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 1172 - 1220 (~ 48 years)
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| Name |
Isabel de Clare |
| Born |
ca 1172 |
Pembrokeshire, Wales  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Died |
1220 |
Pembrokeshire, Wales |
| Buried |
Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales |
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| 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.
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| Person ID |
I36230 |
Master File |
| Last Modified |
4 Oct 2016 |
| Father |
Richard (Strongbow) de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, b. 1130, Tonbridge, Kent, England , d. 20 Apr 1176, Dublin, Ireland (Age 46 years) |
| Mother |
Aoife (Eva) MacMurrough, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Pembroke, b. 1145, Ireland , d. 1188, Wales (Age 43 years) |
| Family ID |
F14951 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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