Isabel Bigod

Notes:

Isabel Bigod, Lady of Shere, was an English noblewoman. She was the wife of Gilbert de Lacy, of Ewyas Lacy, and John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere.

Isabel was born in Thetford, Norfolk in about 1212, the only daughter of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, a Magna Carta surety, and Maud Marshal. Her paternal grandparents were Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk and Ida de Tosny, a former mistress of King Henry II of England. Her maternal grandparents were William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke.

Buried:
Grave location, and biography:
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Isabel married John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere. John (son of Geoffrey FitzPiers, Earl of Essex and Aveline de Clare, Countess of Essex) was born ca 1205, Surrey, England; died 23 Nov 1258, Norfolk, England; was buried , Shouldham Priory Shouldham, Norfolk, England. [Group Sheet]

1. Maude Fitzjohn, Countess of Warwick was born ca 1238, Surrey, England; died 16/18 April 1301, Worcestershire, England; was buried , Greyfriars, Worcester, Worcestershire, England.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Bigod,_3rd_Earl_of_Norfolk

He was a member of the powerful early Norman Bigod family and was for a short time the 3rd Earl of Norfolk. Born ca. 1182, Hugh the eldest son of Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk by his wife Ida de Tosny.

In 1215 he was one of the twenty-five sureties of Magna Carta of King John. He succeeded to his father?s estates (including Framlingham Castle) in 1221.

In late 1206 or early 1207, Hugh married Maud Marshal (1192 -27 March 1248), daughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1147-1219), Marshal of England, by his wife Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke. They had four, or possibly five, children:

1. Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk (c.?1209-1270), died without progeny.

2. Hugh Bigod (1211-1266), Justiciar of England. Married Joan de Stuteville, by whom he had issue.

3. Isabel Bigod (c. 1212-1250), married twice: Firstly to Gilbert de Lacy, by whom she had children; Secondly to John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere, by whom she had children, including Maud FitzJohn, and Joan FitzJohn who married Theobald le Botiller, and from whom descended the Irish Earls of Ormond.

4. Ralph Bigod (born c. 1215)

Hugh died on 18 Feb 1225. Very soon after Hugh's death, his widow Maud remarried William de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey.




Buried:
Grave location, cemetery photo, and biography:
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Hugh married Maude Marshal, Countess of Norfolk, Countess of Surrey. Maude (daughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare) was born 1192, Pembrokeshire, Wales; died 27 Mar 1248, Tintern, Monmouthshire, Wales; was buried , Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_Marshal

She was an Anglo-Norman noblewoman and a wealthy co-heiress of her father William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and her mother Isabel de Clare 4th Countess of Pembroke in her own right. Maud was their eldest daughter. She had two husbands: Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, and William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey. She was also known as Matilda.

Maud's birthdate is unknown other than being post 1191. She was the eldest daughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, herself one of the greatest heiresses in Wales and Ireland. Maud had five brothers and four younger sisters. She was a co-heiress to her parents' extensive rich estates.

Her paternal grandparents were John FitzGilbert Marshal and Sybilla of Salisbury, and her maternal grandparents were Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known as "Strongbow", and Aoife of Leinster.

Sometime before Lent in 1207, Maud married her first husband, Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk. It was through this marriage between Maud and Hugh that the post of Earl Marshal of England came finally to the Howard (Dukes of Norfolk).[2] In 1215, Hugh was one of the twenty-five sureties of the Magna Carta. He came into his inheritance in 1221, thus Maud became the Countess of Norfolk at that time. Together they had five children:

1. Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk (1209-1270) He died childless.

2. Hugh Bigod (1212-1266), Justiciar of England. Married Joan de Stuteville, by whom he had issue.

3. Isabel Bigod (c. 1215-1250), married firstly Gilbert de Lacy of Ewyas Lacy, by whom she had children; she married secondly John Fitzgeoffrey, Lord of Shere, by whom she had children.

4. Ralph Bigod (born c. 1218, date of death unknown), married Bertha de Furnival, by whom he had one child.

5. William Bigod

Hugh Bigod died in 1225. Maud married her second husband, William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey before 13 October that same year. Together they had two children:

1. Isabella de Warenne (c. 1228-before 20 September 1282), married Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel. She died childless.

2. John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey (August 1231-c. 29 September 1304), in 1247 married Alice de Lusignan, a half-sister of King Henry III of England, by whom he had three children.

Maud's second husband died in 1240. Her youngest son John succeeded his father as the 6th Earl of Surrey, but as he was a minor, Peter of Savoy, uncle of Queen consort Eleanor of Provence, was guardian of his estates.

Maud died on 27 March 1248 at the age of about fifty-six years and was buried at Tintern Abbey with her mother, possibly her maternal grandmother, and two of her brothers.






Buried:
Grave location, biography, and abbey photo:
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Notes:

Wkipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bigod,_2nd_Earl_of_Norfolk

He was the son of Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk and his first wife, Juliana de Vere. Although his father died 1176 or 1177, Roger did not succeed to the earldom of Norfolk until 1189 for his claim had been disputed by his stepmother for her sons by Earl Hugh in the reign of Henry II.

Richard I confirmed him in his earldom and other honours, and also sent him as an ambassador to France in the same year. Roger inherited his father's office as royal steward. He took part in the negotiations for the release of Richard from prison, and after the king's return to England became a justiciar.

During the Revolt of 1173-74, Roger remained loyal to the king while his father sided with the king's rebellious sons. In most of the years of the reign of King John, the earl was frequently with the king or on royal business. Yet Roger was to be one of the leaders of the baronial party which obtained John's assent to Magna Carta, and his name and that of his son and heir Hugh II appear among the twenty-five barons who were to ensure the king's adherence to the terms of that document.

Around Christmas 1181, Roger married Ida, apparently Ida de Tosny (or Ida de Toesny), and by her had a number of children including:

1. Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk who married in 1206/ 1207, Maud, a daughter of William Marshal

2. William Bigod

3.Ralph Bigod

4. Roger Bigod

5. Margery, married William de Hastings

6. Mary Bigod, married Ralph fitz Robert

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and priory photo:
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Roger married Ida de Tosny, Countess of Norfolk. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_de_Tosny

She was very likely a daughter of Ralph V de Tosny (died 1162) and his wife Margaret (born circa 1125 and living in 1185), a daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester. Ida de Tosny was a royal ward and mistress of Henry II, King of England, by whom she was mother of one of his illegitimate sons, William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, (b c. 1176-March 7, 1226), as proven by the discovery of a charter of William mentioning "Comitissa Ida, mater mea" (Countess Ida, my mother).

Around Christmas 1181, Ida de Tosny was given in marriage to Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk by Henry II, together with the manors of Acle, Halvergate and South Walsham, which had been confiscated from his inheritance after his father's death (Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk).[4] Ida and Roger had a number of children including:

1. Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk who married in 1206 or 1207, Maud Marshal, a daughter of William Marshal

2. William Bigod

3. Roger Bigod

4. John Bigod

5. Ralph Bigod

6. Mary Bigod, married Ralph fitz Robert

7. Margery Bigod, married William de Hastings

8. Ida Bigod

The names of the children of Roger Bigod and Ida de Tosny can be found in the Durham Liber Vitae as discussed by Rosie Bevan in her article, "The Durham Liber Vitae:some reflections on its significance as a genealogical resource," Foundations July 2005 1:6, 414-424.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshal,_1st_Earl_of_Pembroke

William Marshal was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings: The "Young King" Henry, Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III.

Knighted in 1166, he spent his younger years as a knight errant and a successful tournament fighter. Before him, his father's family held a hereditary title of Marshal to the king, which by his father's time had become recognized as a chief or master Marshalcy, involving management over other Marshals and functionaries. William became known as "the Marshal," although by his time much of the function was actually delegated to more specialized representatives (as happened with other functions in the King's household).

In 1189, he received the title of Earl of Pembroke through marriage during the second creation of the Pembroke Earldom. Because he was an Earl, and also known as the Marshal, the term "Earl Marshal" was commonly used and this later became an established hereditary title in the English Peerage.

William's father, John Marshal, supported King Stephen when he took the throne in 1135, but in about 1139 he changed sides to back the Empress Matilda in the civil war of succession between her and Stephen which led to the collapse of England into "the Anarchy."

When King Stephen besieged Newbury Castle in 1152, according to William's biographer, he used the young William as a hostage to ensure that John kept his promise to surrender the castle. John, however, used the time allotted to reinforce the castle and alert Matilda's forces. When Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately or William would be hanged, John replied that he should go ahead saying, "I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!" Subsequently, there was a bluff made to launch William from a type of trebuchet towards the castle. Fortunately for the child, Stephen could not bring himself to harm young William. William remained a crown hostage for many months, only being released following the peace that resulted from the terms agreed at Winchester on 6 November 1153 that ended the civil war.

As a younger son of a minor nobleman, William had no lands or fortune to inherit, and had to make his own way in life. Around the age of twelve, when his father's career was faltering, he was sent to Normandy to be brought up in the household of William de Tancarville, a great magnate and cousin of young William's mother. Here he began his training as a knight.

He was knighted in 1166 on campaign in Upper Normandy, then being invaded from Flanders. War in the twelfth century was not fought wholly for honor but profit was also a motive. On this front, Marshal was not so successful, as he was unable to parlay his combat victories into profit from either ransom or seized booty.

He then served in the household of his mother's brother, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury. In 1168 his uncle was killed in an ambush by Guy de Lusignan. William was injured and captured in the same skirmish. It is known that William received a wound to his thigh and that someone in his captor's household took pity on the young knight. He received a loaf of bread in which were concealed several lengths of clean linen bandages with which he could dress his wounds. This act of kindness by an unknown person perhaps saved Marshal's life as infection setting into the wound could have killed him. After a period of time, he was ransomed by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was apparently impressed by tales of his bravery.

In 1167 he was taken by William de Tancarville to his first tournament where he found his true métier. He found he could make a good living out of winning tournaments, dangerous, often deadly, staged battles in which money and valuable prizes could be won by capturing and ransoming opponents, their horses and armour. His record is legendary: on his deathbed he recalled besting 500 knights during his tourneying career.

William rejoined the court of King Henry II, and now served the father as a loyal captain through the many difficulties of his final years. The returns of royal favour were almost immediate. Henry II had promised the Marshal the hand and estates of Isabel de Clare (c.1172-1220), but had not completed the arrangements. King Richard however, confirmed the offer and so in August 1189, at the age of 43, the Marshal married the 17-year-old daughter of Richard de Clare (Strongbow). Her father had been Earl of Pembroke, and Marshal acquired large estates and claims in England, Wales, Normandy and Ireland. The marriage transformed the landless knight from a minor family into one of the richest men in the kingdom, a sign of his power and prestige at court.

William was included in the council of regency which King Richard I [the Lionheart] appointed on his departure for the Third Crusade in 1190. He took the side of John, the king's brother, when the latter expelled the justiciar, William Longchamp, from the kingdom, but he soon discovered that the interests of John were different from those of Richard. Before King Richard's return, William Marshal's elder brother John Marshal was killed while defending Marlborough for the king's brother John. Richard allowed Marshal to succeed his brother in the hereditary marshalship, and his paternal honor of Hamstead Marshall. The Marshal served the king in his wars in Normandy against Philip II. On Richard's death-bed the king designated Marshal as custodian of Rouen and of the royal treasure during the interregnum.

William supported King John when he became king in 1199, but they had a falling out in the aftermath of the loss of the duchy of Brittany. Despite their differences, William remained loyal throughout the hostilities between John and his barons which culminated on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede with the sealing of Magna Carta. William was one of the few English earls to remain loyal to the king through the First Barons' War. It was William whom King John trusted on his deathbed to make sure John's nine-year-old son Henry would get the throne. It was William who took responsibility for the king's funeral and burial at Worcester Cathedral.

William Marshal was named by the king's council (the chief barons who had remained loyal to King John in the First Barons' War) to serve as protector of the nine-year-old King Henry III, and regent of the kingdom in spite of his advanced age (around 70).

Marshal's health finally failed him early in 1219. In March 1219 he realized that he was dying, so he summoned his eldest son, also William, and his household knights, and left the Tower of London for his estate at Caversham in Berkshire, near Reading. Fulfilling the vow he had made while on crusade, he was invested into the order of the Knights Templar on his deathbed. He died on 14 May 1219 at Caversham, and was buried in the Temple Church in London, where his tomb can still be seen.

His marriage was happy, despite the vast difference in age between them. William Marshal and Isabel produced a total of five sons and five daughters.

1. William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1190-6 April 1231). Chief Justiciar of Ireland. He married firstly, Alice de Bethune, and secondly, Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of King John. He died childless.

2. Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1191-1 April 1234 Kilkenny Castle, Ireland), married Gervase le Dinant. He died childless.

3. Maud Marshal (1192-27 March 1248). She married firstly, Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, by whom she had issue; she married secondly, William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had children, including John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey who married Alice le Brun de Lusignan; she married thirdly, Walter de Dunstanville. Five queen consorts of Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr were her descendants.

4. Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (1194-27 June 1241). He married firstly, Marjorie of Scotland, daughter of King William I of Scotland; and secondly, Maud de Lanvaley. He died childless.

5. Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (1196-24 November 1245). He married Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln, widow of John de Lacy, 1st Earl of Lincoln, as her second husband. The marriage was childless.

6. Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (1198-22 December 1245). He married Maud de Bohun. He died childless.

7. Isabel Marshal (9 October 1200-17 January 1240). She married firstly, Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford; and secondly, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. She had issue by both marriages. King Robert I of Scotland and Queen consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr were descendants.

8. Sibyl Marshal (1201-before 1238), married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, by whom she had issue. Queen consort Catherine Parr was a descendant.

9. Joan Marshal (1202-1234), married Warin de Munchensi, Lord of Swanscombe, by whom she had issue. Both queen consorts Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr were descendants.

10. Eva Marshal (1203-1246), married William de Braose (died 1230). Queen consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr were her descendants.

Isabel died in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1220 at the age of forty-eight. Her husband had died the year before. She was buried at Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire.

Although her daughters had many children, Isabel's five sons, curiously, died childless. The title of marshal subsequently passed to Hugh de Bigod, husband of Isabel's eldest daughter Maud, while the title of Earl of Pembroke went to William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke, the husband of Joan de Munchensi, daughter of Joan Marshal. He was the first of the de Valence line of the earls of Pembroke.

Within a few generations their descendants included much of the nobility of Europe, including all the monarchs of Scotland since Robert I (1274-1329) and all those of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom since Henry IV (1367-1413); and, apart from Anne of Cleves, all the queen consorts of Henry VIII.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and effigy photos:
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William married Isabel de Clare. Isabel (daughter of Richard (Strongbow) de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Aoife (Eva) MacMurrough, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Pembroke) was born ca 1172, Pembrokeshire, Wales; died 1220, Pembrokeshire, Wales; was buried , Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_de_Clare,_4th_Countess_of_Pembroke

She was a noblewoman and one of the wealthiest heiresses in Wales and Ireland. She was the wife of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, who served four successive kings as Lord Marshal of England.

Isabel was born in 1172 in Pembrokeshire, Wales, the eldest child of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1130-20 April 1176), known to history as "Strongbow", and Aoife of Leinster, who was the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, the deposed King of Leinster. Her family were Normans who settled in Wales as part of the Norman Conquest by William, Duke of Normandy, the Conqueror. Her father's lands in Wales centered on Pembroke and led the Norman invasion of Ireland.

Her paternal grandparents were Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Beaumont. When her younger, Gilbert, died, Isabel became Countess of Pembroke in her own right until her death in 1220 as the successor to the earldom of Pembroke from her grandfather Gilbert. The title Earl was re-created for her husband.

After her brother's death, Isabel became one of the wealthiest heiresses in the kingdom, owning besides the titles of Pembroke and Striguil, much land in Wales and Ireland. She inherited the numerous castles on the inlet of Milford Haven, guarding the South Channel, including Pembroke Castle. She was a legal ward of King Henry II, who carefully watched over her inheritance.

The new King Richard I [the Lionheart] arranged her marriage in August 1189 to William Marshal, regarded by many as the greatest knight and soldier in the realm. Henry II had promised Marshal he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son and successor Richard upheld the promise one month after he came to the throne. Marriage to Isabel elevated William Marshal from the status as a landless knight into one of the richest men in the kingdom. He would serve as Lord Marshal of England, four kings in all: Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III.

Shortly after their marriage, Marshal and Isabel arrived in Ireland, at Old Ross, a settlement located in the territory which belonged to her grandfather, Dermot MacMurrough. A motte was hastily constructed, a medieval borough quickly grew around it, and afterwards the Marshals founded the port town by the river which subsequently became known as New Ross.

In 1192, Isabel and her husband assumed the task of managing their vast lands; starting with the rebuilding of Kilkenny Castle and the town, both of which had been damaged by the O'Brien clan in 1173. Later they commissioned the construction of several abbeys in the vicinity.

The marriage was happy, despite the vast difference in age between them. William Marshal and Isabel produced a total of five sons and five daughters.

1. William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1190-6 April 1231). Chief Justiciar of Ireland. He married firstly, Alice de Bethune, and secondly, Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of King John. He died childless.

2. Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1191-1 April 1234 Kilkenny Castle, Ireland), married Gervase le Dinant. He died childless.

3. Maud Marshal (1192-27 March 1248). She married firstly, Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, by whom she had issue; she married secondly, William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had children, including John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey who married Alice le Brun de Lusignan; she married thirdly, Walter de Dunstanville. Five queen consorts of Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr were her descendants.

4. Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (1194-27 June 1241). He married firstly, Marjorie of Scotland, daughter of King William I of Scotland; and secondly, Maud de Lanvaley. He died childless.

5. Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (1196-24 November 1245). He married Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln, widow of John de Lacy, 1st Earl of Lincoln, as her second husband. The marriage was childless.

6. Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (1198-22 December 1245). He married Maud de Bohun. He died childless.

7. Isabel Marshal (9 October 1200-17 January 1240). She married firstly, Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford; and secondly, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. She had issue by both marriages. King Robert I of Scotland and Queen consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr were descendants.

8. Sibyl Marshal (1201-before 1238), married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, by whom she had issue. Queen consort Catherine Parr was a descendant.

9. Joan Marshal (1202-1234), married Warin de Munchensi, Lord of Swanscombe, by whom she had issue. Both queen consorts Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr were descendants.

10. Eva Marshal (1203-1246), married William de Braose (died 1230). Queen consorts Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr were her descendants.

Isabel died in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1220 at the age of forty-eight. Her husband had died the year before. She was buried at Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire.

Although her daughters had many children, Isabel's five sons, curiously, died childless. The title of marshal subsequently passed to Hugh de Bigod, husband of Isabel's eldest daughter Maud, while the title of Earl of Pembroke went to William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke, the husband of Joan de Munchensi, daughter of Joan Marshal. He was the first of the de Valence line of the earls of Pembroke.

Within a few generations their descendants included much of the nobility of Europe, including all the monarchs of Scotland since Robert I (1274-1329) and all those of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom since Henry IV (1367-1413); and, apart from Anne of Cleves, all the queen consorts of Henry VIII.




Buried:
Grave location and abbey photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=32004131

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Bigod,_1st_Earl_of_Norfolk

He was the second son of Roger Bigod (also known as Roger Bigot) (d. 1107), sheriff of Norfolk and royal advisor, and Adeliza, daughter of Robert de Tosny.

After the death of his elder brother William, who perished without issue in the sinking of the White Ship on 26 November 1120, Hugh was allowed to inherit his brother's office of royal steward and many estates in East Anglia. He also succeeded his aunt Albreda, heiress of her brother Berengar de Tosny, with lands in Yorkshire and in Normandy. Hugh became Constable of Norwich Castle in 1122.

Hugh initially supported Stephen of Blois as king of England. On the death of Henry I in 1135, his nephew Stephen usurped the throne, despite the oath Stephen and the barons had sworn to accept Henry's daughter Empress Matilda as his successor. It was Bigod who asserted that, in his last days, Henry I had named Stephen to become king at the expense of his daughter Matilda. Civil war resulted when, in 1139 Matilda, commanded the military strength necessary to challenge Stephen within his own realm.

Bigod fought on Stephen's side in the First Battle of Lincoln, after which the Earl deserted the captured king. In July of that year he was granted the earldom of Norfolk by the Empress Matilda but he appears to have assumed a position of armed neutrality during the civil war, rather than actively siding with the supporters of the empress.

Five years later, in 1153, when Henry, Duke of Normandy, soon to be King Henry II (r. 1154-1189), landed in England to assert his claim to the throne, Bigod held out in Ipswich against Stephen's forces, while Henry II, on the other side, laid siege to Stamford. Both places fell to Stephen. In the critical state of his fortunes, however, Stephen was in no position to punish the rebel earl. Negotiations between the two parties resulted in Henry's recognition as Stephen's heir and Hugh eluded retaliation.

On Henry II's accession to the throne in December 1154, Bigod received confirmation of the possession of his earldom and office of royal steward. It was not before long that Bigod became agitated under the rule of law initiated by Henry and he grew restless. In 1157 Henry II marched into the eastern counties and received the earl's submission.

In 1173 the young Crown Prince Henry (also known as Henry the Young King), raised a revolt against his father, Henry II. This gave Hugh Bigod yet another chance for rebellion, along with the league of the English barons and the kings of France and Scotland in his favour. He at once became a leader in the cause, perhaps eager to revive the feudal power, which Henry II had curtailed.

Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester (d.1190) landed at Walton, in Suffolk, on 29 September 1173 and marched to Framlingham, joining forces with Hugh. Together they besieged and took the castle of Hagenet, but the Earl of Leicester was defeated and taken prisoner setting out from Framlingham at the Battle of Fornham. Other barons then turned their arms against Earl Hugh, who, not being strong enough to fight, opened negotiations with his assailants. It is said he bought them off, and at the same time secured a safe passage home for the Flemish mercenaries in his service.

Though defeated and compelled to surrender his castles, Bigod kept his lands and his earldom, and lived at peace with Henry II until his death reportedly in 1177 in the Holy Land.

It should be noted, however, that on 1 March 1177, his son Roger Bigod appealed to the king on a dispute with his stepmother. Hugh being dead at the time of Roger's appeal, the date of his father's death is fixed 'ante caput jejunii', (i.e. before 9 March). If, then, he died in Palestine, his death must have taken place in the preceding year, 1176, to allow time for the arrival of the news in England. Henry II took advantage of Roger's appeal to seize upon the late Earl's treasure. Earl Hugh had possessed vast estates, which he inherited, and was also the recipient of the third penny of judicial fines levied in the county of Norfolk by right of his earldom.

Bigod married first Juliane de Vere (died c. 1199), probably born in Essex, England. She was the daughter of Aubrey de Vere II and Adeliza de Clare, the daughter of Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Clare. The marriage was dissolved before 1156. They had one son, Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk.

He married second Gundreda (c.1135-1200), daughter of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick. They had two children:

1. Hugh Bigod (b. c. 1156)

2. William Hugh Bigod (b. 1168)

Hugh married Juliane de Vere. Juliane (daughter of Aubrey de Vere, II and Adeliza de Clare) was born , Essex, England; died ca 1199, Norfolk, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Bigod,_1st_Earl_of_Norfolk

Bigod married firstly to Juliane de Vere (died c. 1199), probably born in Essex, England. She was the daughter of Aubrey de Vere II and Adeliza de Clare, the daughter of Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Clare. The marriage was dissolved before 1156. They had one son, Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk. He married Ida de Tosny, and had children.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_de_Tosny

Ida de Tosny, Countess of Norfolk was very likely a daughter of Ralph V de Tosny (died 1162) and his wife Margaret (born circa 1125 and living in 1185), a daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester.

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Beaumont,_2nd_Earl_of_Leicester

In 1121, royal favor brought Robert the great Norman honors with his marriage to Amice de Montfort, daughter of Raoul II de Montfort, himself a son of Ralph de Gael, Earl of East Anglia. Both families had lost their English inheritances through rebellion in 1075. They had four children:

1. Hawise de Beaumont, who married William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester and had descendants.

2. Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester who married Petronilla de Grandmesnil and had descendants.

3. Isabel, who married: Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Huntingdon and had descendants.

4. Margaret, who married Ralph V de Toeni and had descendants through their daughter, Ida de Tosny.

Ralph married Margaret de Beaumont. Margaret (daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester and Amice de Montfort) was born ca 1125; died Aft 1185. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_de_Tosny

Ida de Tosny, Countess of Norfolk was very likely a daughter of Ralph V de Tosny (died 1162) and his wife Margaret (born circa 1125 and living in 1185), a daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester.

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Beaumont,_2nd_Earl_of_Leicester

In 1121, royal favor brought Robert the great Norman honors with his marriage to Amice de Montfort, daughter of Raoul II de Montfort, himself a son of Ralph de Gael, Earl of East Anglia. Both families had lost their English inheritances through rebellion in 1075. They had four children:

1. Hawise de Beaumont, who married William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester and had descendants.

2. Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester who married Petronilla de Grandmesnil and had descendants.

3. Isabel, who married: Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Huntingdon and had descendants.

4. Margaret, who married Ralph V de Toeni and had descendants through their daughter, Ida de Tosny.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshal_(Marshal_of_England)

He was a minor Anglo-Norman nobleman during the reign of King Stephen, and fought in the 12th century civil war on the side of Empress Matilda. Matilda fled the siege of Winchester and took refuge in the Marshal's castle at Ludgershall. While covering her retreat from Winchester, John Marshal was forced to take refuge at Wherwell Abbey. The attackers set fire to the building, and John lost an eye to dripping lead from the melting roof.

In 1152, John had a celebrated confrontation with King Stephen, who had besieged him at Newbury Castle. After John had broken an agreement to surrender, Stephen threatened to kill his son, whom John had given as a hostage. John refused, saying he could make more sons, but Stephen apparently took pity on the young boy and did not kill him. The boy grew up to be William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, a legendary figure in medieval lore, and one of the most powerful men in England.

The office of Lord Marshal, which originally related to the keeping of the King's horses, and later, the head of his household troops, was won as a hereditary title by John, and was passed to his eldest son, and later claimed by William.

John was the son of Gilbert, Royal Serjeant and Marshal to Henry I, and his wife Margaret. After his father died in 1129 John inherited the title of the king's marshal. John married Aline Pipard whose father Walter Pipard had been a friend of John's father. John arranged an annulment of his marriage to Aline Pipard in order to marry Sibyl of Salisbury, the sister of Patrick of Salisbury, who had been a local rival of his, and a supporter of King Stephen, up to that point. John had two sons by Aline: Gilbert (d. 1166) and Walter (d. bef.1165). Walter predeceased his father and Gilbert died shortly after inheriting his father's lands.

John's eldest son by Sibyl of Salisbury, also called John Marshal (1145-1194), inherited the title of Marshal, which he held until his death. The title was then granted by King Richard the Lionheart to his second son by Sybilla, William (1147-1219), who made the name and title famous. Though he had started out as a younger son without inheritance, by the time he actually inherited the title his reputation as a soldier and statesman was unmatched across Western Europe. John Marshal had four sons in total by his second wife. As well as John and William, there was Henry (1150-1206), who went on to become Bishop of Exeter, and Ancel, who served as a knight in the household of his kinsman, Rotrou, Count of Perche. There were also two daughters Sybilla and Margaret.

Buried:
Grave location and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=123363224

John married Sibyl of Salisbury. Sibyl was born Nov 1126, Salisbury, England; died 1176, Pembrokeshire, Wales; was buried , Bradenstoke Priory, Bradenstoke, Wiltshire, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Buried:
Grave location:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=148196223

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_de_Clare,_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke

Richard was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Beaumont. Richard's father died in about 1148, when he was roughly 18 years old, and Richard inherited the title 'count of Strigoil' Earl of Pembroke. It is probable that this title was not recognized at Henry II's coronation in 1154. As the son of the first 'earl', he succeeded to his father's estates in 1148, but was deprived of the title by King Henry II of England in 1154 for siding with King Stephen of England against Henry?s mother, the Empress Matilda. Richard was in fact, called by his contemporaries Count Striguil, for his marcher lordship of Striguil where he had a fortress at a place now called Chepstow, in Monmouthshire on the River Wye. He saw an opportunity to reverse his bad fortune in 1168 when he met Diarmait Mac Murchada, the deposed King of Leinster.

In 1167, Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurrough) was deprived of the Kingdom of Leinster by the High King of Ireland ? Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. To recover his kingdom, Mac Murchada solicited help from the King of England ? Henry II. The deposed king embarked for Bristol from near Bannow on 1 August 1166. He met Henry in Aquitaine in the Autumn of 1166. Henry could not help him at this time, but provided a letter of comfort for willing supporters of Mac Murchada's cause in his kingdom. He failed to rally any forces to his standard until he met Richard de Clare (nicknamed "Strongbow") and other barons of the Welsh Marches. Mac Murchada came to an agreement with Richard for the Earl?s assistance with an army the following spring, he could have Aoife, Mac Murchada's eldest daughter in marriage and the succession to Leinster.

Mac Murchada and Richard de Clare raised a large army, which included Welsh archers took the Ostman towns of Wexford, Waterford, and Dublin. In May 1171, Diarmait Mac Murchada died and his son, Donal MacMurrough-Kavanagh (Irish: Domhnall Caemanach mac Murchada) claimed the kingdom of Leinster. Richard de Clare also claimed the kingship in the right of his wife. In return for his lands in France, England, and Wales, Richard de Clare surrendered Dublin, Waterford, and other fortresses to the English king.

On about 26 August 1171 in Waterford, Richard de Clare married MacMurrough's daughter, Aoife MacMurrough (anglicised as "Eva").[17] Their children were:

1. Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, a minor who died in 1185

2. Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, who became Countess of Pembroke in her own right in 1185 (on the death of her brother) until her own death in 1220.

Richard de Clare died in June 1176 of some type of infection in his leg or foot. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Dublin. Richard de Clare's actual tomb-effigy was destroyed when the roof of the Cathedral collapsed in 1562. The one on display dates from around the 15th century, bears the coat of arms of an unknown knight, and is the effigy of another local knight.

King Henry II took all of Strongbow's lands and castles for himself and placed a royal official in charge of them. He guarded well the inheritance of Isabel. King Henry II had promised Sir William Marshal that he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son Richard I upheld the promise one month after his ascension to the throne. The earldom was given to her husband as her consort. Marshall was the son of John the Marshal, by Sibylle, the sister of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury.

Eve was given her dower rights and possibly held Striguil [Chepstow] as part of those dower rights until the Welsh rebellion of 1184/85. There is a record of Eve confirming a charter in Ireland in 1188/89 as "comtissa de Hibernia". Richard de Clare's widow, Aoife, lived on and was last recorded in a charter of 1188.


Buried:
Grave location, biography, tomb and effigy photo, and photo of church:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5887495

Richard married Aoife (Eva) MacMurrough, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Pembroke. Aoife (daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and Mor O'Toole, Queen of Leinster) was born 1145, Ireland; died 1188, Wales; was buried , Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aoife_MacMurrough

She was the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough (c. 1110-1171) (Irish: Diarmait Mac Murchada), King of Leinster, and his wife Mor O'Toole (c. 1114-1191).

On the 29 August 1170, following the Norman invasion of Ireland that her father had requested, she married Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, better known as Strongbow, the leader of the Norman invasion force, in Christchurch cathedral in Waterford. Her father, Dermot MacMurrough, who was seeking a military alliance with Strongbow in his feud with King of Breffney, Tiernan O'Ruark, had promised Aoife to Pembroke. However, according to Brehon law, both the man and the woman had to consent to the marriage, so it is fair to conclude that Aoife accepted her father's arrangements.

Under Anglo-Norman law, this gave Strongbow succession rights to the Kingdom of Leinster. Under Irish Brehon law, the marriage gave her a life interest only, after which any land would normally revert to male cousins; but Brehon law also recognised a transfer of "swordland" following a conquest. Aoife led troops in battle and is sometimes known as Red Eva (Irish: Aoife Rua).

She had two sons and a daughter with her husband Richard de Clare, and via their daughter, Isabel de Clare, within a few generations their descendants included much of the nobility of Europe including all the monarchs of Scotland since Robert I (1274-1329) and all those of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom since Henry IV (1367-1413); and, apart from Anne of Cleves, all the queen consorts of Henry VIII.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, historical photos:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57584505