Abstract
Isabella de Clare, the wife of William le Marshal—and the heiress through whom he acquired his wealth, titles, and influence—has been far less studied than her famous husband. The same is true of their daughters. The careers of Countess Isabella and three of her five daughters who are the focus of this article—Maud Bigod Warenne, Isabelle de Clare Plantagenet, and Eva de Braose—demonstrate that they were political actors in their own right. These women were strategic in their political activities, associating themselves and their marital kin with their own siblings rather than becoming subsumed under their husbands’ political shadows. This pattern of kinship-based political activity within the larger Marshal kinship became the standard mode of action for successive generations.
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Notes
- 1.
Many biographies have been written about William le Marshal over the years. See, especially, Sidney Painter, William Marshal: Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982 [1933]); Georges Duby, William Marshal: The Flower of Chivalry, trans. Richard Howard (New York: Pantheon Books, 1985); and David Crouch, William Marshal, 3rd ed. (London: Routledge, 2016). None spend any significant time on the women of the family.
- 2.
This is one of the reasons why the division of the estates in 1245–1248 among the female coheirs and their kin was so complicated. The laws of inheritance in the case of female heirs mandated that the eldest daughter receive the oldest estates—these were the honor of Striguil and the Marshalcy itself, which fell to Maud Bigod Warenne.
- 3.
There have been some fictional portrayals of Isabella. Gillian Kenny has published, recently, a brief overview of her significance in Ireland, but otherwise very few mentions of her, other than those that reference her as the heiress, and then immediately move on to the exploits of her husband, occur in scholarly literature. Gillian Kenny, “The Wife’s Tale: Isabel Marshal and Ireland,” in William Marshal and Ireland, ed. John Bradley, Cóilín Ó Drisceoil, and Michael Potterton (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2017), 315–324.
- 4.
The most recent scholarly edition is History of William Marshal, ed. Anthony J. Holden, trans. Simon Gregory, notes and intro. David Crouch, 3 vols. (London: Anglo-Norman Text Society, 2002–2007). Hereafter, History, ll. Countess Isabella appears frequently in the second half of the epic. This will be discussed below.
- 5.
The anonymous author presents this at the very end of the poem, but it is likely, given the level of detail that this was something of a family project.
- 6.
Maud was probably born ca. 1192 and died in 1248, which would make her fifty-six at her death. Although this is considerably younger than the age her father died—he was over eighty—she outlived all of her other siblings by several-to-many years. It is known that her sister Isabelle died in childbirth; it is quite possible that Sibyl, another sister, did as well.
- 7.
History, ll. 13386–13388, 13393.
- 8.
History, ll. 13532–13544.
- 9.
History, ll. 13804–13844, 13872–13891.
- 10.
History, ll. 14095–14100. It is likely, given the approximate date of 1207–1208 of this episode, that the child born to William and Isabella in the midst of this episode was Joan, their youngest daughter. It might have been that she was named Joan in order to appease the king.
- 11.
The Acts and Letters of the Marshal Family: Marshals of England and Earls of Pembroke, 1145–1248, ed. David Crouch, Camden Fifth Series, vol. 47 (London: Royal Historical Society/Cambridge University Press, 2015), nos. 32, 40, 54, 55, 66, 69, 75, 82, 94, 95.
- 12.
Acts, nos. 14, 17, 21, 23, 33, 43, 51, 67, 70, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 83, 85 93, 97, 100.
- 13.
History, ll. 18032–18052.
- 14.
History, ll. 18121–18139, 18328–18331.
- 15.
History, ll. 18369–18372.
- 16.
History, ll. 18991–19000.
- 17.
Birth dates for all of the Marshal children are tentative, but it is likely that the two youngest children were Anselm, born sometime around 1207–1208, and Joan, born perhaps as little as a year after Anselm.
- 18.
Acts of the Marshal Family, nos. 101–108.
- 19.
Acts, nos. 107, 108, and 176.
- 20.
Acts, no. 149.
- 21.
This is indeed one of the themes of my forthcoming book, The Marshal Consanguinity: Kinship, Affinity, and the Creation of a Socio-political Network, 1200–1400 (Leiden: Brill).
- 22.
Sibyl la Marshal’s seven daughters, and Joan la Marshal’s daughter have figured prominently in my studies of the Marshal family. See Linda E. Mitchell, Joan de Valence: The Life and Influence of a Thirteenth-Century Noblewoman (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016); Mitchell, Portraits of Medieval Women: Family, Marriage, and Politics in England 1225–1350 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). Marc Morris, in his history of the Bigod earls of Norfolk, touches on the career of Maud and includes some of her acta in his calendar of documents, but he cannot be said to include her in his study in any comprehensive way. Marc Morris, The BigodEarls of Norfolkin the Thirteenth Century (Rochester, NY: Boydell and Brewer, 2005).
- 23.
William the Younger was definitely the eldest, but it is not entirely clear whether Richard came next or Maud. The only complete listing of the siblings occurs in the Histoire (ll. 14873–14956), but the author separated the boys from the girls.
- 24.
For a more extensive treatment of Maud la Marshal, see Linda E. Mitchell, “Maud Marshal and Margaret Marshal: Two Viragos Extraordinaire,” in The Ties That Bind: Essays in Medieval British History in Honor of Barbara Hanawalt, ed. Linda E. Mitchell, Katherine L. French, and Douglas L. Biggs (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011), 121–142, esp. 122–128.
- 25.
History, ll. 14917–14928.
- 26.
History, ll. 18562–18570.
- 27.
Excerpta é Rotulis Finium in turri Londonensi Asservatis, Henrico Tertio Rege, A.D. 1216–1272, ed. Charles Roberts, 2 vols. (London, 1835), 1:367–368; Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III, 1232–1247 (London, 1906), 271, 288 [hereafter CPR].
- 28.
Acts and Letters of the Marshal Family, nos. 272, 273.
- 29.
Both Roger and Hugh le Bigod joined the baronial side against Henry III in the 1258 Barons’ War and the 1263–1265 rebellion led by Earl Simon de Montfort. Earl John de Warenne, in contrast, was a devoted friend of William and Joan de Valence, who were targeted by the baronial council and Earl Simon as their primary enemies.
- 30.
Acts and Letters of the Marshal Family, no. 276. See also, Calendar of Ancient Correspondence Concerning Wales, ed. J. Goronwy Edwards (Cardiff: University Press Board, 1935), 29.
- 31.
History, ll. 14941–14946. The spelling of the name in medieval sources varies significantly; that they were originally the Lords of Briouze, Normandy did not seem to matter to medieval clerks. As Braose is the most common spelling in modern sources, this is the one that I retain.
- 32.
As is common with genealogical studies of medieval families, the birth dates of daughters are not entirely verifiable. Isabella is often identified as the fourth daughter, but the fact that she was the first to be married, and that the other three daughters married after the death of their father, suggests that she was likely the eldest. It is also not clear whether Isabella was of canonical age to marry in 1230, but she must have been close to that age, as there is no indication of any significant impediments to the proposed marriage.
- 33.
An entry in the Curia Regis Rolls for the Hilary Term, 1230, states that William is unable to attend court because he is imprisoned in Wales. Curia Regis Rolls, 11–14 Henry III (1227–1230), vol. 13 (London, 1959), entry 2316 at 497. Later entries indicate that he appointed an attorney, but he was clearly dead before the Easter term of the court.
- 34.
Brut y Tywysogyon, ed. Thomas Jones (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1952), 229.
- 35.
Ancient Correspondence Concerning Wales, 51–52. Also appears in Royal and Other Historical Letters Illustrative of the Reign of Henry III, ed. Walter Waddington Shirley, 2 vols., Rolls Series (London, 1862), 1:369.
- 36.
Ancient Correspondence Concerning Wales, 51–52; Letters of Reign of Henry III, 1:368.
- 37.
Excerpta é Rotuli Finium, 1:367. There are no records identifying the negotiations of the marriages of Maud and Eve, but the men they married were connected significantly to Eve’s natal family, as will be seen below, thus suggesting that she had had a hand in those arrangements as well.
- 38.
Richard le Marshal’s allies are listed in the various entries in the Patent Rolls. CPR, Henry III 1232–1247, 34, 40, 41, 45, 46, 48–49, 52, 53.
- 39.
Roger of Wendover was the first of the generations of St. Albans chroniclers, which compiled a series of English histories into the fifteenth century. His primary chronicle, the Flores Historiarum [FH], was conflated with the work of his successor, Matthew Paris, in the definitive edition, that of the Rolls Series, of his Chronica Maiora [CM], which includes, almost verbatim, the FH text.
- 40.
The version in the CM of Matthew Paris differs slightly from that of the FH of Roger of Wendover.
- 41.
Adapted from Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, ed. Henry Richards Luard, 7 vols., Rolls Series (London, 1876), 3:247. A slightly different version exists in the FH. See, Roger of Wendover, Flowers of History, trans. J. A. Giles, 2 vols. (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849), 2:569.
- 42.
Close Rolls,Henry III, 1231–1234, 424–425; CPR,Henry III, 1232–1247, 52.
- 43.
Matthew Paris, English History, trans. J. A. Giles, 3 vols. (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1889), 1:255. This translation, which is quite accurate, leaves out the material that Matthew derived from Roger of Wendover’s work.
- 44.
I discuss these connections in Portraits of Medieval Women and will be expanding on them in The Marshal Consanguinity.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
The Acts and Letters of the Marshal Family: Marshals of England and Earls of Pembroke, 1145–1248. Edited by David Crouch. Camden Fifth Series. Vol. 47. London: Royal Historical Society/Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Brut y Tywysogyon. Edited by Thomas Jones. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1952.
Calendar of Ancient Correspondence Concerning Wales. Edited by J. Goronwy Edwards. Cardiff: University Press Board, 1935.
Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III, 1232–1247. London, 1906.
Curia Regis Rolls, 11–14 Henry III (1227–1230). Vol. 13. London, 1959.
Excerpta é Rotulis Finium in turri Londonensi Asservatis, Henrico Tertio Rege, A.D. 1216–1272. Edited by Charles Roberts. 2 vols. London, 1835.
History of William Marshal. Edited by Anthony J. Holden, translated by Simon Gregory, notes and introduction by David Crouch. 3 vols. London: Anglo-Norman Text Society, 2002–2007.
Paris, Matthew. Chronica Majora. Edited by Henry Richards Luard. 7 vols. Rolls Series. London, 1876.
Paris, Matthew. English History. Translated by J. A. Giles. 3 vols. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1889.
Roger of Wendover. Flowers of History. Translated by J. A. Giles. 2 vols. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849.
Royal and Other Historical Letters Illustrative of the Reign of Henry III. Edited by Walter Waddington Shirley. 2 vols. Rolls Series. London, 1862.
Secondary Sources
Crouch, David. William Marshal. 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2016.
Duby, Georges. William Marshal: The Flower of Chivalry. Translated by Richard Howard. New York: Pantheon Books, 1985.
Kenny, Gillian. “The Wife’s Tale: Isabel Marshal and Ireland.” In William Marshal and Ireland, edited by John Bradley, Cóilín Ó Drisceoil, and Michael Potterton, 315–324. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2017.
Mitchell, Linda E. Portraits of Medieval Women: Family, Marriage, and Politics in England 1225–1350 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).
———. “Maud Marshal and Margaret Marshal: Two Viragos Extraordinaire.” In The Ties That Bind: Essays in Medieval British History in Honor of Barbara Hanawalt, edited by Linda E. Mitchell, Katherine L. French, and Douglas L. Biggs, 121–142. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011.
———. Joan de Valence: The Life and Influence of a Thirteenth-Century Noblewoman. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
———. The Marshal Consanguinity: Kinship, Affinity, and the Creation of a Socio-political Network, 1200–1400 (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming).
Morris, Marc. The Bigod Earls of Norfolk in the Thirteenth Century. Rochester, NY: Boydell and Brewer, 2005.
Painter, Sidney. William Marshal: Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982 [1933].
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Mitchell, L.E. (2019). The Most Perfect Knight’s Countess: Isabella de Clare, Her Daughters, and Women’s Exercise of Power and Influence, 1190–ca. 1250. In: Tanner, H.J. (eds) Medieval Elite Women and the Exercise of Power, 1100–1400. The New Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01346-2_3
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