Everything about Roger Mortimer 1st Earl Of March totally explained
Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (
25 April 1287 –
29 November 1330), an English nobleman, was for three years
de facto ruler of
England, after leading a successful rebellion against
Edward II. He was himself overthrown by Edward's son,
Edward III. Mortimer was also the lover of Edward II's wife,
Isabella of France, who assisted him in the deposition of her husband.
Early life and family history
Mortimer, grandson of
Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer, was born at
Wigmore Castle,
Herefordshire,
England, the firstborn of
Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Mortimer and his wife,
Margaret de Fiennes. Edmund Mortimer had been a second son, intended for minor orders and a clerical career, but on the sudden death of his elder brother, Edmund was recalled from
Oxford University and installed as heir. As a boy, Roger was probably sent to be fostered in the household of his formidable uncle,
Roger Mortimer of Chirk. It was this uncle who had carried the head of
Llywelyn the Last to
King Edward I in 1282.
Like many noble children of his time, Roger was betrothed young, to
Joan de Geneville, the daughter of a neighbouring lord. They were married in 1301, and immediately began a family. Through his marriage with Joan de Geneville, Roger not only acquired increased possessions in the
Welsh Marches, including the important
Ludlow Castle, which became the chief stronghold of the Mortimers, but also extensive estates and influence in
Ireland. However, Joan de Geneville wasn't an "heiress" at marriage. Her grandfather,
Geoffrey de Geneville, at the age of eighty in 1308, conveyed most, but not all, of his Irish lordships to Roger Mortimer, and then retired, notably alive: he finally died in 1314. During his lifetime Geoffrey also conveyed much of the remainder of his legacy, such as
Kenlys, to his younger son (the older son Piers having died in 1292),
Simon de Geneville, who had meanwhile become
Baron of Culmullin through marriage to Joanna FitzLeon. Roger Mortimer therefore succeeded to the lordship of
Trim, County Meath (which later reverted to the Crown). He didn't succeed however to the Lordship of
Fingal.
Roger Mortimer's childhood came to an abrupt end when Lord Wigmore was mortally wounded in a skirmish near
Builth in July 1304. Since Roger was underage at the death of his father, he was placed by King Edward I under the guardianship of
Piers Gaveston, and was knighted by Edward in 1306. In that year also Roger was endowed as Baron Wigmore, and came into his full inheritance. His adult life began in earnest.
Military adventures in Ireland and Wales
In 1308 he went to Ireland in person, to enforce his authority. This brought him into conflict with the
de Lacys, who turned for support to
Edward Bruce, brother of
Robert Bruce, king of Scotland. Mortimer was appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by
Edward II. In 1316, at the head of a large army, he drove Bruce to
Carrickfergus and the de Lacys into
Connaught, wreaking vengeance on their adherents whenever they were to be found.
He was then occupied for some years with baronial disputes on the Welsh border until about 1318.
Opposition to Edward II
In 1318, Mortimer joined the growing opposition to Edward II and the
Despensers, and he supported
Humphrey de Bohun, 4th earl of Hereford, in refusing to obey the king’s summons to appear before him in 1321.
Forced to surrender to the king at
Shrewsbury in January 1322, Mortimer was consigned to the
Tower of London, but by drugging the constable, escaped to France, pursued by warrants for his capture dead or alive, in August 1323. In the following year
Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II, anxious to escape from her husband, obtained his consent to her going to France to use her influence with her brother, King
Charles IV, in favour of peace. At the French court the queen found Roger Mortimer; she became his mistress soon afterwards, and at his instigation refused to return to England so long as the Despensers retained power as the king’s favourites.
Invasion of England and defeat of Edward II
The scandal of Isabella’s relations with Mortimer compelled them both to withdraw from the French court to
Flanders, where they obtained assistance for an invasion of England. Landing in England in September 1326, they were joined by
Henry, Earl of Lancaster; London rose in support of the queen, and Edward took flight to the west, pursued by Mortimer and Isabella.
After wandering helplessly for some weeks in Wales, the king was taken prisoner on 16 November, and was compelled to abdicate in favour of his son. Though the latter was
crowned as
Edward III on
January 25 1327, the country was ruled by Mortimer and Isabella, who were widely believed to have arranged the murder of
Edward II in the following September at
Berkeley Castle. Modern scholarship has cast doubt on this however; it's now almost certain that the ex-king wasn't buried in 1327 but secretly maintained alive on Mortimer's orders until his fall from grace in 1330 (see
English Historical Review, vol CXX, no. 489). A simplified redaction of the scholarly argument underpinning this is available
here
.
Powers won and lost
Rich estates and offices of profit and power were now heaped on Mortimer. He was made constable of
Wallingford Castle, and in September 1328 he was created
Earl of March. However, although in military terms he was far more competent than the Despensers, his ambition was troubling to all. His own son, Geoffrey, mocked him as "the king of folly." During his short time as ruler of England he took over the lordships of Denbigh, Oswestry, and Clun (all of which previously belonged to the Earl of Arundel). He was also granted the
marcher lordship over Montgomery by the Queen.
The jealousy and anger of many nobles was aroused by Mortimer's use of power;
Henry, Earl of Lancaster, one of the principals behind Edward II's deposition, tried to overthrow Mortimer, but the action was ineffective as the young king passively stood by. Then, in March of 1330, Mortimer ordered the execution of
Edmund, Earl of Kent, the half-brother of Edward II. After this execution Henry Lancaster prevailed upon the young king, Edward III, to assert his independence. In October 1330, a Parliament was called in Nottingham, just days before Edward's eighteenth birthday, and Mortimer and Isabella were seized by Edward and his companions from inside Nottingham Castle. In spite of Isabella’s entreaty to her son, "Fair son, have pity on the gentle Mortimer," Mortimer was conveyed to the Tower.
Accused of assuming royal power and of various other high
misdemeanours, he was condemned without trial and ignominiously
hanged at
Tyburn on
29 November 1330, his vast estates being forfeited to the crown. Mortimer's widow, Joan, received a pardon in 1336 and survived till 1356. She was buried beside Mortimer at Wigmore, but the site was later destroyed.
Children of Roger and Joan
The marriages of Mortimer's children cemented Mortimer strengths in the West.
- Edmund Mortimer (1302 – 1331), married Elizabeth de Badlesmore, they'd Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, who was restored to his grandfather’s title.
- Lady Margaret Mortimer (1304 – 5 May, 1337), married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley
- Maud Mortimer (1307 – aft. 1345), married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys
- Geoffrey Mortimer (1309 – 1372/6)
- John Mortimer (1310 – 1328)
- Joan Mortimer (c. 1312 – 1337/51), married James Audley, 2nd Baron Audley
- Isabella Mortimer (c. 1313 – aft. 1327)
- Catherine Mortimer (c. 1314 – 1369), married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick
- Agnes Mortimer (c. 1317 – 1368), married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke
- Beatrice Mortimer (c. 1319 – 1383), married (1) Edward, 2nd Earl of Norfolk; (2) Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose
- Blanche Mortimer (c. 1321 –1347), married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison
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