Hugh le Bigod 1st Earl of Norfolk

  Noted events in his life were:

• Children. ⁷²²
Children of Hugh Bigod and Juliane de Vere:
Roger, d. 1221, m. Ida

Children of Hugh Bigod and Gundred, Widow of Roger, Earl of Warwick:
Hugh, m. Joan Burnell
William, m. Margaret de Sutton, of Bures, Essex
~Boyer's Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans, p. 29

• Background Information. ⁸⁵¹
Hugh le Bigod was the second son of Adeliza and Roger le Bigod. When his brother William was accidentally drowned along with the king's children in a shipwreck, 20 Henry I, and left no issue, Hugh succeeded as lord steward of the King's household to King Henry I. he was mainly instrumental in raising Stephen, Count of Boulogne, to the throne, and was rewarded by him with the earldom of East Angles, or Northfolk and Suffolk, in about 1140. He was steadfast and faithful in his allegiance to King Stephen and continued to enjoy royal favor. He was again created earl of Norfolk and Suffolk by Henry II as well as obtaining a grant of the office of lord high steward of the kingdom, which his fahter had held. In 1177, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy land as a Crusader. He died in 23 Henry II sometime before March. Earl Hugh and his wife, Juliana Vere, daughter Alberic de Vere and his wife Adeliza Clare an eldest son named Roger who was a Magna Charta Surety.
~Wurts' Magna Charta, p. 44

• Background Information. ¹⁴¹
Hugh, succeeded his half-brother, William who was drowned as a Passenger of the "White Ship." He was Lord of Framlingham in 1120 and witnessed royal charters as the royal steward starting in 1123. He was in service of his King at Portsmouth in Jun 1123. He was present at the Council of Northampton in Sep 1131, and a witness at Westminster, 1133, to the charter to Rahere for his priory of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield.

After Henry I died, Hugh returned to England, and before the Archbishop of Canterbury, swore that Henry at disinherited his daughter, Empress Maud, and nominated Stephen as his heir. He was with Stephen at Reading for the funeral of Henry I, Jan 1135/36. In 1137, he was with the King at Westminster and later in Normandy where he attested a charter of Stephen's at Pont-Audemer and another charter at Rouen. When disaffection towards Stephen spread among the Barons, Hugh rebelled as well. In Jun 1140, the King fought against him and took Bungay Castle. The King again attacked Hugh in August, after which they came to term.

Hugh was created the Earl of Norfolk sometime around Dec 1140 or Jan 1141. Hugh continued to switch sides, and first was with the King's army, yet soon went over to the Empress's side. He attested to charters for the Empress at her court in 1141 and 1142. He hosted the Duke of Normandy in 1153, upon the Duke's invasion of England, and in November of that year Hugh attested the treaty by which Stephen recognized Henry II as his successor. This included a statement that Hugh's earldom was recognized by both Stephen and Henry. Hugh falls in and out of favor with Henry II over the next few years. In June 1174, the king lead an army against Norwich, massacring a large number of it's inhabitants, and burned the city. Henry II also had Hugh's castles of Framlingham and Bungay destroyed.

Hugh, first married Juliane, sister of Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford and daughter of Aubrey de Vere II, lord of Hedingham and Master Chamberlain of England. This marriage may have ended with an annulment. Juliane and Hugh had one son, Roger, his son and heir. His second wife was Gundred, daughter of Roger, Earl of Warwick, and his wife Gundred, the daughter of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. They had two sons, Hugh and William.

~Cokayne's Complete Peerage, 2nd Edition, (Norfolk), Vol. IX, pp. 570-586

Hugh married Juliana de Vere, daughter of Aubrey de Vere Sheriff of London and Middlesex, Lord Hedington and Adeliza de Clare ¹⁴¹.^,722 (Juliana de Vere was born about 1116 in Norfolk, England.)