Biography of Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex 1249-1298

Paternal Family Tree: Bohun

Maternal Family Tree: Aoife ni Diarmait Macmurrough Countess Pembroke and Buckingham 1145-1188

Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex was appointed Constable of England.

After 12th August 1241 [his father] Humphrey Bohun [aged 20] and [his mother] Eleanor de Braose [aged 13] were married at Brecon [Map]. She the daughter of [his grandfather] William de Braose 9th Baron Abergavenny 7th Baron Bramber and [his grandmother] Eva Marshal [aged 38]. He the son of Humphrey Bohun 2nd Earl Hereford 1st Earl Essex [aged 37] and Matilda Lusignan Countess Hereford and Essex [aged 31]. They were fourth cousins.

Around 1249 Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex was born to [his father] Humphrey Bohun [aged 28] and [his mother] Eleanor de Braose [aged 21].

In 1251 [his mother] Eleanor de Braose [aged 23] died. She was buried in Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucestershire [Map].

On 27th October 1265 [his father] Humphrey Bohun [aged 44] died at Beeston Castle, Cheshire [Map].

On 26th June 1269 [his brother-in-law] Robert Ferrers 6th Earl of Derby [aged 30] and [his sister] Eleanor Bohun Countess Derby [aged 26] were married. She by marriage Countess Derby. He the son of William Ferrers 5th Earl of Derby and Margaret Quincy Countess Derby. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

In 1275 Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex [aged 26] and Maud Fiennes Countess Essex and Hereford [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Countess Essex, Countess Hereford. They were half third cousin three times removed.

On 24th September 1275 [his grandfather] Humphrey Bohun 2nd Earl Hereford 1st Earl Essex [aged 71] died at Kenilworth Castle [Map]. He was buried at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucestershire [Map]. His grandson Humphrey [aged 26] succeeded 3rd Earl Hereford, 2nd Earl Essex.

In 1276 [his son] Humphrey Bohun 4th Earl Hereford 3rd Earl Essex was born to Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex [aged 27] and [his wife] Maud Fiennes Countess Essex and Hereford [aged 22] at Pleshey Castle [Map]. He married 14th November 1302 his third cousin Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess Essex, Hereford and Holland, daughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England, and had issue.

Morlais Castle [Map] was commissioned by Gilbert "Red Earl" Clare 7th Earl Gloucester 6th Earl Hertford [aged 46] on land claimed by Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex [aged 41]. War broke out between the Earls in 1290 and they were severely admonished and fined by King Edward I of England. The castle is believed to have never been fully completed.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. On the feast of Saint Matthias the Apostle [24th February 1297] of that same year, the king held his parliament at Salisbury, having summoned the nobles of the realm, but excluding the clergy. There, the king requested that certain of the magnates cross over to Gascony. But each of them began to excuse himself. The king, growing indignant, threatened some of them, either that they should go, or that he would give their lands to others who were willing to go in their place. At these words, many were scandalized, and a schism began to arise among them. The Earl of Hereford [aged 48] and the Earl Marshal [aged 52] likewise excused themselves, saying that they would gladly fulfil their hereditary offices by going with the king himself. When the Earl Marshal was urged again to go, he replied: "Willingly, O king, I will go with you, preceding your face in the vanguard, as pertains to me by hereditary right." To which the king answered, "You shall go even without me, along with others." But the earl said, "I am not bound, nor is it my will, O king, to undertake the journey without you." Then the king, enraged, burst out with these words, it is said: "By God, earl, you shall either go or hang." And he replied, "By the same oath, O king, I shall neither go nor hang." Without taking leave, he departed, and the council was thereby dissolved for the time being. At once, these two earls, Hereford and Marshal, gathered many magnates to their cause, along with more than thirty selected bannerets, forming a large opposition force. They were reckoned to have 1,500 mounted and fully equipped men ready for war. The king began to fear them, though he concealed it outwardly. The earls, returning to their own lands, refused to allow the king's officials to take wool, hides, or anything extraordinary, nor to levy any demands against the will of the people. Indeed, they forbade the king's agents to enter their lands under pain of death or dismemberment, and they prepared themselves for resistance.

In festo sancti Mathiæ apostoli ejusdem anni, convocatis optimatibus regni absque clero, tenuit rex parliamentum suum apud Salesbire, ubi parliament rogavit quosdam magnatum ut in Vasconiam transfretarent, et cœperunt singuli se excusare. Indignatusque rex, comminabatur quibusdam eorum vel quod irent vel quod terras eorum daret aliis qui ire vellent. Et in hoc verbo scandalizati sunt multi, et schisma cœpit oriri inter eos. Comes etiam Herefordensis et comes marescallus excusaverunt se, dicentes quod officia sua quæ sibi jure hæreditario competebant facerent libenter, eundo cum ipso rege. Iterataque prece rogatus est comes marescallus, ut iret. Et ait, "Libenter tecum vadam, O rex, præcedendo faciem tuam in acie prima, sicut mihi competit hæreditario jure." Et rex, "Etiam sine me ibis cum aliis." At ille, "Non teneor, nec est meæ voluntatis, O rex, sine te iter arripere." Et iratus rex prorupit in hæc verba, ut dicitur, "Per Deum, comes, aut ibis aut pendebis." Et ille, "Per idem juramentum, O rex, nec ibo nec pendebo." Et, licentia non accepta, recessit, dissolutumque est consilium quoad diem hanc. Confestim vero duo comites isti Herefordensis et marescallus, associatis sibi multis magnatibus et plusquam raise an triginta banerettis electis, creverunt in populum opposition to multum, numeratique sunt in equis armatis mille quingenti viri expediti ad bellum; et cœpit eos timere rex, dissimulavit tamen. Illi autem profecti in terras suas noluerunt permittere ministros regis nec lanas, nec coria, nec extraordinarium quicquam capere, aut aliquid exigere ab invitis; quinimmo interdixerunt eis ingressum in terras suas sub pœna capitis et membrorum, et se ad resistendum præparabant.

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22nd July 1298 Battle of Falkirk

                    On 22nd July 1298 King Edward I of England [aged 59] defeated the Scottish army led by William Wallace during the 22nd July 1298 Battle of Falkirk at Falkirk [Map] using archers to firstly attack the Scottish shiltrons with the heavy cavalry with infantry completing the defeat.
                
                    John de Graham [aged 31] and John Stewart of Bonkyll [aged 52] were killed.
                
                    The English were described in the Falkirk Roll that lists 111 men with their armorials including:
                
                    Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick [aged 26].
                
                    Walter Beauchamp [aged 55].
                
                    Roger Bigod 5th Earl Norfolk [aged 53].
                
                    Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex [aged 49].
                
                    Robert Clifford 1st Baron Clifford [aged 24].
                
                    Hugh "Elder" Despencer 1st Earl Winchester [aged 37].
                
                    William Ferrers 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby [aged 26].
                
                    Thomas Berkeley 6th and 1st Baron Berkeley [aged 52].
                
                    Maurice Berkeley 7th and 2nd Baron Berkeley [aged 27].
                
                    Henry Grey 1st Baron Grey of Codnor [aged 43].
                
                    Reginald Grey 1st Baron Grey of Wilton [aged 58].
                
                    John Grey 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton [aged 30].
                
                    John Mohun 1st Baron Dunster [aged 29].
                
                    Simon Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 48].
                
                    William Ros 1st Baron Ros Helmsley [aged 43].
                
                    John Segrave 2nd Baron Segrave [aged 42].
                
                    Nicholas Segrave [aged 42].
                
                    Robert de Vere 6th Earl of Oxford [aged 41].
                
                    Alan Zouche 1st Baron Zouche Ashby [aged 30].
                
                    Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln [aged 20].
                
                    Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster [aged 17].
                
                    John Warenne 6th Earl of Surrey [aged 67].
                
                    Henry Percy 9th and 1st Baron Percy [aged 25].
                
                    Hugh Courtenay 1st or 9th Earl Devon [aged 21].
                
                    Richard Fitzalan 1st or 8th Earl of Arundel [aged 31].
                
                    Henry Beaumont Earl Buchan [aged 19].
                
                    John II Duke Brittany [aged 59].
                
                    Philip Darcy [aged 40].
                
                    Robert Fitzroger.
                
                    Robert Fitzwalter 1st Baron Fitzwalter [aged 51], or possiby a Roger Fitzwalter?.
                
                    Simon Fraser.
                
                    Aymer de Valence 2nd Earl Pembroke [aged 23].
                
                    John Wake 1st Baron Wake of Liddell [aged 30], and.
                
                    Henry Lacy 4th Earl Lincoln, Earl Salisbury [aged 47].
                
                    William Scrope [aged 53] was knighted.
                
                    John Moels 1st Baron Moels [aged 29] fought.
                
                    John Lovell 1st Baron Lovel [aged 44] fought.

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On 26th November 1298 [his wife] Maud Fiennes Countess Essex and Hereford [aged 44] died. She was buried at Waldon Priory and Abbey [Map].

The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy

The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

On 31st December 1298 Humphrey Bohun 3rd Earl Hereford 2nd Earl Essex [aged 49] died. He was buried at Waldon Priory and Abbey [Map]. His son Humphrey [aged 22] succeeded 4th Earl Hereford, 3rd Earl Essex.

Chronicle of William Rishanger. However, Rhys ap Maredudd, the most noble of the Welsh, upon hearing of David's capture, surrendered himself to the Earl of Hereford and was handed over to the King. He was sent to the Tower of London and imprisoned.

Resus autem Vazham, Wallensium nobilissimus, audita captione David, Comiti Herefordiæ se dedit Regique redditus, ad Turrim Londoniarum missus, carceri mancipatur.