Petronilla de Grandmesnil, Countess of Leicester ( unknown– 1212) was the wife of

Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester Born in 1121 (died 1190) was an English nobleman, one of the principal followers of Henry the Young King in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against his father King Henry II. He is also called Robert Blanchemai ...

, known as "Blanchmains" (d. 1190). After a long widowhood, she was buried in Leicester Abbey after her death on 1 April 1212. The chronicler Jordan Fantosme wrote that Earl Robert and his wife Petronilla were participants in the 1173–1174 rebellion of Henry "the Young King" against King Henry II, his father. Jordan claimed that Earl Robert participated because of grievances against King Henry and credits dismissive remarks about the English who were fighting on the king's side to the countess: "The English are great boasters, but poor fighters; they are better at quaffing great tankards and guzzling." Countess Petronilla accompanied her husband on his military campaign against English troops under the command of the earl of Arundel and

Humphrey III de Bohun Humphrey III de Bohun (before 1144 – ? December 1181) of Trowbridge Castle in Wiltshire and of Caldicot Castle in south-east Wales, 5th feudal baron of Trowbridge, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and general who served King Henry II as Lord High Co ...

. During the final showdown, she is said to have fled from the battle, only to be found in a ditch. "The earl’s wife wanted to drown herself, when Simon of Odell saw to pulling her out: ‛My lady, come away from this place, and abandon your design! War is all a question of losing and winning." She was noted as wearing male armour when captured. She was wearing a mail hauberk with a sword and a shield. Earl Robert was also captured and his holdings were confiscated. Countess Petronilla was released and during the earl's continued imprisonment he wrote to her asking that she discharge the bequests stated in his father's will.

Family

Petronilla, the daughter of a William de Grandmesnil, claimed to be the heiress of the Grandmesnil

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

but her father's relationship to the family heads is uncertain. She married in the mid-1150s and bore at least seven children: *William (d. before 1190) *

Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester (died circa 21 October 1204) ( Latinized to ''de Bellomonte'' ("from the beautiful mountain")) was an English nobleman, the last of the Beaumont earls of Leicester. He is sometimes known as Robert FitzPe ...

, "FitzParnel/FitzPetronilla" (d. 1204) married Loretta de Braose * Roger, Bishop of St. Andrews (d. 1202) *

Amice The amice is a liturgical vestment used mainly in the Roman Catholic church, Western Orthodox church, Lutheran church, some Anglican, Armenian and Polish National Catholic churches. Description The amice consists of a white cloth connected to t ...

married (1)

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

(d. 1188); parents of

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester {{Infobox noble , name = Simon de Montfort , title = 5th Earl of Leicester , image = File:Simon4demontfort.gif , caption = Seal of Simon de Montfort, depicting him riding a horse and blowing a h ...

:::::(2) William de Barres (d. 3 Sept. 1215) *Margaret married Saer de Quincy, later 1st Earl of Winchester *Hawise, who became a nun at

Nuneaton Priory Nuneaton Priory was a medieval Benedictine monastic house in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. It was initially founded by Robert de Beaumont and Gervase Paganell in 1153 at Kintbury in Berkshire as a daughter house of Fontevraud Abbey in Fr ...

*Pernel/Petronilla *Two additional children are possible: Geoffrey and MabelCokayne, ''Complete Peerage,'' VII, 533

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leicester, Petronilla de Gradmesnil, Countess of 1150s births 1200s deaths English countesses 12th-century English nobility 12th-century English women 13th-century English nobility 13th-century English women