William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Earl of Salisbury
Elizabeth de Montfort
Arms of Montagu (modern): Argent, three fusils conjoined in fess gules

William Montagu, alias de Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 3rd Baron Montagu, King of Man (1301 – 30 January 1344) was an English nobleman and loyal servant of King Edward III.

The son of William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu, he entered the royal household at an early age and became a close companion of the young Prince Edward. The relationship continued after Edward was crowned king following the deposition of Edward II in 1327. In 1330, Montagu was one of Edward's main accomplices in the coup against Roger Mortimer, who until then had been acting as the king's protector.

In the following years, Montagu served the king in various capacities, primarily in the

Hundred Years' War, but in 1340 he was captured by the French, and in return for his freedom had to promise never to fight in France again. Salisbury died of wounds suffered at a tournament
early in 1344.

Legend has it that Montagu's wife

Catherine was raped by Edward III, but this story is almost certainly French propaganda. William and Catherine had six children, most of whom married into the nobility. Modern historians have called William Montague Edward's "most intimate personal friend"[3] and "the chief influence behind the throne from Mortimer's downfall in 1330 until his own death in 1344."[4]

Family background

William Montagu, born at

Elizabeth de Montfort, daughter of Sir Peter Montfort of Beaudesert, Warwickshire,[5] by Matilda/Maud de la Mare, daughter and heiress of Henry de la Mare of Ashtead, Surrey, Royal Justice, Seneschal of William Longspree II, Earl of Salisbury.[6]

The Montagu family, a

Conquest, held extensive lands in Somerset, Dorset and Devon.[7]

The father, William Montagu, distinguished himself in the Scottish Wars during the reign of Edward I, and served as steward of Edward II's household. Some members of the nobility, including Thomas of Lancaster, viewed Montagu with suspicion, as a member of a court party with undue influence on the king.[8] For this reason, he was sent to Aquitaine, to serve as seneschal. Here he died on 18 October 1319.[8] Even though he sat in parliament as a baron, the second lord Montagu never rose above a level of purely regional importance.[9]

Early service

The younger William was still a minor at the time of his father's death, and entered the royal household as a ward of the king in 1320.[10] On 21 February 1323 he was granted his father's lands and title.[5] His service to Edward II took him abroad to the Continent in both 1320 and 1325.[5] In 1326 he was knighted.[9] After the deposition of Edward II in 1327, Montagu continued in the service of Edward's son Edward III. He helped the new king in repelling the Scottish invasion of 1327, and was created knight banneret in 1328.[5]

Montagu enjoyed a close relationship with Edward III, and accompanied him abroad on a diplomatic mission in 1329. That same year he was sent on an embassy to negotiate a marriage alliance with King

Richard Bury, Keeper of the Privy Seal, wrote to inform the pope that only letters containing the words pater sancte (holy father), in Edward's own handwriting, were indeed from the king. Only Edward, Bury and Montagu were party to the scheme.[12]

Coup against Mortimer

When Mortimer discovered the conspiracy against him, Montagu was brought in for interrogation – along with the king – but gave nothing away.

Robert Ufford, and John Neville and others, he entered the castle, where he met up with the king.[5] A short brawl followed before Mortimer was captured. The queen stormed into the chamber shouting "Good son, have pity on noble Mortimer".[14] Edward did not obey his mother's wishes, and a few weeks later Mortimer was executed for treason in London.[15] As a reward for his part in the coup, Montagu was given lands worth £1000, including the Welsh lordship of Denbigh that had belonged to Mortimer.[16] His family also benefited; his brother Simon Montacute became Bishop of Worcester and later of Ely.[17] Another brother, Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu, married Alice of Norfolk, a co-heir of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk.[18]

Service under Edward III

Edward III founded the Order of the Garter in 1348, and included Salisbury's son among the founding members.

In the years to come, Montagu acted as Edward's closest companion.[3] In April 1331, the two went on a secret expedition to France, disguised as merchants so they would not be recognised. In September of the same year, Montagu held a tournament at Cheapside, where he and the king were costumed as Tartars.[5] From 1333 onwards, Montagu was deeply engaged in the Scottish Wars, and distinguished himself at the Siege of Berwick and the Battle of Halidon Hill. It was after this event that his lordship over the Isle of Man was recognised, a right he held from his grandfather.[5] The lordship was at the moment of a purely theoretical nature, however, since the island was still under Scottish control.

In February 1334 Montagu was sent on a commission to Edinburgh, to demand Edward Balliol's homage to Edward. In the great summer campaign of 1335, it was Montagu who provided the largest English contingent, with 180

Siege of Dunbar in 1338 against Agnes, Countess of Dunbar and Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie met with failure.[20]
Following the abortive attempt in Scotland, Edward III turned his attention to the continent.

The Hundred Years' War

Montagu was created

Hundred Years' War.[21] To allow Montagu to support his new status, the king granted him land and rent of a value of 1000 marks a year. The money was provided from the royal stannaries of Cornwall.[22] A contemporary poem tells of a vow made by the earl on the eve of the wars – he would not open one of his eyes while fighting in France. The story is probably a satire; the truth was that Montagu had already lost the use of one of his eyes in a tournament.[23]

In April 1337, Montagu was appointed to a diplomatic commission to

Earl of Derby.[26] The earl had earlier voiced concerns about the costly alliances, but he nevertheless remained loyal to the king's strategy.[27]

While Edward was away, Salisbury was captured by the French at

Robert Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, who was captured with him. Philip was, however, dissuaded by John of Bohemia, who argued that the earls could come in handy in an exchange, should any French noblemen be captured.[28] Though released on parole in September, it was not until May 1342 that he reached a final settlement with the French. Salisbury was freed in a prisoner exchange, but only on the condition that he never fight in France again.[5]

Final years

Truce of Malestroit.[5] It was probably sometime after this he made good his claim on the Isle of Man, by conquering the island which was until then held by the Scots.[5]

His final international commission took place late in 1343, when he accompanied

Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Derby, on a diplomatic mission to Castile.[5] Early in 1344 he was back in England, where he took part in a great tournament at Windsor. It was during this tournament, according to the chronicler Adam Murimuth, that he received wounds that would prove fatal.[5] Salisbury died on 30 January 1344. He was buried at Bisham Priory in Berkshire, adjoining his home, Bisham Manor. He had founded the priory himself in 1337, on his elevation to the earldom.[31] King Edward's financial obligations were never paid in full during the earl's lifetime, and at Salisbury's death, the king owed him £11,720. Of this, some £6374 were written off by his executors
in 1346.

Family

In or before 1327 Salisbury married

Catherine, daughter of William de Grandison, 1st Baron Grandison. Two anecdotal stories revolve around Catherine Montagu; in one she is identified as the "Countess of Salisbury" from whose dropped garter Edward III named the Order of the Garter.[5] In the other, Edward III falls in love with the countess, and arranges to be alone with her so he can rape her. Neither story is supported by contemporary evidence, and the latter almost certainly is a product of French propaganda.[32]

William and Catherine had six children, most of whom made highly fortunate matches with other members of the nobility.

William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury.[35] The younger William was one of the founding members of the Order of the Garter, but he never enjoyed the same favour with the king as his father had.[9]

The children of William and Catherine were as follows:[36]

In fiction

Salisbury is a character in

French miniseries adaptation
of the series.

References

  1. ^ As shown in the Dering Roll (1270/80), no 83 "Peres de Muntfort (Piers de Montfort)"[1] Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ See Image:William of Montagu.jpg Seal of his father inscribed in Latin: S(IGILLUM) DE GUILLAUME SIRE DE MONTAGU ("seal of William, lord of the manor of Montagu"). The arms displayed by the knight are bendy, not the Montagu (modern) arms of three fusils in fess adopted at some time before their recording in the Dunstable Roll of 1390
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-19-821712-9
    .
  4. ISBN 0-300-04876-9
    .
  5. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19001
    .
  6. ^ Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition...page 28, by Douglas Richardson; https://books.google.ca/books?isbn=1461045207
  7. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2281.1951.tb00382.x
    .
  8. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19000
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 0-85683-092-5
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-19-822844-9
    .
  11. ^ Ormrod (1990), p. 15.
  12. ^ McKisack (1959), p. 152.
  13. ^ McKisack (1959), p. 101.
  14. ^ Prestwich (2005), p. 224
  15. ^ Prestwich (2005), pp. 223–4
  16. ^ Prestwich (2005), p. 416
  17. ^ McKisack (1959), p. 153.
  18. ^ a b c Douch (1951), p. 87.
  19. ^ Mortimer later married Montagu's daughter Philippa; Prestwich (2005), p. 268
  20. ^ Douch (1951), p. 86.
  21. ISBN 0-415-14883-9
    .
  22. ^ Given-Wilson (1996), pp. 38–40.
  23. ^ Prestwich (2005), p. 343. According to Douch, the eye was lost in the Scottish Wars; Douch (1951), p. 86.
  24. ^ McKisack (1959), p. 121.
  25. ^ Prestwich, M.C. (1996). The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272–1377 (reprint ed.). London: Routledge. p. 190.
  26. ^ McKisack (1959), p. 163.
  27. ISBN 0-521-32510-2
    .
  28. ^ Prestwich (1996), p. 206
  29. ^ Prestwich (2005), p. 275
  30. ^ McKisack (1959), p. 177.
  31. ^ Prestwich (2005), p. 286
  32. JSTOR 563289
    .
  33. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  34. ^ Ormrod (1990), p. 99.
  35. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19002
    .
  36. Cokayne, George (1910–59). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom
    (New ed.). London: The St. Catherine Press.
  37. ^ Fryde, E. B. (1961). Handbook of British Chronology (Second ed.). London: Royal Historical Society. p. 448.

External links

External links

Peerage of England
Vacant
Title last held by
Alice de Lacy
 		Earl of Salisbury
1337–1344 		Succeeded by
William Montacute
Preceded by
William Montacute
Baron Montacute

1319–1344

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Montagu,_1st_Earl_of_Salisbury&oldid=1183253110"