Richard Grey, 2nd Baron Grey Of Codnor
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Richard Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Codnor (died 1335), of Codnor Castle, was an English soldier and diplomat.


Life

Grey was the eldest son of Henry Gray, 1st Baron Grey of Codnor (died 1308) and Eleanor de Courteney. Richard succeeded to his father's titles in 1308, upon Henry's death. Richard was one of the barons who at the assembly of Stamford on 6 August 1309, signed a letter of remonstrance to the pope on the abuses in the church. He was employed in the Scottish wars in 1311, fought during the English defeat of the
Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...
in 1314, and again in 1319–20 during the unsuccessful siege of Berwick and other confrontations against the Scots in the Scottish Marches. During the baronial revolt against King Edward II of England, known as the
Despenser War The Despenser War (1321–22) was a baronial revolt against Edward II of England led by the Marcher Lords Roger Mortimer and Humphrey de Bohun. The rebellion was fuelled by opposition to Hugh Despenser the Younger, the royal favourite.Some histor ...
, he assisted Roger Mortimer and the
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 ...
s, who attacked and plundered the Welsh possessions of royal favourite Hugh le Despenser, the younger. For these attacks, Richard was pardoned by Parliament in August 1321. Together with John Giffard and Robert de Shirland, they testified to the claim of Bartholomew Badlesmere that Despenser, the younger was a traitor. Misled by false letters, the rebels attempted to place Gray, Giffard and Shirland firmly on their side, but from the end of 1321 Gray was firmly on the side of Edward II, who took action against the baronial opposition. Richard served with the royal army, which pursued the rebels under the command of Thomas of Lancaster to the north of England. Grey remained in the favour of the king, who visited him after the victory over Lancaster in March 1322 at Grey's castle at Codnor, Derbyshire. In 1324 Gray was appointed to the office of Seneschal of Gascony and Steward of the
Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...
. Gray resigned this office, in October 1324, serving
Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (5 August 130119 March 1330), whose seat was Arundel Castle in Sussex, was the sixth son of King Edward I of England, and the second by his second wife Margaret of France, and was a younger half-brother o ...
during the war in Gascony. He was then sent to defend
Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N ...
, in the Duchy of Normandy. In 1326, Richard was Constable of Nottingham Castle and in 1327 he was employed in the Scotch marches, and was summoned for the Scottish war in 1334, but was excused on the ground of sickness. He died in 1335.


Marriage and issue

Richard married Joan, daughter of Robert FitzPayne, Lord FitzPayne and Isbella de Clifford. *Jane Grey, married firstly William de Harcourt and secondly Ralph de Ferrers. *John Grey (died 1392), married firstly Alianora and secondly Alice de L’isle, had issue. *Robert Grey (died 1393), married Elizabeth Bryan, had issue. His son Robert, took his mother's maiden name and became known as Robert FitzPayne.


Citations


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Richard 2nd Baron of Codnor Year of birth unknown 1335 deaths 13th-century English people 14th-century English people Medieval English knights 2 Seneschals of Gascony English diplomats