Sir Hugh Courtenay, KG Thomas Courtenay Sir Edward Courtenay Robert Courtenay William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury Sir Philip Courtenay Sir Peter Courtenay, KG Humphrey Courtenay Margaret Courtenay (the elder) Elizabeth Courtenay Katherine Courtenay Anne Courtenay Joan Courtenay Margaret Courtenay (the younger) ______ Courtenay (7th daughter) ______ Courtenay (8th daughter) ______ Courtenay (9th daughter)
Arms of early Courtenay Earls of Devon: Or, three torteaux a label azure. These are the ancient arms of the House of Courtenay adopted c.1200 at the start of the age of heraldry with a label for difference. These arms are among several depicted (or re-created) on the heavily restored tomb of the 10th (2nd) Earl in Exeter Cathedral, but they are shown (without tinctures) on the monumental brass also at Exeter of his son, Sir Peter Courtenay, where they are impaled with BohunEffigies of Hugh de Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, and his wife, Margaret de Bohun, south transept, Exeter Cathedral.
Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon[1] (12 July 1303 – 2 May 1377),[2] 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton[3] and feudal baron of Plympton,[4] played an important role in the Hundred Years War in the service of King Edward III. His chief seats were Tiverton Castle and Okehampton Castle in Devon. The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay Earls of Devon depends on whether the earldom is deemed a new creation by the letters patent granted 22 February 1334/5 or whether it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family. Authorities differ in their opinions,[5] and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist, given here.
Origins
Hugh de Courtenay was born on 12 July 1303, the second son of Hugh de Courtenay, 1st/9th Earl of Devon (1276–1340), by his wife Agnes de Saint John, a daughter of Sir John de Saint John of Basing, Hampshire. He succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father in 1340.[6] His elder brother, John de Courtenay (c.1296-11 July 1349), Abbot of Tavistock, as a cleric was unmarried and although he succeeded his father as feudal baron of Okehampton,[7] did not succeed to the earldom. [8][9]
Career
By his marriage to Margaret de Bohun, Countess of Devon in 1325, Courtenay acquired the manor of Powderham;[8] it was later granted by Margaret de Bohun to one of her younger sons, Sir Philip Courtenay (died 1406), whose family has occupied it until the present day, and who were recognised in 1831 as having been de jure Earls of Devon from 1556.[citation needed]
On 20 January 1327 Courtenay was made a knight banneret.[10] In 1333 both he and his father were at the Battle of Halidon Hill.[11] He was summoned to Parliament on 23 April 1337 by writ directed to Hugoni de Courteney juniori, by which he is held to have become Baron Courtenay during the lifetime of his father.[12] In 1339 he and his father were with the forces which repulsed a French invasion of Cornwall, driving the French back to their ships.[13] The 9th Earl died on 23 December 1340 at the age of 64. Courtenay succeeded to the earldom, and was granted livery of his lands on 11 January 1341.[14]
In 1342 the Earl was with King Edward III's expedition to Brittany.[15] Richardson states that the Earl took part on 9 April 1347 in a tournament at Lichfield.[16] However, in 1347 he was excused on grounds of infirmity from accompanying the King on an expedition beyond the seas, and about that time, was also excused from attending Parliament,[17] suggesting the possibility that it was the Earl's eldest son and heir, Hugh Courtenay, who had fought at the Battle of Crecy on 26 August 1346, who took part in the tournament at Lichfield.
In 1350 the King granted the Earl permission to travel for a year, and during that year he built the monastery of the White Friars in London.[18] In 1352 he was appointed Joint Warden of Devon and Cornwall,[19] and returned to Devon.[citation needed] In 1361, he and his wife were legatees in the will of her brother, Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford,[20] which greatly increased his wealth and land holdings.[citation needed]
Later years
Courtenay made an important contribution to the result of the Battle of Poitiers[citation needed] in 1356.[21]The Black Prince had sent the baggage train under Courtenay to the rear, which proved to be a wise manoeuvre as the long trail of wagons and carts blocked the narrow bridge and the escape route for the French. Courtenay played little part in the battle as a result of his defensive role. Courtenay retired with a full pension from the king.[citation needed] In 1373 he was appointed Chief Warden of the Royal Forests of Devon,[22] the income of which in 1374 was assessed by Parliament at £1,500 per annum.[citation needed] He was one of the least wealthy of the English earls, and was surpassed in wealth by his fellow noble warriors the Earl of Arundel, Earl of Suffolk and Earl of Warwick.[23] Nevertheless, he had a retinue of 40 knights, esquires and lawyers in Devon.[citation needed] He also held property by entail, including five manors in Somerset, two in Cornwall, two in Hampshire, one in Dorset and one in Buckinghamshire.[24] He had stood as patron in the career of John Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter. He supported the taking-on [clarification needed] of debt to build churches in the diocese of Exeter.[citation needed]
Sir Edward Courtenay (c.1331-1368/71) "of Godlington"[32] (location uncertain[33]), second son, who also predeceased his father.[34] He married Emeline Dauney (c.1329 – 28 February 1371), daughter and heiress of Sir John Dauney/Dawnay/Dawney (d.1346/7) of Boconnoc[35] and Sheviock in Cornwall, and of Townstal (including Norton Dauney within Townstal[36]), East Allington, Stancombe Dawney (in the parish of Sherford, Devon), Buckland Brewer,[37] South Allington, etc., in Devon,[38] all of which manors descended into the Courtenay family, and of Mudford Terry in Somerset. He died between 2 February 1368 and 1 April 1371. He and his wife are supposedly represented by the surviving stone effigies in Sheviock Church in Cornwall.[39][40] It is said by Cleaveland (1735) that Emmeline Dauney brought to her husband 16 manors.[41] By his wife he had issue as follows:[42]
Sir Philip Courtenay (c.1345 – 29 July 1406) of Powderham in Devon, who married Ann Wake, a daughter of Sir Thomas Wake by his wife Alice Patteshull, a daughter of Sir John de Patteshull.[45][46]
Sir Peter Courtenay (d. 2 February 1405), KG, of Hardington Mandeville, Somerset, who married Margaret Clyvedon, widow of Sir John de Saint Loe (d. 8 November 1375), and daughter and heiress of John de Clyvedon.[47] His monumental brass, much worn, but still showing the arms of Courtenay impaling Bohun, survives in the floor of the south aisle of Exeter Cathedral.[48]
Humphrey Courtenay, who died young without issue.[49]
Katherine Courtenay (d. 31 December 1399), who married, before 18 October 1353, Thomas Engaine, 2nd Baron Engaine (d. 29 June 1367), without progeny.[49]
^Watson, in Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, new edition, IV, p.324 & footnote (c): "This would appear more like a restitution of the old dignity than the creation of a new earldom"; Debrett's Peerage, however, gives the ordinal numbers as if a new earldom had been created. (Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p.353)
^Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.244, pedigree of Courtenay
^Sumption, vol.2, for Sir Edward's presence at the battle, Rymer's Foedera, III, i, 325, as cited by Hewitt, The Black Prince's Expedition 1355-7 (1958)
^Cleaveland, E. A Genealogical History of the Noble and Illustrious Family of Courtenay. (1735): pp. 151-153. (author states, "Hugh Courtenay, third Baron of Okehampton and second Earl of Devonshire ... he had by his Countess six sons and five daughters, saith Sir William Dugdale; but Sir Peter Ball, Sir William Pole, and Mr. Westcot do say, he had eight sons and nine daughters.") [It appears that the majority of British Antiquaries concurred that Sir Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon and Margaret de Bohun had 17 known children.].
^Goodrington, Devon? Apparently Godryngton and Norton (Norton Dauney in Townstal, Devon), held from the FitzPayne family; see Inq. post mortem of Nicholas Dauney (d. 6 Edward III), no.494 [1] 494. NICHOLAS DAUNAY or DAUNEY.
Writ, 15 September, 6 Edward III. (defaced.)
CORNWALL. Inq. taken at Salte Ayssh, 26 September, 6 Edward III.
Sh[eviok], Anton and Tregantel. The manors (extent given), held of the abbot of Tavystok by knight’s service.
Landulp. The manor (extent given), held of Peter de Uvedale, of the dower of Margaret his wife, by knight’s service.
Leygh. A messuage and a carucate of land, held of William de Botrigan by knight’s service.
Trelowia. 100s. yearly rent, held of John de Trethak by knight’s service.
John his son, aged [30?] years and more, is his next heir.
DEVON. Inq. 25 September, 6 Edward III. (defaced.)
Stancom and Alynton. Two messuages and three carucates of land (extent given), held of John de Bereford by knight’s service.
Godryngton and Norton (Norton Dauney in Townstal, Devon). The manors (extent given), held of Robert son of Payn by knight’s fee.
Leygh Duraunt. The hamlet, held of Richard de Campo Arnulphi by knight’s service.
Cornwode. A messuage and a carucate of land, &c., held of Andrew de Medstede by knight’s service.
… yssh. 3s. yearly rent, held of Thomas de Stoford by knight’s service.
Wassheborn Duraunt. 3s. yearly rent, held of Henry de ……, by … . . to be received yearly.
Redeston, Baileford, Hurberneford, and Thourleyghe. 11s. yearly rent … of John de Leibourn, by knight’s service.
Knighteton. 14s. yearly rent …… by knight’s service.
[Heir as above] aged 30 years and more.
SOMERSET. Inq. 24 September, 6 Edward III. (defaced.)
Modeforde Terry. The manor (extent given), held of the king in chief, jointly with Joan his wife, for their lives, with remainder to Nicholas their son.
Hyneton. The manor (extent given), held of James de Audele by knight’s service.
Heir as above, aged 30 years and more.
C. Edw. III. File 34. (7.)
^Gilbert, Davies, (ed.), The Parochial History of Cornwall: Founded on the Manuscript Histories of Mr Hals and Mr Tonkin, Volume 1, London, 1838, p. 63 [2]
^A. W. SEARLEY, F.R.HIST.S., "HACCOMBE", PART V. THE COURTENAY PERIOD (c. 1400-1426), Journal of the Devonshire Association, Read at Crediton, 10th August, 1922
^"The outstanding feature inside is the three C14 effigies of Dawneys/Courtneys: two in the south transept and one formerly in the north transept but now on the wall of the north aisle. Such effigies are rare in the heart of Cornwall where great families did not have an impact on the national story or, until much later, fight for their king. They are treated with the usual disrespect in a church with little storage space, with no indication of who they are or of their history"[3]
^Genealogical History of the Noble and Illustrious Family of Courtenay (1735) By Ezra Cleaveland; Quoted by A. W. SEARLEY
^Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, vol. 2, (2013), p. 326. (author states, “HUGH DE COURTENAY, Knt., 10th Earl of Devon, 2nd Lord Courtenay . . . . He married 11 August 1325 (by marriage agreement dated 27 Sept. 1314) MARGARET DE BOHUN . . . . They had eight sons, Hugh, K.G., Thomas [Canon of Crediton and Exeter], Edward, Knt., Robert, [Master] William [Bishop of Hereford and London, Archbishop of Canterbury, Chancellor of England], Philip, Knt., Peter, K.G., and Humprey . . .”)
^Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, vol. 2, (2013), p. 326.
^Vivian, J. L. The Visitations of Cornwall of 1530, 1573, & 1620. (1887): p. 190 (Grenvile ped.), (author states, "Sr. Theobald Grenvile, Kt., temp. Rich II. = Margaret, da. of Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon.").
^Roskell, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1386–1421 v. 2 (1992): (biog. of Sir John Grenville (d. 1412), of Stow in Kilkhampton, Cornw. and Bideford, Devon): "s. and h. of Sir Theobald Grenville of Stow and Bideford by Margaret, da. of Hugh Courtenay, earl of Devon, and Margaret de Bohun …" [Roskell identifies Margaret Courtenay, wife of Sir Theobald Grenville, as the daughter of Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon and Margaret de Bohun)].
^Duffy, Eamon. The voices of Morebath: Reformation and rebellion in an English village, (New Haven, 2001), p. 14. [Duffy states that name-sharing was more likely to have occurred in large families or where the pool of available names was restricted. Duffy’s study of the Devon parish of Morebath showed that it was common practice to give the same name to living siblings, citing examples as late as the early 16th century.].
^Burls, Robin J., Society, economy and lordship in Devon in the age of the first two Courtenay earls, c. 1297-1377. Dphil. (University of Oxford, 2002): p. 133 (author states, "Sir Edward Courtenay (d. c. 1371) married Emmeline Dauney, daughter and sole heiress of a Cornish knight, while his sister, Margaret (d. 1385), took as a husband Sir Theobald Grenville, the head of a north Devon family whose members were already well entrenched in the Courtenay affinity.").
Bibliography
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Cokayne, George Edward (1916). The Complete Peerage edited by Vicary Gibbs. Vol. IV. London: St Catherine Press.
Holmes, G. Estates of Higher Nobility in Fourteenth Century England, Cambridge, 1957, p. 58
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Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN978-1449966386.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Vol. IV (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN978-1460992708.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Saul, Nigel, ed. The Oxford History of Medieval England (OUP 1997).
Register of Edward, the Black Prince, (ed) A. E. Stamp & M. C. B. Dawes (London 1930–33).
Sumption, Jonathan, The Hundred Years War, 2 vols, Vol.1: Trial by Battle, vol. 2: Trial by Fire (Faber 1999).
Waugh, Scott L., England in the Reign of Edward III (CUP 1991)
Tuck, Anthony, Crown and Nobility; England 1272-1461: political conflict in late medieval England, 2nd ed., (Blackwell 1999).
Further reading
Lepine, David N (1992). The Courtenays and Exeter Cathedral in the Later Middle Ages. Vol. 124. Trans. Devon. Assoc. pp. 41–58.
