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Birth:          1301 Cassington, Oxfordshire, England
Death:          30 Jan 1344 Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England
Burial:         Bisham, Berkshire, England

Notes
b c 1302/3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Montagu,_1st_Earl_of_Salisbury
William Montagu, alias de Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 3rd Baron Montagu, King 
of Mann (1301 – 30 January 1344) was an English nobleman and loyal servant of King 
Edward III.

The son of William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu, he entered the royal household at 
an early age and became a close companion of the young Prince Edward. The 
relationship continued after Edward was crowned king following the deposition of 
Edward II in 1327. In 1330, Montagu was one of Edward's main accomplices in the 
coup against Roger Mortimer, who until then had been acting as the king's protector.

In the following years Montagu served the king in various capacities, primarily in the 
Scottish Wars. He was richly rewarded, and among other things received the lordship 
of the Isle of Man. In 1337, he was created Earl of Salisbury, and given an annual 
income of 1000 marks to go with the title. He served on the Continent in the early 
years of the Hundred Years' War, but in 1340 he was captured by the French, and in 
return for his freedom had to promise never to fight in France again. Salisbury died of 
wounds suffered at a tournament early in 1344.

Legend has it that Montagu's wife Catherine was raped by Edward III, but this story is 
almost certainly French propaganda. William and Catherine had six children, most of 
whom married into the nobility. Modern historians have called William Montague 
Edward's "most intimate personal friend"[3] and "the chief influence behind the throne 
from Mortimer's downfall in 1330 until his own death in 1344."[4]
Family background[edit]

William Montagu, born at Cassington, Oxfordshire in 1301, was the second but eldest 
surviving son of William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu, and Elizabeth de Montfort, 
daughter of Sir Peter Montfort of Beaudesert, Warwickshire.[5] by Matilda/Maud de la 
Mare daughter and heiress of Henry de la Mare of Ashtead, Surrey, Royal Justice, 
Seneschal of William Longspree II Earl of Salisbury.[6] The Montagu family, a West 
Country family with roots going back to the Conquest, held extensive lands in 
Somerset, Dorset and Devon.[7] The father, William Montagu, distinguished himself in 
the Scottish Wars during the reign of Edward I, and served as steward of Edward II's 
household. Some members of the nobility, including Thomas of Lancaster, viewed 
Montagu with suspicion, as a member of a court party with undue influence on the 
king.[8] For this reason he was sent to Aquitaine, to serve as seneschal. Here he died 
on 18 October 1319.[8] Even though he sat in parliament as a baron, the second lord 
Montagu never rose above a level of purely regional importance.[9]

Early service[edit]

The younger William was still a minor at the time of his father's death, and entered the 
royal household as a ward of the king in 1320.[10] On 21 February 1323 he was 
granted his father's lands and title.[5] His service to Edward II took him abroad to the 
Continent in both 1320 and 1325.[5] In 1326 he was knighted.[9] After the deposition 
of Edward II in 1327, Montagu continued in the service of Edward's son Edward III. 
He helped the new king in repelling the Scottish invasion of 1327, and was created 
knight banneret in 1328.[5]

Montagu enjoyed a close relationship with Edward III, and accompanied him abroad 
on a diplomatic mission in 1329. That same year he was sent on an embassy to 
negotiate a marriage alliance with King Philip VI of France.[5] His most important task, 
however, came in connection with a mission to the Papacy in Avignon. The young 
king—along with his government—was under the dominance of his mother Isabella and 
her lover Roger Mortimer, who had been responsible for the deposition of the king's 
father.[11] Montagu explained the king's situation, and Pope John XXII asked for a 
special signal that assure him that he was dealing with the king in person. After 
Montagu's return, Richard Bury, Keeper of the Privy Seal, wrote to inform the pope 
that only letters containing the words pater sancte (holy father), in Edward's own 
handwriting, were indeed from the king. Only Edward, Bury and Montagu were party to 
the scheme.[12]

Coup against Mortimer[edit]

When Mortimer discovered the conspiracy against him, Montagu was brought in for 
interrogation – along with the king – but gave nothing away.[10] Afterward he 
supposedly advised Edward to move against his protector, because "It was better that 
they should eat the dog than that the dog should eat them".[5] On 19 October 1330, 
while Mortimer and Isabella were entrenched in Nottingham Castle, the constable of 
the castle showed Montagu a secret entrance through an underground tunnel.[13] 
Along with William de Bohun, Robert Ufford, and John Neville and others, he entered 
the castle, where he met up with the king.[5] A short brawl followed before Mortimer 
was captured. The queen stormed into the chamber shouting "Good son, have pity on 
noble Mortimer".[14] Edward did not obey his mother's wishes, and a few weeks later 
Mortimer was executed for treason in London.[15] As a reward for his part in the coup, 
Montagu was given lands worth £1000, including the Welsh lordship of Denbigh that 
had belonged to Mortimer.[16] His family also benefited; his brother Simon Montacute 
became Bishop of Worcester and later of Ely.[17] Another brother, Edward Montagu, 
1st Baron Montagu, married Alice of Norfolk, a co-heir of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st 
Earl of Norfolk.[18]

Service under Edward III[edit]


 


Edward III founded the Order of the Garter in 1348, and included Salisbury's son 
among the founding members.
In the years to come, Montagu acted as Edward's closest companion.[3] In April 1331, 
the two went on a secret expedition to France, disguised as merchants so they would 
not be recognised. In September of the same year, Montagu held a tournament at 
Cheapside, where he and the king were costumed as Tartars.[5] From 1333 onwards, 
Montagu was deeply engaged in the Scottish Wars, and distinguished himself at the 
Siege of Berwick and the Battle of Halidon Hill. It was after this event that his lordship 
over the Isle of Man was recognised, a right he held from his grandfather.[5] The 
lordship was at the moment of a purely theoretical nature, however, since the island 
was still under Scottish control.

In February 1334 Montagu was sent on a commission to Edinburgh, to demand Edward 
Balliol's homage to Edward. In the great summer campaign of 1335, it was Montagu 
who provided the largest English contingent, with 180 men-at-arms and 136 archers.
[5] He was well rewarded for his contributions: after the Scots had been forced to 
cede the Lowlands, Montagu was granted the county of Peeblesshire. He was also 
allowed to buy the wardship of Roger Mortimer's son Roger for 1000 marks, a deal that 
turned out to be very lucrative for Montagu.[19] At this point, however, the fortunes 
were turning for the English in Scotland. Montagu campaigned in the north again in 
1337, but the siege of Dunbar met with failure.[20] Following the abortive attempt in 
Scotland, Edward III turned his attention to the continent.

The Hundred Years' War[edit]

Montagu was created Earl of Salisbury on 16 March 1337. This was one of six comital 
promotions Edward III made that day, in preparation for what was to become the 
Hundred Years' War.[21] To allow Montagu to support his new status, the king 
granted him land and rent of a value of 1000 marks a year. The money was provided 
from the royal stannaries of Cornwall.[22] A contemporary poem tells of a vow made by 
the earl on the eve of the wars – he would not open one of his eyes while fighting in 
France. The story is probably a satire; the truth was that Montagu had already lost the 
use of one of his eyes in a tournament.[23]

In April 1337, Montagu was appointed to a diplomatic commission to Valenciennes, to 
establish alliances with Flanders and the German princes.[24] In July 1338, he 
accompanied the king on another mission to the continent, again providing the 
greatest number of soldiers, with 123 men-at-arms and 50 archers.[5] In September of 
that year he was made Marshal of England. After the death of Thomas of Brotherton, 
Earl of Norfolk, this office had come into the hands of Norfolk's daughter Margaret. 
The king did not trust the office with her husband, so he decided instead to bestow it 
on his trusted companion, Montagu.[25] Edward's policy of building alliances put him 
in great debt, and when he left the Low Countries to return to England late in 1338, 
Salisbury had to stay behind as surety to the king's debtors, along with the king's 
family and the Earl of Derby.[26] The earl had earlier voiced concerns about the costly 
alliances, but he nevertheless remained loyal to the king's strategy.[27]

While Edward was away, Salisbury was captured by the French at Lille in April 1340, 
and imprisoned in Paris.[5] Reportedly, King Philip VI of France wanted to execute 
Salisbury and Robert Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, who was captured with him. Philip was, 
however, dissuaded by John of Bohemia, who argued that the earls could come in 
handy in an exchange, should any French noblemen be captured.[28] Though 
released on parole in September, it was not until May 1342 that he reached a final 
settlement with the French. Salisbury was freed in a prisoner exchange, but only on 
the condition that he never fight in France again.[5]

Final years[edit]


 


 Salisbury's residence of Bisham Manor in Berkshire.
Salisbury had long been frustrated by the failure of the government in England to 
provide sufficient funds for the war effort.[29] On his return, however, he played little 
part in the conflict of 1341 between King Edward and Chancellor John Stratford. In 
May that year he was appointed to a committee to hear the king's charges against 
Stratford, but little came from this.[30] In 1342–43 he fought with Robert of Artois in 
the Breton War of Succession, and in 1343 helped negotiate the Truce of Malestroit.
[5] It was probably sometime after this he made good his claim on the Isle of Man, by 
conquering the island which was until then held by the Scots.[5]

His final international commission took place late in 1343, when he accompanied 
Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Derby, on a diplomatic mission to Castile.[5] Early in 1344 
he was back in England, where he took part in a great tournament at Windsor. It was 
during this tournament, according to the chronicler Adam Murimuth, that he received 
wounds that would prove fatal.[5] Salisbury died on 30 January 1344. He was buried 
at Bisham Priory in Berkshire, adjoining his home, Bisham Manor. He had founded the 
priory himself in 1337, on his elevation to the earldom.[31] King Edward's financial 
obligations were never paid in full during the earl's lifetime, and at Salisbury' death the 
king owed him £11,720. Of this, some £6374 were written off by his executors in 1346.

Family[edit]

In or before 1327 Salisbury married Catherine, daughter of William de Grandison, 1st 
Baron Grandison. Two anecdotal stories revolve around Catherine Montagu; in one 
she is identified as the "Countess of Salisbury" from whose dropped garter Edward III 
named the Order of the Garter.[5] In the other, Edward III falls in love with the 
countess, and arranges to be alone with her so he can rape her. Neither story is 
supported by contemporary evidence, and the latter almost certainly is a product of 
French propaganda.[32]

William and Catherine had six children, most of whom made highly fortunate matches 
with other members of the nobility.[18] The first Earl of Salisbury made enormous 
additions to the family fortune; at the time of his father's death, the lands had been 
valued at just over £300. In 1344, only the annual income of the lands has been 
estimated to more than £2,300,[18] equivalent to about £1.83 million in present-day 
terms.[33] Edward was also free with granting franchises to Salisbury, including the 
return of writs, which gave the earl authority in his lands normally held by the royally 
appointed sheriff.[34] Salisbury's oldest son William succeeded his father in July 1349, 
while still a minor, as William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury.[35] The younger William 
was one of the founding members of the Order of the Garter, but he never enjoyed the 
same favour with the king as his father had.[9]

The children of William and Catherine were as follows:[36]
Name
Birth

Death

Notes

Elizabeth Montagu — 1359 Married Hugh le Despencer, 2nd Baron le Despencer before 
27 April 1341 
Married Guy de Brian, 4th Baron Brian, after 1349
 
William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury 1328 1397 Succeeded his father 11 June 
1349[37] 
John de Montacute, 1st Baron Montacute 1330 1390 Father of John Montacute, 3rd 
Earl of Salisbury 
Philippa Montagu 1332 1381 Married Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March 
Sibyl Montagu — — Married Edmund FitzAlan, the disinherited son of Richard FitzAlan, 
10th Earl of Arundel 
Agnes Montagu — — Was contracted to marry John, eldest son of Roger Grey, 1st Baron 
Grey de Ruthyn 
Alice Montagu — — Married Ralph Daubeney, son of Helias Daubeney, 1st Baron 
Daubeney 

In fiction[edit]

Salisbury is a character in Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings), a series of French 
historical novels by Maurice Druon. He was portrayed by Serge Maillat (fr) in the 1972 
French miniseries adaptation of the series.

Parents
DE MONTAGU (MONTACUTE) William (ABT 1285 - 18 Oct 1319)
DE MONTFORT Elizabeth (1275 - Aug 1345)

Siblings
DE MONTAGU (MONTACUTE) William (1301 - 30 Jan 1344)

Marriage To DE GRANDISON Katherine (ABT 1304 - 23 Nov 1349)
    m. BEF 1328 

Notes

Parents
DE GRANDISON William (1255 - 27 Jun 1335)
TREGOZ Sybil (1271 - 12 Oct 1334)

Children by DE GRANDISON Katherine ABT 1304 - 23 Nov 1349
DE MONTAGU (MONTACUTE) John (ABT 1330 - 25 Feb 1390)
DE MONTAGU Philippe (ABT 1332 - 5 Jan 1382)

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