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The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that held at various times the earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, as well as playing a prominent role in the
Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of Kingdom of England, England then claimed sovereignty ...
. They were descended from Richard Fitz Gilbert, Lord of Clare (1035-1090), a kinsman of
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, ...
who accompanied him into England during the Norman conquest of England. As a reward for his service, Richard was given lands in
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...
centred on the village of
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
. As a result, Richard and his descendants carried the name of ‘de Clare’ or ‘of Clare’.


Origins

The Clare family derived in the male line from Gilbert, Count of Brionne, whose father Geoffrey, Count of Eu was an illegitimate son of Richard I, Duke of Normandy by an unknown mistress. Gilbert de Brionne was one of the guardians of William II, who became Duke of Normandy as a child in 1035. When Gilbert was assassinated in 1039 or 1040, his young sons
Baldwin Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend". People * Baldwin (name) Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, Qu ...
and Richard fitz Gilbert fled with their guardians to Baldwin V, Count of Flanders; they returned to Normandy when William married Baldwin's daughter in 1053, and William took them into high favour. After the conquest of England, Richard fitz Gilbert received extensive estates, notably including
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
and Tonbridge. From his holding the former, the family he founded are usually referred to by historians as 'de Clare' (of Clare)." Historical sources are vague and sometimes contradictory about when the name Clare came into common usage, but Richard fitz Gilbert (of Tonbridge) is once referred to as Richard of Clare in the Suffolk return of the '' Domesday Survey''. His brother Baldwin de Meules was left in charge of Exeter on its submission (1068) and made sheriff of Devonshire. Large estates in Devonshire and Somersetshire are entered to him in ''Domesday'' as "Baldwin of Exeter" or "Baldwin the Sheriff".


Earldoms

On his death, Richard's English estates passed to his son
Gilbert fitz Richard de Clare Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (Sout ...
(1055-1117), while a younger son, Robert Fitz Richard, would give rise to a lineage that became Barons FitzWalter, as well as having younger branches that took the surnames of Daventry and Fawsley. A younger son of Gilbert fitz Richard, also named
Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...
, establishing himself in Wales, acquired the Earldom of Pembroke in 1138 and Lordship of Striguil. Earl Gilbert's nephew of the senior line, the son of his older brother,
Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare (died 15 April 1136) 3rd feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. A marcher lord in Wales, he was also the founder of Tonbridge Priory in Kent. Life Richard was the eldest son of Gilbert Fitz ...
(1090-1136), would likewise be made an Earl. Gilbert fitz Richard (d. 1152) was named Earl of Hertford, perhaps in 1138 but at least by 1141, and subsequently the family would sometimes use the style of Earls of Clare. The first Earl of Hertford died without issue and was succeeded by his brother,
Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford, 5th Lord of Clare, 5th Lord of Tonbridge, 5th Lord of Cardigan (1116–1173) was a powerful Anglo-Norman noble in 12th-century England. He succeeded to the Earldom of Hertford and Honor of Clare, Tonbridge an ...
, from whom the later Earls of Hertford descended. The son of Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, was Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (died 1176), known as Strongbow, a leader of the Norman invasion of Ireland. His only son died while still a minor, and Strongbow's many Irish and Welsh possessions passed with his daughter Isabel, to her husband, William Marshal. Some of these lands would be brought back into the family via the marriage of one of the coheiresses of Isabel de Clare and William Marshal, Isabel Marshal, to her distant cousin, Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford (died 1230). He also inherited from his mother the estates of his maternal grandfather, William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (died 1183), including the earldom and honour of Gloucester and the lordship of Glamorgan. The family continued to hold both Earldoms until the early 14th century, when Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester died without issue and the Earldoms became extinct, while his lands were divided among several sisters. Richard de Clare, a member of a junior line that had become lords of Thomond, in Ireland, would be summoned to Parliament in 1309, and hence is held to have been made Lord Clare. But, the death of his infant son in 1321, shortly after his own death, brought an end to the last of the lines typically called de Clare, though the male line persisted at least a century later in the Barons FitzWalter.


Coat of arms

The early Clares appear to have used a coat of arms that was chevronny, as seen in the seals of Gilbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and of his niece, Rohese, Countess of Lincoln. Richard 'Strongbow', 2nd Earl of Pembroke, would simplify this to a coat with three chevronels, matching the three red chevrons on a gold background that would be the arms of the Clare Earls of Hertford.J. H. Round, "The Introduction of Armorial Bearings into England", ''The Archaeological Journal'', volume 51, pp 43-4

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Genealogical tree


Notes


Bibliography

* J. C. Ward, "Fashions in monastic endowment: the foundations of the Clare family, 1066–1314", ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History'', vol. 32.4 (1981), p. 427–451. * J. C. Ward, "Royal service and reward: the Clare family and the crown, 1066–1154", ''Anglo-Norman Studies'', vol. 11 (1988), p. 261–278. * Michael Altschul, ''A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares, 1217–1314'', The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1965. See onlin
summary


References

;Attribution * *{{DNB , first=John Horace , last=Round , wstitle=Clare, de , volume=10 , pages=375–376 Anglo-Normans, Clare, De Clare, De Clare, De English families * Anglo-Norman Irish dynasties