Mahel of Hereford was a holder of the

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny 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 ...

in the mid 12th century.

Lineage

Mahel of Hereford was a younger son of

Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (''alias'' Miles of GloucesterSanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.7) was a great magnate based in the west of ...

and his wife

Sibyl of Neufmarche The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local tradi ...

, daughter of

Bernard de Neufmarche Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

, Lord of Brecon. His brothers were

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

and

William of Hereford William of Hereford, Baron Abergavenny was a holder of the feudal lordship of Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid twelfth century. Lineage William of Hereford was a son of Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and his wife Sybil ...

Offices

Mahel held the posts of King's Constable in the region and succeeded to the lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny in 1163. In 1163 or 1164 he attended the

Council of Clarendon The Constitutions of Clarendon were a set of legislative procedures passed by Henry II of England in 1164. The Constitutions were composed of 16 articles and represent an attempt to restrict ecclesiastical privileges and curb the power of the Chur ...

. He died about 1164, without issue, and is buried at

Llanthony Priory Llanthony Priory ( cy, Priordy Llanddewi Nant Hodni) is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmou ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

External links

The Peerage on Mahel de Hereford
Anglo-Normans in Wales 1160s deaths Burials at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucester Year of birth unknown Feudal barons of Abergavenny Younger sons of earls {{Wales-bio-stub