Maud Chaworth
Encyclopedia
Maud de Chaworth was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress. She was the only child of Patrick de Chaworth. Sometime before 2 March 1297, she married Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
, by whom she had seven children. Although the exact date of her death is unknown, it is estimated that she must have died sometime before 3 December 1322.
, in Carmarthenshire
, South Wales
, and Isabella de Beauchamp
. Her maternal grandfather was William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick
. Her father, Patrick de Chaworth died on 7 July 1283. He was thought to be 30 years old. Approximately, three years later, in 1286, Isabella de Beauchamp married Hugh Despenser the Elder and had two sons and four daughters by him. This made Maud the half-sister of Hugh the younger Despenser
. Her mother, Isabella de Beauchamp, died in 1306.
, Queen consort of King Edward I of England
. Upon Queen Eleanor's death in 1290, her husband, King Edward I, granted Maud’s marriage to his brother Edmund, Earl of Lancaster on 30 December 1292.
Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
, Earl of Leicester
was the son of Eleanor of Provence
and Henry III of England
. He first married Aveline de Forz
, Countess of Albemarle, in 1269. Later, in Paris on 3 February 1276, he married Blanche of Artois
who was a niece of Louis IX of France
and Queen of Navarre by association with her first marriage. Blanche and Edmund had four children together, one of whom was Henry, who would later become 3rd Earl of Leicester and Maud Chaworth’s husband.
together, to ensure that she married into the family even if Edmund were to die. Therefore, when Edmund did pass away, Henry and Maud were bonded in holy matrimony sometime before 2 March 1297. Henry was supposedly born between the years 1280 and 1281, making him somewhat older than Maud, but not by much since they were either fourteen or fifteen-years-old.
Since Maud inherited her father’s property, Henry also acquired this property through the rights of marriage. Some of that property was of the following: Hampshire, Glamorgan, Wiltshire, and Carmarthenshire. Henry was the nephew to the King of England, as well as being closely associated with the French royal family line. Henry's half-sister Jeanne (or Juana) was given the title Queen of Navarre in her own right, and married Philip IV of France. Not only that, but Henry was the uncle of King Edward II
's Queen Isabella and of three Kings of France. He was also the younger brother of Thomas (Earl of Lancaster) and first cousin of Edward II.
Maud is very often described as the "Countess of Leicester" or "Countess of Lancaster" but she never bore the titles as she died before her husband received them. Henry was only named "Earl of Leicester" in 1324 and "Earl of Lancaster" in 1327, both after her death. Henry never remarried and died on 22 September 1345 when he would have been in his mid-sixties. All but one of his seven children with Maud outlived him.
Maud and Henry had seven children:
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry , 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was an English nobleman, one of the principals behind the deposition of Edward II of England.-Family and lineage:...
, by whom she had seven children. Although the exact date of her death is unknown, it is estimated that she must have died sometime before 3 December 1322.
Parents
Maud was the daughter and only child of Sir Patrick de Chaworth, Baron of KidwellyKidwelly
Kidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...
, in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, and Isabella de Beauchamp
Isabella de Beauchamp
Isabella de Beauchamp, Lady Kidwelly, Lady Despenser , was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress. She married twice; firstly to Sir Patrick de Chaworth, Lord of Kidwelly, by whom she had a daughter, Maud Chaworth. Her second husband was Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester, by whom she had...
. Her maternal grandfather was William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick was an English nobleman and soldier, described as a “vigorous and innovative military commander”...
. Her father, Patrick de Chaworth died on 7 July 1283. He was thought to be 30 years old. Approximately, three years later, in 1286, Isabella de Beauchamp married Hugh Despenser the Elder and had two sons and four daughters by him. This made Maud the half-sister of Hugh the younger Despenser
Hugh the younger Despenser
Hugh Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser , also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester , and Isabella daughter of William, 9th Earl of Warwick.-Titles and possessions:Hugh Despenser the younger was knight of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire,...
. Her mother, Isabella de Beauchamp, died in 1306.
Childhood
When her father died, Maud was only a year old and his death left her a wealthy heiress. However, because she was an infant, she became a ward of Eleanor of CastileEleanor 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:...
, Queen consort 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...
. Upon Queen Eleanor's death in 1290, her husband, King Edward I, granted Maud’s marriage to his brother Edmund, Earl of Lancaster on 30 December 1292.
Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
Edmund of Crouchback, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster , was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his childhood he had a claim on the Kingdom of Sicily. His nickname refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusade.-Childhood:Edmund was born in London...
, Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...
was the son of Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272....
and Henry III of England
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...
. He first married Aveline de Forz
Aveline de Forz
Aveline de Forz , Countess of Aumale and Lady of Holderness, was a British noble.Aveline was born at Burstwick in Holderness to William de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle and Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Devon. In 1269, she married Edmund Crouchback, the second son of Henry III of England, at...
, Countess of Albemarle, in 1269. Later, in Paris on 3 February 1276, he married Blanche of Artois
Blanche of Artois
Blanche of Artois was the queen consort of Navarre; after her husband Henry I of Navarre's death, she served as regent from 1274 to 1284 on behalf of her daughter, Joan I...
who was a niece of Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
and Queen of Navarre by association with her first marriage. Blanche and Edmund had four children together, one of whom was Henry, who would later become 3rd Earl of Leicester and Maud Chaworth’s husband.
Marriage and issue
Although sources say that Edmund was married to Maud, it has been suggested that Maud was betrothed to Edmund and his son Henry, 3rd Earl of LancasterHenry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry , 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was an English nobleman, one of the principals behind the deposition of Edward II of England.-Family and lineage:...
together, to ensure that she married into the family even if Edmund were to die. Therefore, when Edmund did pass away, Henry and Maud were bonded in holy matrimony sometime before 2 March 1297. Henry was supposedly born between the years 1280 and 1281, making him somewhat older than Maud, but not by much since they were either fourteen or fifteen-years-old.
Since Maud inherited her father’s property, Henry also acquired this property through the rights of marriage. Some of that property was of the following: Hampshire, Glamorgan, Wiltshire, and Carmarthenshire. Henry was the nephew to the King of England, as well as being closely associated with the French royal family line. Henry's half-sister Jeanne (or Juana) was given the title Queen of Navarre in her own right, and married Philip IV of France. Not only that, but Henry was the uncle of King Edward II
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...
's Queen Isabella and of three Kings of France. He was also the younger brother of Thomas (Earl of Lancaster) and first cousin of Edward II.
Maud is very often described as the "Countess of Leicester" or "Countess of Lancaster" but she never bore the titles as she died before her husband received them. Henry was only named "Earl of Leicester" in 1324 and "Earl of Lancaster" in 1327, both after her death. Henry never remarried and died on 22 September 1345 when he would have been in his mid-sixties. All but one of his seven children with Maud outlived him.
Maud and Henry had seven children:
- Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of LancasterHenry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of LancasterHenry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, KG , also Earl of Derby, was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century, and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier...
, (about 1310–1361); Maud’s only son Henry was usually called Henry of Grosmont to distinguish him from his father. He was one of the great, well known and respected men of the fourteenth century. He took after his father and was well educated, literate, pious, a soldier and a diplomat. Henry produced his own memoir "Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines" which was completed in 1354. At one point, Henry of Grosmont was considered to be the richest man in England aside from the Prince of Wales. He was emerging as a political figure in his own right within England: he was knighted and represented his father in parliament. It was in the same year that he married his wife, Isabella, daughter of Henry, Lord Beaumont. His daughter Blanche was betrothed and eventually married to the son of Edward III, John of Gaunt. In 1361, Henry was killed by a new outbreak of the Black Death, leaving John of Gaunt his inheritance and eventually his title through his daughter Blanche. - Blanche of LancasterBlanche of Lancaster, Baroness Wake of LiddellBlanche of Lancaster, Baroness Wake of Liddell was an English noblewoman. She was the eldest daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth. Blanche was named after her grandmother, Blanche of Artois, who had ruled Navarre as regent.- Life :In 1316, she married Thomas Wake, 2nd Baron...
, (about 1302/05–1380); Maud’s eldest daughter was probably born between 1302 and 1305, and was named after her father’s mother Blanche of ArtoisBlanche of ArtoisBlanche of Artois was the queen consort of Navarre; after her husband Henry I of Navarre's death, she served as regent from 1274 to 1284 on behalf of her daughter, Joan I...
. Around 9 October 1316, she married Thomas Wake, the second baron Wake of Liddell. Blanch was about forty-five when Thomas died and lived as a widow for more than thirty years. She was one of the executers of her brother Henry’s will when he died in 1361. Blanche outlived all her siblings, dying shortly before 12 July 1380 in her mid to late seventies. Born in the reign of Edward I, she survived all the way into the reign of his great grandson Richard II. - Maud of Lancaster, (c. 1310– 5 May 1377)There is some discrepancy as to when Maud died. A possible date of her death is 1377
married William de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster in 1327. They bore one child, Elizabeth de Burgh who was born 6 July 1332. Eleven months after the birth of their child, Earl William was murdered at “Le Ford” in Belfast, apparently by some of his own men. The countess Maud fled to England with her baby and stayed with the royal family. In 1337, Maud of Lancaster managed to ensure that the Justiciar of Ireland was forbidden to pardon her husband’s killers. She fought for her dower rights and exerted some influence there. She remarried in 1344 to Ralph Ufford and returned to Ireland where she had another daughter, Maud. After her second husband fell ill in 1346, she again returned to England. Maud of Lancaster died on 5 May 1377. - Joan of LancasterJoan of LancasterJoan of Lancaster sometimes called Joan Plantagenet after her dynasty's name, was the third daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth.-Marriage:...
, (about 1312–1345); married between 28 February and 4 June 1327 to John, Lord Mowbray. John’s father was horribly executed for reasons unknown and young John was imprisoned in the Tower of London along with his mother Alice de Braose, until late 1326. A large part of his inheritance was granted to Hugh Despenser the Younger, who was his future wife’s uncle; however he was set free in 1327 before the marriage. Joan of Lancaster probably died in her early thirties, sometime before August 1344. - Isabel of Lancaster, Prioress of Amesbury, (about 1317–after 1347); often said to be born in 1317 as one of the youngest daughters of Maud and Henry. Her life is somewhat obscure, going on pilgrimages and spending a lot of time alone. She spent a great deal of time outside the cloister on non-spiritual matters. Her father had given her quite a bit of property which she administered herself. She owned hunting dogs and had personal servants. She used her family connections to secure privileges and concessions.
- Eleanor of LancasterEleanor of LancasterEleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel was the fifth daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth.-First marriage and issue:...
, (1318- Sept. 1372); married John Beaumont between September and November 1330. Eleanor bore John a son, Henry, who married Margaret de Vere, a sister of Elizabeth and Thomas de Vere, Earl of Oxford. John Beaumont was killed in a jousting tournament in Northampton on 14 April 1342. Eleanor then became mistress of the Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey was an English nobleman and medieval military leader.- Lineage :...
, who happened to be married to her first cousin Isabel, daughter of Hugh Despenser the Younger. Richard obtained a divorce from the Pope and married Eleanor on 5 February 1345 in the presence of Edward III. They had five children together, three sons and two daughters. Eleanor died on 11 January 1372. - Mary of LancasterMary of LancasterMary of Lancaster, Baroness Percy , was the youngest surviving child of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster by his wife Maud Chaworth. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Henry III of England.-Family:...
, (about 1320–1362); married Henry, Lord Percy before 4 September 1334 who fought at the battle of Crecy in 1346, and served in Gascony under the command of his brother in law Henry of Grosmont. Their son was Henry Percy, 1st Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 1st Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy and a descendent of Henry III of England. His mother was Mary of Lancaster, daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, son of Edmund, Earl of Leicester and...
. Mary of Lancaster died on 1 September 1362, the year after her brother Henry.