Vol II File 12: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James

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19. Fitz Alan Line (Earls of Arundel) to Mowbray and Berkeley

Ref: Burke, pg. 200-202.

Ref: Crispin and Macary

1. Alan (Alain Fitz Flaald), the son of Flathald (or Flaald), having participated in the Conquest, obtained by the gift of King William the Conqueror, the barony and castle of Oswaldestre, Salop, and Milcham, Norfolk, some of which belonged to Meredith, Prince of Powys ap Bleddyn, King of Powys. He received the shreivalty of Shropshire from King Henry I. and died circa 1114. While his parentage is more or less obscure, there is evidence to show that Flaald, his father, lived in Brittany and was a brother of Alain, seneschal of Dol, descended from the old Armonican counts of Dol and Dinan. This Alan, having married Adelinedaughter and heir of Warine, Sheriff of Shropshire, had in her right, the Barony of Warine, and was succeeded by his son, William.

The following is quoted from Crispin and Macary, "Falaise Rolls," pg. 2: "Alain Fitz Flaald came to England at the Conquest in 1066 and was baron of Oswaldestre, Salop, and Mileham. He received the shreivalty of Shropshire from Henry I and died circa 1114. Wace in recording "Sire de Dinan," undoubtedly referred to him. While his parentage is more or less obscure, there is evidence to show that Flaald, his father, lived in Brittany and was a brother of Alain, seneschal of Dol, descended from the old Armorican counts of Dol and Dinan. Alain Fitz Flaald was also the father or grandfather of William Fitz Alan, steward to David I., King of Scotland, ancestor of the Stuarts, kings of that country. Alain Fitz Flaald was also the father of William Fitz Alan, to whom Henry II. gave in second marriage Isabel de Say, baroness of Clun, the greatest heiress of Shropshire. He was ancestor of John Fitz Alan, who married Isabel, sister and co-heiress of Hugh d'Albigny. Upon a division of Hugh's property at his death in 1243, the castle of Arundel was assigned to John, son of the aforementioned John and Isabel, who thus became the first earl of Arundel of the Fitz Alan line. This property eventually passed to Mary , daughter and heiress of Henry Fitz Alan, who carried it, together with the earldom and the barony of Maltravers, to her husband Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, in which family it still remains. Alain Fitz Flaald and his wife Adeline were benefactors to the Norfolk priory of Castle Acre, early in the reign of Henry I."

2. William Fitz Alan, in the contest between King Stephen and the Empress Maud, being then Governor of Shrewsbury and Sheriff of the county of Salop, held the castle at Shrewsbury for the latter, until it was taken by assault. He was also with the Empress at the siege of Winchester Castle, in the 6th year of Stephen, when she and her whole army were put to flight; afterwards, continuing to adhere stoutly to the same cause, he was reconstituted Sheriff of Salop, when King Henry attained the crown. This William married Isabel Say, daughter and heir of Helias de Say, Lady of Clun, niece of Robert Say, Earl of Gloucester. William died some time before 1166(?).

3. William Fitz Alan, in the 12th year of King Henry II., upon the assessment, in aid of marrying the king's daughter, certified his knight's fees to be in number thirty-five and a half. He died about 1172.

4. William Fitz Alan served the office of Sheriff of Shropshire, from the 2nd year of King Richard I., until the 3rd year of King John, inclusive. He married Mary Eringtes, daughter of Thomas de Eringtes. He died in 1214. He had two sons as follows:

1. William Fitz Alan, d.s.p.
2. John Fitz Alan. See below.

He died in 1214, and was succeeded by his eldest son, William.

5. John Fitz Alan, Lord of Clun and Oswestry, took up arms with the other barons against King John; but upon the accession of King Henry, having had letters of safe conduct to come in and make his peace, he had livery of the lands of his inheritance, upon paying, however, a fine of 10,000 marks. He married (1) Isabel Albini, second daughter of William de Albini, Earl of Arundel, and sister and co-heir of Hugh de Albini, last earl of the Albini family; and (2) Haws Blancminster. He died in 1239, succeeded by his son, John, from the first marriage.

6. John Fitz Alan, 5th Earl of Arundel, in the 28th year of King Henry III., upon the division made of the property of Hugh de Albini, Earl of Arundel, then made, had the castle of Arundel assigned to him for his principal seat, thus becoming the 5th Earl of Arundel; and soon after that, in consideration of 1,000 pounds fine, had livery of his own castles of Clun, Blancminster, and Schrawurthen. In the 42nd year of King Henry III., he was made captain-general of all the forces designated for guarding the Welsh marches. He was on a commission to sign a truce with Llewellyn ap Griffith, June 1259. He was made Keeper of Salop and Stafford, December 1263. He fought at Lewes for the King on May 14, 1264. On September 18, 1264, he and others besieged Pevensey Castle, and captured enemies of the king. A mandate was issued to Simon de Montfort, son of the Earl of Leicester, to take security from John Fitz Alan, who was under suspicion, either his son as hostage or Arundel Castle. This mandate insisted that he deliver one or the other to Simon, April 26, 1265. He was made Keeper of Sussex, where he was to stay and arrest disturbers, April 18, 1266, and to repress disturbances there, January 27, 1267. In the baronial war, he appears first to have sided with the barons, and afterwards with the king. He held five knight's fees in Sussex, and lands as Oswestry, etc., Salop. He died November 10, 1267, having married Maud Verdun, daughter of Roesia de Verdun (which lady married (2) Richard de Amundevill). She held in dower part of Arundel Forest, July 5, 1281. John and Maud had a son:

1. John Fitz Alan, who succeeded his father. See below.

7. John Fitz Alan III, 6th Earl of Arundel, married Isabel (Isabella) Mortimer, daughter of Roger Mortimer, of Wigmore (which lady married (2) Ralph de Arderne, and (3) Robert de Hastings), and dying 1269, was succeeded by his son, Richard.

According to "Knights of Edward I", the following events took place: "Ceded North Liddebiry Manor, of the Bishopic of Hereford, which he occupied during the disturbances, and has retained, April 2, 1269. Received pardon on 100 marks fine of all his debts to Hagin fil. Master Mosseus, a Jew of London, January 1, 1271. He died on Friday before March 25, 1272, holding Arundel Castle and borough, and 25 knight's fees in Sussex, with Oswestry and Clune Castles, Salop, and leaving a son and heir, Richard. .... His widow, Isabel, daughter of Roger de Mortimer of Wigmore, is frequently mentioned. She had the care of the children of John, Earl of Surrey, and the King committed to her Farnham Castle, March 11, 1268, and she had also Porchester Castle, but ceded same on December 7, 1270. She had one-third of Arundel Forest, but not the bucks and does, as part of her dower, October 3, 1272 and October 18, 1273. She renders 200 pounds for the farm of Oswestry and the Hundred, April 28, 1279, and had livery of Arundel Castle and Honor at 100 pounds rent, May 276, 1280, and of Oswestry Castle, November 14, 1280, in minority of the heir. She married on April 4, 1283 (2) Ralph de Arderne; and on June 6, 1287 (3) Robert de Hastings. She died April 1, 1292."

8. Richard Fitz Alan III, 7th Earl of Arundel, married Alice Saluce (Saluzzo), daughter of Thomas I, Marquis of Saluce (Saluzzo) in Italy, and they had the following children:

1. Edmund Fitz Alan, his successor. See below.
2. John Fitz Alan, in holy orders, mentioned in his nephew, Earl Richard's will.
3. Maud Fitz Alan, married Philip, Lord Burnel.
4. Margaret Fitz Alan, married William, Baron Boteler, of Wemme.
5. Alesia Fitz Alan.

He died in 1302, and was succeeded by his son, Edmund. Alice died in 1292.

According to "Knights of Edward I", the following events took place: "He owed 2,000 marks to the Bishop of Bath and Wells for the marriage of the Bishop's nephew Philip Burnel, which he bought for use of his sister, Matilda, June 5, 1283. He was ordered to not communicate with Rhys ap Mereduc or his accomplices, June 24, but provide 400 foot and defend his demesnes against him, July 16, and remain in Wales till Rhys was put down, November 14, 1287, and still to do so, November 30, 1288. He gave to the Bishop of Bath and Wells his manors of Kyvele, co. Wiltshire; Milham, co. Norfolk; Chipping Norton, co. Oxon.; and Trokford, co Cheshire, for 12 years for 1,810 Pounds, 3 shillings, and 10 pence.. January 6, 1292. He went to Wales for the king, October 21, 1292, fortified Bere Castle, and aided in the repression of the Welsh, October 18, 1293, being made Captain of forces against them, October 17, 1293. Went to Gascony for the king. He was summoned to parliament August 1, 1295 to 1301, and served in Gascony, November 1, 1295. He served against the Scots, June 6, 1299 and 1300-01. He and Fulk Fitz Warin were forbidden to attack one another, August 10, 1301. He died January 15, 1302....."

9. Edmund Fitz Alan, 8th Earl of Arundel, in the 34th year of King Edward I., was made a Knight of the Bath with Prince Edward. From that time to the 4th year of the ensuing reign, he was constantly engaged in the wars of Scotland; but he was afterwards involved in the treason of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, yet not greatly to his prejudice, for, in the 10th year of King Edward II., he was constituted captain-general to the king, from the Trent northwards, as far as Roxborough in Scotland, and for several years subsequently, he continued as one of the commanders of the English army in Scotland, in which service he so distinguished himself, that he obtained a grant from the crown of the confiscated property of Lord Badlesmere, in the city of London and county of Salop, as well as the escheated lands of John Mowbray, Lord Mowbray, in the Isle of Axholme, and several manors and castles, part of the possessions (also forfeited) of Roger Mortimer, Lord Mortimer, of Wigmore. But these royal grants led, eventually to the earl's ruin; for, after the fall of the unhappy Edward into the hands of his enemies, Lord Arundel, who was implacably hated by the Queen and Mortimer, suffered death by decapitation at Hereford, on November 17, 1326. He married in 1305 Alice Warren Plantaganet of Surrey, daughter of William de Warren and his wife, Joan Vere, and sister and sole heir of John, Earl of Warren and Surrey of that family, by whom he had issue as follows:

1. Richard Fitz Alan, his successor. See below.
2. Edmund Fitz Alan, married Sibil Montacute, daughter of William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, and had one daughter, Alice, married Leonard Carew, Lord Carew.
3. Alice Fitz Alan, married John de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, who d.s.p.
4. Jane Fitz Alan, married Warine Gerrard, Lord L'Isle.
5. Alaive Fitz Alan, married Roger le Strange.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard.

10. Richard Fitz Alan 9th Earl of Arundel, was born in 1306. Being restored by parliament in the 4th year of King Edward III., had the castle of Arundel (which had been given to Edmund, Earl of Kent, the king's uncle,) rendered to him, and thus became the 9th earl. In the 7th year of Edward III., he was constituted Governor of Chirke Castle, co. Denbigh, and the ensuing year had a grant of the inheritance of that castle, with all the territories thereunto belonging, being part of the possession of Roger Mortimer, the attained Earl of March; he was soon afterwards made Governor of Porchester Castle, and the same year had a command in the wars of Scotland, where he continued engaged for several years. After this he was constituted admiral of the western seas, and Governor of Caernarvon Castle. In the 14th year of King Edward III., he embarked in the French wars, and participated in the glories of the subsequent campaigns. He was at the siege of Vannes, the relief of Thouars, and the immortal battle of Cressy. Besides his great military services, the earl was frequently employed in diplomatic missions of the first importance, and was esteemed one of the most eminent generals and statesmen of the era in which he lived. He, who with his other honors, was a Knight of the Garter, contracted in minority and under constraint, marriage (1) with Isabel Despencer, daughter of Hugh le Despencer, and had issue by her of an only daughter, Philippa Fitz Alan, who married Richard Sergeaux, Knight, of Cornwall. In 1345, he was divorced from this lady, and married (2) Eleanor Plantaganet, daughter of Henry Plantaganet, Earl of Lancaster, great-grand-daughter of Henry III., and widow of John Beaumont, Baron Beaumont, by whom he had the following children:

1. Richard Fitz Alan, his successor. See below.
2. John Fitz Alan, Marshal of England in 1377, summoned to parliament in the period of the 1st to the 3rd year of King Richard II. He died in 1379, having married Eleanor Maltravers, grand-daughter and co-heir of John Maltravers, Lord Maltravers, in whose right he bore that title, and by her (who married (2) Reginald Cobham, Lord Cobham,) had a son, John, Lord Maltravers, who succeeded his cousin as the 12th Earl of Arundel.
3. Thomas Fitz Alan, called Arundel, successively Bishop of Ely, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor of England. This prelate was impeached and banished from the kingdom in the reign of King Richard II., but returned with Henry IV., and was restored to the see of Canterbury. He being a religious persecutor, particularly of the Wickliffites, and of Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham. He died February 19, 1413, and was buried in the cathedral church of Canterbury.
4. Joane Fitz Alan, married Humphrey de Bohun X., Earl of Hereford.
5. Alice Fitz Alan, married Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent. See Burke, pg. 279.
6. Mary Fitz Alan, married John Strange, 4th Baron Strange, of Blackmere. They had a daughter, Elizabeth Strange, first wife of Thomas de Mowbray.
7. Eleanor Fitz Alan, married Robert de Ufford, son of William de Ufford, Earl of Suffolk.

Richard Fitz Alan, 9th Earl of Arundel, died in 1376, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard.
10. Richard Fitz Alan, 10th Earl of Arundel, Knight of the Garter. In the 1st year of King Richard II., he being constituted admiral of the king's fleet in the westwards, and soon after that to the southwards, was retained by indenture to serve the king at sea for one quarter of a year, in the company of John, Duke of Lancaster, King of Castile. He was afterwards engaged for some years in Scotland; and was in the commission (9th year of Edward II.), for the trial of Michael de la Pole, and some others of the king's favorites, whom the Commons had then impeached. He was appointed the next year admiral of the whole fleet, and putting to sea encountered and vanquished the united fleets of France and Spain, taking no less than 100 ships, great and small, all laden with wines, comprising 19,000 tons. This gallant exploit he followed up by entering the port of Brest, and reducing one of the castles and burning the other. He now returned to England in great triumph, but had the encounter the jealousy and hatred of the king's favorites, particularly the Duke of Ireland, whose influence over the king he strenuously resisted. His lordship afterwards entered into the confederation of the Earls of Warwick and Derby, which assembled in arms at Haringhay Park (now Hornsey), in Middlesex, and compelled the king to acquiesce in their views. He was then, by the general consent of the parliament (11th year of Richard II.), made Governor of the castle and town of Brest, and shortly after captain-general of the king's fleet at sea, with commission to treat of peace with John de Montfort, then Duke of Brittany; whereupon hoisting his flag, soon after met with the enemy, of whose ships he sunk and took fourscore; entered the Isle of Rhe, which he burnt and spoiled, and several other ports which he likewise plundered, putting to flight all the French and Britons that made any resistance. From this memorable period in the life of Lord Arundel, little is known of him, until the 15th year of Richard, when the king regaining his power, summoned a parliament at Westminster, and dismissed several of the great officers of state, amongst whom his lordship was removed from his command as admiral; and in two years afterwards, the parliament then sitting, he was accused of treason by the Duke of Lancaster, but escaped for the moment, and sought to retire from public life. The king entertaining, however, the strongest feeling of personal enmity to all those who had previously opposed his minions, contrived to get the Earl of Arundel into his hands by stratagem, and having sent him prisoner to the Isle of Wight, brought him to immediate trial, when he was condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered as a traitor. The sentence was however somewhat mitigated, and the gallant nobleman was simply beheaded at Cheapside, in the city of London, in the 21st year of King Richard II., the king himself being a spectator, and Thomas de Mowbray, Earl Marshal (who had married his daughter), the executioner, who, bound up his eyes, and according to some, the person who actually struck off his head. It is stated that when the earl saw his son-in-law, Mowbray, and the Earl of Kent, his nephew, guarding him to the place of execution, he told them, it had been much more fit that they should have absented themselves; "For the time will come." he said, "when as many shall wonder at your misfortune as they now do at mine." He married Elizabeth Bohun, daughter of William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton and his wife, Elizabeth Badlesmere. They had the following surviving children:
- 1. Thomas Fitz Alan, his successor, became the 11th Earl of Arundel when he was restored in blood in the parliament of the 1st year of King Henry IV., and the judgment against his father was reversed. He was made Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King Henry IV. He was afterwards made Knight of the Garter, and upon the accession of King Henry V. he was constituted Constable of Dover Castle, and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, as also Lord Treasurer of England. He married Beatrix, an illegitimate daughter of John, King of Portugal, and the nuptials were celebrated with great pomp in London, the king and queen assisting. He died, however, without issue, in 1415, leaving his four sisters as his heirs, as to certain parts of his great possessions;. but the castle of Arundel, and with it the earldom, devolved upon his cousin, John Fitz Alan, son of John Fitz Alan.
- 2. Elizabeth Fitz Alan. See below.
- 3. Joan Fitz Alan of Arundel, married William de Beauchamp, Lord Abergavenny, Knight of the Garter, descendant of the Sureties Roger and Hugh Bigod.
- 4. Margaret Fitz Alan, married Sir Rowland Lenthall, of Hampton Court, co. Hereford.
- 5. Alice Fitz Alan of Arundel, married John Cherlton, Lord Powys. She was a concubine of Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Lincoln, Bishop of Winchester, Cardinal of Eusebius, son of John of Gaunt, son of Edward III., King of England. John Cherlton died without issue. He was also a descendant of the Sureties Roger and Hugh Bigod.
  
  Richard Fitz Alan was succeeded by his son, Thomas.
11. Elizabeth Fitz Alan, married (1) William de Montacute, eldest son of William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, which William was unhappily slain by his father in a tilting match at Windsor, August 6, 1382, in the 6th year of King Richard II. She married (2) Thomas de Mowbray, Lord Mowbray, the 6th baron, Earl Marshal of England and Earl of Nottingham, son of John de Mowbray and his wife Elizabeth Segrave, and a grandson of Joan Plantaganet; (3) Gerard Ufflete, Knight, and (4) Robert Goushill, Knight, of Hveringham, co. Notts., by whom she had two daughters: Elizabeth Goushill, who married Robert Wingfield, a knight in 1426, and a Member of Parliament for Suffolk; and Joan Goushill, who married Thomas Stanley, Knight of the Garter 1458/59 . Thomas de Mowbray and Elizabeth Fitz Alan had the following children:
- 1. Thomas de Mowbray, who simply bore the title of Earl Marshal.
- 2. John de Mowbray, restored Duke of York.
- 3. Isabel Mowbray. See below.
- 4. Margaret Mowbray, eventual heiress of the Mowbrays, married Sir Robert Howard, Knight, the Dukedom of Norfolk, the Earl Marshalship, and other honors, came into the family of Howard, which they have since enjoyed. Her son, John Howard, Knight, was created Duke of Norfolk, and Earl Marshal, and became the ancestor of the illustrious house of Howard, Dukes of Norfolk.
12. Isabel Mowbray, 2nd eldest daughter, married (1) Henry Ferrers, son and heir of William Ferrers, 5th Lord Ferrers of Groby, and had a child, Elizabeth Ferrers, heiress of Groby, born in 1419. Isabel married (2) James de Berkeley, 5th Lord Berkeley, and had a son, William de Berkeley, whom King Edward IV. made a Viscount in 1481, Richard II. advanced to the Earldom of Nottingham, and Henry VII. promoted to be Earl Marshal and Marquess of Berkeley. She was seized at Gloucester and held prisoner till her death.

See the continuation of this lineage in the Berkeley Line and Lygon Line.