Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester

Richard de Clare
Earl of Hertford and Gloucester
De Clare coat of arms
Spouse(s)	Margaret (Megotta) de Burgh Maud de Lacy
Issue Isabel, Marchioness of Montferrat Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond Bogo de Clare Margaret, Countess of Cornwall Rohese de Mowbray, Baroness de Mowbray Eglentina de Clare
Noble family	De Clare
Father	Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford
Mother	Isabel Marshal
Born	4 August 1222
Died	Waltham, Canterbury, England

Richard de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford, 6th Earl of Gloucester (4 August 1222 – 14 July 1262) was son of Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford and Isabel Marshal. On his father's death, when he became Earl of Gloucester (October 1230), he was entrusted first to the guardianship of Hubert de Burgh. On Hubert's fall, his guardianship was given to Peter des Roches (c. October 1232); and in 1235 to Gilbert, Earl Marshall.

Marriage

Richard's first marriage to Margaret or Megotta, as she was also called, ended with either an annulment or with her death in November 1237. They were both approximately fourteen or fifteen. The marriage of Hubert de Burgh's daughter Margaret to Richard de Clare, the young Earl of Gloucester, brought de Burgh into some trouble in 1236, for the earl was as yet a minor and in the wardship of King Henry III, and the marriage had been celebrated without the royal license. Hubert, however, protested that the match was not of his making, and promised to pay the king some money, so the matter passed by for the time. Even before Margaret died, the Earl of Lincoln offered 5,000 marks to King Henry to secure Richard for his own daughter. This offer was accepted, and Richard was married secondly, on 2 February 1238 to Maud de Lacy, daughter of John de Lacy, 1st Earl of Lincoln

Military career

He joined in the Barons' letter to the Pope in 1246 against the exactions of the Curia in England. He was among those in opposition to the King's half-brothers, who in 1247 visited England, where they were very unpopular, but afterwards he was reconciled to them.

In August 1252/3 the King crossed over to Gascony with his army, and to his great indignation the Earl refused to accompany him and went to Ireland instead. In August 1255 he and John Maunsel were sent to Edinburgh by the King to find out the truth regarding reports which had reached the King that his son-in-law, Alexander III, King of Scotland, was being coerced by Robert de Roos and John Balliol. If possible, they were to bring the young King and Queen to him. The Earl and his companion, pretending to be the two of Roos's knights, obtained entry to Edinburgh Castle, and gradually introduced their attendants, so that they had a force sufficient for their defense. They gained access to the Scottish Queen, who made her complaints to them that she and her husband had been kept apart. They threatened Roos with dire punishments, so that he promised to go to the King.

Meanwhile, the Scottish magnates, indignant at their Castle of Edinburgh's being in English hands, proposed to besiege it, but they desisted when they found they would be besieging their King and Queen. The King of Scotland apparently traveled South with the Earl, for on 24 September they were with King Henry III at Newminster, Northumberland. In July 1258 he fell ill, being poisoned with his brother William, as it was supposed, by his steward, Walter de Scotenay. He recovered but his brother died.

Death and legacy

Richard died at John de Griol's Manor of Asbenfield in Waltham, near Canterbury, 14 July 1262 at the age of 39, it being rumored that he had been poisoned at the table of Piers of Savoy. On the following Monday he was carried to Canterbury where a mass for the dead was sung, after which his body was taken to the canon's church at Tonbridge and interred in the choir. Thence it was taken to Tewkesbury Abbey and buried 28 July 1262, with great solemnity in the presence of two bishops and eight abbots in the presbytery at his father's right hand. Richard's own arms were: Or, three chevronels gules.

Richard left extensive property, distributed across numerous counties. Details of these holdings were reported at a series of inquisitions post mortem that took place after his death.

Family

Richard had no children by his first wife, Margaret (or "Megotta") de Burgh. By his second wife, Maud de Lacy, daughter of the Surety John de Lacy and Margaret de Quincy, he had:

• Isabel de Clare (c. 1240-1270); m. William VII of Montferrat.
• Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester (2 September 1243 - 7 December 1295)
• Thomas de Clare (c. 1245-1287); seized control of Thomond in 1277; m. Juliana FitzGerald
• Bogo de Clare (c. 1248-1294)
• Margaret de Clare (c. 1250-1312); m. Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall
• Rohese de Clare (c. 1252); m. Roger de Mowbray
• Eglentina de Clare (d. 1257); died in infancy.

His widow Maud, who had the Manor of Clare and the Manor and Castle of Usk and other lands for her dower, erected a splendid tomb for her late husband at Tewkesbury. She arranged for the marriages of her children. She died before 10 March 1288/9.

Ancestry

Family of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester

16. Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare               8. Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford                       17. Alice de Gernon               4. Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford                             18. James de St Hilary               9. Maud de St. Hilary                       19. Aveline               2. Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford                                   20. Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester               10. William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester                       21. Mabel FitzHamon of Gloucester               5. Amice FitzRobert, Countess of Gloucester                             22. Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester               11. Hawise de Beaumont                       24. Amice de Montfort               1. Richard De Clare                                         24. Gilbert Marshal               12. John Marshal (Earl Marshal)                       6. William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke                             26. Walter of Salisbury               13. Sybil of Salisbury                       27. Sibilla de Chaworth               3. Isabel Marshal                                   28. Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke               14. Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke                       29. Isabel de Beaumont               7. Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke                             30. Dermot MacMurrough, King Of Leinster               15. Eva MacMurrough                       31. Mor O'Toole

See also

• Holy Jesus Hospital

References

Peerage of England
Preceded by Gilbert de Clare	Earl of Hertford 1230–1262	Succeeded by Gilbert de Clare
	Earl of Gloucester 1230–1262