Lady Margaret Brotherton, Countess of Norfolk

Female 1320 - 1399  (~ 79 years)


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  • Name Margaret Brotherton 
    Title Lady 
    Suffix Countess of Norfolk 
    Birth ~ 1320  Norfolk, Norfolkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Gender Female 
    Death 24 Mar 1399  Tower of London, London, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Burial Grey Friars, London, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I43820  The Hennessee Family
    Last Modified 13 Sep 2016 

    Father Sir Thomas of Brotherton, Knight, 1st Earl of Norfolk,   b. 1 Jun 1300, Brotherton, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 23 Aug 1338, Framlington Castle, Suffolk, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 38 years) 
    Mother Lady Alice Hales, Countess of Norfolk,   b. ~ 1305, Harwich, Essex , England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. ~ 1330 (Age ~ 25 years) 
    Marriage ~ 1321  [1, 2, 4
    Family ID F15935  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Sir John Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave,   b. 4 May 1315   d. 1 Apr 1353, Repton, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 37 years) 
    Marriage ~ 1335  (Norfolkshire, England) Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 5
    Children 
     1. Elizabeth Segrave,   b. 25 Oct 1338, Blaby, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 24 May 1368, Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 29 years)
    Family ID F15937  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Apr 2023 

    Family 2 Walter Manny 
    Family ID F15938  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Apr 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - ~ 1320 - Norfolk, Norfolkshire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - ~ 1335 - (Norfolkshire, England) Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 24 Mar 1399 - Tower of London, London, Middlesex, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Grey Friars, London, Middlesex, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • Margaret, in her own right Countess of Norfolk (sometimes surnamed Brotherton or Marshal;[1] c.?1320–24 March 1399), was the daughter and eventual sole heir of Thomas of Brotherton, eldest son of Edward I, by his second marriage. In 1338 she succeeded to the earldom of Norfolk and the office of Earl Marshal.

      Family

      Born about 1320, Margaret was the daughter of Thomas of Brotherton, eldest son of Edward I by his second marriage to Margaret (1279?–1318), the daughter of Philippe III of France (d.1285).[2] Her mother was Alice de Hales (d. in or before 1330), daughter of Sir Roger de Hales of Hales Hall in Loddon in Roughton, Norfolk, by his wife, Alice.[3][4] She had a brother and sister:

      Edward of Norfolk, who married Beatrice de Mortimer, daughter of Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, but died without issue before 9 August 1334.[5]
      Alice of Norfolk, who married Sir Edward de Montagu.[6]
      Life[edit]
      In 1335 aged 15 (the typical age of marriage for maidens of that era), she was married to John Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave, and proceeded to have four children - two sons and two daughters - by him. In 1350, she sought a divorce on the ground that they had been contracted in marriage (in other words betrothed) before she was of marriageable age, and that she had never consented to cohabit with him. She made known her intention of traveling to the continent in order to plead personally with the Pope for a divorce. King Edward III prohibited her from leaving England, but she set off incognito anyway, having taken care to obtain a safe conduct from the King of France.

      The following year (1351) Edward III charged her with having crossed the English Channel in contravention of his prohibition.[7] The inquisition, regarding this incident, shows that Margaret unlawfully crossed the Channel and met with a servant of her future husband, Sir Walter de Mauny, who broke his lantern with his foot so she could pass unnoticed and acted as her guardian during her sojourn in France. This incident and the involvement of her future husband's retainer may indicate the real motivation for Margaret seeking a divorce.

      The divorce case was ultimately heard by the Pope's auditor, the Dean of St. Hilary's at Poitiers. However, Margaret's first husband died in 1353, before the divorce could be finalized. Shortly thereafter, and just before 30 May 1354, she married Sir Walter de Mauny without the King's licence. They were married 18 years, and had three children before he died at London on 8 or 13 January 1372.[8]

      On 29 September 1397, Margaret she was created Duchess of Norfolk for life.[8] She died 24 March 1399, and was buried in the choir of Grey Friars in the City of London.[8]

      The executors of her will are reported to be John Sileby & Walter fitz Piers, who in 1399 were reported to be attempting to recover money due to her estate. [9]

      Marriages and issue[edit]
      Margaret married firstly, about 1335,[4] John Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave, by whom she had two sons and two daughters:[10]

      John de Segrave, who died young.[10]
      John de Segrave (d. before 1 April 1353), second of that name, who was contracted to marry Blanche of Lancaster, younger daughter and coheiress of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. However the contract was later declared void[11] and Blanche later married John of Gaunt. About 1349, a double marriage was solemnized in which John Segrave married Blanche Mowbray, while John's sister, Elizabeth Segrave, married Blanche Mowbray's brother, John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray, Pope Clement VI having granted dispensations for the marriages at the request of Lancaster, in order to prevent 'disputes between the parents', who were neighbours.[12][13][11]
      Elizabeth de Segrave, 5th Baroness Segrave, who married John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray.[11]
      Margaret de Segrave, who died young, before 1353.[11]
      Shortly before 30 May 1354, Margaret married secondly, and without the King's licence, Sir Walter Mauny,[14] by whom she had a son and two daughters:[11]

      Thomas Mauny, who was drowned in a well at Deptford at the age of ten.[11]
      Anne Mauny, who married John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.[11]
      Isabel Mauny, who was living in 1358, but died without issue before 30 November 1371.[11]
      Distinction[edit]
      As her brother had died without issue, she succeeded to the earldom of Norfolk and the office of Earl Marshal at her father's death in 1338. To date, she is the only woman to have held the latter office. [1]

  • Sources 
    1. [S7807] "Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (1320-1399)" biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret,_Duchess_of_Norfolk.

    2. [S7811] "Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300-1338)", biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_of_Brotherton,_.

    3. [S6673] https://www.geni.com/people/Margaret-de-Segrave/6000000006413365318.

    4. [S6662] "Alice Hales" profile, http://www.royaldescent.net/alice-hales-countess-of-norfolk/, downloaded September 13th, 2016 by.

    5. [S7812] "John Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave (1315-1353)" biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Segrave,_4th_Baron_Segrave.