Richard of Cornwall (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was Count of Poitou (from 1225 to 1243),
Earl of CornwallThe title of Earl of Cornwall was created several times in the Peerage of England before 1337, when it was superseded by the title Duke of Cornwall, which became attached to heirs-apparent to the throne.-Earls of Cornwall, 1st creation :...
(from 1225) and German King (formally "
King of the RomansKing of the Romans was the title used by the elected ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperator futurus prior to his imperial coronation performed by the Pope, King of the Romans was the title used by the elected ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperator futurus ("Emperor to-be"—...
", from 1257). One of the wealthiest men in Europe, he also joined the
Sixth CrusadeThe Sixth Crusade started in 1228 as an attempt to reconquer Jerusalem. It began only seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade. It involved very little actual fighting, and some sources do not number it as a crusade; to them the "Sixth Crusade" is Louis IX's attempt on Damietta, two...
, where he achieved success as a negotiator for the release of prisoners, and assisted with the building of the citadel in
AscalonAshkelon or Ashqelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Bronze Age...
.
Early life
He was born on 5 January 1209 at
Winchester CastleWinchester Castle, is a castle in England in the city of Winchester, in the county of Hampshire, built in 1067. Only the Great Hall exists now; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester.-The Great Hall:...
, the second son of
King JohnJohn , King of England, reigned from 6 April 1199 until his death. He acceded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I, who died without issue...
and
Isabella of AngoulêmeIsabella of Angoulême was Countess of Angoulême and queen consort of England.-Queen of England:She was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice de Courtenay. Her paternal grandparents were William IV of Angoulême, Count of Angouleme and Marguerite de Turenne...
. He was made
High Sheriff of BerkshireThe High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'....
at the age of only eight, was styled Count of Poitou from 1225 and in the same year, at the age of sixteen, his brother
King Henry IIIHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to 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...
gave him Cornwall as a birthday present. Richard's revenues from Cornwall provided him with great wealth, and he became one of the wealthiest men in Europe. Though he campaigned on King Henry's behalf in
PoitouPoitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
and
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Brittany was previously a kingdom and then as a duchy it was a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was at one time called Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, and served as Regent three times, relations were often strained between the brothers in the early years of Henry's reign. Richard rebelled against him three times, and had to be bought off with lavish gifts.
Marriage to Isabel, 1231-40
In March 1231 he married
Isabel MarshalIsabel Marshal was a medieval English countess. She was the wife of both Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford and 1st Earl of Gloucester and Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall...
, the wealthy widow of
the Earl of GloucesterGilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford was the son of Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, from whom he inherited the Clare estates, from his mother, Amice Fitz William, the estates of Gloucester and the honour of St. Hilary, and from Rohese, an ancestor, the moiety of the Giffard estates...
, much to the displeasure of his brother King Henry, who feared the Marshal family because they were rich, influential, and often opposed him. Richard became stepfather to Isabel's six children from her first husband. In that same year he acquired his main residence,
Wallingford CastleThe remains of Wallingford Castle, once an important royal castle and defensive stronghold, are situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames.-History:...
in
BerkshireBerkshire is a county in the South East of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters...
(now
OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
), and spent much money on developing it. He had other favoured properties at
Marlow- United Kingdom :*Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire*Marlow, Buckinghamshire**Marlow F.C., a football club in Buckinghamshire**Marlow United F.C., a football club in Buckinghamshire*Marlow, Herefordshire*Robert Marlow, a UK musician also performing as "Marlow"...
and
CippenhamCippenham is a suburb of the unitary authority of Slough in the county of Berkshire, England. It was transferred to Berkshire from Buckinghamshire in 1974.The name, Cippenham derives from the old English Cippan-ham, meaning Cippa's homestead....
in
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
. Isabel and Richard had four children, of whom only their son,
Henry of AlmainHenry of Almain , so called because of his father's German connections as King of the Romans , was the son of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and Isabel Marshal....
, survived to adulthood. Richard opposed
Simon de MontfortSimon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester , was a French-English nobleman, notable as the principal leader of the baronial opposition to King Henry III of England. After the rebellion of 1263 and 1264, de Montfort became de facto ruler of England and called the first directly elected parliament in...
, and rose in rebellion in 1238 to protest against the marriage of his sister,
EleanorEleanor of England was the youngest child of King John of England and Isabelle of Angouleme.- Early life :...
, to Simon. Once again he was placated with rich gifts. When Isabel was on her deathbed in 1240, she asked to be buried next to her first husband at
TewkesburyTewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
, but Richard had her interred at
Beaulieu AbbeyBeaulieu Abbey, , was a Cistercian abbey located in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1203-1204 by King John and peopled by 30 monks sent from the abbey of Cîteaux in France, the mother house of the Cistercian order...
instead. As a pious gesture, however, he sent her heart to Tewkesbury.
On Crusade and marriage to Sanchia, 1240-43
Later that year Richard departed for the Holy Land. He fought in no battles but managed to negotiate for the release of prisoners and the burials of Crusaders killed at a battle in
GazaGaza is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 410,000, making it the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority....
in 1239. He also refortified
AscalonAshkelon or Ashqelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Bronze Age...
, which had been demolished by
SaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a Kurdish Muslim who became the Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He led Islamic opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
. On his return from the Holy Land, Richard visited his sister
IsabellaFor Isabella of England, the daughter of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, see Isabella de Coucy.Isabella of England, also called Elizabeth was an English princess and, by marriage, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, and Queen consort of Sicily.She was the fourth child but second...
, the empress of
Frederick IIFrederick II of Hohenstaufen was Holy Roman Emperor from his papal coronation in 1220 until his death; he was also a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, and of Burgundy...
. Shortly after his return on 28 January 1242, King Henry and his wife Eleanor brought up the idea of a marriage with Eleanor's sister
SanchiaSanchia of Provence , was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Sanchia was described as `of incomparable beauty.'...
. On his journey to the Holy Land, Richard had met her in the Provence, where he was warmly welcomed by her father Raymond Berenger V and had fallen in love with this beautiful girl. Richard and Sanchia (whom the English called Cynthia) married at Westminster in November 1243. This marriage tied him even more closely to the royal party.
Poitou and Sicily
Richard's claims to
GasconyGascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
and
PoitouPoitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
were never more than nominal, and in 1241 King
Louis IX of FranceLouis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was a member of the House of Capet, the son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile...
invested his own brother
AlphonseAlfonso or Alphonse was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Count of Toulouse from 1247.Alphonse was a son of Louis VIII, King of France and Blanche of Castile...
with Poitou. Moreover, Richard and Henry's mother, Isabella of Angouleme, claimed to have been insulted by the French king. They were encouraged to recover Poitou by their stepfather,
Hugh X of LusignanHugh X of Lusignan, Hugh V of La Marche or Hugh I of Angoulême or Hugues X & V & I de Lusignan succeeded his father Hugh IX as Seigneur de Lusignan and Count of La Marche in November, 1219 and was Count of Angoulême by marriage.It is unclear whether it was Hugh IX or Hugh X who was betrothed to...
, but the expedition turned into a military fiasco after Lusignan betrayed them.
The pope offered Richard the
crown of SicilyThe Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom covered not only the island of...
, but according to
Matthew ParisMatthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He wrote a number of works, mostly historical, which he scribed and illuminated himself, typically in drawings partly coloured with watercolour...
he responded to the extortionate price by saying, "You might as well say, 'I make you a present of the moon - step up to the sky and take it down." Instead, his brother King Henry purchased the kingdom for his own son
EdmundEdmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence.-Childhood:Edmund was born in London...
.
Elected King of Germany, 1256
Although Richard was elected in 1256 as King of Germany by four of the seven
German Electoral PrincesThe Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors....
(
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
,
MainzMainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was a politically important seat of the Prince-elector of Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the...
, the Palatinate and
BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
), his candidacy was opposed by
Alfonso X of CastileAlfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
who was elected by
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
,
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
and
TrierTrier is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC. Trier is not the only city claiming to be Germany's oldest, but it is the only one that bases this assertion on having the longest history as a city, as opposed to a mere...
. The pope and king
Louis IXLouis IX may refer to:* Louis IX of France .* Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria "the Rich" * Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt ....
of France favoured Alfonso, but both were ultimately convinced by the powerful relatives of Richard's sister in law,
Eleanor of ProvenceEleanor of Provence was Queen Consort of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272.- Family :...
, to support Richard.
Ottokar II of BohemiaOttokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
, who at first voted for Richard but later elected Alfonso, eventually agreed to support the earl of Cornwall, thus establishing the required simple majority. So Richard only had to bribe four of them, but this came at a huge cost of 28,000 marks. On 27 May 1257 the archbishop of
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
himself crowned Richard "
King of the RomansKing of the Romans was the title used by the elected ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperator futurus prior to his imperial coronation performed by the Pope, King of the Romans was the title used by the elected ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperator futurus ("Emperor to-be"—...
" in
AachenAachen is a historic spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the medieval Kings of Germany...
. However, like his lordships in
GasconyGascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
and
PoitouPoitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
, his title never held much significance, and he made only four brief visits to Germany between 1257 and 1269.
Later life, death and successors
He founded
Burnham AbbeyBurnham Abbey was founded as a house of Augustinian nuns in 1266 by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans, who presented the community with the surrounding lands and the parish church of Burnham in Buckinghamshire...
in
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
in 1263, and the Grashaus,
AachenAachen is a historic spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the medieval Kings of Germany...
in 1266.
He joined King Henry in fighting against Simon de Montfort's rebels in the
Second Barons' WarThe Second Barons' War was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, against the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward .-Causes:...
(1264–67). After the shattering royalist defeat at the
Battle of LewesThe Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264...
, Richard took refuge in a
windmillA windmill is a machine which translates linear motion of wind to rotational motion by means of adjustable vanes called sails. The main use is for a grinding mill powered by the wind, reducing a solid or coarse substance into pulp or minute grains by crushing, grinding, or pressing...
, was discovered, and imprisoned until September 1265.
In December 1271 he had a stroke. His right side was paralyzed and he lost the ability to speak. On 2 April 1272 Richard died at
Berkhamsted CastleBerkhamsted Castle, is in ruins Norman Motte and Bailey castle at Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. The castle is said to be unique in having a double moat....
in
HertfordshireHertfordshire , abbreviated Herts, is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford....
. He was buried next to his second wife
Sanchia of ProvenceSanchia of Provence , was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Sanchia was described as `of incomparable beauty.'...
and
Henry of AlmainHenry of Almain , so called because of his father's German connections as King of the Romans , was the son of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and Isabel Marshal....
, his son by his first wife, at
Hailes AbbeyHailes Abbey is two miles northeast of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England.The abbey was founded in 1245 or 1246 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, called "King of the Romans" and the younger brother of King Henry III of England. He was granted the manor of Hailes by Henry, and settled it with...
, which he had founded.
After his death, a power struggle ensued in Germany, which only ended in 1273 by the emergence of a new Roman King, Rudolph I of Habsburg, the first scion of a long lasting noble family to rule the empire. In Cornwall, Richard was succeeded by
EdmundEdmund of Almain , was the second Earl of Cornwall of the 7th creation.-Early life:Edmund was born at Berkhamsted Castle on 26 December 1249, the second and only surviving son of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and his wife Sanchia of Provence, daughter of Ramon Berenguer, Count of Provence, and...
, son of his second wife Sanchia.
Marriages and issue
He married three times:
Firstly, on 30 March 1231, at St Mary's Church at
FawleyFawley is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in the south-western corner of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the border between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, about seven miles west of Great Marlow and north of Henley-on-Thames....
in
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
, to
Isabel MarshalIsabel Marshal was a medieval English countess. She was the wife of both Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford and 1st Earl of Gloucester and Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall...
, widow of Gilbert de ClareGilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford was the son of Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, from whom he inherited the Clare estates, from his mother, Amice Fitz William, the estates of Gloucester and the honour of St. Hilary, and from Rohese, an ancestor, the moiety of the Giffard estates...
, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, and daughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of PembrokeWilliam Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke , also called William the Marshal , was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He has been described as the "greatest knight that ever lived"...
. She died in childbed 17 January 1240. Isabel bore him four children, all of whom died in infancy, except
Henry of AlmainHenry of Almain , so called because of his father's German connections as King of the Romans , was the son of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and Isabel Marshal....
(1235–71), Richard's heir apparent. Henry was the victim of the famous murder at ViterboViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 100 kilometers north of Rome on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and Monti Volsini. The historic center of the city is surrounded by...
, when he was cut down while praying in a church by his cousins, Simon the younger de Montfort and Guy de Montfort, Count of NolaGuy de Montfort, Count of Nola was the son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England.He participated in the Battle of Evesham against the royalist forces of his uncle, King Henry III of England, and his cousin, Prince Edward...
.
Secondly, on 23 November 1243, at Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
, to SanchiaSanchia of Provence , was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Sanchia was described as `of incomparable beauty.'...
, daughter of Raymond Berenger IVRamon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape...
, Count of Provence. She died 9 November 1261. Sanchia and Richard had three sons.
Edmund, 2nd Earl of CornwallEdmund of Almain , was the second Earl of Cornwall of the 7th creation.-Early life:Edmund was born at Berkhamsted Castle on 26 December 1249, the second and only surviving son of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and his wife Sanchia of Provence, daughter of Ramon Berenguer, Count of Provence, and...
(1249–1300) but he died childless
Richard Cornwall
, infant who died within a month of his birth.
Richard de Cornwall
(1252–96) who married Joan Saint Owen (born 1260) and had children. He, however, died at the siege of Berwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
in 1296.
Thirdly, on 16 June 1269, at Kaiserslautern' is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century and is within easy reach of Paris , Frankfurt , and Luxembourg .Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
, to Beatrice of
FalkenburgValkenburg aan de Geul is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.-History:Siege and conquest were characteristic of the history of Valkenburg. Each event is withheld, followed by subsequent restorations. This most definitely holds for the castle perched atop of a hill in the middle of the...
, daughter of Dietrich I, Count of Falconburg. There were no children. She was aged about sixteen to Richard's sixty, and was said to be one of the most beautiful women of her time. Beatrice died 17 October 1277 and was buried at the Church of the Friars Minor in OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
.
Richard had the reputation of being a womanizer. His mistress, Joan de Valletort
, was certainly the mother of at least two of his illegitimate children.
Philip de Cornwall
, was a cleric in 1248
Joan de Cornwall
, in 1258.
Walter de Cornwall, was granted lands by his half-brother Edmund, and died in 1313.
Media
Richard and his first wife, Isabel Marshall, appear as characters in Virginia Henley's historical novels, The Marriage Prize
and The Dragon and the Jewel.
Ancestors
Sources
- Denholm-Young, Noel. Richard of Cornwall, 1947
- Tyerman, Christopher. England and the Crusades, 1095–1588
- Lewis, Frank. Beatrice of Falkenburg, the Third Wife of Richard of Cornwall, 1937
- Charter given by Richard as German King to the town of Zürich, 20.11.1262. Photograph taken from the collections of the Lichtbildarchiv älterer Originalurkunden at Marburg University showing Richards's seal.
|-
|-
|-