Gilbert de Gant, 1st Earl of Lincoln
Gilbert de Gant , (* around 1120 in Bridlington ; † 1156) was an English nobleman who fought on the side of King Stephen during the War of Succession called anarchy . He was the Earl of Lincoln , Lord of Folkingham ( Lincolnshire ) and Hunmanby ( Yorkshire ).
Life
Gilbert de Gant is the son of Walter de Gant († 1139) and Mathilde de Penthiévre, a daughter of Étienne I. de Penthièvre , Count of Tréguier ( House of Rennes ). Gilbert was thus a nephew by marriage of Alain de Bretagne, 1st Earl of Richmond , one of King Stephen's military commanders. His biological uncle Robert of Ghent was King Stephen's Lord Chancellor .
At a young age Gilbert fought for the king at the Battle of Lincoln (1141) , in which he - like Stephen - was captured. He was forced to marry Rohese de Clare, daughter of Richard FitzGilbert de Clare and Adeliza de Meschines, and niece of Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester , one of the winners of Lincoln.
Around 1143 he fought alongside Ranulph against William le Gros , Earl of York (and Earl of Aumale ), who had seized the family-owned Bridlington Priory and had it fortified. In the 1140s he was also in conflict with Henry de Lacy , Lord of Pontefract ; during the fighting he damaged Pontefract Priory so seriously that he was temporarily excommunicated . This conflict was likely triggered by the fact that his sister Alice had retained the land of her husband Ilbert de Lacy after his death.
Between October 1149 and 1150, King Stephen made him Earl of Lincoln as a rival to William de Roumare, 1st Earl of Lincoln , who had switched to the side of Empress Matilda , and was appointed royal constable . This appointment led to a conflict with the other Earl of Lincoln, who was supported by the Earls of Chester and York. In this war, the only son (and heir) Roumares was killed in 1151, Gilbert came into possession of Bytham Castle , which belonged to William the Fat, and his castle Hunmanby was destroyed. Between 1153 and 1154 he seems to have been stripped of the title of Earl of Lincoln, but he still carried that name.
He founded Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire around 1147 and also sponsored other abbeys, including Rievaulx Abbey . Shortly before his death, he entered Bridlington Priory, where he was also buried. His widow married Robert FitzRobert, Dapifer , in their second marriage (probably between 1157 and 1163)
His inheritance came from his underage daughter from his marriage to Rohese, Alice de Gand († 1185), who Simon III. de Senlis , Earl of Huntingdon and Earl of Northampton .
swell
- David Crouch, The Reign of King Stephen: 1135-1154 , Harlow, Essex: Longman Pearson, 2000, ISBN 0-582-22657-0
- RHC Davis, King Stephen , 3rd edition 1990
- Paul Dalton, Gant, Gilbert de, earl of Lincoln (c.1123-1155 / 6) , in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, September 2004; Online edition, January 2008.
- Paul Dalton, Conquest, anarchy and lordship: Yorkshire, 1066-1154 , Cambridge University Press, 1994, ISBN 0-521-45098-5
Web links
- Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, England, Earls created 1138-1143 ( online )
Remarks
- ↑ also: Gand, Gaunt and Ghent
- ↑ It is likely that the historians invented a (second) marriage between Gilbert and Hawise (Agnes) of Roumare in order to subsequently justify his coming to County Lincoln.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gilbert de Gant |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gilbert de Gand; Gilbert de Gaunt; Gilbert de Ghent |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Earl of Lincoln |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1120 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bridlington |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1156 |