Person Page - 1351

     Roger de Mortimer (died before 8 July 1214) was a medieval marcher lord, residing at Wigmore Castle in the English county of Herefordshire. He was the son of Hugh de Mortimer (d. 26 February 1181 and Matilda Le Meschin. He was born before 1153

Roger would appear to have been of age in 1174 when he fought for King Henry II against the rebellion of his son, Henry. In 1179 Roger was instrumental in the killing of Cadwallon ap Madog, the prince of Maelienydd and Elfael, both of which Mortimer coveted. He was imprisoned until June 1182 at Winchester for this killing.

He had married Isabel (d. before 29 April 1252), the daughter of Walchelin de Ferriers of Oakham Castle in Rutland before 1196. With Isabel, Roger had three sons and a daughter:

Hugh de Mortimer (d.1227)
Ralph de Mortimer (d.1246).
Philip Mortimer
Joan Mortimer (d.1225) - married May 1212 to Walter de Beauchamp[1]
He is often wrongly stated to have been the father of Robert Mortimer of Richards Castle (died 1219) - married Margary de Say[2], daughter of Hugh de Say. This Robert was born before 1155 and therefore could not have been a son of Roger.

In 1195 Roger, with the backing of troops sent by King Richard I invaded Maelienydd and rebuilt Cymaron Castle. In 1196 he joined forces with Hugh de Say of Richards Castle and fought and lost the battle of New Radnor against Rhys ap Gruffydd, allegedly losing some forty knights and an innumerable number of foot in the fight. By 1200 he had conquered Maelienydd and issued a new charter of rights to Cwmhir Abbey. In the summer of 1214 he became gravely ill and bought the right for his son to inherit his lands while he still lived from King John. He died before 8 July 1214.¹

     Walchelin de Ferrieres (or Walkelin de Ferrers) (died 1201) was a Norman baron and principal captain of Richard I of England.

The Ferriers family hailed from the southern marches of Normandy and had previously protected the duchy from the hostility of the counts of Maine and Anjou. With the union of the domains of Anjou and Normandy in 1144, and the investment of Geoffrey V Plantagenet as duke of Normandy, most of this land lost its strategic importance.

Walchelin was the son of Henry de Ferrieres, a nephew of Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby. Like his father, Walchelin held the castles of Ferrières-Saint-Hilaire and Chambray for the service of 5 knights. He had 42 and 3/4 in his service, enfeoffed in his lands. In England, Walchelin held the manors of Oakham in Rutland and Lechlade in Gloucestershire. He is known to have held this land since at least 1172.

During the Third Crusade, he and his son and heir, Henry, served in the force of Richard I of England. A John de Ferrieres, believed to be a nephew, was also present. Walchelin had stayed with the King in Sicily. It is apparent that Walchelin was close in the counsel of the king. He and his knights arrived at Saint-Jean d'Acre sometime in April or June of 1191. Some months previously, a distant relative, William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby had been killed at the siege.

After the conclusion of the siege, Richard of England and Hugh III of Burgundy marched their forces south to the city of Jaffa. Along the road, several skirmishes broke out between the marching crusaders and the Saracen army marching parallel under Saladin. On 7 September 1191, the great battle of Arsuf was fought. Richard had made Walchelin a commander of one of the elite bodies of knights according to the chronicle attributed to Geoffrey de Vinsauf.

Later, in 1194, Richard was imprisoned in Germany. Walchelin brought the treasure of Normandy to Speyer and gave himself as a hostage (along with many others) to the Western Emperor Henry VI. He was freed from captivity around 1197. His sons Henry and Hugh managed his estates during the years he spent in prison. Sometime prior to his death, the younger son, Hugh was granted lordship of the manor of Lechlade.

Walchelin died in 1201 and was succeeded by his son, Henry. Henry sided with John of England over King Philip II of France until December 1203 when John left Normandy, never to return. At this point, Henry did Philip homage for his Norman lands. Hugh had left England and the care of Lechlade and Oakham went to their sister, Isabella, who was married to Roger de Mortimer of Wigmore. After her death, the land was escheated to the crown as Terra Normanorum.¹

     Joan, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon, (c. 1191 – 2 February 1237) was the wife of Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales and Gwynedd and effective ruler of most of Wales.

Joan was a natural daughter of King John of England and Agatha de Ferrers. She should not be confused with her half-sister Joan, Queen Consort of Scotland.

Little is known about her early life. Her mother's name is known only from Joan's obituary in the Tewkesbury Annals, where she is called "Regina Clementina" (Queen Clemence). Joan seems to have spent part of her childhood in France, as King John had her brought to the Kingdom of England from Normandy in December 1203 in preparation for her wedding to prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth.

Joan married Llywelyn the Great between December 1203 and October 1204. She and Llywelyn had at least two children together:

Elen ferch Llywelyn (Helen or Ellen) (1207-1253), married (1) John the Scot, Earl of Chester and (2) Robert II de Quincy
Dafydd ap Llywelyn (c. 1215-1246) married Isabella de Braose, died at Garth Celyn, Aber Garth Celyn, (Aber).
Some of Llywelyn's other recorded children may also have been Joan's:

Gwladus Ddu (1206-1251), married (1) Reginald de Braose and (2) Ralph de Mortimer.
Susanna, who was sent to England as a hostage in 1228.
Margaret, who married Sir John de Braose, the grandson of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber and had issue.
In April 1226 Joan obtained a papal decree from Pope Honorius III, declaring her legitimate on the basis that her parents had not been married to others at the time of her birth, but without giving her a claim to the English throne.¹ In 1230 Adultery. At Easter 1230, William de Braose, 10th Baron Abergavenny, who was Llywelyn's prisoner at the time, was discovered with Joan in Llywelyn's bedchamber. William de Braose was hanged at Aber Garth Celyn on 2 May 1230; the place was known as 'Gwern y Grog' and the incident remembered down the generations by the local community. A recent suggestion that the execution might have taken place at Crogen near Bala rests on the suggestion that 'Crogen' and 'Crokein' are one and the same: there is however no further eveidence in the area to lend this substance.

Joan was placed under house arrest for twelve months after the incident. She was then, according to the Chronicle of Chester, forgiven by Llywelyn, and restored to favour. She may have given birth to a daughter early in 1231.

     Walter de Gray (died 1 May 1255) was an English prelate and statesman who rose to be Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor.

He was the son of John de Gray the Elder of Eaton in Norfolk and nephew of John de Gray (the Younger), Bishop of Norwich.[1] His sister, Hawise, married the Justiciar of England, Philip Basset.[citation needed] He was educated at the University of Oxford, where he heard the lectures of Edmund of Abingdon.[2]

Walter owed his early and rapid preferment in church and state to the favor of King John, becoming the king's chancellor in 1205,[3] having paid John 5000 marks for the office.[2] He was chosen bishop of Lichfield in 1210.[4] He was, however, not allowed to keep this bishopric, but he became bishop of Worcester on 20 January 1214,[5] resigning his office as chancellor in October of 1214.[3] His consecration as bishop of Worcester took place on 5 October 1214.[5] Gray was with John when the king signed the Magna Carta in June of 1215; soon after this event he left England on the king's business, and it was during his absence that he was forced into the archbishopric of York, owing his election on 10 November 1215[6] to the good offices of John and of Pope Innocent III. John had wanted Walter, but, the canons of York felt that Walter was uneducated, and selected Simon Langton, brother of Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury instead. John objected, and wrote to Pope Innocent III complaining of the election of the brother of one of his staunchest enemies, and Innocent agreed.[7] However, Walter in the end paid more than £10,000 to the pope in various fees to get his election confirmed.[8] Walter attended the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.[9]

He took a leading part in public affairs during the minority of Henry III, and was regarded with much favour by this king, who employed him on important errands to foreign potentates, and left him as guardian of England when he went to France in 1242.[2] In 1252, Walter hosted King Henry and King Alexander III of Scotland for the Christmas feasts at York, which event cost the archbishop £2500.[10] Afterwards the archbishop seems to have been less favorably disposed towards Henry, and for a time he absented himself from public business. Gray was always anxious to assert his archiepiscopal authority over Scotland, and to maintain it against the archbishop of Canterbury, but in neither case was he very successful. He built the south transept of York Minster and bought for his see the village, afterwards called Bishopthorpe, which is still the residence of the archbishop of York.[2] He was also generous to the church at Ripon.[11]

He held a series of councils in his diocese from 1241 to 1255 which endeavored to enforce clerical celibacy, keep benefices from being inherited, and improve the education and morals of the clergy. He gave generously to his cathedral and other churches, as well as working to endown vicarages. He visited many of the monasteries of his diocese and helped those that were in financial difficulties. He also oversaw the translation of Saint Wilfrid's remains to a new shrine at Ripon.[2]

in 1255, he visited London to attend a meeting of parliament, and died at Fulham on the 1 May 1255.[5][1] He was buried on 15 May 1255 at York Minster.[2]

His three nephews were William Langton (or Rotherfield) who was Dean of York and was elected archbishop of York but never consecrated, and Walter le Breton and Walter de Grey, who were canons of York.[1]¹