Margaret de Bohun (noblewoman)

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Margaret de Bohun (also Margaret of Gloucester or Margaret of Hereford ) (* 1121 , † between October 1196 and October 1197) was an English noblewoman.

Origin and marriage

Margaret came from the Anglo-Norman house of Pitres . She was the eldest of seven, possibly eight children of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and his wife Sybil († after 1143), the daughter and sole heiress of Bernard de Neufmarché , the Norman conqueror of the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog . So she descended through her mother from the Welsh king Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and from the Anglo-Saxon noblewoman Ealdgyth of Mercia . Presumably as a teenager she was married to the much older Baron Humphrey de Bohun († 1165), the Lord of Trowbridge from the Bohun family.

Principal heir to her family's estates

When Mahel, her last surviving brother and his other brothers, died childless in October 1165, Margaret and her sisters Bertha and Lucy became the heir to their father's extensive estates. The property was not evenly divided, however, and Margaret received the bulk of the estates in England with about two-thirds of the lands, while Bertha and her husband William de Braose received Brecon and Abergavenny Castle in the Welsh Marches . It was not until the 1190s that her sister Lucy and her husband Herbert fitz Herbert managed to preserve at least part of the heritage in England.

Head of the Bohun family

By the time Margaret inherited most of her father's holdings, she was probably widowed and over 40 years old. She did not remarry and managed her property herself. Although she was a serious steward of her property, she had to make concessions to a number of vassals because as a widow she could only partially enforce her rights. She cleverly directed the fate of her family, especially her eldest son, Humphrey . Through her intercession he received the hereditary office of Royal Constable , which her father had already held, at the latest in 1173 . After her son died in 1181, she took over the guardianship of her grandson Humphrey and administered his inheritance.

Religious benefactress

Personally, Margaret was probably very religious. Like other noble widows, she donated a number of goods to the church. She confirmed and witnessed no fewer than 33 documents, most of which were issued in favor of the Augustinian priory of Llanthony Secunda near Gloucester , where many of her relatives were buried. Her documents reflect her concern for the salvation of her brethren who had failed or could not keep their promises to the Church. She made other, albeit smaller, donations in favor of Gloucester Abbey and Monkton Farleigh Priory in Wiltshire , which had already received donations from her husband. Her grandson Humphrey took over the management of his estates as a teenager around 1190. In May 1194 Margaret, over 70 years old, was excused at the royal court because of an illness, and her last shield money payment was made in autumn 1197. She died between October 1196 and October 1197, the year of death 1187, which is sometimes mentioned, is incorrect. After her death, her own goods also fell to her grandson Humphrey. She was buried in Llanthony Secunda Priory.

progeny

With her husband, she had at least five children, including:

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personal data
SURNAME De Bohun, Margaret
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Margaret of Gloucester; Margaret of Hereford
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobles
DATE OF BIRTH 1121
DATE OF DEATH between October 1196 and October 1197