Eleanor (Clare) la Zouche (bef. 1292 - 1337)

Born before 23 Nov 1292 in Caerphilly Castle, Glamorganshire, Wales

Ancestors

Wife of Hugh (Despenser) le Despenser — married after 14 Jun 1306 in Westminster, London, England

Descendants

Died 30 Jun 1337 after age 44 in Gloucestershire, England

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Liz Shifflett [send private message], April Dauenhauer [send private message], and Robin Wood [send private message]

Biography

Eleanor was kidnapped and raped by a knight named William de la Zouche. The punishment for rape was death but as Zouche was one of Edward II's most loyal knights, the king refused to take action against him. Eleanor was forced to accept William de la Zouche as her husband.^[1]

Per Magna Carta Ancestries: "Sometime shortly before 26 Jan. 1328/9, she was abducted from Hanley Castle, Worcestershire by WILLIAM LA ZOUCHE MORTIMER, Knt., 1st Lord Zouche of Richard's Castle, whom she afterwards married without royal license."

Michael Altschul, *A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares, 1217-1314*, Baltimore MD (The Johns Hopkins Press) 1965, concerning the partition of the de CLARE estates after the death of the last Gilbert, p 170-171: "Hugh Despenser and Eleanor [Gilbert's sister] received the lordship of Glamorgan, the most important of all the Clare holdings, along with Rotherfield in Sussex and scattered manors in Devon and Somerset. In addition, each heir acquired two-ninths of the liberty of Kilkenny in Ireland, although there is no evidence that any of them every visited it. (P) The death of the countess in the summer of 1320 completed the division of the estates among th heirs. Maud probably died on July 2, and the properties she held in dower must have been partitioned shortly thereafter. Each received an equal portion of her third of Kilkenny. The partition of the Clare estates has been described as "the most important territorial upheaval of the reign." [Denham-Young *Vita Edwardi Secundi, pp xii-xiii*]"

She died on 30 June 1337.^[2] He heir was her son Hugh.^[2]

Research Notes

Database errors:

A data warning: A birth date (Clare-89 born 23 Nov 1292) should not be within eight months of a sibling's birth date (Clare-613 born 12 Oct 1292) unless they are twins born within a day of each other.

• Resolved. Richardson lists Eleanor as the oldest daughter, which would mean Margaret's date should probably be 1293.^[3] A response on Margaret's profile confirmed 1293 for her.

Wikidata^[4] has her birth as 3 October 1292, but does not include any source. Richardson gives her birth as "shortly before 23 Nov. 1292 (the date of her mother's churching)".^[3] Error marked as "false".

Sources

1. ↑ Or it could be that this is the classic case of the knight in shining armour rescuing the damsel in distress. "Abduction and rape" was often the property owner's term for elopement.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} J. E. E. S. Sharp, E. G. Atkinson and J. J. O'Reilly, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward III, File 51', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 8, Edward III (London, 1913), pp. 68-79. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol8/pp68-79 [accessed 21 November 2020].
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Richardson, Royal Ancestry, II:195-206 CLARE 8.
4. ↑ https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2160835

• Royal Ancestry D. Richardson 2013 Vol. II p. 443-448
• Castle Wales website
• Magna Carta Ancestry, by Douglas Richardson, publ. 2005
• 2nd edn (2011), 4 vols, Volume 2, page 67. Also Volume 1, page 474.
• Wikipedia: Eleanor de Clare
• Marlyn Lewis.

See also:

• Hanley Castle, Gatehouse (accessed May 5, 2015)
• For additional information about early baronies, see the top-level category page Early English Feudal Baronies. Individual category pages (links below) should include information specific to the category.