Humphrey (VIII) de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford, 5th Earl of Essex (6 December 1309 – 15 October 1361) of Pleshy Castle in Essex, was hereditary

Constable of England The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was ...

. He distinguished himself as a captain in the Breton campaigns of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, playing a part in winning the

Battle of Morlaix The battle of Morlaix was fought near the village of Lanmeur in Brittany on 30 September 1342 between an Anglo-Breton army and a far larger Franco-Breton force. Kingdom of England, England, at war with Kingdom of France, France since 1337 in th ...

(1342) and the

Battle of La Roche-Derrien The Battle of La Roche-Derrien was one of the battles of the Breton War of Succession; it was fought on 20 June 1347 during the night between Anglo-Breton and Franco-Breton forces. Approximately 4,000–5,000 French, Breton and Genoese ...

(1347).

Origins

He was the son and heir of

Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford Humphrey (VII) de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford ( 1276 – 16 March 1322) was a member of a powerful Anglo-Norman family of the Welsh Marches and was one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II's excesses. Family background Humphrey de Bohun's ...

by his wife

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (7 August 1282 – 5 May 1316) was the eighth and youngest daughter of Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile. Of all of her siblings, she was closest to her younger brother Edward II, as they were only two years apar ...

, the eighth and youngest daughter of King

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

and Queen

Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was Queen of England as the first wife of Edward I. She was educated at the Castilian court and also ruled as Countess of Ponthieu in her own right () from 1279. After diplomatic efforts to s ...

. He was a younger brother of

John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (23 November 1306 – 20 January 1336) was born in St Clement's, Oxford to Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, a daughter of Edward I of England. After his father's deat ...

(d. 1336), whom he succeeded as Earl of Hereford and Essex and hereditary

, the seventh-highest office of the State.

Poem ''William of Palerne''

In about 1350 he commissioned an alliterative English translation of the French verse romance ''

William of Palerne ''Guillaume de Palerne'' or in modern spelling '' Palerme'' ("William of Palerne" or "Palermo") is a French romance poem, later translated into Middle English where it is also known as ''William and the Werewolf''. The French verse romance is t ...

'' composed in about 1200, commissioned by Countess Yolande (who is generally identified as Yolande, daughter of

Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut Baldwin IV (1108 – 8 November 1171) was count of Hainaut from 1120 to his death. Baldwin IV was the son of Count Baldwin III of Hainaut and Yolande de Wassenberg.Gislebertus (of Mons), ''Chronicle of Hainaut'', transl. Laura Napran, (The Boyd ...

). He is referred to as having ordered the translation as follows:Walter Skeat, ed.
The romance of William of Palerne translated from the French at the command of Sir Humphrey de Bohun about AD 1350, London, 1867, Preface, p. x
/ref> "At Glouseter that ligges" (lies) is believed not to mean "lies buried" but rather "who lives at Gloucester", probably at his

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

of Wheatenhurst. Although many of his ancestors were buried in Llanthony Secunda Priory in Gloucester, the 6th earl was buried at the

Austin Friars, London Austin Friars, London was an Augustinian friary in the City of London from its foundation, probably in the 1260s, until its dissolution in November 1538. It covered an area of about a short distance to the north-east of the modern Bank of Eng ...

, which he himself had rebuilt. The poem later clarifies that he was alive at the time of its composition, as it concludes by urging the reader to pray to God to give the earl a "good life". He also had a neighbouring manor house at

Haresfield Haresfield is a village near Gloucester, Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcesters ...

, where Fosbrooke states the Bohuns had a castle, and where a low castle mound survives.

Death and burial

He died at Pleshey and was buried in the Austin Friars, London, founded by his ancestor Humphrey IV de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford, 1st Earl of Essex (1204–1275). The earldoms of Hereford and Essex passed to his nephew,

Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, Order of the Garter, KG (25 March 1342 – 16 January 1373) was the son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, and grandson o ...

, the son of his deceased younger brother,

William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, Order of the Garter, KG (c. 1312 – 16 September 1360) was an English nobleman and military commander. Lineage William was the fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hereford, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl 1309 births 1361 deaths 05 04 14th-century English nobility Bohun family Burials at Austin Friars, London