Elizabeth de Berkeley, Countess of Warwick and Baroness Lisle (1386 – 28 December 1422), was an English noblewoman and heiress. She was the only child of
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (5 January 1352/53 – 13 July 1417), ''The Magnificent'', of Berkeley Castle and of Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, was an English peer and an admiral. His epithet, and that of each previous and s ...
, and Margaret de Lisle,
3rd Baroness Lisle.
With her father's death in 1417, Elizabeth and her husband
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (25 or 28 January 138230 April 1439) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.
Early life
Beauchamp was born at Salwarpe Court Richard Gough, ''Description of the Beauchamp chapel, adjoi ...
, became involved in an inheritance dispute with her cousin
James Berkeley
James Berkeley (died 1327) was Bishop of Exeter for a period of three months in 1327, a term of office cut short by his death.
Origins
Berkeley was a younger son of Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245-1321), ''The Wise'', feudal baron ...
, initiating one of the longest lawsuits in English history.
Marriage and issue
Elizabeth de Berkeley was the only child born to
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (5 January 1352/53 – 13 July 1417), ''The Magnificent'', of Berkeley Castle and of Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, was an English peer and an admiral. His epithet, and that of each previous and s ...
, by his wife Margaret de Lisle, 3rd Baroness Lisle. As such, Elizabeth was their sole heir, and was to inherit the baronies of Lisle and Tyes from her mother. Margaret died near 1392, but Elizabeth did not succeed to them until the death of Thomas in 1417, as he held the lands by tenure of courtesy. In September 1392, Baron Berkeley negotiated Elizabeth's marriage to
Richard de Beauchamp, eldest son and heir to
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick. Elizabeth married him sometime before 5 October 1397, and became the Countess of Warwick in 1403. The marriage remained unconsummated for at least six years. Elizabeth gave birth to three girls:
#Lady
Margaret Beauchamp
Margaret Beauchamp (1404 – 14 June 1467) was the eldest daughter of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and his first wife, Elizabeth de Berkeley. As the eldest child of a family without male issue, Margaret was expected to inherit from h ...
(1404 – 1467/1468); married
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
#
Lady Eleanor Beauchamp (c. 1408 – 1467); married (1)
Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
(2)
Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 4th Earl of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset, 1st Marquess of Dorset styled 1st Count of Mortain, KG (140622 May 1455), was an English nobleman and an important figure during the Hundred Years' War. His riva ...
(3) Walter Rokesley
#Lady Elizabeth Beauchamp (c. 1417 – died before 2 October 1480); married (1)
George Neville, 1st Baron Latimer (2) Thomas Wake
Inheritance dispute
Elizabeth's level of education and literacy is evident from a 1410 commission asking John Walton to translate
Boethius
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the t ...
' ''
De consolatione philosophiae
''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...
''; he dedicated it in her name.
An inheritance dispute erupted with her father's death in 1417. Thomas had named her his heir, but many of his lands and estates, including
Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle ( ; historically sometimes spelled as ''Berkley Castle'' or ''Barkley Castle'') is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. The castle's origins date back to the 11th century, and it has been desi ...
, were entailed through the male line to Elizabeth's cousin
James Berkeley
James Berkeley (died 1327) was Bishop of Exeter for a period of three months in 1327, a term of office cut short by his death.
Origins
Berkeley was a younger son of Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245-1321), ''The Wise'', feudal baron ...
. Elizabeth and her husband refused to accept the entail, thus "initiat
ngone of the longest lawsuits in England", which lasted until 1609.
After Lord Thomas' death, the Earl and Countess of Warwick quickly took control of the castle and gained the temporary permission of
King Henry V
Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hu ...
to maintain it. James was unable to seize control of the castle, as Warwick and the king were then fighting in France. To gain support in the dispute, Elizabeth sought the help of
John, Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford KG (20 June 138914 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of ...
while James successfully bribed
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, each one of the king's brothers. By 1425, Elizabeth was dead and James had been given Berkeley Castle along with most of the entailed lands.
Elizabeth died on 28 December 1422. She was buried at
Kingswood Abbey, and a marble tomb was later placed over her grave through a provision in her husband's will. The following year, the Earl of Warwick remarried to
Lady Isabel le Despenser, the widow of his cousin
Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester.
Ancestry
References
Works cited
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Warwick, Elizabeth Berkeley, Countess of
1386 births
1422 deaths
Elizabeth
Daughters of barons
English countesses
People from Berkeley, Gloucestershire
Barons Lisle (Peerage of England)
Wives of knights