Richard (Clare) de Clare (abt. 1150 - bef. 1217)

Born about 1150 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Amice (FitzWilliam) de Clare — married before 1180 in England

Descendants

Died before 29 Nov 1217 before about age 67 in England

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

Biography

Birth and Parents

Richard was the son and heir of Roger de Clare and Maud de St Hilary.^[1] His birth date is not known but has been guesstimated to be about 1150 , partly on the fact that he was old enough by 1172 to give his assent to a gift by his father, and to be suspected in 1173/4 of rebellion.^[2][3]

Marriage and Children

Richard married Amice of Gloucester, daughter of William FitzRobert, Earl of Gloucester and Hawise.^[1][2][3] They almost certainly married before 1180, the approximate year of their son Gilbert's birth, and quite likely before 1173/4, when Richard and his father-in-law were suspected of rebellion.^[2][3] They had the following children:

• Gilbert,^[1] born about 1180, who married Isabel Marshal^[2][3]
• Richard, killed in London in 1428^[2][3]
• Roger, who probably died in 1241^[2][3]
• Henry^[2][3]
• Maud, who married William de Brewes^[2][3]
• Hawise, who married Geoffrey de Say^[2][3]
• a daughter, possibly called Joan, who married Rhys Gryg^[2][3] (see Research Notes (below))

Richard and his wife were separated by the Pope, because of consanguinity, by Michaelmas 1198, and in 1200 Amice referred to herself as formerly Countess of Clare;^[4] but subsequently Amice styled herself Countess (not former Countess) of Clare, suggesting that the doubts about the validity of the marriage were dispelled.^[2][3]

Life

Richard became Earl of Hertford on the death of his father in 1173.^[5]

In 1173 he and his father-in-law were suspected of involvement in a rebellion of Hugh le Bigod, but he subsequently sided with Henry II during a rebellion of Henry II's son Henry the Young King.^[2][3]

In 1189 Richard was present at the coronation of Richard I.^[1][2][3]

Richard fought with Richard I in Normandy in 1194/5.^[1][2][3]

In 1199 Richard attended the coronation of King John.^[1]

In 1215 Richard was one of the Surety Barons for the Magna Carta. His subsequent participation in baronial rebellion against King John led to his excommunication in December that year and to the confiscation of his lands. He formally returned to allegiance on 5 October 1217, after John's death, and his lands were restored.^[2][3]

Lands

Besides extensive properties in England, Richard held the lordships of Glamorgan and Caerleon, and lands in Normandy.^[2][3] His English lands included the barony of Clare in Suffolk.^[6]

Through his marriage Richard acquired substantial property. His wife's marriage portion included Sudbury, Suffolk and property in Kent.^[2][3] In 1217, when his wife became her father's sole heir, he acquired vast estates in England and Wales: he died within weeks, before he could gain seisin.^[7]

In 1189 Richard added further to his properties when he acquired half the Giffard Honor, which was composed of lands in England and Normandy. About then the barony of Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire was divided between him and William Marshal.^[2][3][8][7]

Death

Richard died between 30 October, when writs were issued for his scutage payments, and 28 November 1217, when orders were given for his lands to be taken into the king's hands following his death.^[1] His body initially lay at Tonbridge, Kent, but his widow arranged for it to be taken to Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire, where it was buried in the choir.^[2][3]

Research Notes

Daughters Joan and Maud

There is no record of the first name of the daughter who married Rhys Gryg. Cawley's Medieval Lands calls her "Matilda [Joan]" and says she was the widow of William de Brewes, indicating that in his view the daughters Maud and Joan listed above were the same person,^[9] but there is no clear evidence for this. Richardson says Rhys Gryg's wife may have been called Joan, again with no evidence, and appears to believe she was different from Maud who married William de Brewes.^[2][3]

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} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VI, St Catherine Press, 1926, pp. 501-503, Familysearch (images pages 513-515)
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 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19} 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. 446-4512, CLARE 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 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. II, pp. 180-184, CLARE 5
4. ↑ Francis Palgrave (ed.). Rotuli curiae regis, Vol. 2, 1835, p. 180, Familysearch (image page 202)
5. ↑ Richard Howlett (ed.). The Chronicle of Robert of Torigni, HMSO, 1889, p.258, Internet Archive
6. ↑ I J Sanders. English Baronies, a study of their Origin and descent 1086-1327, Oxford University Press, p. 35
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} From the biography of Richard and Gilbert de Clare by Professor Nigel Saul, posted by the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee.
8. ↑ I J Sanders. English Baronies, pp. 62-63
9. ↑ Charles Cawley. RHYS Gryg/the Hoarse and WILLIAM [IV de Briouse], entries in “Medieval Lands” database, accessed 5 June 2023

See also:

• Wikipedia: Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford
• Weis, Frederick Lewis, with additions and corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, junior and William R Beall. The Magna Carta Sureties, 1215, 5th edition, Genealogiucvasl Publishing Company, 1999, p. 35, line 28/1
• Tonbridge Castle (note: be patient - it takes a while to load)

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

As a surety baron, Richard de Clare's profile is managed by the Magna Carta Project. See Clare-651 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.

US Presidents Project

The project's category, US President Direct Ancestor, was added to this profile on 7 February 2021, but no details of which and what trail.

The Relationship Finder shows a trail between President George Washington and the Clares that goes through Gateway Ancestor John Washington, but John is not yet in a badged trail and the Magna Carta Project only covers from Gateway to Surety Baron.