Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon

Sir Hugh de Courtenay (12 July 1303 – 2 May 1377) was the 2nd Earl of Devon in England, born probably in Devon. His parents were Hugh, the 1st Courtenay Earl of Devon by Agnes de St John, daughter of Sir John St John of Basing.^[1] He was destined to become a great soldier in the Hundred years war in service of King Edward III. On 11 August 1327, still only 23 years old he was made knight banneret, and joined the elite group of knights who protected the King's body. He was made a founding and 12th Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348 on its investiture at Windsor Castle. Courtenay fought with the heroes of Crecy on 26 August 1346 in the famous of the encounters in France. The victory formed the basis for Courtenay's inclusion as a Knight of the Garter in 1348, by personal invitation of the King himself.^[2]

Biography

Hugh, a badly behaved fellow, was self-important and puffed up. In 1335 The King granted his wish to be elevated to the earldom of Devon. No sooner he was bragging to the peasant folk in Devonshire that he was the only font of justice^[3]. Courtenay was summoned to Parliament on the assumption of Edward III to full authority over the usurper Roger Mortimer. The writ issued on 23 April 1337 described him as Hugoni de Courteney juniori styled as Lord Courteney. Two years later he defended the coasts of Cornwall with some distinction from the invasion fleet of France. On the death of his father, Hugh, the following year he was granted livery and extensive land ownership in Devon. He was probably present at the Battle of Neville's Cross, in which Henry Percy and Ralph Neville utterly defeated the Scots King David II on 17 October 1346. As the second Courtenay Earl he was honoured in the jousting tournament that took place at Lichfield, one of the many in celebration of Crecy, on 9 April 1347, in which the King himself also took part. As a Knight of the Garter he was given special permission to build the White Friars at Fleet Street, London, which became an impressive religious house near the Palace of Whitehall. Following the completion of this project he returned to Devon, on appointment as Joint Warden of Devon and Cornwall in 1352. In 1361 he and his wife benefited from the will of her deceased brother, Earl of Hereford, greatly increasing his land holdings.

According to which account is read, Courtenay made an important contribution to the outcome of the Battle of Poitiers.^[4] The Black Prince had sent the baggage train under Courtenay to the rear. A wise manoeuvre in the event as the long trail of wagons and carts blocked the narrow bridge and the Frenchmen's escape route. The Prince was afraid of a flanking move behind his position over the river, and to the rear. This did not occur with any great effect; which was as well since the route Courtenay took was the long way round and he played little part in the battle as a result of the defensive positions. The French cavalry was cut down by the archers, and then two deep lines of defence of stakes and ditches. He was a veteran of sixty by this period. He retired with a full pension from the King. In 1373 he was appointed Chief Warden of the Forest of Devon. In 1374 the income was assessed by Parliament at £1500 pa. He was one of the poorest Earls of England, and compared unfavourably with other warrior lords as Arundel, Suffolk, and Warwick.^[5] He had a livery of 40 knights, esquires and lawyers in Devon. But he also held entail of property; five in Somerset, two in Cornwall, two in Hampshire, one in Dorset and one in Buckinghamshire.^[6]

After a full career he died at Exeter on 2 May 1377. The earl had patronised the career of John Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter. He supported the construction of debt to build churches in the diocese, proving an astute manager of the Courtenay affinity. In thanks he was buried in Exeter Cathedral on 2 May 1377. His estate was examined for probate on 28 Jan 1391.

Hugh married Margaret de Bohun daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and of Essex by Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, and a granddaughter of King Edward I of England on 11 August 1325, when he moved into Powderham Castle, although his father was still living. He had been promised to Margaret by contract since 27 September 1314.

Progeny

They had a large family which included:

• Sir Hugh Courtenay, KG, (1327-1349), pre-deceased father. He married Elizabeth de Vere, daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford. They had a son Hugh Courtenay(d.1373/4), who predeceased his father (and therefore predeceased his grandfather also).
• Thomas Courtenay, Prebendary of Cutton, cleric. Died in the Church of Austin Friars, London.
• Sir Edward Courtenay(1329-1372), predeceased his father. Born in 1329 at Haccombe, Devon, died: 20 September 1372. He married an heiress, Emmeline Dawney, daughter of Sir John Dawney of Madfordferry, and had the following issue:
  • Edward Courtenay, 3rd Earl of Devon(d.1419), in whose descendants the earldom remained until the death of his great-grandson John Courtenay, 7th Earl of Devon(d.1471), after which the earldom passed in 1485, by a new creation, to Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon(d.1509), the grandson of his brother Sir Hugh Courtenay of Haccombe and Bampton(d.1425).
  • Sir Hugh Courtenay (d.1425), of Haccombe, whose grandson was Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon(d.1509).
• Robert Courtenay of Moreton
• William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury. Born: 1342, Died: 31 July 1396, Maidstone, Kent.
• Sir Philip Courtenay of Powderham Castle, Born: c.1342, Died: 29 July 1406. Married Ann Wake, daughter of Sir Thomas Wake by Alice Pateshull.
• Sir Peter Courtenay of Hardington-Mandeville, Born: in Somerset, Died: 2 Feb 1405. Married Margaret Clyvedon, daughter of John de Clyvedon by Elizabeth.
• Margaret Courtenay married John de Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham.
• Elizabeth Courtenay, Died: 7 August 1395, married Sir Andrew Luttrell of Chilton, [Thorverton], Devon.
• Catherine Courtenay, Died: 31 December 1399, married Sir Thomas de Engaine, 2nd Lord Engaine.
• Joane Courtenay, married Sir John Cheverston.
• John
• Humphrey
• Anne
• Matilda.

References

1. ^ Oliver and Jones genealogy of Courtenay
2. ^ Richardson, Douglas & Everingham, Kimball G. (2005) Magna Carta Ancestry: a study in colonial and medieval families, p. 236.
3. ^ Prestwich, Three Edwards, 124
4. ^ Sumption, vol.2, for Sir Edward's presence at the battle, Rymer's Foedera, III, i, 325, as cited by Hewitt, The Black Prince's Expedition 1355-7 (1958)
5. ^ BL Add Mss ch. 13906
6. ^ Devon Livery Roll BL Add Mss.64320

Sources

• Browning, Charles H., Americans of Royal Descent, 6th ed. 1905, p. 105-108
• Cokayne, G. E., ed., Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the UK, Extant, Extinct or Dormant revised edition, (London 1910-59). vol. III, p.324.
• Holmes, G. Estates of Higher Nobility in Fourteenth Century England, Cambridge, 1957, p. 58.
• Mortimer, Ian Edward III (London 2007).
• Oliver and Jones's Genealogy of Courtenay (see the website).* Ormrod, W. M. The Reign of Edward III (Tempus Publishing 1999).
• Saul, Nigel, ed. The Oxford History of Medieval England (OUP 1997).
• Register of Edward, the Black Prince, (ed) A. E. Stamp & M. C. B. Dawes (London 1930-33).
• Sumption, Jonathan, The Hundred Years War, 2 vols, Vol.1: Trial by Battle, vol. 2: Trial by Fire (Faber 1999).
• Waugh, Scott L., England in the Reign of Edward III (CUP 1991)
• Tuck, Anthony, Crown and Nobility; England 1272-1461: political conflict in late medieval England, 2nd ed., (Blackwell 1999).

External links

• thePeerage.com - Person Page 939
• thePeerage.com - Person Page 940
• Powderham Castle
• thepeerage.com entry
• findagrave.com entry