Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare (died 15 April 1136) 3rd

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 be ...

of Clare in Suffolk, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. A

marcher lord A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...

in Wales, he was also the founder of Tonbridge Priory in Kent.

Life

Richard was the eldest son of Gilbert Fitz Richard

de Clare The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that ruled the Earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales throughout its history, playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. They were desce ...

and Adeliza de Claremont.

George Cokayne George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standard ...

,''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol. III, Ed. Vicary Gibbs (London: St Catherine Press, 1913), p. 243 Upon his father's death, he inherited his lands in England and Wales. He is commonly said to have been created

Earl of Hertford Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

by either Henry I or

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

, but no contemporary reference to him, including the record of his death, calls him by any title, while a

cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...

states that a tenant had held "''de Gilleberto, filio Richardi, et de Ricardo, filio ejus, et postea, de Comite Gilleberto, filio Richardi''" ("of Gilbert Fitz Richard, and his son Richard, and then of Earl Gilbert Fitz Richard"), again failing to call Richard 'Earl' while giving that title to his son. Thus his supposed creation as earl is without merit, although his status and wealth made him a great magnate in England. Directly following the death of Henry I, hostilities increased significantly in Wales and a rebellion broke out.David Walker, ''Medieval Wales'' (Cambridge UK & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 45 Richard was a strong supporter of King

and in the first two years of his reign Richard attested a total of twenty-nine of that king's charters.Jennifer C. Ward, 'Royal Service and Reward: The Clare Family and the Crown, 1066-1154', ''Anglo-Norman Studies XI. Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1988'', Ed. R. Allen Brown (Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 1989), p. 274 He was with King Stephen when he formalized a treaty with King

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...

and was a royal steward at Stephen's great Easter court in 1136. He was also with Stephen at the siege of Exeter that summer and was in attendance on the king on his return from Normandy. At this point, Richard apparently demanded more land in Wales, which Stephen was not willing to give him. In 1136, Richard had been away from his lordship in the early part of the year. He returned to the borders of Wales via Hereford in the company of

Brian Fitz Count Brian fitz Count (also Brian of Wallingford) was descended from the Breton ducal house, and became an Anglo-Norman noble, holding the lordships of Wallingford and Abergavenny. He was a loyal adherent of Henry I, King of England, and a staunch s ...

, but on their separating, Richard ignored warnings of the danger and pressed on toward

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

with only a small force. He had not gone far when, on 15 April, he was ambushed and killed by the men of Gwent under Iorwerth ab Owain and his brother Morgan, grandsons of

Caradog ap Gruffydd Caradog ap Gruffudd (died 1081) was a Prince of Gwent in south-east Wales in the time of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn and the Norman conquest, who reunified his family's inheritance of Morgannwg and made repeated attempts to reunite southern Wales by ...

, in a woody tract called "the ill-way of Coed Grano", near Llanthony

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

, north of

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

. Today the spot is marked by the 'garreg dial' (the stone of revenge). He was buried in Tonbridge Priory, which he founded.

Aftermath

The news of Richard's death induced

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...

, son of

Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd ap Cynan (–1137) was List of rulers of Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to House of Normandy, Norman rule. As a descen ...

, king of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

to invade his lordship. In alliance with

Gruffydd ap Rhys Gruffydd ap Rhys (c. 1090 – 1137) was Prince of Deheubarth, in Wales. His sister was the Princess Nest ferch Rhys. He was the father of Rhys ap Gruffydd, known as 'The Lord Rhys', who was one of the most successful rulers of Deheubarth during ...

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

, he won a crushing victory over the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

at the

Battle of Crug Mawr The Battle of Crug Mawr (), sometimes referred to as the Battle of Cardigan, took place in September or October 1136, as part of a Norman invasion of Wales, struggle between the Welsh people, Welsh and Normans for control of Ceredigion, West W ...

, just outside Cardigan. The town of Cardigan was taken and burnt, and Richard's widow, Alice, took refuge in Cardigan Castle, which was successfully defended by Robert fitz Martin. She was rescued by Miles of Gloucester, who led an expedition to bring her to safety in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Family

Richard married Alice, sister of Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, by her having: * Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare, d. 1153 (without issue), 1st

.George Cokayne,''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol. III, Ed. Vicary Gibbs (London: St Catherine Press, 1913), p. 244 * Roger de Clare, d. 1173, 2nd

. * Alice de Clare (Adelize de Tonbridge), m. (1) about 1133, Sir William de Percy, Lord of Topcliffe, son of Alan de Percy and Emma de Gant; (2)

Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd (c. 1100 – 1172) was the third son of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, and brother of Owain Gwynedd. Appearance in history Cadwaladr first appears in the historical record in 1136, when following the killing of the ...

, brother of

* Robert Fitz Richard de Clare, perhaps died in childhood * Rohese de Clare, m.

Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln Gilbert de Gant, 1st Earl of Lincoln ( 1126 – 1156) was an English nobleman who fought for King Stephen during The Anarchy. He was the son of Walter de Gant (third son of the Domesday magnate Gilbert de Gant, Gant being a contemporary nam ...

. * Lucy de Clare, m.

Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon (died 4 June 1155), feudal baron of Plympton in Devon, was the son of Richard de Redvers and his wife Adeline Peverel. He was one of the first to rebel against King Stephen, and was the only first rank mag ...

.Katherine Keats-Rohan,(2002).''Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066–1166 : II Pipe Rolls to Cartae Baronum''.p.658, and 245.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare 1136 deaths Year of birth unknown Anglo-Normans in Wales Norman warriors De Clare family Burials at Tonbridge Priory, Kent