Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer of Chirk

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Seal of Roger Mortimer of Chirk

Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer of Chirk (also Sir Roger Mortimer of Chirk ; * around 1256 - † August 3, 1326 in London ) was an English nobleman and rebel. As the younger son of a nobleman, he rose through his military service to a powerful Marcher Lord , but then died as a rebel in captivity in the Tower of London .

Origin and youth

Roger Mortimer came from the Anglo-Norman noble family Mortimer . He was the third son of Roger III de Mortimer and his wife Maud (also Matilda ) de Briouze . While his older brother Edmund was initially to become a clergyman, Roger was knighted before 1282 while his father was still alive. King Edward I hoped that Roger Mortimer would occupy a similarly strong position as his father and would also have a close relationship with him. Through his marriage to Lucy Wafre , the daughter and heiress of Robert Wafre, Mortimer acquired the lords of Pencelli and Tir Ralph in Brecknockshire , which he held as a fiefdom of Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford . Quarrels soon arose between Mortimer and Bohun, and from 1279 Mortimer accused Bohun of denying his claims in court in Brecon .

Role in the conquest of Wales

During the Second Campaign for the Conquest of Wales , on June 2, 1282, the king gave the possessions of the rebel Llywelyn Fychan ap Gruffydd , one of the sons and successors of Lord Gruffydd ap Madog of Powys Fadog , to Mortimer. This gave Mortimer the first major possession that the king gave in conquered Wales. These areas, called Nanheudwy , Cynllaith and Mochnant Is Rhaeadr , formed the new dominion Chirk , after which Mortimer later took the name Mortimer of Chirk . After his father's death in October 1282, his older brother Edmund inherited his estate. The king also asked Mortimer on October 31, 1282, under Roger Lestrange , his father's successor as commander of the English troops in Central Wales, to take part in the further campaign to conquer Wales. In December 1282 he was one of the commanders of the English forces operating in Central Wales. It is unclear whether he ambushed the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd by pretending that there had been rebellions against the English in Mid Wales and whether he was involved in the skirmish in which Llywelyn was killed on December 11th . The Llywelyn Fychan, whose property Mortimer had received in June, was also killed. Allegedly, Mortimer himself brought the severed head of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to Edward I at Rhuddlan Castle . At the same time, Archbishop Pecham , who was making a visitation to the Diocese of Hereford , accused Mortimer of adultery with Margaret , the wife of Roger of Radnor , and with other women. Mortimer's reaction to these allegations made the situation worse by imprisoning the chaplain who blamed him for his sinful life. Pecham feared Mortimer would go unpunished if he left the region. He therefore instructed William de Braose , the Bishop of Llandaff, to pursue the matter further and to impose church sentences on Mortimer.

Further service under Eduard I.

In the summer of 1287 Mortimer had to provide soldiers to put down the rebellion of the Welsh Lord Rhys ap Maredudd , while he himself should remain in his rule to prevent the rebellion from spreading. He must not be confused with Roger Mortimer of the same name , who owned property in Is Coed and Exactly'r-glyn in Cardiganshire . He took an active part in the fight against Rhys ap Maredudd and was captured in November 1287 when Newcastle Emlyn Castle was captured. During the Franco-English War , Roger Mortimer of Chirk served in Gascony from 1294 , so he was not involved in the suppression of the Welsh uprising from 1294 . In south-western France he was one of the commanders of the two cities after the retaking of Bourg and Blaye . In 1297 he was again in Gascony. In 1298 he was commissioned to recruit foot soldiers in Wales for the war against Scotland . In 1300 and 1301 he took part in campaigns against Scotland, including in 1300 during the siege of Caerlaverock . Together with William of Leyburn and four other knights, he was responsible for the safety and further knightly training of the heir to the throne Eduard . Mortimer was first called to parliament on February 6, 1299 by writ of summons , which is why he is considered Baron Mortimer of Chirk . During the Parliament of Lincoln in 1301 he sealed the letter from the barons to the Pope, with which they wanted to protest against his interference in the Scottish War of Independence. In Wales he succeeded in expanding his possessions. After 1295 he probably began building Chirk Castle . From the inheritance of his mother, who died before 1301, he received the lordship of Narberth and a third of the lordship of St Clears . In 1303 Mortimer served again in Scotland, as did 1306. In that year he was one of the barons who left the army without the king's approval, which is why he fell out of favor with the king. The king placed his lands under royal administration for a time.

The Chirk Castle started by Roger Mortimer

Further advancement under Eduard II.

His former protégé, Edward I's son and successor Edward II, immediately took him back into his favor after his accession to the throne in July 1307. On February 15, 1308, the king appointed him Justiciar for North Wales and a few days later justiciar for South Wales. For his services he was granted life-long rights in 1310 to the Blaenllyfni reign in Brecknockshire, which had previously belonged to Reginald fitz Peter . According to the Ordinances he had to renounce the rule again in 1311, but in 1316 it was given to him as a hereditary fief. In June 1309 he was asked to take over the administration of Powys , the reign of the late Gruffydd de la Pole , heir to Owen de la Pole . This was contested by another Gruffudd de la Pole , Owen de la Pole's brother. According to Welsh law, he claimed the inheritance instead of Hawise , Owen's daughter. His claims were supported by the powerful Earl of Lancaster , of which he was a vassal. Gruffudd turned down attempts to mediate and eventually even besieged Welshpool Castle . On the king's orders, Mortimer terrified the besieged castle and drove Gruffudd out, making Lancaster an enemy. The inheritance dispute was then decided by the king in favor of Hawise and her husband John Charlton .

As the justiciar of all areas of the Principality of Wales , Mortimer ruled there like a prince during the weak and troubled rule of Edward II. However, numerous lawsuits were brought against his strict rule by Welsh subjects. On February 19, 1314 he was replaced at the instigation of the Earl of Lancaster as Justiciar for North Wales and on April 3, 1317 as Justiciar for South Wales. On November 23, 1316, however, he was again justiciar for North Wales and on April 30, 1317 again justiciar for South Wales, in addition, the two lucrative offices were awarded to him for life. By continuing to make strict and ruthless decisions, he made enemies of other Welsh nobles. He particularly aroused the ire of Gruffydd Llwyd , the Crown's leading Welsh official in North Wales, who believed Mortimer to be responsible for his long imprisonment between 1316 and 1317. In 1316 Mortimer together with his nephew Roger Mortimer of Wigmore and Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, put down the rebellion of Llywelyn Bren in Glamorgan. The Mortimers tried to persuade the king not to punish the rebel too severely before speaking to the Earl of Hereford. The royal favorite Hugh le Despenser was able to prevail and had Llywelyn cruelly executed in 1318.

Rebellion, imprisonment and death

Both Mortimer and his nephew Roger Mortimer of Wigmore had negotiated with William de Briouze about a purchase of his South Welsh rule Gower . When the king took over the administration of the rule himself in December 1320 and finally gave it to his favorite Hugh le Despenser, the Despenser War broke out , a revolt of a number of Marcher Lords . The Marcher Lords saw the action as a violation of the special law of the Welsh Marches , and they feared the power and greed of Despenser, who had begun to establish his own territory in South Wales. Mortimer also had to feel directly threatened, because Despenser is said to have sworn revenge for the death of his grandfather Hugh le Despenser , who was allegedly killed by Mortimer's father in the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Together with his nephew Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, he was one of the barons who supported Humphrey de Bohun in an attack on Despenser's reign in Glamorgan in May 1321 . The Mortimers attended the meeting of the barons to which the Earl of Lancaster had invited to Sherburn-in-Elmet in June 1321 , and under this pressure the king had to officially pardon them in July 1321, while Despenser and his father of the same name Hugh le Despenser the Elder had to go into exile. However, the aristocratic opposition did not succeed in permanently consolidating their success. In October 1321 the king began to take military action against his opponents. Mortimer and the other Marcher Lords attended another meeting with Lancaster in Doncaster , but they received little further support and could not agree on a uniform approach. In December 1321 the royal army reached Gloucester . To stop the advance of the king, Mortimer and Hereford drove the vanguard of the royal army from Bridgnorth in early 1322 , burned the town and destroyed the bridge over the Severn, but the king advanced via Worcester to Shrewsbury , where it advanced on January 14th could cross the Severn . In north Wales loyal Welsh men had risen against the Mortimers under Mortimer's old opponent Gruffydd Llwyd and conquered Chirk Castle, among other things. Attacked from two sides and, contrary to his promise, not supported by the Earl of Lancaster, Mortimer surrendered to the king at Shrewsbury on January 22nd. He and his nephew were imprisoned in the Tower of London . The king had him charged with high treason. He was not executed, but his property was confiscated. After his final victory over Lancaster and the aristocratic opposition, the king called 24 representatives each from South and North Wales to Parliament in York . These reported numerous injustices and violations that Mortimer in Wales would have committed against subjects of the Crown in the Principality of Wales . Mortimer remained in strict custody in the Tower until his death. According to the family chronicle, he was buried on September 14, 1326 by Bishop Adam Orleton of Hereford next to his ancestors in the Wigmore Priory Family Foundation .

Family and offspring

Mortimer was married to Lucy de Waffre († 1324), daughter and heiress of Robert de Waffre, Lord of Hopton Wafers in Shropshire . With her he had a son:

  • Roger Mortimer ⚭ Joan de Turberville

He inherited his maternal grandfather's possessions at Pencelli and Tir Ralph and at Tedstone Wafer in Herefordshire through his mother . Mortimer's nephew, Roger Mortimer of Wigmore escaped from the tower in 1323. In September 1326 he succeeded in overthrowing Edward II and the Despensers. Then he took over the reign for the minor Eduard III. He did not hand over Chirk to his cousin Roger of the same name, but occupied the rule himself. After his fall in 1330, Roger Mortimer of Chirk the Younger and then his son John tried in vain to get Chirk back. Edward III. Chirk had given in 1332 to Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel , and in 1359 John Mortimer had to renounce his claims to Blaenllyfni, Narberth and St Clears, the other estates of Roger Mortimer of Chirk, in favor of the Earl of March and the Earl of Arundel .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 193
  2. ↑ LB Smith: The death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd: the narratives reconsidered . In: Welsh History Review, 11 (1982-3), p. 209
  3. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 11
  4. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 14
  5. ↑ entry: Mortimer de Chircke on Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
  6. ^ Adrian Pettifer: Welsh Castles. A Guide by Counties . Boydell, Woodbridge 2000, ISBN 0-85115-778-5 , p. 60
  7. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 141
  8. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 48
  9. ^ JB Smith: Edward II and the allegiance of Wales. In: Welsh History Review , 8 (1976-7), p. 155
  10. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 81
  11. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 260
  12. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 261
  13. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 271
  14. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 297
  15. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 305
  16. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 306
  17. ^ Cleobury Benefice: The Parish of Hopton Wafers: St Michael and All Angels. Retrieved June 28, 2014 .
predecessor Office successor
New title created Baron Mortimer (of Chirk)
1299-1326 		Roger de Mortimer
personal data
SURNAME Mortimer, Roger, 1st Baron Mortimer of Chirk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sir Roger II Mortimer of Chirk
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman and rebel
DATE OF BIRTH around 1256
DATE OF DEATH August 3, 1326
Place of death London