John de Briouse - Greybeard's Ghosts

Commentary

Cawley: "A charter of John King of England relating to Briouse properties, dated 1212, recites the history of the king’s turbulent relationship with the family and includes a record that “consanguineus de Galweya...Dunecanus de Karyc” had “apud Cracfergus” at some point (presumably in [1209/10]) captured “Matildis de Haya...et filiam suam uxorem filii Rogeri de Mortimer et...Willelmum juniorem et uxorem suam et duos filios suos”. Matthew Paris records that "uxorem Willelmi de Brause et Willelmum filium eius cum uxore sua" were captured in 1210 at the siege of Meath, but escaped, were captured again “in insula de May”, and imprisoned at Windsor, in a later passage recording that all four died “apud Windleshores”. This report appears to be inaccurate concerning the death of the younger William’s wife, in light of the sources quoted below in which she is named later. [Henry III King of England granted letters of conduct to "Matillis de Breusa" dated 13 Aug 1217, but the extract neither states the purpose or destination of the journey nor gives any further information to identify Matilda more precisely.] “Matilda de Clere who was the wife of Wm de Breus” demanded “a third part of the manors of Sheiham, Braeck, Beding [and others]” from “Reginald de Breus” in 1219. Elwes quotes this claim as part of the same action under which “John de Breus” demanded “the castle of Brembre” from “Reginald de Breus”. This latter claim is summarised by Bracton, who does not include any reference to a claim by Matilda. Two possible parentages of Matilda, wife of William [IV], have been proposed. The first possibility, according to Elwes, is that William’s wife was “the daughter of Ralph and sister and coheir of John de Fay”, adding that “after her first husband Wm de Braose’s death in 1210, [she] married Roger de Clere”. He cites no primary source on which he bases this information. Drake, in a short Braose pedigree, expands the information slightly when he records the wife of William [IV] as “Matilda dau. of Ralph de Fay, sister and heiress of John de Fay of Bromley, co. Surrey, d. 1249” but also cites no primary source. The connection between the Fay and Clere families can be established by two claims recorded by Bracton. Under the first, dated 1231, "Hugo de Neouilla et Beatricia uxor eius" claimed against "Rogerum de Clere et Matillidem uxorem eius" revenue from "Childerst" which Beatrix held "per Radulfum de Fay primum virum suum", the defendants stating “ad warantum Johannem de Fay filium et heredum predicti Radulfi de Fay qui presens est” that they had “ingressum in terram...per predictum Radulfum patrem suum”. The second, dated 1232, is a claim by "Hugo de Neouilla et Beatricia uxor eius" against "Johannem de Fay filium et heredem Radulfi de Fay" relating to land "in Brumlegha in com. Surreie" in which "Rogerus de Clere et Matillis uxor eius" had “ingressum...per Radulfum de Fay quondam virum ipsius Beatricie”. Bracton’s summaries do not state any relationship between Ralph de Fay and Matilda nor, more importantly, do they establish any connection with the Briouse family. The second possibility is that William [IV] married Matilda de Clare, daughter of Richard de Clare Earl of Hertford & his wife Amice of Gloucester ([1185/90]-). This marriage is stated in many secondary sources, but the primary source which confirms this parentage and marriage of William’s wife has not yet been identified. If her parentage is correct, she was presumably the earl of Hertford’s daughter who married secondly (1219) Rhys ap Rhys "Gryg/the Hoarse". The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales records that "Rhys the Hoarse married the daughter of the earl of Clare" in 1219. This second possibility appears more plausible, given the generally high-profile marriages contracted by the Briouse family at the time. In addition, a writ dated 27 Dec "46 Hen III", after the death of "Richard Lungespeye" refers to the manor of "Brumleghe" in Surrey being held by “John de Fay...after whose death it was parted between his two sisters Maud and Philippa, and from the said Maud issued a daughter Agatha...”. The absence in this passage of any mention of the Briouse family, who would have been the senior heirs of “Maud” if she had married William [IV] de Briouse, suggests that she could not have been his wife."

Family

Claim	Detail	Evidence
Father	William de Briouse IV (e1176-1210) [S3168]	research
Mother	Matilda (e1177-) [S3168]	research
Spouse	Margaret of Wales (e1206-)
Child +	William de Breuse Lord Brewose (e1222-1290) [S3168]	research

Attributes

Claim	Detail	Evidence
Gender	Male
Name	John de Briouse [S3168]	research
Father	William de Briouse IV (e1176-1210) [S3168]	research
Mother	Matilda (e1177-) [S3168]	research

Timeline

Claim	Date	Detail	Evidence
Birth	1197 - 1201	England [S3168]	research
Marriage	1219	Margaret of Wales (e1206-) [S3168]	research
Death	1232	[S3168]	research

Sources

Index	Title
[S3168]	Cawley, Charles, "Foundation of Medieval Genealogy (Medieval Lands - English Lords, A-C)" (v4.14 Updated 06 June 2024) (https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISHNOBILITYMEDIEVAL3.htm).

Kinship Lines for John de Briouse

Spouse/Partner	Degree	Relationship	MRCA
Margaret of Wales (e1206-)	14	5th Cousin 2x removed	Angharad verch Maredudd (e969-)
Margaret of Wales (e1206-)	21	9th Cousin 1x removed	Anarawd ap Rhodri Mawr, King of Gwynedd (e852-916)

Note

van de Pas: "John de Braose was the Welsh Marches lord of Bramber and Gower. He was born in 1198, the eldest son of William de Braose (himself son of William de Braose, fourth lord of Bramber) and Matilda de Clare, the daughter of Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford.

John was nicknamed 'Tadody' ('fatherless' in Welsh) after his father was starved to death in 1210 on the orders of King John of England. At first he was hidden in Gower, but finally in 1214 his guardian surrendered John and his younger brother Philip. In June 1215 John was present for the signing of the Magna Carta. He was released from custody in 1218, having spent some time with his uncle Giles, Bishop of Hertford.

Much of his adult life was spent in disputes with relatives over his inheritance. In 1219 he married Margred, the daughter of Llywelyn Fawr, prince of Wales, and received Gower as her dowry. In 1226 his uncle Reginald de Braose sold him Bramber, and he inherited still more when this uncle died a few years later. He and Margred had three sons, including his heir, William.

Before 18 July 1232 at Bramber, he died by a fall from his horse, his foot caught in the stirrup. In October 1232, his widow married Walter de Clifford, Lord of Corfham."