Chapter 9 - The Bourchier, Plantagenet, and Related Families

In this chapter, we’re dealing with some really ancient European royalty.  They are related to the Carsons through Lady Margaret Bourchier, who married Thomas Bryan III.

Some Ancient Swedes

Njord “the Rich”  of Nortun (or Vanaland) was King of the Swedes.  Born about 214, he married his aunt, a sister of his father (or perhaps she was his own sister).   Among their  children was Yngvi-Frey .  Njord and his son Yngvi-Frey became priests for the Asaland people.  According to legend, they later became gods.

Yngvi-Frey of Uppsala was King of the Swedes.  Born about 235, he married Gerd Gymersdottir , and Fjolnar (Fjolnir) Yngvi-Freysson  was their son. Gerd Gymersdottir was the daughter of Gymer of Scandanavia  (born in 214?) and Orboda of Berg  (born in 218?).

Fjolnar (Fjolnir) Yngvi-Freysson was King of Uppsala, born in Uppsala in 256.  He was the father of Svegdi Fjolnarsson , and he died in Sweden.  Uppsala, Sweden, was located at the mouth of the Fyris River, now called the Fyrisan.  It was the capital, the main trading and cultural center of the region, and the site of pagan rituals, including both human and animal sacrifice.

Svegdi Fjolnarsson was King of Uppsala, born in 277.  He married Vana of Vanheim in 318 , and Vanlandi Svegdasson  was their son.

Vanlandi Svegdasson was born in Uppsala about 298.  He was King of Uppsala.  About 318, he married Driva Snaersdottir (born ca 302, daughter of King Snaer of Finland) , and Visbur (Visburr) Vanlandasson  was their son.

Visbur (Visburr) Vanlandasson was born in Uppsala about 319.  About 360, he married ----- Authisdottir , and Domaldi Visbursson  was their son.

Domaldi Visbursson was born in Uppsala about 340, and Domar Domaldsson  was his son.

Domar Domaldsson was born in Sweden about 361 became King of Uppsala, married Drott Danpsdottir (born ca 365), and died about 437. Drott Danpsdottir was born about 365, the daughter of Danpi Rigsson  of Denmark.  Dyggvi Domarsson  was their son.

Dyggvi Domarsson, King of Uppsala, was born in Sweden about 382 and died about 481.  Dagr Spaka Dyggvasson  (Dygvesson) was his son.

Dagr Spaka Dyggvasson (Dygvesson) was King of Uppsala, born in Sweden about 403 and was killed about 488, when a thrall or serf threw a hay fork at him and struck him in the head.  Among his children was Agni Dagsson .

Agni Dagsson was King of Uppsala, born in Sweden about 424 and died about 513.  About 444, he married Skjalf Frostasdottir, born ca 428 in Finland, the daughter of King Frosti , and Alrekr Agnasson (Agnesson)   was their son.

Alrekr Agnasson (Agnesson) was King of Uppsala, born in Sweden about 445 and died about 537.  He married Dagreidr Dagsdottir , and Yngvi (Yngve) Alreksson  was their son.

Yngvi (Yngve) Alreksson, King of Uppsala, was born in Sweden in 466.  His son was Jorundr Yngvasson .

Jorundr Yngvasson (Yngvesson), King of Uppsala, was born in Sweden about 487 and died about 564.  Among his children was Aun Jorundsson , and Egil Aunsson  may also have been his child.

Aun (Gamili; “the Aged”) Jorundsson was King of Upssala, born in Sweden about 509.  Among his children was Egil Aunsson.

Egil Aunsson  was born in Sweden about 530.  He was King of  Swedes in Uppsala, and Ottar (Vendildraku) Egilsson  was his son.  [Note:  Father of Egil Aunsson may have been Jorundr Yngvasson.]

Ottar (Vendildraku) Egilsson  was born in Sweden about 551, and Adils Ottarsson  of Sweden was his son.

Adils (Adeils) “the Great” Ottarsson of Sweden was born about 572, and he died about 640.  About 593, he married Yrsa Helgasdottir (born ca 565) , and Eystein Adilsson of Sweden  was their son.

Eystein Adilsson of Sweden was born about 594, and died about 671.  Ingvar (Yngvarr) Eysteinsson  of Sweden was his son.

Ingvar (Yngvarr) Eysteinsson of Sweden was King of Uppsala.  He was born about 616, and Braut-Onundr Ingvarsson was his son.

Braut-Onundr Ingvarsson , also known as Onund (Anund) the Cultivator, or Onund the Roadmaker, was born in Sweden about 637 and died ca 718.  He was King of Uppsala, and he married Algaut Gutreksson .  Their children included Ingjaldr “Ill-Ruler” Braut-Onundsson .

Ingjaldr “Ill-Ruler” Braut-Onundson, also known as Ingiald Evilheart of Sweden, was King of Uppsala, but was driven out by his subjects.   He was born about 660.  He married Gauthild Algoutsdottir , and their children included Olafr Tretelgju Ingjaldsson .

Olafr Tretelgju “Tree-hewer” Ingjaldsson  was born about 682.  He married Solveig Halfdansdottir , and Halfdan “Whiteleg” Olafsson  was their son.  Olaf Tretelgju Ingjaldsson was sacrificed in 710.

Halfdan Hvitbeinn “Whiteleg” Olafsson was born about 704 in Romerike, Norway.  He was King of the Uplanders in Vermaland.  About 745 he married Asa Eysteinsdottir , and their children were Gudrod Halfdansson  and Eystein Halfdanarsson  of Westfold.

Eystein Halfdanarsson of Westfold, also known as Sveide the Viking, was King of Raumaride.  He was born about 736, and married Hild (Hildur) Eriksdottir .  Eystein Halfdanarsson died about 780.

Children of Eystein Halfdanarsson and Hild (Hildur) Eriksdottir were:

• Geva Eysteinsdotter  of Denmark
• King Harlod  of Haithabu
• Halfdan II Midi Eysteinsson  

Halfdan II Midi Eysteinsson, “the Old”, also known as Halfdan the Stingy, was King of Vestfold.  He was born about 762.  He married Hlif Dagsdottir , and their children probably included Gudrodr Veidikonung Halfdansson  and Ivar .  Halfdan II Midi Eysteinsson died about 800.

Ivar , Earl of the Uplands (also known as Ivar Oplaendige) was born in Norway about 783.  His wife may have been Eysteinsdottir of Throndheim , and their children included Eystein “the Noisy” Glumra Ivarsson .

Eystein “the Noisy” Glumra Ivarsson, Earl of More and Hendemarken, was born about 810 in Maer, Norway, and about 831, he married Aseda (Aserida) Ragnvaldsdottir . Eystein Glumra Ivarsson died about 872.  Children of Eystein “the Noisy” Glumra Ivarsson and Aseda (Aserida) Ragnvaldsdottir were:

• Haldruc Tresney
• Ragnvald of More
• Malahule (Haldrick) Eysteinsson
• Schwanhilde Eysteinsdottir

Ragnvald of More  (also known as Ragnvald “the Wise” of Eysteinsson, Earl of Orkney), son of Eystein “the Noisy” Glumra Ivarsson and Aseda (Aserida), was born in Denmark or Norway about 837.  He had four wives, first Ragnhild  (Hildr, daughter of Hrolf “Nefja”)( 848-892), second(?) Ermina , third, an unknown wife, and fourth, Groa . Ragnvald of More died about 892 in Orkney. 

His children included

• Rolo “the Dane” Ragnvaldsson
• Hrollager (Hrollaug) Ragnvaldsson
• Turf-Einar Ragnvaldsson
• Thorer “the Silent” Ragnvaldsson .

From Norway to Normandy

Rollo “the Dane” Ragnvaldsson (Hrolf Rollon Rou Robert, also known as Gongu-Hrolf of Norway – See Chapter 10) was born in Norway about 857.  He was a big man – so big, a horse couldn’t carry him, and he had to walk.  He was an outlaw, even by Viking standards.  His own father banished him from Norway about 876.  He robbed, slaughtered, and plundered all up and down the French coast, and when he got tired of that, he sailed up the Seine river and plundered Paris.  Charles the Simple  (See Chapter 23) of France was forced to cede a district around Rouen to Rollo, and this district evolved into the Duchy of Normandy.  Hence, Rollo was the first Duke of Normandy.  Rollo is said to have been baptized in 912, and assumed the Christian name of Robert.  He married Poppa de Valois  (Bayeux) (born 872, daughter of Count Berengar), and among their children were Guillaume  (2^nd Duke of Normandy) and Adela (Gerloc) de Normandy . Rollo “the Dane” Ragnvaldsson died about 929 in France, and is buried in Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen, France.  Some scholars question whether Rollo was actually the son of Ragnvald of More; others say he died a pagan .

Guillaume (Also known as William I, or Longsword) was born about 894.  He was the second Duke of Normandy.  So that he could inherit the throne of Normandy, his parents sent him to be raised by Christian clerics.  He married Sporte de Bretagne , and Duke Richard I  was among their children.  He continually sought to expand his territory.  Drawn into a conference on an island in the Somme River,  Guillama was assasinated on orders of Count Arnulf I of Flanders on December 17, 942.

Duke Richard “the Fearless” I of Normandy was born August 28, 933.  He began to reign at age ten.  About 956 he married a Christian (most citizens of Normandy worshipped the pagan god Odin at that time) named Esme or Emma, but they had no children.  About 962, he married Duchess Gonnor de Crepon  of Normandy, France.  Richard “the Fearless” I died November 20, 996, in Fecamp, Seine-Inferieure, France, and Gonnor de Crepon died in France in 1031.  Richard I built a castle in Rouen which was destroyed in 1204, and he established the first mint in Rouen.  Among the children of Richard and Gonnor were Richard “the Good” II and Emma de Normandie, who married King Ethelred of England (See Appendix XII).

Richard “the Good” II was born in Normandy, France, in 962.  He became Duke of Normandy in 996.  About 1000 A.D., he married Judith , Princess of Brittany (born 956, Bretagne, France, died June 16, 1017, Normandy, France).  Richard “the Good” II died at Fecamp, Seine-Inferieure, France, on August 22, 1026.  Among the children of Richard “the Good” II and Judith was Robert I .

A Tanner’s Daughter

Duke Robert I (Robert the Magnificent) of Normandy was born in 999 in Normandy, France, the son of Richard “the Good” II of Normandy and Judith, Princess of Brittany.  In 1023, he married Estrid , or Margaret, but he also had an affair with Arletta , the daughter of a tanner  (See Chapter 17).  William the Conqueror  was the son of Robert I and Arletta.  Robert I died July 2, 1035, in Nicaea, Bythinia, Turkey, while on a pilgramage to Jerusalem, and is buried in Nicaea.

Our Ancestor William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror  was born in Falaise, France, in 1027, the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy and Arletta (also known as Herleva, daughter of Fulbert , a tanner from Falais, and his wife Doda) .  Arletta was born about 1003 and died about 1040.   Upon the death of his father, the Norman nobles elected William as Duke.  In 1053, in defiance of a papal ban, William married Matilda , daughter of Count Baldwin V  of Flanders.  Baldwin V was a descendant of Alfred the Great (See Appendix XII) , and through this descendancy, William could claim the right to the throne of England. 

The Battle of Hastings

In 1064, Earl Harold of Wessex  was shipwrecked on the Norman coast and taken prisoner by William.  Harold secured his release by swearing to support William’s claim to the English throne.  Upon the death of King Edward , the Witenagemot (Royal Council) elected Harold king, but William was determined to make good his own claim.  With the permission of Pope Alexander II , William and his Norman army invaded England at Pevensey on September 28, 1066 with 7,000 armed men in almost 1000 open boats.  They even brought a prefabricated fort!  The Normans defeated the English and Harold was killed by an arrow through the eye at the celebrated Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066.  William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day in Westminster Abbey.  However, the Norman conquest of England was not complete until 1070. 

During his reign, King William  was involved in numerous wars and battles.  He reformed the English feudal system, and conducted the economic survey described in the Doomsday Book. 

The Corpse that Exploded

During a campaign against King Philip I  of France, King William’s horse fell, and King William was fatally injured.  He was taken to Rouen, where he died five weeks later on September 7, 1087.  He lies buried at Caen in St. Stephens, at one of the abbeys he and Matilda  founded at the time of their marriage as penance for their defiance of the Pope.  King William’s funeral was disrupted by a fire.  The fire was extinguished, and the pallbearers tried to cram the King’s bloated body into a too-small sarcophagus.  The body exploded, which created an awful smell and sent mourners running for the exits.

Children of King William and Matilda included:

Robert

William II

Henry I

William the Conqueror willed the Duchy of Normandy to his eldest son, Robert.  He willed England to William II, and his youngest son, Henry, inherited 5000 pounds silver.

William II, son of William the Conqueror  and Matilda, was born about 1056.  He was called “Rufus” because of his ruddy complexion.  He was crowned King of England in 1087, and as King, he extended his power into Normandy and Scotland.  Cruel, greedy, and blasphemous, William was shot in the eye with an arrow on August 2, 1100, while on a hunting trip in the New Forest of Hampshire, and it was never clear whether his death was an accident or premeditated murder.  William never married and had no children, so his younger brother, Henry, succeeded him on the throne.

Henry , son of William the Conqueror  and Matilda, was born in 1068.  On the death of his brother in 1100, Henry seized the royal treasury and had himself crowned King at Westminster Abbey.  Also in 1100, on November 11^th, he married Matilda of Scotland  (1079-May 1, 1118).  In 1101, his older brother Robert, Duke of Normandy, invaded England, but Henry persuaded him to withdraw by promising him a pension and military aid on the continent.  Henry gained control of Normandy from his brother Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray, France, in 1106.  However, he was constantly plagued by revolts in Normandy during the rest of his reign.

Matilda of Scotland  (above) was descended from Alfred the Great , as follows:  Her parents were Saint Margaret , Queen of Scotland (born in Hungary 1045, died November 16, 1093, canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1251c) and Malcolm III , King of Scotland (1057-1093).  Malcolm III became king when he killed MacBeth,  who had killed Malcolm’s father, Duncan I .  Margaret’s parents were Edward Atheling  “the Exile” (born in 1017 after the death of his father, and died in 1057), and Agatha , who died in 1093.  Edward Atheling was the son of King Edmund II  “Ironside” (989-1016) and his wife Algitha .  Edmund II was the son of Ethelred II , “the Unready” (968-1016, See Chapter 7) and Elgiva .  Ethelred II was the son of Edgar “the Peaceful”  (944-975) and Elfrida  (945-1000).  Edgar “the Peaceful” was the son of Edward I  (875-925) and his third wife, Edgira .  Edward I was the son of Alfred the Great  (See Chapter 7).

King Henry’s only legitimate son, Prince William, was killed in the wreck of The White Ship  in the English Channel on November 25, 1120.  Because he had no surviving male heir, King Henry was forced to designate his daughter Matilda  as his heiress.  King Henry died December 1, 1135, at Lyons-la-Foret. 

Queen Matilda

Matilda, or Maud, was born in 1101.  Generally, it is said she was born at Winchester, but recent research indicates she was born at the Royal Palace in Sutton Courtenay.  She was betrothed to the German Emperor Henry V  when she was only eight, and they were married January 7, 1114.  However, they had no children.  When Henry V died in 1125,  she was recalled to her father’s court, where she married Count Geoffrey of Anjou  in April, 1127, when he was only thirteen.  Henry Plantagenet  and two others were their sons.  Matilda  died on September 10, 1169, in Rouen. 

A Civil War

Henry Plantagenet , son of Matilda and Count Geoffrey,  was born March 5, 1133, at Le Mans, France.   In 1151, he became Duke of Normandy, and on the death of his father the next year, he inherited the Angevin Territories in France.  Henry Plantagenet  married Eleanor of Aquitane , thereby acquiring vast territories in southwestern France. Eleanor of Aquitane was beautiful, intelligent, and rich, divorcee of King Louis VII of France, daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitane, and granddaughter of Count William IX, an early troubadour.  It is customary to characterize all ladies of the period as beautiful, but this one really was.

Henry claimed the throne of England through his mother, Matilda, but had been deprived of the throne by his cousin, Stephen of Blois , who declared himself King.  The struggle between Henry Plantagenet  and Stephen of Blois  resulted in a protracted civil war.  In 1153, Henry defeated Stephen’s armies and compelled Stephen to choose him as his (Stephen’s) successor.  Henry Plantagenet  was crowned King of England on December 19, 1154. 

Martyrdom of Thomas a Beckett

Henry Plantagenet , as King Henry II, faced a number of rebellions during his reign.  One quarrel was with Archbishop Thomas a Beckett  over whether the church would be subject to the civil courts.  The quarrel resulted in the murder of Thomas a Beckett by four of King Henry’s knights.  Widespread indignation followed, and Henry was forced to recognize Thomas a Beckett as a martyr, and to exempt the church from control by the civil courts.  Henry II died at Chinon, France, on July 6, 1189.

A Remarkable Woman

Eleanor of Aquitane  was born about 1122 in France.  She inherited the Duchy of Aquitane from her father in 1137, when she was just fifteen, and she married first King Louis VII  of France that same year. Eleanor of Aquitane raised a company of women so she could accompany her husband, Louis VII, on a Crusade to Jerusalem.  However, Louis and Eleanor argued over military tactics on the way to Jerusalem.  Eleanor found herself involved in a relationship with her Uncle Raymond, and it was rumored that she committed adultery.  Her female army was criticized throughout Europe.  Eleanor began to seek an annulment, on the pretext of a blood relationship between her and the King, but the annulment was not granted for several years.  Meanwhile, Raymond was killed in battle and his head was delivered to the Caliph of Baghdad.  The marriage was finally annulled in 1152, and she married Henry Plantagenet (She was thirty, he was nineteen.) just eight weeks later.  Eleanor supported her sons Richard and John in their unsuccessful coup in 1173, and as a result, she was placed in confinement until 1185.  After her release, she remained prominent in public affairs until she retired to the abbey in Fontevrault, France, where she died April 1, 1204, at the age of eighty-two.

Children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane  were:

• William
• Henry
• Matilda
• King Richard the Lionhearted
• Geoffrey
• Eleanor
• Joan
• King John  

King John, or John Lackland,  was born in Oxford, England, on Christmas Eve, 1167, the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane .   In 1189, John joined his brother, Richard the Lionhearted , in a rebellion against the dying King Henry II, and Richard became King.  While King Richard was away in the crusades, John unsuccessfully attempted to usurp the crown, but Richard forgave him upon his return to England.  John became King upon the death of Richard in 1199.

King John and the Magna Carta

King John’s  rule became increasingly tyrannical.  He was involved in a number of wars, and to support them, he raised taxes, extorted money, and confiscated properties.  The barons finally united against him, and in 1215, the barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, by which the King became subject to the law.  John did not fully accept the Magna Carta, and he and the barons were soon at war again. 

John married two women named Isabella.  On August 29, 1189, he married Isabella, daughter of William, Earl of Gloucester, but they had no children.  At Bourdeaux Cathedral on August 24, 1200, he married Isabella, daughter of Aymer Taillefer , Count of Angouleme, and their children included:

• Henry
• Richard
• Isabella
• Eleanor.

John also had at least twelve illegitimate children.

Joan, one of John’s illegitimate daughters, married Llywelyn the Great , King of Wales, and they became ancestors of the Tudor house of monarchs.

John died during the campaign at Newark in Nottinghamshire on October 19, 1216, and was succeeded by his son, Henry III .

A Nine-Year-Old King

Henry III, son of King John Lackland, was born in 1207, a member of the House of Anjou, or Plantagenet.  He ascended to the throne in 1216, when he was nine years old.  Since Henry was a minor, the kingdom was ruled by his regent, Henry Marshall , and after his death, by Herbert de Burgh . 

Henry was declared of age in 1227, and in 1232 he dismissed Herbert de Burgh  and began to rule by himself, without the aid of ministers.  He filled many government and church offices with foreigners, and squandered money on foreign wars, especially wars in France.  This displeased the barons. 

Henry III  married Eleanor of Provence  in 1236, when he was 29 and she was just 14. Edward I  and Edmund Plantagenet  were  among their children. (see Chapter 7). Eleanor of Provence  was born in 1222, the daughter of Raymond Berengar V, Count of Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy.  Eleanor of Provence  died of natural causes in Wiltshire, England, on June 24, 1291, at age 70.

In 1264, the barons, under the leadership of Simon de Montfort,  defeated Henry at Lewes and took him prisoner.  However, in 1265, Henry’s son Edward led the royal troops against the barons at Evesham.  Simon de Montfort was killed, and the barons agreed to a compromise in 1267, whereby Edward ruled England.  Edward became king upon the death of Henry III  in 1272.

Edward I  “Longshanks”was born June 17, 1239, at the Palace of Westminster, son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence .  On October 1, 1254, at Las Huelgas, Castile, he (at age 15) married first Eleanor , daughter of King Ferdinand III  of Castile and Leon, and Eleanor and Edward had sixteen children, and Eleanor died in 1290.

In 1270, Edward “Longshanks” left England to join the Seventh Crusade.  Upon his return in 1272, he was recognized as King of England.  During the early years of his reign, he consolidated his power.  Then he turned his attention to foreign affairs, particularly in Wales, France, and Scotland. 

On September 10, 1299 at Canturbury Cathedral, Edward I  married second Margaret , sister of King Phillip III  of France, and Edward and Catherine had three children.

He subdued the Scots, but in 1305, the Scots declared Robert Bruce  to be their King, and in 1307 Edward I  set out to subdue the Scots again.  However, he died en route to Scotland near Carlisle on July 7, 1307.  (See Chapter 6.)

Children of Edward I and Eleanor were:

• Eleanor
• Joan
• John
• Henry
• Julian (alias Katherine)
• another Joan
• Alfonso
• Margaret
• Berengaria
• Mary
• Alice
• Elizabeth (See Chapter 11) 
• Edward II
• Beatrice
• Blanche

Children of Edward I and Margaret were:

• Thomas
• Edmund
• Eleanor .   

The First Prince of Wales

Edward II  was born April 25, 1284, at Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, England, son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.  In 1301, he was named Prince of Wales, the first heir-apparent to the English Throne to hold that title.  In Boulogne Catherdral on January 25, 1308, he married Isabella , daughter of King Phillip IV  of France.  He was crowned King of England on February 25, 1308, in Westminster Abbey.  Edward II  proved to be a weak and inept king.  He experienced a number of military defeats, and sent his queen, Isabella , to negotiate with her brother, French King Charles IV .  In France, Isabella fell into a romance with Roger Mortimer .  Isabella and Roger Mortimer  invaded England in 1326, and Edward II  abdicated (or was deposed) January 25, 1327.  Edward was imprisoned, and murdered in September, 1327, at Berkeley Castle. 

Children of Edward II and Isabella were:

• Edward III
• John
• Eleanor
• Joan

Edward III  was born November 13, 1312, at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England, son of Edward II  and Isabella  of France.  He was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on February 1, 1327, when he was just fourteen. For the first three years of his reign, Edward III  was domnated by his mother, Isabella  of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer .  Then, in 1330, Edward assumed real power in a palace revolt.  Roger Mortimer  was executed, and Isabella was exiled from the court.

Edward III  was tall, proud, and handsome, with long hair and a long beard.  On January 24, 1328, he married Phillippa Hainault , born June 24, 1311, daughter of William V , Count of Hainault and Holland. Phillippa  died August 15, 1369, and Edward III  took greedy Alice Perrers  as his mistress.  They had three illegitimate children.  Alice Perrers  and William Latimer  dominated the court during the last years of Edward’s life.

During Edward III’s  reign, England changed from a feudal society to a mercantile society, led by the export of wool and woolen cloth.  The economic prosperity was offset by the Black Death from 1448 through 1450, and as much as half of the population may have been lost.  Edward III established the first permanent courts of law in London in 1345, founded the Order of the Garter in 1348.  The Order, consisting of the King and twenty-five knights, was intended by Edward III to be reserved as the highest reward for loyalty and for military merit. 

Edward III also created the office of Justice of the Peace, or Justicar, in 1361.  The Justicar ruled in the King’s absence, and also exercised royal authority in remote areas.

Edward’s reign was also marked by war, especially in France.  Edward died in June 21, 1377, at Sheen Palace, Richmond, Surrey, and lies buried at Westminster Abbey.

Children of Edward III and Phillippa Hainault were:

• Edward , died in 1376, known after the sixteenth century as the Black Prince
• Isabella
• Joan , William of Hatfield
• Lionel of Antwerp (born in 1338, died in Italy in 1368, possibly poisoned)
• John of Gaunt (See Chapter 6)
• Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (1341-1402)
• Blanche
• Mary
• Margaret
• Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester
• William of Windsor

Three other children did not survive to adulthood.

Like any good father, Edward III attempted to equip his children for adulthood and provide for them in the best manner possible.  In Edward’s case, he created the first English Dukedoms for his five sons who reached maturity, and married them to heiresses.  Their descendants ultimately challenged each other for the throne.    

Thomas Plantagenet  of Gloucester, born January 7, 1355, was the sixth son of King Edward III  of England and Phillippa Hainault.  He married Lady Eleanor (Alianore) de Bohun , Duchess of Glouscester and daughter of Humphrey de Bohun , Earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton, in 1374.  Thomas Plantagenet was murdered, suffocated under a mattress, by order of Richard II  in Prince’s Inn in Calais, France, on September 8, 1397, and Lady Eleanor died October 3, 1399, in London.   Anne Plantagenet , below, was among their children.

Anne Plantagenet , Countess of Buckingham, Hereford, and Northampton, was born in April, 1383, daughter of Thomas Plantagenet  of Gloucester.  She had four husbands.  First, about 1390 she married Thomas de Stafford, 3^rd Earl of Stafford.  Thomas died July 4, 1392.  Second, about June 28, 1398, she married Thomas’ brother Edmund de Stafford, who was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury July 21, 1403.  Third, she married Henry Bourchier, Count of Eu.  Fourth, on November 20, 1405, she married Sir William Bourchier  (born ca 1330 in Essex, England), Count of Eu and son of another Sir William Bourchier  (died in 1375) and Alianore de Lovayne, (March 27, 1545 - October 5, 1397), daughter of John Lovayne and his wife Margaret.  Sir William Bourchier, the one who married Anne Plantagenet, was born in 1374, and he died on May 28, 1420, at Troyes, apparently while in the retinue of King Henry V .  Anne Plantagenet  died October 16, 1438.  Both she and her husband are buried at Lianthony Abbey near Gloucester. 

Sir William Bourchier  died in 1375, and Alianore de Lovayne  died on October 5, 1397.  Alianore de Lovayne was the daughter of Sir John de Lovayne .  Sir William Bourchier was the son of Sir Robert Bourchier, who was a member of parliament 1329-1332, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Prayers, distinguished himself fighting under the Black Prince at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, and died of the plague in 1349.  Sir Robert Bourchier was the son of Sir John Bourchier and his wife Helen, daughter of Walter of Colchester.  Sir John was a Justice of the King’s Bench.   

Children of Anne Plantagenet and Sir William Bourchier were:

• Henry Bourchier  (1406-1483, 1^st Earl of Essex, married Isabella Plantagenet )
• Thomas Bourchier  (1407?-1486, Archbishop of Canterbury)
• William Bourchier  (1412-1472, Lord FitzJohyn)
• Eleanor Bourchier  (1417-1486, married John Mowbray )
• Sir John Bourchier .

Sir John Bourchier , Baron Berners, Constable of Windsor Castle, was born about 1415, the seventh child of Sir William Bourchier  and Anne Plantagenet . He married first  Lady Margery (or Margaret) Berners , Baroness Berners, daughter and sole heir of Baron Sir Richard Berners  (before 1392-October 2, 1421) and second Philippa Dalyngruge , born about 1418 in West Horseley, Surry, England.  Their children included Sir Humphrey Bourchier .  Sir John Bourchier  died May 16, 1474, in Calais, France, and Lady Margery Berners died December 18, 1475.

Lady Margery Berners was governess for Elizabeth and Mary, daughters of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth.  Philippa Dalyngruge  was the daughter of Walter Dallingridge  and Margaret Charmond .

The ancestry of Sir Richard Berners  is as follows, beginning with the earliest known Berners ancestor:  Sir John Berners  was born in West Horsley, Surrey, England, married Elizabeth Stonor , and died in 1347.  Their son, another Sir John Berners , was born in West Horsley, married Katherine St. Omer , and died in 1362.  Their son, Sir James Berners, was born in 1348, married Alice -----, and died in 1388.  Their son was Sir Richard Berners .

Sir Humphrey Bourchier , son of Sir John Bourchier  and Lady Margery Berners, was born about 1440 in Halstad, Essex, England.  In Devenshire, England, about 1465, he married Lady Elizabeth Tilney  (born about 1450 in Ashwellthrope, Norflok, England, died April 4, 1497), daughter of Frederick Tilney  and Elizabeth Cheney . Frederick Tilney  was born about 1416, the son of Philip Tilney (born about 1385) and Isabel Thorpe.  Children of Sir Humphrey Bourchier and Lady Elizabeth Tilney were:

• Sir John Bourchier , (Baron Berners, born ca 1467 in Bourchier, Devonshire, England, died April 4, 1497)
• Lady Anne Bourchier  (born 1470 in Benningborough, Yorkshire, England)
• Lady Margaret Bourchier

The Battle of Barnet – the Death of Humphrey Bourchier

In 1470, the Duke of Warwick drove King Edward IV out of England.  In March, 1471, Edward returned with a fleet of ships and a small army, landing at Yorkshire.  His army included 300 Flemmish mercenaries, armed with muskets (“handguns”).  They marched south, gathering forces along the way, and entered London unopposed.  Edward  continued south to meet the Duke of Warwick at Barnet.  In the fog (“a great myste”) on Easter morning, April 14, 1471, King Edward attacked the Duke of Warwick’s forces.  At first, troops led by the Earl of Oxford defeated some of Edward’s troops and pursued them from the field.  Returning from the pursuit in the fog, they mistakenly attacked others of Warwick’s troops, so Edward achieved a complete victory.  Among Edward’s troops who were killed was Sir Humphrey Bourchier.  After Sir Humphrey’s death, Lady Elizabeth Tilney  married Sir Thomas Howard, who became Earl of Surrey, and, later, Duke of Norfolk.       

Lady Margaret Bourchier , (born ca. 1468 in Benningborough, Yorkshire, England ), was the daughter of Sir Humphrey Bourchier  and Lady Elizabeth Tilney.  She married first John Sandys, but they had no children.  She married second Thomas Bryan III  (See Chapter 7) in 1487.  Lady Margaret Bourchier was very beautiful, a great favorite in the court of Henry VIII.  There were even rumors – whisperings – of a royal romance. Lady Margaret Bourchier was governess of all of Henry VIII’s children, including  Princess Mary Tudor, and later to Princess Elizabeth Tudor, who became Queen Elizabeth I.   Lady Margaret Bourchier was made a baroness for her services, and she died in Berkshire, England, in 1551 or 1552.  Some researchers say she was married three times, first to Thomas Bryan, second to David Zouche, and third to John Sands.

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