MORTIMER, DE MORTIMER

HUGH DE MORTIMER b. before 990 in Normandy, France, Bishop of of Countances. He m. the sister of Gunnor, the wife of Duke Richard I of Normandy and of Herfast the Dane, the grandfather of William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford. She was the daughter of an unknown Danish chieftain. Issue:

ROGER DE MORTIMER was b. ca 1040 in Normandy, France m. Hawise. It is believed that this Roger created the family seat at Wigmore, Hereford, England. before that, the family seat was in Normandy. Roger being the first to assume the name of Mortimer which was taken from tile village and castle of Morte-mer-en-Brai (mortuum mare) in the Pays de Caux, at the little river Eaulne, in Normandy. In 1055 he won the victory of Mortimer inside his castle against the troops of King Henry I, king of the French.

However, Roger gave offense to Duke William by releasing one of his captives, and was accordingly deprived of his castle of Mortimer, which was transferred to his nephew, William de Warren, son of his brother, Ralph, first Earl of Surrey. Roger remained with the earls of Warren until the loss of Normandy in 1201 and was never restored to the house. The family then transferred their seat to Saint-Vie tor-en-Caux, where the priory, a cell of St-Quen of Kouen was erected into an abbey by Roger and his wife, Hawise in 1074. Issue:

RALPH DE MORTIMER ca 1000 Normandy, France, d. 8/4/1100 at Wigmore, Hereford, England. Ralph was a Norman baron and became his father's successor of lands in Normandy and England. Issue:

HAWISE DE MORTIMER m. Stephen, Earl of Albemarle.

HUGH DE MORTIMER b. 1081 at Wigmore, Hereford, England m. Millicent, who d. before 1100 at Wigmore. Issue:

1. Hugh de Mortimer b. ca 1110 at Wigmore, Hereford, England m. Isabel de Ferrers, and had issue:

(a) Roger de Mortimer, the first Earl of March, was b. 1148 Wigmore, Hereford, England and m. Joane Genville. Issue:

i. Ralph de Mortimer, Fifth Baron, a great feudal lord, b. ca 1200 Wigmore, Hereford, England d. 8/6/1246 at Wigmore m. 1230 at Wigmore, Gladys Llewellyn Dhu Verch, daughter of the great Welsh Lord, Llywelyn Ab Iowerth and his wife, Joan, Princess of Wales. Issue:

a. Roger de Mortimer, Sixth Baron of Wigmore, b. ca 1231 Wigmore, Hereford, England d. 10/27/1282 Herelord, England In. Maud (Matilda) de Braose who d. 1301 at Wigmore, daughter of William de Braose. In 1247 Roger contracted a marriage with Matilda de Braose, wealthy heiress. Her father had been hanged by Llywelyn ah Zorwerth in 1230 on suspicion of adultery with his wife, Joan (d. 1237), princess of Wales. Matilda, older than Roger, brought to him the great marcher lordship of Brecon and a share in the greater inheritance of the Earls Marshal, which came to her through her mother. Roger acquired the lordship of Radnor estate, as well as other lands in another Welsh and marcher estate aaas well as other lands in South Wales, England and Ireland. Roger Mortimer won the great Dattle of Evesham in 1265, restoring King Edward I to the throne. Issue:

1. Ralph de Mortimer, Sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire, d. 1275 Shropshire, England.

2. William de Mortimer.

3. Roger de Mortimer d. 1326 at Chirk, Hereford, England.n Roger was involved against King Edward II in an abortive uprising and for it was exiled. He had escaped the Tower of London where King Edward II had incarcerated him. queen Isabella, in 1325, was in France on a diplomatic mission to her brother, Charles IV. She was estranged from her husband and publicized it by taking Roger Mortimer as her lover. On 9/23/1325 she nnd Mortimer soiled for England at the head of a band of mercenaries and landed in Suffolk. The country rose in support and Edward fled to the west, and he was later murdered at Berkeley Castle. The result of this intrigue was that young Edward LIZ was crowned at Westminster.

4. Geoffrey de Mortimer

5. Isabella de Mortimer

6. Sir Edmund de blortimer, Lord of Wigmore Castle, was b. 1252 Wigmore, Hereford, England d. 7/17/1304 at Wigmore d. Margnret de Fienncs, d. 2/7/1333/1334, daughter of William de Fiennes and Blanche de Brienne. Issue: i. Isodele de Mortimer 1. 1271 Wigmore, Ilereford, England m. 1288 at Wigmore Hugh de Zudley; ii. Roger de Mortimer, First Earl of Ilarch, b. 1287 Thornhury, Ilerefordshire, England d. 11/29/1330 (executed) at Elms, Tyburn, England m. Joan de Ceneville and had sixteen children. He was hanged because of his assistance in the death of King Edward 11. Rogcr was known as a lover of Isabella of France, Queen of King Edward II. Iris birth date was either 5/3/1286 or 4/25/1287, since the inquests concerning his birth differ. When his father died, he was still under age and King Edward I placed him under the wardship of Peter Caveston. Mortimer redeemed himself from Caveston by paying a fine of 2500 marks, or the same time gaining the right to marry whom he pleased. 5/22/1306 he was made knight at Westminster.

Dictionary of National Biography. Calendarium Genealogicum. pg. . 449

Roger de Mortimer inherited from his Earlier the great Welsh marches, os well as the lordships of Dunmask and other estates in Ireland. Before 10/1306 he m. Joan de Genville, b. 2/2/1286, daughter and heiress of Peter de Genville (d.1292) by Joan, daughter of Hugh XII of Lusignan and La Marche. In 1308 his wife's uncle, Geoffry de Genville surrendred oil his estates in Ireland to Mortimer, then entered a house of Dominican friars, where he died. In 1316 Mortimer was defeated by Edward Bruce at Kells and driven to Dublin, then returned to England. Edward Bruce was Likely to become a king of Ireland, so King Edward II appointed Mortimer on 11/23/1316 warden and lieutenant of Ireland. All English lords holding Irish lands were required to serve him or contribute a force of soldiers commensurate with the extent of their possessions. In 2/1317 a fleet assembled to transport the soldiers which had been collected by Mortimer to Ireland. They landed at Youghal, about 15,000 men. Edward Rruce abandoned the south and retreated to his stronghold at Carrick-fergus, while his brother, King Robert, who had come over to his aid, went back to Scotland.

Afterwards, Roger de Mortimer acquired the liberation of Richard de Durgh, second earl of Ulster, after citizens of Dublin had imprisoned him on account of a private feud. 6/3/1317 Mortimer defeated Waiter de Lacy, the real cause of the Scottish invasion. Mortimer Inter became an opponent of King Edward and the Despensers. William de Draose, lord of Cower, embassessed, offered Cower for sale to the highest bidder in 1320. Humphrey de Bohun, fourth earl of Hereford, agreed to purchase it, to add to his lordship at Brecon. William de Braose died, but his son-in-law, John de Mowbray, was willing to complete the arrangement. Dut the young Hugh le Despenser had acquired the lordship of Glamorgan, adjoining, and was alarmed. A war broke out for possession of Cower. The two Mortimers were on Mowbray's side. Hugh le Despenser intended to avenge the death of his grandfather who was slain in the barons' wars by a Mortimer. The king intervened, ordering them not to attack the Despensers. Bur on May 4th the Mortimers and their confederates took Newport, and four days later, CardiEf, wi th his castle, the head of the lordship of Clamorgan, also falling into their hands. On June 28, 1321, both Mortimers appeared at the baronial convention at Sherburn in Elmet. In July a parliament assembled in London, to which Mortimer appeared with his followers, all dressed in green. The Despensers were attacked in parliament and banished. In August, he was pardoned for his offenses against Despenser, and he retired to his stronghold in the marches. But King Edward annulled the proceedings against the Despensers and marched to the west, heading a large army, to take revenge. The Mortimers were sent to the Tower of London. Later, the penalty of death was commuted, and both Mortimers remained in prison for more than two years. With the help of a friend, a hole was cut into the wall of Mortimer's cell, and he escaped. The history of Mortimers continues with intrigue. In exile, King Charles IV of Frnnce, took Mortimer under his wine. When Queen Isabella of France, 4ueen of King Edward II, arrived in Faris in 1325, she cultivated a close friendship with Nortimer. Later, Mortimer lived in luxury, holding in 1328 a Round Table tournament. He seemed to hold even greeter power than the king. Joan, his wife, d. in 1356, surviving him.

iii. Sir Edmund de Mortimer b. C8 1300 at Wigmore, Hereford, England d. 12/16/1331 Stanton, Shropshire, England m. 6/27/1326 Lady Elizabeth de Badlesmere, b. 1313 Leeds, Kent, England, d. 1356 Kent, England, daughter of Dartholomew de Badlesmere, Baron, and his wife, Lady Margaret de Clare. Elizabeth m. 2nd, in 1335, William de Bohun, the Earl of Northampton.

Issue of Sir Edmund de Mortimer and Elizabeth:

a. Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, b. 11/11/1325 at Wigmore, Hereford, England d. 2/26/1360 at Rouvray, Cote-D'or, France m. at Donyatt, Somerset, England, Lady Philippa de Montacute b, 1332 at Welsh Bicknor, Hereford, England, d. 1/5/1381/1382 bur. Disham, Derkshire, England, daughter of William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, and his wife, Catherine de Grandison. Issue of Roger de Mortimer: (1) Margery de Mortimer b. Wigmore, Hereford, England m. Sir John Touchett; (2) Joan de Mortimer b. Wigmore, Hereford, England; (3) Roger de Mortimer, Earl ?larch, d. 1338 in Ireland m. 1399 Aleanore de Holland at of Upholland, Lancashire, England; (4) Edmund de Mortimer, Third Earl of March, Lord, Court of Ireland, Earl of Ulster, b.2/1/1351 at Wigmore, Hereford, England d. 2/26/1381 at Cork, Ulster, Ireland m. 1368 Lady Philippa Plantagenet, who d. ca 1378,ta a daughter of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence (1338-1368), son of King Edward III (1327-1377).

A revolt of Welsh rebels, led by Owain Clyndwr on the Conway Castle, took place in 1401. Edmund Mortimer, the uncle of Edmund who was the rightful heir to the throne, was captured by Glyndwr. In September Henry IV advanced from Shrewsbury in search of Glyndwr, was caught in a rainstorm which collapsed the tent in which he was sleeping. Henry IV was in no hurry to ransom Edmund Mortimer, judging that Mortimer was safe. As it was, Edmund remained at Wales and married Glyndwr's daughter, after Clyndwr Promised to help Mortimer secure the throne for his nephcw. Issue of Edmund Mortimer and Philippa:

1. Elizabeth Mortimer b.1371 d. ca 1444 m. Henry Hotspur b. 1354 d. 1403, killed at Shrewsbury in the Welsh revolt of Glyndwr.

2. Roger Mortimer, Fourth Earl of March and Ulster, Lieutenant of Ireland and heir to the English Crown, was b. 1374 d. 1398. He m. Alianore, daughter of Thomas Holande and his wife, Alice FitzAlan. Issue:

a. Anne Mortimer m. Richard of Conisborough, Earl of Cambridge, d. 1415. In 1415, formed a plot to get Edmund Mortimer (his bro-in-law) to Wales and have him procLaimed king there. Conspirators revealed the plot to the king, and Mortimer divulged all that he knew to the king. The King, thus, continued to hold Mortimer in high favour.

b. Hugh Mortimer (bastard), killed at Wakefield in 1460.

c. Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March and Ulster, b. 1331 d. 1424. Edmund m. Anne, daughter of Edmund de Stafford, earl of Stafford, by Whom they had no children. The male line of the Mortimers became extinct because of this and because his brother, Roger, had predeceased him. After the attempt of conspirators t, have him made king, Edmund reconcilled with King Henry VI gaining his favour. Ire went with the king on his first invasion of France, along with sixty men at-arms and 160 horse archers.

During the siege Harfleur, Edmund suffered epidemic of dysentary. In 1416 he was appointed one of the king's captains at sea over an expedition sent to relieve Harfleur, serving again in 1417 and 1418 in the army which invaded and conquered Normandy. He remained with Henry in France, until 2/1421 when he returned to London with the king and his new wife, Catharine of France. In 1422, Edmund accompanied the king in the siege of Meux in France. In 1423 he was given the same office his father and grandfather had held the lieutency of Ireland. His cousin, or illegitimate uncle, Sir John Mortimer, waS arrested in 1421 suspected of being a traitor, escaped in 1422, and was recaptured i" 1424 and executed. Squabbles and dissention resulted between Edmund and Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, which resulted in sending Edmund to Ireland, so that he would be removed from court. I" Jan. of 1425, he was unable to return to England, because of the plague. No issue. d. John Mortimer (bastard), killed at Wakefield in 1460.

3. Sir Edmund Mortimer b. 11/9/1376 at Ludlow, England, d. ca 1408, said to have m. the daughter of Owain Glyndwr. It is rumored that at the very moment of his birth that the horses in his father s stables were found standing up to their knees in blood! The baptism was prolonged, waiting for the arrival of John Swaffham, bishop of Banger, who had been asked to be his godfather, but took place on 11/18 despite the bishop's absence. The Abbots of Evesham and Wigmore and the Lady Audley acted as his sponsors. His father died when he was aged five, leaving him well provided for. Upon the death of his eldest brother, Roger, fourth earl of March, on 8/15/1308, Edmund became a prominent representative of the family's interests in the Welsh marches. When Henry of Lancaster passed through the marshes on his way to his final triumph over King Richard II in North Wales, the fortunes of the Mortimer family were increased.