MONTACUTE-BARONS MONTACUTE. By Writ of Summons, dated 15 February, 1357. (See MONTACUTE, EARLS OF SALISBURY, Sir John Montacute, 2nd son of William, 1st Earl of Salisbury.) MONTACUTE-BARON MONTACUTE. By Writ of Summons, dated 25 February, 1342. Lineage. SIR EDWARD DE MONTACUTE, youngest brother of William, 1st Earl of Salisbury, in the 4th EDWARD III., had a grant from the crown for his good services, and to support his rank as a knight, of £100 per annum: and was summoned to parliament as a Baron, from 25 February, 1342, to 20 November, 1360. His lordship was an eminent soldier, and served with high reputation in the wars of Scotland and France, having at one time in his train nine knights, fifteen esquires, and twenty archers on horseback, when his banner bore the following arms, viz., "Arg., three lozenges in fesse, on each an eagle displayed with a lable of three points." He m. Lady Alice Plantagenet, dau. and co-heir of Thomas, of Brotherton, Duke of Norfolk, by whom he had an only child, JOANE, who m. William Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, and d. s. p. His lordship d. in 1361, when the Barony of Montacute devolved upon his dau. Joane, and at her decease it became EXTINCT. Arme-Arg., three lozenges in fesse, on each an eagle displayed with a lable of three points. MONTAGU-BARONS HALIFAX, EARL OF HALIFAX, EARLS OF HALIFAX. Barony, by Letters Patent, dated 13 December, 1700. First Earldom, by Letters Patent, dated 19 October, 1714. Second Earldom, by Letters Patent, dated 14 June, 1715. Lineage. The Hon GEORGE MONTAGU, son of Henry, 1st Earl of Manchester, by his 3rd wife, Margaret, dau. of John Crouch, Esq., m. Elizabeth, dau, of Sir Anthony Irby, Knt., and was father of CHARLES MONTAGU (a younger son), who became one of the most eminent statesmen of the important period of King WILLIAM III. Mr. Montagu was returned to parliament by the city of Durham, and afterwards by the city of Westminster. In 1692 he was appointed one of the commissioners of the Treasury, and in two years afterwards chancellor of the Exchequer, in which office he projected, and caused to be executed, the great recoinage of silver in 1695. In 1698 he adjusted the affairs of the East India Company to universal satisfaction; and was elevated to the peerage, in compliance with the recommendation of the House of Commons, 13 December, 1700, in the dignity of BARON HALIFAX, of Halifax, co. York, with remainder, failing his issue male, to his nephew, GEORGE MONTAGU, son and heir of his elder brother, Edward Montagu. In the reign of Queen ANNE, his lordship was constituted a commissioner for the Union between England and Scotland; and was created, 19 October, 1714, Viscount Sunbury, co. Middlesex, and EARL OF HALIFAX. His lordship was not more distinguished as a politician than as a wit and man of letters. "Addison," says Banks, "has celebrated this nobleman in his account of the greatest English poets. Sir Richard Steele has drawn his character in the dedication of the second volume of the Spectator, and of the fourth of the Tatler; but Pope in the portrait of Buffo, in the Epistle to Arbuthnot, has returned the ridicule which his lordship in conjunction with Prior had heaped on Dryden's Hind and Panther; besides which admirable travestie, Lord Halifax wrote divers other works, most of which have been published together in an octavo volume, with memoirs of his lordship's life (1716); and are noticed by Walpole in his Catalogue of Noble Authors." The earl m. Anne, Countess Dowager of Manchester, dau. of Sir Christopher Yelverton, Bart., of Easton Mauduit, Notts, but had no issue. His lordship, who was a knight of the Garter, d. in 1715, when the earldom expired but the barony devolved, according to the limitation, upon his nephew, GEORGE MONTAGUE, 2nd Baron Halifax, who was created, 14 June, 1715, Viscount Sunbury and EARL OF HALIFAX. This nobleman was made a knight of the Bath upon the revival of that order in 1725. His lordship m. 1st, Richarda-Posthuma, dau. of Richard Saltenstale, Esq., of Chippen-Warden, co. Northampton, by whom he had an only dau., LUCY, m. to Francis, 3rd Lord Guilford. The earl m. 2ndly, Lady Mary Lumley, dau. of Richard, Earl of Scarborough, and had issue, GEORGE, his successor. Frances, m. to Sir Roger Burgoyne. Anne, m. to Joseph Jekyll, Esq. Mary, m. to Sir Danvers Osborn, Bart. Elizabeth, m. to Henry Archer, brother of Lord Archer. Charlotte, m. to Col. Johnstone. His lordship d. in 1739, and was 8. by his son, GEORGE MONTAGU, 2nd Earl of Halifax. This nobleman m. Anne, dau. of William Richards, Esq., and that lady having 8. to the estates of Sir Thomas Dunk, of Tonges, in Kent, his lordship assumed the surname of Dunk. He had issue, SIR EDWARD MONTAGU, 2nd son of Thomas Montagu, Esq., of Hemington, co. Northampton, by Agnes, his wife, dau. of William Dudley, Esq., of Clopton, was b. at Brigstock, co. Northampton, and became one of the most celebrated lawyers of the period in which he lived. He was Speaker of the House of Commons, and was knighted and appointed chief justice of the Court of King's Bench, 30th HENRY VIII, He became subsequently Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, 6 November, 1546, and was of the privy council, and in such favour with King HENRY VIII., that he was appointed by that monarch one of the executors of his will. He purchased the estate of Boughton, in Northamptonshire, which at an earlier period had been possessed by his family through the marriage with the heiress of the name. Sir Edward Montagu, who d. 10 February, 1556, and was buried in the church of Hemington, m. thrice; 1st, a dau. of William Lane, Esq., of Orlingbury, co. Northampton, and had issue, with three sons, Ralph, Thomas, and Robert, who d. young, three daus., 1. Dorothy, m. Edward Watson, Esq., of Rockingham Castle, co. Northampton, ancestor by her of Thomas Watson-Wentworth, created 28 May, 1728, Baron of Malton, and 19 November, 1734, Baron of Wath and Harrowden, Viscount Higham, and Earl of Malton, and after succeeding on the death of his cousin in 1746, as 5th Baron Rockingham, was, 19 April of the same year, created Marquess of Rockingham, and dying in 1750, was s. by his son, Charles Watson-Wentworth, Earl of Malton, and 2nd and last Marquess of Rockingham. II. Anne, m. John Rouse, Esq., of Rouse Lench, co. Worcester. III. Amelia, m. to George Lynne, or Lyne, of Southwick. Sir Edward Montagu m. 2ndly, a dau. of George Kirkham, Esq., of Warmington, co. Northampton, who d. 8. p. He m. 3rdly, Ellen, sister of William Roper, Esq. (who m. Margaret, dau. of Sir Thomas More), and dau. (by Joane, dau. of Sir John Finieux, Knt., chief justice of the Court of King's Bench), of John Roper, Esq., of Eltham and St. Dunstan's, co. Kent, prothonotary of the King's Bench, and attorney-general temp. HENRY VIII., ancestor of the Lords Teynham. By this lady whod in 1563, he was father, with an eldest son who d. young, of five sons and six daus., viz., 1. EDWARD (Sir), eldest surviving son, of whom presently. II. Roger, executor of the will of his niece's husband, Huzh Hughes, Esq., of Plas Côch, 20 and 22 June, 1st JAMES I,, 1603-4. III. Simon, m. Christian, dau. of Robert Rastlyn, and was father by her of two daus., 1 Elizabeth, co-heir, m. twice: 1st, Hugh Hughes. Esq., of Porthamel Issa, in Menai, formerly called Llys Llywarch, and subsequently, from the red colour of the stone, Plas Coch, co. Anglesey, high-sheriff for that county in 1581, 1592, and 1600; M.P. for Anglesey in the parliament which met at Westminster, 39th ELIZABETH (1597), a bencher of Lincoln's-Inn, attorney-general to Queen ELIZABETH; she m. 2ndly, the Rev. Robert White, LL.D., prebendary of Worcester, and of Penmynnydd, co. Anglesey, rector of Llangeinwen, and Clynnog, co. Carnarvon, and of Newborough, co. Anglesey, and archdeacon of Merioneth, from all of which preferments he was ejected at the great rebellion. 2 Margaret, co-heir, m. Sir Stephen Board, Knt., of Board Hill, parish of Cuckfield, co. Sussex, and was mother of two daus. and co-heirs. Elizabeth, m. to Sir William Slingsby, Knt., brother of Sir Henry Slingsby, Knt. of Scriven Park, and younger son (by Lady Mary Percy, only sister of Thomas Percy and Henry Percy, successively Earls of Northumberland), of Francis Slingsby, Esq., of Scriven Park, who d. 1600. By this gentleman she was mother of Henry Slingsby, æt. seven in 1627, master of the Mint William Slingsby, christened 9 December, 1618, at 1. Elizabeth, m. 1st, William Markham, Esq., of Okeham, co. Northampton. She m. 2ndly, Richard Cave, Esq., of Stanford, co. Northampton, son and heir of Sir Thomas Cave, Knt., of the same place, ancestor, by a previous marriage, of the Caves of Stanford, Baronets. II. Ellen, m. George Tirrell, of Thornton, Bucks. III. Isabel, m. Bryan Lascelles, Esq., of the co. Northampton. IV. Mary, m.— Walter, Esq., of Blakesley, co. Northampton. v. Margaret, m. Robert Woode, of Colwiche, co. Nottingham. VI. Agnes, m. John Lane, Esq., of Walgram, co. Northampton. Sir Edward Montagu was s. by his son, SIR EDWARD MONTAGU, Knt., of Boughton Castle, high sheriff for Northamptonshire in 1567, who m. Elizabeth, sister of John, Baron Harrington, of Exton, so created 21 July, 1603, and dau. (by Lucy, sister of Sir Philip Sidney, K.G., and dau. of Sir William Sidney, Knt., of Penshurst), of Sir James Harrington, Knt, of Exton, co. Rutland, and had issue, 1. EDWARD (Sir), his successor. II. Sir Walter, Knt., m. Anne, dau. and heir of Henry Morgan, Esq., of Yston, niece and heir of her father's elder brother, Sir William Morgan, Knt., of Pencoed Castle, co. Monmouth. Sir Walter Montagu d. s. p. in 1615, and his widow became the 3rd wife of her kinsman, Sir John Morgan, Knt., of Chilworth, Surrey, who was knighted at Cadiz, 1596, and d. 3 April, 1621, whose eventual heir-general, Mary, dau. and heir of Morgan Randyll, Esq., of Chilworth, m. Gilbert Vane, 2nd Baron Barnard, progenitor of the Dukes of Cleveland, and the Morgan Vanes, of Bilby Hall, co. Nottingham. III. Henry, d. an infant. IV. Sir Henry, Knt., M.P. for the city of London, 19 March, 1st JAMES I., 1604, Recorder of London, and Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, 1616; Lord Treasurer of England, 1620; Baron Montague, of Kimbolton, and Viscount Mandeville, so created 19 December, 1620, and Earl of Manchester, 5 February, 1626. From this nobleman derives 1, the Duke of Manchester; and 2, the Montagus, Earls of Halifax, EXTINCT. v. Sir Charles, Knt. VI. James, bishop of Bath and Wells (1608), translated to Winchester, 1616; d. 1618, and was buried at Bath. VII. Sir Sidney, Knt., Master of the Court of Requests to CHARLES I.; M.P. for Huntingdonshire in 1640; but expelled and committed to the Tower in 1642, for declining to subscribe an oath framed by the house; ancestor of the Earl of Sandwich. VIII. Thomas, d. an infant. 1. Lucy, m. Sir William Wray, Knt., of Glentworth, co. Lincoln. II. Susanna, m. Sir Richard Sondes, Knt., of Throwley, Kent. III. Theodosia, m. Sir Henry Capel, Knt., of Raineshall, Essex. and was mother of an only son, Arthur Capel, Baron Capel of Hadham, so created 6 August, 1641, beheaded 9 March, 1648-9, father of two sons, Arthur, created Earl of Essex 20 April, 1661 (ancestor of the present (1865) Arthur-Algernon Capel, 6th Earl of Essex); and Sir Henry Capel, Baron Capel, of Tewkesbury, so created, 1692, who d. s. p., when that dignity EXPIRED. The eldest son, SIR EDWARD MONTAGU, K.B., who was elevated to the peerage, 29 June, 1621, as Baron Montagu, of Boughton, co. Northampton. His lordship m 1st, 1621, Elizabeth, dau. and heir of Sir John Jeffries, Knt., of Chitting Leigh, co. Sussex, chief baron of the Exchequer, by whom he had an only dau., ELIZABETH, Who m. Robert, Lord Willoughby, of Eresby, afterwards EARL OF LINDSEY. His lordship m. 2ndly, Frances, dau. of Thomas Cotton, Esq., of Conington, in Huntingdonshire, and sister of Sir Robert Cotton, Bart., by whom he had, Christopher, who predeceased his father, dying in the twentyfourth year of his age, anno 1641. EDWARD, successor to the title. William, lord chief baron of the Exchequer in 1687, from which he was removed by King JAMES II. He lived, subsequently, in retirement. By Mary, his wife, dau. of Sir John Aubrey, Bart., he had a son and dau. William, who m. Anne, dau. and heir of Richard Evelyn Elizabeth, m. 1st, to William Drake, Esq., and 2ndly, to Samuel Trotman, Esq., of Syston Court, co. Gloucester. Frances, m. to John, Earl of Rutland. This nobleman is characterised "as a person of a plain, downright English spirit; of a steady courage, a devout heart; and though no puritan, severe and regular in his life and manners. That he lived amongst his neighbours with great hospitality; and was very knowing in country affairs, and exceedingly beloved in the town and county of Northampton. That he was no friend to changes either in church or state; that when the civil wars began, he was brought prisoner to town by the parliament party, and confined in the Savoy; where he d. in the eighty-second year of his age, anno 1644." His lordship was 8. by his eldest surviving son, EDWARD MONTAGU, 2nd baron, who m. Anne, dau., and eventually heir of Sir Ralph Winwood, of Ditton Park, principal secretary of state to King JAMES I., by whom he had issue, Edward, who was appointed by King CHARLES II. master of the house to the queen. Afterwards going to sea with his gallant kinsman, the Earl of Sandwich, he was slain in an attack upon the Dutch East India fleet, in the port of Bergen, in August, 1665. RALPH, successor to the title. Elizabeth, m. to Sir Daniel Harvey, Knt., ambassador at Constantinople in 1668. His lordship d. 10 January, 1683, and was s. by his only surviving son, RALPH MONTAGU, 3rd baron, who, in the lifetime of his father, represented the co. of Huntingdon in parliament, and was a very distinguished member of the house. He was an active and zealous promoter of the Revolution, and in consequence, upon the accession of King WILLIAM and Queen MARY, he was created 9 April, 1689, Viscount Monthermer, and EARL OF MONTAGU. In 1669 his lordship was ambassador to the court of France, and then formed that taste in building and landscape gardening, which he afterwards acted upon, in erecting his mansion at Boughton, as much after the model of Versailles, as the extent would permit. His town house was in Bloomsbury, and is now the site of the British Museum. In 1705, he was advanced by Queen ANNE to the Marquessate of Monthermer, and DUKEDOM OF MONTAGU. His grace m. 1st, Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley, dau. of Thomas, Earl of Southampton, and widow of Joceline, Earl of Northumberland, by whom he had issue, Ralph, The duke m. 2ndly, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, dau. and coheir of Henry, Duke of Newcastle, widow of Christopher Monk, Duke of Albemarle, but by her had no issue. His grace d. in 1709, and was s. by his son, JOHN MONTAGU, 2nd duke. This nobleman officiated as lord high constable of England at the coronation of King GEORGE I. His grace m. Mary, dau. and co-heir of the cele brated General, John, Duke of Marlborough, and had three sons, John, George, and Edward-Churchill, who all d. young, in his life-time, and three daus., viz., Isabella, m. 1st, to William, Duke of Manchester, by whom she had no issue; and 2ndly, to Edward Hussey, Earl of Beaulieu. Eleanor, d. young. MON Mary, m. to George Brudenell, 4th Earl of Cardigan, who, In the reign of GEORGE I., the Duke of Montagu filled several MONTAGU, AND Dukedom, by Letters Patent, dated 5 November, 1766. Lineage. GEORGE BRUDENELL, 4th Earl of Cardigan, having m. Lady Mary Montagu, one of the daus. and co-heirs of John, 2nd Duke of Montagu (who d. 1749, when his honours expired), assumed the surname and arms of MONTAGU, and was created 5 November, 1766, Marquess of Monthermer, and DUKE of MONTAGU. His grace was governor of Windsor Castle, a member of the privy council, and a knight of the Garter. He had issue, JOHN, created BARON MONTAGU, of Boughton, but d. unm. in Elizabeth, m. in 1767, to Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, by HENRY-JAMES, who 8. his grandfather as Baron Montagu, of Mary, } both d. unm. The duke was created 21 August, 1786, BARON MONTAGU, of LORD HENRY-JAMES SCOTT, b. 16 December, 1776, who took MONTALT-BARONS MONTALT. By Writ of Summons, dated 23 June, 1295. Upon the foundation of the abbey of St. Werberg, in the HUGH, the son of Norman, being at that time one of the barons to Hugh, Earl of Chester, granted certain lands to the monks of that house, Ralph and Roger, his brothers, being witnesses. To Ralph s. his son and heir, ROBERT, who assumed the surname of Montalt, from the chief place of his residence, an elevation in the co. of Flint, where he erected a castle. This Robert, being steward to the Earl of Chester, was also one of his barons. After the death of Ranulph de Gernons, Earl of Chester, the lands of that great earldom were, it appears, for some time in the king's hands, for in the 6th HENRY II., this Robert de Montalt was one of those, who accounted in the king's exchequer for the farm of them; and likewise for what was then expended, in building This Robert was s. by his son and the Castle of Chester. heir, ROBERT DE MONTALT, Lord of Montalt, co. Flint, who was 8. by his son, ROGER DE MONTALT, who was deemed one of the greatest feudal barons in the realm, temp. HENRY III., and accompanied Prince Edward to the Holy Land. This feudal lo:d was constantly employed against the Welsh, and in the 44th HENRY III., he had command to repair to the borders, with the other Barons-Marchers, and there to reside for the defence of the country. He m. Cecilia, 2nd sister, and one of the co-heirs of Hugh de Albini, Earl of Arundel, and had issue, Robert. JOHN. He d. in 1260, and was 8. by his elder son, JOHN DE MONTALT, who m. 1st, Elene, widow of Robert de Stockport; and 2ndly, Milisent, dau. of William de Cantilupe, but d. 8. p., and was s. by his brother, ROBERT DE MONTALT, who had two sons, Roger and Robert, and was 8. at his decease, in 1278, by the elder, ROGER DE MONTALT, who was one of the barons in rebellion against HENRY III., but returning to his allegiance, he subsequently defended Cambridge for the king. In the reign of EDWARD I., he was in the wars of Gascony, and was summoned to parliament as a Baron, 23 June, 1295. His lordship m. Julian, dau. of Roger de Clifford, but dying 8. p. in 1297, the barony expired while his lands devolved, upon his brother, ROBERT DE MONTALT. This gallant person having distinguished himself in the wars of Scotland and Gascony, temp. EDWARD I. and EDWARD II., was summoned to parliament by the former monarch, 6 February, 1299, and he had summons from that period to 13 June, 1329, in which year he d. 8. p., when the Barony of Montalt became EXTINCT, and his extensive estates, according to a settlement made by the deceased lord, 1. Lucy-Elizabeth, m. 1832, to Cospatrick-Alexander, Earl of passed to Isabel, Queen Consort of England, mother of ED Home. 1. Mary-Margaret, m. to Lieut.-Col. Frederick Clinton. III. Jane-Caroline, d. unm. 16 June, 1846. IV. Caroline-Georgiana, m. 1836, to George-William Hope, Arms-Same as the previous Duke of Montagu. WARD III., for life, and afterwards to John, of Eltham, brother to the King, and his heirs for ever. Fitz-Parnel, 4th and last Earl of Leicester of that family, obtained a grant of the EARLDOM OF LEICESTER from King JOHN, with a confirmation of the Stewardship of England, which he acquired by the possession of the honour of Hinkley, a portion of the immense fortune of his wife. But notwithstanding these marks of royal favour, the earl, within a brief period, revolted from the King of England to the King of France, for which act of treason the Earldom of Leicester was transferred to Ranulph, Earl of Chester, the honours of Hinkley seized upon by the crown, and De Montfort himself banished the realm. Soon after this (1209) we find him, under the title of Earl of Montfort, General of the crusade against the Albigenses, and in nine years subsequently a leader in the besieging army of Lewis, King of France, before the walls of Toulouse, where he was slain by a slinger from the battlements. His lordship had two sons by the co-heiress of Beaumont, namely, Almaric and Simon, the younger of whom, SIMON DE MONTFORT, is said to have first sought an asylum in England from the hostility of Blanche, Queen of France, and to have obtained a restitution of the EARLDOM OF LEICESTER, and stewardship of England, from King HENRY III., through the petition of his brother Almaric, then Earl of Montfort, and constable of France. Certain it is, however, that in 1232 (16th HENRY III.), he bore the title of Earl of Leicester, and had obtained a grant of all his mother's inheritance in England from his brother. In 1236, his lordship officiated as steward at the nuptials of HENRY III., and held the ewer in which the king washed. And in two years afterwards he obtained the hand of the king's sister, Eleanor, widow of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke; the marriage ceremony being performed by Walter, one of the royal chaplains at Westminster, "within a little chappel at the corner of the king's chamber." This marriage was, however, opposed by the princess's other brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall (afterwards King of the Romans), and the kingdom at large, because the lady had made in her widowhood a vow of chastity, in the presence of Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, and several of the nobility. And so strongly did public discontent manifest itself, that the earl was obliged to repair in person to Rome for the purpose of obtaining a dispensation, which with considerable difficulty he at length accomplished; and returning to England was most graciously received at court by the king, who appointed him his chief counsellor. Notwithstanding this, however, William de Abindon, a Dominican friar, and many other of the clergy, continued to exclaim against the marriage. The birth of Prince Edward, the king's eldest son, occurring soon after, the earl was chosen one of the sponsors of the royal infant, and as such officiated at the baptismal font. But before the close of the same year, he experienced the caprice of royal favour. The king observing him and his countess amongst the nobility who attended the queen at her purification, called him an excommunicated person, and prohibited his entering the church. "Which sudden unkindness," says Dugdale, "much dismaying him, he went away by water to Winchester House, which (the bishop being dead), the king had lent him. But there he could not be permitted to stay, the king in great wrath causing him to be put out of doors. Whereupon he returned sorrowing and weeping, yet could not appease his anger, the king plainly telling him, that he had abused his sister before marriage; and that, though he afterwards gave her to him for a wife, it was unwillingly, and to avoid scandal. Upbraiding him, that to ratify this his unlawful marriage, he went to Rome, and there corrupted that court with large bribes and promises: adding that, having failed in payment of the money, he ought justly to be excommunicated." This storm ultimately drove his lordship from the kingdom, but only for a short period, as we find him returning in 1240, and having then an honourable reception from the king and all his court. Soon after this he made a journey to Jerusalem, having previously disposed of one of his woods to the knights hospitallers and canons of Leicester for somewhat less than a £1000 to defray part of the necessary expenses of the undertaking. Henceforward he appears for a series of years to have enjoyed the high favour of the king, and to have fully merited it by his eminent services. In the 32nd HENRY III., his lordship was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces in Gascony, and in the end of that year he sat in the great convention of parliament held at London: about which time he obtained from the king a grant of the custody of Kenilworth Castle, for Eleanor, his wife, to hold during her life; and returning into Gascony, he forced Guaston de Bearne, who had raised the standard of rebellion, to an honourable truce. The earl came back to England the next year, and was received at court with great honour. Soon after which, in fulfilment of a vow he had made as penance for his marriage, he began a journey to the Holy Land, and in the 34th of the same reign returned safely, with his brother-in-law, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and others. For the two following years he was actively and victoriously employed in Gascony, until the king hearkening to complaints against him for cruelty and oppression, which appear to have been unsustainable, removed him from the seneschalship of that country. Upon the subsequent insurrection of the barons against the king, the Earl of Leicester siding with the former, was appointed their general-in-chief, in which character he fought the great battle of Lewes, where the royal army sustained so signal a defeat, the king himself being made prisoner with Prince Edward, his son, his brother, Richard, King of the Romans, and many other personages of eminence, attached to his cause. This victory placing the government in the hands of the earl and his adherents; himself, the bishop of Chichester, the Earl of Gloucester, and a few others of less note, were nominated to discharge the executive functions. One of the earliest acts of the usurpation was to summon a parliament in the king's name, by writs dated 24 December, 49th HENRY III., directed to the bishops and abbots, and to such lay lords as could be relied upon; by which, signifying "the realm to be then in peace and quiet, and the desire of the king to establish the same to the honour of God, and benefit of his people;" they were summoned to meet at London, on the octaves of St. Hilary, there to sit in parliament, "to treat and give their advice." At the same time precepts were issued to the sheriffs, ordering them to return two knights for each county; to the cities and boroughs the like number of citizens and burgesses; and to the barons of the Cinque Ports, a certain number of their discreetest men for the same purpose. This is deemed the first precedent of a parliament, such as ever since has been established, and Sir William Dugdale thus speculates upon the causes of the revolution:"If I may be so bold as to give my opinion, what reasons these potent rebels then had, thus to alter the former ancient usage, I shall take leave to conjecture, that it was, because they discerning what large retinues the nobility and other great men in those elder times had; as also the great number of the king's tenants in capite, then called barones minores, it might have proved dangerous to themselves to permit such a multitude to come together." The new government did not, however, endure long for a breach taking place between the two chiefs, Leicester and Gloucester, the arms of those powerful persons were directed against each other, and Prince Edward effecting his escape about the same time, the Earl of Gloucester reared the royal standard, and formed a junction with the forces of the prince. With this army, marching towards Kenilworth, they surprised young Simon Montfort, the earl's son, and made prisoners of no less than thirteen of his chief adherents, almost without resistance. Elated with this triumph they proceeded to Evesham, where the Earl of Leicester and his great force lay, expecting the arrival of his son, whose banners the royal army as a stratagem of war alone displayed, and thereby completely deceived this able commander. His lordship undismayed, however, drew out his army in order of battle, and fighting gallantly to the last, fell in the midst of his enemies, when victory declared for the royal cause. It is said, that when the earl discerned the superiority and disposition of the royalist forces he swore" by the arm of St. James (his usual exclamation), they have done discreetly; but this they learned from me let us therefore commend our souls to God, because our bodies are theirs." Nevertheless, encouraging his men, he told them, "it was for the laws of the land, yea, the cause of God and justice, that they were to fight." The principal persons slain in the memorable engagement were, the Earl himself, Henry de Montfort, his eldest son, Hugh Le Despenser, then justice of England, Ralph Basset, of Drayton, and about one hundred and sixty knights, and many other gentlemen of his party. Amongst the prisoners, were Guy de Montfort, a younger son of the earl; John Fitz-John, Humphrey de Bohun, the younger; John de Vesci, Peter de Montfort, junr., and Nicholas de Segrave. The body of the Earl was removed from the field of battle by some of his friends upon an old ladder covered with a poor torn cloth, and thus conveyed to the abbey of Evesham, where, folded in a sheet, it was committed to the grave. But within a short time, some of the monks alleging that, the earl being an excommunicated person, and attainted of treason, his remains were unworthy christian burial, the body was taken up, and interred in a remote place, known but to few. Thus fell, in 1264, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester; one of the most eminent soldiers and statesmen of the period in which he lived, and, under his attainder, the earldom became EXTINCT. Ot his widow, Eleanor, the king's sister, it is stated, that after the fatal battle of Evesham, she fled into France, and took up her abode in the nunnery of the order of preachers, at Montarges, which had been founded by her husband's sister. Of his issue, HENRY, fell at Evesham, leading the van of the baronial army. Simon, who for some time gallantly defended the castle of Kenilworth, was eventually made prisoner in the Isle of Ely, by Prince Edward; afterwards effecting his escape he fled into France, and in 1270, being at Viterbuirm, in Italy, he joined with his brother, Guy, in the murder of their cousin, Henry, eldest son of Richard, King of the Romans, in the church of St. Silvester, as the prince assisted at mass. Guy, fought in the van of the baronial army at Evesham, and being made prisoner, was confined in Dover Castle, from which escaping, he fled into Tuscany, and there acquiring high reputation as a soldier, he obtained the dau. and heiress of the Earl Rufus for his wife. Meeting with Prince Henry, son of the King of the Romans, Guy, and his brother Simon, slew him in revenge, in the church of St. Silvester, at Viterbuirm. For which barbarous act, being first excommunicated by Pope GREGORY X., he was thrown into prison; but released in 1283 by Pope MARTIN II., and placed at the head of an army, in which situation he displayed his characteristic prowess. He subsequently at the decease of his wife's father, returned to Tuscany, and inherited a very considerable fortune. CHARLES I., King of Naples, made him COUNT DE NOLA. He d. 1288, leaving by Margaret, his wife, dau. of Rodolph, Count de Languillara, an only dau, Anastasia de Monfort, Countess de Nola, to Raymond des Ursins. Almaric, who, when conveying his sister from France to be m. to Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, was taken prisoner, with her at sea, and suffered a long imprisonment. He was at last, however, restored to liberty, and his posterity are said to have flourished in England under the name of Wellsburne. Eleanor, b. about Michaelmas, 1252, at Kenilworth, who m. by proxy, early in 1275, and in person at Worcester, 13 October, 1278, Llewelyn ap Griffith, Prince of North Wales. In the household book of her mother for 1265, Eleanor is styled "Demoiselle," and in a letter to EDWARD I., dated 6 October, 1279, she designates herself as "Al principissa Wallia domina Snowdon." By Llewelyn ap Griffith, who was slain 10 December, 8th EDWARD I., 1282, she had issue two daus., and co-heirs, the younger of whom, the Princess Gwenllian, b. 19 June, 1281, a nun of Sempringham, 10th EDWARD II., d. there 7 June, 11th EDWARD III., 1337. The elder dau., the Princess Catherine, heiress of the monarchs of North Wales, was mother, by her husband, Philip ap Ivor, Lord of Cardigan, of the Lady Eleanor Goch, who m. Thomas, representative of the sovereigns of South Wales, ap Llewelyn ap Owen ap Meredith. This prince, who with his brother, Owen ap Llewelyn, lord of the half of the comot of Yscoed Ughirwen, and of one quarter of the comot of Gwynnionydd, was twenty-eight years old and upwards, 2 December, 1328, was probably dead 20 September, 1334, the date of a quo warranto against his brother Owen ap Llewelyn and his own son, Owen ap Thomas, apparently joint co-heirs of the lordship of Yscoed Ughirwen, and of half of the comot of Gwynnionydd. By Thomas ap Llewelyn, the Lady Eleanor Goch had, with an only son, Owen ap Thomas, already named, who d. s. p., an only dau., heiress of her brother, viz., the Lady Eleanor. She m. Griffith Vychan ap Griffith, Lord of Glyndwrdwy, representative of the sovereigns of South Wales, father by her of two sons: 1 Owen ap Griffith Vychan, Lord of Glyndwrdwy, the renowned "Owen Glyndwr," in whom united the representation of the three dynasties of North Wales, South Wales. and Powys. 2 Tudyr ap Griffith Vychan, Lord of Gwyddelwern in Edeirnion, æt. twenty-three, 3 September, 10th RICHARD II., and killed 11 March, 1405, whose senior co-heir is Edward, 1st Lord Mostyn. Arms-Gu., a lion rampant, queue fourché, arg. MONTFORT-BARONS MONTFORT. By Writ of Summons, dated 23 June, 1295. HUGH DE MONTFORT, commonly called Hugh with a Beard, son of Thurstan de Bastenburgh, accompanied WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR into England, and aided that prince's triumph at Hastings, for which eminent service he obtained divers fair lordships, and at the time of the General Survey was possessor of twenty-eight in Kent, with a large portion of Romney Marsh; sixteen in Essex; fifty-one in Suffolk; and nineteen in Norfolk. This gallant soldier eventually lost his life in a duel, with Walcheline de Ferrers, and was 8. by his son, HUGH DE MONTFORT, who had issue by his 1st wife, two sons, viz., Robert, general of the army to King WILLIAM RUFUS, but favouring the title of Robert Curthose, in opposition to HENRY I., he was impeached for his disloyalty, whereupon, being conscious of guilt, he got permission to go to Jerusalem, and left all his possessions to the king; he d. 8. p. Hugh, d. in a pilgrimage, also 8. p. Hugh de Montfort had, besides these sons, a dau. by his 2nd wife, who m. Gilbert de Gant, and had issue, HUGH, living 1124, who, on account of his mother being so great an heiress, assumed the name of Montfort; and Ada, m. to Simon, Earl of Huntingdon; which HUGH DE MONTFORT (otherwise Gant), inherited all the possessions of his grandfather, and was called Hugh the fourth. This Hugh, having m. Adeline, dau. of Robert, Earl of Mellent, joined with Waleran, her brother, and all those who endeavoured to advance William, son of Robert Curthose, against King HENRY I., in 1124, and entering Normandy for that purpose, he was made prisoner, with the said Waleran, and confined for the fourteen years ensuing. The time of his death is not ascertained, but he left issue, ROBERT DE MONTFORT. This feudal lord having in 1163, charged Henry de Essex, the King's Standard Bearer, with cowardice, in fleeing from his colours, vanquished him in a subsequent trial by battle. He does not appear to have had any issue, for he was 8. at his decease by his brother, THURSTAN DE MONTFORT, who, being enfeoffed of divers fair lordships, by Henry de Newburgh, the 1st Earl of Warwick, erected a stony castle, called Beldesert, at the chief seat of his family in Warwickshire, which it continued for several subsequent ages. To this Thurstan, who d. before 1190, 8. his son, HENRY DE MONTFORT, who in the 2nd RICHARD I., regained the manor of Wellesbourne, co. Warwick, commonly called Wellesbourne-Montfort, whereof he had been dispossessed by King HENRY II. He was 8. by THURSTAN DE MONTFORT, who had great law suits in King JOHN's time, with Eustace de Stutevill, and Nicholas de Stutevill, regarding a portion of the lordship of Cotingham, co. York. He d. in 1216, and was s. by his son, PETER DE MONTFORT. This feudal lord for several years in the reign of King HENRY III., took an active part in the wars of that monarch, but at length on the breaking out of the barons' insurrection, he became one of the most zealous amongst those turbulent lords, and after the battle of Lewes, was of the nine nominated to rule the kingdom, in which station he enjoyed and exercised more than regal power, but of short duration, for he fell at the subsequent conflict of Evesham, so disastrous to the baronial cause. Peter de Montfort m. Alice, dau. of Henry de Aldithley, a great Staffordshire baron, and had issue, PETER, his successor. William, who by gift of his father had the manor of Uppingham, co. Rutland. Robert, who had lands also in the co. Rutland. The eldest son, PETER DE MONTFORT, participated in his father's treasons, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Evesham, but being allowed the benefit of the dictum of Kenilworth, he was restored to his paternal inheritance-and afterwards enjoyed the favour of King EDWARD I., in whose Welsh wars he took a very active part. He d. in 1287, leaving a dau. Elizabeth (who m. 1st, William, son and heir of Simon de Monticute, and 2ndly, Sir Thomas de Furnivall), and a son and heir, JOHN DE MONTFORT, who in the 22nd EDWARD I., being in the wars of Gascony. was the next year summoned to parliament as a baron. His lordship m. Alice, dau. of William de Plaunch, and had issue, Elizabeth, m. to Sir Baldwin de Freville, Knt. He d. in 1296, and was s. by his elder son, JOHN DE MONTFORT, 2nd baron, summoned to parliament 26 July, 1313, in which year he received pardon for his participation in the murder of Piers de Gaveston-and afterwards marching with the English army into Scotland, was killed at the battle of Stryvelin, when, leaving no issue, he was s. by his brother, PETER DE MONTFORT, 3rd baron, summoned to parliament from 22 January, 1336, to 10 March, 1349. This nobleman, prior to the decease of his brother, was in priest's orders, but upon his inheriting the honours of his family the sacred function was dispensed with. In the 15th EDWARD II. he was joined in commission with William de Beauchamp, and Roger de Ailes |
