William VALENCE ¹

   Another name for William was Guillaume.

   Ancestral File Number: 8XJ7-4H. User ID: 78972910.

   General Notes:

BOOKS
A History of The Plantagenets, Vol II, The Magnificent Century, Thomas B Costain, 1951, Doubleday & Co
p160: "If that were true, she soon ceased to allow such considerations to control her actions. She had five sons by her second marriage, and it must have been clear to her that anything which widened the breach between the French Crown and the family of Lusignan would make it still more difficult to provide for all of them. She had always been vain, capricious and troublesome, and at this state she seems to have permitted the worst sides of her nature to take possession of her mind to the exclusion of everything else.
p162: "The disgrace of the family of Lusignan had the effect which Isabella should have foreseen earlier. Her husband lost most of his possessions. There would be enough for Hugh, the first son, but what of the four younger sons and three daughters? There was only one way to provide for them, and that was to send them to England and let Henry assume the burden.
"In 1247, a year after their mother's death, four of them arrived at Dover- William, Guy, Aymer, and Alice- the rest being too young to venture from home. They were in charge of the cardinal bishop of Sabina, who was going to England as papal legate; a healthy group of young people whose natural good looks were somewhat marred by the way they wrinkled their noses in disgust at the English climate, the people, and everything they could seeof England itself...
"...William was given one of the great heiresses of England, Joan de Munchensi, a granddaughter of William the Marshal. This was a most important match, because on the death of Joan's father she came into a fifth interest in the huge Marshal holdings. The division gave the penniless William and his bride the family castle of Pembroke and the liberty of Wexford in Ireland. As though enough had not been done, Henry bestowed a yearly pension of five hundred pounds on William and at various times other rich plums, including the castle of Goderich.
"Because he owned the Pembroke Castle, the acquisitive William concluded that he should have the earldom as well. It was an absurd claim, because his wife's mother had been the fifth daughter of the Good Knight and the other daughters had brought sons into the world. With characteristic disregard of the rights of others, however, William assumed the title and swaggered through life in the felief that he was now the representative of the great marshal. He seems to have combined in himself all the worst qualities, being effeminate, proud, cruel, boastful, and covetous. In order to justify his pretensions, he organized tournaments (nearly all of which Henry stopped, having no faith in the prowess of the young man) and went to enormous expense in importing the best blooded horses and the finest armor."
p245: "One of the first acts of the Council was to have the Crown resume control of all royal castles, a move directed at the royal favotites among whomthe bulk of the strongholds had been distributed. A list of peers, nineteen in all, was drawn up to undertake the responsibility in their stead. Simon de Montfort placed Kenilworth and Odiham in the hands of the Council at once, but the Lusignan half brothers, who had already refused to swear obedience to the Provisions, declared their intention of retaining control of all the castles in their hands.William of Valence clashed again with the Earl of Leicester on this issue, and the latter said to him grimly, `This hold for sure, either you give up your castles or you lose your head!'
"The hated King's Men had not been under personal attack during the proceedings at Oxford. They had served on the committee of twenty-four and they would not have been distrubed had they not elected to stand out against the Council. Even though Prince Edward came forward boldly in their favor, the four Lusignans were convinced by the bitterness of the storm raised throughout the country that flight was the only course left them. They attempted to get away but, realizing the impossibility of making their escape, took refuge in Aymer's castele at Winchester. Here they were joined by Edward, but this did not stop the baronial party form laying siege promptly to the place. Lacking the supplies for defense, the brothers were compelled to surrender.
"They were treated with more consideration than might have been expected under the circumstances. They were told they must leave the country, and a choice was presented to them: the first, exile for all of them; the second, a proposal that Guy and Geoffrey abjure the realm while William and Aymer were to be retained in custody in England. The brothers chose the first course. Dover was then fixed as their port of departure, and it was agreed that they might take the sum of six thousand marks with them. All their properties in England would be confiscated, but a subsistence arrangement would be made for them after their departure..."
p275: "William of Valence had returned to England after publication of the Mise of Amiens, on direct invitationfrom the jubilant Henry. He had marched under Edward's banner and was now given the task of pillaging the country around Northampton, extending as far as the Montfort estates at Leicester. This was a task which suited perfectly the haughty andvengeful Lusignan. He went about the razing of manor houses, the burning of villiages, and the slaughtering of innocent people with thoroughness and relish. In the meantime the prince was demonstrating how well he had learned his lesson by following up his victory without delay. Consuming no more than five days in the operation, he marched south with his weary but triumphant followers and captured the town of Winchelsea. Tonbridge Castle, which belonged to Gilbert of Gloucester, fell soon after..."

The Political History of England 1216-1377, Vol III, T F Tout, AMS Press, 1905,
p64: "...A minor result of Louis' triumph was the well-deserved ruin of Hugh of Lusignan and Isabella of Angouleme. The proud spirit of Isabella did not long tolerate her humiliation. She retired to Fontevraud and died there in 1246. Hugh X followed her to the tomb in 1248. Their eldest son Hugh XI suceeded him, but the rest of their numerous family turned for support to the inexhaustible charity of the King of England. Thus in 1247 a Poitevin invasion of the king's half-brothers and sisters recalled to his much-tried subjects the Savoyard invation of ten years earlier. In that single year three of the kin's brothers and one of his sisters accepted his invitation to make a home in England... William, called from the Cistercian abbey in which he was born William of Valence, secured, with the hand of Joan of Munchensi, a claim to the great inheritance that was soon to be scattered by the extinction of the male line of the house of Marshal..."
p99: "...One June 11 [1258] the magnates once more assembled, this time at Oxford. A summons to fight the Welsh gave them an excuse to appear attended with their followers in arms. The royalist partisans nicknamed the gathering the Mad Parliament, but its proceedings were singularly business-like. A petition tion of twenty-nine articles was presented, in which the abuses of the [Henry III] administration were laid bare in detail. A commission of twenty-four was appointed who were to redress the grievances of the nation, and to draw up a new scheme of government. According to the compact Henry himself selected half this body. It was significant of the falling away of the mass of the ruling families from the monarchy, that six of Henry's twelve commissioners were churchmen, four were aliens, three were his brothers, one his brother-in-law, one his nephew, one his wife's uncle...The rest included the three Lusignan brothers, Guy, William, and Aymer, still eight years after his election only elect of Winchester...
"...In strong contrast to these creatures of court favour were the twelve nominees of the barons... "...The twenty-four drew up a plan of reform which left little to be desired in thoroughness. The Provisions of Oxford, as the new constitution was styled, were speedily laid before the barons and adopted...For the first time in our history the king was forced to stand aside from the discharge of his undoubted functions, and suffer them to be exercised by a committee of magnates. The conception of limited monarchy, which had been foreshadowed in the early struggles of Henry's longreign, was triumphantly vindicated, and, after weary years of waiting, the baronial victors demanded more than had ever been suggested by the most free interpretation of the Great Charter..."
p161: "...[1282] A considerable part of the levies had to be despatched to the help of Earl Gilbert of Gloucester, who was charged with the reconquest of the vale of Towy. On June 17 as the earl's soldiers were returning, laden with plunder, to their headquarters at Dynevor, they were suddenly attacked by the Welsh at Llandilo, and were driven back on their base. Gloucester hastily retreated to Carmarthen. He was superseded by William of Valence, whose activity against the Welsh had been quickened by the loss of his son at Llandilo..."

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1981, Micropaedia, Vol VI, p397, Lusignan:
"...Nine children were born to Isabella and Hugh X, five of whom went to England at the invitation of their half brother, Henry III. There they were rewarded withlands, riches, and distinctions at the expense of the English barons, who eventually revolted against Henry and forced the exile of the Lusignan brothers from England in 1258..."

FAMILY SEARCH ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File v4.19 8XJ7-4H.

   Marriage Information:

William married Joan Marshal MUNCHENSY, daughter of Warine De MUNCHENSY and Joan MARSHAL, on 13 Aug 1247. (Joan Marshal MUNCHENSY was born about 1222 in , Pembrokeshire, Wales and died before 20 Sep 1307.)