Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
*** Shopping-Tip: Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
'''Hubert de Burgh''' (c.
1165 –
12 May,
1243) was
Earl of Kent,
Justiciar of England and Ireland, and one of the most influential men in
England during the reigns of
John of England John and
Henry III of England Henry III.
Life
Birth and origins
De Burgh came from a minor gentry family about which little is known. He was possibly a brother of
William de Burgh, Governor of
Limerick.
Early life
He was a minor official in the household of Prince John in
1197, and became John's chamberlain the next year. He continued as John's chamberlain when the latter became king in 1199.
Honours from John
In the early years of John's reign de Burgh was greatly enriched by royal favour, receiving the honor of
Corfe in 1199 and three important castles in
Gwent in 1201 (Grosmont, Skenfrith, and Llantilo). He was also sheriff of
Dorset,
Somerset, and
Herefordshire, and castellan of
Laucester and
Wallingford Castle Wallingford castles.
The next year de Burgh was appointed Constable of
Dover Castle, and also given charge of
Falaise, in
Normandy. He is cited as having been appointed a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports by 1215, and although the co-joint position of this office to that of the constableship of Dover Castle was not fully established until after the Baron's War, a rather long period seems to have elasped between the two appointments. (White and Black books of the
Cinque Ports Vol XIX 1966)
Captor of Arthur
Now comes the part of his early career for which he is best remembered. After John captured his nephew
Arthur of Brittany, niece
Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany Eleanor and their allies in 1202, de Burgh was made their jailor.
There is a story (used, for example, by
William Shakespeare Shakespeare in his play
King John) that the king ordered de Burgh to blind Arthur, but that de Burgh refused. The truth of this has been much doubted, however.
Chinon
In any case de Burgh retained the king's trust, and in 1203 was given charge of the great castle at
Chinon, in
Touraine, a key to the defence of the
Loire valley. There de Burgh held out while the rest of the English possessions fell to the French. Chinon was besieged for a year, and finally fell in June, 1205.
During the year he was trapped in Chinon, and the two following years when he was a prisoner of the French, de Burgh lost most of his estates and posts. The reasons are much debated. After his return to England in 1207, he acquired new and different lands and offices. These included the castles of
Lafford and
Sleaford, and the shrievalty of
Lincolnshire. Probably, however, de Burgh spent most of his time in the English holdings in France, where he was seneschal of
Poitou.
French invasion
De Burgh remained loyal to the king during the barons' rebellions at the end of John's reign. The
Magna Carta mentions him as one of those who advised the king to sign the charter, and he was one of the 25 guarantors of its execution.
De Burgh played a prominent role in
First Barons' War the defence of England from the invasion of Louis of France, the son of
Philip II of France Philippe II who later became
Louis VIII of France Louis VIII. Louis' first objective was to take
Dover Castle, which was in de Burgh's charge. The castle withstood a lengthy siege in the summer and fall of 1216, and Louis withdrew. The next summer Louis could not continue without reinforcements from France. De Burgh gathered a small fleet which defeated a larger French force at the
Battle of Sandwich, and ultimately lead to the complete withdrawal of the French from England.
Regent to Henry III
After the death of
William Marshal in 1219, de Burgh effectively became regent of England. In this position de Burgh acquired a number of enemies and rivals, who were to dog him for the rest of his life.
When Henry III came of age in
1227 de Burgh was made
Earl of Kent, and he remained one of the most influential people at court. But in
1232 the plottings of his enemies finally succeeded and he was removed from office and soon was in prison. Two years later, in
1234,
Edmund Rich,
Archbishop of Canterbury effected a reconciliation.
Death
{{Section-stub}}
Marriages and issue
De Burgh married three times:
*(1) Beatrice de Warrenne, by whom he had two sons, John and Hubert. The former inherited de Burgh's estates but not his earldom or other titles.
*(2) Avisa heiress of Gloucester, ex-wife of King
John of England (c. 1217)
*(3) Princess Margaret of Scotland, daughter of King
William I of Scotland (1221), by whom he had a daughter,
Margaret de Burgh Margaret (c. 1226 - 1243), called "Megotta", who married
Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford Richard de Clare,
Earl of Gloucester.
Before all these marriages he had a marriage contract with Joan, daughter of
William de Reviers, 6th Earl of Devon, but that engagement was broken off in 1200.
Relationship to other de Burghs
The relationship between Hubert de Burgh and the later de Burgh's
Earl of Ulster and
Lord of Connaught is not clear. They descend from
William de Burgh (c. 1160? - 1204) but the relationship between Hubert and William, while generally believed to be true, has never being exactly verified; at most they were brothers, at the very least, cousins.
He was possibly a brother of
William de Burgh, Governor of
Limerick.
References
*Eamon Burke, "Burke People and Places", Dublin, 1995.
*D. A. Carpenter, "The Fall of Hubert De Burgh", ''Journal of British Studies'', vol. 19 (1980)
*C. Ellis, ''Hubert de Burgh, A Study in Constancy'' (1952)
*S.H.F. Johnston, "The Lands of Hubert de Burgh", ''English Historical Review'', vol. 50 (1935)
*Michael Weiss, "The Castellan: The Early Career of Hubert de Burgh", ''Viator'', vol. 5 (1974)
{{start box}}
{{succession box|
before=
William de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey The Earl of Surrey|
title=
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports|
after=Unknown|
years=1215
}}
{{end box}}
{{start box}}{{succession box | title=
Earl of Kent | before=New Creation | years = | after=Title extinct}}
Category:1160s births Kent, Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of
Category:1243 deaths Kent, Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of
Category:Regents of England Kent, Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of
Category:Earls in the Peerage of England Kent, Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of
Category:Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports Kent, Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of
Category:House of Dunkeld Kent, Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of
*** Shopping-Tip: Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
