- Brien FitzCount
Brien FitzCount (also known as Brian de Insula, Brian des Illes, "Brientius de Insulata" and Brian of Wallingford), was the Lord of
Wallingford andBaron Abergavenny , and a staunch supporter of theEmpress Matilda duringthe Anarchy of King Stephen's reign inEngland in the 1140s.Illegitimate Birth
He was the illegitimate son of
Alan IV, Duke of Brittany . His date of birth is unknown but Brien was almost certainly born before his father became a monk in 1112. He was sent to be fostered at the court of KingHenry I of England .Marriage and Titles
He married an English heiress,
Matilda D'Oyly , widow ofMiles Crispin , and through her obtained the title ofWallingford by 1127. Brien also inherited the castle and Barony ofAbergavenny in theWelsh Marches from his uncle,Hamelin de Balun . He also held the honour ofGrosmont Castle , but by what right is uncertain. He handed this over toWalter de Hereford the son ofMiles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford about 1141.He declared for the Empress Matilda in 1139, and was besieged by the forces of
King Stephen , but the monarch failed to takeWallingford Castle and had to retreat.Later career
Brien and Matilda D'Oyly had two sons who were both stricken with
leprosy , and who died young. Brien's end is a matter of speculation. One account, the Abergavenny chronicle, claimed he had gone oncrusade toJerusalem , and died there sometime around 1147. Another more likely possibility is that he spent his last years in a religious order. Matilda became anun at Bec and died in the 1150s, and as they had no heirs their lands and castles in England and Wales reverted to the Crown.Briens des Illes appears as a character in Arthurian romance by
Chrétien de Troyes .References
*Ford, David Nash. (2001). ' [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/bfitzcount.html Brian FitzCount] ' in " [http://www.berkshirehistory.com Royal Berkshire History] ".
*Round, J. Horace. (1889). 'Fitzcount, Brian' in Leslie Stephen's "Dictionary of National Biography".
*Weston, J.L. (1925). Who was Brian des Illes? "Modern Philology", 22, 405-411.
*Remfry, P.M., "Grosmont Castle and the families of Fitz Osbern, Ballon, Fitz Count, Burgh, Braose and Plantagenet of Grosmont" (ISBN 1-899376-56-9)
*King, Edmund. (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9543] .External links
* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/bfitzcount.html Royal Berkshire History: Brian FitzCount]
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