Humphrey (Bohun) de Bohun (abt. 1307 - 1361)

Born about 1307 in Longmaban, Scotland

Ancestors

Died 15 Oct 1361 at about age 54 in Pleshey, Essex, England

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Biography

Humphrey de Bohun 6th Earl of Hereford (of the sixth creation) and Essex, Lord of Badenoch

Humphrey de Bohun was born about 1307^[1] at Longmaban, Scotland, son of Humphrey de Bohun (the 4th Earl) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward I.^[2]

Humphrey was a beneficiary of the will of his father Humphrey de Bohun, the 4th Earl of Hereford and Essex, the will made on 11 Aug 1319.^[3]

Humphrey de Bohun, succeeded his brother John de Bohun, the 5th Earl, as the 6th Earl of Hereford and Essex. The Writs for the Inquisition of his brother John de Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex were dated 26th and 27th January, 10 Edward III [1335/1336]. He was seised of lands in Essex, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Marches of Wales, Wales and London. Humphrey de Bohun was his brother and heir. Humphrey's age was variously given as 24 to 27.^[4]

He then resigned from his position as Constable of England in June 1338 in favour of his brother William de Bohun.^[5]

"In August 1339 he travelled to Wales "for the safekeeping of those parts”. According to Froissart, in 1340 he fought with the King and his brother William, earl of Northampton, at the naval battle of Sluys. Between 1345 and 1347 he was busy trying to regain the lordship of Builth, a task begun by his brother John and continued by their nephew, Humphrey".^[6]

Humphrey died on 15 October 1361 at Pleshey, Essex, and was buried in the church of the Augustine Friars, London.^[7]

Inquisition Post Mortem

The Writ for the Inquisition of Humphrey de Bohun was dated 26 Jan, 37 Edward III [1362/1363]. He was seised of lands in Surrey, Middlesex, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Essex, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Huntingdonshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. He had on died on 15 October, 35 Edward III. [1361]. Humphrey de Bohun his kinsman was his heir, and was 20 years of age on 24 March, 36 Edward III [1361/1362].^[8]

Summary of the Will of Humphrey de Bohun 1361

In his will made at the Castle of Plessy [Pleshey] in October 1361^[9][10] he was recorded as Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, and Lord of Brecknock. His will was to be buried “among the poor brothers, Augustine Friars, in the choir of their church in London, before the high altar, without any pomp, and that no great men be invited to our funeral, which shall only be attended by one Bishop and by common people".

He made bequests including to:

• his nephew Humphrey de Bohun;
• his niece Elizabeth of Northampton;
• his niece Dame Catherine D’Engayne;
• his sister Countess of Ormond;
• his brother Hugh de Courtenay, Earl of Devonshire; and
• his sister the Countess of Devonshire.

The will was proved in Nov 1361 at the New Temple, London.

Sources

1. ↑ Verity, B (2014) The Children of Elizabeth, Countess of Hereford, Daughter of Edward I of England. Foundations (2006?) 6: 3-10.
2. ↑ Monasticon Anglicanum. By Sir William Dugdale, Knight. Vol. 4. London. New Edition 1846, p 139.
3. ↑ Bigelow, M M (1896) The Bohun Wills I. The American Historical Review. Vol. 1, pp. 414-435. JSTOR.
4. ↑ J. E. E. S. Sharp, E. G. Atkinson and J. J. O'Reilly, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward III, File 48', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 8, Edward III (London, 1913), pp. 25-31. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol8/pp25-31 [accessed 31 August 2019].
5. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls. Edward III. AD 1338-1340. HMSO, 1898, p 91 & 95.
6. ↑ The de Bohun Dynasty: Power, Identity and Piety 1066-1399. Lucia Diaz Pascual. PhD Thesis. 2017. Royal Holloway, University of London.
7. ↑ The Complete Peerage. Vol VI. Gordon to Hurstpierpoint. 1926, pp 471-472.
8. ↑ M. C. B. Dawes, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward III, File 177', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 11, Edward III (London, 1935), pp. 363-382. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol11/pp363-382 [accessed 31 August 2019]. Item 485.
9. ↑ Testamenta Vetusta. Vol. I. 1826. Will of Humphrey de Bohun, pp 66-68.
10. ↑ Bigelow, M M (1896) The Bohun Wills II. The American Historical Review. Vol. 1, No. 4 (Jul., 1896), pp. 631-649.

See also:

• Richardson, D. Royal Ancestry, I, p. 423.
• Wikipedia: Earl of Hereford#Earls of Hereford, Sixth Creation (1199)