General Notes

Name Suffix:<NSFX> Earl Of Devon
1321
16 March: Humphrey de Bohun, eighth Earl of Hereford & Esse
x, killed at Burrough Bridge. His wife Elizabeth was daught
er of Edward I. His daughter, Margaret, who was married t
o the second Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, was probably re
sponsible for the memorial to Humphrey, depicting him a
s a Crusader, erected in Exeter Cathedral.
1335
In 1335 Hugh de Courteney was given the title Earl of Devon
, of which he had long despaired.'
1337
27 September, The Tower of London: Richard de Branscombe re
presents Thomas de Courteney at Chancery.
In 1337, the king rewarded his associates in the revolutio
n by which he had seized power from Isabella and Mortimer
. The four leading members of his household were all give
n earldoms: William de Montague became Earl of Salisbury; R
obert Ufford, Earl of Suffolk; William Clinton, Earl of Hun
tingdon; William Bohun, Earl of Northampton.
William Bohun: A younger son with few lands. But marriage t
o Elizabeth de Badlesmere brought him riches; not only wa
s she an heiress in her own right, she had also acquired es
tates through her first marriage, to Edmund Mortimer.' (cf
: 1347)
1338
Bishop Grandisson complains of the behaviour of Hugh de Cou
rteney since his elevation to the earldom of Devon. He say
s the new earl was the telling the ignorant Devon folk tha
t he was equal to the king, that he could make laws and jud
ge all matters, and that in his person lay the wisdom of th
e realm.
1342
13 February, Langley: Commission of Oyer and Terminer to Hu
gh de Courteney, Earl of Devon, and others, to investigat
e a claim by Hugh de Audele, Earl of Gloucester, that Richa
rd de Branscombe and son Adam were among a long list of peo
ple who had re-taken by force cattle impounded at Lydford
, Devon, for straying on the earl's land. Also at Bradenach
. (Bradninch)
1343
24 August, Westminster: Richard de Branscombe appointed att
orney for Hugh de Courteney (Courteneye), Earl of Devon, ..
.
going on pilgrimage beyond the seas with the king's protect
ion and safe conduct.'
1345
20 January: Licence to Hugh de Courteney (Courteneye), Ear
l of Devon, to enfeoff William de Chebesey and Richard de B
ranscombe of the manor of Broadwindsor , and the hundred o
f the same manor, held in chief, and for them to re-grant t
he same to him, Margaret his wife, and his heirs. By fine o
f 5 marks. (Issued in Devon).
1346
7 January, The Tower: Commission to Richard de Branscombe
, Hugh de Courteney, John de Chiveston, and Geoffrey Gilber
t, to investigate malefactors and disturbances of the peac
e in Dartmouth. Thieves are said to have
broke by force and arms a two-deck cog, part-owned by Joh
n Joly of Majorca, called St.John the Evangelist'. The co
g was
laden with divers goods to the value of 500 pounds.' Joly i
s claiming damages of 1000 pounds.
8 August, Windsor: Commission of Oyer and Terminer to Richa
rd de Branscombe and others, to investigate alleged poachin
g on lands owned by the Earl of Devon, Hugh de Courteney, a
t Norton, Dartmouth.
1347
7 August, Reading: Richard de Branscombe excused from wool-
collector duties, as he is attendant on the affairs of Will
iam de Bohun, Earl of Northampton, at that earl's request.
(Bohun is engaged in war with France) [cf: 1337]
Waldene, Hereford, was a Bohun family centre.'
1359
6 October, Sandwich: Licence for Hugh de Courteney, Earl o
f Devon, to enfeoff Richard de Branscombe and another, of t
he manor of Broadwindsor (Brodewyndsore), and the hundred a
nd manor of Morton held of the king in chief. (Thomas de Co
urteney - heir.) [cf: Mortesthorne, 1288 & Branscombe of Mo
rtham - 1620.
Broadwindsor is in Dorset, on the B3164, near Bettiscombe]
1360
William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton, dies.
1362
Hugh Courteney, Earl of Devon, together with Richard de Bra
nscombe, "high sheriff", Henry de la Pomeroy, etc., with th
e consent of the county, and by the kin