Richard Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot

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Richard Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot (* around 1306; † between October 23 and 26, 1356 ) was an English nobleman, judge and military man.

Origin and youth

Richard Talbot was the eldest son of Gilbert Talbot , his mother's name is unknown. His father was a knight with estates in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire . Following their father's entourage, Richard and his younger brother Gilbert supported the rebels in the Despenser War from 1321 onwards against the royal favorite Hugh le Despenser . From autumn 1321, King Edward II took military action against the rebels. Allegedly on the instructions of Bishop Adam Orleton of Hereford, the Talbots joined the troops of the also rebelling Earl of Lancaster in early 1322 . The rebels were defeated on March 16, 1322 in the Battle of Boroughbridge , Richard Talbot and his father were taken prisoner. However, after paying a fine, his father quickly regained the king's favor and got his possessions back. Richard then fought with his father during the War of Saint-Sardos from 1324 to 1325 in Gascony in southwest France . After that his father belonged to the suite of the heir to the throne Eduard .

Rise under Edward III.

After the reign of Edward II had been overthrown at the end of 1326, the young heir to the throne was named Edward III in early 1327. crowned the new king. Richard's father was highly favored by the new king as a courtier and advisor. Young Richard was also a knight in the royal household. Between September 1326 and February 1327, Richard Talbot was allowed to marry Elizabeth Comyn , who as the sister of John IV Comyn and niece of Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, had claims to their inheritance. During the reign of Edward II, Elizabeth had to hand over her inheritance to the Despensers under duress, but Talbot was now able to enforce his wife's claims, so that she got her possessions back. In 1330 Richard Talbot, like his father, was called to royal council meetings. From 1331 to 1332 he served as one of the administrators of Ireland . In January 1332 he was called to parliament like his father . From March 21, 1332 he was responsible for keeping the peace in Gloucestershire.

Claims to Comyn heritage in Scotland

Through his wife, Talbot had inherited not only estates in England but also rights to the Comyn family estates in Scotland . These possessions had been confiscated by King Robert Bruce after the Comyns had supported the English in the First Scottish War of Independence . Talbot was therefore one of the so-called disinherited people who supported Edward Balliol's claim to the Scottish throne. His claims were initially not supported by the English crown. In July 1332 he was part of the army of the disinherited, which invaded Scotland under the leadership of Balliol and which defeated the Scots on August 12 at the Battle of Dupplin Moor . In thanks for his support, Balliol raised Talbot to Lord of Mar and appointed him to Parliament, which took place on February 10, 1334. Talbot was a regular part of Balliol's retinue, but his rule was uncertain. Realizing that a major Scottish revolt against Balliol's rule was imminent in the summer of 1334, Talbot tried to flee to England. On September 8, however, he was captured together with the six knights of his retinue at Linlithgow by Scots under William Keith and Godfrey Ross . He was brought to Dumbarton Castle and only released in 1335 for a ransom of around 2,000 marks . Talbot did not give up his claims to Scottish heritage, however. In December 1337 Edward III appointed him. to the commandant of the border town of Berwick and to the justiciar of the Scottish areas which were still controlled by England. He held these offices until April 1340.

The buildings of Flanesford Priory, founded by Talbot, were converted into a farm in the 17th century

Role in war with France

In the meantime, however, the king had turned to the conflict with France . As early as March 1339 Talbot was appointed commandant of Southampton , and according to the chronicler Froissart , he took part in the fighting in north-east France that same year. There he belonged to the English army, which besieged Tournai in vain . In 1342 he took part in the Battle of Morlaix in Brittany as captain of the English army under the command of the Earl of Northampton . In the summer of 1346 he took part in the king's campaign in northern France. Wounded during the campaign, he was part of the king's retinue at the Battle of Crécy and during the siege of Calais .

Service as courtier and judge in England

In addition to serving as the military, Talbot held various offices in England and Wales in the 1340s. He had been reappointed Keeper of the Peace for Gloucestershire in 1336, was appointed Judge for Shropshire and Staffordshire in February 1341 , and served as Justiciar of South Wales in 1344 . He also served temporarily as a judge in Glouchestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, and from 1344 to 1345 in Oxfordshire . In gratitude for his services, the king appointed him Steward of the Household in May 1345 . In this office he had to investigate accusations against several of the king's suppliers in 1346. After his father's death in early 1346, he inherited his possessions and the title of Baron Talbot . As a steward he took part in a large council meeting in 1348, but in 1349 he was replaced as a steward. In the 1350s he continued to serve as judge and keeper of the peace, so in 1348 and 1353 in Worcestershire and Oxfordshire and in 1351 in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. In 1349 he was a member of a committee that was supposed to stop the smuggling of wool into Flanders. The king rewarded his loyal service with numerous tokens of favor, administration of minors, donations of money and the cancellation of debts to the crown. Between 1348 and 1351 Talbot was allowed to administer the Earl of Pembroke's inheritance in Pembrokeshire when he was a minor . However, he had to do without Blaenllyfni and Bwlchydinas Castle in Wales, which his father had administered for the crown and which Talbot now claimed in vain as a hereditary fief.

Descendants and inheritance

From his marriage to Elizabeth Comyn, Talbot had a son who became his heir:

In 1343 Talbot had received papal permission to found an Augustinian priory in Flanesford , Herefordshire , where he was buried. After his death, his widow married Sir John Bromwych for a second time .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 66
  2. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 80
  3. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 152
  4. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 168
  5. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 169
predecessor Office successor
Gilbert Talbot Baron Talbot
1346-1356 		Gilbert Talbot
personal data
SURNAME Talbot, Richard, 2nd Baron Talbot
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman, judge and military man
DATE OF BIRTH around 1306
DATE OF DEATH between October 23, 1356 and October 26, 1356