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Thomas (Despenser) le Despenser KG (1373 - 1400)

Thomas "Earl of Gloucester" le Despenser KG formerly Despenser
Born in Essendine, Rutland, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of , , , , , and
Husband of — married before 7 Nov 1379 in Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Father of , and
Died at age 26 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Englandmap
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Profile last modified | Created 28 Apr 2015
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Contents

Biography

Thomas le Despenser, K.G., 5th Lord le Despenser, Earl of Gloucester[1]

He succeeded his father in 1375 as Lord Despenser.[2] He was created Earl of Gloucester September 29, 1397.[3]
He was also Constable of Gloucester Castle, Constable of St. Briavel's Castle, Warden of the Forest of Dean (1397), and Knight of the Passion of Jesus Christ.[3]
He was summoned to Parliament from November 30, 1396 to September 30, 1399.[3]

Birth and Parents

Thomas le Despenser was the third son of Edward le Despenser and his wife Elizabeth (Burghersh), but first surviving son and heir. He was born September 22, 1373[3] at Essendine, Rutland, England.[citation needed]
His father, Edward le Despenser, K.G., 4th Lord le Despenser..., was born at Essendine, Rutland about 24 March 1335/6, son and heir of Edward le Despenser by his wife Anne Ferrers. Edward married Elizabeth Burghersh before August 2, 1354.[4]
His mother, Elizabeth de Burghersh, born in 1342, was the daughter and heiress of Bartholomew de Burghersh, K.G., 4th Lord Burghersh, by his first wife, Cecily, daughter of Richard de Weyland, Knt.[4]
Edward and Elizabeth (de Burghersh) had three sons, Edward, Hugh, and Thomas, K.G., [5th Lord le Despenser], and four daughters, Cecily, Elizabeth, Anne, and Margaret.[4][5]

Wife and Children

Marriage: Thomas Despenser married Constance York (born about 1374) "shortly before November 7, 1379 (recorded date of gift for their marriage)".[3][6]
Thomas's wife, Constance, was the daughter of Edmund of Langley, K.G., Duke of York (5th son of King Edward III of England), by Isabel, younger daughter and co-heiress of Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile and León.[3]
Children: Thomas and Constance had one son and two daughters,[3] two additional sons, and one of their daughters, died young:[2]

Death

Sir Thomas le Despenser took part in the Epiphany Rising, a rebellion aimed at restoring Richard II; this quickly failed, and he was attainted.[7]
On 13 January 1399/1400,[8] he was beheaded by a mob in Bristol for his role in the Epiphany Rising, a plot against Henry IV of England.[7]
Sir Thomas le Despenser, Earl of Gloucester, 5th Lord le Despenser, was buried in Tewkesbury Abbey. His widow died Nov. 28, 1416 and was buried in Reading Abbey, Berkshire.[3]
His heir was his son Richard.[8]
After Thomas's death, Constance had an illegitimate daughter, Eleanor Holand, by Edmund Holand, K.G., 4th Earl of Kent, to whom she "was either betrothed to or lived as [his] mistress".[9]

Research Notes

Needs Richardson Check (Noland-165 Maintenance Category): The profile had Richardson citations from his Royal Ancestry that appeared to be from Lewis & need research. Also need to check Richardson's works to see if information noted as [citation needed] is from Magna Carta Ancestry, Royal Ancestry, or Plantagenet Ancestry. ~ Noland-165 20:20, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

Magna Carta Connections

While Thomas is listed in Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry [1] as a descendant of Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh and Roger Bigod[10] and ancestor of a number of Gateway Ancestors, he is not included in the Magna Carta Project because he is not in one of the trails from Gateways to Surety Barons that the project has either badged or identified as on its agenda for development (see Base Camp for a list of those trails, among which are several that include Thomas's great-great-grandmother Isabel de Beauchamp [see details on her profile]).
Gateway Ancestors listed in Thomas's entry as documented by Richardson in Magna Carta Ancestry are through his daughter Isabel (who is also not included in the Magna Carta Project).
  • She and her first husband, Richard Beauchamp, K.G., Earl of Worcester, were ancestors of "St. Leger Codd, Edward Digges, John Fisher, Warham Horsmanden, John Oxenbridge, Katherine Saint Leger, Mary Johanna Somerset."[3]
  • Isabel and her second husband, Richard Beauchamp, K.G., K.B., Earl of Warwick (cousin of her first husband), were ancestors of "Mary Johnanna Somerset."[3]
Isabel's children are listed as ancestors of other Gateways in their entries, through their children. See BERGAVENNY 8 for the Earl of Worcester[11] and BEAUCHAMP 8 for the Earl of Warwick.[12]
The list of Gateways documented by Richardson is listed in the front matter of Magna Carta Ancestry.[13]

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, volume II, page 76, DESPENSER 8.i., Google Books (accessed 21 December 2021).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Charles Cawley. Thomas le Despencer, entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 22 June 2020).
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, II:76-78, DESPENSER 9.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, II:75-76, DESPENSER 8.
  5. ↑ Cawley's "Medieval Lands" database also lists a daughter Philippa, quoting the July 4, 1409 will of "Elizabeth de Burghersh Lady Despenser ... Philippa, my daughter...
  6. ↑ Cawley's "Medieval Lands" database has "16 Apr 1378/7 Nov 1389" for their marriage. An unidentified source had "after April 16, 1378 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England".
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wikipedia: Epiphany Rising
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 J. L. Kirby, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry IV, Entries 1-50', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 18, Henry IV (London, 1987), pp. 1-20. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol18/pp1-20 [accessed 15 November 2020].
  9. ↑ Wikipedia: Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester (accessed 21 December 2021).
  10. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, II:64-78 DESPENSER.
  11. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, volume I, pages 164-171, BERGAVENNY 8.
  12. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, I:146-150, BEAUCHAMP 8.
  13. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry, I:xxiii-xxix, "List of Colonial Immigrants".
  • Beltz, George. Memorials of the Order of the Garter (William Pickering, London, 1841) Page 332-4.
  • Cawley, Charles. "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). See also the database's section on Wales and WikiTree's source page for MedLands.
  • Peck, Francis. Academia Tertia Anglicana (Bettenham, London, 1727) Page 29
  • 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. For more information about this reference, see WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
  • Watson, G.W, article "Despenser" in Complete Peerage, 2nd edn, Vol. 4, ed. Gibbs, page 278.
  • Wikipedia: Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester

Acknowledgements

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Comments: 5

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Cayley-55 Michael Cayley
I have replaced the Magna Carta Project section with a self-explanatory research note, and removed the Magna Carta Project as a profile manager
posted by Michael Cayley
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Conflicting information that needs to be sorted upon re-development/re-review:

Marriage to Constance York... "before 7 November 1379", with no location in their profiles.

Edit this date added to the datafields: "16 April 1378, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England", which is not supported in the text of either profile (neither date nor location), although Thomas's profile has a footnote to the supported date ("before 7 November 1379") that has simply ""after April 16, 1378 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England" (no source). Thomas was beheaded in Bristol, but that location is not mentioned otherwise (except in the footnote and, now, in the marriage place datafield).

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Ah. I overlooked the next footnote, that also has the 16 April 1378 date:
f/n: "Cawley's "Medieval Lands" database has "16 Apr 1378/7 Nov 1389" for their marriage."
posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
[Living Horace]
Watson, G.W, article "Despenser" in Complete Peerage, 2nd edn, Vol. 4, ed. Gibbs, p. 278.
posted by [Living Horace]
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
update: all done. Thanks!

Hi! Just wanted to give y'all a heads up that I'll be editing out redundant information and gedcom details to prepare this profile for review as part of a Magna Carta trail. Cheers, Liz

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett

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Categories: Knights Companion of the Garter, Richard II creation | Bristol, Gloucestershire | Noland-165 Maintenance Category - Needs Richardson Check