Maurice (Berkeley) de Berkeley was born in Gloucestershire, England.
Maurice de Berkeley, Knt., "2nd Lord Berkeley, of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, Wendon, Essex, etc., Warden of Gloucestershire, Captain of Berwick upon Tweed, Chief Justice of South Wales, Seneschal of Aquitaine",[1] called Maurice the Magnanimous.[2]
Maurice, son and heir of Thomas Berkeley and Joan de Ferrers,[2] was born between 1271 and 1281 (aged 40 and more in 1321, when his father died).[1]Complete Peerage states that his date of birth is likely closer to 1271 as he was the first son and his parents were married in 1267.[2]
Maurice de Berkeley married twice:
in 1289, to Eve la Zouche, daughter of Eudes la Zouche, Knt., by Millicent de Cantelowe. Eve died 5 December 1314.[1][2][3]
to Isabel de Clare,[2][4] divorced wife of Guy de Beauchamp, Knt., 10th Earl of Warwick, and elder daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Knt., by Alice le Brun, about 1316. Maurice and Isabel had no issue.[1]
Maurice and Eve had five sons and two daughters:[1]
Sons
Thomas, Knt., 3rd Lord Berkeley,[1] also known as Thomas the Rich[2][3]
On 13 December 1295 Maurice was granted for going abroad in the service of Edward I.[5] He went on to distinguish himself in the Scottish Wars between 1295 and 1318 and was at the siege of Caerlaverock in 1300.[1][2] At the Battle of Bannockburn, 24 June 1314, "only one sizeable group of men, all footsoldiers, made good their escape to England.... These were a force of Welsh spearmen who were kept together by their commander, Sir Maurice de Berkeley..."[6]
Maurice held several important posts: Warden of Gloucester 1312,[7] Captain of Berwick 1315, one of the commissioners to Scotland 1316, Chief Justiciar of South Wales 1316, and Seneschal of Aquitaine 1320.[2]
Maurice joined Thomas, Earl of Lancaster in the rebellion against King Edward II and the Despenser family. After he, Roger de Mortimer and others burnt the town of Bridgnorth, the King issued a writ to the Constable of Bristol ordering him to seize all of Berkeley lands. Berkeley was granted letters of safe conduct to go to the king to conference and was taken prisoner and placed at Wallingford Castle on 20 January 1321/2. In 1325 John de Goldingham, Knt., attempted to rescue him, but failed.[1]
Maurice de Berkeley died still a prisoner in Wallingford Castle on 31 May 1326. He was initially buried at Wallingford, but was later moved to the conventual church St. Augustine's at Bristol,[1][2] now known as Bristol Cathedral.[8] His widow, Isabel, died in 1333.[1]
Lords of Berkeley
Maurice was summoned to Parliament by writs directed "Mauricio de Berkeleye" whereby he may be held to have become Lord Berkeley at Gloucestershire, England, between 16 August 1308 and 15 May 1321.[2][9]
The succession of Lord Berkeleys: Maurice (d 1326) was succeeded by son Thomas (d 1361), who was succeeded by son Maurice (d 1368), who was succeeded by son Thomas (d 1417), who was succeeded by his brother James' son James (d 1463).[10]
His father is sometimes referred to as Thomas "the Wise", 1st Lord Berkeley; Maurice as "the Magnanimous", 2nd Lord Berkeley; and his son Thomas as "the Rich", 3rd Lord Berkeley.[10]
Research Notes
Birth Date and Place
Wikipedia says that Maurice de Berkeley was born in April 1271 at Berkeley Castle (unsourced). Complete Peerage does not state a birthplace and gives a date of birth as April 1281 [Qy 1271]? with a footnote stating that a 1271 birth is more likely than a 1281 DOB. Richardson gives "about 1271-1281", without stating a place.
Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England
While reliable sources do not state that Maurice was born at Berkeley Castle, it likely is his birth pIace.
The castle "has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the 12th century, except for a period of royal ownership by the Tudors. It is traditionally believed to have been the scene of the murder of King Edward II in 1327."[11]
Wife
The Harleian Society edition of the 1623 Visitation of Shropshire wrongly names Maurice's mother as Isabel rather than Joan.[3]
↑ 2.02.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.82.9 Cokayne, George Edward and Vicary Gibbs ed. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Vol. II: Bass - Canning, 2nd edition (London, 1912). Online at Archive.org, pages 128-129: BERKELEY.
↑ 3.03.13.23.33.43.5 George Grazebrook and John Paul Rylands (eds.). The Visitation of Shropshire taken in the Year 1623... with additions..., Part I, Harleian Society, 1889, pp. 30-32, Internet Archive
Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. Vol. I p. 330-332; Vol. I, pp 287-289, 327, 330-331; Vol. II, pp 86, 147, 199, 243. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry
See also:
Cokayne, George Edward and Vicary Gibbs ed. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Vol. V: Eardley of Spalding to Goojerat, 2nd edition. (London, 1926). Online at Archive.org, page 707, notes: on Isabel de Clare's origins.
Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists who Came to America Before 1700, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992).
Weis, Frederick Lewis, et al. Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1999).
Maurice (Berkeley) de Berkeley appears in unbadged trails (needing more work) to the following Gateways:
Deighton Gateways (Jane, Frances, and Katherine) (MCA II:34-40 DEIGHTON): trail has not yet been developed on WikiTree. See the trail HERE.
Washington Gateways (John and Lawrence) (MCA IV:293-295 WASHINGTON): needs development. See the trail HERE.
See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".
Just a general remark to think about long term. I see that we are using two succession boxes here, including one for a "mere" lordship albeit the caput of a feudal barony. Some men held hundreds of lordships. We are eventually going to need to draw a line somewhere. I think we will one day need a smaller and less invasive way of annotating such lesser inheritances (if we want to track them) because they are much more complex, and in most cases there is no point using them if we will only show them in simple cases like this. In this particular case the extra succession box is only repeating the same predecessors and heirs as there were for the parliamentary barony.
Thanks, Andrew and Liz. The official guidance on succession boxes says "On person profiles, they should only be used for successions with great genealogical or biographical significance, and where navigating from one profile to another in succession is a common need for users." I am removing them from this profile.
Thanks Michael. That clears it up for "mere" lordships, including feudal baronies, but I suppose it leaves a bit of doubt about peerages? (One of the boxes here was a peerage.) I have no strong position on that but we seem to have many ways of showing those, including use of the nickname field.
I would regard the nickname as enough, together with what is in the bio. The decision on the use of succession boxes is for the relevant Project to make - in this case, the Magna Carta Project. See https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Succession.
OK, but keep in mind that this particular family has a whole sequence of these boxes going back into the 12th century at the moment. If we delete some shouldn't we delete all?
In principle I agree, but you will find this sort of inconsistency in WikiTree for lots of succession boxes, where they are used for some people but not others. If succession boxes are removed, some rewriting of inadequate bios is often called for to make sure information is not lost, and possibly also some changes to the nickname field. Life is short, available WT time is not infinite for any of us, and I am afraid that tidying up this sort of thing is not a high priority for me.
Thanks, David. I have made the connections, though I got into a muddle between different generations of John and Edward/Edmund along the way. All birth dates are guesstimated.
BERKELEY MAURICE III Son and heir of Thomas II de Berkeley and Margaret de Ferrers
[CPR EI] 13 December 1295. Protection with clause volumus, until Easter, for Maurice de Berkelee and Thomas de Berkelee, in the company of William de Valencia, going beyond seas on the king's service.
[CPR EII] 20 July 1312. Appointment, during pleasure, of Maurice de Berkele to be keeper of the town of Gloucester, and to be a conservator of the peace for that town.
[CPR EII] 8 August 1312. Commission to Maurice de Berkele, keeper of the town of Gloucester, to view the walls and dykes of the town and to repair them. Writ of aid for him directed to the bailiffs, good men and commonalty of the town of Gloucester.
[CPR EII] 3 May 1313. Protection until 1 August, for Maurice de Berkele, going beyond seas on the king's service with Aymer de Valencia, earl of Pembroke.
[CPR EII] 24 July 1316. Protection, with clause volumus, for one year for Maurice de Berkele, justice of South Wales, staying in Wales on the king's service.
[CCR EII] 17 February 1317. Order to assign to Maurice de Berkele, in the presence of Master John Waleweyn, escheator this side Trent, custodies or marriages at a reasonable appraisement to the value of 600/, as he complains that they have done nothing in execution of the king's order to deliver to him that sum from the issues of custodies and marriages, or to cause assignments of custodies and marriages to that amount to be made to him, the king having granted to him that sum from the custodies and marriages coming to the king's hands from Michaelmas, in the ninth year of the reign, in addition to the 1,000 marks yearly that he received for the custody of the town of Berwick-on-Tweed.
[CPR EII] 2 August 1317. To Maurice de Berkele, justice of South Wales. Order to bring to the king under safe conduct Richard de Burgo, earl of Ulster, who is about to come from Ireland, and his train and all his things and equipments, or to cause him to be brought to the king by another sufficient person.
[CPR EII] 7 March 1320. Protection for one year, with the clause volumus for Maurice de Berkeley the elder, going to Gascony on the king's service with his sons Thomas and Maurice [with 6 others listed]. Maurice de Berkeley the elder, and his sons Thomas and Maurice, have letters nominating Thomas son of Thomas de Berkeley and Richard de Salle their attorneys for the same time.
[CCR EII] 6 March 1320. To W. archbishop of Canterbury and S. bishop of London, collectors of the tenth of the clergy for one year granted to the king by Pope John, and to their commissaries. Order to pay to Roger Ardyngelli, Bonus Philippi, Dinus Forcetti, and their fellows, merchants of the society of the Bardi of Florence, 100 marks out of the tenth without delay, as they have paid that sum to Maurice de Berkele for his expenses in going to the duchy of Aquitaine and for his passage over sea, the king having caused that sum to be paid to Maurice, whom he has appointed seneschal of the duchy, because he considered that, as he had appointed Maurice to that office without his knowledge, it would be necessary for him to commence his journey thither with all speed, which could not be done without great expense.
[CCR EII] 28 March 1320. To Thomas de Berkele and Maurice de Berkele. Order to be at Gloucester on the morrow of St. Ambrose next, to wit 5 April, to treat with the king and other magnates and faithful subjects concerning the assemblies and musters of men-at-arms in the marches of Wales made by men of Wales, concerning which the king has taken counsel with the magnates and others of his council, and has caused certain of his magnates and others of his council to come to him in this behalf and has caused others to be enjoined to be with him at Gloucester at the above date.
[CFR EII] 15 August 1321. Order to the eschaetor this side Trent to deliver to Maurice de Berkeley, son and heir of Thomas de Berkeley, tenant in chief, the lands late of his said father, he having done homage.
[CPR EII] 20 August 1321. Pardon to Maurice, lord of Berkeleye, pursuant to the agreement lately made in Parliament last Midsummer, of any actions by reason of anything done against Hugh le Despenser, the son, and Hugh le Despenser, the father, between 1 March and 19 August last, as one of the followers of Roger Dammaory, pursuant to a letter of the said Roger testifying the same. This letter of acquittance are annulled and cancelled by force of a Statute made in the Parliament at York three weeks after Easter 15EII, which Statute is enrolled in the roll of Statutes in the month of May 15EII.
[CFR EII] 27 December 1321. Order to the sheriff of Gloucester to take into the king's hand and to keep safely until further order the castles, lands, goods and chattels of Maurice de Berkeley the elder, Thomas his son, and the others listed, in his bailiwick, which have not yet been taken into the king's hand, so that he answer for the issues thereof in the chamber.
[CFR EII] 27 December 1321. Order to the sheriff of Essex to take into the king's hand and to keep safely until further order all the castles, lands, goods and chattels of Maurice de Berkely the elder and Maurice and Thomas his sons, and the wardships and marriages in their hands in his bailiwick, which have not yet been taken into the king's hand. The like to the following, sheriff of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, Middlesex, Norfolk & Suffolk, Southampton and the sheriffs of London.
[CFR EII] 22 February 1322. Writ of aid directed to the sheriffs of Gloucester and Somerset and other bailiffs, for John de Merton and William de Kirkeby, king's clerks, appointed to enquire touching all jewels, coined money and other goods of Maurice de Berkele and other contrariants in those counties.
[CPR EII] 5 February 1323. Commission of oyer and terminer to John de Stonore and John de Bousser touching the persons who seditiously entered the castle of Walyngford, co. Berks, wherein Maurice de Berkeleye and Hugh Daudele, the elder, and other prisoners were detained, and held it against the king; as the king now understands that the said Maurice and Hugh and the other prisoners consented thereto, and kept the castle against the king jointly with the said persons.
[CIPM EIII V7] 97 Maurice de Berkeley, son of Thomas de Berkeley. Writ missing. The late King Edward II holding the said Maurice as contrariant to Hugh le Despenser, the younger, and a rebel, seized the said castle, hundreds, manors, lands into his hand in his fifteenth year, and kept the said Maurice in his prison at Wallingford, where he died. Thomas, his son aged 30 years and more, is his next heir.
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edited by Michael Cayley
His son John de Berkeley was of Planches, and 3rd great grandfather of Edward/ Edmund Berkeley, who was father of both William Berkeley https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Berkeley-11 and John Berkeley https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Berkeley-9 - According to: Visitation of Shropshire Taken in the Year 1623. Edited by Grazebrook G and Rylands JP. 1889. Part I. Berkeley Pedigree p 32 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101075683563&view=1up&seq=90&skin=2021
edited by David Mortimer
[CPR EI] 13 December 1295. Protection with clause volumus, until Easter, for Maurice de Berkelee and Thomas de Berkelee, in the company of William de Valencia, going beyond seas on the king's service.
[CPR EII] 20 July 1312. Appointment, during pleasure, of Maurice de Berkele to be keeper of the town of Gloucester, and to be a conservator of the peace for that town.
[CPR EII] 8 August 1312. Commission to Maurice de Berkele, keeper of the town of Gloucester, to view the walls and dykes of the town and to repair them. Writ of aid for him directed to the bailiffs, good men and commonalty of the town of Gloucester.
[CPR EII] 3 May 1313. Protection until 1 August, for Maurice de Berkele, going beyond seas on the king's service with Aymer de Valencia, earl of Pembroke.
[CPR EII] 24 July 1316. Protection, with clause volumus, for one year for Maurice de Berkele, justice of South Wales, staying in Wales on the king's service.
[CCR EII] 17 February 1317. Order to assign to Maurice de Berkele, in the presence of Master John Waleweyn, escheator this side Trent, custodies or marriages at a reasonable appraisement to the value of 600/, as he complains that they have done nothing in execution of the king's order to deliver to him that sum from the issues of custodies and marriages, or to cause assignments of custodies and marriages to that amount to be made to him, the king having granted to him that sum from the custodies and marriages coming to the king's hands from Michaelmas, in the ninth year of the reign, in addition to the 1,000 marks yearly that he received for the custody of the town of Berwick-on-Tweed.
[CPR EII] 2 August 1317. To Maurice de Berkele, justice of South Wales. Order to bring to the king under safe conduct Richard de Burgo, earl of Ulster, who is about to come from Ireland, and his train and all his things and equipments, or to cause him to be brought to the king by another sufficient person.
[CPR EII] 7 March 1320. Protection for one year, with the clause volumus for Maurice de Berkeley the elder, going to Gascony on the king's service with his sons Thomas and Maurice [with 6 others listed]. Maurice de Berkeley the elder, and his sons Thomas and Maurice, have letters nominating Thomas son of Thomas de Berkeley and Richard de Salle their attorneys for the same time.
[CCR EII] 6 March 1320. To W. archbishop of Canterbury and S. bishop of London, collectors of the tenth of the clergy for one year granted to the king by Pope John, and to their commissaries. Order to pay to Roger Ardyngelli, Bonus Philippi, Dinus Forcetti, and their fellows, merchants of the society of the Bardi of Florence, 100 marks out of the tenth without delay, as they have paid that sum to Maurice de Berkele for his expenses in going to the duchy of Aquitaine and for his passage over sea, the king having caused that sum to be paid to Maurice, whom he has appointed seneschal of the duchy, because he considered that, as he had appointed Maurice to that office without his knowledge, it would be necessary for him to commence his journey thither with all speed, which could not be done without great expense.
[CCR EII] 28 March 1320. To Thomas de Berkele and Maurice de Berkele. Order to be at Gloucester on the morrow of St. Ambrose next, to wit 5 April, to treat with the king and other magnates and faithful subjects concerning the assemblies and musters of men-at-arms in the marches of Wales made by men of Wales, concerning which the king has taken counsel with the magnates and others of his council, and has caused certain of his magnates and others of his council to come to him in this behalf and has caused others to be enjoined to be with him at Gloucester at the above date.
[CFR EII] 15 August 1321. Order to the eschaetor this side Trent to deliver to Maurice de Berkeley, son and heir of Thomas de Berkeley, tenant in chief, the lands late of his said father, he having done homage.
[CPR EII] 20 August 1321. Pardon to Maurice, lord of Berkeleye, pursuant to the agreement lately made in Parliament last Midsummer, of any actions by reason of anything done against Hugh le Despenser, the son, and Hugh le Despenser, the father, between 1 March and 19 August last, as one of the followers of Roger Dammaory, pursuant to a letter of the said Roger testifying the same. This letter of acquittance are annulled and cancelled by force of a Statute made in the Parliament at York three weeks after Easter 15EII, which Statute is enrolled in the roll of Statutes in the month of May 15EII.
[CFR EII] 27 December 1321. Order to the sheriff of Gloucester to take into the king's hand and to keep safely until further order the castles, lands, goods and chattels of Maurice de Berkeley the elder, Thomas his son, and the others listed, in his bailiwick, which have not yet been taken into the king's hand, so that he answer for the issues thereof in the chamber.
[CFR EII] 27 December 1321. Order to the sheriff of Essex to take into the king's hand and to keep safely until further order all the castles, lands, goods and chattels of Maurice de Berkely the elder and Maurice and Thomas his sons, and the wardships and marriages in their hands in his bailiwick, which have not yet been taken into the king's hand. The like to the following, sheriff of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, Middlesex, Norfolk & Suffolk, Southampton and the sheriffs of London.
[CFR EII] 22 February 1322. Writ of aid directed to the sheriffs of Gloucester and Somerset and other bailiffs, for John de Merton and William de Kirkeby, king's clerks, appointed to enquire touching all jewels, coined money and other goods of Maurice de Berkele and other contrariants in those counties.
[CPR EII] 5 February 1323. Commission of oyer and terminer to John de Stonore and John de Bousser touching the persons who seditiously entered the castle of Walyngford, co. Berks, wherein Maurice de Berkeleye and Hugh Daudele, the elder, and other prisoners were detained, and held it against the king; as the king now understands that the said Maurice and Hugh and the other prisoners consented thereto, and kept the castle against the king jointly with the said persons.
[CIPM EIII V7] 97 Maurice de Berkeley, son of Thomas de Berkeley. Writ missing. The late King Edward II holding the said Maurice as contrariant to Hugh le Despenser, the younger, and a rebel, seized the said castle, hundreds, manors, lands into his hand in his fifteenth year, and kept the said Maurice in his prison at Wallingford, where he died. Thomas, his son aged 30 years and more, is his next heir.
edited by Traci Thiessen
Cheers, Liz
This profile has been identified for a Magna Carta Trail. Read more about the Magna Carta project here: Magna Carta Project. Follow our progress at Base Camp here: Magna Carta Team Base Camp