John Fitzalan II (1223–1267), Lord of

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

Clun Clun ( cy, Colunwy) is a town in south west Shropshire, England, and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2011 census recorded 680 people living in the town.Combined populations for the two output areas covering the tow ...

, and

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

, was an English nobleman and

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...

with lands in the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

Family

The son and

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

John Fitzalan, Lord of Oswestry John Fitzalan, 3rd Lord of Clun and Oswestry (1200–1240) in the Welsh Marches in the county of Shropshire. Family John succeeded his brother, William Fitz Alan, 2nd Lord of Oswestry and Clun, who died in 1215 without issue. They were sons ...

and

, from

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. His mother was Isabel, the daughter of

William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel, also called William de Albini IV, (before 1180 – 1 February 1221) was an English nobleman, a favourite of King John, and a participant in the Fifth Crusade. Lineage William was a son of William ...

by his wife, Mabel of Chester. John obtained possession of his paternal estates on 26 May 1244, aged 21 years. After the death of his mother's childless brother

Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel (died 7 May 1243) was the last in the Aubigny male line to hold Arundel Castle. He was the son of William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel and younger brother of William d'Aubigny, 4th Earl of Arundel. He inh ...

, he inherited ''

jure matris ''Jure matris'' (''iure matris'') is a Latin phrase meaning "by right of his mother" or "in right of his mother". It is commonly encountered in the law of inheritance when a noble title or other right passes from mother to son. It is also used in ...

'' the castle and honour of

in 1243, by which, according to Henry VI's "admission" of 1433, he was later retrospectively held to have become ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' Earl of Arundel. He was never styled as such during his lifetime, however.

Welsh conflicts

In 1257, Welsh Lord

Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn (died c. 1286) was a Welsh king who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn and sided with Edward I in his conquest of Wales of 1277 to 1283. Gruffydd was the son of Gwenwynwyn and Margaret Corbet. He was stil ...

, in the southern realm of the

Kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys ( cy, Teyrnas Powys; la, Regnum Poysiae) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern ...

, sought the aid of the Lord of

against

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

. John Fitzalan was a surviving member of the English force that was defeated at the hands of the Welsh at Cymerau (near

Nantgaredig Nantgaredig is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is about east of the county town of Carmarthen on the A40 in the parish of Llanegwad. the Population was around 524 as of the 2011 census. Notable people The village is most notable for be ...

) in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. In 1258, he was one of the key English military commanders in the

and was summoned yet again in 1260 for further conflict against the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. John vacillated in the conflicts between Henry III and the Barons. He fought on the King's side at the

Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made h ...

in 1264, where he was taken prisoner. From 1278 to 1282, his sons were engaged in Welsh border hostilities, attacking the lands of Llywelyn. He is buried at

Haughmond Abbey Haughmond Abbey ( ) is a ruined, medieval, Augustinians, Augustinian monastery a few miles from Shrewsbury, England. It was probably founded in the early 12th century and was closely associated with the FitzAlan family, who became Earls of Arund ...

in Shropshire.

Marriage

He married Maud de Verdon, daughter of

Theobald le Botiller Theobald le Botiller, also known as Theobald Butler, 2nd Baron Butler (January 1200 – 19 July 1230) was the son of Theobald Walter, 1st Baron Butler and Maud le Vavasour. He had livery of his lands on 18 July 1222. Marriage and Childre ...

(Boteler) by his wife Rohesia de Verdon ''alias'' Rohese (daughter of Nicholas de Verdun and Clemence); by whom he had children including: * John Fitzalan III, eldest son and heir. *Joan FitzAlan (c. 1267after 6 October 1316), wife of Sir Richard of Cornwall (died 1296), an illegitimate son of Richard of England, 1st Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans (1209–1272) (the second son of King

John 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 ...

(1199–1216)) by his mistress Joan de Bath (''alias'' de Valletort).

References

Sources

* Weis, Frederick Lewis, ''Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700'' (lines: 70A-29, 149-29, Genealogical Pub Co; 7th edition (January 1, 1992);

External links

* * 1223 births 1267 deaths Anglo-Normans Burials at Haughmond Abbey *06 English people of Breton descent

Marcher lords Norman warriors {{England-earl-stub