Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford

The ruins of Llanthony Secunda Priory, donated by Miles of Gloucester, where he was also buried

Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford , also called Miles of Gloucester, Milo de Gloucester or Miles FitzWalter († December 24, 1143 ), was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and first Lord High Constable of England. During the Anarchy in England he was one of the main supporters of the Empress Matilda .

Origin and advancement

Miles came from the lower Norman nobility. His grandfather Roger de Pitres , originally from Pîtres , became Sheriff of Gloucestershire and Constable of Gloucester Castle as a follower of William FitzOsbern , who was instrumental in the conquest of the western Midlands . After Roger's death, his brother Durand inherited the offices, and after his death, around 1097, Rogers son Walter became Sheriff of Gloucestershire and Constable of Gloucester Castle . Miles was born towards the end of the 11th century to Walter and his wife Berta. Through his marriage to Sibyl, the daughter and heiress of Bernard de Neufmarché , he inherited the estate of Brecknockshire from his father-in-law around 1125 . From his father, who died before 1130 or who had retired to Llanthony Abbey , he inherited the latter's offices as well as the dominion of Caldicot and lands in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire . He was also sheriff of Staffordshire in 1128 . Together with Payn FitzJohn , the sheriff of Herefordshire and Shropshire , he ruled the Central English region along the Welsh border.

Follower of King Stephen

King Stephen , who usurped the English throne at the beginning of 1136 , secured the following of the two powerful marchers, Lords Miles and Payn FitzJohn, on the occasion of the funeral of Henry I in Reading , whom he confirmed in their offices. The king also sponsored the wedding of Miles' son Roger to Payn FitzJohn's daughter Cecily, who was entitled to much of her family's inheritance. In the years that followed, Miles was a loyal supporter of the king. After the lost battle of Crug Mawr , Adeliza, widow of Richard Fitz-Gilbert de Clare, was besieged by insurgent Welsh in Cardigan Castle in 1136 . Miles freed her on a bold foray on behalf of the king and brought her to England. In addition, the king viewed Miles as the opposite of his potential rival for the throne, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester . When Robert rebelled against Stephen in 1138, Miles received the king at Gloucester in May and assisted him in the siege of Shrewsbury in August . Stephen in turn confirmed Gilbert Foliot , a relative of Miles, as abbot of Gloucester Abbey in February 1139 .

Supporters of the Empress

However, when Stephens opponent Matilda landed in England in August 1139 , her half-brother Robert of Gloucester was able to convince Brian FitzCount and Miles that she was the rightful heir to the throne. Miles met her in Bristol, where she had been taken after her defeat at Arundel . He then paid homage to her as his rightful ruler in Gloucester and became one of her most important supporters, advisers and generals. King Stephen then captured Miles' castle in South Cerney and besieged Brian FitzCount in Wallingford . In return, Miles had his son-in-law Humphrey II de Bohun ( House of Bohun ) gather troops in Trowbridge . Stephen had to move to Wiltshire to face this threat , so Miles could shock Wallingford. He recaptured the castle and town of Hereford, which later became one of the empress's most important bases, as well as the castle of South Cerney. In November 1139 Miles attacked and burned Worcester , as did the town of Winchcombe in 1140 . His attempt to conquer Sudeley Castle , however, failed with heavy losses. Because of his betrayal, King Stephen had deprived him of the office of constable of Gloucester Castle, while Matilda gave him St Briavels Castle and the office of Warden of the Forest of Dean in gratitude . On February 2, 1141, he took part in the Battle of Lincoln , in which King Stephen was captured. After this victory the Empress was able to triumph with him in March in Winchester and then in St Albans and Westminster . After Matilda had raised the London population against them, among other things through high taxes, he had to flee with her from an opposing force under Stephen's wife Mathilda von Boulogne and the mercenary leader Wilhelm von Ypres to Gloucester. He then took them to Oxford , which he made the base of their fight against London. There the Empress appointed him Earl of Hereford on July 25, 1141 . With this title she also created the office of Lord High Constable , which was hereditarily linked to the title.

Defeat at Winchester

In August 1141, Matilda wanted to subjugate Heinrich von Blois , Stephen's brother and Bishop of Winchester. Miles besieged the episcopal palace together with Robert of Gloucester and Reginald, Earl of Cornwall Wolvesey Castle . The besiegers themselves were trapped by the troops of William of Ypres, who was supported by the inhabitants of Winchester, and wiped out in the ensuing fighting . Matilda, Reginald and Miles narrowly escaped while Robert of Gloucester was captured. Miles is said to have lost his weapons and armor while escaping to Gloucester.

Further course of the war

Since the captured King Stephen was exchanged for Robert of Gloucester in November, the Empress's supporters found themselves in a difficult situation again. Before Robert of Gloucester traveled to Normandy in June 1142 to support Matilda's husband Gottfried von Anjou , he signed a formal alliance to ensure the loyalty of Miles, who had to hold his son Mahel hostage as a token of his loyalty. In late 1141 or 1142 Miles had acquired Abergavenny Castle from his cousin Brian FitzCount when he was focused on defending Wallingford Castle . 1143 tried Miles from the ecclesiastical property, even from the lands of Robert de Bethune, the Bishop of Hereford, to press further funds for the war. The bishops of Hereford and Worcester opposed this. When Miles then plundered the lands of the Bishop of Hereford, he was excommunicated from Bethune .

The former Cistercian monastery Flaxley Abbey was probably founded by Roger Fitzmiles at the place where his father died

death

On Christmas Eve 1143 Miles was hunting in the Forest of Dean when he was accidentally fatally wounded by a hunting arrow. His devotion to the Empress and his commitment to her claim to the throne were recognized by all chroniclers. Miles had paid Matilda's expenses himself during her stays in England. On the other hand, he had never been a great benefactor to the Church. The Brecon and Gloucester Abbeys received little donations from him. The only major donation was made to the monks of Llanthony after they were expelled during the 1136 Welsh uprising . Miles gave them lands near Gloucester in return for the establishment of a new house called Llanthony Secunda Priory. After his death, a dispute broke out between St Peter's Abbey in Gloucester and Llanthony Secunda Abbey over the burial place of Miles, which was ultimately decided in favor of Llantony Secunda by three bishops, including Bernard of St Davids. Miles was eventually buried in the abbey's chapter house. His son Roger founded Flaxley Abbey in 1151, presumably on the spot where his father was fatally wounded.

Family and offspring

Miles married Sibyl in 1121, daughter of Bernard de Neufmarché. The couple had 7 or 8 children including:

1. Margaret of Hereford († 1196/1197) ∞ Humphrey II. De Bohun ( House of Bohun )
2. Bertha of Hereford, heiress of Brecon, Abergavenny and Hay ∞ before 1150 William de Braose, 3rd Baron of Bramber ( House of Braose )
3. Roger Fitzmiles (* before 1127, † 1155)
4. Walter of Hereford († around 1160)
5. Henry of Hereford († 1159/63)
6. Mahel de Hereford († around 1164)
7. William of Hereford († before 1166)

His heir was his son Roger. However, after he and his brothers all died at a young age with no male offspring, his property was divided. His daughter Berta, who had married William de Braose, received the Welsh estates of Brecon , Hay and Abergavenny, while the older daughter Margaret, who had married Humphrey II. De Bohun, received the extensive estates in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

literature

• John Horace Round: Gloucester, Miles de . In: Dictionary of National Biography . Volume XXI . Macmillan, Smith, Elder & Co., London / New York 1890
• David Walker: Miles of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford . In: Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society . Vol. 77, 1958, pp. 68–84 (English, online ( memento of March 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) [PDF; 221 kB ; accessed on November 13, 2013]).

Web links

• David Walker: Gloucester, Miles of, earl of Hereford (d. 114). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

Individual evidence

1. ^ Joseph Haydn: The Book of Dignities . Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London 1851, p. 149.
2. ^ Oxford DNB: Bernard (d. 1148). Accessed June 19, 2014 (registration required). 

predecessor	Office	successor
Office newly created	Lord High Constable 1141–1143	Roger Fitzmiles
New title created	Earl of Hereford 1141-1143	Roger Fitzmiles