Humphrey Bourchier (aft. 1441 - 1471)

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 14 Apr 1471 before age 30 in Battle of Barnet, Hertfordshire, England

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Biography

Humphrey Bourchier, Knt.^[1][2][3]

Son of John Bourgchier and Margery Berners,^[1] Humphrey was born about 1444^[4] (after 1441).^[5] Sir Humphrey married Elizabeth Tilney (settlement dated 11 April 1451),^[2][6] "daughter and heiress of Frederick Tylney, Esq., of Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, Boston, Lincolnshire, etc., by Elizabeth, daughter of Laurence Cheyne, Esq."^[2] They had 1 son and 2 daughters^[2]:

• Sir John Bourchier, 2nd Lord Berners, married Katherine Howard
• Anne Bourchier, married Sir Thomas Fiennes, 8th Lord Dacre of the South
• Margaret Bourchier, married (1) John Sandys, (2) Sir Thomas Bryan, (3) David Zouche

In 1466 he was appointed Constable of Windsor Castle, alongside his father.^[7] He was subsequently given the post of carver to Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, with an honorarium of 40 marks a year.^[8]

Sir Humphrey was killed, fighting on the side of the Yorkists, on Easter Day 1471 in the Battle of Barnet.^[2][9] His remains were interred temporarily to the church of Austin Friars in London before receiving permanent burial in St Edmund's chapel in Westminster Abbey.^[10][11] The inscription on his tomb, in Latin hexameters, can be translated:

Behold, here lies a champion who, greatly desiring the bitter fighting at Barnet, battled like Achilles and was wounded from all sides. The warrior fell by force; Mars gave the wound. His shield was tinted red by spatters of blood. Oh the tearful grief of that wretched hour. He was struck down on the day of Christ's resurrection, Humphrey Bourgchier, descended from the famed line of Edward styled the Third, the son and main heir of Lord Barnes [a spelling sometimes found for Berners]. And lo, Edward IV triumphed in the battle in which Humphrey, faithful servant of the king, perished. He was Carver for the king's wife Elizabeth, his virtues increased by the honour. He was already a distinguished warrior and beloved of the Britons. Here he lies: pray that he may live in Heaven.^[12]

His widow, Elizabeth, married (2) Thomas Howard, K.G., K.B., on 30 April 1472. They had eight sons and two daughters. Elizabeth died 4 April 1497.^[13]

Research Notes

His cousin of the same name, Sir Humphrey Bourchier, also died at the Battle of Barnet and was also buried in Westminster Abbey.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} 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), volume I, pages 277-291 BOURCHIER.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, I:284-287 BOURCHIER 11.
3. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume I, pages 479-492 BOURCHIER.
4. ↑ Marlyn Lewis. Entry for Sir Humphrey Bourchier, in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors and Cousins" database (accessed 21 April 2019).
5. ↑ Estimated birth year: "After 1441" is based on his parents' marriage. While Lewis shows "about 1444" for Humphrey's birth, the citation, to Complete Peerage, is apparently only for his name, as neither date nor location of Humphrey's birth is given there (see page 153). However, Richardson (Magna Carta Ancestry, I:283 BOURCHIER 10.) shows that Humphrey's parents married between 10 October 1441 (when Margery was widowed) and "1441-2 (date of fine)."
6. ↑ Although the settlement date for Humphrey's marriage with Elizabeth Tilney was dated 11 April 1451, their son and heir was not born until about 1467 (Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, I:277-291 BOURCHIER).
7. ↑ Christian Steer. The Death of Achilles: The Funeral Brass of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, Transactions of the Monumental Brass Society vol. XIX/5, 2018, p.431, viewable at academia.edu
8. ↑ A R Myers. The Household of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, part 2, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 50/2, 1968, p.450, viewable at University of Manchester Library website
9. ↑ G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised and enlarged edition, vol. 2, St Catherine Press 1912, p.153
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Westminster Abbey: Sir Humphrey Bourchier
11. ↑ Christian Steer, The Death of Achilles: The Funeral Brass of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, pp.433 and 437-8
12. ↑ Translation by Michael Cayley
13. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, III:336-337 HOWARD 14.

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
• Lewis, Marlyn. Entry for Sir Humphrey Bourchier, in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors and Cousins" database. Note: Listed under "Reliable Sources with Conditions" (see the Magna Carta Project's Reliable Sources page).
• Cokayne, G E. Complete Peerage, revised and enlarged edition, vol. 2, St Catherine Press 1912, p.153. See also WikiTree's source page for Complete Peerage.
• Weis, Frederick Lewis, continued by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, 8th Edition, Genealogical Publishing Co. 2004, p.8: line 4-34
• Weis, Frederick Lewis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr. The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, Genealogical Publish Co., 5th Edition, 1999 p.26: line 18-11
• Steer, Christian. The Death of Achilles: The Funeral Brass of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, Transactions of the Monumental Brass Society vol. XIX/5, 2018, pp. 425-444, viewable at academia.edu
• Faris, David. Plantagenet Ancestry of 17th Century Colonists, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1996, p.159: Launce 6
• Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition, Charles Mosley Editor-in-Chief, 1999

See also:

• Benolte, Thomas; Philipot, John; & Owen, George. The Visitations of the County of Sussex: 1530 and 1633-4. London: The Harleian Society, 1905. Vol LIII, p 12, Fynes.

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

Humphrey Bourchier appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Mary Bourchier to Magna Carta Surety Baron Henry de Bohun (vol. I, pages 277-291 BOURCHIER). This profile was developed in accordance with project standards by Michael Cayley in April 2019 and was badged 5 July 2019 by Noland-165. Additionally, the Bourchier to Bohun trail connected this profile to previously-badged trails to other surety barons including John de Lacy, Saher de Quincy, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, Robert de Vere, Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod. These trails are set out in the Magna Carta Trails on the Gateway's profile.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".