Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford (–1217),

feudal baron A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been ...

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

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.

Career

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. More commonly known as the Earl of Clare, he had the majority of the Giffard estates from his ancestor, Rohese.I. J. Sanders, ''English Baronies: A Study of Their Origin and Descent 1086–1327)'' (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1963), pp. 34, 62 He was present at the coronations of

King Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ove ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, 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.

Magna Carta

He sided with the Barons against King John, even though he had previously sworn peace with the King at

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

, and his castle of

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

was taken. He played a leading part in the negotiations for

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...

, 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 Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

and

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

were granted to

Robert de Betun Robert de Bethune (died 1148) was a medieval bishop of Hereford. From a knightly family, he became a teacher before becoming a canon by 1115. He was elected prior of Llanthony Priory in the middle 1120s, and was named bishop by King Henry I of E ...

. He and his son were among the Barons excommunicated by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in 1215. His coat of arms was: ''Or, three chevronels gules'', 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

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 William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (23 November 1116 – 23 November 1183) was the son and heir of Sir Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and Mabel FitzRobert of Gloucester, daughter of Robert Fitzhamon, and nephew of Empress M ...

by his wife and 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 Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

, but later apparently reconciled their marriage with the Pope's agreement. By his wife he has issue as follows: * Gilbert de Clare (ca. 1180 – 25 October 1230), 4th

Earl of Hertford Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

and 5th

Earl of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100� ...

, (or 1st Earl of Gloucester of new creation). Married in 1217 Isabel Marshal. * Maud de Clare (ca. 1184–1213), married in 1206, Sir William de Braose, son of William de Braose and Maud de St. Valery. * Richard de Clare (ca. 1184 – 4 Mar 1228, London) * Mathilde, married

Rhys Gryg Rhys Gryg ('Rhys the Hoarse') (died 1234), real name Rhys ap Rhys, also known as Rhys Fychan ('Rhys the Younger') was a Welsh prince who ruled part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth. Lineage Rhys was the fourth son of Rhys ap Gruffydd (The Lord R ...

son of Rhys ap Gruffydd, ruler of the kingdom of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clare, Richard De 3rd Earl Of Hertford Hertford, Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford, Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford, Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

12th-century English people 13th-century English people Earls of Hertford Burials at Tonbridge Priory, Kent