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Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl Of Devon
Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (12 July 1303 – 2 May 1377), 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton, played an important role in the Hundred Years War in the service of King Edward III. His chief seats were Tiverton Castle and Okehampton Castle in Devon. The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay Earls of Devon depends on whether the earldom is deemed a new creation by the letters patent granted 22 February 1334/5 or whether it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family. Authorities differ in their opinions, and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist, given here. Origins Hugh de Courtenay was born on 12 July 1303, the second son of Hugh de Courtenay, 1st/9th Earl of Devon (1276–1340), by his wife Agnes de Saint John, a daughter of Sir John de Saint John of Basing, Hampshire. He succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father in 1340. His elder brother, John de Courtenay (c.1296-11 Jul ...
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Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The present building was complete by about 1400 and has several notable features, including an early set of misericords, an astronomical clock and the longest uninterrupted medieval stone Vault (architecture), vaulted ceiling in the world. History The site where Exeter Cathedral was constructed was home to Roman Britain, Roman buildings. A legionary fortress was constructed between 50–75 AD. A Roman bathhouse was discovered in 1971. The founding of the cathedral at Exeter, England, Exeter, dedicated to Saint Peter, dates from 1050, when the seat of the bishop of United sees of Devon and Cornwall, Devon and Cornwall was transferred from Crediton because of a fear of sea-raids. A Anglo-Saxons, Saxon minster already existing within the town (an ...
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Okehampton Castle
Okehampton Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in Devon, England. It was built between 1068 and 1086 by Baldwin FitzGilbert following a revolt in Devon against Norman conquest of England, Norman rule, and formed the centre of the Honour of Okehampton, guarding a crossing point across the West Okement River. It continued in use as a fortification until the late 13th century, when its owners, the de Courtenays, became the Earl of Devon, Earls of Devon. With their new wealth, they redeveloped the castle as a luxurious hunting lodge, building a new Medieval deer park, deer park that stretched out south from the castle, and constructing fashionable lodgings that exploited the views across the landscape. The de Courtenays prospered and the castle was further expanded to accommodate their growing household. The de Courtenays were heavily involved in the 15th century Wars of the Roses and Okehampton Castle was frequently confiscated. By the early 16th century the castle was sti ...
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Jousting
Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultimately from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , ultimately from Latin "to approach, to meet". The word was loaned into Middle English around 1300, when jousting was a very popular sport among the Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman knighthood. The synonym tilt (as in tilting at windmills) dates . Jousting on horse is based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a specialized sport during the Late Middle Ages, and remained popular with the nobility in England and Wales, Germany and other parts of Europe throughout the whole of the 16th century (while in France, it was discontinued after the death of King Henry II ...
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Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duchy of Brittany, duchy before being Union of Brittany and France, united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a provinces of France, province governed as a separate nation under the crown. Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic nations, retaining Culture of Brittany, a distinct cultural identity that reflects History of Brittany, its history. Brittany has also been referred to as Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain, with which it shares an etymology). It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, Normandy to the northeast, eastern Pays de la Loire to the southeast, the Bay of Biscay to the south, and the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its land area is 34,023  ...
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Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest urban area is the Redruth and Camborne conurbation. The county is predominantly rural, with an area of and population of 568,210. After the Redruth-Camborne conurbation, the largest settlements are Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth, Penzance, Newquay, St Austell, and Truro. For Local government in England, local government purposes most of Cornwall is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, with the Isles of Scilly governed by a Council of the Isles of Scilly, unique local authority. The Cornish nationalism, Cornish nationalist movement disputes the constitutional status of Cornwall and seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is the weste ...
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Baron Courtenay
The Courtenay barony was created in 1299, when Hugh de Courtenay was summoned to Parliament, thus becoming the first Baron Courtenay. He was subsequently made Earl of Devon in 1335. During his life, his son Hugh de Courtenay the younger, was summoned as 2nd Baron Courtenay in 1337,Cokayne, vol. III, p. 466; vol. IV, p. 324 with the barony coming to represent a courtesy title for the heir of the Earls of Devon. This Hugh succeeded as Earl on his father's death in 1340, and since his own son, also Hugh, died in 1348 without having been summoned as baron, it was Earl Hugh's grandson, yet another Hugh, who was summoned as 3rd Baron Courtenay in 1371, during his grandfather's life. He died three years later, and on the Earl's 1377 death, both the Earldom of Devon and the Barony of Courtenay passed to another grandson, Edward de Courtenay, first cousin of the previous courtesy holder of the barony. Though his son Edward would be styled 'Lord Courtenay' during his father's lifetime, he ...
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Hereditary Peer
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary titles). As a result of the Peerage Act 1963, all peers except those in the peerage of Ireland were entitled to sit in the House of Lords. Since the House of Lords Act 1999 came into force only 92 hereditary peers, elected from all hereditary peers, are permitted to do so, unless they are also life peers. Peers are called to the House of Lords with a writ of summons. Not all hereditary titles are titles of the peerage. For instance, baronets and baronetesses may pass on their titles, but they are not peers. Conversely, the holder of a non-hereditary title may belong to the peerage, as with life peers. Peerages may be created by means of letters patent, but the granting of new hereditary peerages has largely dwindled; only seven hered ...
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Battle Of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England () and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized the Scottish Crown from five-year-old David II (), surreptitiously supported by Edward III. This marked the start of the Second War of Scottish Independence. Balliol was shortly expelled from Scotland by a popular uprising, which Edward III used as a ''casus belli'', invading Scotland in 1333. The immediate target was the strategically-important border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which the English besieged in March. A large Scottish army advanced to relieve the town. They attempted and failed to draw the English away from Berwick. By mid-July, knowing Berwick was on the verge of surrender and aware they were much stronger than the English, the Scots attacked. They unsuccessfully manoeuvred for position and then launched an assault on the ...
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Knight Banneret
A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the pennon flown by the lower-ranking knights) and was eligible to bear supporters in English heraldry. The military rank of a knight banneret was higher than a knight Bachelor (who fought under another's banner), but lower than an earl or duke. Under English custom the rank of knight banneret could only be conferred by the sovereign on the field of battle. There were some technical exceptions to this; when his standard was on the field of battle he could be regarded as physically present though he was not. His proxy could be regarded as a sufficient substitution for his presence. The wife of a banneret was styled as banneress. Origins There were no standing armies in the middle ages (except the military orders). Though modern scholarship has had a lot to say abou ...
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Powderham Castle
Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house in Exminster, Devon, south of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gardens are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. It is on flat ground on the west bank of the River Exe estuary where it is joined by its tributary the River Kenn. On the opposite side of the Exe is the small village of Lympstone. Starting with a structure built sometime after 1390, the present castle was expanded and altered extensively in the 18th and 19th centuries. The castle is the seat of the Courtenay family, Earls of Devon. Origin of the name The manor of Powderham is named from the ancient Dutch word polder, and means "the hamlet of the reclaimed marsh-land". History At some time after 1390 the medieval core of the present structure was built by Sir Philip Courtenay (d. 1406), the 5th or ...
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English Feudal Barony
In the kingdom of England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was the highest degree of feudal land tenure, namely ''per baroniam'' (Latin for "by barony"), under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. The duties owed by and the privileges granted to feudal barons are not exactly defined, but they involved the duty of providing soldiers to the royal feudal army on demand by the king, and the privilege of attendance at the king's feudal court, the '' Magnum Concilium'', the precursor of parliament. If the estate-in-land held by barony contained a significant castle as its '' caput baroniae'' and if it was especially large – consisting of more than about 20 knight's fees (each loosely equivalent to a manor) – then it was termed an honour. The typical honour had properties scattered over several shires, intermingled with the properties of others. This was a specific policy of the Norman kings, to avoid establishing any one area under the ...
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Tavistock Abbey
Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. The Abbey was surrendered in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Nothing remains of the abbey except the refectory, two gateways and a porch. The abbey church, dedicated to Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady and St Rumon, was destroyed by Denmark, Danish raiders in 997 and rebuilt under Lyfing of Winchester, Lyfing, the second abbot. The church was further rebuilt in 1285 and the greater part of the abbey between 1457 and 1458. History Foundation Older historians thought the abbey was founded in 961 by Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon, but the modern consensus is that it was wholly the foundation of his son Ordwulf in 974; in 981 the charter of confirmation was granted by King Æthelred the Unready, Ordwulf's nephew. It was endowed with lands in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, and became one of the richest ab ...
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