Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford

Humphrey VII de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford and 2nd Earl of Essex (c. 1249 – December 31, 1298 or 1 January 1299) was one of several noblemen of the same name to have held the title Earl of Hereford, and a key figure in the Norman conquest of Wales.

Family

He was the grandson of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford and his wife Maud. His father was Humphrey de Bohun, the son of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford and his mother was Eleanor de Braose, a daughter of William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny and Eve Marshall, daughter of the famous William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. He had a sister, Margery.

His mother died in 1251 when he was an infant; his father died in 1265 when Humphrey was a young man, of wounds sustained at the Battle of Evesham.

Career

He succeeded his grandfather, Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford, in 1275 as Earl of Hereford and Essex and Lord High Constable. Around 1264, he was made Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Humphrey de Bohun took part in Roger Mortimer's war against the Welsh, and was present at the defeat at Cefnllys in November, 1262, by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. He also participated in the campaigns against the Gauls and the Scots.

Rebellion

He refused to pay tribute to Edward I of England and convened an army at Worcester on 24 June 1277. In the campaign he commanded the nobles of the Welsh Marches and recovered the lands of Brecon. He was later imprisoned but freed by a ransom of 10,000 marcs.

In 1294, Humphrey fought (again) against King Edward at Gallois along with Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk and other Barons.

Later career

Ultimately, Humphrey regained the royal favour in Scotland, once more on the side of Edward I, and won the victory at Falkirk on 22 July 1298.

He died in Pleshley Castle, Essex on 31 December 1298 or 1 January 1299 and was buried with his wife at Walden Abbey in Essex, founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville.

Marriage and succession

Humphrey de Bohun married Mahaud (Maud) de Fiennes (d. bef. 31 December 1298) sometime between 1264 and July 17, 1275. Maud was born about 1250, a daughter of Enguerrand II (Ingelram) de Fiennes and Isabel de Conde.

Their son, another Humphrey de Bohun, succeeded him as the Earl of Hereford and Essex and Lord High Constable.

References

* "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700" by Frederick Lewis Weis; Lines 97-30, 158C-29.
* Jean Le Melletier, "Les Seigneurs de Bohun," 1978, p. 32-34.