Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick

Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick (* Le Neubourg near Louviers , Département Eure ; † June 20, 1119 ) was a Norman nobleman. He was also called Henry de Newburgh or Henry de Neubourg after his birthplace .

Henry was the younger son of Roger de Beaumont and Adeline of Meulan , daughter of Waleran III, Earl of Meulan . He inherited the smaller dominion of La Neubourt in central Normandy.

De Beaumont is on the list of knights who came to England with William the Conqueror , but does not seem to have participated in the Battle of Hastings . He spent most of his life in Normandy , and his name is not in the Domesday Book . He played a leading role in the reconciliation of the conqueror with his eldest son Robert in 1081; he was highly favored by the king. He received numerous honors, in 1068 he became Constable of Warwick Castle , shortly afterwards King William gave him the castle with the entire district and estate. In 1079 he was appointed advisor by the king, and on April 12, 1080 in Normandy, he was appointed Baron of the Exchequer .

When in 1088 a number of barons under the leadership of Odo von Bayeux rebelled against Wilhelm's son and successor King Wilhelm Rufus , de Beaumont was one of the most important supporters of Wilhelm Rufus in suppressing the uprising. As a reward, the king appointed him Earl of Warwick and gave him extensive estates in England. The "Bear and Ragged Staff" was the badge of Guy, an important fighter against the Danes, Henry adopted it as his symbol when he was promoted to Earl, and since then it has been used by the subsequent Earls of Warwick. Odericus announces that he has earned this honor through his worth and loyalty , Wace describes him as a brave man . De Beaumont was one of the companions and friends of Henry I , when in 1100 differences of opinion developed among the barons over the question of the successor to the king, the decision in favor of Heinrich was mainly based on his advice. When in the following year a number of the barons turned openly or in hiding against the king to obtain the crown for Duke Robert, he and his brother were among the few who remained loyal to the king.

King Henry I thanked him by appointing him Lord of Gower in 1106 as the successor to the Welsh Hywel ap Goronwy and giving him permission to conquer the South Welsh peninsula. De Beaumont began the conquest of Gower around 1107 and built Swansea Castle as the center of his new rule , as well as a number of other castles. In 1116 he was able to repel an attack by the Welsh prince Gruffydd ap Rhys on Swansea.

In character, Henry was considered a quiet and withdrawn person who was clearly outshone by his brother Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester , who was considered one of the most brilliant men in England.

After his death in 1119 he was buried in the Abbey of Préaux .

family

Before 1100, Henry married Marguerite, daughter of Geoffrey II von Perche and Beatrix von Montdidier and had five children with her:

1. Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick
2. Henry de Neubourg
3. Robert de Neubourg , chief legal advisor in Normandy
4. Rotrou († November 27, 1183), Bishop of Évreux , later Archbishop of Rouen , was chief legal advisor and steward of Normandy
5. Geoffroy

His eldest son Roger inherited most of the estates in England and the title Earl of Warwick, his son Henry probably inherited estates in Dorset and Devon , while Robert inherited the possessions in Normandy.

literature

• Edward T. Beaumont: The Beaumonts in History, AD 850-1850. Oxford undated (around 1929).
• FMG on Henry de Beaumont

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historial Monuments in Wales: An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan. Volume 3: Medieval Secular Monuments. Part 1, A: The early Castles - from the Norman Conquest to 1217. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1991, ISBN 0-11-300035-9 , p. 25.

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Earl of Warwick 1088-1119	Roger de Beaumont