Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley

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Grave monument of Thomas de Berkeley and his second wife Katherine in St Mary’s Church in Berkeley

Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley (called Thomas the Rich ) (* around 1293; † October 27, 1361 ) was an English nobleman. He was probably involved in the murder of the deposed King Edward II .

origin

Thomas de Berkeley came from the Berkeley family , one of the most influential families in Gloucestershire and the southern Welsh Marches from the 13th century . He was the eldest son of Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley and his first wife Eva la Zouche .

Military in the service of his father

In 1314, the young Berkeley took part in the Battle of Bannockburn with his father, with his grandfather Thomas de Berkeley and with his brother Maurice , and they were all but his father in Scottish captivity. They were only released after paying a ransom. The Berkeleys had taken part in the battle in the wake of the Earl of Pembroke , but after 1316 there was a break between the Berkeleys and the Earl of Pembroke. Probably on behalf of their father, Thomas and his brother Maurice, together with other relatives and numerous followers, attacked the hunting park of Painswick , a Pembroke estate in Gloucestershire, on July 31, 1318 . Despite Pembroke's efforts to get the attackers to stand trial and pay him compensation for the destruction committed, the trial remained unsuccessful. This was mainly due to the Berkeleys' disregard for the courts, which also intimidated the population of the region. The attack is a sign of the weak rule of Edward II, during whose rule there were feuds and attacks in large parts of England, which were hardly punished. However, Berkeley's father paid Pembroke compensation in February 1319, and other attackers followed suit a little later. The Berkeleys had meanwhile changed into the entourage of the mighty marcher Lord Roger Mortimer of Wigmore . In May 1319, Thomas married Mortimer's daughter Margaret . Before 1322 Thomas was knighted .

Rebellion and imprisonment

Together with his father, Thomas de Berkeley supported Mortimer and other Marcher Lords in the Despenser War , a rebellion against the royal favorite Hugh le Despenser, in the spring of 1321 . The rebels were able to enforce Despenser's banishment in the summer of 1321, but from autumn 1321 Edward II took military action against the rebels. Roger Mortimer surrendered to the king in January 1322, Maurice de Berkeley in early February. Thomas fled with the remaining rebels to northern England, where they joined the Earl of Lancaster . In March 1322, the rebels were decisively defeated in the Battle of Boroughbridge , in which Thomas was captured. He was incarcerated in Pevensey Castle . The king also had his wife Margaret arrested and imprisoned.

When Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabelle were able to overthrow the reign of Edward II in the fall, Berkeley was released on October 14th. He joined the Queen's troops, who were able to occupy Berkeley Castle a little later. The castle and the family's estates were then returned to Thomas de Berkeley. Since his father had died in captivity a few months earlier, he could now inherit. After Hugh le Despenser's execution in November, he briefly met his wife in Wigmore , who had also been released . In 1329 the Pope confirmed the validity of their marriage and declared their children to be legitimate.

Role as guard of the deposed Edward II.

Berkeley now became a close political companion of Roger Mortimer, who replaced the underage new King Edward III. became the real regent of England. At the beginning of April 1327, Mortimer handed over the supervision of the deposed Edward II to Berkeley as well as John Maltravers and Thomas Gurney , who were both longtime followers of the Berkeley family Reached April 6th. Allegedly Berkeley is said to have mistreated the deposed king, but this is considered unlikely. Instead, he was held in presumably honorable custody, for which Berkeley received the handsome sum of £ 5 per day. In the middle or end of June 1327 the castle was stormed by the Dunheved brothers who were able to free the former king. Berkeley was not in the castle at the time of the attack and was only able to recapture the escaped king with difficulty and bring it back to Berkeley by the end of July. There were probably further attempts to free the deposed king afterwards. The exact circumstances of the king's whereabouts are unclear. He was probably murdered by his guards at Berkeley Castle in September 1327, although Berkeley's involvement in the act is unclear. On September 22, Berkeley sent Thomas Gurney to Mortimer with the news that Edward II had died the previous day. On October 21, Berkeley and Maltravers handed the ex-king's body over to Gloucester Abbey , where it was later buried.

However, for a long time there were rumors that Edward II was not murdered but was still alive. Mortimer should continue to use him as a bargaining chip against the young Edward III. used, he had had the king secretly brought to Corfe Castle after his alleged death , where he was still held under Berkeley's supervision. Instead of the king, another corpse is said to have been embalmed, which was then buried on December 21, 1327 in Gloucester Abbey. Mortimer rewarded his supporter Berkeley by handing him over lands of the executed Earl of Kent in May or June 1330 .

Charges for the king's murder following the overthrow of Roger Mortimer

In October 1330 the young Edward III fell. in a coup Mortimer and had him arrested. Berkeley did not flee after Mortimer's fall, but even took part in Parliament on November 26 , during which Mortimer was sentenced to death as a traitor. John Maltravers was sentenced to death in absentia, not because of the death of Edward II, but because of his role in the death of the Earl of Kent. Thomas de Berkeley, however, initially remained unmolested. When he was nevertheless accused of having been involved in the murder of Edward II, he defended himself that at the time of the death of the former king he had not been in Berkeley but in Bradley . He was sick there so that he could not remember everything. This initially covered Thomas Gurney, who fled England shortly afterwards. On January 20, 1331, a twelve-member jury, which included experienced knights of the royal household, declared Berkeley innocent before Parliament, instead Thomas Gurney and William Ockley were now accused of murdering the king. However, the king did not seem entirely convinced of Berkeley's innocence, for he left Berkeley under the supervision of the Steward of the royal Household until the next parliament would decide his fate. Since the other accused were fugitive and there were never any legal proceedings against them, the proceedings remained pending. In May or June 1335, Edward III declared that he believed Berkeley innocent of his father's death. He had probably previously received information from Maltravers, who was still in exile. It was not until March 16, 1337 that a parliament declared Berkeley innocent.

According to current research, Berkeley certainly lied when he claimed in 1330 that he learned of the king's death only after the fall of Mortimer. He was likely at least near Berkeley when the king died or was murdered. Edward III. apparently did not want to condemn Berkeley as a former rebel against his father and as a member of the high nobility, in addition his brother Maurice de Berkeley had supported the king in overthrowing Mortimer.

Another service for Eduard III.

During the campaign in Scotland in 1335 , Berkeley was one of the magnates who advanced into Scotland via Berwick under the command of Edward Balliol . As a Knight Banneret , he led a retinue of 38 men-at-arms and twelve mounted archers. During the Hundred Years War he served as Marshal of the English Army in France in 1340 and in 1342 he was commanding the English forces in the Scottish Marches . He served as a judge and held a number of local offices. In 1338 he was sheriff of Gloucestershire.

Marriages and offspring

Berkeley had several children with his wife Margaret, including:

After Margaret's death in 1337, Berkeley married Katherine († 1385), the widow of Sir Piers le Veel from Tortworth in Gloucestershire, on May 30, 1347 . She was a daughter and eventually the heir to Sir John Clivedon and his wife Emma of Charfield , Gloucestershire. With her, Berkeley had at least one son:

  • John de Berkeley

Berkeley was buried in St Mary’s Church in Berkeley after his death . His heir became his eldest son Maurice, who married a daughter of his former adversary Hugh le Despenser. His second marriage son John founded the Berkeley von Beverston family .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 75.
  2. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 262.
  3. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 265.
  4. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 266.
  5. ^ 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. 95.
  6. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 229.
  7. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , p. 512.
  8. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 543n129.
  9. ^ 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. 320.
  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. 173.
  11. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 266.
  12. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 267.
  13. ^ 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. 185.
  14. ^ 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. 177.
  15. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 273.
  16. ^ 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. 184.
  17. ^ 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. 193.
  18. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 548.
  19. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 297.
  20. ^ 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. 189
  21. ^ 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. 245.
  22. ^ 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. 234.
  23. ^ 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. 248.
  24. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 573.
  25. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 573.
  26. ^ 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. 251.
  27. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 576.
  28. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 576.
  29. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 578.
  30. ^ Roy Martin Haines: Sir Thomas Gurney of Englishcombe in the County of Somerset, Regicide? In: Proceedings of the Somerset Archeology and Natural History , 147 (2003) p. 57.
  31. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 581.
  32. ^ WM Ormrod: Edward III . Yale University Press, New Haven 2011, ISBN 978-0-300-11910-7 , p. 94.
  33. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 572.
  34. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 201.
predecessor Office successor
Maurice de Berkeley Baron Berkeley
1326-1361 		Maurice de Berkeley
personal data
SURNAME De Berkeley, Thomas, 3rd Baron Berkeley
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas the Rich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH around 1293
DATE OF DEATH October 27, 1361