Humphrey de Bohun Constable of England

  General Notes:

~Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, 193:5, 8th Edition, Humphrey III de Bohun, Baron of Bohun, Lord of Hereford, married Margaret of Hereford, daughter of Sibyl de Neufmarché and Miles of Gloucester. Margaret and Humphrey were the parents of Humphrey de Bohun IV, who married Margaret of Huntingdon. ¹⁶⁰

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information. ¹⁷⁶
Humphrey III, lord of Trowbridge and constable of England, was very close to Henry I and later Henry II. He assisted Empress Mathilda against King Stephen.

Born in 1109, Humphrey died 6 April 1187. He married Margery (Marguerite, Margaret), eldest daughter of Milo of Gloucester from whom he received the heriditary right to the title of constable of England.

Milo of Gloucester (Milon, Miles Fitz Walter) inherited the title of constable of England and later that of earl of Hereford. He was the grandson of Roger de Pitres, contemporary of William the Conqueror and sheriff of Gloucester, and the son of Walter (Gautier), constable of Henry I.

Milo possessed a considerable honor from the inheritance of his father's lands in Gloucestershire and his marriage in 1121 to Sybyl, sole heiress of Bernard de Newmarch (he conquered the ancient kingdom of Brychan in Breconshire, Wales, including Talgarth, Chatellenie de Hay, Ystradvy forest, and the mini-kingdom of Brecon or Brecknock, and died in 1125. Empress Mathilda gave Bernard Abergavenny castle and St. Briavel castle.) Milo became earl of Hereford in 1141. His family should not be confused with the earls of Gloucester.

Milo died of a hunting accident on 25 December 1143, leaving four sons: Roger, who died childless in 1155; Walter, Henry, and Mahel, who all died childless before 1166. His inheritance was split among his daughters: Margery; Bertha, who married Philip de Brause; and Lucy.

Humphrey III was steward and chancellor to Henry I, perhaps following his father. He shared this post with Hugh Bigot/Bigod, Robert Haye, and Simon de Beauchamp. Sometimes he is confused with his father.

We can follow Humphrey III in the entourage of King Henry I by the documents he signed at Arques and Dieppe (1131), various English towns (1131-1133), in Normandy at Rouen (1133 & 1134), and at Argentan (about the same time).

When Steven of Blois, earl of Mortain, grandson of William the Conqueror and Adele, was crowned king of England after Henry I died (1135), Humphrey kept his duties as steward presiding over charters. Two were written at Evreux in 1137. One concerned infractions against God; the other gave land in Bramford (Suffolk) to St. Mary d'Evreux. In 1139 Empress Mathilda arrived in Sussex with her her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, to reclaim the inheritance of his father. Humphrey, at the instigation of his father-in-law, Milo de Gloucester, rallied with Mathilda and defended Trowbridge against King Steven.

During the troublesome years of the anarchy that followed, Humphrey passionately fought with Mathilda's loyal and true followers. He witnessed Milo being named earl of Hereford in recognition of his (Milo's) services on 25 July 1141.

Humphrey's signature is found on several documents in many English villages.

After initial success, the Battle of Winchester (1141) marked a turnaround and Humphrey was taken prisoner.

In 1143 in Devizes (Wiltshire), Mathilda reinstated possession of lands and the office of chancellor of England to Henry in a written document. She also gave him new wealth and land: Melchesam, Boczam, Malmesbury, and Stokes-Wiltshire. (Humphrey had been relieved of his duties after the reign of Henry I.)

Humphrey signed a document of Prince Henry in 1149/1150 at Devizes and another in 1150/1151 at Argentan.

In 1150 Trowbridge Castle was taken by Stephen.

When the abbey church of Montebourg was dedicated in 1152, Humphrey consented to the gift of the church of St. Gregoire de Catz by Ildebert de Catz and Steven de Magneville.

After the death of his father, Geoffrey Plantagenet (1153), Henry was in England leading the army. Henry made an agreement with Stephen when Eustache, Stephen's son, died, whereby Henry would succeed him to the throne when he died (the next year). Henry II then confirmed Humphrey's inheritances in England and Normandy and his titles.

Because of his role as lord chancellor and his signatures on numerous documents, we are able to account for Humphrey's whereabouts. He was in England with the king (1153-1154); in Normandy (1156) at Argentan, Falaise, and Quevilly (1174); with his peers in Chinon (1170-1173); back in England (between 1174-1179); and again in Normandy at Valognes, Cherbourg, and Bonneville-sur-Touques (1180 & 1182).

In January 1164 Humphrey was one of the barons summoned to the Council of Clarendon where the constitutions were drawn up.

In April 1173 when Prince Henry rebelled against his father, King Henry II, Humphrey stood by the king. With Richard de Lucy he invaded Scotland in an attack against King William the Lion who supported Prince Henry and the destruction of the bishop's palace at Durham. Humphrey and company burned Berwick and penetrated deeply into Scotland. But when they learned of the landing of Robert de Beaumont (earl of Leicester and friend of Prince Henry) in Suffolk (29 September 1173), they made a truce with William the Lion and marched against Beaumont. Humphrey battled with the help of the peasants and was taken prisoner with his wife at Fornham St. Geneviere near Bury St. Edmond (Suffolk) on 16 October 1173. The prisoners were taken to Falaise castle.

The 1st of December 1174/5 in Falaise, Humphrey witnessed a peace accord between Henry II and William the Lion recognizing the sovereigncy of England over Scotland.

Humphrey's fortune considerably increased with the death of his father- in-law, Milo of Gloucester, who without male heirs left a third of his wealth to each daughter. Humphrey also inherited the position of constable of England that was held by his father-in-law. In 1166 Humphrey inherited 3 1/2 parts of a knight's fees (rent) from his grandfather's provinces and 9 1/2 parts "de novo." His wife received 17 parts from Milo's provinces and 3 3/4 parts of her brothers' land.

He kept in Normandy a part of the inheritance from Humphrey I, particulary land at Carentan and Pont D'Ouve. A document confirmed the gifts of his ancestors and the men of the Bohon priory. Among the witnesses of this act were Enjuger de Bohon, Robert of Bohon priory, duchess Margaret, and Henry de Bohon.

A letter from Humphrey de Bohon to the men of Normandy and England stated that Humphrey and his son gave to the Blanchelande Abbey the title of Moulin de Biard with Pont D'Ouve.

In 1181 with Alexander de Bohon he witnessed the foundation of Barbery Abbey.

Across the Channel Humphrey founded the priory of Monkton Farley (Wiltshire) with his wife, supported by the Lewes Abbey. Near the beautiful forests and streams in England, his rich endowment provided them with a large yearly income. Among the benefactors associated with this foundation are Mathilda de Bohon (his mother), Ildebert de Catz (Chaz), Robert de Carentan, and his vassals; among the witnesses were William de Beuzeville and Humphrey de St. Vigor.

Humphrey died 6 April 1187. He was buried at the Lanthony Abbey (Gloucestershire) founded by his father-in-law.

He had a son, Humphrey IV, and a daughter Margaret, first wife of Waleran, earl of Warwick.

~Les Seigneurs de Bohon by Jean LeMelletier *

* The site that I found this on often disappears

• Web Reference: Charles Cawley's Medieval Lands, Humphrey III de Bohn.
A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey names "Humfredus tertius de Bohun et Matildis" as the children of "dominum Hunfredum de Bohun secundum" and his wife "Matildem filiam Edwardi de Salesbury" [Dugdale Monasticon VI, Lanthony Abbey, Gloucestershire, II, Fundatorum progenies, p. 134]. He succeeded his father, recorded in the 1129/30 Pipe Roll as paying relief on his land [Domesday Descendants, p. 33]. The Historia fundationis cum fundatoris genealogia of the priory of Abergavenny names "Margaretam, Bertam et Luciam" as the three daughters of "Milonem" & his wife, adding that Margaret married "Humphredo de Boun" and inherited "comitatu Herefordiæ" [Dugdale Monasticon IV, Priory of Bergavenny or Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Cartæ I, p. 615]. A manuscript in Aske's collections names "Milo…Erle of Herforde, Lord of Bricone and of all the Forest of Done, and also Constable of England…Sibbill wiff of the seid Milo…Ladi Margaret the furst begotton daughter of the said Milo…married to Humfre of Bohun the third…" among those buried at Lanthony Priory [Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, Vol. I (1834), XX, p. 168].

• Background Information. ⁵⁶²
In 1086 an estate of 7 hides at Haresfield, held before the Conquest by two brothers Godric and Edric, was owned by Durand, sheriff of Gloucester. Another estate, described as the manors of Haresfield, Hatherley, and Sandhurst, in Dudstone hundred, presumably included Harescombe tithing [Dom. Bk. (Rec. Com.), i. 168v., 162v]. Durand's estate evidently passed to his nephew, Walter of Gloucester, and then to Walter's son, Miles of Gloucester [Trans. B.G.A.S. iv. 161-2], created Earl of Hereford in 1141. Miles died in 1143 [Complete Peerage, vi. 453] and the estate passed in turn to his sons, Roger (d. 1155), Walter, Henry, and Mahel [Hist. & Cart. Mon. Glouc. (Rolls Ser.), i. 88-89; Camd. Misc. xxii (Camd. Soc. 4th ser. i), 47-48; Complete Peerage, vi. 454-6] (d. 1165). Mahel's English estates were divided among two of his sisters, Margaret who married Humphrey de Bohun and Lucy who married Herbert FitzHerbert [Trans. B.G.A.S. lxxix. 192].

The main part of the Haresfield estate, called the manor of Haresfield was included in Margaret's share, and passed to the de Bohuns, Earls of Hereford. The manor was held as 14½ knights' fees c. 1212 [Bk. of Fees, i. 49], and the claim made in the later 14th century that the de Bohuns held it, with the manors of Wheatenhurst and Newnham, by service in their hereditary office of Constable of England was evidently mistaken [Cal. Inq. p.m. xi, pp. 366-8; xiii, pp. 130-1; see J. H. Round, Peerage and Pedigree (1910), 151-5]. (fn. 7) Margaret's grandson Henry de Bohun, created Earl of Hereford in 1200, [Complete Peerage, vi. 457-77 held the estate c. 1212 [Bk. of Fees, i. 49]. He died in 1220 and was succeeded by his son Humphrey (d. 1275) [C.P. 25(1)/73/10/160].

'Haresfield: Manors and other estates', in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 10, pp. 190-194

• Background Information. ¹⁴¹
Humphrey de Bohun, who married the daughter of Miles, was steward (dapifer) to Henry I, and as such witnessed that King's charter to Bec Abbey in 1131 [Round, Cal. of Douments in France, no. 373]. As "dapifer" he witnessed King Stephen's Charter of Liberties in 1136 [Stubbs, Select Charters, p. 121]. Later, as a follower of the Empress, he had a charter of confirmation from her (1144-1146) of all the lands he held at the death of Henry I "et dapiferatum suum in Anglia et Norm" [Duchy of Lancaster, Royal Charters, no. 19]. In 1166, his wife Margaret, certified the knights' fees of those who had been enfeoffed in the time of King Henry in the fee of Miles of Gloucester, her father, in Gloucester [Red Book of the Exchequer, pp. 292-293]. She died 6 Apr 1186, and was burried at Llanthony outside of Gloucester [Monasticon, vol. vi. p. 134].

~Cokayne's Complete Peerage, 2nd Edition, Vol. VI, p. 457 (footnote d)

Humphrey married Margaret of Hereford, daughter of Mile de Pîtres 1st Earl of Hereford, and Constable of England and Sibyl de Neufmarché.¹⁴¹ (Margaret of Hereford died on 6 Apr 1187 in Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucester, England ^141,160 and was buried in Lanthony Priory, Gloucester, England.)