between 30 October and 28 November 1217 location unknown
Buried:
uncertain; see the problem section below
67251978Richard de Clare has been described in other genealogical works, notably including:
Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families (published by the author, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013), Volume II, pages 180-181
Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd edition (2011), Volume I, pages 446-448
George Edward Cokayne and Vicary Gibbs, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All Its Members from the Earliest Times, 2nd edition, volume VI: Gordon to Hurstpierpoint (St. Catherine Press, London, 1926), pages 501-503
Sidney Painter, "The Earl of Clare," Feudalism and Liberty (Baltimore, 1961), pages 220-225
Michael Altschul, A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares, 1217-1314 (John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 1965), various pages
Because these works already provide well-written, lengthy, evidence-based descriptions of 67251978Richard's life, this profile page is deliberately brief and non-inclusive. Below I focus mostly on essential genealogical facts, although I do mention a few other facts that I find particularly interesting. I encourage you to read the abovementioned works for a more thorough description of 67251978Richard.
67251978Richard de Clare's parents are 134503956Roger de Clare and 134503957Maud St. Hillary, as explained below.
Problem:Resolved Who are 67251978Richard's parents?
67251978Richard's parents are well-established as 134503956Roger de Clare and 134503957Maud St. Hilary. The most explicit proof thereof is a charter wherein 67251978Richard mentions both of his parents by name ("Rogeri comitis, patris mei" and "Matildis, comitisse, matris mee").1 There are also inheritance patterns (as described by Altschul; see above), and we see that 134503956Roger, 134503957Maud, and 67251978Richard all made donations to the same monastery.2
However, there is another, sometimes cited source that I feel needs closer inspection: Douglas Richardson (see above) cites Delisle's Chronique de Robert de Torigni, volume II, page 41, which reads, "Obiit etiam Rogerius, comes de Clara; cui successit Ricardus, filius ejus, qui duxit filiam Guillermi comitis Gloecestriæ." ("Roger, Count of Clare, also died; who was succeeded by Richard, his son, who married the daughter of William, count of Gloucester.") Delisle's book is effectively a modern reprint of Robert de Torigni's Liber Chronicorum, a chronicle finished during 67251978Richard's lifetime. There are no extant, original copies of Liber Chronicorum, but we do have several early re-copies thereof and also Robert de Torigni's working manuscript (essentially a rough draft). In that working manuscript, the aforementioned sentence appears as follows:
As you can see, the working manuscript shows "Gill" instead of the expected name "Richard." In a footnote, Delisle comments, "La leçon Ricardus, qui est la bonne, se trouve dans L. Le ms. M porte Gill," but Delisle offers no further explanation.
The alleged error also appears in one of the early re-copies of the (finished) Liber Chronicorum, but it's been scratched out and corrected:
An excerpt from Cotton MS Domitian A VIII, folio 87r
One can only ponder how Robert de Torigni became misinformed about 67251978Richard's parentage, and whether "Gill" may have been an actual person or a mere error. Nevertheless, scribes clearly regarded Gill here as erroneous early on and worked to correct it.
I mention this peculiarity here because Richardson didn't, and because Delisle mentioned it only passingly in a footnote. The "Gill" name weakens Robert de Torigni's Chronicorum as evidence for proving 67251978Richard's parentage, even though fortunately his parentage is already proven firmly in other sources.
67251978Richard became the earl of Clare after his father's death in 1173.3
He married 67251979Amice of Gloucester, as proven by a curia regis roll that (ironically) proves that they had separated by 1200, apparently with some involvement from the pope.4 Later charters suggest that they never reconciled.5
67251978Richard attended the coronations of King Richard I in September 11896 and King John in 1199.7 In November 1200 he witnessed King William of Scotland pay homage to King John of England.8
A modern artist's depiction of the coronation of Richard I, from a lithograph by Richard Caton Woodville
In June 1215 67251978Geoffrey was made one of the 25 barons responsible for ensuring that King John would honor the terms of the Magna Carta.9 This cute video gives a quick overview of the Magna Carta's background and significance:
The barons' responsibilities are described in the Magna Carta's 61st clause, the longest clause. You can read an English translation here.
The Magna Carta's 61st clause, as seen in the British Library's Cotton MS Augustus II.106, one of the four surviving exemplifications of the Magna Carta. Bigger view. Full page. Transcription and translation.
The barons' names aren't specified in the Magna Carta itself, nor is there an extent primary record of such, but four early sources attest their names. One of these is copied below, and as you can see, 67251978Richard is listed first.9 (For more information on these sources, see Holt's Magna Carta, 3rd edition, appendix 8.)
67251978Richard first among the 25 Magna Carta barons, as listed in Matthew Paris' Liber Additamentorum, written in the 1250's. Full page.9
Despite having signed the Magna Carta, a bitter King John hired foreign mercenaries and launched a harsh campaign of retribution, hunting the barons (some of whom fled into exile) and burning villages all over England. In March 1216 67251978Richard's lands were seized and handed over to a loyalist noble10,11—at least on paper but not so much in reality. However, 67251978Richard did actually lose his castle at Tonbridge: A stronghold for the barons' resistance, it was captured on 28 November 1215, as described in Matthew Paris' Chronica Majora a few decades later.12
The capture of 67251978Richard's Tonbridge Castle, mentioned in Matthew Paris' Chronica Majora.12Latin transcription.
In 67251978Richard's time, Tonbridge Castle's keep would have been a wooden structure on top of this motte, which is at coordinates N51.1965 E0.2731.13 Stone structures were added later, but these are very much in ruin now, too (except for a nearby gatehouse, which was built a few decades after 67251978Richard's death).
As further revenge for the Magna Carta, King John also persuaded Pope Innocent III to excommunicate many of the barons and their family members, including 67251978Richard and his son Gilbert.14
67251978Richard and his son Gilbert among a lengthy list of the names of Magna Carta supporters whom Pope Innocent III excommunicated, as recorded in Paris' Chronica Majora.14Latin transcription.
Desperate for help, the barons persuaded the king of France to intervene, culminating in the Battle of Lincoln in May 1217, where the French-aligned forces were defeated. Having lost, the barons sought to reconcile with the English king. 67251978Richard apparently renewed his allegiance, since on 5 October 1217 his lands were ordered restored to him.15
He seems to have been still living on 30 October 121716 but had died by 28 November.17
Problem:Unresolved Where is 67251978Richard buried?
A record indicates that 67251978Richard's body lay in the church of St. Mary Magdalen in Tonbridge (i.e., presumably the church run by St. Mary Magdalen priory). The record is apparently undated but is filed among numerous other similar charters, many of which are from the 1320's or 1330's—more than a century after 67251978Richard's death.18
However, Richardson's Royal Ancestry (see above) states, "His widow, Amice, caused the earl's body to be carried to Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire, where it was buried in the choir of the Abbey." I've been unable to determine which primary evidence, if any, supports this statement. Richardson does cite Lambert's Blechingley: A Parish History, page 58, but unfortunately Lambert didn't provide a source citation for his claim. Furthermore, the claim seems peculiar: Since 67251978Richard and 67251979Amice had been essentially divorced for many years by the time he died, one wouldn't expect that she would want him buried in her home church, nor to have the authority to do so even if she wanted. Also, 67251978Richard had a firm history with St. Mary Magdalen Priory, so it seems far more likely that he would be buried there.
Although obliterated centuries ago, Tonbridge Priory's main structure was located about here, and a few associated structures extended a short distance to the east and west. 67251978Richard's body was once somewhere nearby (and might still be).
Problem:Unresolved Where is 67251978Richard's seal?
In Catalogue of Seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, Volume II, pages 268-269 we find a description of 67251978Richard's seal:
Ricardus de Clare [4th Earl of Hertford, A.D. 1172-1218.] 5841. Dark-green, mottled : only a fragment of the upper part. About 2 in. when perfect. [Harl. ch. III E. 45.]
To the r. In hauberk, surcoat, conical helmet, sword, kite-shaped shield.
Legend wanting.
This description is troublesome because of the citation provided: The catalog number of all Harley charters begins with "Harley Ch 43," followed by a capital letter, then a Roman numeral, and sometimes lastly another capital letter. "Harl. ch. III E. 45" doesn't fit this pattern, so I don't understand it.
If you have more information about 67251978Richard's seal, please contact me.
Due to his historical significance, 67251978Richard is depicted in a few later works, illustrated below.
The entry for 67251978Richard in a 16th-century book about the founders of Tewkesbury Abbey. Bigger copy.19 I haven't attempted to investigate the heraldic symbols seen here. You can read a description of the book itself here.
A 19th-century statue of 67251978Richard in the U.K. Parliament. Bigger image.20
The entry for 67251978Richard in a 16th-century book about the founders of Tewkesbury Abbey. Bigger copy.19 I haven't attempted to investigate the heraldic symbols seen here. You can read a description of the book itself here.
A 19th-century statue of 67251978Richard in the U.K. Parliament. Bigger image.20
Sources Cited:
1: British Library, Cotton MS Faustina B II, folio 117. Transcribed in: J. Delaville le Roulx, Cartulaire Général de l'Ordre des Hospitaliers de S. Jean de Jérusalem, Volume 1 (1894), pages 298-299. I have not seen the original record and merely used the transcription.
2: British Library, Cotton MS Appendix XXI, folios 21a (for 134503956Roger); 24b, 26a, and 26b (for 67251978Richard); and 28b (for 134503957Maud). Cited in: J. C. Ward, "Fashions in Monastic Endowment: The Foundations of the Clare Family, 1066–1314," The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 32 (1981), page 435. I have not seen the original records and merely used the description in the article.
3: British Library, Cotton MS Domitian A VIII, folio 87r
4: Curia Regis Rolls of the Reigns of Richard I and John, Volume I (London, 1922), page 186
5: Cotton MS Appendix XXI, folios 28-31; cited in: George Edward Cokayne and Vicary Gibbs, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All Its Members from the Earliest Times, 2nd edition, volume VI: Gordon to Hurstpierpoint (St. Catherine Press, London, 1926), pages 502-503, footnote l. I have not seen the original record and merely used the summary in Complete Peerage.
6: William Stubbs, ed., Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis: The Chronicle of the Reigns of Henry II and Richard I, A.D. 1169-1192; Known Commonly under the Name of Benedict of Peterborough, Volume II (London, 1867), page 80. The preface in volume I suggests that the relevant manuscripts are Cotton MS Julius A xi and Cotton MS Vitellius E xvii, but neither has been digitized as of this writing.
7: William Stubbs, ed., Chronica Magistri Rogeri de Houedene, Volume IV (London, 1868), page 90
10:Thomas Duffus Hardy, ed., Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinensi, Volume I (1833), page 251, left column, about one-fourth of the way down the page, the line that begins "MANDATU' est Vic̃ Cantebr̃ qd̄ hr̃e fac̃ Rob̃to de Betuñ"
11: ibid., page 268, left column, the line that begins "MAND' est Herveo Belet"
14: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 16, folio 49r, right column. So far as I can tell, this is the second-oldest extant manuscript describing the barons' excommunication. An apparently older manuscript is mentioned in: Christopher Robert Cheney and Mary G. Cheney, The Letters of Pope Innocent III (1998-1216) Concerning England and Wales (Oxford, 1967), page 172. Based on the Cheneys' description, I think the relevant, older manuscript is Bodleian MS Douce 207, which as of this writing (autumn 2023) hasn't been digitized yet.
15: Thomas Duffus Hardy, ed., Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinensi, Volume I (1833), page 327, right column, near the top
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