Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

Nickname

During the Middle Ages, official documents, with few exceptions, were written in Latin; in the Domesday Exchequer annals, written between 1300 and 1304 (that means, over 120 years after Richard's death), he was referred to as "Ricardus cognomento Stranghose Comes Strugulliae", which translates to "Richard, known as Stranghose, earl of Striguil" (modern Chepstow).

In reality, Stranghose is probably a different spelling of Striguil. In the 14th century, the nickname was finally rendered as "Strongbow".

Early life

Richard de Clare was the son of Gilbert de Clare, the first Earl of Pembroke and his wife, Isabel de Beaumont, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester and mistress of King Henry I. Richard also had a sister, Basilea de Clare.

Gilbert died in about 1148, and Richard inherited his father’s possessions when he was roughly 18 years old. for his marcher Lordship of Striguil, where he had a castle.

Career

Background

In 1167, Dermot MacMurrough was deposed as King of Leinster by Rory O'Connor, the High King of Ireland. To recover his kingdom, Dermot went to Aquitaine to ask Henry II of England for assistance, but Henry limited his help to permitting the recruitment of English mercenaries. Dermot failed to recruit in Wales but did meet Richard De Clare and the other lords of the Welsh Marches.

Dermot came to an agreement with Richard: If the latter helped the deposed king in the retaking of Leinster, he could have Aoife, Dermot's eldest daughter, in marriage, along with the succession to the crown if it was regained. Since Henry II's letter to Dermot was general in nature, Richard wanted to obtain the king's specific consent to travel to Ireland. In 1168, he raised the issue at court and was granted permission.

Campaign in Ireland

Dermot and Richard raised a large army, commanded by Raymond FitzGerald, which included Welsh archers. The army sailed in Ireland and took the Ostman towns of Wexford, Waterford and DublinThese were longphorts where the Viking raiders settled, marrying Gaelic women and slightly acculturating to Gaelic customs (such as naming practices, MacGiollamhuire, MacTurkill, etc.), Dublin being the most famous. See: James F. Lydon, The Making of Ireland: From Ancient Times to Present (London; New York: Routledge, 1998), p. 21. between 1169 and 1170. On 23 August 1170, Richard embarked on his ships at Milford Haven to join the force; however, a royal messenger arrived to forbid him to go. Richard sailed anyway and ignored the king's wishes.

Dermot died in May 1171, and his son Donal MacMurrough claimed the kingdom of Leinster in accordance to the Brehon laws. Richard, in turn, claimed the kingship in the right of his wife. At the same time, he sent his uncle, Hervey de Montmorency, on an embassy to Henry II to appease the king, who was growing worried with Richard's increasing power. Henry offered to return Richard's lands in France, England and Wales (which he had confiscated) in exchange for the conquered possessions in Ireland. Richard accepted and surrendered Dublin, Waterford and other fortresses to the English king, only keeping Kildare.

Henry crossed over to Ireland in October 1172 and stayed there for six months, stationing his own men where needed. His rule in Ireland was accepted by both the Gaelic and the Norman lords, and the relationship between him and Richard was restored. Richard, in fact, also agreed to help Henry with the revolt in France in 1173, and, as a reward, he was given his possession of Leinster back. In 1174, he tried to advance into Munster but was defeated in the battle of Thurles.

Death and succession

Richard de Clare died in June 1176 of an infection in either his leg or foot. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Dublin, together with his uncle-in-law, Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin. King Henry II took Richard's possessions for himself and placed a royal official in charge of them, protecting the inheritance of Richard's children. Richard's wife Aoife was given her dower rights and possibly held Striguil until the Welsh rebellion of 1184/85.

Richard was first succeeded by his son Gilbert (born 1173 – died 1185/1189), making him the 3rd Earl of Pembroke. When Gilbert died, still a minor, the inheritance passed onto Richard's daughter Isabel. Isabel, on the wishes of Henry II and his son Richard the Lionheart, was given in spouse to William Marshal, who became the Earl of Pembroke for jure uxoris.

Marriage and issue

By an unknown mistress, Richard de Clare fathered two daughters:

• Aline de Clare,Aline was born well before her father married Aoife, daughter of Dermot. That both she and her unnamed sister were illegitimate is indicated by the fact that neither inherited anything from their father's great holdings. See: Cokayne, CP, X, Appendix H, 103 married William FitzMaurice FitzGerald, baron of Naas
• Basilia de Clare, married Robert de Quincy, Constable of Leinster.

On about 26 August 1171, in Reginald's Tower (Waterford), Richard de Clare married Aoife MacMurrough. Their children were:

• Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, who died a minor in 1185
• Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, who became Countess of Pembroke in her own right in 1185 (on the death of her brother) until her own death in 1220.

Legacy

Richard de Clare was first interred in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral, where a purported tomb effigy is located. Next to it lies a "smaller half-sized monument" which Richard Stanyhurst claimed was "that of Strongbow’s son, whom his father had cleft in twain for cowardice in battle", although "no contemporary authors" mention any such tale. Richard de Clare's actual tomb effigy was destroyed when the roof of the Cathedral collapsed in 1562. The effigy was replaced by "Strongbow’s distant successor, Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney", in 1570. "The larger figure dates from c. 1330, while the smaller [...] is probably late thirteenth- or early fourteenth-century. [...] What is clear is that the present tomb replaced the original. The tomb’s shield is not that of the de Clare family and today remains unidentified". Marc Marie, Marquis de Bombelles "described Strongbow’s tomb astutely as ‘the least authentic and the most remarkable’."

Richard de Clare was buried in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, within sight of the cross according to an eyewitness, Giraldus Cambrensis. There is little evidence to support the tradition that he was buried either in St Edan's Cathedral, Ferns, Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford or Dominican priory, Kilkenny. References to "de Clare" being buried in Gloucester Cathedral refer to his father, while those to "Strongbow" in Tintern abbey refer probably to Walter or Anselm Marshall, both of whom died in 1245.

In popular culture

The English cider brand Strongbow is named after him.

Notes

References

Sources

Citations

References

1. Flanagan, M.T.. (2004). "Clare, Richard fitz Gilbert de [called Strongbow], second earl of Pembroke [earl of Striguil]". Oxford University Press.
2. "Richard FitzGilbert, 2nd earl of Pembroke {{!}} Anglo-Norman lord". Encyclopedia Britannica.
3. Goodrich Castle and the families of Godric Mapson, Monmouth, Clare, Marshall, Montchesney, Valence, Despenser and Talbot
4. Brut y Tywysogyon or The Chronicle of the Princes. Peniarth Ms. 20 version, ed. and trans. T. Jones [Cardiff, 1952], 65. Richard vabGilbert Stragbow[iarll Amhwydic], Brenhinedd y Saeson or The Kings of the Saxons, ed. and trans. T. Jones [Cardiff, 1971], p. 170.
5. Cokayne 1945, p. 352
6. "Clare, Richard de".
7. In 1154, [[Henry II of England. Henry II]] deprived Richard of the title for siding against his mother, [[Empress Matilda]], during [[the Anarchy]], and his contemporaries referred to him as Earl of StriguilM.T. Flanagan, 'Clare, Richard fitz Gilbert de, second earl of Pembroke (c. 1130–1176)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press (2004)
8. ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland'', ed. R. F. Foster (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 57
9. {{Cite EB1911
10. Orpen 1911, p. 91
11. Orpen 1911, p. 93
12. Kostick 2013, pp. 142-143
13. Orpen 1911, p. 184
14. John Davies, ''A History of Wales'' (London: Penguin Group, 1993), p. 126
15. A J Otway-Ruthven; Kathleen Hughes, "A History of Medieval Ireland" (London: Ernest Benn Limited; New York: Barnes & Noble Inc., 1968), p. 48
16. Warren 2000, p. 197
17. Warren 2000, p. 200
18. Venning, Timothy. (2020). "A Chronology of Medieval British History, 1066–1307". Routledge.
19. Altschul, Michael. (1965). "A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares, 1217-1314". The Johns Hopkins Press.
20. Flanagan, M. T.. (2023). "Clare, Isabel de, suo jure countess of Pembroke". Oxford University.
21. Cokayne 1945, Appendix H, p. 103
22. Cokayne 1945, p. 356
23. Cokayne 1945, p. 357
24. Cokayne 1945, pp. 358–64
25. Alfred Webb, ''A compendium of Irish biography'' (Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, 1878), p. 130
26. Kinsella, Stuart. (June 2019). "ARTEFACTS: 'Strongbow's tomb'—nothing to deClare". History Publications.
27. James Graves, 'Armorial bearings of Strongbow', Gentleman's magazine and historical review, ccxvi, 1 (March 1864), 362–3; 'On the arms of Richard de Clare', Gentleman's magazine and historical review, ccxviii, 1 (April 1865), 403–8; ccxvix, 2 (July 1865), 3–11; (August 1865), 207–8;(November 1865), 551–63 gives the best summary.{{original research inline. (May 2019 Stuart Kinsella summarised the most recent work in a lecture to the conference on 'Monuments and Monumentality in Later Medieval and Early Modern Europe' at Stirling University in August 2011{{original research inline). (May 2019)
28. John Finlayson, ''Inscriptions on the monuments, mural tablets &c, Christ Church Cathedral'' (Dublin: Hodges, Foster, & Figgis, 1878), p. 66 notes no more than a 'fearful malediction ... pronounced against him by a Bishop of Ferns' citing King's Church History, ii, 622 and Haverty's 'History of Ireland', p. 256.
29. "About Strongbow".