Roger de Clifford, 5th Baron de Clifford, ninth Lord Clifford, fifth Baron of Westmoreland (10 July 1333 – 13 July 1389), was the son of
Robert de Clifford, 3rd Baron de Clifford (d. 20 May 1344), second son of
Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
(1273–1314), the founder of the northern branch of the family. His mother was Isabella (d. 25 July 1362), daughter of
Maurice, 2nd Lord Berkeley. He succeeded his elder brother,
Robert de Clifford, 4th Baron de Clifford in 1350, on which day he made proof of his age.
Life
Military career
Clifford entered on his military career when hardly more than twelve, being armed at the time of
Jacob van Artevelde
Jacob van Artevelde (; c. 1290 – 17 or 24 July 1345), sometimes written in English as James van Artvelde, also known as The Wise Man and the Brewer of Ghent, was a Flemish statesman and political leader.
Biography
Jacob Van Artevelde was bo ...
's death on 17 July 1345.
In August 1350 he was engaged in the seafight with the Spaniards near Winchelsea; and in 1355 he accompanied his father-in-law,
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, KG (c. 14 February 131313 November 1369), sometimes styled as Lord Warwick, was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His reputation as a military leader was so f ...
, on the expedition to Gascony. He again served in Gascony in 1359, 1360, and in the French expedition of the
Duke of Lancaster
The Dukedom of Lancaster is an English peerage merged into the crown. It was created three times in the Middle Ages, but finally merged in the Crown when Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413. Despite the extinction of the dukedom the title h ...
in 1373.
A document dated at Brougham of 10 July 1369 shows him engaging the services of Richard le Fleming and his company for a year. In the same way he retained Sir Roger de Mowbray; and was himself retained, with his company of nearly eighty men, by
Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March
Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and ''jure uxoris'' Earl of Ulster (1 February 135227 December 1381) was the son of Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, by his wife Philippa, daughter of William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Catherine G ...
, on 25 September 1379.
On 15 March 1361 he was called upon to assist
Lionel, duke of Clarence
Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, (; 29 November 133817 October 1368) was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of the English king Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. He was named after his birthplace, at Antwerp in the Du ...
, in his great Irish expedition on pain of forfeiting his Irish estates. A similar summons to defend his lands in Ireland was issued on 28 July 1368.
His chief services, however, were rendered on the Scottish borders. In July 1370 he was appointed one of the wardens of the west marches; but according to Sir H. Nicolas he is found defending the northern borders fourteen years earlier. Resigned the truce with Scotland on 24 August 1369, and was warden of both east and west marches on five occasions between 1380 and 1385.
In August 1385 he accompanied
Richard II's expedition against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
with sixty men-at-arms and forty archers. His last border sendee seems to have been in October 1388, when he was ordered to adopt measures of defence for the Scotch Marches. In May 1388 he accompanied
Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, in his naval expedition to
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
.
Political Offices
He was hereditary
High Sheriff of Westmorland
Westmorland (sometimes spelled Westmoreland) in North West England was abolished in 1974 following Ted Heath's Local Government Act 1972. Westmorland became a part of Cumbria along with Cumberland, parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire, including the ...
from 1350? until his death in 1389. In 1377 he was made
High Sheriff of Cumberland
The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...
and governor of
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
, a city whose walls he appears to have inspected and found weak in the preceding year. To the last two offices he was reappointed on Richard II's accession.
He was made a commissioner of array against the Scots (26 February 1372), and one of a body of commissioners to correct truce-breakers and decide border disputes 26 May 1373, having sat on a similar commission in September 1367.
Parliament
Clifford was summoned to all parliaments from 15 December 1356 to 28 July 1388. He was trier of petitions in many parliaments from November 1373 to September 1377. In August 1374 he was appointed one of the commissioners to settle the dispute between Henry de Percy and
William, Earl of Douglas, relative to the possession of Jedworth Forest. In the parliament of November 1381 he was member of a committee to confer with the House of Commons. On 12 October 1386 he gave evidence in the great Scrope and Grosvenor case at
St. Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Death and succession
Roger de Clifford died 13 July 1389, being then possessed of enormous estates, chiefly situated in Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, but spread over several other counties. He was succeeded by his son
Thomas de Clifford, 6th Baron de Clifford
Thomas de Clifford, 6th Baron de Clifford, also 6th Lord of Skipton (c. 1363 – 1391) was a Knight of The Chamber, hereditary Sheriff of Westmorland, Governor of Carlisle Castle, and Warden of the West Marches.
Life
He was the son of Roger d ...
.
Marriage and Issue
He married Maud (d. 1403), daughter of
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, KG (c. 14 February 131313 November 1369), sometimes styled as Lord Warwick, was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His reputation as a military leader was so f ...
.
*
Thomas de Clifford, 6th Baron de Clifford
Thomas de Clifford, 6th Baron de Clifford, also 6th Lord of Skipton (c. 1363 – 1391) was a Knight of The Chamber, hereditary Sheriff of Westmorland, Governor of Carlisle Castle, and Warden of the West Marches.
Life
He was the son of Roger d ...
(d. 1391 ?)
* William Clifford, the Governor of
Berwick (d. 1419)
* Margaret, married Sir John Melton, knight
* Katherine, married
Ralph, lord Greystock
* Philippa, married
William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby
William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby (1372–1445) was an English baron in the late middle ages. He was an important figure in Leicestershire society and took part in most of the royal commissions that were held there. He was also active ...
(Lewis, Ancestral Roots, 8th ed. (2006), line 11, no. 34)
Dugdale gives him a third son, the Lollard, Sir Lewis Clifford (d. 1404), whom, however, Sir H. Nicolas shows to have been probably his brother, but certainly not his son
[(Dugdale, i. 340-2; Whitaker, 314-16; Nicolas, Scr. and Gros. Roll, ii. 427, &c.)]
Magna Carta Ancestry by Douglas Richardson lists three sons, including a Roger, no additional information.
Genealogy
The genealogical table in Whitaker gives Clifford two brothers, John de Clifford and Thomas de Clifford, said to have been the ancestor of
Richard de Clifford,
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, and three sisters.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Clifford, Roger De Clifford, 5th Baron
1333 births
1389 deaths
14th-century English nobility
High Sheriffs of Westmorland
High Sheriffs of Cumberland
Lords Warden of the Marches
Roger
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
Barons de Clifford