Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer

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Ralph de Monthermer coat of arms

Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer ( Latin Radulpho de Monte Hermerii ) (* around 1270 , † April 5, 1325 ) was an English knight who rose to become a magnate . He was at times 1st Earl of Atholl and through his marriage Earl of Hertford and Earl of Gloucester .

Origin and advancement

Monthermer was a simple knight who served in the household of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester . After the death of Gilbert de Clare in late 1295, he married his widow, Johanna von Akkon , who was also a daughter of King Edward I , in early 1297 . According to her marriage contract, Johanna was the equal owner of her husband's extensive goods even after her husband's death. The king had planned to marry his widowed daughter to Count Amadeus V of Savoy , and upon learning of her own marriage plans, he immediately confiscated her possessions in January 1297. At this point, however, the marriage to Monthermer had already taken place, and when the king found out about this in March 1297, he had the unwanted son-in-law imprisoned at Bristol Castle .

However, Johanna von Akkon was able to reconcile with her father, whereupon Monthermer was released again and the couple was once again admitted to the royal court with grace. With the exception of the Honor of Tonbridge and the Isle of Portland , the king returned her goods to his daughter, and on August 2, 1297, Monthermer and his wife swore allegiance to the king at Eltham . By jure uxoris , by the right of his wife, Monthermer was now Earl of Gloucester and Earl of Hertford with extensive land holdings and rich income, but only during the lifetime of his wife and at most until the heir Gilbert de Clare came of age . With royal permission he took over the guardianship of Johanna's eldest son Gilbert until 1301, when in 1301 he was sent to the court of the queen widow Margaret for further education .

Supporters of King Edward I.

Monthermer knew that the other magnates were looking at him as an upstart, and during King Edward I's disputes with the Earl of Hereford and the Earl of Norfolk he was very reluctant to avoid arousing his father-in-law's anger again. He served the king faithfully and took part in numerous campaigns against Scotland , so in 1298, 1299, 1300, 1301 to 1302 and 1304. In view of his loyalty, the king also returned him the Honor of Tonbridge and the Isle of Portland in November 1301. At the beginning of 1306, Monthermer Robert Bruce , who was at the English court, is said to have warned that he was threatened with arrest by King Edward. Bruce took the warning seriously and fled to Scotland just in time. Bruce rose to the rank of King of Scots in March 1306, openly rebelling against the supremacy of the English king. Thereupon he led a new campaign to Scotland in 1306, in which Monthermer took part. After the Battle of Methven on June 19, 1306, the Scottish Earl of Atholl John of Strathbogie was captured and hanged on November 7, 1306 in London. The king recognized Strathbogie from the title and awarded it to Monthermer on October 12, 1306, in addition he assigned him the corresponding occupied lands. Around May 13, 1307 Monthermer suffered a defeat against Robert Bruce in a battle near Ayr and had to flee to Ayr Castle .

Loss of earl dignity and descent to simple baron

After his wife died on April 23, 1307, Monthermer's English titles expired and the Clare family's estates came under the administration of the Crown. On June 24, 1307 Monthermer had to renounce the title of Earl of Atholl in favor of the son of the last Scottish earl, David Strathbogie . To compensate, Strathbogie had to pay him 5,000  marks , and the king appointed Monthermer to manage the Clare family's estates in Wales. However, King Edward I died only a few weeks later, and his son and successor King Edward II handed over his property and titles to the underage Gilbert de Clare in March 1308.

On March 4, 1309, King Edward II called him to Parliament through Writ of Summons , giving him the hereditary title of Baron Monthermer . With a deed dated September 16, 1309, the king also gave him and his two sons a mansion and associated lands in England. Monthermer took part in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and fell into Scottish captivity fighting on the English side. Robert de Bruce, now victorious King of Scotland, took this opportunity to thank him for his warning in 1306 by receiving and entertaining him at his table and then releasing him without a ransom.

On November 20, 1318 at the latest, he married Isabel le Despenser , the widow of John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings . She was a daughter of Hugh le Despencer, Lord le Despencer . With a document dated August 12, 1319, King Edward II forgave him for not having obtained the necessary royal permission to marry. Isabel's father, along with her brother Hugh le Despenser , had risen to become the king's leading favorites. After Queen Isabelle traveled to France in 1324 and did not return to England, Monthermer and his wife were entrusted with the upbringing of Eleonore and Johanna , the king's two daughters. He lived with the two royal daughters in Pleshy and Marlborough Castle, among others .

progeny

From his first marriage to Johanna he had four children:

His second marriage to Isabel was childless. She survived him and died in 1334.

He died on April 5, 1325 and was buried in the Gray Friars Church in Salisbury . His eldest son Thomas inherited his baron title. His younger son Edward was appointed to parliament in 1337, which established an independent title for him, Baron Monthermer .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 38.
  2. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 160.
  3. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 158.
  4. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 198.
  5. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 244.
  6. ^ "Manerium de Stoke in Hamme" - T. Rymer: Fœdera, Conventiones, Literæ. London 1745, Volume I, Part IV, p. 155.
  7. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 237.
  8. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 331.
  9. ↑ T. Rymer: Foedera, Conventiones, literae. London 1745, Volume II, Part I, p. 181.
  10. ^ Mary AE Green: Lives of the princesses of England from the Norman conquest, Vol. 3. Colburn, London 1851, p. 67.
predecessor Office successor
Gilbert de Clare Earl of Hertford and Earl of Gloucester
(de iure uxoris)
1297-1307 		Gilbert de Clare
New title created Earl of Atholl
1306-1307 		Title waiver
New title created Baron Monthermer
1309-1325 		Thomas de Monthermer
personal data
SURNAME Monthermer, Ralph de, 1st Baron Monthermer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ralph de Monthermer, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester; Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Earl of Atholl; Radulpho de Monte Hermerii
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English peer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1270
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1325