Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke

Isabel de Clare, Countess of Pembroke and Striguil, suo jure (1172-1220) was a Cambro-Norman-Irish noblewoman and one of the greatest heiresses in Wales and Ireland. She was the wife of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146-14 May1219)

Family

Isabel was born in 1172, the eldest child of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1130- 20 April1176, known in history as Strongbow and Aoife of Leinster, the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and More O'Toole. The marriage of Strongbow and Aoife took place in August 1170, the day after the capture of Waterford by the Cambro-Norman forces led by Strongbow, and abetted by Dermot MacMurrough. Isabel's paternal grandparents were Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabella de Meulan. She had a younger brother Gilbert de Striguil, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, who died at the age of 12. She also had an illegitimate half-sister Basile de Clare, who married three times. Basile's husbands were: Robert de Quincy; Raymond Fitzgerald, Constable of Leinster: Geoffrey FitzRobert, Baron of Kells. Isabel was described as pleasant, gentle, and extremely attractive. After her brother Gilbert's death in 1185, she became one of the wealthiest heiresses in the kingdom, owning besides the titles of Pembroke and Striguil,suo jure, much land in Wales and Ireland. She inherited the numerous castles on the inlet of Milford Haven, guarding the South Channel, including Pembroke Castle. [Thomas B. Costain "The Conquering Family",page 267] She was a ward of King Henry II.

Marriage

The new King Richard I arranged her marriage in London in August 1189 to William Marshall, the greatest knight and soldier in the realm. Henry II had promised Marshall that he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son King Richard upheld the promise one month after his accession to the throne. William Marshall would serve as Lord Marshal of England, four kings in all: Henry II, Richard I, John of England, and Henry III. After his marriage to Isabel, Marshall became the 1st Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Striguil, and assumed overlordship of Leinster in Ireland, Pembroke Castle, Chepstow Castle, as well as Isabel's other castles in Wales such as the keep of Haverford, Tenby, Lewhaden, Narberth, Stackpole. [Costain,page 267] The marriage was happy, despite the vast difference in age between them. William Marshall and Isabel produced five sons and five daughters.

List of children

# William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1190- 6 April1231). Chief Justiciar of Ireland. Married firstly, Alice de Betun, and secondly,Eleanor Plantagenet, daughter of King John. Died childless.
# Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1191-1 April1234 Kilkenny Castle, Ireland). Married Gervase le Dinant. Died childless.
# Maud Marshal (1192-27 March1248). Married firstly, Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, by whom she had issue; she married secondly, William de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had issue, including John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey who married Alice le Brun de Lusignan; she married thirdly, Walter de Dunstanville.
# Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (1194-27 June1241). Married firstly, Margaret of Scotland; and secondly, Maud de Lanvaley. Died childless.
# Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke (1196- November 1245. Married Margaret de Quincy. Died childless.
# Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (1198-22 December1245. Married Maud de Bohun. Died childless.
#Isabel Marshal (9 October1200- 17 January1240. Married firstly, Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford; and secondly, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. Had issue.
# Sibyl Marshal (1201- before 1238). Married William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. Had issue.
# Joan Marshal (1202- 1234). Married Warin de Munchensi, Lord of Swanscombe. Had issue.
# Eva Marshal (1203-1246. Married William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny. Had issue, from whom descended, Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.

Legacy

Isabel died in Pembrokeshire Wales in 1220 at the age of 48. Her husband had died the year before. She is buried at Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire. Although her daughters had many children, her five sons, curiously, died childless. This is supposedly attributed to a curse placed upon William Marshal by the Irish Bishop of Ferns. [Thomas B.Costain, "The Magnificent Century", pages104-05] The title of marshal subsequently passed to Hugh de Bigod, husband of Isabel's eldest daughter Maud, while the title of Earl of Pembroke went to William de Valence, the husband of Joan de Munchensi, daughter of Joan Marshal. He was the first of the de Valence line of the earls of Pembroke.

References

# Thomas B. Costain "The Conquering Family", Doubleday & Company, Inc., New York, 1949, 1962
# The Peerage.com
# Thomas B. Costain "The Magnificent Century", Doubleday & Company, Inc., New York, 1959