Richard fitz Gilbert (before 1035–), 1st

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 ...

of Clare in Suffolk, was a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

lord who participated in the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

in 1066, and was styled "de Bienfaite", "

de Clare The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that held at various times the earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales, as well as playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. They were de ...

", and of "Tonbridge" from his holdings.G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', Vol. III (The St. Catherine Press, London, 1913), p. 242

Biography

Richard was the son of

Gilbert, Count of Brionne Gilbert (or Giselbert) de Brionne, Count of Eu and of Brionne ( – ), was an influential nobleman in the Duchy of Normandy in Northern France.Robinson, J. A. (1911). Gilbert Crispin, abbot of Westminster: a study of the abbey under Norman ru ...

in Normandy (''Fitz'' was a variant spelling of the Norman ''filz'', French ''fils'', signifying "son of"). Gilbert was a guardian of the young duke

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and when Gilbert was killed by Ralph de Wacy in 1040, his two older sons Richard and Gilbert fled to Flanders.J.H. Round, 'The Family of Clare', ''The Archaeological Journal'', Vol. 56 2nd series Vol 6 (1899), p. 224 On his later return to Normandy Richard was rewarded with the lordship of Bienfaite and

Orbec Orbec () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population International relations Orbec is twinned with: *Kingsteignton Kingsteignton ( ), is a town and civil parish in South Devon, Englan ...

in Normandy. In 1066, Richard came into England with his kinsman William the Conqueror, and received from him great advancement in honour and possessions. The ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' and other sources are vague and sometimes contradictory about when the name de Clare came into common usage, but what we do know is that Richard fitz Gilbert (of Tonbridge), the earliest identifiable progenitor of the family, is once referred to as Richard of Clare in the Suffolk return of the Domesday Book.

Rewards

He was rewarded with 176 manors in England, including the right to build

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s at Clare in Suffolk,

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