The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 1 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authorsBeattie, William
History
The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 1 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authors
Beattie, William
Abbeys -- England; Castles -- England
From the field of battle, the body of the gallant earl was conveyed by
his friends and retainers to the Abbey of Tewkesbury, and there, in the
Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, consigned to kindred dust, in the midst of
prayers and lamentations. His death was more especially felt by the
Abbot and brotherhood, because he had liberally repaired the injury
inflicted upon the monastery by his father, and was the last of that
honoured name who held the title and territories of the De Clares in the
county of Gloucester.
In the former part of this work, we have had more than once occasion to
remark how frequently these old family estates and honours passed away
with the female line: and here was another instance. Leaving no issue by
his marriage, the Gloucester and Glamorgan estates devolved upon his
three sisters, among whom they were divided. Elianora, the eldest,
married Hugh le Despenser--a name of tragical association in English
history; and with her the earldom of Gloucester, the third part of the
estates, and the patronage of the Abbey of Tewkesbury, passed into that
family. Five years later, this unhappy nobleman was apprehended, and put
to the cruel and ignominious death related in a former part of this
work. Some portions of his dismembered body, after their miserable
exposure in different parts of the kingdom, “were buried in Tewkesbury
Abbey, near the lavatory of the high altar.” He left by his wife three
sons, Hugh, Edward, and Gilbert, but with no inheritance save the pains
and penalties entailed upon them by his own forfeiture. The <g>Monument</g> of
the <g>Despenser</g> family, hereafter noticed, is one of the finest objects in
the Abbey church.
[Illustration]
The widow of this nobleman--who had lost both her brother and husband by
violent deaths--sought consolation in a second marriage with William,
Lord le Zouch, by whom she had a son, named Hugh. But she survived her
second husband only two years. He was buried in the Abbey chapel of Our
Lady; and at her own demise, the earldom of Gloucester was conferred on
her sister Margaret’s husband, Hugh de Audley.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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