William de Braose, 1st Baron Braose

William de Braose, 1st Baron Braose (also William de Briouze ; * 1220 - † January 6, 1291 ), was an English nobleman and Marcher Lord .

Origin and youth

William came from the old Cambro-Norman Braose family and was the eldest son of John de Braose and his wife Margaret , a daughter of Llywelyn from Iorwerth . He was 12 years old when his father died. The guardianship of him and his heir took over Peter de Rivallis , after his overthrow in 1234 the brother of the king, Richard of Cornwall .

The ruins of the New Castle at Swansea Castle

Life

William was declared of legal age in 1241 and was given control of the lands left to him by his father, in particular the feudal barony Bramber in Sussex and the Marcher Lordship Gower in Wales . With that of the latter neighboring Welsh prince Rhys Fychan , lord of Dinefwr Castle in Ystrad Tywi , he led a longstanding border conflict. Rhys Fychan destroyed a "new castle" built by William in 1252, the location of which can no longer be precisely determined, in 1257 he attacked Gower in a new Anglo-Welsh war and plundered it. Because of this threat, William expanded his castles in Gower, in addition to Loughor and Pennard Castle , especially his main residence, Oystermouth Castle . He also had Swansea Castle further strengthened, but also expanded with a magnificent building called New Castle . Another threat to his rule was the Earl of Warwick , who brought a lawsuit against William to reverse the 1184 cession of Gower by his ancestors. However, William was able to win this procedure in 1278.

From 1277 to 1283 he had to take part in the wars of King Edward I to conquer Wales . After completing the conquest, the king visited him in Oystermouth Castle during his tour of Wales in December 1284. During the rebellion of Rhys ap Maredudd , the insurgents briefly occupied Oystermouth Castle in 1287, in return, troops led by his son William were involved in the conquest of Newcastle Emlyn Castle , the last base of Rhys ap Maredudd, in January 1288 . In April and May 1290 William took part in the royal parliament of Edward I as Baron Braose , which is why it is assumed that he had raised him to hereditary peer through Writ of Summons . He died on January 6, 1291 and was buried in the priory of Sele .

Family and offspring

He was married three times, his first marriage to Alina, daughter of Thomas de Multon, lord of Burgh-on-Sands in Cumberland . Alina brought the Thorganby estate in Yorkshire into the marriage from the estate of her mother Maud de Vaux . His son and heir William de Braose emerged from the marriage. His second marriage was Agnes, daughter of Nicholas de Moels , landlord of Cadbury in Somerset and administrator of the royal castles of Cardigan and Carmarthen . Through this marriage he acquired the Woodlands estate in Dorset . With Agnes he had a son, Giles, Lord of Knolton and Woodlands. In his third marriage around 1271 he married Mary († 1326), a daughter of Robert de Ros , who had been involved in the uprising of the barons in 1264/65, but was pardoned by Prince Edward after the Battle of Evesham . From this marriage the children Richard of Tetbury, Peter of Tetbury, Margaret and William emerged. He conducted several legal proceedings for the inheritance claims resulting from his marriages. His eldest son William inherited Bramber and Gower, his son Giles from second marriage inherited Woodlands, his son Richard from third marriage inherited Tetbury .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan , Volume 3: Later Castles . Aberystwyth, Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales, 2000, ISBN 1-871184-22-3 , p. 11

literature

• GW Watson: Sir William de Breuse. In: George Edward Cokayne , Vicary Gibbs (Eds.): The Complete Peerage . Volume 2, The St. Catherine Press, London 1912, p. 302 ( archive.org ).

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baron Braose 1290-1291	William de Braose