Maurice de Berkeley

Notes:

Also called "Maurice the Resolute." Joined the barons against the king in 1264.

Maurice married Isabel fitz Richard before 12 Jul 1247. Isabel (daughter of Richard fitz Roy and Rohese de Douvres) died on 7 Jul 1276; was buried in Abbey Church of St. Augustine, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Thomas de Berkeley was born in of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England; died on 23 Jul 1321 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England; was buried in Abbey Church of St. Augustine, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

Thomas married Joan de Somery about 1217. Joan (daughter of Ralph de Somery and Margaret le Gras) died after 1273. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1120, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England

Notes:

Justice itinerant in Gloucester, 1190. He enlarged the castle of Berkeley, which gave its name to his descendants.

"Maurice FitzRobert FitzHarding, otherwise de Berkeley, feudal Lord of Berkeley, s. and h., who "may bee called Maurice the Make Peace," b. about 1120, in Bristol, received (at the same date as his father) a confirmation of the grant of Berkeley from Henry II, in 1155, and again 30 Oct. 1189 from Queen Eleanor, Regent to her son Richard I. In 1190 he was Justice Itinerant in co. Gloucester. He enlarged the Castle of Berkeley, which thenceforth became the chief seat of, and gave name to, the family. He m., in 1153 or 1154, at Bristol, Alice, 1st da. (but not h. or coh.) of his dispossessed predecessor, Roger de Berkeley, feudal Lord of Dursley (formerly "fermer" of Berkeley), with whom he had the manor of Slimbridge, as by agreement between their respective fathers. He d. 16 June 1190, and was bur. in the church of Brentford, Midx. His widow d. at an 'extreame old age.'" [Complete Peerage II:125-26]

"[I]n 1153 [the future Henry II] sanctioned, if not arranged, a marriage between Maurice and Alice, the daughter of the dispossessed Gloucestershire tenant-in-chief and lord of Berkeley, Roger. The agreement between Robert and Roger, which was formalized in Robert's Bristol house in Henry's presence, also provided for the transfer of additional Berkeley land to Maurice. Its terms created through Maurice, Alice, and their heirs the second house of Berkeley with relentless determination: should Robert's son or Roger's daughter die before the nuptials, their places would be taken by their respective brothers and sisters so long as the supply would last." [Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]

Maurice married Alice de Berkeley between 1153 and 1154 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 29 Sep 1210
• Alternate death: 1211

Notes:

Note that although Dudley town is in Worcestershire, Dudley Castle was across the county border in Staffordshire.

Ralph married Margaret le Gras before 1194. Margaret (daughter of William le Gras and (Unknown) Marshal) died after 14 Jun 1247. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Margaret Marshal.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1169

Notes:

Founded, in 1141, the Abbey of St. Augustine in Bristol, of which he later became a canon. J. Horace Round observed that he was one of the few Anglo-Saxon nobles to successfully integrate with the Norman nobility, if not the only one.

"Robert FitzHarding, who 'may bee called Robert the Devout,' s. of Harding, said to have been a merchant of Bristol, and of great wealth and influence, received from Henry of Anjou, in 1153 or 1154, shortly before his accession as Henry II, a grant (among others) of the Castle and 'herness' of Berkeley (as above mentioned) which was confirmed by the said Henry when King, probably in (1155) the first year of his reign, whereby he the said Robert (doubtless) became feudal Lord of Berkeley. In 1168 he entertained, at Bristol, Dermot Mac Murrough, King of Leinster, on his arrival to solicit succour from Henry II. He founded, in 1141, the Abbey of St. Augustine, at Bristol, of which he afterwards became a canon. He m. Eve. He d. 5 Feb. 1170/1, aged about 75. His wife, who founded a priory of nuns on St. Michael's hill, Bristol, whereof she d. Prioress 12 Mar. 1170, was bur. with her husband." [Complete Peerage II:124-25]

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

The persistent claim that Robert served as the borough's reeve is without foundation. Local tradition aptly described him as a Bristol burgess and merchant. His great stone house stood on High Street near Frome Bridge. He engaged in the Bristol land market and was landlord of properties in at least four other urban locations. He also may have been involved in Bristol's trade with Dublin.

As a financier Robert numbered among his clients Henry FitzEmpress (during the civil war against King Stephen) and St Peter's Abbey, Gloucester. However, the scope of his land dealings went far beyond the limits of Bristol. [...] Robert's role as a proprietary land developer is evident in the charter of liberties he granted to settlers in the borough he established in Bedminster. In keeping with the trend in monastic piety and the stature he had achieved in Bristol by the early 1140s, he founded during that decade St Augustine's Abbey on his Billeswick property.

Further social and tenurial enhancement came from patronage Robert received from Henry FitzEmpress both before and after Henry became king, almost certainly as a reward for Robert's financial backing during the war against King Stephen (1135–54). [...] Before the death of Robert, earl of Gloucester, in 1147 Robert's prominence must have led the earl to include him as an honorial familiaris (follower or companion) at his courts held at Bristol, a role he continued to enjoy under Earl Robert's heir, William (d. 1183). Then came a series of ducal and royal grants from Henry FitzEmpress, datable to 1153/4 and 1154/5, and a marriage treaty Henry sanctioned, which are recorded in a remarkable series of original charters preserved in the Berkeley Castle muniments. [...]

In spite of Henry II's early favour, Robert never became one of his intimates. His importance remained local and regional. But in this capacity he twice provided hospitality at Bristol for the king of Leinster, Diarmait mac Murchada, during his mission of 1166–7 to enlist Anglo-Normans, notably Richard de Clare, to campaign for him in Ireland; and it is possible that Robert played some role in bringing together Clare and the Irish king.

Robert married Eva. Eva died on 12 Mar 1170; was buried in Abbey Church of St. Augustine, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Abt 1173

Notes:

"[F]ounded a priory of nuns on St. Michael's hill, Bristol, whereof she d. Prioress." [Complete Peerage II:125]

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

Eva fitz Harding (d. c. 1173), monastic patron, was the wife of Robert fitz Harding, a wealthy citizen of Bristol and lord of Berkeley, whom she had probably married by c. 1140. According to later tradition she was associated with Robert in the foundation of the abbey of St Augustine, Bristol. Early charters of Robert recording grants to this house do little to suggest that she played an important role. But the fifteenth-century Abbot Newland's roll states that both Robert and Eva were prayed for daily as founders of the abbey, and that the anniversary of Eva's death, as founder, was marked by the feeding of fifty poor men. As 'Domina Eva' she witnessed charters of her husband, which can be dated c. 1150–70. Eva and Robert had five sons and three daughters. One son, Henry, was archdeacon of Exeter from 1162 to 1188. Eva died on 12 March c. 1173.

According to the fifteenth-century evidence of both Abbot Newland and Robert Ricart, town clerk of Bristol, Eva was buried by the side of her husband in the quire next to the abbot's stall. This is unlikely to have been the case, however: late twelfth-century monastic founders were generally buried in the chapter house or cloister. Ricart also states that Eva was the founder of a community of nuns, the Magdalenes, and that she became its prioress. This must refer to the nunnery of St Mary Magdalene situated on St Michael's Hill. If this was a separate foundation it is probable that she would have been buried there, and Robert and Eva may have been founders of a double community or at least linked establishments. Early charters refer to the community of St Mary Magdalene as a hospital and reveal the presence of both brothers and sisters. Perhaps the women were originally linked to St Augustine's for the provision of alms and developed as a more separate community later. Before his death on 5 February 1171 Robert entered the abbey as a canon. Eva may have taken the veil at St Mary Magdalene's at the same time.

Eva's parentage is not established. Later tradition claimed that she was of royal blood -- the daughter of Estmond and a sister of William the Conqueror called Godiva. Claims of royal descent from the king of Denmark were made for Robert, and it is probable that these reflect a desire to accentuate the founders' importance to their communities rather than any historical accuracy.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 1177

Notes:

"Roger de Berkeley [...] who completed the building of the Castle of Berkeley. He suffered much in the wars between Stephen and the Empress Maud, at the hands of Walter, son of Miles, Earl of Hereford. He was deprived of the Manor of Berkeley, &c., about 1152, apparently for refusing to recognise the authority of either party, though he was soon afterwards restored to the Honour of Dursley. He d. about 1170, leaving issue. The Castle and 'herness' of Berkeley were granted by the King as under." [Complete Peerage II:124. "As under" refers to the entry on his son-in-law's father Robert fitz Harding.]

"de Berchelai, Roger III: Son of William of Berkeley, whom he succeeded after c. 1141. He was deprived of part of his barony at the end of Stephen's reign, with Robert fitz Harding being the beneficiary. He reorganized his barony to centre upon Dursley, Gloucestershire. He died after 1177 leaving a son Roger IV (d. 1190) and a daughter Alice, wife of Maurice fitz Harding. Father also of Oliver, according to Earldom Gloucester Chh., 288." [Domesday Descendants, p. 321]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 1196

John married Hawise Paynel. Hawise (daughter of Ralph Paynel and (Unknown) de Ferrers) died before 1209. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 1210

Notes:

Also called William le Cras; William Crassus.

Seigneur of Soulangy in Normandy. Seneschal of Mortain 1193-4; Seneschal of Normandy 1203-4.

William married (Unknown) Marshal. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]