David Hanmer
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Sir David Hanmer, KS, SL (1332–1387) was a fourteenth century
Anglo-Welsh Welsh writing in English ( Welsh: ''Llenyddiaeth Gymreig yn Saesneg''), (previously Anglo-Welsh literature) is a term used to describe works written in the English language by Welsh writers. The term ‘Anglo-Welsh’ replaced an earlier atte ...
Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern ...
from Hanmer,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
,Arthur Herbert Dodd
"HANMER family of Hanmer, Bettisfield, Fens and Halton, Flintshire, and Pentre-pant, Salop."
''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'', 1959
best known as Owain Glyndŵr's father-in-law and the father of
Glyndŵr Glyndŵr was one of six local government districts in the county of Clwyd in Wales from 1974 to 1996. History The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the area of six former districts and two p ...
's chief supporters.


Career

After being called to the bar, Hanmer is recorded as having served as advocate in a case involving a breach of contract between a lessor and the lessee regarding the lessor's failure to make proper repairs to the leased property. In 1376, Hanmer was appointed a
serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...
. As a contemporary of
Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
, a rough portrait of Hanmer as a
serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...
may be found in
Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
's depiction of the Sergeant of the Lawe in the ''
Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus ...
''. In 1377, Hanmer was elevated to the position of
King's Serjeant A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wr ...
. He served
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
in that capacity as a legal adviser to Richard II and Richard's government, represented the king in court, served as a prosecutor in criminal cases and a representative in civil ones, and held a higher rank and power in the lower courts. In his first year as a King's Serjeant, Hanmer sat in
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 ...
with Sir John Cavendish and others of the judiciary in judgment on a case involving a grant of the late king's grant to the widowed Countess of Huntingdon, said by some to have been Elizabeth of Lancaster, but was more probably the widow of the famous Guichard d'Angle. On 26 February 1383, Hanmer was appointed the sole
Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern ...
.W. Betham. ''The baronetage of England, or The History of the English baronets'' 1805, p 426. The position was one of the highest to which an attorney could aspire. From 1383 through 1387, Hanmer was summoned to and sat in
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 ...
as one of the triers of petitions in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
. Hanmer's fellow triers included
Thomas of Woodstock Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Early life Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodstock ...
,
Constable of England The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable w ...
;
Henry le Despenser Henry le Despenser ( 1341 – 23 August 1406) was an English nobleman and Bishop of Norwich whose reputation as the 'Fighting Bishop' was gained for his part in suppressing the Peasants' Revolt in East Anglia and in defeating the peasants at t ...
,
Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...
; Walter Baron Fitzwalter (d. 1386); and Baron Cobham of Kent (d. 1408). Other triers of petitions included
John Bokyngham John Bokyngham (or Buckingham; died 1398) was a medieval treasury official and Bishop of Lincoln. Administrative career Bokyngham entered the treasury and was appointed Chamberlain of the Exchequer from 1347 until 1350, Keeper of the Great Wardro ...
,
Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
, and Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford. David Hanmer was knighted by Richard II in 1387. His name ceased to appear amongst the judges toward the end of that year, and he was certainly dead by 1388, pursuant to a deed of that year concerning his widow Angharad, Lady Hanmer, which names their son-in-law, Owain Glyndŵr, as the trustee for Sir David's estate.


Forebears and family

Following the death of
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...
, last sovereign
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, and the subsequent conquest of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, Sir Thomas de Macclesfield (b. 1242), an officer of Edward I, received a grant of lands in
Maelor Saesneg English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg) comprises one half of the Maelor region on the Welsh side of the Wales-England border, being the area of the Maelor east of the River Dee. The region has changed counties several times, previously being part ...
(now part of the
Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the ...
). Sir Thomas and his heirs also received grants of lands near "Cronemoss" (Cronymoor) in Hanmer, from which the family eventually took its name. He and his successors married Welsh heiresses through whom the family acquired more estates in Hanmer,
Bettisfield Bettisfield ( cy, Llys Bedydd; '' standardised'': Bettisfield) is a village of about 150 dwellings in Wrexham County Borough, Wales and stands on the Wales-England border, and in the community of Maelor South. It lies south of the Llangollen C ...
, Halton, and Pentrepant in the parish of Sylatyn, near Oswestry. Sir Thomas's oldest son, Jordan, inherited family lands in Worthenbury, whilst his younger son, John of Upton (1277–1309), Constable of Caernarfon Castle, resided at and inherited Hanmer and was the first to use the family surname.
Jacob Youde William Lloyd Jacob Youde William Lloyd (1816–1887) was an English Anglican cleric, Catholic convert, antiquarian and genealogist. To 1857 his name was Jacob Youde William Hinde. Life He was the eldest son of Jacob William Hinde, of Ulverstone, Lancashire, a ...
, ''History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog'', vol. 2 (1882) pp 152, 374
John married Hawis ferch Einion, a descendant of the Welsh rulers of mid-Wales; Hawis's grandfather was
Gruffudd Gruffudd or Gruffydd ( or , in either case) is a Welsh name, originating in Old Welsh as a given name and today used as both a given and surname. It is the origin of the Anglicised name '' Griffith[s]'', and was historically sometimes tre ...
(d. 1286) ap
Gwenwynwyn Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c. 1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threat to the rule of Llywelyn the Great. Lineage Gwenwy ...
(d. 1216) ab
Owain Cyfeiliog Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1130–1197) was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is k ...
, prince of Powys. Hawis's paternal grandmother and namesake was a daughter of John Lestrange of Knockin, from whose family Sir David's son-in-law, Owain Glyndŵr, descended. David's father was Philip Hanmer (b. 1305), son of John and Hawis, through whom David and his famous son-in-law were distantly related.R.R. Davis, ''The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr,'' (Oxford University Press: 1995) Another familial connection between the Hanmers and Owain Glyndŵr was through David's mother, Nest, daughter of Dafydd ap Rhirid ab Ynyr ab Ionas of
Maelor Saesneg English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg) comprises one half of the Maelor region on the Welsh side of the Wales-England border, being the area of the Maelor east of the River Dee. The region has changed counties several times, previously being part ...
(''English Maelor''). Nest's paternal forebear, Ionas, was an illegitimate son of Goronwy ap Tudor ap Rhys Sais, whose descendants, the sons of Tudor ap Goronwy of Anglesey, were first cousins and prominent supporters of Owain Glyndŵr. Thus, Sir David and his famous son-in-law were related by blood several times over.John Lord Hanmer, '' A memorial of the parish and family of Hanmer in Flintshire'' Chiswick Press (London:1876), pp 23–27 David married Angharad, daughter of Llywelyn Ddu ap Gruffudd ab Iorwerth Foel of Pengwen, a landowner in nearby Chirkland. Angharad bore David at least four children: three sons, Gruffudd, Philip, and John (b.c.1362), and a daughter, Margaret, or Marred, (b.c.1370). All four of David's children were most certainly
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
-speaking, as well as fluent in French, and possibly, to a lesser degree, in English. David Hanmer may have had the wardship of Owain Glyndŵr when the latter's father died in his youth.Sir John E. Lloyd. ''Owen Glendower (Owain Glyndŵr'' (Oxford:1931) Gruffudd, the eldest, an attorney, was appointed by his brother-in-law as acting legal advisor to the Principality of North Wales; he married Gwerfyl ferch Tudor ap Goronwy, an aunt of
Owen Tudor Sir Owen Tudor (, 2 February 1461) was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Queen Catherine of Valois (1401–1437), widow of King Henry V of England. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Background Owe ...
, by whom he had a daughter named Angharad. Philip, the second son, was also probably a lawyer. John was appointed to several responsible posts in the government of
Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...
; he married, first, Margaret ferch Dafydd ap Bleddyn Fychan, by whom he had a son, Gruffydd, from whom descended the Hanmer baronets; his second wife was Efa ferch Dafydd ap Goronwy, by whom he had three sons, John, Richard, and Edward. David's daughter Margaret married Owain Glyndŵr, to whom she bore some nine children.


Ancestry


Connection between the Hanmers, Glyndŵr, and the Mortimers


References

{{authority control 1330s births 1387 deaths Serjeants-at-law (England) 14th-century Welsh judges Knights Bachelor