House of Clare
The Clare family of Norman lords were associated with the Welsh Marches, Suffolk, Surrey, Kent (especially Tonbridge) and Ireland. They were descended from Richard Fitz Gilbert, 1st Lord of Clare (1035-1090), who accompanied William the Conqueror (1028-1087) into England during the Norman conquest of England. In the paternal line they were descendants of the House of Normandy, through one of Richard I, Duke of Normandy's sons, Geoffrey de Brionne, 1st Count of Eu, 1st Count of Brionne. They became one of the most powerful and influential noble families of their time in England, Wales, and Ireland.
The coat and shield with the three chevrons was probably first used at the end of the 12th century.
In 1217–20 Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, 5th Earl of Gloucester (died 1230), inherited the estates of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (died 1183), including the earldom and honour of Gloucester and the lordship of Glamorgan. Gilbert de Clare was killed in the Battle of Bannockburn, becoming the first Clare to be buried in the chancel of Tewkesbury Abbey.
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (died 1176), known as Strongbow, had no sons and with his death this line came to an end, his many Irish and Welsh possessions passing to his daughter Isabel, who married William Marshal, (c. 1146 – 14 May 1219) who then became known as William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
Gloucester's political importance did not end with his death; his disappearance from the political scene had immediate consequences. In his Welsh lordship of Glamorgan, the uncertain situation caused by his death caused a short-lived rebellion in 1316. In Ireland, where he also held large possessions, the power vacuum he left behind facilitated the 1315 invasion by Robert the Bruce's brother Edward. The greatest consequences, however, resulted from the division of the de Clare estates. In 1308, Gilbert de Clare had married Maud (or Matilda) de Burgh, the daughter of Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster. The couple left no surviving issue, so his death marked the end of the great de Clare family. The family lands were worth as much as £6,000, second only to those of the Earl of Lancaster among the nobility of the realm.
The lands went into royal possession while the matter of inheritance was being settled. By the entail of 1290, the lands could only be inherited by direct descendants of the seventh earl and Joan of Acre. Maud managed to postpone the proceedings by claiming to be pregnant, but by 1316 it was clear that this could not be the case. The late earl's sisters, Eleanor, Margaret (now widowed after the death of Gaveston) and Elizabeth were by 1317 all married to favourites of Edward II: Hugh Despenser the Younger, Hugh de Audley and Roger d'Amory respectively. The three were granted equal parts of the English possessions, but Despenser received the entire lordship of Glamorgan in Wales, politically the most important of the de Clare lands.
Not content with his part, Despenser used his relationship with the king to impinge on the lands of other Marcher lords. This caused resentment among such men as Hereford and Roger Mortimer, who rose up in rebellion in 1321. The rebellion was crushed, but resistance continued under the Marcher lords' ally Thomas of Lancaster, who was defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, and executed. Although this victory temporarily secured Edward's position on the throne, he was eventually deposed in 1326 by Roger Mortimer, with the help of the king's wife, Isabella of France. The title of Earl of Gloucester was recreated by Edward II's son Edward III in 1337, for Hugh de Audley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Clare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_de_Clare,_8th_Earl_of_Gloucester
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bannockburn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_de_Clare,_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Mortimer,_1st_Earl_of_March
Sir Thomas Mortimer (c. 1350–1403) illegitimate son of Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March
The Clare family of Norman lords were associated with the Welsh Marches, Suffolk, Surrey, Kent (especially Tonbridge) and Ireland. They were descended from Richard Fitz Gilbert, 1st Lord of Clare (1035-1090), who accompanied William the Conqueror (1028-1087) into England during the Norman conquest of England. In the paternal line they were descendants of the House of Normandy, through one of Richard I, Duke of Normandy's sons, Geoffrey de Brionne, 1st Count of Eu, 1st Count of Brionne. They became one of the most powerful and influential noble families of their time in England, Wales, and Ireland.
The coat and shield with the three chevrons was probably first used at the end of the 12th century.
In 1217–20 Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, 5th Earl of Gloucester (died 1230), inherited the estates of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (died 1183), including the earldom and honour of Gloucester and the lordship of Glamorgan. Gilbert de Clare was killed in the Battle of Bannockburn, becoming the first Clare to be buried in the chancel of Tewkesbury Abbey.
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (died 1176), known as Strongbow, had no sons and with his death this line came to an end, his many Irish and Welsh possessions passing to his daughter Isabel, who married William Marshal, (c. 1146 – 14 May 1219) who then became known as William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
Gloucester's political importance did not end with his death; his disappearance from the political scene had immediate consequences. In his Welsh lordship of Glamorgan, the uncertain situation caused by his death caused a short-lived rebellion in 1316. In Ireland, where he also held large possessions, the power vacuum he left behind facilitated the 1315 invasion by Robert the Bruce's brother Edward. The greatest consequences, however, resulted from the division of the de Clare estates. In 1308, Gilbert de Clare had married Maud (or Matilda) de Burgh, the daughter of Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster. The couple left no surviving issue, so his death marked the end of the great de Clare family. The family lands were worth as much as £6,000, second only to those of the Earl of Lancaster among the nobility of the realm.
The lands went into royal possession while the matter of inheritance was being settled. By the entail of 1290, the lands could only be inherited by direct descendants of the seventh earl and Joan of Acre. Maud managed to postpone the proceedings by claiming to be pregnant, but by 1316 it was clear that this could not be the case. The late earl's sisters, Eleanor, Margaret (now widowed after the death of Gaveston) and Elizabeth were by 1317 all married to favourites of Edward II: Hugh Despenser the Younger, Hugh de Audley and Roger d'Amory respectively. The three were granted equal parts of the English possessions, but Despenser received the entire lordship of Glamorgan in Wales, politically the most important of the de Clare lands.
Not content with his part, Despenser used his relationship with the king to impinge on the lands of other Marcher lords. This caused resentment among such men as Hereford and Roger Mortimer, who rose up in rebellion in 1321. The rebellion was crushed, but resistance continued under the Marcher lords' ally Thomas of Lancaster, who was defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, and executed. Although this victory temporarily secured Edward's position on the throne, he was eventually deposed in 1326 by Roger Mortimer, with the help of the king's wife, Isabella of France. The title of Earl of Gloucester was recreated by Edward II's son Edward III in 1337, for Hugh de Audley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Clare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_de_Clare,_8th_Earl_of_Gloucester
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bannockburn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_de_Clare,_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Mortimer,_1st_Earl_of_March
Sir Thomas Mortimer (c. 1350–1403) illegitimate son of Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March
