Roger de Mortimer

Notes:

Some sources (including Leo van de Pas) say that this Roger de Mortimer was married twice, once to a Millicent de Ferrers, parentage unknown, and once to Isabel de Ferrers, daughter of Walkelin de Ferrers. In this model, Ralph is a son of Isabel whereas Joan is a daughter of Millicent. We have been unable to find a plausible source for any of this. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Complete Peerage, Ancestral Roots, etc., all show this Roger de Mortimer married only once, to Isabel.

"He was a benefactor of Gloucester Abbey, of Kington, St. Michael, Wilts, of Cwmhir, of Jumièges, and of Saint-Victor-en-Caux. Between 1182 and 1189 he attested at Rouen a charter of Henry II to the monks of Barbey (diocese of Bayeux). In 1191, upon a charge of conspiring with the Welsh against the King, he was forced to surrender his castles and to abjure the country for three years. In April 1194 he was in England again, and witnessed a charter of Richard I, after his second Coronation at Winchester. Roger was a strenuous Lord Marcher, and in 1195 drove the sons of Cadwallon out of Maelienydd, and restored Cwmaron Castle; but next year Rhys, Prince of South Wales, defeated a well-equipped force of cavalry and foot under Mortimer and Hugh de Say, of Richard's Castle, with much slaughter, near Radnor. He was one of the magnates who refused to serve personally in France in 1201, but his fine was remitted. On 1 April 1207 he witnessed a charter of the King at Montfort-sur-Risle, and he appears to have been with John at Bonport in July following. On the loss of Normandy in 1204 Roger adhered to John and forfeited his Norman lands. In 1205 he landed at Dieppe, and being captured by John de Rouvray, bailiff of Caux, was compelled to pay a ransom of 1,000 marks. He was in England again by June 1207, when he was directed to hand Knighton Castle to the custody of a successor; in that year his wife Isabel had a grant of Oakham for life. In 1210 some of his knights served in the King's invasion of Ireland. In 1212 he proffered 3,000 marks for the marriage of the heir of Walter de Beauchamp, to whom he married his daughter Joan. In May 1213 he was one of the sponsors for John's good faith in his reconciliation with Archbishop Langton at the command of the Pope." [Complete Peerage]

"To the Wigmore chronicler Roger (II) de Mortimer was 'as befitted his years, gay, full of youth and inconstant of heart, and especially somewhat headstrong'. He had served Henry II faithfully during the rebellion of the king's sons in 1173–4, but at the time of his father's death he was in King Henry's prison, because in 1179 his men had killed Cadwallon ap Madog, the ruler of Maelienydd, when the latter was returning from court with a royal safe conduct. He may not have been released until 1182. Roger's conflicts with the Welsh would persist throughout his life, as he struggled to establish his rule over the middle march of Wales. In 1195 he brought Maelienydd under his control, rebuilding the castle at Cymaron. A grant to the abbey of Cwm-hir in Powys in 1199, commemorating 'our men who died in the conquest of Maelienydd', points to casualties as well as achievement (in 1196 his forces were among those heavily defeated at Radnor by the Lord Rhys of Deheubarth), but in 1202 he could be described as supreme in central Wales. [...] In 1191 he was accused by William de Longchamp, the justiciar, of having entered into an unexplained conspiracy with the Welsh against the king, and was forced to abjure the realm, though his exile was much shorter than the three years reported by Richard of Devizes. It is possible that he had become a supporter of Count John, Richard I's brother. But if this was so, he soon transferred his allegiance back to the king, for it was with royal support that he attacked Maelienydd in 1195. However, he later served in Normandy under John as king, and in 1205 was captured when trying to occupy Dieppe, subsequently paying a ransom of 1000 marks. Roger de Mortimer remained loyal to John for the rest of his life. [...] Being overcome by ill health, he transferred his lands to his son, and by 19 August 1214 he was dead. He was buried at Wigmore Abbey. He had at first been on bad terms with the canons, and tried to revoke grants made to them by his father, until the solemnity with which they commemorated Hugh's anniversary reconciled him to them." [Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]

Family/Spouse: Isabel de Ferrers. Isabel (daughter of Walkelin de Ferrers) died before 29 Apr 1252; was buried in Hospital of St. John the Baptist, Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Constable of Clun Castle, Shropshire.

"In 1216 he had been one of a deputation sent by King John to William de Briwere, after his forced adhesion to the Barons during their occupation of London, to arrange for his return to the King's service; and in September 1217 he had witnessed at Lambeth the articles drawn up between Henry III and Louis of France. On 23 November 1227 he gave £100 as relief for the lands of his brother Hugh, and the King took his homage; and on 8 July 1229, for his faithful service, he was pardoned all except £500 of the debts of his father and brother. In October 1230 he obtained a charter for a fair at Knighton and free warren at Stratfield, and in 1231 he was made custodian of Clun Castle and honour during pleasure. In June 1233, with the other Lords Marchers, Ralph exchanged hostages with the King de fideli servicio, quousque regnum sit ita securatum quod firma pax sit in regno Anglie. On 7 November following he attested a charter of Henry III at Hereford. He was present on 28 January 1235/6 at the confirmation of Magna Carta at Westminster, and in the same year he and the other Lords Marchers claimed the right to find and bear the silvered spears which supported the canopies held over the King and Queen in their Coronation procession; but the right of the Barons of the Cinque Ports to carry both canopies being allowed, the Marchers' claim was rejected as frivolous. In 1241 he was first of the pledges to the King for his sister-in-law Senana, wife of Griffith ap Llewelyn; but in August that year Meredith ap Howel and the other Welsh lords of Kerry made a permanent peace with Henry III, whether they should be at war with Ralph de Mortimer or not. In June 1242 he was summoned to come to the King's aid in Gascony as soon as possible." [Complete Peerage]

"Ralph [...] was continually engaged on the Welsh marches. At first he stood on the defensive, unable to make much impression on Llywelyn's power. No doubt it was for this reason that in 1230 he married Gwladus Ddu (d. 1251), daughter of Llywelyn and widow of Reginald de Briouze. It was only after the death of his father-in-law in 1240 that Mortimer was able to take the military initiative again, with attacks upon the Welsh. In the summer of 1241 there was war in Maelienydd, and this time the Mortimers prevailed, ending Welsh control of the lordship of Gwrtheyrnion. Ralph (II) died on 6 August 1246 and was buried at Wigmore Abbey, where he was remembered as a warlike and energetic man' (Dugdale, Monasticon, 6, pt 1, 350)." [Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]

Ralph married Gwladus Ddu before 26 Oct 1230. Gwladus (daughter of Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorwerth and Joan of England) died in 1251 in Windsor, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joan married Walter de Beauchamp about 10 Jul 1214. Walter (son of William de Beauchamp and Bertha de Briouze) was born in of Elmley and Salwarpe, Worcestershire, England; died in 1236. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1231, Cwmaron Castle, Radnorshire, Wales
• Alternate death: Bef 30 Oct 1282, Kingsland, Herefordshire, England

Notes:

Captain General of the Marshes; Constable of Clun and Hereford Castles; Sheriff of Herefordshire 1266-7.

According to one chronicle account, it was he who struck the blow that killed Simon de Montfort at Evesham.

"He had livery of his inheritance 26 February 1246/7; and at Whitsuntide 1253 was made a knight by the King at Winchester. He was serving in Gascony in 1253, and 1254, and from 1255 to 1264 was chiefly occupied with his duties on the March, opposing the successes of his cousin Llewelyn ap Griffith, who was gradually uniting all the Welsh chieftains under his leadership. In the disputes between the King and the Barons in 1258, Mortimer at first took the Barons' side, and was one of the twelve chosen by them to act with twelve chosen by the King, and one of the twenty-four appointed to treat about an aid for the King. In October 1258 he attested the King's proclamation for the observance of the Provisions of Oxford, and in Apr. 1259 was sworn of the King's Council. The 'Provisions' drawn up by the Barons in that year directed that Roger de Mortimer and Philip Basset should accompany the justiciar. On 11 June of that year he was appointed one of the commissioners to demand satisfaction from Llewelyn for breaches of the truce, which on 25 June was prolonged for one year. He was present at the confirmation of the treaty with France, 21 July 1259. On 19 May 1260 the Council of Magnates appointed him constable of Hereford Castle. On 17 July following he arrived in London to attend a Council, and on that day Llewelyn's men took Builth Castle, of which Mortimer had custody for Prince Edward. In December 1260 he had a licence to take game and to fish along the Thames and its tributaries. In December 1261 he was commanded to send his seal, if he were unable to come in person, to have it affixed to the writing made of peace between the King and the Barons. The whole of the years 1262 and 1263 he spent in fighting Llewelyn with varying success. On 3 December 1263 he was one of the armed nobles with the King when Henry demanded, and was refused, entry to Dover Castle; and in January following attested, on the King's side, the submission of the quarrel between Henry and the Barons to Louis, King of France. On 6 April 1264 he was with the King at the taking of Northampton, and captured a number of prisoners; and in May was with the King at Lewes, but fled from the field to Pevensey. He and others who had fled were allowed to return home, giving hostages that they would come to Parliament, when summoned, and stand trial by their peers. Mortimer and the other Lords Marchers did not attend Montfort's 'Parliament' at Midsummer 1264, but were constrained to make peace with him in August. In September Mortimer, as constable of Cardigan, was ordered to give up the castle to Guy de Brien, Montfort's nominee. The Marchers again broke the truce, but before Christmas Montfort and Llewelyn finally reduced them to submission. Soon afterwards Roger and the others were banished to Ireland for a year, but did not go; and in December he had safe conduct to see the King and Prince Edward, who was at Kenilworth. In June 1265 he was among the 'rebels holding certain towns and castles throughout the land, and raising new wars.' Later in the same month he contrived the plan, and furnished the swift horse, by means of which Prince Edward escaped from Hereford Castle and came to Wigmore, where he and Roger de Clifford rode out to meet him and drove off his pursuers. At Evesham, on 4 August 1265, Mortimer commanded the rearguard; and after Montfort's death his head was sent to Mortimer's wife at Wigmore. Mortimer was liberally rewarded, receiving, among other grants, the 'county and honour' of Oxford with lands forfeited by Robert de Vere. In September 1265 he was at the Parliament at Winchester. From Easter 1266 to Michaelmas 1267 he was sheriff of Hereford. On 4 May 1266 he, with Edmund the King's son, and others, was given power to repress the King's enemies; but on 15 May he was heavily defeated by the Welsh at Brecknock, escaping only with difficulty. He took part in the siege of Kenilworth in June 1266. In February 1266/7 he quarrelled with Gloucester over the treatment of the 'disinherited,' whom Gloucester favoured. He was present at the Council at Westminster, 12 February 1269/70. Shortly before Prince Edward sailed for the Holy Land, in August 1270, he was made one of the trustees for the Prince's estates during his absence on the Crusade. On 12 September 1271 he was summoned to 'Parliament' at Westminster. In December 1272 he put down a threatened rising in the North, and the following February was sent to Chester to inquire into complaints against Reynold de Grey, justice there. In 1274 and 1275 he sat as a justice. He was one of the magnates having large interests in Ireland present in Parliament at Westminster, 19 May 1275, who granted the same export duties on wool and hides in their ports in Ireland as had been granted by the lords in England. In October following he was chief assessor of a subsidy in Salop and Staffs. On 12 November 1276 he was one of the magnates at Westminster who gave judgment against Llewelyn; four days later was appointed 'captain' of Salop and cos. Stafford and Hereford and the Marches against the Welsh prince. In 1279 he held a splendid tournament at Kenilworth. On 27 October 1282 the King ordered, 'as a special favour which has never been granted before,' that if Roger should die during his present illness, the executors of his will should not be impeded by reason of his debts to the Exchequer." [Complete Peerage]

Roger married Maud de Briouze before 1248. Maud (daughter of William de Briouze and Eve Marshal) died on 16 Mar 1301. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 7 Jan 1269

Notes:

Sheriff of Worcestershire, 1243 to his death.

Family/Spouse: Isabel Mauduit. Isabel (daughter of William Mauduit and Alice de Beaumont) died before 1267; was buried in Cokehill Nunnery, Worcestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Complete Peerage volume I contains some misinformation about this Isabella. Kathryn Warner has shown that rather than being alive in 1300, she died before 1 Apr 1292. This is in fact corrected in CP volume XIV. Uncorrected, however, is its confused account of her subsequent marital history. Douglas Richardson, in a 2016 post to SGM, demonstrated that contrary to CP, she did not marry Ralph d'Arderne after the death of her first husband John fitz Alan; rather, the Isabel who married Ralph d'Arderne was the widow of an entirely different John Fitz Alan, of Wolverton, Buckinghamshire. Our Isabel "occurs in various records as the unmarried widow of John Fitz Alan, of Arundel, from the time of his death in 1272 up through 1284-5, when she is on record as having presented to Cold Norton Priory, Oxfordshire. She subsequently married (2nd) on 2 September 1285, to Robert de Hastang, as indicated by the historian, Scott Waugh, Lordship of England (1988): 131-132, who states as follows: 'It turned out that Henry III had granted the right of her [Isabel's] marriage to her father, that after he died his executors accepted her fine for the right to marry whomever she pleased, and that she had married Robert de Hastang on 2 September 1285.'"

Isabella married John Fitz Alan before 14 May 1260. John (son of John Fitz Alan and Maud de Verdun) was born on 14 Sep 1246 in of Arundel, Sussex, England; died on 18 Mar 1272; was buried in Haughmond Abbey, Shropshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1252
• Alternate birth: 1255, of Wigmore, Herefordshire, England
• Alternate death: Aft 17 Jul 1304, near Cilmiri, Powyth, Wales

Notes:

Mortally wounded at the Battle of Builth. "Intended for a church career, he was Treasurer of York 1265-1270. He commanded the troops that slew Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, at Buelt 1282, he not yet being a knight." [The Ancestry of Dorothea Poyntz, citation details below.]

Edmund married Margaret de Fiennes before 12 Dec 1285. Margaret (daughter of Guillaume de Fiennes and Blanche de Brienne) died on 7 Feb 1344. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"Constable of Gloucester Castle, 1291; Steward of the King's Household, 1292; fought in Flanders, 1297; at the battle of Falkirk, against the Scots, 22 July 1298 and continuously thereafter until his death, including at the siege of Caerlaverock, July 1300, being then a knight banneret." [The Ancestry of Dorothea Poyntz, citation details below.]

Walter married Alice de Tony about 1269. Alice (daughter of Roger V de Tony and Alice de Bohun) died after 1346. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She was a sister of the William Beauchamp who was Earl of Warwick, not his daughter, as Jacobus (citation details below) mistakenly states.

Sarah married Richard Talbot after 7 Jan 1269. Richard (son of Gilbert Talbot and Gwenthlian ferch Rhys Mechyll) was born about 1250 in of Eccleswall in Linton, Herefordshire, England; died before 3 Sep 1306. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married Hubert Hussey about 1249. Hubert (son of Henry Hussey and Maud) was born in of Figheldean, Wiltshire, England; died before 7 Mar 1275. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1240, of Elmley, Worcestershire, England
• Alternate death: 5 Jun 1298, Elmley, Worcestershire, England
• Alternate death: 9 Jun 1298, Elmley, Worcestershire, England

Notes:

Earl of Warwick. Hereditary Chamberlain of the Exchequer, an office he inherited from the Mauduit family. Hereditary Sheriff of Worcestershire.

William married Maud fitz John before 1270. Maud (daughter of John fitz Geoffrey and Isabel le Bigod) died on 16 Apr 1301; was buried on 7 May 1301 in Friars Minor, Worcester, Worcestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]