Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford

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Marriage and succession

Humphrey de Bohun married Mahaud (Maud) de Fiennes (d. bef. 31 December 1298) sometime between 1264 and July 17, 1275. Maud was born about 1250, a daughter of Enguerrand II (Ingelram) de Fiennes and Isabel de Conde.

Their son, another Humphrey de Bohun, succeeded him as the Earl of Hereford and Essex and Lord High Constable.

Pleshey Castle, Essex

The village of Pleshey lies in Essex, England, just to the northwest of Chelmsford.

William the Conqueror gave Pleshey, in the parish of High Easter (southwest of Braintree) to Geoffrey de Mandeville in appreciation of his services; Mandeville was one of William's battle commanders at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At Pleshey, Mandeville built his caput (centre of administration and main home) of the many villages in Essex given to him by the king. Later, his grandson, another Geoffrey, was made Earl of Essex by King Stephen.

Pleshey Castle

Pleshey Castle was originally a motte and bailey castle, which consisted of a wooden palisade and tower on a high man-made hill (motte) surrounded by two baileys (castle yard or ward), which at some time in the castle's early history was surrounded by a moat. Later, probably in the 12th century, the motte was fortified with a stone castle. The motte at Pleshey is now about 15 metres high, and is one of the largest mottes in England.[citation needed] The castle was dismantled in 1158 but was subsequently rebuilt at the end of the 12th century.[citation needed] After the castle had passed to the Dukes of Gloucester through marriage and the current Duke had been executed by Richard II in 1397, it decayed and became ruined. Most of the masonry was dismantled for building material in 1629, leaving just the motte and other earthworks.

Pleshey's historical significance

For a long time Pleshey Castle was an important place in English history. Through inheritance, Pleshey Castle became the main castle of Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford, and his wife, Maud, sister and heiress of William de Mandeville, Earl of Essex. From this marriage Bohun's son Humphrey became Earl of Essex (27 Aug 1236) as well as Earl of Hereford and Hereditary Constable of England. Generations of de Bohuns resided here, with Pleshey as their caput manor. Humphrey Bohun VIII (4th Earl of Hereford and 3rd of Essex (1275?-1322) on 14 Nov. 1302 married Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward I, King of England. Some of their children were born at Pleshey. Humphrey VIII was killed at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, rebelling against King Edward II.

In 1327, Pleshey Castle became the primary residence of Humphrey VIII's eldest surviving son, John Bohun, created Earl of Hereford and Essex. He died in 1336 without an heir and the castle passed to his brother, Humphrey IX, Earl of Hereford and Essex (d. 1361). The youngest of the brothers, William Bohun (d. 1360), became the leading commander of the early part of the Hundred Years War, devising the tactics that won English victories at the Battle of Morlaix (1342), the Battle of Crecy (1346), and the Siege of Calais (1347), and was created Earl of Northampton.

Humphrey IX never married and Pleshey was inherited in 1361 by William's son and heir, Humphrey Bohun X (b. 1342), last male heir of the direct line. This Humphrey inherited both his uncle's and his father's titles and became Earl of Hereford, Essex and Northampton. His only heirs at his death on 13 Jan. 1373 were two infant daughters, Eleanor and Mary.

Between 1361 and 1384 a group of Augustinian friars created the de Bohun manuscripts at Pleshey Castle; eleven books, one of them a Psalter, celebrating Mary de Bohun's marriage to Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV, King of England. The Mary de Bohun Psalter is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum. Mary, who died before her husband became king, was the mother of Henry V, of Agincourt fame.

The castle then passed (through the marriage of Eleanor) to Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, the youngest son of Edward III. His nephew, Richard II, outraged by his uncle's opposition, had him arrested at Pleshey and taken to France.

Two years later the Duke of Exeter was taken to Pleshey Castle and executed for plotting against the king.

Pleshey Castle's claim to fame includes Shakespeare's play "Richard II" in which the widow of Richard asks Edmund of York:

Hid him - O, what? With all good speed at Plashy [sic] visit me. Alack, and what shall good old York there see, But empty lodgings and unfurnished walls, Unpeopled offices, untrodden stones?

Bibliography

Bigelow, M. M. “The Bohun Wills” I. American Historical Review (v.I, 1896). 415-41, v.II (1897). 631-649.

Cokayne, G. (ed. by V. Gibbs). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. London:1887-1896. Vols. II, V, VI, IX: Bohun, Essex, Hereford, & Northampton.

Dictionary of National Biography. Vol II: Bohun. London and Westminster.

External links

Columbia Encyclopedia - Humphrey de Bohun VIII. Sixth Edition. 2001-05.

William de Bohun. Brittania Biographies.

[hide]v • d • eTowns and villages of Chelmsford borough, Essex, England

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From The Peerage

Maud de Fiennes
F, #3566 Last Edited=20 Jan 2003

    Maud de Fiennes is the daughter of Ingelram de Fiennes, Lord of Wendover. She married Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, son of Sir Humphrey de Bohun and Eleanor de Briouze, circa 1275.

     Her married name became de Bohun. Child of Maud de Fiennes and Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford+ b. c 1276, d. 16 Mar 1321/22 Ingelram de Fiennes, Lord of Wendover M, #3567 Last Edited=17 Nov 2009

    Ingelram de Fiennes, Lord of Wendover is the son of William de Fiennes and Agnes Dammartin.1 He married Isabelle Conde.1

    He gained the title of Lord of Wendover. Child of Ingelram de Fiennes, Lord of Wendover Maud de Fiennes+ Citations [S1916] Tim Boyle, "re: Boyle Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 16 September 2006. Hereinafter cited as "re: Boyle Family."

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