Horsham Church Braose monument by Samuel Hieronymus Grimm 1781

The House of Braose (''alias'' Breuse, Brewes, Brehuse,Richardson ''Magna Carta Ancestry'' pp. 136–137 Briouze, Brewose etc., Latinised to de Braiosa) was a prominent family of

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 10 ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

s originating in

Briouze Briouze () is a Communes of France, commune in the Orne Departments of France, department of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. It is considered the capital of the ''pays d'Houlme'' at the western end of the Orne in ...

, near

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 ...

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

and subsequent power struggles 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 b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the 11th to 14th centuries.

Lands held

The first English land-holding by the family was the

feudal barony 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 ...

Bramber Bramber is a former manor, village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It has a ruined mediaeval castle which was the ''caput'' of a large feudal barony. Bramber is located on the northern edge of the South Downs ...

in Sussex, granted by King

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

to William I de Braose (died 1093/1096) between the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

of 1066 and the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 in which he is shown as the holder of Bramber. Philip I made personal conquests in the Welsh Marches of Radnor and

Builth Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of ...

. A

moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

of the feudal barony of

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

was inherited by William II from his mother. William III acquired the feudal barony of Kington c.1194 and the lordship of

Gower Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

in 1203, and a moiety of the feudal barony of

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

in 1206. King John temporarily seized most of the lands of William III in 1208 but his infant son King Henry III (1216–1272) regranted most, except Barnstaple which was lost permanently, to his 3rd son Reginald. Reginald's son William V died leaving 4 daughters co-heiresses to all the family's Welsh lands, but Bramber and Gower passed back to the senior family line which held them until 1326 when William VII died leaving two daughters co-heiresses.

Prominent land-holders

The most significant members of this family were as follows, with ordinal numbers based on those shown by Sanders, English Baronies: * William I de Braose (died 1093/1096). 1st feudal baron of Bramber. * Philip I de Braose ( fl. 1096–1134), son of William I. 2nd feudal baron of Bramber. Became a

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 ...

by his own conquests in Wales, namely of Radnor and

. * William II de Braose ( fl. 1135–1179), son of Philip I. 3rd feudal baron of Bramber. Inherited a

of the feudal barony of

, Devon, from his mother Aenor de Totnes, daughter of

Juhel de Totnes Juhel de Totnes (died 1123/30) (''alias'' Juhel fitz Alfred, Juhel de Mayenne (commune), Mayenne, Judel, Judhel, Judael, Judhael, Joel, Judhel de Totenais), List of Latinised names, Latinised to Judhellus filius Aluredi, "Juhel son of Alured") was ...

. Held 1/2 barony of Barnstaple. He married Bertha FitzWalter, the heiress of the marcher lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny. ** Philip II de Braose (fl.1174), younger brother of William II. * William III de Braose (1140/1150–1211), son of William II. 4th feudal baron of Bramber. c.1194 he acquired the feudal barony of Kington in Herefordshire.1203 granted by King

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

the

Lordship of Gower Gower was an ancient Marcher Lords, marcher lordship of Deheubarth in South Wales. Creation of Lordship Prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, Norman invasion, the district was the cwmwd, commote of Gŵyr, a part of Cantref Eginawc, within the r ...

. Infamous for the Christmas Day Massacre of Welsh Princes at

Abergavenny Castle Abergavenny Castle ( cy, Castell y Fenni) is a ruined castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, established by the Norman lord Hamelin de Balun . It was the site of a massacre of Welsh noblemen in 1175, and was attacked d ...

in 1175. 1206 gained control of 1/2 the feudal barony of

, confiscated in 1087 from his great-grandfather

. 1208 King John seized much of his lands, including Bramber, re-granted by King Henry III in 1216 to his 3rd son

Reginald de Braose Reginald de Braose (19 September 1182 – June 1228) was one of the sons of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber and Matilda, also known as Maud de St. Valery and Lady de la Haie. Her other children included William and Giles. The de Braoses w ...

(d.1228); the moiety of Barnstaple was granted permanently out of the family to Henry de Tracy and the moiety of Totnes was likewise granted away to Henry FitzCount but was regained by grant in 1218 to

(d.1228). Kington was seized by King John in 1208, but was regranted to Reginald in 1216 by King Henry III. *William IV de Braose (d.1210), eldest son of William III, pre-deceased father, father of

John de Braose John de Braose (born 1197 or 1198 – 18 July 1232), known as ''Tadody'' to the Welsh, was the Lord of Bramber and Gower. Re-establishment of the de Braose dynasty John re-established the senior branch of the de Braose dynasty. His father w ...

(d.1232). He died in royal captivity at

Corfe Castle Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the P ...

, Dorset, with his mother Maud de St Valery. *

Giles de Braose Giles de Braose (or Giles de Bruse; died 17 November 1215) was Bishop of Hereford from 1200 to 1215. Early life Giles was the second son of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber.Barrow "Briouze, Giles de" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biograp ...

(d.s.p. 1215),

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

, 2nd son of William III. 5th feudal baron of Bramber. Died without progeny. *

(d.1228), 3rd son of William III. 6th feudal baron of Bramber. In 1216 he was regranted by King Henry III many of the lands seized by King John in 1208 from his father William III, including Bramber (which he temporarily surrendered in 1218 to his son William V), the moiety of Totnes, and Kington. Reginald also held Brecon, Abergavenny, Radnor and Builth. * William V de Braose (d.1230), son of Reginald de Braose (d.1227), "Black William", 7th feudal baron of Bramber. He was executed by

Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...

. He died leaving 4 daughters as co-heiresses to all his lands, namely Builth (to

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

wife of David ap Llywelyn, son of her father's executioner), Radnor (to Maud the wife of

Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer of Wigmore (1231 – 27 October 1282), of Wigmore Castle in Herefordshire, was a marcher lord who was a loyal ally of King Henry III of England and at times an enemy, at times an ally, of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, ...

(d.1282)), Brecon and Kington (to Eleanor the wife of Humphrey V de Bohun (d.1265), who predeceased his father

Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford {{Infobox noble , name = Humphrey de Bohun , title = Earl of Hereford Earl of Essex , image =Arms of the House of de Bohun.svg , caption =Arms of de Bohun: ''Azure, a bend argent cotised or betw ...

(d.1275)) and Abergavenny and a moiety of Totnes (to

Eva Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

, wife of

William III de Cantilupe William III de Cantilupe (died 25 September 1254) (anciently Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe, Latinised to de Cantilupo) was the 3rd feudal baron of Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire, and ''jure uxoris'' (in right of his wife Eva de Braose, heiress of th ...

(d.1254)) *

(d.1232), son of William IV. 8th feudal baron of Bramber. John acquired Gower in 1219 with help from

Llywelyn Fawr Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually "List of rulers of Wales, Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wal ...

and purchased Bramber from his uncle Reginald in 1226. * William VI de Braose (died 1291), son of John. 9th feudal baron of Bramber. Created Baron by writ 1st

Baron Braose The title of Baron Braose was created twice in the Peerage of England. Some records from the period of the second creation spell the name Brewose. William de Braose is recorded to have sat in the Parliament of April and May 1290, so is deemed ...

as he is recorded as having sat in the parliament of April to May 1290, whereby he may be held to have been summoned by writ.G E Cokayne ed. V Gibbs, The Complete Peerage, Vol. 2, (1912) pp302-4 Held Bramber and Gower. * William VII de Braose (died 1326), son of William VI. 10th feudal baron of Bramber, 2nd Baron Braose. Held Bramber and Gower. On 29 December 1299 William VII de Braose was summoned to parliament. On his death in 1326, the first creation of the barony fell into abeyance. His co-heiresses were his daughters Aline and Joan.

Others

* William de Braose,

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...

from 1266 to 1287

Arms

William III de Braose

These arms were attributed to William III de Braose (d.1211) by

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...

in ''Historia Anglorum, Chronica Majora'', Part III (1250–59) British Library MS Royal 14 C VII f. 29v (shown there inverted to denote his death): ''Party per fesse gules and azure, three garbs or''. Matthew Paris is not generally regarded as a reliable source for heraldry and these arms must be considered doubtful.

Giles and Reginald de Braose

The arms of

(d.1215) and his brother

(d.1228), younger sons of William III de Braose (d.1211) : ''Barry of six vair gules and ermine and azure''.

William V de Braose

(c.1200-1259) in his ''Historia Anglorum'' (folio 116) attributed the arms, ''Party per pale indented gules and azure'', to William V de Braose (d.1230). They appear as a marginal drawing of an inverted shield referring to his "impious murder" (''Nota impiam murthram''). However Matthew Paris depicts different arms for him in his ''Chronica Majora'', Part III, fol.75v, in an inverted shield: ''Gules, four piles meeting in base or''Lewis, Susanne, The Art of Matthew Paris in the Chronica Majora

William VII de Braose

William de Braose, coat of arms, Falkirk Roll

The Falkirk

Roll of Arms A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centur ...

c.1298

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

s the following arms for William VII de Braose, 2nd Baron Braose (1260–1326): ''Azure crusilly (i.e. semy) of cross-crosslets, a lion double queued rampant or''. These are the arms shown on his seal appended to the

Barons' Letter of 1301 The Barons' Letter of 1301 was written by seven English earls and 96 English barons to Pope Boniface VIII as a repudiation of his claim of feudal overlordship of Scotland (expressed in the Bull Scimus Fili), and as a defence of the rights of Ki ...

. Similar arms, with a single queue, had been adopted by his father, William VI de Braose, 1st Baron Braose (died 1291).

Sources

*Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960: Braose baronies in Wales, p. 21; Kington, p. 57; Totnes, p. 89; Bramber, p. 108; Barnstaple, p. 104