Brien FitzCount

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Brien FitzCount (also known as Brian de Insula, Brian des Illes Brientius de Insulata and Brian of Wallingford), was the Lord of Wallingford and Baron Abergavenny, and a staunch supporter of the Empress Matilda during the Anarchy of King Stephen's reign in England in the 1140's.

Contents

[edit] Illegitimate Birth

He was the illegitimate son of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany. His date of birth is unknown but Brien was almost certainly born before his father became a monk in 1112. He was sent to be fostered at the court of King Henry I of England.

[edit] Marriage and Titles

He married an English heiress, Matilda D'Oyly, widow of Miles Crispin, and through her obtained the title of Wallingford by 1127. Brien also inherited the castle and Barony of Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches from his uncle, Hamelin de Balun. He also held the honour of Grosmont Castle, but by what right is uncertain. He handed this over to Walter of Hereford the son of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford about 1141.

He declared for the Empress Matilda in 1139, and was besieged by the forces of King Stephen, but the monarch failed to take Wallingford Castle and had to retreat.

[edit] Later Career

Brien and Matilda D'Oyly had two sons who were both stricken with leprosy, and who died young. Brien's end is a matter of speculation. One account, the Abergavenny chronicle, claimed he had gone on crusade to Jerusalem, and died there sometime around 1147. Another more likely possibility is that he spent his last years in a religious order. Matilda became a nun at Bec and died in the 1150s, and as they had no heirs their lands and castles in England and Wales reverted to the Crown.

Briens des Illes appears as a character in Arthurian romance by Chrétien de Troyes.

[edit] References

  • Ford, David Nash. (2001). 'Brian FitzCount' in Royal Berkshire History.
  • Round, J. Horace. (1889). 'Fitzcount, Brian' in Leslie Stephen's Dictionary of National Biography.
  • Weston, J.L. (1925). Who was Brian des Illes? Modern Philology, 22, 405-411.
  • Remfry, P.M., Grosmont Castle and the families of Fitz Osbern, Ballon, Fitz Count, Burgh, Braose and Plantagenet of Grosmont (ISBN 1-899376-56-9)
  • King, Edmund. (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. [1].

[edit] External links


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