Edmund Crouchback

Edmund Crouchback
Seal of Edmund
Earl of Lancaster and Leicester
Successor	Thomas, 2nd Earl
Spouse	Lady Aveline de Forz m. 1269; dec. 1273 Blanche of Artois m. 1276; wid. 1296
Issue
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster John, Lord of Beaufort Mary
House	House of Plantagenet
Father	Henry III of Winchester, King of England
Mother	Eleanor of Provence
Born	(1245-01-16)16 January 1245 London, England
Died	5 June 1296(1296-06-05) (aged 51) Bayonne, Duchy of Aquitaine
Burial	15 July 1296 Westminster Abbey, London

Edmund Plantagenet, 1st Earl of Lancaster and Leicester (16 January 1245 – 5 June 1296), known by the epithet Crouchback, alias Edmund of Lancaster, was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his childhood he had a claim on the Kingdom of Sicily. His nickname "Crouchback" (meaning "Crossback") refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusade indicating that he was entitled to wear a cross stitched into the back of his garments.^{[citation needed]}

Childhood

Edmund was born in London, being named Edmund of London.^{[citation needed]} He was a younger brother of Edward I of England, Margaret of England, and Beatrice of England, and an older brother of Katherine of England.

In 1253 he was invested by Pope Innocent IV as the ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily and Apulia. At about this time he was also made Earl of Chester. These were of little value as Conrad IV of Germany, the real King of Sicily, was still living and the Earldom of Chester was transferred to his elder brother Edward.

Political career

Edmund soon obtained, however, important possessions and dignities, for soon after the forfeiture of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester in 1265, Edmund received the Earldom of Leicester and of Lancaster and also the honour of the Stewardship of England and the lands of Nicolas de Segrave. In 1267 he was granted the lordship of Builth Wells in opposition to the then holder, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (the last prince of an independent Wales). To help him conquer the land he was also granted his elder brother's lordships of the Trilateral of Skenfrith, Grosmont and White Castle together with Monmouth. In 1267 he was High Sheriff of Lancashire.

In 1271 he accompanied his elder brother Edward on the Ninth Crusade to Palestine. Some historians, including the authors of the Encyclopædia Britannica article on him, state that it was because of this that he received the nickname Crouchback (which means "cross back") indicating that he was entitled to wear a cross stitched into the back of his garments.

On his return from the Crusade he seems to have made Grosmont Castle his favoured home and undertook much rebuilding there. His son Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster was apparently born there in 1281. He died while besieging Bordeaux for his brother on 5 June 1296 in Bayonne, and was interred on 15 July 1296 at Westminster Abbey, London.

Family

Edmund bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label France of three points (that is to say azure three fleur-de-lys or, each).^[1]

Edmund married (1st) 8 April 1269 to Aveline de Forz, the daughter of William de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle and Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Devon. She died just 4 years after the marriage, at the age of 15, and was buried at Westminster Abbey. The couple had no children, though some sources believe she may have died in childbirth or shortly after a miscarriage.^{[citation needed]}

He married (2nd) in Paris, on 3 February 1276 to Blanche of Artois, widow of Enrique (or Henri) I, King of Navarre, Count of Champagne and Brie, and daughter of Robert I of Artois and Matilda of Brabant. With Blanche he had three children:

• Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, (born 1278, executed 22 March 1322)
• Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (born 1281, died 22 September 1345)
• John of Lancaster, seigneur of Beaufort (present day Montmorency, Aube, arrond. d’Arcis-sur-Aube, canton de Chavanges) and Nogent-l’Artaud (Aisne, arrond. de Château-Thierry, canton de Charly), France. He married before July 1312 Alix de Joinville, widow of Jean d’Arcis, seigneur of Arcis-sur-Aube and Chacenay (died in or before 1307), and daughter of Jean de Joinville, seigneur de Joinville (Haute-Marne, arrond. Vassy, ch.-I. canton), Seneschal of Champagne, by his 2nd wife, Alix, daughter and heiress of Gautier, seigneur of Reynel. They had no issue. He died in France shortly before 13 June 1317. See Foundations 1(3) (2004): 198–199.

Notes

References

• Remfry, P.M., Grosmont Castle and the families of Fitz Osbern, Ballon, Fitz Count, Burgh, Braose and Plantagenet of Grosmont. SCS Publishing, Worchester, 2003 (ISBN 1-899376-56-9)
• Edmund Crouchback's Grave in Westminster Abbey

v t e House of Plantagenet Titles Count of Gâtinais (origin) Count of Anjou Count of Maine King of Jerusalem (claim) Duke of Aquitaine Duke of Normandy King of England Lord of Ireland Duke of Brittany Lord of Cyprus Prince of Wales King of the Romans (claim) King of France (claim) King of Sicily (claim) King of Castile (claim) Armorial of Plantagenet Branches House of Lancaster House of York House of Beaufort Monarchs, their queens and issue Henry II Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine William IX, Count of Poitiers Henry the Young King Richard I of England Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Matilda, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria Eleanor, Queen of Castile Joan, Queen of Sicily John, King of England Illegitimates: William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury Geoffrey, Archbishop of York Henry the Young King Wife: Margaret of France William (died in infancy) Richard I Wife: Berengaria of Navarre Illegitimates: Philip of Cognac John Wife: Isabella of Angoulême Henry III of England Richard, Earl of Cornwall Joan, Queen of Scots Isabella, Holy Roman Empress Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke and Leicester Illegitimates: Joan, Lady of Wales Richard FitzRoy Oliver FitzRoy Geoffrey FitzRoy John FitzRoy Henry FitzRoy Osbert Gifford Eudes FitzRoy Bartholomew FitzRoy Maud FitzRoy Isabel FitzRoy Philip FitzRoy William de Forz Henry III Wife: Eleanor of Provence Edward I of England Margaret, Queen of Scots Beatrice, Duchess of Brittany Edmund, Earl of Lancaster Katherine Edward I Wives: Eleanor of Castile Margaret of France Eleanor, Countess of Bar Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester Alphonso, Earl of Chester Margaret, Duchess of Brabant Mary Elizabeth, Countess of Hereford Edward II of England Thomas, Earl of Norfolk Edmund, Earl of Kent Edward II Wife: Isabella of France Edward III of England John, Earl of Cornwall Eleanor, Countess of Guelders Joan, Queen of Scots Edward III Wife: Philippa of Hainault Edward, Prince of Wales Isabella Joan Lionel, Duke of Clarence John, Duke of Lancaster Edmund, Duke of York Mary, Duchess of Brittany Margaret, Countess of Pembroke Thomas, Duke of Gloucester Richard II Wives: Anne of Bohemia Isabella of Valois Henry IV Wives: Mary de Bohun Joanna of Navarre Henry V of England Thomas, Duke of Clarence John, Duke of Bedford Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Blanche, Electorial Princess Palatine Philippa, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden Henry V Wife: Catherine of Valois Henry VI of England Henry VI Wife: Margaret of Anjou Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales Edward IV Wife: Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth, Queen of England Mary Cecily, Viscountess Welles Edward V of England Richard, Duke of York Anne, Lady Howard Catherine, Countess of Devon Bridget Illegitimates: Elizabeth Arthur, 1st Viscount Lisle Grace Mary Baroness Audley unnamed Edward V no consort or issue Richard III Wife: Anne Neville Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales Illegitimates: John of Gloucester Katherine, Countess of Pembroke Richard of Eastwell History Matilda, Lady of the English Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Treaty of Wallingford Angevin Empire Revolt of 1173–1174 Third Crusade Magna Carta First Barons' War Provisions of Oxford Second Barons' War Gothic architecture University of Oxford University of Cambridge Parliament of England Competitors for the Crown of Scotland Treaty of Northampton House of Capet Hundred Years' War Order of the Garter College of Arms Wars of the Roses Category Royalty Portal