Margaret Brotherton, Duchess of Norfolk

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Margaret Brotherton, Duchess of Norfolk (also Margaret Marshal ) (* around 1320, † March 24, 1399 ) was an English magnate . She was the first English woman to be raised to duchess in her own right . She was a good example of how a widow who outlived her husband for a long time could influence the fate of her relatives by virtue of inheritance law.

origin

Margaret Brotherton came from a branch line of the English royal family Plantagenet . She was the eldest daughter of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk and his wife Alice Hales († around 1330). Her father was the eldest son of the English King Edward I from his second marriage to Margaret of France .

Marriages and building up extensive land holdings

Around 1335 Margaret was married to John Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave . After the death of her father in 1338, her stepmother Mary de Brewes received a Wittum from his possessions, Margaret inherited the remaining possessions together with her sister Alice . However, around 1350 Margaret wanted to travel to Rome to ask the Pope to dissolve their marriage. However, since she did not have permission for this trip, she was prevented from leaving England. Thus their marriage was not dissolved, but her husband died in April 1353. Presumably in 1354 Margaret married Sir Walter Mauny , a well-deserved military man and former follower of her father , in 1354 . Because they married without the king's permission, their lands were confiscated. She received it back before May 30, 1354, but she was herself imprisoned in honorable custody at Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire . On June 6, 1354, she and her husband were asked to answer the question before the king, and in 1355 they were finally pardoned by the king. After the death of her second husband in 1372, she did not remarry and devoted herself to the administration of her extensive estates. Her husband left her a handsome fortune and extensive estates, and she managed the Segrave inheritance for her daughter Elizabeth . When her stepmother Mary de Brewes died around 1361, she received half of her Wittum as her father's co-heir. In 1375 Joan Ufford , the last daughter of her late sister Alice, died childless, and after the death of her husband William Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk in 1382, Margaret inherited her sister's share of her father's inheritance, so that she was now his sole heir . Her sister's legacy had included Framlingham Castle in Suffolk , which became her primary residence. After the death of her daughter Anne Hastings in 1384, she administered the Hastings inheritance for her underage grandson, John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke .

Managing their property

Margaret actively and imaginatively took care of the management of her extensive property. However, their lands were widely scattered, which hindered effective administration. Therefore her cousin lamented King Edward III. 1371 that they would not adequately defend their holdings in Ireland against attacks by Irish rebels. Margaret then entrusted her son-in-law Pembroke with the administration of their estates in Ireland and in 1372 with the administration of the Welsh rule of Chepstow . Pembroke's early death in 1375 forced Margaret to take over the administration of these areas again. In 1377 she was asked to check the fortifications of Chepstow Castle and in 1388 those of Pembroke Castle . Between 1373 and 1390 other barons repeatedly claimed to be entitled to parts of their possessions. Margaret then had her property claims checked by commissions, which confirmed their claims. In the 1370s there were frequent complaints that she would not pass on leases due on the Hastings inheritance lands, and upon her death her executors were empowered to pay the outstanding salaries of her servants. A year later, her executors paid £ 200 in damages for claims wrongly recovered from Margaret's officials.

Claims to the offices and titles of their father

As the granddaughter of Edward I and as a wealthy landowner, Margaret appeared self-conscious and status-conscious. Her father had inherited the Earl Marshal , which is why Margaret called herself Countess Marshal , although she was not entitled to it as a daughter. Nevertheless, at the coronation of Richard II in 1377, she unsuccessfully claimed that deputies should exercise this office for her. Since 1347 she claimed the estate of Hamptstead Marshall , which was due to the respective incumbent marshal, and in 1382 she demanded from the king 3,000 marks for debts that Edward I and Edward II had allegedly still owed to their father. However, none of these bold demands were granted. As the sole heir to her father, she claimed the title of Countess of Norfolk from 1382 , although neither of her two husbands had held this title. Eventually, the Crown accepted this claim when she was made Duchess of Norfolk on September 29, 1397, the same day that her grandson Thomas Mowbray was made Duke of Norfolk .

Framlingham Castle which became Margaret Brotherton's primary residence

Contacts with other nobles and lifestyle

Although Margaret stayed away from the royal court, she stayed in touch with several members of the high nobility. She regularly exchanged New Year's gifts with John of Gaunt , and his son Henry Bolingbroke temporarily sent his younger son John to Framlingham Castle, where he was raised in the care of Margaret. She gave a cross relic to Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick , which had previously belonged to her grandfather Edward I, and Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel considered it in his will, even though they were not related by blood.

Margaret's rather lavish lifestyle is evidenced by the bills she received. She had an annual income of nearly £ 3,000 from her estates in the 1390s. In contrast to other wealthy widows of her time, she was not a generous benefactor in favor of monasteries. Her only major donation was 350 marks in favor of new choir stalls for the church of the Franciscan branch in London , where she was also buried.

Descendants and inheritance

Margaret had two children with her first husband, John Segrave:

Margaret had two other children with her second husband Walter Mauny:

Her son from her first marriage died as a child, her son from her second marriage drowned in an accident in a well in Deptford . Her main rightful heir was her grandson Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, the eldest surviving son of their daughter Elizabeth. When she died, however, he lived in exile as an opponent of Richard II. Although he had received the right to accept inheritances in England during his exile, the king revoked this right four days after Margaret's death. With that, their extensive possessions fell to the king.

literature

  • RE Archer: The estates and finances of Margaret of Brotherton, c.1320-1399. In: Historical Research, 60 (1987), pp. 264-280

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Brotherton, Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Marshal, Margaret
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English magnate
DATE OF BIRTH around 1320
DATE OF DEATH March 24, 1399