Robert (Berkeley) de Berkeley (abt. 1165 - 1220)

Born about 1165 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

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Biography

Sir Robert Berkeley was a member of the aristocracy in England.

Robert (Berkeley) de Berkeley was born in England.

Robert de Berkeley (called Robert the Rebellious^[1]) was the eldest of six sons of Maurice and Alice de Berkeley.^[2] He was born about 1165 (11 Henry II = 19 Dec 1164-18 Dec 1165).^[3]

Robert was educated in the court of King Henry II^[4] and was knighted.

When Robert was about 25 his father died, shortly after incurring a debt to King Richard of one thousand marks (£667) for confirming his estates in Berkeley. Robert was responsible to repay this, but in 1196 King Richard forgave the outstanding 500 marks, recognising Robert's service in Richard's wars.^[5] Robert incurred further significant expenses including £1000 for the livery of his inheritance in 1191.^[6]

About 1210-11 King John seized Berkeley castle and the Berkeley lands, fining Robert 2000 marks for their return. A substantial amount of this fine remained unpaid on Robert's death, and fell to his successor, Thomas, to pay; the debt not being settled until around 1230.^[7]

Despite having appeared to have reconciled with John, Robert became one of the leaders of the Baron's revolt, culminating in the Magna Carta of 1215. In the ensuing civil war, resulting from John seeking to deny the terms of the Magna Carta, Robert initially supported the rebels. As such he was included in the excommunication pronounced by Pope Innocent III.^[8][9][10]

Robert made a number of donations to religious bodies, including the brethren of the Hospital of Jerusalem to whom he gave lands in Hame and houses in Berkeley.^[11] He founded St Katherine's hospital in Bedminster (near Bristol) near the end of his life.^[12]

Robert married twice, but had no surviving issue.^[13] His first wife was Juliana de Pont de l'Arche, the niece of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke who was one of the regents on Henry III's accession to the throne in 1216. She presumably died prior to Robert marrying his second wife, Lucy, in 1218. There has been some speculation, but little is known of Lucy's family.

Robert died on 13 May 1220 at "fifty five years or thereabouts",^[14] and was buried in the church of the monastery of St Augustine (now the Cathedral) in Bristol.^[14] He was buried in a monk's cowl; a not uncommon practice at the time which might have been considered to have some spiritual value.

Timeline

Sources

• Royal Ancestry 2013 Vol. III p. 96

1. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 81. The epithet appears to have been the creation of Smyth, and not contemporary with the subject.
2. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 74f
3. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 82. No details as to the place of birth are given, but it is likely to have been at the family seat at Berkeley.
4. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 82
5. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 82. What this service was is not clear, and it may simply have been providing knights and other fighting men, rather than personal military service.
6. ↑ ODNB, s.v. "Berkeley, Sir Robert de (d. 1220)"
7. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 91f
8. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 91f
9. ↑ ODNB, s.v. "Berkeley, Sir Robert de (d. 1220)"
10. ↑ The Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, refused to publish this excommunication, and was suspended from office by the pope.
11. ↑ Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, pp. 86-89
12. ↑ History of the County of Somerset vol 2, pp. 153-154
13. ↑ There are no records indicating any children, but it is possible there were children who died young and are thus not reported.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Lives of the Berkeleys, vol 1, p. 98

Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families, Medieval Lands 3, ( 2006-2015), http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ .

• George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant extinct or dormant, new ed. Ed. Vicary Gibbs, vol II Bass to Canning, (London: The St Catherine Press, 1912), The Internet Archive pp.118-147.
• J. A. Hamilton, and Nigel Saul, “Berkeley, Sir Robert de (d. 1220)”, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed 17 Mar 2015, https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/2221 .
• William Page, ed., "Hospitals: St Katherine, Bedminster", in A History of the County of Somerset, vol 2, (London: 1911), http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol2/pp153-154 pp.153-154.
• John Smyth, The Berkeley Manuscripts: The lives of the Berkeleys, Lords of the honour, castle and manor of Berkeley in the county of Gloucester from 1066 to 1618, vol 1, (Gloucester: Printed by John Bellows, 1883), The Internet Archive .