isabel's chief residence was Ewyas Lacy in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
; however, they spent the last two years of their marriage on his father's estates in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, where their youngest child, Maud was born, and Gilbert would shortly afterwards die. Together they had three children:
- Walter de Lacy (died early 1241)
- Margery de Lacy (1228, Ewyas Lacy, Herefordshire- 1256), married before 14 May 1244 John de Verdun, Lord of Westmeath by whom she had issue.
- Maud de LacyMaud de Lacy, Baroness GenevilleMaud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville was a Norman-Irish noblewoman and wealthy heiress who upon the death of her grandfather, Walter de Lacy, Lord of Trim and Ludlow inherited half his estates...
(1230, Dublin, Ireland- 11 April 1304 Trim Castle, Ireland), married firstly Pierre de Geneve, by whom she had issue; in 1252, she married secondly Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville, Seigneur de Vaucouleurs, by whom she had two sons, Geoffrey de Geneville, and Sir Piers de Geneville, father of Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville.
Gilbert died on 25 December 1230 at Trim Castle, in County Meath, Ireland leaving Isabel a widow at the age of eighteen with three small children. Sometime before 12 April 1234, Isabel married her second husband, John FitzGeoffrey
John FitzGeoffrey
John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere and Justiciar of Ireland was an English nobleman.John FitzGeoffrey was the son of Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex and Aveline de Clare, daughter of Roger de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford and his wife Maud de Saint-Hilaire. He was Justiciar of Ireland...
, Lord of Shere, Justiciar of Ireland. The marriage produced six children:
- Richard FitzJohn of Shere (died 1297, married Emma
- John FitzJohn of Shere (died 1275), married Margery Basset
- Maud FitzJohnMaud FitzJohnMaud FitzJohn, Countess of Warwick was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere. Her second husband was William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick, a celebrated soldier...
(died 16/18 April 1301), married firstly Gerald de Furnivalle, Lord of Hallamshire; she married secondly William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of WarwickWilliam de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of WarwickWilliam de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick was an English nobleman and soldier, described as a “vigorous and innovative military commander”...
, by whom she had issue. - Aveline FitzJohn (died c. 20 May 1274), married Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of UlsterWalter de Burgh, 1st Earl of UlsterWalter de Burgh was 2nd Lord of Connaught and 1st Earl of Ulster .De Burgh was the second son of Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connaught and Egidia de Lacy. He founded Athassel Priory....
, by whom she had issue including Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd Earl of UlsterRichard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of UlsterRichard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught , called The Red Earl, was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries.-Early life:...
. - Joan FitzJohn (died 4 April 1303), married Theobald le Botiller (1242- 1285 of ThurlesThurlesThurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
, NenaghNenaghNenagh is the county town of North Tipperary in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of North Tipperary and in 2011 it had a recorded population of 7,995. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower...
, by whom she had issue. Joan and Theobald were the ancestors of the Butler Earls of Ormond. - Isabel FitzJohn, married Robert de Vispont, Lord of Westmoreland by whom she had two daughters.
In early 1241, Isabel's eldest son by her first husband died. Upon the death of her former father-in-law, Walter de Lacy shortly afterwards on 24 February, the vast de Lacy estates and lordships were passed down to Margery and Maud, her daughters by Gilbert. Their marriages were personally arranged by King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
to ensure that the estates they inherited were retained in the hands of trusted servants of the Crown.
Isabel Bigod died in 1250. She was about thirty-eight years old. Her second husband John died eight years later.