William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury

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William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury, based on an illustration from around 1463
Coat of arms of William Montagu

William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury (also William de Montacute or Montague ) (* 1301 in Cassington , Oxfordshire , † January 30, 1344 ) was an English military man and magnate .

Origin and youth

William Montagu came from the old Anglo-Norman Montagu family. He was the second, but eldest surviving son of William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu and his wife Elizabeth Montfort . He was still a minor when his father died in 1319, which is why his inheritance fell under royal guardianship. He himself came to the royal court as Yeoman of the Royal Household .

Service under Edward II and during the reign of Roger Mortimer

Although Montagu was still a minor, he was given part of his father's possessions in May 1321. Finally, on February 21, 1323, the remaining part of his inheritance was handed over to him, and he inherited the title of Baron Montagu . As a member of the royal household, he accompanied King Edward II when he visited King Philip V of France in 1320 . On April 19, 1326 he was beaten to the Knight of the Bath and Knight Banneret . After Edward II was overthrown in 1326, Mortimer was to take part in the campaign of the new ruler Roger Mortimer to Scotland in 1327 , and before June 1328 he was promoted to Knight Banneret of the royal household. Montagu undertook to serve the king in both war and peacetime with a retinue of 20 men-at-arms , for which he was given the estate of Wark-on-Tweed Castle in January 1329 . In October 1329 he was given responsibility for the tin mines in Devon .

Relationship to Edward III.

Support for the king's coup

Montagu became a close friend of the young King Edward III. , for whom his mother Isabelle and especially her lover Roger Mortimer ruled at that time . From May to June 1329 Montagu accompanied the king when he traveled to Amiens to meet the new French king Philip VI. to pay homage to his south west French possessions. In June 1329 Montagu belonged to the embassy that was supposed to negotiate a marriage alliance with the French king. In September 1329 Edward III sent him. on a confidential mission to Pope John XXII. to Avignon . Montagu agreed with the Pope that only messages from him and from Richard Bury , the king's secretary, conveyed the real interests of the king, while messages from other persons represented the interests of the Queen Mother and Mortimer, who also acted against the will of the government controlled by the king. When Mortimer suspected the king and his friends of planning a conspiracy against him in October 1330 before a large council meeting in Nottingham , Montagu is said to have advised the king to overthrow Mortimer before he himself would be dethroned. Montagu was the leader of the group with which Edward III. intruded into Nottingham Castle on October 19, captured Mortimer, brought to London and executed there as a traitor. A parliament met in January 1331 approved the coup and subsequently condemned Mortimer, while Montagu and co-conspirators Edward de Bohun , Robert Ufford and John Neville were pardoned. The grateful king donated property to Montagu with an annual income of £ 1000, including the wealthy Denbigh reigns of Wales, which had previously belonged to Mortimer. Montagu's closeness to the king also fueled the careers of his younger brothers, Simon Montagu , Bishop of Worcester and Ely, and Edward Montagu .

Service as royal advisor

In the next few years Montagu was one of the most important supporters and closest friends of Edward III. In April 1331 he accompanied the king on his secret trip to France, for which they dressed up as merchants. In September 1331 he organized a splendid tournament in Cheapside , in which he, the king and his entourage took part disguised as Mongols . The king trusted Montagu so much that his seal was used on letters from the king. Montagu also appeared to the royal chancellery as spokesman for the Privy Council and acted independently in the name of the king in less important cases such as the appointment of judicial commissions.

The ruins of Dunbar Castle, unsuccessfully besieged by Montagu in 1337

Military in the war against Scotland

However, Montagu distinguished himself primarily as a military man in the king's wars. Between 1333 and 1338 he took part regularly in the campaigns to Scotland , especially during the successful siege of Berwick in 1333 . The king thanked him by declaring the Isle of Man , which had previously belonged to Scotland, to English possession during the siege . Apparently the island had been conquered by English troops, because on June 8th the king handed the island over to Montagu, whose grandfather Simon de Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu, had already claimed the island. As King of Mann he was a member of the commission that demanded homage from the Scottish King Edward Balliol in February 1334 . From 1334 to 1335 he took part in the campaign to Roxburgh . During the campaign in the summer of 1335, he provided the largest single contingent of the English army with 180 men-at-arms and 136 mounted archers. During the campaign, King Montagu granted the privilege of decorating his coat of arms with the royal crest of an eagle. Montagu later bequeathed this privilege to his godchild Lionel of Antwerp . In addition, the king gave him several goods, and after the Scots had to cede the Lowlands to England, the king gave the forest of Selkirk and Ettrick as well as the town and rule of Peebles . In November 1337 he was one of the commanders of another campaign to Scotland. However, the siege of Dunbar Castle failed due to the vigorous Scottish defense led by the Black Lady , wife of the Scottish Earl of March . Montagu finally signed an armistice and ended the siege, not least because the king needed his services in the beginning war with France.

Elevation to the Earl of Salisbury

In order to win more commanders for the impending war with France , the king made six barons earl during parliament in March 1337 . Montagu, who was named Earl of Salisbury on March 16, was one of these six barons . In addition, the king promised him further possessions, through which he should have an additional 1,000 marks per year. At his death he had an annual income of about £ 2,400 from his estates, but he never received all of the properties the king had promised him. To do this, he first had to pay for his entourage himself during the king's campaigns. The king later wanted to reimburse him for these costs, but on his death the Crown owed Montagu £ 11,720. In 1346 his executors waived the reimbursement of around £ 6,374.

Further activities as a military and diplomat

Montagu had already held the office of administrator of the Channel Islands between 1333 and 1337 , and he was also Constable of the Tower . In January 1337 he was made Admiral of the western Fleet , which he remained until August of that year. In April 1337 Montagu was sent to Valenciennes with Bishop Henry Burghersh of Lincoln and the Earl of Huntingdon to negotiate again with France, but also to negotiate alliances with Flanders and with princes of the Holy Roman Empire . In July 1338 he accompanied Eduard III. and his entourage when he was crossing to Flanders for the campaign against France. With around 123 men-at-arms and 50 mounted archers, Montagu had again mobilized the largest single contingent in the English army. After the death of Thomas of Brotherton , Montagu was appointed Marshal of England in September 1338 . In the same month he took part in the attack on the Cambrésis . In 1339 he made advances near Liège and Laon and was one of the English commanders in the battle at Buirenfosse . When Edward III. Wanted to return to England at the end of 1339 to campaign in Parliament for new taxes to further finance the war, Montagu stayed behind in the Netherlands. There he was supposed to guarantee the king's debts to the Duke of Brabant , but also to look after Queen Philippa and her small children, who stayed in Ghent . For this he was granted 5 marks a day from November 17th. In April 1340, however, Montagu fell into French captivity near Lille and was brought to Paris. The English payments to him were therefore suspended on April 11th. Montagu was provisionally released in accordance with the arrangements made in the Esplechin Armistice in September 1340. In May 1342, the English king allowed him to join the French king Philip VI. to negotiate the final terms of his release. If necessary, Montagu should swear never to fight France again. In June 1342 Montagu finally achieved his complete freedom, for which the English in return released the Scottish Earl of Moray Earl of Moray and the Bretons Herman , Seigneur de Léon . On November 6, 1340, Montagu was called to a council meeting in England, so that he apparently returned to England directly after his release and did not belong to the small group with which the king unexpectedly arrived in London on November 30 from the Netherlands. Montagu was only marginally involved in the ensuing conflict between the king and his ministers, whom he accused of lacking support. Although he was a member of the Committee of Barons that should review the King's allegations against Archbishop John Stratford during Parliament from April to May 1341 , he otherwise stayed out of this conflict. Instead, he soon served again in the military and was part of the English army that fought under Robert d'Artois in the War of the Breton Succession . Together with Artois, he reached the Malestroit armistice in negotiations from 1342 to 1343 . Then he is said to have conquered the Isle of Man, where he was then crowned king. But this is uncertain because there is no evidence that he held this title outside of the island. At the end of 1343 Montagu was sent with the Earl of Derby as envoy to Castile , where he participated in the siege of Algeciras by Alfonso XI. participated. Allegedly he was seriously ill during this time, but in early 1344 he took part in a magnificent tournament that Edward III. held at Windsor Castle . Presumably he died a little later as a result of an injury sustained during the tournament.

Marriage and offspring

Montagu had married Katharine Grandison , the youngest daughter of William Grandison, 1st Baron Grandison and his wife Sybil at the latest in 1327 . Through his wife he met her brother John Grandison , who was Bishop of Exeter. He regularly exchanged views with him on personal as well as political issues. Montagu had six children with his wife:

  • Elizabeth († 1359)
  1. ⚭ 1327 Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere (1314–1338)
  2. ⚭ 1341 Hugh le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despenser (1308–1349)
  3. ⚭ 1350 Guy Brian, 1st Baron Brian (around 1309-1390)
  1. ⚭ Joan of Kent
  2. ⚭ Elizabeth de Mohun

Montagu founded the Augustinian Priory of Bisham in 1337 , where he was buried. The king himself had laid the foundation stone for the construction of the priory. Montagu's heir became his eldest son, William Montagu.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 123.
  2. ^ Caroline Shelton: Edward III and the Coup of 1330 . In: JS Bothwell: The Age of Edward III . York Medieval Press, Rochester 1991, ISBN 1-903153-06-9 , p. 18
  3. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 123
  4. ^ Caroline Shelton: Edward III and the Coup of 1330 . In: JS Bothwell: The Age of Edward III . York Medieval Press, Rochester 1991, ISBN 1-903153-06-9 , p. 19
  5. ^ Caroline Shelton: Edward III and the Coup of 1330 . In: JS Bothwell: The Age of Edward III . York Medieval Press, Rochester 1991, ISBN 1-903153-06-9 , p. 19
predecessor Office successor
William Montagu Baron Montagu
1319-1344 		William Montagu
New title created King of Mann
1333-1344 		William Montagu
New title created Earl of Salisbury
1337-1344 		William Montagu
personal data
SURNAME Montagu, William, 1st Earl of Salisbury
ALTERNATIVE NAMES De Montacute, William; Montague; William; Montagu, William, 3rd Baron Montagu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English military and magnate
DATE OF BIRTH 1301
PLACE OF BIRTH Cassington
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1344