General Notes

The earliest reference (12??) to a representative of the de Briennefamily in England is Guy de Brienne VI of
Brienne-le-Chateau, Champagne, France, styled Sir Guy de Bryen I ofEngland, who settled in South Wales on the Bay of Carmarthen. Accordingto the compilationof David C. McMurtry and Michael L. Kallan, Sir FrancisBryan et
Compagne[sic]: Avant et Apres Son Temps (Lexington, KY: Mil-MacPublishers, 1994) pp. 26- : "Guy de Brienne (IV), who may properly becalled in the English records of this family, Guy de Brien (I), wasprobably born in France in about 1200. He is known to have been acontemporary of Henry de Tracy (1202-1274). He was reared for a militarycareer, which was befitting to his status of being a "lackland knightadventurer," or a knight without inherited lands or title. He was thefirst of the de Brienne lineage to be identified by name in the recordsof England. The primary seat of residence of the early de Brien/Bryanfamily in the British Isles appears to have been in southern Walesaccording to Burke (1883). They are connected for 5 generations toPembrokeshire and Devonshire. "This family is especially associated withthat of Tor Brian, a place named for the Brienne (Brien) family.Torrebriene, as it is alternately called, is a geographic place name inDevon in southwest England. According to Abstracts of English Records(1929), "Torbryan" was a "parish, rural deanery o Moreton, archdeaconryof Totnes and diocese of Exeter." Also connected with this site is"Talacharn" or Talagharne Castle. "'How?' and 'Why?' Guy de Brienventured to and settled in England and Wales cannot be stated at thistime with any certainty. It is known that at about this time there wereother Norman baronial families that settled in this territory that wasoften hotly contested over by these newcomers, who fought with the Welshinhabitants. King William Rufus, son of William ‘the Conqueror,’ set inmotion during his reign (1087-1100) a 'System of Lord Marcher'sConquest.’ In this feudal system of government, the King consideredhimself the owner of all the land and gave authority to any ‘adventurerknight,' who had the 'enterprise' to seize any ‘obnoxious district' inthe King's name and possess it as a fiefdom of his own. As speculated,this willingness to resettle and claim the region by force of arms andwith the consent of the monarch was one way that landless younger sonscould retain their accustomed life style. The district surrounding themanor or castle of 'Talacharn' was probably acquired in just this manner"Nichols (1892) provides the following additional information: ‘A NormanLord Marcher of an inferior grade, De Brian by name, afterward took it[Talacham (Talagharn) Castle up as his stronghold, and seems to havebecome an established resident of the place.’ "This Guy de Brienne,Sometimes called ‘Guydo de Brian,’ was married in about 1221/2, toJohanne/Jane de la Pole, the daughter of William de la Pole. She isreferred to in certain Latin documents as ‘D'na Johanna de Pola,’ thedaughter of 'Dn's Willm's de Pola' as found in The Genealogist of 1920.The first mention of 'Guy de Brion’ [subsequent scribal miscopy forBrien?] – in the court records is found in 1248/9. As stated in TheCalendar of Charter Rolls (1247-1258), on '15 December, in the 32nd yearof Henry III,' a grant was made to:

'Guy de Brion [sic] and his heirs of a yearly fair of his manor ofTalacharn on the vigil the feast and the morrow of St. Michael.’
"This would mean that he was given permission by the crown to hold a fairand market that generally occurred from the 28th through the. 30th ofevery September, a lucrative venture that coincided with the Autumnharvest."
"Guy de Brienne/Brien is reported to have fought in the wars betweenEngland and France that occurred between 1244 and 1266, during the reignof.King Henry III. This is documented by a record in The Close Rolls(1256-1300), Volume 10, which states that in 1258/1259, ’during the 42ndyear of the reign of Henry III,' a mandate was issued to ‘Guidoni Briano’for service to the king. It is not clear at this time whether thismandate refers to this Guy or to his son. A nobleman, who had beenknighted, would be subject to service for the King.

"Sir Guy de Brian was referred to in the Calendar of the Charter Rolls(1257-1300), according to the pronunciation of the time, ‘Wydo de Brian'…From the Visitation of County Devon it is found that his arms were:
'Or three piles azure’…

"The exact dates of the birth, marriage, and death of Guy de Brien (I)are unknown at this time… "In the Visitation of County Devon mention isalso made of a 'Maud de Briane,’ who is noted to have served as theAbbess of Tarrant on 26 June, 1280. She is believed to have been adaughter of this Guy de Brien…

"Guy de Brienne (V), also known in records of the time as Guy de Brien(II), was probably bom about 1221, in southern Wales to Sir Guy deBrienne (I) and his wife, Jane de la Pole. This Guy de Brienne wassometimes styled as ‘Guy de Brian, baron of Talacharn’ (Talagharn) inWales…"

This historic data sets the stage for the entrance of the first Knight deBryan into Ireland. He would have been a cadet brother of Guy de BrienII, and possibly of the Abbess of Tarrant, Maud de Briane, the secondgeneration of the English line.