Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford

Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford (c. 1153–1217), feudal baron of Clare[1] in Suffolk, and lord of Tonbridge in Kent and of Cardigan in Wales, was a powerful Anglo-Norman nobleman with vast landholdings in England and Wales.

Richard de Clare
Arms of the de Clare family, adopted at the start of the age of heraldry c.1200-1215
3rd Earl of Hertford
Tenure1173–1217
PredecessorRoger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford
SuccessorGilbert de Clare
Other titles6th Lord of Tonbridge
5th Lord of Cardigan
Born1153
Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England
Died1217
BuriedTonbridge Priory
Familyde Clare
SpouseAmice FitzWilliam, suo jure 4th Countess of Gloucester
IssueGilbert de Clare
Maud de Clare
Richard de Clare
FatherRoger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford
MotherMaud de St. Hillary
OccupationPeerage of England

Career

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Richard was the son and heir of Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford, 5th feudal baron of Clare, by his wife Maud de St Hillary, a daughter of James de St Hillary.[2] More commonly known as the Earl of Clare, he had the majority of the Giffard estates from his ancestor, Rohese.[3] He was present at the coronations of King Richard I at Westminster, 3 September 1189, and King John on 27 May 1199. He was also present at the homage of King William of Scotland as English Earl of Huntingdon at Lincoln. [citation needed]

Magna Carta

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He sided with the Barons against King John, even though he had previously sworn peace with the King at Northampton, and his castle of Tonbridge was taken. He played a leading part in the negotiations for Magna Carta, being one of the twenty five sureties. On 9 November 1215, he was one of the commissioners on the part of the Barons to negotiate the peace with the King. In 1215, his lands in counties Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex were granted to Robert de Betun. He and his son were among the Barons excommunicated by the Pope in 1215. His coat of arms was: Or, three chevronels gules,[citation needed] adopted at the start of the age of heraldry c.1200-1215, and certainly borne by his son the Earl of Gloucester.

Marriage and issue

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In about 1172 he married Amice Fitzwilliam, 4th Countess of Gloucester (c. 1160–1220), the second daughter and co-heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester by his wife Hawise de Beaumont. At some time before 1198, Earl Richard and his wife Amice were ordered to separate by the Pope on the grounds of consanguinity, but later apparently reconciled their marriage with the Pope's agreement. [citation needed] By his wife he has issue as follows:

References

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  1. ^ Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086–1327, Oxford, 1960, p. 35
  2. ^ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant, eds. H. A. Doubleday; Howard de Walden, Vol. V (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1926), p. 736
  3. ^ I. J. Sanders, English Baronies: A Study of Their Origin and Descent 1086–1327) (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1963), pp. 34, 62
Peerage of England
Preceded by Earl of Hertford
1173–1217
Succeeded by