Baron William De BRAOSE ¹

   Another name for William was Baron.

   Ancestral File Number: 9G8Z-XW. User ID: 37819464.

   General Notes:

Baron

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It is widely suspected that King John, son of Henry II of England,
murdered his nephew Arthur, Count of Brittany, in order to prevent any
thought of Arthur's coming to the throne of England in place of John.
William de Braose had for sometime previously been in charge of Arthur's
imprisonment, but when he believed that John meant the boy no good, he
refused to remain responsible for the boy's welfare. Arthur mysteriously
disappeared while under John's control in Rouen. The author of the
Annales Margam states that Arthur's body was recovered from the Seine and
given decent burial near Bec.

Later, an occasion arose where John required that William de Braose and
his wife Maude give their sons to him as hostages, to ensure William de
Braose's good behavior. Maude refused, stating or insinuating that she
would not give her children into the hands of a mon who had murdered his
own nephew. John made her pay heavily for this remark. He imprisoned her
and her son, William, in Windsor Castle, where they were starved to
death. John had a sister, also. John kept her in honorable confinement
all of her life.

[Source: Tanya Marshall via internet tamarsh@@NGIC.OSIS.GOV , see
articles, "Arthur, duke or count of Brittany" and "Braose, William de (d
1211), "in the Dictionary of National Biography; se "King John," pg 83,
by W. L. Warren; see "Blood Royal: Issue of the Kings and Queens of
Medieval England," pgs 349-351 by T. Anna Leese.]

At his peak Lord of Bramber, Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth,
Radnor, Kington, Limerick and the three castles of Skenfrith, Grosmont
and Whitecastle.

William inherited Bramber, Builth and Radnor from his father; Brecknock
and Abergavenny through his mother. He was the strongest of the Marcher
Lords involved in constant war with the Welsh and other lords. He was
particularly hated by the Welsh for the massacre of three Welsh princes,
their families and their men which took place during a feast at his
castle of Abergavenny in 1175. He was sometimes known as the "Ogre of
Abergavenny". One of the Normans' foremost warriors, he fought alongside
K.Richard at Chalus in 1199 (when Richard received his fatal wound).

William received Limerick in 1201 from K. John. He was also given
custody of Glamorgan, Monmouth and Gwynllwg in return for large
payments.

William captured Arthur, Count of Brittany at Mirebeau in 1202 and was in
charge of his imprisonment for King John. He was well rewarded in
February 1203 with the grant of Gower. He may have had knowledge of the
murder of Arthur and been bribed to silence by John with the city of
Limerick in July. His honours reached their peak when he was made
Sheriff of Herefordshire by John for 1206-7. He had held this office
under Richard from 1192 to 1199.

His fall began almost immediately. William was stripped of his office as
bailiff of Glamorgan and other custodies by K. John in 1206/7. Later he
was deprived of all his lands and, sought by King John in Ireland, he
returned to Wales and joined the Welsh Prince Llewelyn in rebellion. He
fled to France in 1210 via Shoreham "in the habit of a beggar" and died
in exile near Paris. Despite intending to be interred at St. John's,
Brecon, he was buried in the Abbey of St. Victoire, Paris by Stephen
Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, another of John's chief opponents
who was also taking refuge there. His wife and son William were murdered
by John, possibly starved to death at Windsor Castle.
[Internet source:
http://freespace.virgin.net/doug.thompson/BraoseWeb/William3.htm]

ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File Ver 4.11 9G8Z-XW Born 1140, 84ZZ-P5 William De BRAOSE Born Abt 1153 Bramber Sussex England Mar Maud (Matilda) De SAINT VALERY [Lady of LaHaie] 9G90-MG Died 9 Aug 1211 Corbeil France Bur10 Aug 1211 France Chart 513.

   Marriage Information:

William married Lady Matilda Saint Valery LA HAIE, daughter of Reginald De SAINT VALERY, IV. (Lady Matilda Saint Valery LA HAIE was born about 1155 in Bramber, Sussex, England and died in 1210 in Corfe, Windsor, England.)