General Notes

Also Known As:<_AKA> Humphry /de Bohun/ V Constable of England
[Pullen010502.FTW]

Excerpted from Les Seigneurs de Bohon by Jean LeMelletier, Coutances:
Arnaud-Bellee, 1978:  Humphrey V, second earl of Hereford, first earl of Essex, and constable of England, was also called the good earl of Hereford. He was a contemporary of Henry III and died 24 September 1274/5. Born before 1208, Humphrey married twice. His first wife was Maud (Mathilda), daughter of Ralph
of Lusignan, count d'Eu (who died 1219). His second wife was Maud (Mathilda) of Avebury, daughter and heiress of Roger of Tosny (who died 1264). Humphrey succeeded his father on 1 June 1220, then came into possession of his lands and was confirmed earl of Hereford. After the death of his maternal uncle, William of Mandeville, he inherited the title of earl of Essex (28 April 1228). In 1227 Humphrey V helped solve a quarrel between Henry III and his brother, Richard, earl of Cornwall (whom Humphrey supported). He declared his intentions to postpone the judgment of the king's court and royal lords. The king refused and ordered him to submit or give up his titles. With other important barons Humphrey took the side of Richard. The conspirators raised an army, and at Stamford (Lincoln) they demanded the reinstatement of the earl's duties, an apology, and the confirmation of the liberties guaranteed by the document. The king conceded. Humphrey was reinstated as marshall of the king's house. He served at the marriage of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence (1236), and was one of nine godfathers at the christening of the future Edward
I (1239). In 1242 Henry III led an expedition to reconquer Poitou, which was occupied by Louis VIII of France. Humphrey accompanied him in Gascogny, but became irritated by the influence of the strangers/counselors under the king. He returned to England with the duke of Cornwall. The expedition later ended as a loss. Two years later with the earl of Clare, Humphrey took part in the suppression of a Welsh revolt.  After an initial success, they were defeated, partly because the earl had been accused of embezzling part of the inheritance of his sister-in-law, Isabelle (wife of David who was son of Llewelyn). In 1246 Humphrey joined in a letter to Pope Innocent IV denouncing the oppression exercised over England by the court of Rome. In 1248 Humphrey was presented to Parliament. In 1250 he took the cross and went to the Holy Land.
In the meantime the queen was lavishing favors on the French in her entourage and the king increased his spending, causing discontent among the barons. In 1253 Humphrey participated in a grand remonstrance made to the king at Westminster Hall with the "bell, book, and candle" for violations against the Magna Carta, a prelude to the revolt. The same year he founded the church of the Augustin Brothers on Broad Street in London. In 1254 he was in Gascogny with the king.  From 1256-1258 "Mr. Humphrey de Boun" participated in many battles with the Welsh. In 1259 he was one of the barons who worked to re-establish a truce between King Henry III and Llewelyn, Prince of Wales. But the following year there were again hostilities between the two. The king
summoned Richard of Clare and Humphrey de Bohon to the army with other lords, Humphrey de Boun Jr. and Frank de Boun. Humphrey was one of the councillors to draw up the Provisions of Oxford in 1258 which affirmed
the Magna Carta and reformed its misuse. He was one of the Council of Fifteen that advised the king. The next year he was commissioner to ratify a treaty between France and England. In 1260 Humphrey was a traveling judge for the counties of Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester. In 1262, he negotiated peace with Llewelyn of Wales.  Humphrey V's attitude toward the new conflicts between the king and the barons has been confused with that of his son. When the barons divided their confederation Humphrey sided with Simon de
Montfort. In 1263 he was one of the important baron