Henry de Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex

  General Notes:

~Weis' Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, 8th Edition, 97:27, Henry, son of Humprey de Bohun and Margaret Huntingdon, the 5th Earl of herefor, was born 1176. He was the Sheriff of Kent, 1200, Hereditary Constable of England, A Magna Charta Surety, 1215, and died on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On 1 Jun 1220, he married Maud Fitz Geoffrey de Manderville. ¹⁶⁰

  Noted events in his life were:

• Dates & Events: Surety Baron for the Magna Carta, 15 Jun 1215, Runnymede, England. ^141,160,526

• Background Information. ¹⁴¹
Henry de Bohun, hereditary Constable of England, was son and heir of Humphrey de Bohun, who was also hereditary Constable of England. His mother was Margaret, widow of Conan (le Petit), the Duc de Bretagne and Earl of Richmond. Margaret was the daughter of Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon, by Ada, daughter of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. He was therefore the nephew to William, the Lion, King of Scotland. Henry was the grandson of another Humphrey de Bohun by Margaret, eldest daughter and eventually coheir of Miles (of Gloucester), Earl of Hereford and Constable of England. Having inherited through his aforesaid grandmother the principal estates of the former earls, he was created, 28 April 1200, by charter dated at Porchester, Earl of Hereford. After the coronation he was sent (1200) with the Bishop of Durham and the Earl of Norfolk to conduct his Uncle William, King of Scotland, to do homage at Lincoln. Siding with the Barons, he was one of the 25 appointed to secure the observance of the Great Charter, and was among those excommunicated by the Pope. After the death of King John he adhered to the party of Louis of France, and fought at the Battle of Lincoln, where he was taken prisoner 20 May 1217. In 1220, he appears to have started on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Henry married Maud, sister and (in 1227) heir of William de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, and daughter of Geoffrey Fitz Piers, Earl of Essex, by his 1st wife, Beatrice, eldest daughter and coheir of William de Say, of Kimbolton, Hunts, and Saham, Norfolk. Henry died 1 June 1220, and was buried in the chapter house of Llanthony Priory outside Gloucester.

~Cokayne's Complete Peerage, 2nd Edition, (Hereford), Vol. VI, pp. 457-459

• Background Information. ¹⁷⁶
Henry de Bohon (1176-1220), earl of Hereford, played an important role in the revolt of the barons against King John. Born in 1176, he succeeded his grandfather honorably.

Henry married Maud (Mathilda, died 1236), daughter of Geoffrey (Geoffrey Fitz Piers de Mandavill), son of Pierre de Mandeville, earl of Essex. She was sister and heiress of William de Mandeville who died childless in 1189 and was appointed the barony of Pleshey (Essex).

The Mandeville family descended from Geoffrey, companion of William the Conqueror. His son was constable of the Tower of London. His grandson, also named Geoffrey, was strong and ambitious. Later he was depossessed of his lands and excommunicated for having pillaged the church lands, so he revolted against Stephen and was mortally wounded in his attack of Burwell castle.

Geoffrey (the grandson) left three sons. The oldest Ernald, shared in his father's revolt and was exiled. The second, Geoffrey, succeeded his father and died in 1166. The third, William, third earl of Essex and earl of Aumale, succeeded his brother. He was grand chamberlain to Henry II and played an important role in the wars between Louis VII of France and Philip Auguste. He accompanied Philip, earl of Flanders, on the crusade. He was also called the grand justicier. William died childless at Rouen on 14 November 1189, leaving his wealth to his sister, Maud.

The reign of King John (1199-1216) started out well for Henry when he was created earl of Hereford on 28 April 1199. Henry was the first of the Bohons to have the title, which included an annual income.

The following year Henry and other nobles summoned his uncle in Scotland, William the Lion, to appear at Lincoln to do homage.

In 1203 Henry witnessed a document where King John confirmed the dowry of Queen Isabelle.

The principal interests of the Bohons were in England. Henry paid taxes of 50 marks and a groom, corresponding to 20 parts of a knight's fee, on the Huntington land he inherited from his mother. In Normandy, Henry kept his more modest holdings (from Humphrey I) at Carentan and Pont D'Ouve.

After the first time France reclaimed Normandy (1204), Henry stayed loyal to John. His lands in Normandy were confiscated by Philip- uguste. Then King John imposed a heavy tax to maintain the campaign of 1213-1214 to prevent the crushing of a coalition formed at Bouvines on 27 July 1214 by England, Flanders, and the German Empire. The king was discredited and there was general discontent. The forces were dissatisfied that the king awarded certain barons without their having to go through the regular tests and examinations.

Then there was a revolt of barons in which Henry took an active part. The revolt ended with the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede (Surrey) on 12 July 1215. The lands that had been confiscated from Henry were returned and the 25 lords took it upon themselves to make sure the charter was enforced.

The Bohons enjoyed being in possession of great lands at the frontier of the Welsh country which was always threatened. The other marcher lords enjoyed it, too, because their military importance and independence was greater than that of other royal lords. Politically they were stronger by being closer to the king.

The lull was cut short when the war restarted. The following year John had Pope Innocent III excommunicate the earl of Hereford, which only increased the opposition to the king. John joined forces with the army of Prince Louis of France (the future Louis VIII) when barons from the north landed in England.

John died on October 19, 1216, but Henry de Bohon did not ally himself with the new king, Henry III. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Lincoln on 20 May 1217, where Louis of France was defeated.

Henry gave the churches of Boxe and Wilsford (Lincolnshire) to the priory of Monkton Farley, and gave a pension to St. Nicolas Hospital in Salisbury.

Henry de Bohon died 1 June 1220 while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His body was returned to Lanthony abbey.

He had four sons: Humphrey V, who succeeded him; Henry, who died young; Ralph, benefactor of the Abbey of Grendon who married Lora; and Robert, mentioned in the Book of Walden.

~Les Seigneurs de Bohon by Jean LeMelletier *

* The site that I found this on often disappears.

• Web Reference: Charles Cawley's Medieval Lands, Henry de Bohun.
A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey names "Henricus de Bohun comes Hereford et constabularius Angliæ" as son of "dominus Humfridus quartus de Bohun, comes Herefordiæ et constabularius Angliæ" and his wife "Margaretam comitissam Britanniæ" [Dugdale Monasticon VI, Lanthony Abbey, Gloucestershire, II, Fundatorum progenies, p. 134]. He was created Earl of Hereford at Porchester 28 Apr 1200. He was one of the 25 barons appointed to secure the observance of Magna Carta in 1215, and after the death of King John supported Louis de France when he invaded England. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Lincoln 20 May 1217 [CP VI 458]. Matthew Paris records the death in 1220 of "Henricus de Boun comes Hertfordiæ" [Matthew Paris, Vol. III, 1220, p. 60]. The Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall records the death in 1220 of "Henricus de Boum comes Herefordensis" [Stevenson, J. (ed.) (1875) Radulphi de Coggeshall Chronicon Anglicanum (London), p. 188]. Henry married Matilda de Manderville, daughter of Geoffrey Fitz Piers Earl of Essex & his first wife Beatrice de Say.

Henry married Maud de Mandeville Countess of Hereford and Essex, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Fitz Piers 4th Earl of Essex and Beatrix de Say.¹⁴¹ (Maud de Mandeville Countess of Hereford and Essex was born in 1178 in Mandeville, Warwick, England and died on 27 Aug 1236 in Hereford, Herefordshire, England ^141,160,530.)