Kentucky Pioneers: Ancestry of Gordon Beck:Information about William II de Braose
Baron William II de Braose (b. 1153, d. August 09, 1211)
Notes for William II de Braose:
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William inherited Bramber, Builth, and Radnor from his father, B recknockand Abergavenny thro ugh his mother. He was the stronges t of the MarcherLords involved in constant war with the W elsh a nd other lords. He wasparticularly hated by the Welsh for the m assacre of three Wels h princes,their families and their men whi ch took place during a feast at hiscastle of Aberg avenny in 117 5. He was sometimes known as the "Ogre ofAbergavenny". One of t he Normans' for emost warriors, he fought alongsideKing Richar d at Chalus in 1199 (where Richard was killed) .
William received Limerick in 1201 from King John. He was also gi vencustody of Glamorgan, Mon mouth, and Gwynllwg in return for l argepayments.
William captured Arthur, Count of Brittany at Mirebeau in 1202 a nd wasin charge of his impri sonment for King John. He was rewar ded in February1203 with the grant of Gower. He may hav e had kn owledge of the murderPrince Arthur and been bribed to silence b y John with the cit y ofLimerick in July. His honors reached the ir peak when he was made Sheriffof Herefordshir e by John in 120 6-7. He had held this office underRichard from 1192-1199.
His fall began almost immediately. William was stripped of his o ffice asbailiff of Glamorga n and other custodies in 1206-7. Lat er he wasdeprived of all his lands and, sought by John i n Irela nd, he returned toWales and joined the Welsh Prince Llewelyn i n rebellion. He fled t oFrance in 1210 via Shoreham "in the habi t of a beggar" and died in exilenear Paris. Despit e intending t o be interred at St John's, Brecon, hewas buried in the Abbey o f St Victorie , Paris by Stephen Langton, theArchbishop of Cante rbury, another of John's chief opponents w ho was alsotaking ref uge there.
His wife and son were murdered by King John-starved to death at WindsorCastle.
William de Braose inherited the large estates of his grandmother , Bertade Gloucester, and be sides possessed the Honour of Braos e, in Normandy.This feudal lord was a personage of grea t powe r and influence during thereigns of Henry II and Richard I, fro m the former of whom h e obtained agrant of the "whole kingdom o f Limeric, in Ireland," for the service ofsixty kni ght's fees , to be held of the king and his younger son, John.For severa l years after this p eriod, he appears to have enjoyed thefavou r of King John and his power and possessions wer e augmented by divers grants from the crown. In the 10th of the king's reign [12 09],when th e kingdom laboured under an interdiction and John de emed itexpedient to demand hostages fro m his barons to ensure t heir allegianceshould the Pope proceed to the length of absolvi ng t hem from obedienceto the crown, his officers who came upo n the mission to the Baron deBraos e were met by Maud, his wife , and peremptorily informed that shewould not entrust any of h e r children to the king, who had so baselymurdered his own nephe w, Prince Arthur. de Braos e rebuked her forspeaking thus, howev er, and said that if he had in anything offended thekin g, he wa s ready to make satisfaction according to the judgment of theco urt and the barons , his peers, upon an appointed day and at an y fixedplace without, however, giving hostages . This answer bei ng communicatedto the king, an order was immediately transmitte d to seiz e upon thebaron's person, but Braose having notice the reof fled with his familyinto Ireland.
This quarrel between de Braose and King John is, however, differ entlyrelated by other author ities. The monk of Llanthony state d that KingJohn disinherited and banished him for his crue lty t o the Welsh in hiswar with Gwenwynwyn, and that his wife Maud a nd William, his son and heir, died prisoners in Corfe Castle. An other writer relates, "that thisWilliam de Braose, s on of Phili p de Braose, Lord of Buelt, held thelands of Brecknock and Wen t for the whole ti me of King Henry II, RichardI, and King Joh n without any disturbance until he took to wife t he LadyMaud d e St. Walerie, who, in revenge of Henry de Hereford, cause diver sWelshmen to b e murthered in the castle of Bergavenny as they s at atmeat; and that for this, and for som e other pickt quarrel , King Johnbanished him and all his out of England. Likewise, t hat i n his exile,Maud his wife, with William, galled, Gam, hi s son, were taken and putinto priso n where she died the 10th ye ar after her husband fought withGwenwynwyn and slew three thou s and Welch." From these various relations,says Dugdale, it is n o easy matter to discover wh at his demerits were,but what usag e he had at last, take here the credit of these twohistori ans w ho lived near that time. "This year, viz. anno 1240," quothMatt hew of Westminster, "th e noble lady Maud, wife of William de Braose, with William, their son and heir, were miserabl y famished a tWindsor by the command of King John; and William, her husband , escapingfrom Sc orham, put himself into the habit of a begga r and, privatelygetting beyond sea, died soon af ter at Paris, w here he had burial in theabbey of St. Victor." And Matthew Pari s, putting hi s death in anno 1212(which differs a little in tim e), says, "That he fled from Ireland toFra nce and, dying at Ebu la, his body was carried to Paris and therehonourably buried i n the ab bey of St. Victor." "But after these greattroubles in h is later days," continues Dugdale, " I shall now saysomething o f his pious works. Being by inheritance from his mother, Lordo f B ergavenny, he made great grants to the monks of that priory ,conditionally, that the abbot an d convent of St. Vincent, in M aine (towhich this priory of Bergavenny was a cell) should dai l y pray for thesoul of him, the said William, and the soul of Ma ud, his wife."
This great but unfortunate personage had issue by his wife, Mau d de St.Walerie, I. William ; II. Giles: III. Reginald; IV. Si r John; I. Joane;II. Loretta; III. Margaret; IV. Maud.
When the contest between King John and the barons broke out, Gil es deBraose, bishop of Heref ord, arraying himself under the bar onial banner,was put in possession by the people of Berga venn y and the other castlesof the deceased lord, and eventually Kin g John, in the last yea r of hisreign, his wrath then being assu aged, granted part of those lands to thebishop's you nger brothe r and heir. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant,Forfeited an d Extinct Peerages , Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p.72 , Braose, Baron Braose, of Gower]
This son was also called William and he married Maud de Saint Valery.The father appears to ha ve "retired" until his death at an advanced ageshortly before 1193.
A further grip on the marches developed with the career of Maud andWilliam's son Giles. He ro se to become bishop of Hereford in 1200,shortly after John took the throne. The secular and r eligious powerwielded by Giles and his family later had a decisive influence on thebaronial w ars during John's reign.
A large piece of masonry fell from Bronllys castle and changed thecourse of history in the W elsh marches. It killed the last male heir ofMiles of Gloucester.Bishop Giles de Braose wa s responsible for thetowers of Hereford and Brecon cathedrals. The west front of Herefordcath edral shows him as he usually appears, holding a tower against hisheart.
William de Braose junior celebrated his new lordships in 1175 with aChristmas feast at Aberg avenny castle. The princes and chieftains ofGwent were invited, including Seisyll ap Dyfnwal , lord of Upper Gwent andhis son Gruffydd. Seisyll was the murderer of William's uncle Henry.
Those gathered in the great hall had recently met king Henry atGloucester to pledge peace an d fealty. The Welsh laid down their weaponsfor the feast but the drunken merry making came t o a dramatic halt whenWilliam challenged them never again to bear arms in his domains,accordi ng to the king's order. Seisyll indignantly refused. William's mentook this as the signal t o slaughter all his Welsh guests.
The murder of William's uncle Henry had benefited the de Braoses well butit was savagely aven ged. William pursued Seisyll's wife Gwladus and cutdown the son she was protecting in her arm s, seven year old Cadwaladr.Seisyll's lands were ravaged.
Seven years later, Seisyll's surviving sons in turn avenged the massacreby burning most of Ab ergavenny castle to the ground. The keep held out,however, William retained his stronghold an d an imposing new castle wasbuilt. This fourth Lord of Bramber married a formidable woman, Ma ud deSaint Valery, sometimes called Matilda. She supported her husband'smilitary ambitions an d he put her in charge of Hay castle and surroundinglands. Welsh folklore portrays her as a g iantess and a witch.
In 1198 Gwenwynwyn, prince of Powys, threatened the entire Welsh middlemarches after the deat h of Lord Rhys. William de Braose hurried to defendBrecon while a terrified and unprepared fo rce marched to interceptGwenwynwyn as he swept towards Hay.William de Braose instigated ano therfurious blood feud in his reprisals against Gwenwynwyn's campaign. Heseized the lord of L langorse, Trehearn Fychan, and bound him to the tailof a horse. To the shame and fury of th e Welsh, he dragged the manthrough the town of Brecon then had him beheaded. The body was hun g up bythe feet to rot on a common gallows.
Gwenwynwyn vowed revenge and returned to besiege Painscastle, known as"Matilda's castle" in E lfael. Maud held off the massive Welsh attack forthree weeks until Norman reinforcements arri ved. Welsh bards wrotemournfully of the three thousand seven hundred Welsh men who wereslaugh tered there.
Bad blood between the de Braoses and the Welsh continued for generations.
Abergavenny castle was the scene of William de Braose's most notoriousoffence against the We lsh, earning him the name Ogre of Abergavenny. Thecastle mound is now the site of a museum wi th views across the riverUsk.William de Braose was as god fearing as his ancestors, despite h issavage reputation. Five years later he remembered the atrocity hecommitted against the Wels h princes and sought atonement by massivelyextending the church of Saint Mary de Haura in Ne w Shoreham, Sussex.Helater rebuilt or restored many of the churches within his Welsh domain s.These included Saint Bridget's in Skenfrith, Saint Nicholas' in Grosmont,Saint John's in Br econ and Saint Mary's in Abergavenny.
Gerald of Wales wrote a famous account of his Welsh tour during 1188. Hemet William de Braos e in Brecon and described him as a pious man, ridingabout the town on his horse exchanging Go d's blessings with littlechildren. Gerald also complimented William's wife Maud for her effic iencyas a housekeeper. In fact, as archdeacon of Brecon, Gerald knew thefamily well.
At his peak Lord of Bramber, Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth,Radnor, Kington, Limeric k and the three castles of Skenfrith, Grosmont(right) and Whitecastle.
William inherited Bramber, Builth and Radnor from his father; Brecknockand Abergavenny throug h his mother. He was the strongest of the MarcherLords involved in constant war with the Wels h and other lords. He wasparticularly hated by the Welsh for the massacre of three Welsh prin ces,their families and their men which took place during a feast at hiscastle of Abergavenn y in 1175. He was sometimes known as the "Ogre ofAbergavenny". One of the Normans' foremost w arriors, he fought alongsideK.Richard at Chalus in 1199 (when Richard received his fatal woun d).
William received Limerick in 1201 from K. John. He was also given custodyof Glamorgan, Monmou th and Gwynllwg in return for large payments.
William captured Arthur, Count of Brittany at Mirebeau in 1202 and was incharge of his impris onment for King John. He was well rewarded inFebruary 1203 with the grant of Gower. He may ha ve had knowledge of themurder of Arthur and been bribed to silence by John with the city ofLi merick in July. His honours reached their peak when he was made Sheriffof Herefordshire by Jo hn for 1206-7. He had held this office underRichard from 1192 to 1199.
His fall began almost immediately. William was stripped of his office asbailiff of Glamorga n and other custodies by K. John in 1206/7. Later hewas deprived of all his lands and, sough t by K.John in Ireland, hereturned to Wales and joined the Welsh Prince Llewelyn in rebellion . Hefled to France in 1210 via Shoreham "in the habit of a beggar" and diedin exile near Pari s. Despite intending to be interred at St. John's,Brecon, he was buried in the Abbey of St. V ictoire, Paris by StephenLangton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, another of John's chief oppon entswho was also taking refuge there. His wife and son William were murderedby John, possibl y starved to death at Windsor Castle.
More About William II de Braose:
Date born 2: (5th Baron de Broise).6398, 6399, 6400
Date born 3: Abt. 1153, Bramber, Sussex, England.6401, 6402, 6403, 6404, 6405, 6406, 6407
Date born 4: 1153, Bramber, Sussex, England..6408, 6409, 6410
Burial 1: August 10, 1211, Abbey of St Victorie, Paris, Seine, France.6411, 6412, 6413
Burial 2: August 10, 1211, France, Chart 513.6414, 6415, 6416
Died 2: 12116417, 6418, 6419
Died 3: August 09, 1211, Corbeil, France.6420, 6421, 6422
Died 4: August 09, 1211, Corbeuil.6423, 6424, 6425
Died 5: August 09, 1231, Corbeil, France.6426, 6427, 6428, 6429, 6430, 6431, 6432
Occupation 1: 1192, Herefordshire; Occupation: Sheriff.6433, 6434, 6435
Occupation 2: 1206, Herefordshire; Occupation: Sheriff.6436, 6437, 6438
Record Change: February 14, 20036439, 6440
More About William II de Braose and Maud de St. Valery:
Marriage: 11696441, 6442, 6443
Children of William II de Braose and Maud de St. Valery are: