William de Montagu

Notes:

1st Earl of Salisbury. He was the leader of the party that seized Roger de Mortimer at Nottingham Castle on the night of 19 Oct 1330. He died of injuries sustained at a tournament at Windsor.

William married Katherine de Grandison before 1328. Katherine (daughter of William de Grandison and Sibyl de Tregoz) died on 23 Apr 1349. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Philippe de Montagu died on 5 Jan 1382; was buried in Austin Priory, Bisham, Berkshire, England.
2. Sybil Montagu
3. John de Montagu was born about 1329 in of Wark-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England; died on 25 Feb 1390; was buried in Lady Chapel, Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, England.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Buried: Aquitaine, France
• Buried: Priory of St. Frideswide (now Christ Church), Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Notes:

King's yeoman, King's bachelor, Steward of the King's Household, Keeper of Abingdon Abbey 1318, Seneschal of Gascony 1318-19.

"He was sum. to Parl. 20 Nov 1317 and later." [Complete Peerage]

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

Between 1301 and 1304 William Montagu [...] made his mark in the Scottish wars. In 1302, described as king's yeoman, he was entrusted with the supervision of shipping for the war. In 1306, like many of his illustrious contemporaries, he was knighted along with Edward, prince of Wales. In 1314 he was keeper of Berwick. This military experience served him well, for it is as 'commander of the royal cavalry' (prefectus militie regis) in 1316, a description accorded to him by the Vita Edwardi secundi, that he first emerged as an important servant of the king (Vita Edwardi secundi, 68). In that year he played a leading part in suppressing the revolt of Llywelyn Bren (d. 1318) in Glamorgan and in settling the disputes between the townspeople of Bristol and Bartholomew Badlesmere (d. 1322), the constable of the castle there. In November 1316 he was appointed steward of the royal household. The material rewards of his stewardship included a pension of 200 marks, the absolution of his father's debts, forfeited lands in Cumberland, a quay on the Thames, and the marriage of Joan, one of the heirs of Theobald de Verdon, which he bestowed upon his younger son. He also acted as a channel of patronage for others and a number of grants were made on his information. By influencing the king and making himself a lynchpin in the relationships which bound Edward II to his courtier supporters Montagu developed the importance of the stewardship, which after his death became an important focus of contention among the rival magnates and the particular object of the earl of Lancaster's ambitions.

Montagu was relieved of the stewardship on 16 November 1318 and replaced by Badlesmere. This was almost certainly a concession to Thomas of Lancaster who had accused Montagu of combining with Roger Damory to plot against his life, a factor which delayed his reconciliation with the king. Lancaster's deep suspicion of Montagu is one of the clearest signs that the courtiers around Edward II were his ardent supporters, rather than a 'middle party' as was once thought. On 20 November Montagu was appointed seneschal of Gascony and Aquitaine and governor of the Île d'Oléron. Although prestigious, this appointment was an effective demotion since it withdrew him from the centre of affairs, so reducing his influence over the king. [...] The permanent loss of his forceful presence and military experience disadvantaged the king in the troubled years which followed.

William married Elizabeth de Montfort after 20 Jun 1292. Elizabeth (daughter of Peter de Montfort and Maud de la Mare) was born in of Beaudesert, Warwickshire, England; died on 16 Aug 1354; was buried in Priory of St. Frideswide (now Christ Church), Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 19 Aug 1354
• Alternate death: 29 Aug 1354

Notes:

Also called Alice. Called Elizabeth in her IPM.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 26 Sep 1317

Notes:

"In 1277 he acknowledged that the service of one knight's fee was due from the barony of Shipton Montagu, to be rendered by himself and a serjeant, in the expedition against Llewelyn. In 1280 he was in prison for a forest offence. He was engaged in the Welsh wars in 1282 and later, and in July 1287 was thanked by the King for his service in West Wales, being ordered in Dec. to go thither again instead of to North Wales. On 28 June 1283 he was summoned to attend the assembly at Shrewsbury. In. 1290 he made a settlement of his estates by surrendering them to the King, and receiving a re-grant with remainders to his sons William and Simon. In June 1294 he was summoned to attend the King on urgent affairs concerning Gascony, whither he was sent immediately, and where he apparently stayed till the beginning of 1297. While on this service, in 1296, when the English were besieged in Bourg-sur-Mer, he took a relief ship through the line of French, vessels and brought about the raising of the siege. In November 1298 inquiry was ordered into the crimes of men alleging themselves to be in his service, to his scandal and loss. In 1299 and in many later years he was summoned for service against the Scots; in September of that year he was appointed custodian of Corfe Castle, being replaced in February 1300/1 by Henry (de Lacy), Earl of Lincoln. He was summoned to Parliament from 29 December 1299 to 16 October 1315, by writs directed Simoni de Monte Acuto, whereby he is held to have become Lord Montagu. In July 1300 he took part in the siege of Carlaverock, where he brought up the rear of the third division, and after the capture of the castle was sent to Ireland, probably for provisions. On 12 February 1300/1 he joined in the Barons' letter to the Pope, as Simon, lord of Montagu. In October 1302 he went again to Gascony with John de Hastinges, and was still there in 1303. At Thurlbear, in June 1304, Aufrica de Connoght, heiress of the Isle of Man, quitclaimed all her rights therein to Simon de Montagu, knight. On 30 January 1306/7 he was made captain and governor of the fleet, against the Scots, and was in Scotland, with his son William, in February, being consequently excused attendance in Parliament. He was summoned to attend the Coronation of Edward II, 25 February 1307/8. He appears to have been in favour with the new King, for in 1309 he was made custodian of Beaumaris Castle. In August 1310 he was again admiral of the fleet against the Scots. He had licence to crenellate his house at Yardlington, Somerset, in 1313. In August 1315 he was ordered to remain in the North during the winter campaign. In these later years he was appointed on various commissions--of the peace, oyer and terminer, &c." [Complete Peerage]

Simon married Hawise de St. Amand after 24 Oct 1270. Hawise (daughter of Amauri de St. Amand and Isabel) died in 1287. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 1288

Notes:

"In 1270, for his da. Hawise, [Amauri de St. Amand] bought the marriage of Simon, s. and h. of William de Montagu." [Complete Peerage XI:297, note (f)].

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 4 Mar 1287

Notes:

"He was wounded and captured at the battle of Evesham 4 Aug 1265. He was pardoned for all trespasses 28 Jun 1277, and recovered part of his father's lands." [Royal Ancestry]

"Peter de Montfort participated in his father's treasons and was taken prisoner at the battle of Evesham, but being allowed the benefit of the Dictum of Kenilworth, he was restored to his paternal inheritance -- and afterwards enjoyed the favour of King Edward I, in whose Welsh wars he took a very active part." [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages, 1883]

Peter married Maud de la Mare about 1260. Maud (daughter of Henry de la Mare and Joan de Neville) was born about 1242. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Bertha. Bertha died after 1259. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"He was sum. for service in Wales, 1257, and later, to 1283. In 1261 and 1264 he was sum. to London and to Oxford, to the King's support cum equis et armis; and, in 1283, to the Assembly at Shrewsbury, which does not rank as a Parliament." [Complete Peerage]

Amauri married Isabel. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

CP does not definitively name the wife of Amauri de Saint Amand, but in a footnote it says she was "possibly the Isabel de St. Amand to whom timber was given in Savernake Forest, 1278".

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Aft 1209
• Alternate birth: Aft Oct 1210, of Beaudesert, Warwickshire, England

Notes:

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

A leading supporter of Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester (but no relation), [Peter de] Montfort was technically not a baron, for he held little directly from the king. He was, however, a substantial magnate. His chief seat was at Beaudesert, a low hill above Henley in Arden in Warwickshire, where extensive earthworks of the family castle still remain. Another important base was at Preston in Rutland.

In 1166 Montfort's great-grandfather, another Thurstin de Montfort, had held ten fees from the earl of Warwick, which made him the second greatest of his tenants. The connection with the earls of Warwick, however, played no discernible part in Peter's career, partly because the earldom was held from 1242 until 1263, in right of his wife, by a Poitevin favourite of the king, John de Plessis, who established few local roots. Much more important for Montfort was the family of his grandfather William (I) de Cantilupe (d. 1239), whose principal residence was at Aston Cantlow, only 4 miles from Beaudesert. His father died in 1216 and Montfort spent many years as Cantilupe's ward, developing what was to be a lifelong friendship with his son Walter de Cantilupe, bishop of Worcester from 1238 to 1266. The fleurs-de-lis of the Cantilupe coat of arms were incorporated into Montfort's seal.

It was probably ties of neighbourhood that drew both Montfort and Walter de Cantilupe into the circle of Simon de Montfort, for Beaudesert and Aston Cantlow are respectively 9 and 12 miles distant from Kenilworth, after 1244 Earl Simon's great base in England. In 1248 Montfort was in Earl Simon's retinue when the latter went out to Gascony as seneschal and thereafter there are numerous instances of the close connection between the two men. Peter de Montfort attested many of the earl's charters and was probably often in his company; in 1259 he was named as an executor of Simon de Montfort's will. His faithful service was rewarded with a grant of the manor of Ilmington in Warwickshire. Part of that service was doubtless to help Earl Simon build up his following of midlands knights, for Montfort was well connected locally -- in 1260-62 six knights of Warwickshire and Leicestershire acted as his pledges.

From 1254 onwards, while Montfort remained close to Earl Simon, his career developed independently. He was employed by Henry III on diplomatic missions, was given an important command in the Welsh marches, and by 1257 was on the royal council. He was also closely connected with Edward, the king's son, whom he had accompanied to Spain for his marriage to Eleanor of Castile in 1254. Fear of being ousted from Edward's entourage by the king's Poitevin half-brothers perhaps gave him a personal interest in the political upheaval of 1258, which began with the half-brothers' expulsion from England. In that upheaval Peter de Montfort played a leading part. He was one of the seven magnates whose confederation in April 1258 began the revolution; he was one of the baronial twelve who were to draw up the plans of reform; and he was one of the council of fifteen set up by the provisions of Oxford to govern England in the king's name. In all these capacities Earl Simon was a colleague. However, unlike the earl (who withdrew to France), Peter de Montfort accepted the king's recovery of power in 1261, and in the following year served the king and Edward as custodian of Abergavenny, which he tried in vain to protect from the attacks of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. None the less, when Earl Simon returned to England in April 1263 and raised once more the standard of the provisions of Oxford, Peter de Montfort joined him. This time he was to remain with him to the end. When the civil war commenced in March 1264, he was in command of the Montfortians in Northampton and was captured when the town fell to the king on 5 April. Released after Earl Simon's great victory at Lewes (14 May), Peter de Montfort was one of the council of nine imposed on the king (June 1264) and thenceforth played a major part in the direction of central government. In September he was one of those appointed to negotiate with the king of France and the papal legate in the abortive hope of finding some political settlement. His rewards during this period of power included a grant from the king of the manor of Garthorpe in Leicestershire. Montfort accompanied Earl Simon throughout his final campaign and died with him at the battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265. [...]

The support Peter de Montfort gave Earl Simon was of the first importance. While a close personal friend and follower, he also enjoyed his own power base in the midlands and an independent career in the service of the king and his son Edward. He possessed considerable abilities as a soldier, diplomat, and councillor. It is highly significant that Earl Simon retained the loyalty of such a man to the last.

Peter married Alice de Audley before 1229. Alice (daughter of Henry of Aldithley and Bertrade de Mainwaring) died after Aug 1265. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 23 Feb 1267

Notes:

"He [Piers de Montfort] married, in or before 1228, Alice, daughter of Henry de Audley. He died as stated above, 4 August 1265. Alice survived him." [Complete Peerage IX:123-6]

Notes:

Royal Justice; Seneschal of William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury; Constable of Strogursey Castle.

Henry married Joan de Neville. Joan (daughter of John de Neville and Hawise de Courtenay) died before 1280. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]