Eleanor de Clare (1292 – June 30, 1337) was the eldest daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford and 3rd Earl of Gloucester, and Joan of Acre. With her sisters, Elizabeth de Clare and Margaret de Clare, she inherited her father's estates after the death of her brother, Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Gloucester. For broader historical context, see 1290s and 13th century. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining, and the last day of June. ... Events March 17 - Edward, the Black Prince is created Duke of Cornwall, becoming the first English Duke Beginning of the Hundred Years War between France and England Bisham Priory founded Births Louis II, Duke of Bourbon (died 1410) Jean Froissart, historian and courtier from Hainaut. ... Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford and 3rd Earl of Gloucester was born 2 September 1243, at Christchurch, Hampshire. ... The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. ... Joan of Acre (May 1271 - April 7, 1307) was a daughter of King Edward I of England and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290). ... Elizabeth de Clare (September 16, 1295-1360) was the heiress to the lordships of Clare, Suffolk in England and Usk in Wales. ... Margaret de Clare (1293-1342) was one of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Gloucester and his wife, Joan of Acre. ... Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford and 1st Earl of Gloucester) (1180 - October 25, 1230) was an English nobleman of the Norman period. ...

She was born at Caerphilly, Glamorgan, and married, at Westminister, in May 1306, Hugh the younger Despenser, the son of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester by Isabel Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. Her grandfather, King Edward I of England, granted Eleanor a maritagium of 2,000 pounds sterling. Eleanor and Hugh would have nine children: Glamorgan or Morgannwg is a maritime traditional county of Wales, UK, and was previously a medieval kingdom or principality. ... The execution of Hugh, the younger Despenser, from a manuscript of Froissart. ... Hugh (1262-1326), son of Hugh le Despenser II, sometimes referred to as the elder Despenser, was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England. ... King Edward I of England (June 17, 1239 – July 7, 1307), popularly known as Longshanks because of his 6 foot 2 inch frame and the Hammer of the Scots (his tombstone, in Latin, read, Hic est Edwardvs Primus Scottorum Malleus, Here lies Edward I, Hammer of the Scots), achieved fame...

1. Hugh le Despenser III (1308-1349)
2. Gilbert le Despenser, died 1381.
3. Edward le Despenser, died 1342.
4. John le Despenser, died June 1366.
5. Isabel le Despenser (1312-1356), married Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel
6. Eleanor le Despenser, died after 1351, nun at Semplingham Priory
7. Joan le Despenser, died 1384, nun at Shaftesbury Abbey
8. Margaret le Despenser, died 1337, nun at Whatton Priory
9. Elizabeth le Despenser, born 1325, married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.

Eleanor's husband rose to prominence as the new favorite of King Edward II of England, who was also Eleanor's uncle. The king strongly favored Hugh and Eleanor, visiting them often and granting them many gifts. One foreign chronicler even alleged that Edward was involved in a ménage à trois with his niece and her husband. Whatever the truth, Eleanor's fortunes changed drastically after the invasion of Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer. Hugh le Despenser was executed, and Eleanor was imprisoned in November 1326. She was confined to the Tower of London until February 1328. In April 1328, she was allowed possession of her own lands, for which she did homage. Events Henry VII is elected as king of the Holy Roman Empire. ... Jump to: navigation, search // Events August 24 - Black Death outbreak in Elbing (modern-day Elblag in Poland) October 20 - Pope Clement VI publishes a papal bull that condemns the Flagellants The bubonic plague is spread to Norway when an English ship with everyone dead on board floats to Bergen Births... Jump to: navigation, search Events June 12 - Peasants Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath. ... Events May - Pope Clement VI elected John III Comnenus becomes emperor of Trebizond Louis becomes king of Sicily and duke of Athens Constantine IV becomes king of Armenia Patriarch of Antioch transferred to Damascus under Ignatius II Kitzbühel becomes part of Tyrol Louis I becomes king of Hungary Births... Events Births Anne of Bohemia, Queen consort of Richard II of England. ... Isabel le Despenser married Sir Richard Serjeaux ... Events June 15 : Battle near Rozgoni Battle near Thebes Siege of Rostock begins Births November 13 - King Edward III of England Deaths June 19 - Piers Gaveston, favourite of Edward II of England September 7 - King Ferdinand IV of Castile Categories: 1312 ... Events January 20 - Edward Balliol surrenders title as King of Scotland to Edward III of England April 16 — the King of the Serbian Kingdom of RaÅ¡ka Stefan DuÅ¡an is proclaimed Tsar (Emperor) of all Serbs, Arbanasses and Greeks in Skopje by the Serbian Orthodox Christian Patriarch of a... Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel (c. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Suko of Japan, third of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Start of the reign of Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan, fourth of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders May 1 Zürich joins the Swiss Confederation. ... Events May / September 3 - Siege of Lisbon by the Castilian army, during the 1383-1385 Crisis Births Antoine, Duke of Brabant (died 1415) St Frances of Rome (died 1440) Khalil Sultan, ruler of Transoxiana (died 1411) Deaths August 20 - Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life... Gold Hill Shaftesbury is a town in North Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. ... Events March 17 - Edward, the Black Prince is created Duke of Cornwall, becoming the first English Duke Beginning of the Hundred Years War between France and England Bisham Priory founded Births Louis II, Duke of Bourbon (died 1410) Jean Froissart, historian and courtier from Hainaut. ... Elizabeth Despenser (died April 10, 1408) was an English noblewoman of the late 14th century. ... Events Muhammed Tughlaq succeeds his father Ghiyas al-Din Tughlaq as Sultan of Delhi. ... Edward II, (April 25, 1284 – September 21, 1327), of Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until deposed in January, 1327. ... A ménage à trois is a relationship or domestic arrangement in which three people, usually a married couple and the lover of one of them, live together or are romantically or sexually involved. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Osman I (1299-1326) to Orhan I (1326-1359) Aradia de Toscano, is initiated into a Dianic cult of Italian Witchcraft (Stregheria), and discovers through a vision that she is the human incarnation of the goddess Aradia. ... The Tower of London, seen from the river, with a view of the water gate called Traitors Gate. ...

The Despenser family's fortunes also suffered with the executions of Eleanor's husband and father-in-law. Eleanor and Hugh's eldest son, another Hugh, who held Caerphilly Castle against the queen's forces until the spring of 1327, was spared his life when he surrendered the castle but remained a prisoner until July 1331, after which he was slowly restored to royal favor. Three of Eleanor's daughters were forcibly veiled as nuns. Only the eldest daughter, Isabel, and the youngest daughter, Elizabeth, escaped the nunnery, Isabel because she was already married and Elizabeth on account of her infancy.

Eleanor was abducted from Hanley Castle in January 1329 by William de la Zouche, who had been one of her husband's captors and who had led the siege of Caerphilly Castle. The abduction may in fact have been an elopement; in any case, Eleanor's lands were seized by the king, and the couple was ordered to be arrested. At the same time, Eleanor was accused of stealing jewels from the Tower. Sometime after February 1329, she was imprisoned a second time in the Tower of London; later, she was moved to Devizes Castle. In January 1330, she was released and pardoned after agreeing to sign away the most valuable part of her share of the lucrative Clare inheritance to the crown. She could recover her lands only on the condition that she pay the enormous sum of 50,000 pounds in a single day. Map sources for Hanley at grid reference SJ8847 Hanley, located in the United Kingdom, is one of the six towns that joined together to form Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. ... Events Antipope Nicholas V is excommunicated by Pope John XXII. Aimone of Savoy becomes Count of Savoy. ...

Within the year, however, the young Edward III overthrew Queen Isabella's paramour, Roger Mortimer, and had him executed. Eleanor was among those who benefited from the fall of Mortimer and Isabella. She petitioned Edward III for the restoration of her lands, claiming that she had signed them away after being threatened by Roger Mortimer that she would never be freed if she did not. In 1331, Edward III granted her petition "to ease the king's conscience" and allowed her to recover the lands on the condition that she pay a fine of 10,000 pounds, later reduced to 5,000 pounds, in installments. Eleanor made payments on the fine, but the bulk of it was outstanding at the time of her death. Roger Mortimer (25 April 1287 – 29 November 1330), grandson of the 1st Baron Wigmore, was the best-known of his name. ...

Eleanor's troubles were by no means over, however. After Eleanor's marriage to Zouche, Sir John Grey, 1st Baron Grey claimed that he had married her first. Grey was still attempting to claim Eleanor in 1333; the case was appealed to the Pope several times. Ultimately, Zouche won the dispute. Eleanor remained with him until his death in February 1337, only a few months before Eleanor's own death. Eleanor and William had one child: Events End of the Kamakura period and beginning of the Kemmu restoration in Japan. ...

1. William de la Zouche, born 1330, died after 1360, a monk at Glastonbury Abbey.

Hugh le Despenser the younger and Eleanor are generally credited with beginning the renovations to Tewkesbury Abbey that transformed it into the fine example of the Decorated style of architecture that it is today. The famous fourteenth-century stained-glass windows in the choir, which include the armor-clad figures of Eleanor's ancestors, brother, and two husbands, were most likely Eleanor's own contribution, although she probably did not live to see them put in place. The nude, kneeling woman watching the Last Judgment in the choir's east window may represent Eleanor. Events The Bulgars under Michael III are beaten by the Serbs at Velbuzhd, and large parts of Bulgaria fall to Serbia. ... Events Treaty of Brétigny King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark seizes Scania (from 1658 a Swedish province). ... Glastonbury Abbey in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, now presents itself as traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world situated in the mystical land of Avalon by dating the founding of the community of monks at 63 A.D., the legendary visit of Joseph of Arimathea, who was supposed... The Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, is the second largest parish church in England. ...

Eleanor de Clare is the heroine of a recent historical novel, The Traitor's Wife: A Novel of the Reign of Edward II, by Susan Higginbotham. She is also portrayed charmingly as a young girl in Feudal Family: The De Clares of Gloucester, by Edith Brouwer.

Sources

Altschul, Michael, A Baronial Family in Medieval England: The Clares; Mary Anne Everett Green, Lives of the Princesses of England; Roy Martin Haines, King Edward II; Richard K. Morris and Ron Shoesmith, Tewkesbury Abbey: History, Art, and Architecture; Pugh, T.B., ed., vol. 3, Glamorgan County History; Rees, William, Caerphilly Castle and Its Place in the Annals of Glamorgan; Underhill, Frances. For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh; Calendar of Close Rolls; Calendar of Fine Rolls; Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland; Calendar of Patent Rolls; The Parliament Rolls of Medieval England (CD-ROM version), ed. by C. Given-Wilson et al.