Richard Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Codnor (died 1335), of

Codnor Castle Codnor Castle is a ruined 13th-century castle in Derbyshire, England. The land around Codnor came under the jurisdiction of William Peverel after the Norman Conquest. The building is registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument a Grade II Listed B ...

, 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 ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

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 Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

, 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 hist ...

, 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 Fra ...

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 Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster ( 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman of the first House of Lancaster of the royal House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet Dynasty. He was Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester, Leicester, and Earl of Derby, D ...

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 The Seneschal of Gascony was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the Duchy of Gascony. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship also became an office of military command. After 1360, the offic ...

and Steward of the

Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine (, ; , ) was a historical fiefdom located in the western, central, and southern areas of present-day France, south of the river Loire. The full extent of the duchy, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries ...

. 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 and youngest son of King Edward I of England, and the second son of his second wife Margaret of France, and was a young ...

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. As of 2019, Argentan is the third largest municipality by population in the Orne department.

, in the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...

. In 1326, Richard was Constable of

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Normans, Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortr ...

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 diplomats 14th-century English nobility Medieval English knights 2 Seneschals of Gascony 14th-century English diplomats 13th-century English military personnel