Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent
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Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent | |
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Robert of Thornham | |
Succeeded by | Geoffrey de Neville |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1170 |
Died | before 5 May 1243 Banstead , England |
Spouses | |
Relations |
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Children |
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Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent (English: /dˈbɜːr/; d'-BER; French pronunciation: [d.buʁ]; c. 1170 – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Chief Justiciar of England (1215–1232) and Justiciar of Ireland (1232) during the reigns of King John and his son and successor King Henry III and, as Regent of England (1219–1227) during Henry's minority, was one of the most influential and powerful men in English politics in the thirteenth century.
Origins
Hubert de Burgh was born of unknown parents of
Appointments by King John
Hubert de Burgh had entered the service of Prince John by 1198, and rose in importance in John's administration: he served successively as chamberlain of John's household, Ambassador to Portugal, Sheriff first of Dorset and Somerset (1200–1204) and then of Berkshire (1202–4) and Cornwall (1202), custodian of the castles of Dover, Launceston and Windsor, and then of the Welsh Marches. For these services, he was granted a series of manors, baronies, and other castles, and became a powerful figure in John's administration.[1]
In 1202, de Burgh was sent to France by King John, to assist in the defense of Poitou against King Philip II of France. He was appointed castellan of the great castle of Chinon in Touraine. During this time, he served as guard of the captured Arthur I, Duke of Brittany. After almost all of Poitou had fallen to the French king, de Burgh held the castle for an entire year, until he was captured during the ultimately successful storming of the castle in 1205.[1] He was held captive until 1207, during which time his royal appointments and grants of land passed to other men. Following his return to England, de Burgh did, however, acquire other offices in John's administration. He also acquired lands scattered throughout East Anglia, South-West England, and elsewhere, making him once again an important baron in England.[1]
In 1212, de Burgh returned to France at first as deputy seneschal of Poitou and then as seneschal (1212–1215). He served John in his efforts to recover dominions lost to Philip II of France, until the signing of a truce between John and Philip following John's failed military campaign in France in 1214.[1]
Chief Justiciar of England
Hubert de Burgh remained loyal to King John during the barons' rebellion in the last years of his reign. In the early stages of that rebellion, John sent de Burgh to London with the Bishop of Coventry, in an unsuccessful attempt to command the people of London to resist the Barons' military advance. De Burgh and Philip d'Aubigny brought together the king's troops at Rochester, but then John made peace with the rebels. In Magna Carta (1215) de Burgh is listed as one of those who advised the king to sign, and his brother, Geoffrey (Bishop of Ely), was a witness. Hubert de Burgh is also listed as the person who would act on the king's behalf if the king were out of the country. Soon after the issuing of Magna Carta, de Burgh was officially declared Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland.[5]
During the
Regent to Henry III
When Henry III came of age in 1227 Hubert de Burgh was appointed Governor of Rochester Castle, lord of Montgomery Castle in the Welsh Marches, and created Earl of Kent. He remained one of the most influential people at court. On 27 April 1228, he was named Justiciar for life.[5] He was appointed Justiciar of Ireland on 16 June 1232 but never visited Ireland and he retired from this post in August 1232.[11]
However, in 1232, his enemies' plots finally succeeded and he was removed from office and was soon imprisoned at
Trouble with the king
The marriage of Hubert de Burgh's daughter, Margaret (or Megotta as she was also known), to the young Richard of Clare, Earl of Gloucester, brought de Burgh into some trouble in 1236, for the earl was still a minor and in the king's wardship, and the marriage had been celebrated without the royal licence. Hubert, however, protested that the match was not of his making, and promised to pay the king some money, so the matter passed by for the time. Eventually the marriage came to an end, by way of her death.[13][14][15]
Lands acquired
In 1206, he purchased the manor of Tunstall in Kent (from Robert de Arsic)[16] which was later inherited by his eldest son, John de Burgh.[17]
Hubert was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and was also given charge of Falaise, in Normandy.[1] At Falaise he was the gaoler of Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, the nephew of King John and boy claimant to the English throne. Arthur may or may not have been murdered after leaving de Burgh's custody; his fate is unknown.
At some time before 1215, Hubert de Burgh is cited as having been appointed
Sometime after 1215, De Burgh started building a castle in Hadleigh having been awarded the lands by King John.[19] A licence to crenellate was retrospectively given in 1230, at which point that original castle had been completed.[19] After falling out with King Henry III, De Burgh was stripped of Hadleigh Castle.[19] The castle was claimed by the monarchy and stayed in royal hands until being sold (with much of the stonework dismantled and sold) in 1551.[19] The castle later suffered from several landslips, and the ruins are currently owned by English Heritage.[19]
Marriages
Hubert was initially betrothed to Joan de Redvers (daughter of
Hubert de Burgh married three times:
- Firstly, Beatrice (daughter of William de Warrenne) with whom he had two sons: Sir John (whose descendant, Margaret, married Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster) and Sir Hubert (ancestor of Thomas Burgh of Gainsborough).
- Secondly (September 1217),[20] Isabella, Countess of Gloucester (daughter and heiress of William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester).
- Thirdly, Princess Margaret (sister of King Alexander II of Scotland)[21] with whom he had a daughter, Margaret, who married Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester.
Death
Hubert de Burgh died in Banstead, Surrey, in 1243,[16] and was buried in the Church of the Friars Preachers (commonly called Black Friars) in Holborn, London.[13]
His sons did not inherit his earldom, as the inheritance of the earldom was restricted to descendants of Hubert and his third wife, possibly because Henry III granted the title on account of Hubert marrying a Scottish princess.[22][23][24]
Fictional portrayals
Hubert is a character in
Arms
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See also
- Hiberno-Normandynasty founded in 1193
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k West 2004
- ^ Ellis 1952, pp. 183–202.
- ^ Almond's peerage of Ireland 1767 p.6 Earls of Clanricarde
- ^ Prince Arthur and Hubert: William Frederick Yeames (1835–1918): Manchester Art Gallery, ArtUK, retrieved 15 January 2021
- ^ a b c Powicke & Fryde 1961, p. 70
- ^ Paris, Matthew (1876). Chronica Majora (in Latin). Longman & Company. pp. xvi.
- ^ Carpenter 1990, pp. 43–44
- ^ Ridgeway 2004
- ^ a b c Carpenter 1990, p. 44
- ^ Schomberg (1802), p. 185.
- ISBN 978-0-19-959306-4.
- ^ Plucknett 1956, p. 170
- ^ a b Stephen 1886, p. 321
- ^ Archer, p. 393
- ^ Tewkesbury Annals p. 106; Pat. Rolls, 17 b
- ^ a b Hasted 1798, pp. 80–98
- ^ Name Latinised to de Burgo
- ^ White and Black books of the Cinque Ports, Vol XIX, 1966
- ^ a b c d e (Alexander & Westlake 2009, p. 9)
- ^ Patterson 2004
- ^ Stephen 1886, p. 317
- ^ F. J. West, 'Burgh, Hubert de, earl of Kent (c.1170–1243)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, revised online 2008, available online via some libraries
- ^ Susanna Annesley, "The Countess and the Constable: An exploration of the conflict that arose between Margaret de Burgh and Bertram de Criel", Henry III Fine Rolls Project, 2015: The National Archives and King's College London, http://www.finerollshenry3.org.uk/content/month/fm-07-2008.html, retrieved 21 December 2015, citing (Calendar of Charter Rolls 1226-57, p. 13).
- ^ S. H. F. Johnston. "The Lands of Hubert De Burgh" in The English Historical Review, Vol. 50 (No. 199), Oxford University Press, 1935, available via JSTOR through some libraries and other institutions, retrieved 7 November 2019: p 430
- ^ Lewis 1994
- ^ Ellis 1952, p. 229.
Bibliography
- Magnus Alexander; Wikidata Q75044663.
- Archer, Thomas Andrew, "Clare, Richard de (1222-1262)", Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, vol. 10
- Wikidata Q56560233.
- Ellis, Clarence (1952). Hubert de Burgh A Study in Constancy. London: Phoenix House Ltd. pp. 183–202.
- Hasted, Edward (1798). "Parishes". The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. 6. Institute of Historical Research: 80–98.
- Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1886), "Burgh, Hubert de", Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 7, London: Smith, Elder & Co., pp. 315–322
- Lewis, Margaret (1994). Edith Pargeter--Ellis Peters. Seren. ISBN 978-1-85411-128-9.
- Patterson, Robert B. (2004). "Isabella, suo jure countess of Gloucester (c.1160–1217)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/46705. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Plucknett, T. (1956), A Concise History of the Common Law, Little, Brown and Co.
- Powicke, F. Maurice; Fryde, E. B. (1961). Handbook of British Chronology (2nd ed.). London: Royal Historical Society.
- Ridgeway, H. W. (2004). "Henry III (1207–1272)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12950. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Schomberg, Isaac (1802), Naval Chronology, or, An Historical Summary of Naval & Maritime Events from the Time of the Romans to the Treaty of Peace 1802..., vol. V, London: T. Egerton.
- West, F. J. (2004). "Hubert de Burgh". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3991. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
Further reading
- Wikidata Q104831721.
- Davis, Henry William Carless (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). p. 815. .
- Harwood, Brian, Fixer & Fighter The Life of Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, 1170–1243. Pen & Sword (2016)
- Hunt, William (1886). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 7. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- S. H. F. Johnston (1935). "The Lands of Hubert de Burgh". Wikidata Q104831850.
- Michael Weiss (1974). "The Castellan: The Early Career of Hubert de Burgh". Wikidata Q104832429.
- West, F. J. The Justiciarship in England 1066–1232 (Cambridge, 1966)