William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu

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William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu (also Montacute or Montague ) (* around 1285 - † October 1319 ) was an English nobleman, military man, civil servant and courtier.

origin

William Montagu came from an old Anglo-Norman family. He was the eldest son of Simon de Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu . It is not clear whether his first wife Hawise or his second wife Isabella was his mother.

Military service

As early as 1301, William Montagu served in the military during the First Scottish War of Independence . As King's Yeoman in 1302 he oversaw the loading of supplies for the war in Scotland on ships. Together with numerous other young nobles, he was beaten in 1306 with Eduard, Prince of Wales to Knight of the Bath . In 1314 he served as the commandant of Berwick . In the next few years he continued his career at the court of Edward II. On behalf of the king, Montagu freed the kidnapped Maud de Clare from Barnard Castle in November 1315 with about 40 knights and soldiers . In 1316 he is referred to as the commander of the royal cavalry. In the same year he was one of the commanders in the crackdown on the revolt of Llywelyn Bren in Wales, then he settled the conflict between the citizens of Bristol and Bartholomew de Badlesmere , the commander of Bristol Castle . After his father's death in 1316, he inherited the family estates, which mainly included lands in Somerset with the estates of Jerlington and Thurlbear and Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire , and the title of Baron Montagu .

Service as a courtier

In November 1316 Montagu was appointed Steward of the Royal Household . For his service at the royal court he was not only forgiven the debts that his father still owed to the crown, but he also received an annual pension of 200 marks . To this end, the king gave him confiscated goods in Cumberland , a shipping pier on the Thames in London and the right to marry Joan , one of the daughters and heiresses of Theobald de Verdon, 2nd Baron Verdon . He married her to his eldest son in April 1317. The marriage took place in the chapel of Windsor Castle, which was another token of the king's favor. By the time he died, Montagu was able to expand his holdings to sixteen estates in seven English counties . Montagu succeeded in expanding the office of steward to a key position at the court due to the rival groups at the royal court and favored by the opposition of the powerful Earl of Lancaster to the king. He influenced the king, informed friends and allies of him about the situation at the royal court and accepted gifts from other barons who sought the king's favor. Lancaster deeply mistrusted Montagu and eventually accused him of seeking his life with the courtier Roger Damory . In August 1318, the King and Lancaster were officially reconciled in the Treaty of Leake . As a condition of the reconciliation, Lancaster originally requested that Montagu return the gifts received from the king. This was waived in Leake's contract, but as compensation Montagu had to acknowledge in November 1318 that he owed Lancaster over 413 marks . Montagu paid at least part of that sum until his death. To do this, Montagu was dismissed as a steward on November 16, 1318 and replaced by Bartholomew de Badlesmere. Possibly this was supposed to be another concession to Lancaster, which however felt left out as he claimed the right to appoint the Steward of the Household as Hereditary Steward of England . The dismissal of Montagu is a strong indication that Montagu and other courtiers did not form a middle party in the conflict between Lancaster and the king, but were clear supporters of the king.

Seneschal of Gascony and death

Two days after his dismissal as a steward, Montagu was appointed Seneschal of Gascony and Aquitaine and Governor of the Île d'Oléron on November 20, 1318 . Although this was a high and respected office, Montagu had to leave the royal court and lost his influence over the king. He died at the end of October 1319 in southwest France, where he was also buried.

After his death, the rival groups at court tried harder to fill the position of steward with a member of their group.

Marriage and offspring

Montagu had married Elizabeth de Montfort , a daughter of Peter de Montfort . With her he had four sons and several daughters, including:

Montagu's widow, Elizabeth, was a second marriage to Sir Thomas Furnival . His son of the same name, Thomas Furnival , had married Joan de Verdon, the widow of Montagu's eldest son John.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andy King: Jack Le Irish and the Abduction of Lady Clifford, November 1315; The Heiress and the Irishman . In: Northern History , vol. 38 (2001), p. 190
  2. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 194
  3. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 233
  4. ↑ JR Maddicott: Badlesmere, Sir Bartholomew (c.1275-1322). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of January 2006
  5. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 195
predecessor Office successor
Simon de Montagu Baron Montagu
1316-1319 		William Montagu
personal data
SURNAME Montagu, William, 2nd Baron Montagu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Montacute, William; Montague; William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman, military man, civil servant and courtier
DATE OF BIRTH around 1285
DATE OF DEATH October 1319