Gilbert Fitz Richard (–), 2nd
feudal baron
A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been ...
of
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
in Suffolk, and styled "de Tonbridge", was a powerful
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
*Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
*Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...
baron who was granted the Lordship of
Cardigan, in Wales .
Life
Gilbert, born before 1066, was the second son and an heir of
Richard Fitz Gilbert
Richard fitz Gilbert (before 1035–), 1st feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, was a Norman lord who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and was styled "de Bienfaite", " de Clare", and of "Tonbridge" from his holdings.G. E. ...
of Clare and
Rohese Giffard. He succeeded to his father's possessions in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
in 1088 when his father retired to a monastery; his brother, Roger Fitz Richard, inherited his father's lands in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. That same year he, along with his brother Roger, fortified his castle at Tonbridge against the forces of
William Rufus. But his castle was stormed, Gilbert was wounded and taken prisoner.
However he and his brother were in attendance on king William Rufus at his death in August 1100.
He was with
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...
at his Christmas court at
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
in 1101.
It has been hinted, by modern historians, that Gilbert, as a part of a baronial conspiracy, played some part in the suspicious death of
William II.
[Frank Barlow, ''William Rufus'' (Berkeley & Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1983), p. 425] Frank Barlow points out that no proof has been found he had any part in the king's death or that a conspiracy even existed.
In 1110, King Henry I took
Cardigan from
Owain ap Cadwgan, son of
Cadwgan ap Bleddyn as punishment for a number of crimes including that of the abduction of
Nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...
, wife of
Gerald de Windsor
Gerald de Windsor (1075 – 1135), ''alias'' Gerald FitzWalter, was an Anglo-Norman lord who was the first Castellan of Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire (formerly part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth). Son of the first Constable of Windsor Castle ...
. In turn Henry gave the Lordship of Cardigan, including
Cardigan Castle
Cardigan Castle ( cy, Castell Aberteifi) is a castle overlooking the River Teifi in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. It is a Grade I listed building. The castle dates from the late 11th-century, though was rebuilt in 1244. Castle Green House was b ...
to Gilbert Fitz Richard.
[George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol III, Ed. Vicary Gibbs (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1913), p. 243] He founded the
Clunic priory at
Stoke-by-Clare
Stoke-by-Clare is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk located in the valley of the River Stour, about two miles west of Clare.
In 1124 Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford, moved the Benedictine Priory that had been established at ...
, Suffolk.
Gilbert died in or before 1117.
[Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 653]
Family
About 1088, Gilbert married Adeliza/Alice de Clermont, daughter of
Hugh,
Count of Clermont, and Margaret de Ramerupt.
Gilbert and Adeliza had at least eight children:
*
Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare
Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare (died 15 April 1136) 3rd feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. A marcher lord in Wales, he was also the founder of Tonbridge Priory in Kent.
Life
Richard was the eldest son of Gilbert Fit ...
, d. 1136.
[John Horace Round, ''Studies in Peerage and Family History'' (Archibald Constable and Co., Ltd., 1901), p. 214]
*
Gilbert Fitz Gilbert de Clare, d. 1148, 1st
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
.
*
Baldwin Fitz Gilbert de Clare, d. 1154, m. Adeline de Rollos.
* Adelize/Alice de Clare, d. 1163, m. (ca. 1105),
Aubrey II de Vere, son of
Aubrey I de Vere and Beatrice. She had 9 children and in her widowhood was a
corrodian Corrodians were in essence pensioners who lived in monasteries or nunneries. They were usually well-to-do elderly lay people who paid or were sponsored for accommodation and food for the rest of their lives. This payment might be in cash but would m ...
at
St. Osyth's, Chich, Essex.
* Hervey de Clare, Lord of Montmorency.
* Walter de Clare, d. 1149.
* Margaret de Clare, d. 1185, m. (ca. 1108), Sir William de Montfitchet, Lord of
Stansted Mountfitchet.
*
Rohese de Clare, d. 1149, m. (ca. 1130),
Baderon of Monmouth[George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol 12, Part 2, Eds. Geoffrey H. White & R.S. Lea (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1959), p. 168]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert fitz Richard
Anglo-Normans
De Clare family
People from Clare, Suffolk
Burials at Tonbridge Priory, Kent
1060s births
1110s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain