General Notes

Name Prefix:<NPFX> Earl of Pembroke

Many modern family names can be spotted drifting in and ou
t of the spotlight of British history across time if one lo
oks closely enough. One such family name, through a combina
tion of intrigue and diplomacy, rose to become the wealthie
st family in thirteenth century England, and later member
s of the dynasty were to influence the country's future b
y marrying into the Plantagenet royal family.
The family in question is that of the de Clares, now rememb
ered through the surname Clare and it's derivatives. Origin
ally a Norman family, they took their name from Clare in Su
ffolk where their first castle, and the seat of their baron
y, was situated. By the thirteenth century, the family hel
d vast estates in Wales, Ireland, and twenty two English co
unties - so there was little chance of the surname becomin
g isolated to just one area.
The first recorded member of the de Clare dynasty was Godfr
ey, Count of Eu. Godfrey was an illegitimate son of Richar
d of Normandy, and his son Gilbert was assassinated in 104
0 - although as you will see, Gilbert was to become a confu
singly common name for sons of the de Clare dynasty. It ha
s been suggested that the de Clares were distant relative
s of William I of England, as William himself was the illeg
itimate son of another Duke of Normandy.
Distantly related to William or not, Gilbert's sons accompa
nied William in his invasion of England in the late elevent
h century. They were suitably rewarded for their suppor
t - Baldwin de Clare became Sheriff of Devonshire, and hi
s brother Richard de Clare was given control of 170 estate
s in Suffolk (95 of which were attached to Clare Castle. Al
though Baldwin did not marry, Richard's marriage to Rohai
s Giffard produced three sons (Richard, Roger and Gilbert
) and two daughters (Rohais and one unknown). Richard and R
ohais de Clare also set about building a priory at St Neot
s (now in Cambridgeshire), which was finished around 1100
; Richard never saw the dedication service however, as he d
ied around 1090.
Richard and Rohais' children managed to involve themselve
s in a great deal of the intrigue referred to in the introd
uction - Roger and Gilbert were present at the murder of Wi
lliam II in 1100, and the unknown daughter was married to W
alter Tyrol, who was William's murderer. Gilbert had also b
een involved in rebellion in 1088 and 1095, so it would see
m that the de Clare family were keen to establish a leadin
g role in British politics from an early stage. The third o
f Richard's sons, named Richard after his father, seemed mo
re content with his lot, as he is not believed to have bee
n involved in any such high level intrigue as his siblings
; saying this however, his son Gilbert kept up family tradi
tion through being one of the twenty five barons involved i
n the administration of the Magna Carta in 1215. The younge
r Richard also married Amicia, daughter of the Earl of Glou
cester, inheriting the title and passing it down through a
n unknown son after his death in 1217.
Five sons and one daughter were born to the Gilbert de Clar
e present at William IIs death; his son Gilbert became th
e powerful Earl of Pembroke, holding and expanding lands i
n Wales and Ireland; Pembroke's son Richard earned the batt
le name "Strongbow", presumably for carrying on his familie
s traditional prowess in battle. One of the other five chil
dren of the Gilbert present at William IIs death was Richar
d de Clare, who died giving battle to the Welsh in 1136 - b
ut his son Gilbert strengthened the family's hold on the Ma
rcher lands of the Welsh border by becoming Earl of Herefor
d.
Pembroke's son Richard first earned his reputation as a war
rior by taking a force of warriors to Ireland, where he sto
rmed the Norse-Irish city of Dublin; his progress in conque
st was so successful that Henry I feared that Richard had g
rown too powerful and orde