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Birth:          25 Jan 1223 of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England
Death:          10 Mar 1289 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_de_Lacy,_Countess_of_Hertford_and_Gloucester
Maud de Lacy, (25 January 1223 – 10 March 1289), was an English noblewoman, 
being the eldest child of John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, and the wife of Richard de 
Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford, 6th Earl of Gloucester.

Maud de Lacy had a personality that was described as "highly competitive and 
somewhat embittered".[1] She became known as one of the most litigious women in 
the 13th century[1] as she was involved in numerous litigations and lawsuits with her 
tenants, neighbours, and relatives, including her own son. Author Linda Elizabeth 
Mitchell, in her Portraits of Medieval Women: Family, Marriage, and Politics in England 
1225-1350', states that Maud's life has received "considerable attention by 
historians".[2]

Maud was styled Countess of Hertford and Countess of Gloucester upon her marriage 
to Richard de Clare. Although her mother, Margaret de Quincy, was suo jure Countess 
of Lincoln, this title never passed to Maud as her mother's heir was Henry de Lacy, 
the son of Maud's deceased younger brother Edmund de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract.[3]

Her eldest son was Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, a 
powerful noble during the reigns of kings Henry III of England and Edward I.
Family[edit]

Maud de Lacy was born on 25 January 1223 in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, the 
eldest child of John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, a Magna Carta Surety, and Margaret 
de Quincy, 2nd Countess of Lincoln suo jure.

Maud had a younger brother Edmund de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract who married in 
1247 Alasia of Saluzzo, by whom he had three children.

Her paternal grandparents were Roger de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract and Maud de 
Clere, and her maternal grandparents were Robert de Quincy and Hawise of Chester, 
1st Countess of Lincoln suo jure.[4]

Maud and her mother, Margaret, were never close; in point of fact, relations between 
the two women were described as strained.[3] Throughout Maud's marriage, the only 
interactions between Maud and her mother were quarrels regarding finances, 
pertaining to the substantial Marshal family property Margaret owned and controlled 
due to the latter's second marriage on 6 January 1242 to Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of 
Pembroke almost two years after the death of Maud's father, John de Lacy in 1240.[5] 
Despite their poor rapport with one another, Maud was, nevertheless, strongly 
influenced by her mother.[2]

The fact that her mother preferred her grandson, Henry over Maud did not help their 
relationship; Henry, who was also her mother's ward, was made her heir, and he later 
succeeded to the earldom of Lincoln.[3]

Marriage to the Earl of Gloucester[edit]

On 25 January 1238 which was her fifteenth birthday, Maud married Richard de Clare, 
5th Earl of Hertford, and 6th Earl of Gloucester, son of Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of 
Hertford, 5th Earl of Gloucester, and Isabel Marshal. Maud was his second wife; his 
first marriage, which was made clandestinely, to Megotta de Burgh, ended in an 
annulment.[6] Even before the annulment of the Earl's marriage to Megotta, Maud's 
parents paid King Henry III the enormous sum of 5,000 pounds to obtain[7] his 
agreement to the marriage. The King supplied her dowry which consisted of the castle 
of Usk, the manor of Clere, as well as other lands and manors.[7]

Throughout her marriage, Maud's position as the wife of the most politically significant 
nobleman of the 13th century was diminished by her mother's control of a third of the 
Marshal inheritance and her rank as Countess of Lincoln and dowager countess of 
Pembroke.[8]

Richard being the heir to one-fifth of the Pembroke earldom was also the guarantor of 
his mother-in-law's dowry.[5]

In about 1249/50, Maud ostensibly agreed to the transfer of the manor of Naseby in 
Northamptonshire, which had formed the greatest part of her maritagium [marriage 
portion], to her husband's young niece Isabella and her husband, William de Forz, 4th 
Earl of Albemarle as part of Isabella's own maritagium.[7] Years later, after the deaths 
of both women's husbands, Maud sued Isabella for the property, claiming that it had 
been transferred against her will. Isabella, however, was able to produce the 
chirograph that showed Maud's participation in the writing of the document; this 
according to the Common Law signified Maud's agreement to the transaction, and 
Maud herself was "amerced for litigating a false claim".[7]

Issue[edit]

Together Richard and Maud had seven children:[9]
Isabel de Clare (1240 – before 1271), married as his second wife, William VII of 
Montferrat, by whom she had one daughter, Margherita. She was allegedly killed by 
her husband.[9]
Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester (2 September 1243 – 7 
December 1295), married firstly Alice de Lusignan of Angouleme by whom he had two 
daughters; he married secondly Joan of Acre, by whom he had issue.
Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond (1245 – 29 August 1287), married Juliana 
FitzGerald, daughter of Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly and Maud de 
Prendergast, by whom he had issue including Richard de Clare, 1st Lord Clare and 
Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere.
Bovo de Clare, Chancellor of Llandaff (21 July 1248 – 1294)
Margaret de Clare (1250 – 1312/1313), married Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall. Their 
marriage was childless.
Rohese de Clare (17 October 1252 – after 1316), married Roger de Mowbray, 1st 
Baron Mowbray, by whom she had issue.
Eglantine de Clare (1257 – 1257)


 


Tewkesbury Abbey, where Maud designed and commissioned a splendid tomb for her 
husband Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester
Widowhood[edit]

On 15 July 1262, her husband died near Canterbury. Maud designed and 
commissioned a magnificent tomb for him at Tewkesbury Abbey where he was buried. 
She also donated the manor of Sydinghowe to the "Priory of Leigh" (i.e. Canonsleigh 
Abbey, Devon, for the soul of Richard, formerly her husband, Earl of Gloucester and 
Hertford by charter dated to 1280.[9] Their eldest son Gilbert succeeded Richard as 
the 6th Earl of Hertford and 7th Earl of Gloucester. Although Maud carefully arranged 
the marriages of her daughters, the King owned her sons' marriage rights.[1]

She was involved in numerous lawsuits and litigations with her tenants, neighbours, 
and relatives, including her eldest son Gilbert, who sued her for admeasurement of her 
dowry.[7] In her 27 years of widowhood, Maud brought 33 suits into the central courts; 
and she herself was sued a total of 44 times.[1] As a result, she was known as one of 
the most litigious women in the 13th century.[1] She endowed many religious houses, 
including the Benedictine Stoke-by-Clare Priory, Suffolk (re-established in 1124 by 
Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford having been moved from Clare Castle) and 
Canonsleigh Abbey, Devon, which she re-founded as a nunnery.[10] She also 
vigorously promoted the clerical career of her son, Bovo, and did much to encourage 
his ambitions and acquisitiveness. She was largely responsible for many of the 
benefices that were bestowed on him, which made him the richest churchman of the 
period.[11] Although not an heiress, Maud herself was most likely the wealthiest widow 
in 13th century England.[1]

Maud died sometime between 1287 and 10 March 1288/9.[12]

Parents
DE LACY John (ABT 1192 - 22 Jul 1240)
DE QUINCY Margaret (ABT 1206 - Mar 1266)

Siblings
DE LACY Maud (25 Jan 1223 - 10 Mar 1289)

Marriage To DE CLARE Richard (4 Aug 1222 - 14 Jul 1262)
    m. 2 Feb 1238 

Notes

Parents
DE CLARE Gilbert (1182 - 25 Oct 1230)
MARSHALL Isabel (9 Oct 1200 - 17 Jan 1240)

Children by DE CLARE Richard 4 Aug 1222 - 14 Jul 1262
DE CLARE Gilbert "the Red Earl" (2 Sep 1243 - 7 Dec 1295)
DE CLARE Thomas (ABT 1245 - Feb 1288)
DE CLARE Roese (Rohesia) (17 Oct 1252 - AFT 1316)

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