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Birth:          1299 of Wyke, Cornwall, England
Death:          5 Oct 1356 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_de_Comyn
Elizabeth de Comyn (1 November 1299 - 20 November 1372) was a medieval 
noblewoman and heiress, notable for being kidnapped by the Despenser family 
towards the end of the reign of King Edward II.
Background[edit]

Elizabeth was born to John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, also known as the "Red 
Comyn", a powerful Scottish nobleman related to the Scottish crown, and Joan de 
Valence, the daughter of the French knight William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke. 
She was the youngest of three children, with an elder sister, Joan de Comyn, and 
brother, John de Comyn. Her father was stabbed to death in 1306 by Robert the Bruce 
and Elizabeth and her siblings were sent south to England for their own safety. Joan 
married David II Strathbogie, the earl of Atholl, whilst her brother John later died at 
the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, fighting Robert.

Inheritance and kidnap[edit]

In 1324 Elizabeth's uncle on her father's side, Aymer de Valence, the earl of 
Pembroke, died. Since he had no surviving children, Aymer's considerable lands were 
then divided amongst his sisters; Isabel de Valence had died in 1305, leaving her 
share to her son, John Hastings, whilst Elizabeth's mother left lands to her daughters 
Joan and Elizabeth. Joan inherited the manor and castle of Mitford, the manor of 
Ponteland, and lands in Little Eland, and the manor of Foston. Elizabeth inherited the 
powerful fortress of Goodrich Castle and the manor of Painswick.

By the mid-1320s, however, England was in the grip of the oppressive rule of the 
Marcher lords Hugh le Despenser the older and his son Hugh Despenser the younger, 
the royal favourites of King Edward II.[1] As part of a "sweeping revenge" on their 
rivals, especially in the Marches, the Despensers illegally seized a wide range of 
properties, particularly from vulnerable targets such as widows, or wives whose 
husbands were out of favour with the king.[2]

John Hastings was effectively controlled by the Despensers and they ensured that he 
inherited an unequally large settlement of the Pembroke lands, anticipating that they 
would be able to marry him into their family and thereby acquire control of the estates 
themselves.[3] To deal with Elizabeth, however, stronger measures were necessary. 
Upon her inheritance, Hugh le Despenser the younger promptly kidnapped Elizabeth in 
London and transported her to Herefordshire to be imprisoned in her own castle at 
Goodrich.[4] Threatened with death, Elizabeth was finally forced to sign over the 
castle and other lands to the Despensers in April 1325.[5] She was also forced to sign 
a debt notice of £10,000, a huge sum,[6] which was witnessed by John de Bousser, a 
corrupt royal justice.[7]

Released, Elizabeth then married the English knight Richard Talbot, the 2nd Baron 
Talbot. Queen Isabella of France landed in England in late 1326 and deposed both 
the Despensers and her husband Edward II; Richard promptly seized Goodrich Castle 
from the Despensers, and Talbot and Elizabeth regained their legal title to the castle 
the following year.[8] The Despensers were executed by Isabella, who killed Hugh the 
Younger in a particularly gruesome fashion.

Later years[edit]

Elizabeth and Richard did well in the coming years. They had a son, Gilbert, in 1332. 
Richard progressed at court under Edward III and eventually became a royal steward. 
After Richard's death in 1356, Elizabeth remarried to Sir John Bromwich. She died in 
1372.[9] Elizabeth's heraldic device was three garbs, which she maintained as her 
own, rather than adopting her husbands'.[10]

Parents
COMYN John ("the Red") (1269 - 10 Feb 1306)
DE VALENCE Joan (Johanna) (1273 - )

Siblings
COMYN Elizabeth (1299 - 5 Oct 1356)

Marriage To TALBOT Richard (ABT 1305 - 23 Oct 1356)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
TALBOT Gilbert (18 Oct 1276 - BEF 1 Mar 1346)
BOTELER Anne (ABT 1280 - )

Children by TALBOT Richard ABT 1305 - 23 Oct 1356
TALBOT Gwenthlian (Welthiana) (ABT 1327 - BEF Oct 1375)
TALBOT Gilbert (1332 - 24 Apr 1386)

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