Sir Maurice de Berkeley "the Resolute" (1218 - 4 April 1281), 8th (feudal) Baron de Berkeley

Baron Berkeley

The title Baron Berkeley originated as a feudal title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas II de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley, 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in 1295, but the title of that creation became extinct at the death of...

, was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

 and rebel

Rebellion

Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...

, residing at Berkeley Castle

Berkeley Castle

Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

.

Maurice was born in 1218 to Thomas de Berkeley and Joan de Somery. He married Isabel de Croun FitzRoy, the daughter of Richard FitzRoy, Baron of Chilham

Richard Fitz Roy

Richard FitzRoy was feudal Baron of Chilham, Kent, and the illegitimate son of King John of England. His mother, John's cousin, was Adela, a daughter of Hamelin de Warenne and Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey....

 (an illegitimate son of King John of England

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

) and Rose de Douvres, sometime before 12 July 1247.

Berkeley fought in the French Wars and was invested as a knight before 1242. He inherited the title of Baron de Berkeley in 1243 and, on 14 December 1243, he had livery of his father's lands. He fought in the war in North Wales

North Wales

North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

 and in 1264 he joined the Barons

Second Barons' War

The Second Barons' War was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort, against the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward , in the name of Henry III.-Causes:...

 against King Henry III

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

. Berkeley died on 4 April 1281 and was buried in St Augustine's Abbey

Bristol Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England, and is commonly known as Bristol Cathedral...

 in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

.