Loretta de Braose – History… the interesting bits!

The Women Behind Magna Carta

27/08/202327/08/2023Sharon Bennett Connolly8 Comments

Throughout my research into medieval women, two ladies in particular have popped up a number of times: Nicholaa de la Haye and Matilda de Braose. Their unique stories drew me into their world, and the turbulent times of King John. They were the spark that led me to look into the story of Magna Carta; how its clauses were influenced by women and how women used it to protect their own rights. Magna Carta was, perhaps, the first step on the long road to democracy in England, and many women played key roles in its creation and development.

The Magna Carta of 1215 reflects the needs and events of the time in which it was issued; an England on the brink of civil war, disaffected barons demanding redress, the Church and cities such as London looking for protection. It was drawn up by barons looking for redress and legal protection from a king whose word could no longer be trusted, who meted out arbitrary punishments and heavy taxes. It was not a charter that was intended to form the protection and legal rights of every man, woman and child in the land; though it has come to be seen as just that in subsequent centuries. Indeed, the common man does not get a mention, and of the sixty-three clauses, only eight of them mention women as a gender.

The significance of women in the Magna Carta story is not just their limited inclusion in the charter itself, but also in their experiences of the unsettled times in which they lived, in their influence on the charter itself and in their use of its clauses to exact redress for injustices they had experienced. The political crisis which saw the issuing of Magna Carta, and the civil war which followed, was not just significant to the barons involved, but to their wives and families, tenants and retainers. The conflict tore families apart as they took sides in the struggle and saw more than one baron change sides mid-crisis. Wives and daughters were caught in the middle, often torn by divided loyalties; between their birth family and the family into which they had married; between their fathers and their husbands. For instance, Matilda Marshal was the eldest daughter of William Marshal, a man known for his staunch loyalty to the crown, but she was married to Hugh Bigod, son of Roger, second Earl of Norfolk, one of the leaders of baronial opposition.

Tomb of Nicholaa de la Haye, St Michael’s Church, Swaton

Although they had very different experiences, they shared a number of similarities. Probably born within a few years of each other, they were contemporaries and both were key figures in the reign of King John, though for very different reasons. While Nicholaa de la Haye was a staunch supporter of the man who is, arguably, England’s most despised king in history, Matilda de Braose was one of his most female victims. Matilda’s family were harassed to Ireland and back by John, before she and her eldest son were left in a prison cell to starve to death; they were found after 11 days, Matilda’s head resting on her son’s chest, her son’s cheeks bearing the bite marks as evidence of lengths Matilda went to in her desperation to stay alive. It was Matilda’s experiences at the hands of King John that inspired clause 39 of Magna Carta, that clause that is still the cornerstone of British justice to this day:

‘No man shall be taken, imprisoned, outlawed, banished or in any way destroyed, nor will we proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land’

Nicholaa de la Haye, on the other hand, had been a long-time supporter of King John. She first successfully defended Lincoln Castle, in support of John, in the siege of 1191; the siege lasted 40 days before William Longchamp, the hated justiciar, gave up and went home. In 1216, Nicholaa successfully defended it again, this time paying off the rebel barons so that they would lift the siege. In the aftermath, John came north and ravaged the Isle of Axholme, where the barons had retreated to, with ‘fire and sword’. It was after this even that Nicholaa, now in her 60s and recently widowed, offered to relinquish custody of the castle. John refused to accept her resignation and in October, hours before his death, appointed Nicholaa Sheriff of Lincolnshire: she was the first ever female sheriff in England.

Although Nicholaa de la Haye and Matilda de Braose were the major influences behind my book, Ladies of Magna Carta, they were not the only women to make an impression on the Magna Carta story. The deeper I dug, the more stories I uncovered that deserved to be told. Matilda’s own daughter, Loretta de Braose, was one such. Recently widowed following the death of her husband, Robert de Breteuil, Earl of Leicester, Loretta had been forced by John to relinquish her dower rights; Magna Carta clauses 7 and 8 of Magna Carta, protecting widows’ rights:

Clause 7:

After her husband’s death, a widow shall have her marriage portion and her inheritance at once and without any hindrance; nor shall she pay anything for her dower, her marriage portion, or her inheritance which she and her husband held on the day of her husband’s death; and she may stay in her husband’s house for 40 days after his death, within which period her dower shall be assigned to her.

Clause 8:

No widow shall be compelled to marry so long as she wishes to live without a husband, provided that she gives security that she will not marry without our consent if she holds of us, or without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds of another.

Furthermore, there are two women who can be clearly identified in Magna Carta itself, though they are not named, they are two Scottish princesses. The sisters of King Alexander II had been held hostage in England since 1209, when John forced the humiliating Treaty of Norham on their ailing father, King William the Lion. Clause 59 promised:

‘We will treat Alexander, king of Scots, concerning the return of his sisters and hostages and his liberties and rights in the same manner in which we will act towards our other barons of England, unless it ought to be otherwise because of the charters which we have from William his father, formerly king of Scots; and this shall be determined by the judgement of his peers in our court.^’

Women not only influenced the clauses of Magna Carta, however, they also used Magna Carta to assert and protect their own rights. Women such as Ela of Salisbury, who used the promises of Magna Carta to avoid an unwelcome marriage proposal when her husband, William Longspée was missing and feared dead. Or Isabel d’Aubigny, Countess of Arundel, who proclaimed ‘Where are the liberties of England, so often recorded, so often granted and so often ransomed’, when King Henry III foolishly attempted to steal land that was rightfully hers. She must have been a fearsome opponent, as Henry responded to one of her petitions, saying that he would grant her leniency ‘so long as she says nothing opprobrious to us as she did when we were at Westminster!’

And then there were the women for whom Magna Carta offered no protection or respite. Women such as Eleanor of Brittany, for whom even clause 39 could be of no help. Their royal blood and ability to be a focus for opposition to the crown meant that successive kings would keep them imprisoned, either in castles, as with Eleanor, or in a rural convent, as with Gwenllian of Wales, orphan daughter of Llywelyn, Prince of Wales and his wife, Eleanor de Montfort, who was herself a granddaughter of King John.

It was Eleanor’s mother, also Eleanor, the youngest daughter of King John and not a year old at her father’s death, who, as the wife of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, would continue the struggle to curb the powers of the crown in the Second Barons’ War. She herself was defending Dover Castle when her husband was killed at the Battle of Evesham. She spent her final years in French exile. Her struggles to obtain her dower lands from the powerful Marshal family, guaranteed in Magna Carta, were a major component of Eleanor’s own dissatisfaction with her brother, Henry III.

It is through the stories of these remarkable women and the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, that I wanted to examine how they were affected by the First Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath. It is a study of the bonds that were formed and those that were broken among the women of the great families of 13th century England, including the royal families of England and Scotland, the Marshals, the Bigods, the Salisburys, Braoses and Warennes.

Their stories are inspirational, if heartbreaking at times.

Images:

Sources:

Richard of Devizes, The Chronicle of Richard of Devizes; Roger of Howden (Hoveden), The Annals of Roger of Howden; The Plantagenet Chronicles edited by Elizabeth Hallam; Brassey’s Battles by John Laffin; 1215 The Year of Magna Carta by Danny Danziger & John Gillingham; The Life and times of King John by Maurice Ashley; The Plantagenets, the Kings Who Made England by Dan Jones; England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings by Robert Bartlett; lincolnshirelife.co.uk; catherinehanley.co.uk; magnacarta800th.com; lothene.org; lincolncastle.com; The Sheriff: The Man and His Office by Irene Gladwin; Louise Wilkinson, Women in Thirteenth Century Lincolnshire; Richard Huscraft, Tales from the Long Twelfth Century; J.W.F. Hill, Medieval Lincoln; swaton.org.uk; oxforddnb.com; Stephen Church, King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant; Marc Morris, King John; Pipe Rolls; Red Book of the Exchequer

My Books

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Out now: King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers, gaining prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.

Coming 15 January 2024: Women of the Anarchy

On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.

Available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org.

Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org.

Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org.

Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon, Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

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10 Facts About Women and Magna Carta

02/04/202226/07/2023Sharon Bennett Connolly10 Comments

Magna Carta is probably the most significant charter in English history and, today, its importance extends beyond England’s shores, holding a special place in the constitutions of many countries around the world. Despite its age, Magna Carta’s iconic status is a more modern phenomena, seen in the influence it has had on nations and organisations throughout the world, such as the United States of America and the United Nations, who have used it as the basis for their own 1791 Bill of Rights and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, respectively.

Originally called the Charter of Liberties, it was renamed Magna Carta, or Great Charter, in 1217, when the Charter of the Forest (see Appendix C) was issued. Sealed (not signed) in the meadow at Runnymede in June 1215, the legacy of Magna Carta, down through the centuries, has enjoyed a much greater impact on history and the people of the world than it did at the time of its creation. As a peace treaty between rebellious barons and the infamous King John, it was an utter failure, thrown out almost before the wax seals had hardened, not worth the parchment it was written on.

The Magna Carta of 1215 reflects the needs and events of the time in which it was issued; an England on the brink of civil war, disaffected barons demanding redress, the Church and cities such as London looking for protection. It was not a charter that was intended to form the protection and legal rights of every man, woman and child in the land; though it has come to be seen as just that in subsequent centuries. Indeed, the common man does not get a mention, and of the sixty-three clauses, only eight of them mention women as a gender. Only one clause uses the word femina – woman – and that is a clause which restricts the rights and powers of a woman, rather than upholding them.

10 Facts About Women and Magna Carta

1. As queen, Isabelle d’Angoulême is mentioned in Clause 61, the security clause of Magna Carta:

‘…And if we or our justiciar, should we be out of the kingdom, do not redress the offence within forty days from the time it was brought to the notice of us or our justiciar, should we be out of the kingdom, the aforesaid four barons shall refer the case to the rest of the twenty-five barons and those twenty-five barons with the commune of all the land shall distrain and distress us in every way they can, namely by seizing castles, lands and possessions, and in such other ways as they can, saving our person and those of our queen and our children, until, in their judgement, amends have been made; and when it has been redressed they are to obey us as they did before…’

2. Other than Isabelle d’Angoulême, only 2 women can be positively identified in the text of Magna Carta. Though they are not named, the Scottish princesses, Isabella and Margaret appear in clause 59 as the ‘sisters’ of Alexander II, King of Scots:

‘We will treat Alexander, king of Scots, concerning the return of his sisters and hostages and his liberties and rights in the same manner in which we will act towards our other barons of England, unless it ought to be otherwise because of the charters which we have from William his father, formerly king of Scots; and this shall be determined by the judgement of his peers in our court.^’

3. Magna Carta restricts the right of women to accuse others of murder. Clause 54 states:

‘No one shall be taken or imprisoned upon the appeal of a woman for the death of anyone except her husband.’

In a time when a man had the right to face his accuser in trial by combat to prove his innocence, this right would be automatically removed if his accuser was a woman; women were not allowed to use force of arms. A female accuser was seen as being able to circumvent the law, and therefore the law was open to abuse. It was merely that a woman may make a false accusation, rather that a woman may be manipulated by her menfolk to make an accusation, knowing that she would not be required to back it up by feat of arms. Whereas her husband, father or brother may have been challenged to do just that.

Clause 54 was used on 5 July 1215, when King John ordered the release of Everard de Mildeston, an alleged murderer. Everard had been accused of the murder of her son, Richard, by Seina Chevel. The charge was therefore forbidden under the terms of Magna Carta, and the accused released.

4. The experiences of Loretta de Braose are believed to have inspired Clauses 7 and 8, which sought to protect the rights of widows. Clause 7 established that:

‘After her husband’s death, a widow shall have her marriage portion and her inheritance at once and without any hindrance; nor shall she pay anything for her dower, her marriage portion, or her inheritance which she and her husband held on the day of her husband’s death; and she may stay in her husband’s house for 40 days after his death, within which period her dower shall be assigned to her.’

5. Clause 8 allowed that a widow was to be free to choose whether or not to remarry, so long as she paid for the privilege:

‘No widow shall be compelled to marry so long as she wishes to live without a husband, provided that she gives security that she will not marry without our consent if she holds of us, or without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds of another.’

The clauses protecting widows were intended to protect the inheritances of underage heirs, rather than the rights of the women themselves.

6. Clause 11 protects a wife from having to repay the debts of her dead husband from her dower:

‘And if a man dies owing a debt to the Jews, his wife may have her dower and pay nothing of that debt; and if he leaves children under age, their needs shall be met in a manner in keeping with the holding of the deceased; and the debts shall be paid out of the residue, saving the service due to the lords. Debts owing to others than Jews shall be dealt with likewise.’

This clause would have saved many-a-widow from poverty!

7. Clause 12 allows the king to raise a ‘reasonable’ aid or scutage (taxes) to pay towards the first marriage of his eldest daughter:

Joan of England, King John’s oldest daughter

‘No scutage or aid shall be levied in our realm except by the common counsel of our realm, unless it is for the ransom of our person, the knighting of our eldest son or the first marriage of our eldest daughter; and for these only a reasonable aid is to be levied. Aids from the city of London are to be treated likewise.’

This not only guaranteed the king the opportunity to raise money towards the marriage of his eldest daughter – it limited him from imposing taxes to pay towards the marriage of any younger daughters, limiting the liability of the populace.

8. Clause 15 allows that no lord could raise a tax from his free men except to ransom his person, knight his eldest son and marry his eldest daughter once:

‘Henceforth we will not grant anyone that he may take an aid from his free men except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight and to marry his eldest daughter once; and for these purposes only a reasonable aid is to be levied.’

9. The fate of Matilda de Braose, left to starve to death in John’s dungeons, is thought to have influenced clauses 39 and 40 of Magna Carta. Clause 39 states;

‘No man shall be taken, imprisoned, outlawed, banished or in any way destroyed, nor will we proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.’

Clause 40 promised:

‘To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice.’

Clause 39 could not prevent the perpetual imprisonment of women of royal blood, such as Eleanor of Brittany and Gwenllian of Wales. Their royal blood made them a focus for rebellion and opposition and therefore a threat to the throne and the stability of the kingdom.

10. Ela of Salisbury used clause 8 of Magna Carta to support her rejection of an unwelcome offer of marriage:

‘No widow is to be distrained to marry while she wishes to live without a husband.’

The clause got Ela out of a sticky situation. Reports of her husband’s death were premature and he returned home shortly after. Tricky situation avoided…

11. Clause 6 of Magna Carta dictated that

‘Heirs shall be given in marriage without disparagement, yet so that before a marriage is contracted it shall be made known to the heir’s next of kin.’

This clause should have effectively protected women from being forced to marry below their station, though it did not always work.

12. Isabel d’Aubigny famously invoked Magna Carta when Henry III commandeered land and rights that were rightly hers, proclaiming;

‘Where are the liberties of England, so often recorded, so often granted, and so often ransomed?’

13. The Rt. Hon. Fiona Woolf, C.B.E., called Magna Carta

‘the single most important legal document in history. The foundation for global constitutions, commerce and communities. The anchor for the Rule of Law.’

You may have noticed that there were 13 facts, rather than the 10 as advertised – my apologies. I got carried away!