Audley (noble family)

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Coat of arms of the Audley family

The Audley family (also Aldithele ) was an English noble family who held several titles of nobility in the 14th century. In 1391 the family died out in male succession.

origin

The Audleys were believed to be of Anglo-Saxon descent and named after Audley in northern Staffordshire . This is where their original headquarters were, a small castle fortified as a moth . Originally the Audleys were feudal men of the Verdon family , Lords of Alton in Shropshire. The early family history in the 12th century is uncertain, Liulf de Audley is mentioned as the first member of the family in 1130.

The family in the 13th century

Liulf's grandson Adam de Audley († 1211) was involved in the colonization of Ireland as Constable of Ulster in the service of Hugh de Lacy . Adam's younger brother Henry Audley was able to expand possessions in Shropshire and other parts of England in the service of Earl Ranulf of Chester and rose to baron . He founded the Cistercian monastery at Hulton Abbey , which became the main burial place for the family, and after 1227 moved its headquarters to the new Heighley Castle in Staffordshire. Henry's son James was a key supporter of the king in the Welsh Marches during the Second Barons' War . If James was able to consolidate the family's position in the Welsh Marches, the family fell into a crisis until 1299 after his accidental death in 1272 and the deaths of his first three sons in rapid succession.

The Audleys of Heleigh

James Audley had left large debts on his death, which were further increased by the fees his sons had to pay to the king when they came into inheritance. In addition, the widows of James Audley and the deceased sons were entitled to a widow . Although the fourth son was Nicholas still in 1297 as Baron Audley of Heleigh the peerage acquire, but with his early death his sons were minors. After the early death of his older brother Thomas in 1308, Nicholas inherited the land and the title, but he too died in 1316. However, through his marriage to Joan Martin , he had inheritance rights to extensive estates for his son James Audley , including in South West England and Wales acquired. James Audley died aged 1386, but only one of his sons had survived. This, Nicholas Audley, 4th Baron Audley of Heleigh , died childless in 1391. The possessions then fell to his two sisters and their descendants. The title Baron Audley of Heleigh fell first in Abeyance and finally in 1405 to the Tuchet family .

The Audleys of Stratton Audley

Hugh Audley , the youngest son of James Audley, had inherited Stratton in Oxfordshire when his father died in 1272 . He became Member of Parliament in 1321 as Baron Audley of Stratton Audley . His son of the same name, Hugh Audley , had previously been raised to baron as a favorite of King Edward II and was allowed to marry Margaret de Clare , one of the heiresses of the Earl of Gloucester. In competition with Hugh le Despenser, however, the Audleys lost again the favor of the king, which is why they took part in the Despenser War in 1321 and supported the unsuccessful rebellion of Thomas of Lancaster against the king. They were captured in 1322, in which Hugh Audley senior died before 1326. His title thus expired. The younger Hugh Audley was released after the fall of Edward II and was made Earl of Gloucester in 1337 . However, he died without male offspring, and his property fell to Ralph de Stafford through his daughter . James Audley , a grandson of Hugh Audley senior, was a celebrated hero of the Hundred Years War and a founding member of the Order of the Garter , with his childless death in 1369, the Audleys of Stratton Audley died out in the male line.

Master list (extract)

  1. Liulf de Audley (fl. 1130)
    1. Adam de Audley († 1203)
      1. Adam de Audley, Constable of Ulster († 1211)
      2. Henry Audley († 1246)
        1. James Audley († 1272)
          1. James Audley (1250-1273)
          2. Henry (1251-1276)
          3. William (1253-1282)
          4. Nicholas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Heleigh (1258-1299)
            1. Thomas Audley (1288-1308)
            2. Nicholas Audley, 2nd Baron Audley of Heleigh (1289-1316)
              1. James Audley, 3rd Baron Audley of Heleigh (1312-1386)
                1. Joan Audley, ∞ Sir John Tuchet († 1371)
                2. Nicholas Audley, 4th Baron Audley of Heleigh (around 1328-1391)
                3. Roger Audley († before 1391)
                4. Margery Audley († 1410/11)
          5. Hugh Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Stratton Audley (about 1267 – about 1325)
            1. James Audley († 1334)
              1. James Audley KG († 1369)
            2. Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1291-1347)
              1. Margaret de Audley, 2nd Baroness Audley (1318– before 1351), ∞ Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford (1301–1372)

literature

  • Thelma W. Lancaster: The barons Audley of Heley Castle and Hulton Abbey . In: Transactions of the North Staffordshire Field Club, new ser., 19 (1993/1994), pp. 10-31 ·

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ RF Walker: Audley, Henry (d. 1246). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004