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Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (1281 – 31 May 1326), ''The Magnanimous'',

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

baron of Berkeley, of

Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle ( ; historically sometimes spelled as ''Berkley Castle'' or ''Barkley Castle'') is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. The castle's origins date back to the 11th century, being designated by English ...

in Gloucestershire, England, was a peer. He rebelled against King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

and the Despencers. His

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

, and that of each previous and subsequent head of his family, was coined by John Smyth of Nibley (died 1641), steward of the Berkeley estates, the biographer of the family and author of ''Lives of the Berkeleys''.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of

Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (c. 1245– 23 July 1321), ''The Wise'', English feudal barony, feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England, was a Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer, soldier and diplomat. His e ...

by his wife Joan de Ferrers (1255–1309), born around the time of the death of his grandfather.

Career

He was involved in the Scottish Wars from about 1295 to 1318. He was appointed governor of Gloucester by

in 1312, shortly after the execution of

Piers Gaveston Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall ( – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...

. He was governor of Berwick-on-Tweed from 1314 until it fell to the Scots in 1318. He was also appointed

Justiciar of South Wales The Justiciar of South Wales, sometimes referred to as the Justiciar of West Wales was a royal official of the Principality of Wales during the medieval period. He controlled the southern half of the principality. Background Justiciar was a title ...

in 1316 and Steward of the

Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine (, ; , ) was a historical fiefdom located in the western, central, and southern areas of present-day France, south of the river Loire. The full extent of the duchy, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries ...

in 1319 He succeeded his father in 1321, but within a few months joined

Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster ( 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman of the first House of Lancaster of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty. He was Earl of Lancaster, Leicester, and Derby from 1296 to 1322, and Earl of Lincoln and Sa ...

in his

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against the king. He surrendered in February 1322 and the king confiscated his estate. He spent the remainder of his life as a prisoner in

Wallingford Castle Wallingford Castle is a medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Saxon ' ...

Marriages and children

He married: *Eve Zouche (d. 1314), daughter of Eudo Zouche and his wife, Millicent Cantilupe, daughter and eventual co-heiress of William III Cantilupe in 1289, when they were both children. **

Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley Thomas de Berkeley (c. 1293 or 1296 – 27 October 1361), known as ''The Rich'', English feudal barony, feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England, was a Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. His epithet, and that of ...

**Sir Maurice Berkeley (c1298-1347), of

Uley Uley is a village and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Elcombe and Shadwell and Bencombe, all to the south of the village of Uley, and the hamlet of Crawley to the north. The village ...

and

Stoke Gifford Stoke Gifford is a neighbourhood and Civil parish, parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. Formerly a separate ...

, who was killed at the Siege of Calais He married Margaret de Vere, who was probably the sister of

John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford (c. 12 March 1312 – 24 January 1360) was the nephew and heir of Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford who succeeded as Earl of Oxford in 1331, after his uncle died without issue. John de Vere was a trusted captai ...

. **Isabel Berkeley (d. 1362), who married 1. Robert Clifford, 3rd Baron and 2. Thomas Musgrave **Millicent Berkeley, who married

John Maltravers, 1st Baron Maltravers John Maltravers, 1st Baron Maltravers (1290?–1364) was an English nobleman and soldier. Early life He was son of Sir John Maltravers (1266–1343?) of Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, born by his first wife Eleanor, about 1290. He was knighted, as ...

. * Isabel Clare (d. c1338), daughter of Gilbert Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford about 1317.

Death and succession

Berkeley died a prisoner in

on 31 May 1326 and was initially buried there. The following year his son and heir Thomas, having been released from imprisonment himself, removed his father's body to

St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey (founded as the Monastery of Ss Peter and Paul and changed after its founder St Augustine of Canterbury's death) was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a mon ...

, Bristol.

References

*Ancestral roots of certain American colonists who came to America before 1700, Frederick Lewis Weis, 1992, seventh edition. *Ancestral roots of sixty colonists who came to New England 1623–1650. Frederick Lewis Weis (earlier edition). *Magna Charta Sureties, 1215., Frederick Lewis Weis, Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., William R. Beall, 1999, 5th Ed. *Magna Charta Sureties, 1215", Frederick Lewis Weis, 4th Ed. *The Complete Peerage, Cokayne. *Burke's Peerage, 1938. *Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists, David Faris, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1996. *Royal Genealogy information held at University of Hull. {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Maurice de, 2nd Baron Berkeley 1281 births 1326 deaths 2 English rebels People from Berkeley, Gloucestershire Maurice Seneschals of Gascony