Eleanor (Courtenay) Grey (abt. 1265 - bef. 1301)

Wife of Henry (Grey) of Codnor — married [date unknown] in Devon, England

Descendants

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Biography

Eleanor de Courtenay [Baroness Grey]

Marriage and Family

Eleanor, married perhaps about 1280,^[1] Henry de Grey, of Codnor, Derbyshire, and other lands including Grays Thurrock, Essex, and Aylesford & Hoo, Kent.^[2] He was the son of John de Grey, of Codnor etc, and his wife, Lucy de Mohun of Dunster, Somerset.

She was probably the mother of the following 4 children:^[3]

1. Richard De Grey, born 1281 or 1282^[4],^[2]
2. Nicholas de Grey, inherited the manor of Barton;
3. Lucy (Luce) de Grey, married John de Somery
4. Joan or Joanna de Grey, a nun

She may also have been the mother of the following two sons, but they may have been the son of Henry's second wife;

1. Henry de Grey;
2. Thomas de Grey.

Eleanor must have died before 6 June 1301 when Henry appears in the records already married to his second wife, Joan, widow of Sir Ralph de Cromwell.^[2]

Disputed Parents

The Complete Peerage, 2nd ed., volume 6, states; Henry de Grey "is said to have m., 1stly, Eleanor, da. of Sir Hugh de Courtenay" and then in a note on the same page, "If this is correct, she was presumably da. of Sir Hugh de Courtenay, of Okehampton, by Eleanor, da. of Hugh le Despenser, Lord le Despenser, and sister of Hugh de Courtenay, afterwards the 1st Earl of Devon"^[2]

Although The Complete Peerage obviously has some hesitation about this parentage, it hasn't stopped some sources from accepting it as the truth.^[5]

If we do accept that this parentage is correct, then there are a number of chronological problems. We know that Eleanor presumably had her first child in 1281 or 1282, which means she must have been born in about 1265 or perhaps slightly later. However her father's date of birth as been put at 1251, which means he must have been only in is his mid-teens at her birth. Although this is entirely possible, it seems unusual.

However there are more chronological problems related to Eleanor's mother Eleanor le Despenser, who is usually thought to be the daughter of Hugh le Despenser, Lord le Despenser, and his wife, Aline, daughter and heir of Sir Philip Basset. This marriage took place in or before 1260^[6] Even if Eleanor le Despenser was born right on 1260, it seems difficult to imagine she could have a grandson at the age of 22.

There has been some discussion that perhaps Eleanor and also her sister Anne may have been the daughters of Henry le Despenser, by an otherwise unknown first wife, which seems possible given he was about 37 at his marriage to Aline Basset. However there are no sources for such a marriage and this remains speculation.

At present it seems best to leave the parents of Eleanor de Courtenay as unknown unless more evidence is found.

Doubtful, but Eleanor is possibly an illegitimate daughter, born before Hugh's marriage (Hugh married about 1270 [probably by contract] to Eleanor le Despenser born c1260^[7]), or the daughter of Hugh's son Hugh:

"Wallop says she is daughter of Hugh de Courtenay (her brother) and Agnes de St. John. Chronology is not right and I [Marlyn Lewis] trust 60 Colonists & Cokayne more. She Called illegitimate by ES, Vol. III, Tafel 629, but not a Courtenay in Royal Ancestry, Vol. II, p. 271. She married Sir Henry Grey, 1st Lord Grey of Codnor, son of Sir John de Grey and Lucy de Mohun, before 1282..."^[7]

With a son born 1282, this wife of Henry Grey could not be the daughter of Hugh's son Hugh, b 1276. If she were 11 in 1282, and her mother were 11 when she was born, then Eleanor le Despenser born c1260 could have been her mother. Even Hugh, born 1251, would not likely have married and had a child at 16 (which would be needed for her to be legitimate & 16 when her son was born). None of these possibilities seem likely; therefore, this profile for Eleanor was disconnected as their daughter. ~ Liz Shifflett, September 19, 2015.

Research Notes

The profile Courtenay-206 was detached as a daughter of Isabel (de Vere) & John de Courtenay on September 19, 2015 for lack of documentation that they had a daughter named Eleanor. Noland-165 12:57, 19 September 2015 (EDT)

Sources

1. ↑ Richard de Grey, his father’s heir is supposed to have been born 1281 or 1282 – see below
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Cokayne, George Edward. The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All Its Members from the Earliest times. 2nd ed. Vol. 6, edited by Vicary Gibbs, H. A. Doubleday, Duncan Warrand, and Lord Howard De Walden. London: St Catherine Press, 1926. pp. 123-24. Published in electronic form by ABC Publications, 2003.
3. ↑ All mentioned in their father’s will
4. ↑ he was aged 26 or 27 at the Inquisition post mortems of his father
5. ↑ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Cited by http://www.thepeerage.com/p32797.htm#i327969
6. ↑ Cokayne, George Edward. The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom. 2nd ed. Vol. 4, edited by Vicary Gibbs, & H. A. Doubleday. London: St Catherine Press, 1916. pp. 261. Published in electronic form by ABC Publications, 2003.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Eleanor de Courtenay (Marlyn Lewis); see her entry for source citations

See also:

• Eleanor de Courtenay, "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors and Cousins" (website, compiled by Mr. Marlyn Lewis, Portland, OR; accessed September 30, 2015)
• Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013)
• Ancestral File Number: 84ZV-GJ
• Brøderbund Software, Inc. World Family Tree Vol. 4, Ed. 1 August 23, 1996; CD