Biography of Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster 1245-1296

Paternal Family Tree: Anjou aka Plantagenet

Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Geneva Countess Savoy 1180-1252

1236 Marriage of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence

Marriage of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence

On 14th January 1236 [his father] King Henry III of England (age 28) and [his mother] Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England (age 13) were married at Canterbury Cathedral [Map] by Archbishop Edmund Rich (age 61). She the daughter of [his grandfather] Raymond Berenguer Provence IV Count Provence (age 38) and [his grandmother] Beatrice Savoy Countess Provence (age 38). He the son of [his grandfather] King John of England and [his grandmother] Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England (age 48). They were fourth cousins.

On 16th January 1245 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster was born to King Henry III of England (age 37) and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England (age 22) in London.

On 25th October 1265 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 20) was created 1st Earl of Leicester.

In 1267 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 21) was created 1st Earl Lancaster.

On 24th June 1268 [his brother] King Edward I of England (age 29) took the cross at Northampton [Map], along with his brother Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 23) and cousin Henry "Almain" Cornwall (age 32), from Papal Legate Ottobuono Fieschi (age 58).

In 1269 Henry I King Navarre (age 25) and [his future wife] Blanche Capet Queen Navarre (age 21) were married. She the daughter of Robert Capet Count of Artois and [his future mother-in-law] Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol (age 45). He the son of Theobald IV King Navarre and Margaret Bourbon Queen Consort Navarre. They were half third cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 8th April 1269 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 24) and Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster were married. She by marriage Countess Lancaster. She the daughter of William Forz 4th Earl Albemarle and Isabella Redvers 8th Countess Devon and Albemarle (age 31). He the son of King Henry III of England (age 61) and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England (age 46). They were half fourth cousin twice removed. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

Before 9th May 1271 [his brother] King Edward I of England (age 31) and Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England (age 30) sailed from Palermo [Map] and travelled to Acre [Map] arriving on 9th May 1271. They were later joined by Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 26), John "The Red" Capet I Duke Brittany (age 53) and Teobaldo Visconti Archdeacon of Liège (age 41) (who would become Pope a month later).

Death of Henry III

On 16th November 1272 [his father] King Henry III of England (age 65) died at Westminster [Map]. His son [his brother] Edward (age 33) succeeded I King of England. Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England (age 31) by marriage Queen Consort England.

In 1274 [his wife] Aveline Forz 6th Countess Albemarle and Lancaster died. Earl Albemarle 1C 1127 extinct.

On 3rd February 1276 Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 31) and Blanche Capet Queen Navarre (age 28) were married. She by marriage Countess Lancaster. She the daughter of Robert Capet Count of Artois and Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol (age 52). He the son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England (age 53). They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

In 1277 [his brother-in-law] Robert Artois II Count Artois (age 26) and Agnes Dampierre Countess Artois and Charolais (age 40) were married. She by marriage Countess Artois. He the son of Robert Capet Count of Artois and [his mother-in-law] Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol (age 53).

Around 1278 [his son] Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln was born to Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 32) and [his wife] Blanche Capet Queen Navarre (age 30). He a grandson of King Henry III of England.

Around 1281 [his son] Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster was born to Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 35) and [his wife] Blanche Capet Queen Navarre (age 33). He a grandson of King Henry III of England.

On 16th August 1284 King Philip IV of France (age 16) and [his step-daughter] Joan Blois I Queen Navarre (age 11) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. She the daughter of Henry I King Navarre and [his wife] Blanche Capet Queen Navarre (age 36). He the son of King Philip III of France (age 39) and Isabella Barcelona Queen Consort France. They were second cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 5th October 1285 King Philip III of France (age 40) died. On 5th October 1285 His son Philip (age 17) succeeded IV King France: Capet. [his step-daughter] Joan Blois I Queen Navarre (age 12) by marriage Queen Consort of France.

All About History Books

The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

Around 1287 [his brother-in-law] Hugh Chatillon II Count Blois and Beatrix Dampierre Countess Blois were married. She by marriage Countess Blois. She the daughter of Guy Dampierre Count Flanders (age 61) and Isabelle Luxemburg Countess Flanders (age 40). He the son of Guy Chatillon III Count Saint Pol (age 60) and [his mother-in-law] Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol (age 63). They were fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Stephen I England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

On 24th June 1291 [his mother] Eleanor of Provence Queen Consort England (age 68) died at Amesbury Abbey, Wiltshire [Map] where she was subsequently buried. Her heart was buried at Christ Church, Greyfriars [Map].

On 30th December 1292 [his son] Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Leicester 3rd Earl Lancaster (age 11) and [his daughter-in-law] Maud Chaworth (age 10) were married. He the son of Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 47) and [his wife] Blanche Capet Queen Navarre (age 44).

In 1294 [his son] Thomas Plantagenet 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl Lancaster, Earl of Salisbury and Lincoln (age 16) and [his daughter-in-law] Alice Lacy Countess Leicester, and Lancaster 5th Countess of Salisbury 5th Countess Lincoln (age 12) were married. She the daughter of Henry Lacy 4th Earl Lincoln, Earl Salisbury (age 43) and Margaret Longespée 4th Countess of Salisbury and Lincoln. He the son of Edmund "Crouchback" Plantagenet 1st Earl of Leicester 1st Earl Lancaster (age 48) and [his wife] Blanche Capet Queen Navarre (age 46). They were half second cousin twice removed. He a grandson of King Henry III of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. Meanwhile, five citizens of Bordeaux came secretly to Lord Edmund and negotiated with him to surrender the city for 5,000 pounds of silver. They agreed on a signal and a plan: the city would be delivered at dawn two days later, with the condition that all who bore the sign of Saint George would be spared. But as the five returned to Bordeaux, they were betrayed, captured, and imprisoned, and a few days later, they were hanged. When our men arrived expecting to enter freely, they were driven back by the townspeople, who had learned of their approach and had tightly shut the gates. Realizing they had been deceived and having no safe place to fall back to, they withdrew to Bayonne, where they were honourably received. But Lord Edmund (age 51), having already gathered many hired soldiers and spent great sums of treasure, as a man known for his charm and generosity, found himself unable to maintain such a large force due to lack of funds. Around Pentecost, he grew pale and sick, and as the money ran out, so did his strength; a few days later [5th June 1296], he died and went the way of all flesh. Before dying, he commanded his men not to bury his bones until all his debts were paid. They followed his instructions. After a truce was made, his bones were brought back to his brother, the king, and were honourably buried by him at Westminster in London.

Interim vero venerunt quinque burgenses Burdegalenses ad dominum Edmundum, loquentes secreto et componentes cum eo pro quinquies mille libris argenti, ut civitatem Burdegalensem eidem traderent in aurora a secundæ diei dato, cum hoc signo et inito pacto, ut cum essent urbem ingressi parcerent universis qui signo Sancti Georgii munirentur. Dumque reverterentur ad urbem illi quinque, proditi sunt, capti et incarcerati, et post dies paucos patibulis suspensi. Venientibus autem nostris ut ingrederentur ad libitum, repulsi sunt a civibus, qui eorum adventum jam præcognoverant, et firmissime clauserant portas civitatis; initoque consilio, cum se illusos sic cognoscerent, nec securum haberent locum quo declinarent, profecti sunt omnes usque Bayun et honorifice suscepti sunt. At ubi dominus Edmundus multos jam stipendiarios convocaverat, et multos thesauros exhauserat, velut homo facetus et largissimus, cum jam tantam militiam retinere non posset, eo quod non haberet stipendia, decidit vultus ejus et infirmatus est circa Pentecosten, et sic deficiente pecunia defecit et spiritus, et post dies paucos viam universæ carnis ingressus est; præcepitque nostris ut asportarent eum secum, nec sepelirentur ossa sua nisi cum solverentur et debita, feceruntque sic. Et post treugas initas, reduxerunt secum ossa ad fratrem suum regem, et per eum honorifice sepulta sunt apud Westmonasterium Londoniis.

Become a Member via our 'Buy Me a Coffee' page to read complete text.