Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon
Encyclopedia
Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon (3 April 1311 – 16 December 1391) was an English noblewoman who lived most of her life in the county of Devon
shire as the wife of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. She was a granddaughter of King Edward I of England
and Eleanor of Castile
. Her eighteen children included an Archbishop of Canterbury
and six knights.
Unlike most women of her day, she had received a classical education, and as a result was a lifelong scholar and collector of books.
, Northamptonshire
, the third daughter and seventh child of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford
, Lord Constable of England and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan
, herself the youngest daughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile. Her paternal grandparents were Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford
and Maud de Fiennes. She was named for her mother's stepmother, Margaret of France, the second queen consort of Edward I.
Margaret was left an orphan shortly before her tenth birthday. On 16 March 1321 at The Battle of Boroughbridge
, her father was slain in an ambush by the Welsh. Her mother had died five years previously in childbirth.
She, along with her siblings, received a classical education under a Sicilian
Greek, Master Diogenes
. As a result, Margaret became a lifelong scholar, and avid book collector.
At the age of fourteen, on 11 August 1325 Lady Margaret married Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (12 July 1303 - 2 May 1377). She had been betrothed to him since 27 September 1314. He was the son of Hugh Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon and Agnes St.John. Part of her dowry were the manors of Powderham, near Exeter
and Heanton Satchville. The agreement for the marriage had been formally made on 28 February 1315, when she was not quite four years old. The first Earl of Devon had promised that upon the marriage, he would enfeoff his son and Margaret jointly with 400 marks
worth of land, assessed at its true value, and in a suitable place.
Margaret assumed the title of 2nd Countess of Devon on 23 December 1340.
Her eldest brother John de Bohun (23 November 1306- 20 January 1336) succeeded as 5th Earl of Hereford in 1326, having married Alice Fitzalan of Arundel
in 1325. She had a younger brother William de Bohun
(1312–1360), who was created 1st Earl of Northampton in 1337 by King Edward III. He married Elizabeth de Badlesmere
, by whom he had two children. Margaret's elder sister Lady Eleanor de Bohun (17 October 1304- 7 October 1363), married in 1327, her first husband, James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormonde
. They were the ancestors of Anne Boleyn
.
Hugh and Margaret had a total of eighteen children. More than half reached adulthood. Their notable descendants include the current British Royal Family
, and British Prime Minister
, Sir Winston Churchill
. Their family chantry was expanded at Naish Priory
in the family's manor of Coker in Somerset, at the end of the 14th century when it was owned by her most notable son William Courtenay
, Archbishop of Canterbury.
.
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
shire as the wife of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. She was a granddaughter of King Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
and Eleanor of Castile
Eleanor of Castile
Eleanor of Castile was the first queen consort of Edward I of England. She was also Countess of Ponthieu in her own right from 1279 until her death in 1290, succeeding her mother and ruling together with her husband.-Birth:...
. Her eighteen children included an Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
and six knights.
Unlike most women of her day, she had received a classical education, and as a result was a lifelong scholar and collector of books.
Family and marriage
Lady Margaret de Bohun was born on 3 April 1311 at CaldecoteCaldecote, Northamptonshire
Caldecote is a village in Northamptonshire, England, about north of Towcester....
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, the third daughter and seventh child 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 :...
, Lord Constable of England 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...
, herself the youngest daughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile. Her paternal grandparents were Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun , 3rd Earl of Hereford and 2nd Earl of Essex, was an English nobleman known primarily for his opposition to King Edward I over the Confirmatio Cartarum. He was also an active participant in the Welsh Wars and maintained for several years a private feud with the earl of Gloucester...
and Maud de Fiennes. She was named for her mother's stepmother, Margaret of France, the second queen consort of Edward I.
Margaret was left an orphan shortly before her tenth birthday. On 16 March 1321 at The Battle of Boroughbridge
Battle of Boroughbridge
The Battle of Boroughbridge was a battle fought on 16 March 1322 between a group of rebellious barons and King Edward II of England, near Boroughbridge, northwest of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the king and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it...
, her father was slain in an ambush by the Welsh. Her mother had died five years previously in childbirth.
She, along with her siblings, received a classical education under a Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Greek, Master Diogenes
Diogenes
Diogenes is a Greek name shared by several important historical figures:*Diogenes of Sinope , better known as Diogenes the Cynic or simply Diogenes, philosopher...
. As a result, Margaret became a lifelong scholar, and avid book collector.
At the age of fourteen, on 11 August 1325 Lady Margaret married Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (12 July 1303 - 2 May 1377). She had been betrothed to him since 27 September 1314. He was the son of Hugh Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon and Agnes St.John. Part of her dowry were the manors of Powderham, near Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
and Heanton Satchville. The agreement for the marriage had been formally made on 28 February 1315, when she was not quite four years old. The first Earl of Devon had promised that upon the marriage, he would enfeoff his son and Margaret jointly with 400 marks
Marks
Marks , also spelled Marx, named after Karl Marx, is a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Saratov. Population: It was founded in 1767 as a Volga German community called Baronsk . It was soon renamed Yekaterinenshtadt , after Catherine the Great. In 1918, it was granted town...
worth of land, assessed at its true value, and in a suitable place.
Margaret assumed the title of 2nd Countess of Devon on 23 December 1340.
Her eldest brother John de Bohun (23 November 1306- 20 January 1336) succeeded as 5th Earl of Hereford in 1326, having married Alice Fitzalan of Arundel
Arundel
Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...
in 1325. She had a younger brother William de Bohun
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), who was created 1st Earl of Northampton in 1337 by King Edward III. He married Elizabeth de Badlesmere
Elizabeth de Badlesmere
Elizabeth de Badlesmere, Countess of Northampton was the wife of two English noblemen, Sir Edmund Mortimer and William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton...
, by whom he had two children. Margaret's elder sister Lady Eleanor de Bohun (17 October 1304- 7 October 1363), married in 1327, her first husband, James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond , was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland.-Ancestry:He was the son of Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, Justiciar of Ireland, and Joan FitzGerald, Countess of Carrick...
. They were the ancestors of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
.
Hugh and Margaret had a total of eighteen children. More than half reached adulthood. Their notable descendants include the current British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, and British Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. Their family chantry was expanded at Naish Priory
Naish Priory
Naish Priory in East Coker, Somerset, England, contains portions of a substantial house dating from the mid 14th century to around 1400. Emery says the building was not a priory as it had been termed by the late 19th century owner Troyte Chafyn Grove, and there appears no evidence of ownership by a...
in the family's manor of Coker in Somerset, at the end of the 14th century when it was owned by her most notable son William Courtenay
William Courtenay
William Courtenay , English prelate, was Archbishop of Canterbury, having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.-Life:...
, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Issue
- Hugh III (de) CourtenayHugh Courtenay (KG)Sir Hugh Courtenay, KG was an English knight.He was the eldest son of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon by his wife Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon, and was probably born at Tiverton Castle....
, KG. Born: 22 March 1327, Died: 1 September 1349. He married Elizabeth de VereElizabeth de VereElizabeth de Vere was a member of the renowned and noble de Vere family of Hedingham Castle, being the second daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford and Maud de Badlesmere....
, daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford. - Thomas CourtenayThomas CourtenayThomas Courtenay may refer to:*Thomas Courtenay , British politician and author*Thomas de Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon *Thomas Courtenay, 14th Earl of Devon *Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay...
, Prebendary of Cutton. Died in the Church of Austin Friars, London. - Sir Edward Courtenay, Born: 1329, Haccombe, Devon, Died: 20 September 1372. He married heiress, Emmeline Dawney, daughter of Sir John Dawney of Madfordferry; his son inherited the earldom.
- Robert Courtenay of Moreton
- William CourtenayWilliam CourtenayWilliam Courtenay , English prelate, was Archbishop of Canterbury, having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.-Life:...
the Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. Born: 1342, Died: 31 July 1396, Maidstone, Kent. - Sir Philip CourtenaySir Philip CourtenaySir Philip Courtenay, KG, Lord of Powderham Castle, Devon was a Knight of the Shire for Devon.He was the son of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon and Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon...
of Powderham CastlePowderham CastlePowderham Castle is located south of Exeter, Devon, England. The Powderham Estate, in which it is set, runs down to the western shores of the estuary of the River Exe between the villages of Kenton and Starcross....
, Born: c.1342, Died: 29 July 1406. Married Ann Wake, daughter of Sir Thomas Wake by Alice Pateshull. - Sir Peter Courtenay of Hardington-Mandeville, Born: in Somerset, Died: 2 Feb 1405. Married Margaret Clyvedon, daughter of John de Clyvedon by Elizabeth.
- Margaret Courtenay married John de Cobham, 3rd Baron CobhamJohn de Cobham, 3rd Baron CobhamJohn de Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham was the son of John de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham and Joan de Beauchamp. He was given a licence to crenellate by Richard II in 1381 and built Cooling Castle at the family seat in Cowling or Cooling, Kent....
. - Elizabeth Courtenay, Died: 7 August 1395, married Sir Andrew Luttrell of Chilton, [Thorverton], Devon.
- Catherine Courtenay, Died: 31 December 1399, married Sir Thomas de Engaine, 2nd Lord Engaine.
- Joane Courtenay, married Sir John Cheverston.
- Other children: John, Humphrey, Anne and Matilda.
Death
Margaret died on 16 December 1391 at the age of eighty. She is buried at the Cathedral Church of St Peter at ExeterExeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England....
.