Joan de Geneville, Countess of March

Joan de Geneville, Countess of March (2 February,1286-19 October,1356) was a wealthy English heiress and the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, lover of Isabella of France, Queen-Consort of King Edward II of England. She acceeded to the title Baroness Geneville suo jure on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Geoffrey De Geneville, 1st Lord Geneville. [The Complete Peerage]

Family and lineage

Joan was born on 2 February 1286 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. [The Complete Peerage.] She was the only child of Piers de Geneville, of Trim and Ludlow, and Jeanne of Lusignan. Her paternal grandparents were Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Lord Geneville and Maud de Lacy. Her maternal grandparents were Hugh XII of Lusignan, Seigneur de Lusignan, Couhe, et de Peyrat, Count of La Marche and of Angouleme, and Jeanne, Dame de Fougères. When her father died in Ireland shortly before June 1292, Joan became one of the wealthiest and most eligible heiresses in the Welsh Marches, with estates that included the town and castle of Ludlow, and much land in Shropshire,as well as a generous portion of County Meath in Ireland. [Thomas B. Costain "The Three Edwards",p196] . She was due to inherit these upon the death of her grandfather in 1314, but in 1308, Lord Geneville conveyed most of his Irish estates to Roger Mortimer.

Marriage

In 1301, Joan married Roger Mortimer, (25 April1287- 29 November1330). He was the son of Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore and Margaret de Fiennes. He was on the Council of Ordainers, which was commissioned with the purpose to restrict the power of King Edward II and reform his household. [Costain,p.197] Roger and Joan had twelve children. [Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands,England, Earls-creations 1207-1466] [thePeerage.com.]

List of children

# Margaret Mortimer (1307-5 May 1337). Married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley. Had issue
# Katherine Mortimer (1314-died 4 August 1369). Married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. Had issue, including William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, who married Lady Joan FitzAlan. Anne Boleyn was one of their descendants.
# Beatrice Mortimer (died 16 October 1383). Married first Edward, 2nd Earl of Norfolk, and secondly, Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose. Had issue by her second husband
# Sir Edmund Mortimer (1310- 16 December 1331). Married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, by whom he had two sons, Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, and John, who died young
# Roger Mortimer. Married Joan Le Botiller
# Geoffrey Mortimer. Died after 1330
# John Mortimer. Killed in a tournament after 1328
# Agnes Mortimer. Married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Had issue
# Joan Mortimer ( born 1312-died between 1337-1351). Married James Audley,2nd Baron Audley. Had issue
# Maud Mortimer. Married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys. Had issue
# Isabella Mortimer (1313-after 1327).
# Blanche Mortimer (c.1321-1347). Married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison. Had issue

Mortimer and Queen Isabella

In 1308, Mortimer was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where he fought against the Scots Army under Edward Bruce, younger brother of Robert the Bruce, (who hoped to make Edward king of Ireland), and Bruce's Norman- Irish allies, the de Lacy's. After driving the Scots north to Carrickfergus,and dispersing the de Lacys, he returned to England. Until 1318, he occupied himself with baronial disputes on the Welsh border. However, due to the growing influence of Hugh Despenser, the Elder, and Hugh Despenser, the Younger, over the King, Roger Mortimer began to rebel against his monarch and supported Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and other Marcher lords. The King quelled the rebellion and as a result, Mortimer was duly imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1322. He managed to escape to France, where he later became the lover of Queen Isabella, who was now estranged from her husband, and seeking help from her brother King Charles IV. The scandal of their love affair forced them to leave the French Court for Flanders, where they obtained help for an invasion of England. In September 1236, Mortimer and Isabella landed in England, where they joined forces with Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster. On 16 November, King Edward was taken prisoner and eventually murdered at Berkeley Castle, presumably on orders by Mortimer. [Costain,pgs236-7.] From 1327 to 1330, Mortimer and Isabella jointly held the Office of Regent for her son, King Edward III who was duly crowned following his father's death. Mortimer was made constable of Wallingford Castle; in September 1328, Mortimer was created Earl of March. He and the Queen were the de facto rulers of England. Hostility against the power Mortimer wielded over the kingdom and the young King Edward III, increased; his former friend Henry of Lancaster encouraged the King to assert his authority to oust Mortimer. When Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent, brother of the late King, anger and outrage engulfed the country. The King deposed his mother and her lover; Roger Mortimer was seized, arrested, and on 29 November 1330, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. [Costain,pgs 274-5]

Death

Following her husband's execution, as the wife of a traitor, Joan was imprisoned in Hampshire and her children taken into custody. Her lands were only restored to her in 1336 after King Edward granted her a full pardon for her husband's crimes. Joan, the widowed Countess of March, died on 19 October 1356 at the age of 70. She is the ancestress of the British Royal Family, Sarah Ferguson, Sir Winston Churchill, George Washington, Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary Boleyn.

References

ources

*Thomas B.Costain "The Three Edwards", Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, 1958
*The Complete Peerage.
*cite web | url = http://www.thepeerage.com/p10297.htm#i102965 | title = thePeerage.com entry | accessdate=2008-06-12