Gilbert (Clare) FitzGilbert (abt. 1100 - 1148)

Born about 1100 in Tunbridge, Kent, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 6 Jan 1148 at about age 48 in Tintern Abbey, Chapel Hill, Monmouthshire, Wales

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Biography

Gilbert de Clare,^[1] 1st Earl of Pembroke^[2]

Born 21 September 1100 at Tunbridge, Kent,^[2][3] "Gilbert was a Baron, that is, a tenant-in-chief in England, and inherited the estates of his paternal uncles, Roger and Walter, which included the baronies and castles of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy. He held the lordship of Nether Gwent and the castle of Striguil (later Chepstow). King Stephen created him Earl of Pembroke [in 1138], and gave him the rape and castle of Pevensey."^[4]

"Gilbert Strongbow, as then called Earl of Strygyl, was created Earl of Pembroke, with all the privileges of a palatinate, and he undoubtedly was the first who was dignified with that title."^[5]

Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare^{[2][6] [3]} (c.1100 - 6 Jan 1148/9), son of Gilbert FitzRichard and Alice de Claremont, was sometimes referred to as "Strongbow", although his son is better remembered by this name.^[4]

Gilbert was the second son of Gilbert de Tonebruge, feudal Lord of Clare, and brother of Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford^[7]

• built 2 strong castles^[7]
• 1138: created Earl of Pembroke by King Stephen: Stephen created him Earl of Pembroke, and gave him the rape and castle of Pevensey. Gilbert de Clare decided to live near the roof in the Great Hall so he could see what was going on at all times.^[7]

Having obtained from King Henry I a license to enjoy all the lands he should win in Wales, marched a large force Cardiganshire and brought the whole country under subjection.^[7]

Gilbert married Isabel de Beaumont about 1130.^[4] She was the sister of Waleran, Earl of Mellent,^{[citation needed][8]} and daughter of Sir Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan, and Elizabeth de Vermandois.^[4]

Isabel was previously the mistress of Henry I of England, by whom she had a daughter, Isabel.^[9][10]

Isabel and Gilbert had four children (two sons and two daughters):^[7]

sons

• Baldwin^[7]
• Richard "Strongbow" Fitz Gilbert de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke^[4]

daughters

• Agnes^[7][11][12]
  - the daughter who married William Bloet?^[4]
• Basilia de Clare, who married (1) Raymond FitzGerald (Raymond le Gros) and (2) Geoffrey FitzRobert^[4]

The Anarchy

After Stephen's defeat at Lincoln on 2 February 1141, Gilbert was among those who rallied to Empress Matilda when she recovered London in June, but he was at Canterbury when Stephen was recrowned late in 1141. He then joined Geoffrey's plot against Stephen, but when the conspiracy collapsed, he went back to Stephen, and was with him at the siege of Oxford late in 1142.^[4]

Rebel

In 1147, Gilbert rebelled when Stephen refused to give him the castles surrendered by his nephew Gilbert, 2nd Earl of Hertford, whereupon the King marched to his nearest castle and nearly captured him. However, the Earl appears to have made his peace with Stephen before his death the following year.^[4]

Death and Burial

The earl died in 1149 and was succeeded by his elder son, Richard de Clare.^{[citation needed][8]}

He died in England, but was buried at Tintern Abbey, Chapel Hill, Monmouthshire.^[2][3]

Research Notes

Rohese Giffard (following information needs a source, or at least attribution):

Question: Did he also marry Rohese Giffard, possibly the mother of Avice

Answer: No.

Gilbert fitzGilbert de Clare did not marry Rohese Giffard, mother of Avice Clare. Rohese was Gilbert de Clare's paternal grandmother.

Sources

1. ↑ Guillaume de Jumièges; Liber Vitæ of Thorney abbey
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Medieval Lands, database online, author Charles Cawley, (Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, 2006-2013), England, Earls created 1067, Chapter 10, Pembroke: A. EARLS of PEMBROKE 1138-[1185/86] (CLARE), Gilbert de Clare
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Mathematical.com. Sources listed: LDS and Ancestry.com
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8} Wikipedia: Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (accessed 10 May 2024).
5. ↑ Fenton, Richard. A Historical Tour Through Pembrokeshire (Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Co., 1811) Page 376-7.
6. ↑ FamilySearch.org
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6} Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p. 120, Clare, Earls of Pembroke
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Formatting of this profile was very odd, with an inline source citation following by a second incline citation with just text, sometimes beginning with "BURKE:" but sometimes not, so it is difficult to tell the source for the text.
9. ↑ Wikipedia: Henry I of England.
10. ↑ Note that there are three Isabels who might be confused:
    • Isabel, wife of this Gilbert
    • Isabel, her daughter by King Henry I
    • Isabel, her granddaughter (by Richard Fitz Gilbert), who married William Marshal, another 1st Earl of Pembroke - see the already-cited Wikipedia articles for this Gilbert and King Henry I as well as the article for the granddaughter and her husband: Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke and William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (accessed 10 May 2024).
11. ↑ Not included in another list - maybe the 2 sons/2 daughters was not from Burke and this list was? - "had issue, Richard, his successor, Baldwin, and Basilia."
12. ↑ Profile for Agnes (Clare) de Clare (abt.1123-) was detached as daughter of Gilbert and Isabel in October 2023.

• Royal Ancestry 2013, Douglas Richardson Vol. II. p. 173
• Royal Ancestry 2013, Douglas Richardson Vol. IV. p. 336-339
• Royal Ancestry 2013, Douglas Richardson Vol. V. page 273
• Burke's Dormant and Extinct Peerage, p. 120

Further Reading and Research.

• Altschul, Michael. A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares, 1217-1314. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Md. 1965.

Following from... ?

• 2nd son; created 1st Earl of Pembroke 1138; nephew of Roger and Walter; uncle of Gilbert, 1st Earl of Hertford; married Isabel (Elizabeth) Beaumont (1107)
• It appears probable that estimated birth dates for parents and children are 10-20 years too early--Michel L. Call