John Gray, 2nd Baron Gray of Wilton

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Coat of arms of John Gray, 2nd Baron of Wilton

John Gray, 2nd Baron Gray of Wilton (* before 1268 - † October 18, 1323 ) was an English nobleman.

Origin and heritage

John Gray was a son of Reginald Gray, 1st Baron Gray of Wilton and his wife Matilda Longchamp. As early as 1277 he served in King Edward I's campaign against Wales . In November 1278 he received permission to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela . He and his father were pardoned for hunting offenses in royal woods in 1278 and 1286. In 1305 he again aroused the king's displeasure for unknown reasons. He was supposed to stand ready to answer in court, but it didn't. When his father died in 1308, Gray was already at least 40 years old. He inherited the Ruthin lordship in the Welsh Marches , Wilton Castle in Herefordshire and estates in Shirland in Derbyshire , Purleigh in Essex and several estates in Huntingdonshire , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire and Gloucestershire . But he also had to take on £ 200 in debt from his father. From 1308 he was called as Baron Gray de Wilton several times to military service for the king, to royal council meetings and to parliament .

Life

Gray was among the 25 barons who participated in a tournament at Dunstable in March and April 1309 . In doing so, they probably agreed to strive for a reform of the rule of King Edward II , which was demanded by Gray in parliament in April 1309. He was appointed on March 16, 1310 to one of the 21 Lords Ordainers who should work out this reform program. This program, the Ordinances , was enacted in 1311. In December 1313 Gray was supposed to seize the Welsh Gruffudd de la Pole , who had started a feud against John Charlton over possession of the Pole rule in Wales. In 1314 he took part in the failed campaign of the king to Scotland, which ended in the defeat of Bannockburn . In February 1315 he was appointed Justiciar of North Wales, which he remained until November 1316. At the end of 1315 he was probably in northern England to ward off Scottish raids. After the Treaty of Leake signed in August 1318 , Gray belonged to the sixteen-member state council that was supposed to advise the king. In 1320 he accompanied Edward II to France, where the English king swore allegiance to the French king for his possessions in France. During the Despenser War and the Earl of Lancaster Rebellion , he apparently remained loyal to the king and attended Parliament in York in 1322 .

Family and offspring

In his first marriage, Gray married Anne († before 1300), a daughter of William Ferrers from Leicestershire and Joan le Despenser . In his second marriage he married Maud, a daughter of Ralph Basset of Drayton. In November 1311 Gray was allowed to bequeath Ruthin Castle and the Rushton estate in Chester to his younger son Roger. After his death, his eldest son Henry Gray († 1342) inherited a smaller part of his extensive lands, which extended over 26 counties . Henry became the founder of the Gray of Wilton family . Almost three quarters of the estates inherited, however, John's favorite son Roger Gray († 1353) from his second marriage, the progenitor of the Gray of Ruthin family.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 166
  2. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , p. 320
predecessor Office successor
Reginald Gray Baron Gray of Wilton
1308-1323 		Henry Gray
personal data
SURNAME Gray, John, 2nd Baron Gray of Wilton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH before 1268
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1323