Henry (Bohun) de Bohun (abt. 1175 - 1220)

Born about 1175 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Maud (FitzGeoffrey) de Bohun — married before 1200 in England

Descendants

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Magna Carta Surety Baron Henry de Bohun was one of the twenty-five medieval barons who were surety for Magna Carta in 1215. Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta

Biography

Henry (Bohun) de Bohun is a member of the House of Bohun.

Birth and Parentage

Henry de Bohun was the son and heir of Humphrey de Bohun and Margaret of Scotland.^[1] He was born about 1175 (he was said to be age 10 in 1185 when he was recorded as a minor in the care of his paternal grandmother Margaret de Bohun).^[2][3][4] His birthplace is not known.

Marriage and Children

Henry married Maud, daughter of Geoffrey FitzPeter, Earl of Essex^[4] and his first wife Beatrice de Say.^[1] Their marriage date is not known, but their older son Humphrey was said to be of age in 1221,^[2][3] which means they must have wed before 1200. They had at least two sons:

• Humphrey, who was his heir^[2][3][4]
• Henry^[2][3]

Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum names a third son, Ralph, and a daughter, Matilda, both recorded, with no information apart from their first names, in the History of the Foundation of Walden Abbey, Essex.^[5] No other source has been found to confirm this and these possible children should not be regarded as reliably sourced.

Life

Henry was hereditary Constable of England.^[1][2][3]

In 1197, Henry was one of the sureties in negotiations between Richard I and the Count of Flanders.^[4]

Henry was made Earl of Hereford on 28 April 1200.^[1][2][3][4] That year he was one of the peers sent to accompany his uncle William the Lion, King of Scotland on his way to pay homage to King John for English lands.^[1][2][3]

Trowbridge, Wiltshire, was one of Henry's main properties. In 1200 he was granted permission to hold a weekly market and annual fair there.^[2][3]

In 1204 Henry was involved in a dispute with his uncle David, Earl of Huntingdon over 20 knights' fees in Rutland: the lands were awarded to Henry when David did not appear to defend his claim.^[2][3][6]

In 1212 William de Longespée, brother of King John, sought to claim the Barony of Trowbridge, Wiltshire from Henry: King John took control of the barony, but allowed his brother to levy scutage.^[2][3][4][7] This was probably one of the main reasons why in 1215 William joined in the baronial opposition to John which led to the signing of the Magna Carta, of which William was one of the Sureties. He regained the right to the barony of Trowbridge in June 2015, soon after the Magna Carta was signed, but not to Trowbridge Castle.^[4][7] Continuing rebellion against the king led to William being excommunicated with other leading rebels in December 1215, and his lands were confiscated. When John died the next year, William continued in rebellion. He was captured at the Second Battle of Lincoln on 20 May 1217,^[1] but was subsequently reconciled with the royal government, and his lands were restored.^[2][3]

Lands

Henry's lands were initially in the custody of his paternal grandmother Margaret de Bohun but he was given full possession by 1190.^[4] Among the lands he inherited from his parents was the Barony of Trowbridge, based in Wiltshire.^[8] His marriage brought him extensive lands, including property in Gloucestershire^[2][3] and the Barony of Pleshy, Essex.^[9]

In 1196 Henry's sister Margaret transferred Walton-on-Thames, Surrey to Henry in exchange for confirmation of her right to properties in Hampshire and Wiltshire.^[2][3]

Death

On 1 June 1220 Henry died while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.^[4] His remains were brought back to England and buried at Llanthony Abbey, Gloucestershire.^[1][2][3]

Henry's wife survived him, and remarried, her second husband being Roger de Dauntsey.^[2][3][4] His son Humphrey was his heir.^[10]

Research Notes

Title

Henry was the 5th post-1066 Earl of Hereford, and the 1st Earl of the third post-1066 creation of the title.^[1] Wikipedia lists three pre-1066 holders of the title.^[11] but Cokayne identifies only one possible pre-1066 holder.^[1]

Previously-linked Daughter

Grace (de Bohun) de Dunstanville has been previously shown on WikTree as a daughter of Henry: according to her profile, she is listed in the 2005 edition of Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry but she is not included in the 2011 edition or in Richardson's Royal Ancestry.^[2][3] No good source has been found for the relationship.

Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Biography

For the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015, Professor Nigel Saul wrote a set of biographies of the Surety Barons. He and the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee generously gave permission for them to be reproduced on WikiTree. They can be viewed here.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. 6, St Catherine Press, 1926, pp. 457-459, Familysearch (page images 469-471]
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. I, pp. 225-228, BOHUN 1, Google Books
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. I, pp. 406-410, BOHUN 5
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by David Walker for 'Bohun, Henry de, first earl of Hereford', print and online 2004, revised online 2012 ($)
5. ↑ William Dugdale. Monasticon Anglicanum, 1817-30 edition, Vol. IV, 1823, p. 139, Google Books
6. ↑ 'Parishes: Ryhall', in A History of the County of Rutland: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1935), pp. 268-275, British History Online, accessed 28 July 2023
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} H F Chettle, W R Powell, P A Spalding and P M Tillott, 'Parishes: Trowbridge', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 7, ed. R B Pugh and Elizabeth Crittall (London, 1953), pp. 125-171, British History Online, accessed 28 July 2023
8. ↑ I J Sanders. English Baronies, a Study of there Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford University Press, 1960, pp. 71-72
9. ↑ I J Sanders. English Baronies, pp. 91-92
10. ↑ '1221, membranes 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1', in Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III: Volume 1, 1216-1225, ed. H C Maxwell Lyte (London, 1901), pp. 275-305, British History Online, accessed 28 July 2023
11. ↑ Wikipedia: Earl of Hereford

• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 5, p. 3097, entry for 'BOHUN, HENRY de, first Earl of Hereford (1176–1220)', Wikisorce
• Cawley, Charles. Henry de Bohun, entry in “Medieval Lands” database (accessed date)
• Cokayne, G E. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. 5, St Catherine Press, 1926, p. 134, entry for Henry's wife Maud de Mandeville, Internet Archive
• Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Magna Carta Sureties, 1215, 5th edition, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999, p. 25, line 18/1
• Wikipedia: Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford
• Wikipedia: Trowbridge

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

As a surety baron, Henry de Bohun's profile has the Magna Carta Project as a manager. See Bohun-7 Descendants for profiles of his descendants that have been improved and categorized by the Magna Carta Project and are in a project-approved trail to a Gateway Ancestor. See this index for links to other surety barons and category pages for their descendants. See the project's Base Camp for more information about Magna Carta trails. ~ Noland-165 17:30, 30 January 2019 (UTC)

This profile was edited by Jack Day in 2015. It was re-reviewed by Gordon Warder Jr in January 2019 and July 2019 by Liz Shifflett.