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Maud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville (1230 – 11 April 1304) was a Norman- Irish noblewoman and wealthy heiress who inherited half the estates of her grandfather
Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath Walter de Lacy (c. 1172 – 1241) was lord of Meath in Ireland. He was also a substantial land owner in Weobley, Herefordshire, in Ludlow, Shropshire, in Ewyas Lacy in the Welsh Marches, and several lands in Normandy. He was the eldest son ...
, upon his death in 1241. The lordships of Trim and Ludlow passed to her second husband Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville by right of his marriage to her; although she helped to rule and administer the estates in an equal partnership. She is sometimes referred to as Matilda de Lacy.The names ''Maud'' and ''Matilda'' were used interchangeably in the Middle Ages, both being versions of the French name ''Mahaut''. Most primary source documents record Maud de Lacy as ''Mahaut'', as can be seen in __TOC__


Family

Maud (otherwise Matilda) was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1230, the youngest child of Gilbert de Lacy of Ewyas Lacy and Isabel Bigod, daughter of Hugh Bigod the Earl of Norfolk and his wife Matilda (Maud), daughter of William Marshall the Earl of Pembroke. Her paternal grandparents were Walter de Lacy and Margaret de Braose, daughter of Maud de Braose, who was walled up alive by King
John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin ...
. Her maternal grandparents were Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk and Maud Marshal. She had an elder brother, Walter and sister Margery. On 25 December 1230, the year of her birth, Maud's father died, leaving her mother a widow at the age of eighteen. Less than four years later on 12 April 1234, her mother married again; he was John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, England, and
Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monarch ...
. Maud had six younger half-siblings from her mother's second marriage to John. In early 1241, Maud's brother Walter died. He was in his early teens. When their grandfather Walter de Lacy died shortly afterwards on 24 February, Maud and her sister, Margery inherited his vast estates and lordships in Ireland, Herefordshire, and 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 ...
. Maud and Margery both received a moiety of Ewyas Lacy in Herefordshire, and a share of the lordship with the taxes and revenues that attached to it.


Marriages and issue

On an unknown date, Maud married her first husband Pierre de Genève, son of Humbert, Count of Genève, and a relative of
Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a French noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253. A ...
. He was one of the "Savoyards" who had arrived in England in the retinue of Queen Eleanor when she married King Henry III. The marriage produced a son and a daughter whose names were not recorded. Pierre died in 1249, and sometime before 8 August 1252, Maud married her second husband, another "Savoyard", Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, Seigneur of Vaucouleurs( c.1226- 21 October 1314), son of Simon de Joinville and Beatrix d'Auxonne. Both Maud's marriages and the marriage of her sister, MargeryMargery married John de Verdun, Lord of Westmeath, by whom she had issue. were personally arranged by King Henry III to ensure that the estates they inherited from their grandfather were retained in the hands of those known to be trusted servants of the Crown. The king granted Geoffrey and Maud, and their heirs rights in the land of Meath held by her grandfather, Walter de Lacy by charter dated 8 August 1252. On 18 September 1254, the king granted them all the liberties and free customs in Meath which her grandfather had held; and they might issue their own writs in Meath according to the law and custom of Ireland. On 21 September 1252, they had livery of Trim Castle and a moiety of forty marcates of lands as the inheritance of Maud. They made Trim Castle their chief residence. Maud and Geoffrey jointly ruled and administered their estates together in an equal partnership. They later donated property to
Dore Abbey Dore Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in the village of Abbey Dore in the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England. A large part of the original medieval building has been used since the 16th century as the parish church, with remaining parts eith ...
. In 1254, Maud accompanied Queen Eleanor to
Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part ...
. Maud's husband was a loyal supporter and favourite of Prince Edward who would in 1272 reign as King
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a va ...
. Geoffrey fought with the Prince against Simon de Monfort at the
Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led t ...
, and it was at Ludlow Castle that Prince Edward was sheltered following his escape in May 1265 from Montfortian captivity. Geoffrey was appointed Justiciar of Ireland by his friend and patron, the new king, Edward I in September 1273, a post he held until June 1276; however, he had little success against the Irish of
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
. He was summoned to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
by writ as 1st Baron Geneville on 6 February 1299. Together Geoffrey and Maud had at least three children:Geoffrey de Geneville and Maud de Lacy possibly had two additional sons, Gautier and Jean. * Geoffrey de Geneville (died 1283) * Sir Piers de Geneville, of Trim and Ludlow (1256- shortly before June 1292), who in his turn married in 1283
Jeanne of Lusignan Joan of Lusignan (1260 – 13 April 1323) was a French noblewoman. She succeeded her uncle, Guy de la Marche, Knight, sometime in the period, 1310/13, as Lady of Couche and Peyrat, but not as Countess of La Marche since after her sister, Yola ...
, by whom he had three daughters, including
Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, Countess of March, Baroness Mortimer (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356), also known as Jeanne de Joinville, was the daughter of Sir Piers de Geneville and Joan of Lusignan. She inherited the estates ...
. * Joan de Geneville, married Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald (died 1287).


Later years

In 1283, Maud gave all her lands in England and Wales to Piers, her second eldest son by Geoffrey. These included Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, and Walterstone Manor as well as all the knights' fees which she had held in England. That same year, her son Geoffrey died. Maud was described as independent-minded, and she usually accompanied her husband on his numerous travels abroad, which included
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
where he was sent on a mission to
Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...
in 1290. She was aged sixty at the time. Maud was highly protective of her properties, and always ready to enter into litigation at the slightest threat to her lands or privileges whether posed by family members, the Church or the Dublin administration.''The Heiress as Fortune-Maker and Widow in Thirteenth-Century Anglo-Norman Ireland: Christiana de Marisco, Matilda de Lacy, and the de Genevre Brothers'', by Gillian Kenny, Department of Medieval History'', retrieved on 30 June 2009 Maud died at Trim Castle on 11 April 1304 at the age of seventy-four. Her husband Geoffrey died ten years later. Their son Piers had died in 1292, leaving Joan as heiress-apparent to the estates and lordships. She succeeded as the ''suo jure'' 2nd Baroness Geneville on 21 October 1314.


Notes


References

* *
The Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition rev ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, Maud De, Baroness Geneville 1230 births 1304 deaths Normans in Ireland Maud English baronesses Anglo-Norman women 13th-century Irish women 13th-century Irish people 14th-century Irish women 14th-century Irish people