English Dynasties

&nbsp

'''Beaufort '''

John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (1373 – 16 March 1410) was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, later his wife. He founded a line of no less than 14 Earls and Dukes of Somerset, including a Queen of Scotland and a Cardinal during the 1400s alone.

Region Winchester

Date 1370

Traits

Clare

The de Clare family of Norman lords came to acquire power in the Welsh Marches, Suffolk, Tonbridge and Ireland. They were descended from Richard fitzGilbert, who accompanied William the Conqueror into England during the Norman conquest of England. He was awarded 176 lordships and large grants of land in England, including the right to build the castles of Clare and of Tonbridge based mainly in Suffolk. He served as Joint Chief Justiciar in William's absence, and played a major part in suppressing the revolt of 1075. His descendants gained Earldoms in Hertford, Gloucester, Pembroke, Lincoln, Devon and Cardigan. He was also the ancestor of Richard Strongbow who was one of the major colonisers of Ireland.

Region London

Date 1080

Traits

'''de Braose '''

William de Braose, First Lord of Bramber born 1049 in Briouze, Normandy was a Norman nobleman who participated in the victory at the Battle of Hastings. De Braose was given lands in Sussex, England at Bramber in 1073, where he was lord of the Rape of Bramber[1] and where he built Bramber Castle. De Braose was also awarded lands in the Welsh Marches, and became one of the most powerful of the new Lords of the early Norman era. He continued to bear arms alongside King William in campaigns in England, Normandy and Maine in France. He was a pious man and made considerable grants to the Abbey of St, Florent, Samur and to endow the formation of a Priory at Sele, West Sussex near Bramber and a Priory at Briouze. inherited one half of the honour of Barnstaple in Devon, paying a fee of 1000 marks for the privilege. William de Braose, Third Lord of Bramber (born 1112) William married Bertha de Pitres, also known as Bertha de Hereford, daughter of Miles of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford. Through this marriage, William acquired lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny in 1166 because Bertha's four brothers all died young without heirs. In 1175, William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber (1144) court favourite of King John of England, at the peak of his power, was also Lord of Gower , Abergavenny , Brecknock , Builth , Radnor , Kington , Limerick , Glamorgan , Skenfrith , Briouze in Normandy , Grosmont , and White Castle. He carried out the Abergavenny Massacre, luring three Welsh princes and other Welsh leaders to their deaths. His principal antagonist was a Seisyll ap Dyfnwal, of Castell Arnallt near Llanover in the valley of the River Usk near Abergavenny, whom he blamed for the death of his uncle Henry. William de Braose (died 1287) was a Bishop of Llandaff, now in modern day Cardiff , Wales.

Region Winchester

Date 1080

Traits Loyal, command, dread

Plantagenet

The House of Plantagenet, a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the County of Anjou through marriage during the 11th century. The dynasty accumulated several other holdings, building the Angevin Empire which at its peak stretched from the Pyrenees to Ireland. In total, fifteen Plantagenet monarchs, including those belonging to cadet branches, ruled England from 1154 until 1485. The initial branch ruled from Henry II of England until the deposition of Richard II of England in 1399. After that, a junior branch, the House of Lancaster, ruled for some fifty years, before clashing with another branch, the House of York, in a civil war known as the Wars of the Roses over control of England. After three ruling Lancastrian monarchs, the crown returned to senior primogeniture with three ruling Yorkist monarchs, the last of whom, Richard III, was killed in battle during 1485. The legitimate male line went extinct with the execution of Richard's nephew, Edward, Earl of Warwick in 1499.

Region Anjou

Date 1113

Traits

Bigod

Roger Bigod (died 1107) was a Norman knight who came to England in the Norman Conquest. He held great power in East Anglia, and five of his descendants were Earl of Norfolk. He was also known as Roger Bigot, appearing as such as a witness to the Charter of Liberties of Henry I of England.

Region Norwich

Date 1080

Traits

Beaumont

The Norman family of Beaumont was one of the great baronial Anglo-Norman  families which became rooted in England after the Norman conquest. Roger de Beaumont, lord (seigneur) of Pont-Audemer, of Beaumont-le-Roger, of Brionne and of Vatteville, was too old to fight at Hastings, staying in Normandy to govern and protect it whilst William was away on the invasion. As a reward he received lands in Leicestershire. His son Robert de Beaumont, comte de Meulan, who commanded the Norman right wing at Hastings, became the first earl of Leicester. His brother Henri de Beaumont was created earl of Warwick. During Stephen's reign, the twins Galéran and Robert were powerful allies to the king, and as a reward Galéran (already comte de Meulan) was made Earl of Worcester. Counsel from the Beaumonts was much-listened-to by the dukes of Normandy, then by the kings of England. The family helds Earldoms in Leicester, Winchester, Warwick, Pembroke and Gloucester.

Region Lincoln

Date 1080

Traits

Harcourt

The château d'Harcourt in Harcourt Normandy was built around 1100 probably founded by Errand of Harcourt and his three brothers followed who William the Conqueror, in 1066 and the brothers were installed with English lands. The English Harcourt branch entered the English peerage, as barons then viscounts then earls. At first the Harcourts had lands in Leicestershire, but in 1191 Robert de Harcourt of Bosworth inherited lands of his father-in-law at Stanton in Oxfordshire, which then became known as Stanton Harcourt. The family was most active in France however. Geoffroy de Harcourt led King Edward III and the English Army into Normandy during the Crecy campaign as well as being involved in a reconnaissance mission that end in a skirmish between Geoffroy of Harcourt and his elder brother, the Comte de Harcourt, at Rouen. Geoffroy of Harcourt was also placed in charge of Prince Edward's personal safety during the Battle of Crecy. Also, after Philip II's conquest of Normandy in 1204, the Harcourts habitually became the head of feudal movements against the king of France. After French annexation of Normandy the family despite supporting the English in the Hundred Years War managed to serve throughout the 1400s as French governors, generals and chamberlains notably two of whom served king Charles VII.

Region Lincoln, Rouen

Date 1080

Traits

'''Balliol '''

Guy I de Balliol was a Picard baron who was granted land in northern England in the late eleventh-century by William Rufus in the 1090s, as part of King William's carve-up of the forfeited earldom of Northumberland. John I de Balliol (died 1268) was the founder of Balliol College. In the late 13th and 14th centuries, two members of the house were kings of Scotland claiming heritage through both the House of Dunkeld and the House of Bruce.

Region York

Date 1090

Traits

'''FitzGerald '''

Originally a Cambro-Norman dynasty the line was given baronial land rights with Gerald FitzMaurice, jure uxoris 1st Lord of Offaly c.1150 the family was actually based in Wales but only came into its own in Ireland when Gerald's father was the leader of the first landing of Normans who arrived in Ireland in 1169 to assist the exiled Irish King of Leinster Dermot MacMurrough regain his kingdom. Both Gerald and his father were at the Siege of Dublin in 1171. Upon the death of their father, on 1 September 1176, Gerald's elder brother William granted him half the Cantred of Ophelan with centres at Maynooth and Rathmore. He was confirmed in them by Prince John in 1185. In 1197, he took part in the conquest of Limerick acquiring Croom, County Limerick. Various members held the title Justiciar of Ireland, and the dynasty held Earldoms in Kildare, Offaly and Desmond from the 1100s up until today.

Region Dublin

Date 1150

Traits

'''Lacy '''

Walter de Lacy was a companion of William I of England and came to England in the year 1066 to fight in the battle of Hastings. Walter de Lacy was buried at Gloucester Cathedral. His grandson Gilbert de Lacy, lord of Longtown, Weobley and Ludlow became a Templar in the 1150s, and acted as a witness to a charter between the English and French kings in May 1160. He was in the Holy Land in the same year; his name appears as a witness on a letter from Walter of Hereford to Henry II. He granted the Templars Guiting in Gloucestershire.

Gilbert's son Hugh de Lacy (1118-86) also granted the Templars lands, this time in Ludlow.

Hugh de Lacy had a son Walter de Lacy (before 1170 to 24 February 1240/41). He married secondly Margaret de Braose the daughter of William de Braose, 7th Baron Abergavenny, another important Norman dynasty of Marcher Lords. She founded the Convent of Augustinian nuns at Aconbury, which she placed under control of the Hospitallers. Her subsequent attempts to free her foundation from their control involved her in a long dispute involving the Pope. Up until 1399, the De Lacys held the great northern Lordship of Bowland before it passed through marriage to the Earldom, later Duchy of Lancaster as well as being Lords of Pontefract and later Earls of Lincoln. With Hugh de Lacy circa 1135 the family gained lands in Ireland, with Hugh becoming first Lord of Meath and his son first Earl of Ulster. The family held earldoms in Lancaster and Lincoln through the 1200-1300s

Region Winchester

Date 1080

Traits

'''Lucy '''

de Lucy or de Luci is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lucé in Normandy one of the great baronial Anglo-Norman  families which became rooted in England after the Norman conquest. The first records note Adrian de Luci (born about 1064 in Lucé, Normandy, France) who went into England after William the Conqueror. The rise of this family might have been due to Henry I of England. Richard de Luci was the first main family member (c. 1089–14 July 1179) a Sheriff of the County of Essex, Chief Justiciar of England and excommunicated by Thomas Becket in 1166 and 1169. Other descendants were Abbots, Archdeacons and Bishops but the family was notably for the number of lawmen it provided. Reginald de Luci was an itinerant judge in the County of Nottingham and Derby in 1173 and governor of Nottingham. Robert de Luci was sheriff of the County of Worchester in 1175 a relative of Richard de Luci, the Chief Justiciar of England. Stephen de Luci was nominated one of justice itinerant by Henry III of England in 1228. Anthony de Luci (1283-1343) was Chief Justiciar of Ireland in 1331.

Region London

Date 1100

Traits + law

Mowbray

Founded at the Conquest by Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances. His brother's son Robert de Montbray, who rebelled with him against William Rufus on the Conqueror's death, was made, after their reconciliation, earl of Northumbria, as his uncle's heir but was forfeited and imprisoned for life on rebelling again in 1095. Roger of Mowbray, a great lord with a hundred knight's fees, was captured with King Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, joined the rebellion against Henry II (1173), founded abbeys, and went on crusade. His grandson William, a leader in the rising against King John, was one of the 25 barons of the Great Charter, as was his brother Roger, and was captured fighting against Henry III at the rout of Lincoln (1217). William's grandson Roger (1266–1298), who was summoned to parliament by Edward I, was father of John (1286–1322), a warrior and warden of the Scottish March, who, joining in Thomas of Lancaster's revolt, was captured at Boroughbridge and hanged. The Mowbrays, always lucky in marriage managed to gain land and title nonetheless, such as the earldom of Nottingham and the marshalship of England bestowed on them by Richard II, and the dukedom of Norfolk followed. The 1st duke left two sons, of whom Thomas the elder was only recognized as earl marshal. Beheaded for joining in Scrope's conspiracy against Henry IV (1405), he was succeeded by his brother John, who was restored to the dukedom of Norfolk in 1424.

Region York

Date 1080

Traits Disloyal

Bohun

Humphrey ‘with the Beard’ was a Norman soldier and landed aristocrat, the earliest known member of the Bohun family who took part in the Norman conquest of England as one of the original companions at Hastings. At the time of the Conquest Humphrey possessed the honour of Bohun (today comprising two communes, Saint-André-de-Bohon and Saint-Georges-de-Bohon) in western Normandy. After the Conquest he received an honour with its seat at Tatterford in Norfolk, as recorded in Domesday Book (1086). The small size of his reward in England, despite his relations with William's family, may be a result of his age. Through the 1100s the family were lords of wealthy lands in the south west but during the 1200s and 1300s the family were Earls of Essex and Hereford and several were Lord High Constable of England.

Region Norfolk

Date 1080

Traits

Mortimer

Ranulph was a Marcher Lord and was granted his lands in the Welsh Marches by William the Conqueror. He had holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Most notably, he acquired Wigmore Castle after William Fitz Osbern's son Roger de Breteuil joined the Revolt of the Earls of 1075. Like many of the Marcher Lords, Ranulph took part in the Rebellion of 1088 against William Rufus. In 1089 he took money from William Rufus for support against Robert Curthose. He had presumably submitted to the king when the 1088 revolt failed, for he did not lose his lands. In 1090 he was backing William with his castles in Normandy. Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287 –1330) was for three years de facto ruler of England, after leading a successful rebellion against Edward II. The family also held the Earldom of March and Ulster from the 1300s. Through marriage, the Mortimers came during the reign of Richard II to be close to the English throne, but when Richard II was deposed in 1399, the claims of the Mortimers were ignored and the throne vested in the usurper Henry of Lancaster instead. The Mortimer claims were later (1425) transmitted to the House of York, which were ultimately taken up in the Wars of the Roses.

Region Lincoln

Date 1080

Traits

'''d'Aubigny '''

William d'Aubigny, first Earl of Lincoln and then Earl of Arundel (more precisely, Earl of Sussex) also known as William d'Albini, (1109 –1176) was son of William d'Aubigny Pincerna (Master Butler of the Royal household) of Buckenham Castle and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigot. He fought loyally for King Stephen, but in 1153 helped arrange the truce between Stephen and Henry Plantagenet, known as the Treaty of Wallingford, which brought an end to The Anarchy. William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel (1180 –1221) was a favourite of King John, a participant in the Fifth Crusade as well as Lord of Belvoir and a Surety Baron for the Magna Carta. He was one of the King's commanders at the Battle of Lincoln in 1217. Hugh d'Aubigny the 5th Earl of Arundel he was one of the seven Earls who accompanied the King Henry in his expedition to Aquitaine in 1242.

Region Norfolk

Date 1080

Traits Command

Beauchamp

Roger de Beaumont-le-Roger (c. 1015 – 29 November 1094) was son of Humphrey de Vielles (himself a great-nephew of the Duchess Gunnora of Normandy) and his wife Albreda de la Haye Auberie. Roger de Beaumont, Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger and Pont-Audemer, Viscount of Hiesmes, was thus a second cousin once removed of the Conqueror. Roger was nicknamed Barbatus or La Barbe because he wore a moustache and beard while the Normans usually were clean shaven. This peculiarity is recognized in the thirty-second panel of the Bayeux Tapestry where he is depicted sitting at a feast with Duke William on his left hand, Odo, brother of William and Bishop of Bayeux, in the centre. His son was Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick. William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick (1237-1298) was an English nobleman and soldier, described as a “vigorous and innovative military commander.” He was active in the field against the Welsh for many years, and at the end of his life campaigned against the Scots. The Beaumonts continued to hold the Earldom of Warwick for centuries and the family were elevated to the highest levels until Henry, the 14th earl was created Duke of Warwick with precedence over all except the Duke of Norfolk. This precedence was disputed however and with Henry’s death in 1445, also without male heir, the dukedom was extinguished.

Region Lincoln

Date 1080

Traits

Percy

From the old french Perci, were the most powerful noble family in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages, having gained the title Baron Percy already in 1066. The name derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy, the initial home of the family prior to the Norman Conquest. Members have held the titles of Earl of Northumberland or Duke of Northumberland since 1341. From 1066 to 1341 the Barons Percy held a direct line,

Henry de Percy, 8th Baron Percy (1st creation) and 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick, (1273-1314), was the son of Henry de Percy, 7th Baron Percy and Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of Earl Warenne and Alice de Lusignan, half sister of Henry III. He fought under King Edward I in Wales and Scotland and was granted extensive estates in Scotland, which were later retaken by the Scots under Robert Bruce. He added Alnwick to the family estates in England, founding a dynasty of northern warlords. He rebelled against King Edward II over the issue of Piers Gaveston and was imprisoned for a few months. After his release he declined to fight under Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn, remaining at Alnwick, where he died a few months later aged forty one.

Region York

Date 1080

Traits

Redvers

Richard de Redvers (died 1107) of Reviers in Normandy, who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066. He was held by some to have been the Earl of Devon. He assumed the name of Richard de Ripariis, later anglicized to Redvers or, less commonly, Rivers. Richard de Redvers was one of the principal supporters of Henry I in his initial struggle against his brother Robert Curthose for control of the English throne. Henry bestowed on him the towns of Tiverton, Honiton (1100) and the honour of Plympton, together with a yearly pension of one-third of the revenue of that county. The Lordship of the Isle of Wight was also bestowed on him in 1102, which remained in his lineal descendance through a series of De Redvers and De Vernons until the reign of King Edward I. The Redvers were also the Earls of Devon for 8 generations until 1293.

Region Winchester

Date 1080

Traits

de Vere

Aubrey (Albericus) de Vere (died 1112) was a tenant-in-chief of William the Conqueror in 1086 and also vassal to Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances and to Count Alan, lord of Richmond. Named in Domesday Book 1086 as holding estates in six counties and around 1111 founded Colne Priory, Essex. His grandson Aubrey de Vere III, was later created 1st Earl of Oxford, and their descendants were to hold that title and the office that came to be known as the Lord Great Chamberlain until the extinction of the male line in 1703. A member of the family were also Bishops of Hereford. Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Marquess of Dublin, and 9th Earl of Oxford (16 January 1362 - 1392) was a favourite, court companion and close advisor of King Richard II of England.

Region London

Date 1080

Traits

de Quincy

The family of de Quincy had arrived in England after the Norman Conquest. Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (1155 –1219) was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against King John of England, and a major figure in both Scotland and England in the decades around the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Saer de Quincy's immediate background was in the Scottish kingdom: his father was a knight in the service of king William the Lion, and his mother was the heiress of the lordship of Leuchars. His rise to prominence in England came through his marriage to Margaret, the younger sister of Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester. He himself was a military man involved in fighting for both Scotland and England against the French and was already noted as having a retinue of 100 knights and 100 sergeants. Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester (1195–1265) joined his father on the Fifth Crusade in 1219 and would in time become Constable of Scotland.

Region Winchester

Date 1150

Traits

'''de Ferrers '''

Henry de Ferrers fought at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and, in consequence, was rewarded with major land holdings and granted 210 manors throughout England and Wales, but notably in Derbyshire and Leicestershire by King William for his conspicuous bravery and support at Hastings. His son was made 1st Earl of Derby. The family donated numerous priories and abbeys in the north and at least one family member was a knight templar and crusader. William II de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby, 1168–1247 was a favourite of King John of England. The family controlled more or less the entirety of Derby for most of the Middle Ages. When, in 1213, John surrendered his kingdoms of England and Ireland to the Pope, William was one of the witnesses to the "Bulla Aurea." In the following year William gave surety on behalf of the king for the payment of a yearly tribute of 1,000 marks. By 1260 the family estate had become worth around £1500 which meant that the Ferrers family was among the wealthiest in the country. Of Robert III de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby (1239 – 1279) it was said by Robert of Gloucester that "Of no one was King Edward more afraid." After clashing with the king in rebellion the Earldom of Derby was lost in title but the family continued its nobility with the especial peerage “Baron Ferrers of Chartley”, despite involvement in Magna Carta. Robert the 2nd Baron (b 1309) served frequently in the Scottish and French wars of Edward III as well as participating the victory at Cressy. By this time the family had secured a hereditary seat in parliament, and were by marriage claimants to the Earldoms of Hereford, Derby, Stafford andGloucester. Edmund de Ferrers, the 5th Baron born 1386 fought in most of the great victories of King Henry V including the Battle of Agincourt. The family then combined with the Beauchamps.

Region York

Date 1080

Traits

'''de Braose '''

William de Braose, First Lord of Bramber born 1049 was one of the Conqueror’s men. He was given lands in Sussex, England at Bramber in 1073, where he was lord of the Rape of Bramber and where he built Bramber Castle. De Braose was also awarded lands in the Welsh Marches, and became one of the most powerful of the new Lords of the early Norman era. He continued to bear arms alongside King William in campaigns in England, Normandy and Maine in France. He was a pious man and made considerable grants to the Abbey of St, Florent, Samur and to endow the formation of a Priory at Sele, Sussex and a Priory at Briouze. The Lords of Bramber continued for centuries marrying mainly into the Marcher families of Gloucester and Hereford. In 1175, William de Braose carried out the Abergavenny Massacre, luring three Welsh princes and other Welsh leaders to their deaths. From 1215 King John acquiesced to Reginald de Braose who became Lord of Brecon, Abergavenny, Builth and held other Marcher Lordships. He was also very much a vassal of the Welsh leader Llewelyn Fawr, Prince of Gwynedd his father-in-law. The family merged with the de Clares, Bohuns, de Lusignan and Marshalls gaining lands in Ireland.

Region Winchester

Date 1080

Traits

'''le Despenser '''

Sir Hugh le Despenser (died 1238) was a wealthy land owner in the East Midlands of England, as well as High Sheriff of Berkshire. He emerged from quite lowly origins, probably of Norman stock but not nobility. His son became 1st Baron le Despencer serving as Chief Justiciar of England in 1260 and as Constable of the Tower of London. He was killed fighting on de Montfort's side at the Battle of Evesham in August, 1265. He was slain by Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Wigmore; this caused a feud to begin between the Despenser and Mortimer families. A 2nd creation of the title was given to Edward 1335 who had inherited the former peerage from his uncle He went with Edward the Black Prince to France, and was present at the Battle of Poitiers. In recognition of his conduct in the French wars, he was summoned to Parliament as a baron in 1357. At the same time, he also became a Knight of the Garter. His son Thomas was a supporter of Richard II against Thomas of Woodstock and the Lords Appellant, he was rewarded with an Earldom as Earl of Gloucester in 1397. However, he supported Henry Bolingbroke on his return to England to become King Henry IV, only to be deprived of his Earldom for his role in the death of Thomas of Woodstock. He then took part in the Epiphany Rising, a rebellion aimed at restoring Richard; this quickly failed, and he was attainted. He was captured by a mob and beheaded at Bristol in January 1400. His daughter then married into the Beauchamps.

Region Lincoln

Date 1200

Traits

'''de Burgh '''

The 'de Burgh' family owned the majority of a small village, Walton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire prior to their arrival with the Normans in Ireland. William de Burgh (1157 – 1206) arrived in Ireland in 1175 among retinue of King Henry II of England. Henry apparently appointed him Governor of Limerick. With in a few years he was granted the manors of Kilsheeland and Ardpatrick, and in time, the castle of Tibraghty in County Kilkenny. In 1179, the King granted vast estates of land in Leinster, Munster, and Connaught to William who became the first Lord of Connaught after the betrayed alliance with the King of Connaught. His descendants became earls of Ulster and founded several townships across Ireland. They married with Irish royalty sch as the O’Briens Kings of Thomond. Hubert de Burgh (1180 –1243) was Earl of Kent, Justiciar of England and Ireland, and one of the most influential men in England during the reigns of John and Henry III. Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (1259 – 29 July 1326), called The Red Earl, was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries leading his forces from Ireland to support England's King Edward I in his Scottish campaigns and when the forces of Edward Bruce invaded Ulster in 1315, the Earl led a force against him, but was beaten at Connor in Antrim. The family merged with the Mortimers in 1368.

Region Dublin

Date 1160

Traits

De Warrenne

William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, (died 1088) was one of the Norman nobles who fought at the Battle of Hastings and became great landowners in England. Afterwards he received the Rape of Lewes in Sussex, and subsequently lands in twelve other shires. He built castles at Lewes (Sussex), Reigate (Surrey), Castle Acre (Norfolk) and Conisbrough in Yorkshire. By the time of the Domesday survey he was one of the wealthiest landholders in England with holdings in 12 counties. He fought against rebels at the Isle of Ely in 1071 where he showed a special desire to hunt down Hereward the Wake who had murdered his brother the year before. William was loyal to William II, and it was probably in early 1088 that he was created Earl of Surrey. He died shortly afterwards of wounds he received while helping suppress the rebellion of 1088. His descendants mixed with several of the noble families in England such as the de Lacys, Marshalls and Beauchamps and in time the Plantagenets themselves, they also kept the Earldom of Surrey for centuries. William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey was a crusader knight (1146-48) and Hamelin de Warenne (Plantagenet) 1129-1202. joined in the denunciations of Thomas Becket in 1164, although after Becket's death he became a great believer in Becket's sainthood, having, the story goes, been cured of blindness by the saint's help. In 1176, he escorted his niece Joan of England to Sicily for her marriage. He remained loyal to Henry through all the problems of the later part of the king's reign when many nobles deserted him, and continued as a close supporter of his nephew Richard I. During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade, he took the side of the regent William Longchamp. Hamelin appeared in the 2nd coronation of King Richard in 1194 and at King John's coronation in 1199. William was one of the few barons who remained loyal to King John (who was his cousin) during the king's difficulties with the barons, when they sought for the French prince to assume the English throne, and is listed as one of those who advised John to accede to the Magna Carta. John the 7th Earl of Surrey was in 1296 appointed by the king "warden of the kingdom and land of Scotland" he was made captain of the campaign against the Scots in early 1298. He raised the siege of Roxburgh and re-took the castle at Berwick, and was one of the commanders at the Battle of Falkirk. He married a de Lusignan, their children married into the Percys, de Veres and Balliols of Scotland. The 8th Earl captured the two Roger Mortimers, and in 1322 he was one of the nobles who condemned to death the earl of Lancaster. He and his brother-in-law Edmund Fitzalan, 9th Earl of Arundel were the last two earls to remain loyal to Edward II after the rise to power of Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer. After Arundel's execution he went over to the queen's side, urging Edward II's abdication in 1327.

Region London

Date 1080

Traits

FitzAlan

Alan FitzFlaad (d. after 1114) was a Breton knight who held the feudal barony and castle of Oswestry in Shropshire. His duties as a "valiant and illustrious man" included supervision of the Welsh border. His eldest son was made High Sheriff of Shropshire by King Stephen of England in 1137, he was the ancestor of the FitzAlan Earls of Arundel. Walter Fitzalan, his second son, became 1st hereditary High Steward of Scotland in 1164 he led a force which defeated Somerled, Lord of the Isles in the Battle of Renfrew.

Region Aberffraw

Date 1080

Traits

Faction England, Scotland

De Montfort

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (1208 – 1265), was a French-English nobleman, notable as the principal leader of the baronial opposition to King Henry III of England. After the rebellion of 1263 and 1264, de Montfort became de facto ruler of England and called the first directly elected parliament in medieval Europe. One of his daughters married Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales. However his sons despite holding considerable powers were pursued with tragic and longlasting consequences by Henry III and his cousin, Prince Edward being slain in battle, locked in the Tower of London or forced into exile in France or Italy. Guy took service with Charles of Anjou where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Alba and was given Lordship of Nola. He was later excommunicated and stripped of rank for revenging his father’s murderer and in the service of Charles of Anjou again, was captured off the coast of Sicily in 1287 by the Aragonese at the Battle of the Counts. He died in a Sicilian prison. Nonetheless his descendants merged with many royal families in Europe including Guise, Naples and Poland.

Region Lincoln

Date 1200

Traits – piety, + command, + authority, - loyalty

Seagrave

Stephen de Segrave (1171-1241) was Chief Justiciar of England, He became a knight and was made constable of the Tower of London in 1203. He obtained lands and held various positions under Henry III. He was given the manor where Caludon Castle was built, at Wyken near Coventry in 1232 and in 1236, he became castellan of Beeston Castle and Chester Castle. He married into the Despenser and Bigod families. Nicholas de Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave (d.1295) was one of the most prominent baronial leaders during the reign of King Henry III. Gilbert Segrave was Bishop of London 1313. The peerage of Segrave was held until the 1370s when the family merged with the Mowbrays, under John 1st Earl of Nottingham, 6th Baron Segrave, 5th Baron Mowbray (1365-1379).

Region London

Date 1170

Traits

Marshal

John FitzGilbert the Marshal (Marechal) (c. 1105 – 1165) was a minor Anglo-Norman nobleman during the reign of King Stephen, and fought in the 12th century civil war on the side of the Empress Matilda. Since at least 1130 and probably earlier, he had been the royal marshal to King Henry I. When Henry died, John FitzGilbert swore for Stephen and was granted the castles of Marlborough and Ludgershall, Wiltshire during this time. Along with Hamstead Marshal, this gave him control of the valley of the River Kennet in Wiltshire. In 1152, John had a legendary confrontation with King Stephen, who had besieged him at Newbury Castle. After John had broken an agreement to surrender, Stephen threatened to kill his son, whom John had given as a hostage. John refused, saying he could make more sons, but Stephen apparently took pity on the young boy and did not kill him. The boy grew up to be William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, a legendary figure in medieval lore, and one of the most powerful men in England. Marshals married into the De Braose, De Clare, Bruce and Plantagenet families. They bore the Earldom of Pembroke for over 100 years

Region Winchester

Date 1100

Traits

de Valence

Guillaume de Lusignan, 1st Earl of Wexford and 1st Earl of Pembroke, 1225-1296 was a French nobleman and Knight, who became important in English politics due to his relationship to Henry III. He was heavily involved in the Second Barons' War, supporting the King and Prince Edward against the rebels led by Simon de Montfort. He took the name de Valence ("of Valence"). He and his brothers were invited to England by the king during the times of strife with France. He fled Simon de Montfort’s accession however, but in 1265 he took part in the Siege of Gloucester and the final royalist victory at Evesham. After the battle he was restored to his estates and accompanied Prince Edward, afterwards Edward I, to Palestine. From his base in Pembrokeshire he was a mainstay of the English campaigns against Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and later Dafydd ap Gruffudd; in the war of 1282-3 that led to the conquest of Wales he negotiated the surrender of one of Dafydd's last remaining castles, Castell-y-Bere, with its custodian, Cynfrig ap Madog. The 2nd Earl of Pembroke worked closely with the King. He was appointed King’s lieutenant in Scotland in 1314, and was present at the disastrous English defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn, where he helped lead Edward away from the field of battle. In 1317, however, while returning from a papal embassy to Avignon, he was captured by a Jean de Lamouilly, and held for ransom in Germany. The ransom of £ 10,400 was to cause Pembroke significant financial difficulties for the remainder of his life and allowed the Despenser family to oust him from court and favour.

Region Aberffraw

Date 1220

Traits

Faction England

Hastings''' '''

Henry de Hastings (c. 1235 – c. 1269) was created Baron in 1264 by Simon de Montfort. He led the Londoners at the Battle of Lewes, where he was taken prisoner, and fought at the Battle of Evesham. He resisted the King at Kenilworth, and, after the Dictum of Kenilworth he commanded the last remnants of the baronial party when they made their last stand in the Isle of Ely, submitting to Henry in July 1267. Although he was known by the title of Baron, his baronial title was not recognised by the crown; hence his son John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings is regarded and enumerated as the first baron of the line. Henry was the only son of Sir Henry de Hastings and Ada of Huntingdon, one of four daughters of David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon and Maud of Chester. John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings b. 1262 acquired the castle and honour of Bergavenny as Baron Abergavenny on the death of his uncle George de Cantelou, in 1273, and became the 13th Baron of Bergavenny. Hastings fought from the 1290s in the Scottish, Irish and French wars of King Edward I and was later Seneschal of Aquitaine. In 1290 he had unsuccessfully contested the Scottish crown as grandson of Ada, third daughter of David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon, who was a grandson of King David I. The same year he was summoned to the English Parliament as Lord Hastings. In 1301, he signed a letter to Pope Boniface VIII, protesting the Papal interference in the Scottish affairs. Lord Hastings married as his first wife Isabel de Valence, daughter of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke. His younger son Edmund was summoned to Parliament as Lord Hastings in 1299. The Barons continued in power until their rights were contested by the Grey family in 1413, ending in a troubled legal dispute with the king involving legal fees and a spite in the Tower of London.

Region London

Date 1235

Traits

'''Grey '''

Anchetil de Greye was a companion of the Conqueror. He was the great grandfather of John de Gray, Bishop of Norwich, and the great great grandfather of Walter de Gray, Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England; and is regarded as the ancestor of all the Grey/Gray noble families in England. The principal estate granted to Anchetil de Greye in England was called Redrefield (subsequently Rotherfield Greys) and the manor house, Greys Court in South Oxfordshire. Anchetil was also the mesne lord of Standlake in West Oxfordshire.

Sir John de Grey (died 1266) was the second son of Henry de Grey of Grays Thurrock in Essex. He served as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in 1238-39 and as High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1252-53, undertaking military service in Flanders in 1232. Sir Henry Grey was summoned to Parliament in 1299 and the title Baron Grey, of Codnor in the County of Derby was made. Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn (1298 - 1353) was summoned to parliament in 1324. He saw much service as a soldier. He was the son of John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Wilton, by his second marriage, to Maud daughter of Ralph Bassett, 1st Baron Bassett. He married Elizabeth daughter of John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings of Bergavenny, by whom he had a son who succeeded as Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn. The Greys de Ruthyn contested rights to the Baronetcy of Hastings in 1413 with success.

Region London

Date 1080

Traits

Pole

Michael de la Pole (c. 1330 – 1389) was an English financier, Lord Chancellor of England, and Earl of Suffolk. He was the oldest son of William de la Pole (d. 1366) and Catherine Norwich, daughter of Sir Walter Norwich. His father was a wool merchant from Hull who became a key figure during the reign of Edward III: after the collapse of the Bardi and Peruzzi families, he emerged as Edward's chief financier. Michael enjoyed even greater popularity at court than his father, becoming one of the most trusted and intimate friends of Edward's successor, Richard II. De la Pole's descendants were key players in the political life of the next two centuries at Wingfield Castle in Suffolk: His son Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk was a supporter of Henry IV and opponent of Richard. He regained his father's title on Henry's accession in 1399, and died at the Siege of Harfleur. His eldest grandson Michael de la Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk died at the Battle of Agincourt. His younger grandson William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk was appointed Lord Chamberlain under Henry VI, before being murdered in exile. His great-great grandson was Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, who led a botched rebellion against Henry VII in 1501.

Region: York

Date: 1317

Effects: + tax, +trade, authority, command

Tudor

The Tudors descended matrilineally from John Beaufort, one of the illegitimate children of the 14th century English Prince John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (the third surviving son of Edward III of England) by Gaunt's long-term mistress Katherine Swynford. John Beaufort's granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort, a considerable heiress, was married to Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond. Tudor was the son of Welsh courtier Owain Tewdr (anglicised to "Owen Tudor") and Katherine of Valois, widowed Queen Consort of the Lancastrian King Henry V. Edmund Tudor and his siblings were either illegitimate, or the product of a secret marriage, and owed their fortunes to the good will of their legitimate half-brother King Henry VI. When the House of Lancaster fell from power, the Tudors arose to the throne. Sir Owen Meredith Tudor (Welsh: Owain ap Maredudd ap Tewdwr 1400 –1461) was a Welsh soldier and courtier, descended from a daughter of the Welsh prince Rhys ap Gruffudd (1132-1197). At the age of seven, he was sent to the English court as page to the King's Steward. At that point, his name was anglicised to Owen Tudor. Tudor fought at Agincourt; and appears to have been promoted to squire. At any rate, after Agincourt, he was granted "English rights" and permitted to use Welsh arms in England. Henry Tudor, Owen Tudor's grandson, became King Henry VII of England in 1485, founding the Tudor dynasty when his supporters defeated those of Richard III to end the Wars of the Roses.

Region Aberffraw

Date 1200/1400?

Traits

'''Mandeville '''

Geoffrey de Mandeville (d. c. 1100) was Constable of the Tower of London. An important Domesday tenant-in-chief, de Mandeville was one of the great magnates of the reign of William the Conqueror. William granted him large estates, primarily in Essex, but in ten other shires as well. He served as sheriff in London and Middlesex, and perhaps also in Essex, and in Hertfordshire. The Mandevilles came to the Earldom of Essex and served several kinds such as Henry II and Richard I as councillors and Chief Justiciars.

Region London

Date 1080

Traits

'''de Ros '''

Everard de Ros (born 1144) was the third Lord of Hamlake, a castle in Yorkshire and son of Isabel Avenal, an illegitimate daughter of William I of Scotland. He seems to have been very wealthy, as in 1176 he paid the then large sum of five hundred and twenty-six pounds as a fine for his lands, and other large amounts subsequently. Robert de Ros, his son was a Magna Carta surety 1st Baron de Ros (1213 - 1285). The Baronetcy continued throughout the Middle Ages, and the family merged with many other noble lines such as the Plantagenets, Despensers and the Beauchamps. The 5th Baron in 1364, accompanied the king of Cyprus to the Holy Land; and was in the French wars, from 1369 to 1371. He was summoned to parliament by both King Edward III of England and King Richard II of England. The 7th Baron de Ros served as Lord Treasurer of England from 1403 to 1404. John de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros (1396–1421) served as a soldier of Henry V of England during the Hundred Years' War. Six years after the Battle of Agincourt, John participated in the Battle of Baugé. He was among the casualties along with his brother William de Ros, Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, the governor of Normandy and others. The barons were also Lords of Belvoir, causing them to eventually clash with the Barons Hastings and Greys. During the Wars of the Roses they sided with the House of Lancaster.

Region York

Date 1140

Traits

Berkeley

Thomas de Berkeley aka The Wise (1245 - 1321) was 1st Baron Berkeley, a soldier and diplomat. Berkeley Castle was constructed from 1154 A.D., on the orders of Henry II, with the aim of defending the Bristol - Gloucester Road, the Severn estuary and the Welsh border. The family were established some time after this date. One family member eventually was created Viscount Berkeley in 1481, Earl of Nottingham in 1483, and Marquess of Berkeley in 1488. The Barons themselves held some impressive epithets after ‘The Wise’ such as the Magnanimous, the Rich, the Valiant and the Magnificent.

Region Winchester

Date 1140

Traits

Neville

The House of Neville was a leading force in English politics in the later middle ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England along with the House of Percy and played a central role in the Wars of the Roses. The Neville family is first attested after the Norman conquest of England, during which most of the existing aristocracy of England were dispossessed and replaced by a new Norman ruling elite. However, despite the French surname they later assumed, the family's male line was of native origin, and they had probably been part of the pre-conquest aristocracy of Northumbria. The survival of such native landowning families was considerably more common in the more northerly parts of England than further south. The family can be traced back to one Anglo-Saxon Uhtred, whose son Dolfin is first attested in 1129, holding the estate of Staindrop in County Durham. This locality remained the principal seat of the family until 1569, their chief residence being at Raby, just north of the village of Staindrop, where in the 14th century they built the present Raby Castle. In 1334 Ralph Neville, Lord of Raby was appointed one of the wardens of the marches, the chief officers for frontier defence, and the Nevilles habitually occupied these posts thereafter. Ralph commanded the force that crushed an invading Scottish army at the Battle of Neville's Cross outside Durham and captured King David II in 1346. In the mid-14th century the Nevilles became involved in naval defence as well, holding the post of Admiral of the North.[ This period also saw them begin to hold high office at court and in the Church: the victor of Neville's Cross served as Steward of the Royal Household and on his death was succeeded in the office by his eldest son John, while John's brother Alexander became Archbishop of York and a close advisor of Richard II.

Region York

Date 1130?1330?

Traits