Joan, 2nd Baroness Geneville

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Joan de Geneville, 2nd Lady Geneville

Also Known As: "Joan", "de", "Greneville", "Jeanne", "Joinville", "Joan de Geneville", "2nd Baroness Geneville / Jeanne de Joinville", "Countess of March"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Ludlow, Shropshire, England
Death: October 19, 1356 (71)
Kings Stanley, Lasborough, Gloucestershire, England
Place of Burial: Herefordshire, England
Immediate Family:

Daughter of Sir Piers de Geneville, Baron of Trim and Jeanne de Lusignan
Wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March
Mother of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Lord Mortimer; Maud de Mortimer; Margaret de Mortimer, Baroness de Mortimer; Roger Mortimer, II, of Foulis; John de Mortimer and 7 others
Sister of Geoffrey de Geneville; Beatrice de Geneville, Nun Of Aconbury and Maud de Geneville, Nun Of Aconbury
Half sister of Isabelle, dame d'Albret and Mathé, dame d'Albret

Occupation: Baroness Geneville, Countess of March, Very Wealthy Heiress
Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:

About Joan, 2nd Baroness Geneville

JOAN de Genevile

  • Daughter of Sir Piers de Geneville, Baron of Trim and Jeanne de la Marche
  • Birth: February 02, 1285 in Ludlow, Shropshire, England
  • Death: October 19, 1356 (71) in Kings Stanley, Lasboro, Gloucestershire, England
  • Place of Burial: Wigmore Abbey, Herefordshire, England
  • a) JOAN de Genevile (2 Feb 1286-19 Oct 1356). The Chronicle of Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire names "Joannam, Matildam et Beatricem" as the children of "Petro de Genyvile" and his wife, adding that

Spouse

  • Jeanne married "Rogero de Mortuomari primo comiti Marchiæ"[530]. A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey records that “Rogerum primum comitem” married “dominæ Johannæ filiæ domini Petri de Genyville, filii domini Galfridi de Genyville, domini de Trym”[531]. A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey names “Johannæ, Matildi et Beatrici” as the children of “Petro Genevyle”, adding that “Johanna” married “domino Rogero de Mortuomari”[532]. m (before 6 Oct 1306) ROGER [V] de Mortimer Lord Mortimer, son of EDMUND [I] de Mortimer Lord Mortimer & his wife Margaret de Fiennes (25 Apr or 3 May 1287-executed Tyburn, London 29 Nov 1330, bur Shrewsbury, Church of the Grey Friars). He was created Earl of March in 1328.
  • ROGER [V] de Mortimer, son of EDMUND [I] de Mortimer Lord Mortimer & his wife Margaret de Fiennes (25 Apr or 3 May 1287-executed Tyburn, London 29 Nov 1330, bur Shrewsbury, Church of the Grey Friars). A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey names “Rogerus primus comes Marchiæ” as son of “Edmundus de Mortuomari”[406]. A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Rogerum primum comitem” as son of “Edmundus de Mortuomari…Rogeri de Mortuomari…secundogenitus” and his wife “Margaretam…filiam domini Willielmi de Fendles de Hispania”[407]. He succeeded his father in 1304 as Lord Mortimer. He took possession of Meath in Ireland, inherited from his wife, 28 Oct 1308. He was appointed the king's lieutenant in Ireland 23 Nov 1316 and crossed to Ireland from Haverfordwest with a great army in Feb 1317. He opposed the Despencer family and joined the rebellion of Thomas Earl of Lancaster in 1321, surrendered to the king at Shrewsbury 22 Jan 1322 with his uncle Roger, and was sent to the Tower of London. He escaped 1 Aug 1324 and fled to France where he became the lover of Queen Isabelle, who went there in the spring 1325, and together they landed near Ipswich 24 Sep 1326 where they were joined by other opponents of the Despencers who were captured and executed[408]. He was created Earl of March [25/31] Oct 1328. King Edward III led a conspiracy to rid himself of Mortimer who was captured at Nottingham Castle 18 Oct 1330, condemned to death and his lands forfeited. The Annals of Bermondsey record that “Rogerus Mortymer…comitem Marchiæ” was hanged “Londoniæ in vigilia Sancti Andreæ Apostoli” in 1330[409]. A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey records that “Rogerum primum comitem” was buried “ad Fratres Minores Salopiæ…in vigilia S. Andreæ apostolic 1331”[410]. m (before 6 Oct 1306) JOAN de Geneville, daughter and co-heiress of PETER de Geneville [Joinville] of Walterstone & his wife Jeanne de Lusignan (2 Feb 1286-19 Oct 1356). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey records that “Rogerum primum comitem” married “dominæ Johannæ filiæ domini Petri de Genyville, filii domini Galfridi de Genyville, domini de Trym”[411]. A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey names “Johannæ, Matildi et Beatrici” as the children of “Petro Genevyle”, adding that “Johanna” married “domino Rogero de Mortuomari”[412]. The Chronicle of Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire names "Joannam, Matildam et Beatricem" as the children of "Petro de Genyvile" and his wife, adding that Jeanne married "Rogero de Mortuomari primo comiti Marchiæ"[413].

Mistress (1): (1325/1330) ISABELLE de France, wife of EDWARD II King of England, daughter of PHILIPPE IV "le Bel" King of France & his wife doña Juana I Queen of Navarre (Paris 1292-Castle Rising, Norfolk or Hertford Castle 21 Nov 1358, bur Greyfriars Church, Newgate, London).

Roger [V] & his wife JOAN de Geneville had eleven children

  • 1. EDMUND [II] de Mortimer ( - Stanton Lacy 16 Dec 1331). A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey names “Edmundus” as son of “Rogerus primus comes Marchiæ”[414]. A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam…et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Edmund died “apud Staunton-Lacy XVII Kal Jan 1331”[415]. He was summoned to Parliament 20 Nov 1331, whereby he is held to have become Lord Mortimer. m (Earnwood, Kinlet 27 Jun 1316) as her first husband, ELIZABETH de Badlesmere, daughter of BARTHOLOMEW de Badlesmere Lord Badlesmere & his wife Margaret de Clare ([1313]-8 Jun 1355). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey records that “Edmundum primogenitum”, son of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, married “Elizabetham filiam domini Bartholomei…de Badelesmere et de Ledys”[416]. A manuscript which narrates the descents of the founders of Lanthony Abbey records the marriage of “Willielmus de Bohun”, son of “Humfredus octavus”, and “Elizabetham filiam domini Bartholomei de Badlesmere”, previously married to “domino Edmundo de Mortuomari”[417]. She married secondly (licence 1335) William de Bohun, later created Earl of Northampton. Edmund [II] & his wife had two children:
  • 2. ROGER . A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam…et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”[424]. [425]m (licence Feb 1321) JOAN le Botiller, daughter of EDMUND le Botiller [Butler] of Ireland & his wife ---. The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified.
  • 3. GEOFFREY (-[1372/5 May 1376]). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam…et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Geoffroy was “comitem Jubmensem et dominum de Cowyth”[426]. Seigneur de Couhé: Watson identifies "Cowyth" as Couhé in Poitou, inherited from Geoffroy´s maternal grandmother[427]. He was arrested with his father in 1330[428]. m [JEANNE de Lezay], daughter of [SIMON [IV] Seigneur de Lezay & his second wife Jeanne de Cherchemont. Watson names "Jane de Lezay" as wife of Geoffrey without citing the corresponding primary source on which the information is based, although suggesting that she was the daughter of Simon [IV] Seigneur de Lezay by his second wife, highlighting that her son Jean de Mortemer was recorded in 1379 as guardian of Simon de Lezay, great-grandson of Simon [IV][429]. This last piece of information is found in Père Anselme, who cites no source either[430]. Geoffrey & his wife had two children:
  • 4. JOHN (-killed Shrewsbury after 1328). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that John was killed in a tournament “apud Salopiam”[436]. He was granted castles and lands in Ireland by his parents 27 Aug 1328. same person as...? JOHN . John Mortimer, father of Roger who is named in the 1 May 1380 will quoted below, has not been identified. From a chronological point of view, he could have been the same person as John, the testator´s paternal great-uncle. If that is correct, Roger would probably have been a young child when his father died. m ---. The name of John´s wife is not known. John & his wife had one child:
  • 5. KATHERINE (-[4 Aug/6 Sep] 1369, bur Warwick, St Mary's). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Katherine married “domino Thomæ de Bellocampo comiti Warwykie”[438]. King Edward II requested papal dispensation for the marriage between “Guidonem de Bello Campo nuper comitem Warenæ defunctum...Thomam filium et hæredem prædicti comitis adhuc infra ætatem” and “Rogerum de Mortuo Mari dominum de Wygemor...unam de filiabus prædicti Roger”, related “in quarto et tertio gradu prohibito”, by charter dated 7 Feb 1319[439]. The will of "Agnes de Hastings Countess of Pembroke", dated 10 Oct 1367, chose burial “in the church of the Minories without Aldgate, London”, bequeathed property to “John de Hastings my son...Joan my daughter the benefit of the marriage of Ralph de Greystock...Elizabeth Beauchamp...Philipp. Chamberlayne, and Catherine Countess of Warwick my sister”[440]. The will of "Katherine Countess of Warwick", dated 4 Aug 1369, chose burial “where the Earl my husband shall appoint”, bequeathed property to “the Earl my husband...Thomas my son...William my other son...Maud de Clifford my daughter...Philippa de Stafford my daughter...my daughter Alice...Margaret Montfort my daughter...Isabel my daughter...Elizabeth the daughter of my son Guy...”[441]. m (Papal dispensation 19 Apr 1319) THOMAS Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, son of GUY de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick & his wife Alice de Tosny (14 Feb 1314-Calais 13 Nov 1369, bur Warwick, St Mary's).
  • 6. JOAN (-[1337/51]). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Joan married “domino Jacobo de Audeley”[442]. m (before 13 Jun 1330) as his first wife, JAMES Lord Audley, son of NICHOLAS Lord Audley & his wife Joan Martin (Knesale, Nottinghamshire 8 Jan 1313-Heleigh 1 Apr 1386, bur Hulton Abbey).
  • 7. AGNES (-25 Jul 1368, bur Church of the Minories without Aldgate, London). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam… Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Agnes married “domino Johanni Hastyngs comiti Pembrochiæ”[443]. The will of "Agnes de Hastings Countess of Pembroke", dated 10 Oct 1367, chose burial “in the church of the Minories without Aldgate, London”, bequeathed property to “John de Hastings my son...Joan my daughter the benefit of the marriage of Ralph de Greystock...Elizabeth Beauchamp...Philipp. Chamberlayne, and Catherine Countess of Warwick my sister”[444]. m firstly (after 17 Feb 1327) LAWRENCE Hastings Earl of Pembroke, son of JOHN de Hastings Lord Hastings & his wife Juliana de Leybourne (Allesley, Warwickshire 20 Mar 1320-Abergavenny 30 Aug 1348, bur Abergavenny). m secondly JOHN de Hakelut, son of ---.
  • 8. MARGARET (after 1307-5 May 1337, Bristol St Augustine´s). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Margaret married “Thomæ filio Mauricii de Berkley”[445]. m (before 25 Jul [1320], Papal dispensation to remain married Sep 1329) as his first wife, THOMAS de Berkeley, son of MAURICE de Berkeley Lord Berkeley & his first wife Eve la Zouche of Haringworth ([1292]-27 Oct 1361, bur Berkeley Church). He succeeded his father in 1326 as Lord Berkeley.
  • 9. MATILDA (-after Aug 1345). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Maud married “Johannis de Chorleton…Hawysiæ dominæ de Powys…Johanni filio eorum”[446]. m (before 13 Apr 1319) JOHN Cherleton, son of JOHN Cherleton Lord Cherleton of Powys & his wife Hawise de la Pole (-1360 before 30 Aug). He succeeded his father in 1353 as Lord Cherleton of Powys.
  • 10. BLANCHE (-1347). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Blanche married “domino Petro de Graunson”[447]. m (before 10 Jun 1330) PIERS de Grandson, son of WILLIAM de Grandson of Ashperton, Herefordshire Lord Grandison & his wife Sibylla de Tresgoz of Ewyas Harold (-10 Aug 1358).
  • 11. BEATRICE (-16 Oct 1383). A manuscript narrating the foundation of Wigmore Abbey names “Edmundum primogenitum…Rogerum militem, Galfridum…Johannem…Katherinam…Johannam…Agnetam…Margaretam…Matildam… Blanchiam… et Beatricem” as children of “Roger comes et Johanna uxor eius”, adding that Beatrice married “Edwardo filio et hæredi domini Thomæ Brotherton comitis marescalli” and after the death of her first husband “domino Thomæ de Breusa”[448]. m firstly (Hereford [May/Jun] 1328) EDWARD of Norfolk, son of THOMAS "of Brotherton" Earl of Norfolk & his first wife Alice Halys ([1320]-before Aug 1334). m secondly ([1334]/before 13 Sep 1337) THOMAS de Brewes, son of PIERS de Brewes of Tetbury & his wife Agnes --- (8 Sep 1301-9 or 16 Jun 1361). He succeeded as Lord Brewes in 1348.

Sources

Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_de_Geneville,_2nd_Baroness_Geneville

Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, Countess of March (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356), was one of the wealthiest heiresses in the Welsh Marches and County Meath, Ireland. She was the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, lover of Isabella of France, Queen consort of King Edward II of England. She succeeded to the title of suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville.[1]

She is also known as Jeanne de Joinville.

Family and lineage

Joan was born on 2 February 1286 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.[2] She was the eldest child of Sir Piers de Geneville, of Trim Castle and Ludlow, and Jeanne of Lusignan. She had two younger sisters, Matilda and Beatrice who both became nuns at Aconbury Priory.[3] She also had two half-sisters from her mother's first marriage to Bernard IV, Sire d'Albret. They were Mathe, Dame d'Albret (died 1283), and Isabelle, Dame d'Albret (died 1 December 1294), wife of Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac.

Her paternal grandparents were Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, Seigneur de Vaucouleurs, 1st Baron Geneville, Justiciar of Ireland (c.1226- 21 October 1314) and Maud de Lacy (1230- 11 April 1304), daughter of Gilbert de Lacy (c.1202- 25 December 1230) and Isabel Bigod (c.1212- 1250). Her maternal grandparents were Hugh XII of Lusignan, Seigneur de Lusignan, Couhe, et de Peyrat, Count of La Marche and of Angoulême, and Jeanne de Fougères, Dame de Fougères. Her maternal aunt was Yolanda of Lusignan, the suo jure Countess of La Marche.

When her father died in Ireland shortly before June 1292, Joan became one of the wealthiest and most eligible heiresses in the Welsh Marches, with estates that included the town and castle of Ludlow, and much land in Shropshire,as well as a generous portion of County Meath in Ireland.[4]. She was due to inherit these upon the death of her grandfather, but in 1308, Baron Geneville conveyed most of his Irish estates to Joan and her husband Roger Mortimer. They took seizen of Meath at the end of the year. The baron died on 21 October 1314 at the House of the Friars Preachers at Trim, and Joan subsequently succeeded him, becoming the suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville.

[edit] Marriage and issue

In 1301, Joan married Roger Mortimer, (25 April 1287- 29 November 1330), the son of Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore and Margaret de Fiennes. He was on the Council of Ordainers, which was commissioned with the purpose to restrict the power of King Edward II and reform his household.[5] Together Roger and Joan had twelve children:[6][7]

   * Margaret Mortimer (1307-5 May 1337), married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley, by whom she had issue.

* Katherine Mortimer (1314-died 4 August 1369), married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick by whom she had fifteen children, including Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, who married Lady Joan FitzAlan. Anne Boleyn was one of their numerous descendants.
* Beatrice Mortimer (died 16 October 1383), married firstly Edward of Norfolk, and secondly, Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose. She had issue by her second husband.
* Sir Edmund Mortimer (1310- 16 December 1331), married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, by whom he had two sons, Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, and John, who died young.
* Roger Mortimer, married Joan Le Botiller
* Geoffrey Mortimer (died after 1330)
* John Mortimer. He was killed in a tournament after 1328.
* Agnes Mortimer, married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke by whom she had issue.
* Joan Mortimer ( born 1312-died between 1337–1351), married James Audley,2nd Baron Audley by whom she had issue.
* Maud Mortimer, married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys by whom she had issue.
* Isabella Mortimer (1313-after 1327).
* Blanche Mortimer (c.1321-1347), married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison by whom she had issue.
[edit] Mortimer and Queen Isabella

In 1308, Mortimer was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where he fought against the Scots Army under Edward Bruce, the younger brother of Robert the Bruce, (who hoped to make Edward king of Ireland), and Bruce's Norman-Irish allies, the de Lacy's. After driving the Scots north to Carrickfergus,and dispersing the de Lacys, he returned to England. Until 1318, he occupied himself with baronial disputes on the Welsh border. However, because of the growing influence of Hugh Despenser, the Elder, and Hugh Despenser the Younger, over the King, Roger Mortimer began to rebel against his monarch, and supported Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and other Marcher lords. The King quelled the rebellion and as a result, Mortimer was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1322. He managed to escape to France, where he later became the lover of Queen Isabella, who was now estranged from her husband, and seeking help from her brother, King Charles IV. The scandal of their love affair forced them to leave the French court for Flanders, where they obtained help for an invasion of England.

In September 1326, Mortimer and Isabella landed in England, where they joined forces with Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster. On 16 November, King Edward was taken prisoner and eventually murdered at Berkeley Castle, presumably by Mortimer's hired assassins.[8] From 1327 to 1330, Mortimer and Isabella jointly held the Office of Regent for her son, King Edward III who was duly crowned following his father's death. Mortimer was made constable of Wallingford Castle; in September 1328, Mortimer was created Earl of March. He and the Queen were the de facto rulers of England. Hostility against the power Mortimer wielded over the kingdom and the young King Edward III, increased; his former friend Henry of Lancaster encouraged the King to assert his authority to oust Mortimer. When Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent, half-brother of the late King Edward, anger and outrage engulfed the country. The King deposed his mother and her lover; Roger Mortimer was seized, arrested, and on 29 November 1330, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London.[9]

[edit] Death

Following her husband's execution, as the wife of a traitor, Joan was imprisoned in Hampshire and her children taken into custody. Her lands were only restored to her in 1336 after King Edward III granted her a full pardon for her husband's crimes. Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville, the widowed Countess of March, died on 19 October 1356 at the age of seventy. She was buried at Wigmore Abbey beside her husband. The Abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and only the ruins remain to this day.

Joan's numerous direct descendants include the current British Royal Family, and Sarah Ferguson; she was also the ancestress of Sir Winston Churchill, George Washington, Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary Boleyn.

Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville, Countess of March (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356) was a wealthy English heiress and the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, lover of Isabella of France, Queen-consort of King Edward II of England. She acceeded to the title Baroness Geneville suo jure on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Geoffrey De Geneville, 1st Lord Geneville.[1]

Family and lineage

Joan was born on 2 February 1286 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.[2] She was the eldest child of Piers de Geneville, of Trim Castle and Ludlow, and Jeanne of Lusignan. She had two younger sisters, Matilda and Beatrice who both became nuns.[3]She also had two half-sisters from her mother's first marriage to Bernard IV, Sire d'Albret. They were Mathe, Dame d'Albret (died 1283), and Isabelle, Dame d'Albret (died 1 December 1294), wife of Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac.

Her paternal grandparents were Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Lord Geneville and Maud de Lacy. Her maternal grandparents were Hugh XII of Lusignan, Seigneur de Lusignan, Couhe, et de Peyrat, Count of La Marche and of Angouleme, and Jeanne de Fougères, Dame de Fougères. Her maternal aunt was Yolanda of Lusignan, Countess of La Marche.

When her father died in Ireland shortly before June 1292, Joan became one of the wealthiest and most eligible heiresses in the Welsh Marches, with estates that included the town and castle of Ludlow, and much land in Shropshire,as well as a generous portion of County Meath in Ireland.[4]. She was due to inherit these upon the death of her grandfather in 1314, but in 1308, Lord Geneville conveyed most of his Irish estates to Roger Mortimer.

Marriage

In 1301, Joan married Roger Mortimer, (25 April 1287- 29 November 1330). He was the son of Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore and Margaret de Fiennes. He was on the Council of Ordainers, which was commissioned with the purpose to restrict the power of King Edward II and reform his household.[5] Roger and Joan had twelve children.[6][7]

Effigies of Joan's daughter, Katherine Mortimer and her husband Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. St. Mary's Church, Warwick

List of children

  1. Margaret Mortimer (1307-5 May 1337). Married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley. Had issue

2. Katherine Mortimer (1314-died 4 August 1369). Married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. Had fifteen children, including Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, who married Lady Joan FitzAlan. Anne Boleyn was one of their numerous descendants.
3. Beatrice Mortimer (died 16 October 1383). Married first Edward, 2nd Earl of Norfolk, and secondly, Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose. Had issue by her second husband
4. Sir Edmund Mortimer (1310- 16 December 1331). Married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, by whom he had two sons, Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, and John, who died young
5. Roger Mortimer. Married Joan Le Botiller
6. Geoffrey Mortimer. Died after 1330
7. John Mortimer. Killed in a tournament after 1328
8. Agnes Mortimer. Married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Had issue
9. Joan Mortimer ( born 1312-died between 1337-1351). Married James Audley,2nd Baron Audley. Had issue
10. Maud Mortimer. Married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys. Had issue
11. Isabella Mortimer (1313-after 1327).
12. Blanche Mortimer (c.1321-1347). Married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison. Had issue
Mortimer and Queen Isabella

In 1308, Mortimer was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where he fought against the Scots Army under Edward Bruce, younger brother of Robert the Bruce, (who hoped to make Edward king of Ireland), and Bruce's Norman- Irish allies, the de Lacy's. After driving the Scots north to Carrickfergus,and dispersing the de Lacys, he returned to England. Until 1318, he occupied himself with baronial disputes on the Welsh border. However, due to the growing influence of Hugh Despenser, the Elder, and Hugh Despenser the Younger, over the King, Roger Mortimer began to rebel against his monarch and supported Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and other Marcher lords. The King quelled the rebellion and as a result, Mortimer was duly imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1322. He managed to escape to France, where he later became the lover of Queen Isabella, who was now estranged from her husband, and seeking help from her brother King Charles IV. The scandal of their love affair forced them to leave the French Court for Flanders, where they obtained help for an invasion of England.

In September 1326, Mortimer and Isabella landed in England, where they joined forces with Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster. On 16 November, King Edward was taken prisoner and eventually murdered at Berkeley Castle, presumably on orders by Mortimer.[8] From 1327 to 1330, Mortimer and Isabella jointly held the Office of Regent for her son, King Edward III who was duly crowned following his father's death. Mortimer was made constable of Wallingford Castle; in September 1328, Mortimer was created Earl of March. He and the Queen were the de facto rulers of England. Hostility against the power Mortimer wielded over the kingdom and the young King Edward III, increased; his former friend Henry of Lancaster encouraged the King to assert his authority to oust Mortimer. When Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent, brother of the late King, anger and outrage engulfed the country. The King deposed his mother and her lover; Roger Mortimer was seized, arrested, and on 29 November 1330, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London.[9]

Death

Following her husband's execution, as the wife of a traitor, Joan was imprisoned in Hampshire and her children taken into custody. Her lands were only restored to her in 1336 after King Edward granted her a full pardon for her husband's crimes. Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville, the widowed Countess of March, died on 19 October 1356 at the age of seventy. She was buried at Wigmore Abbey beside her husband. The Abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and only the ruins remain to this day.

Joan is the ancestress of the British Royal Family, Sarah Ferguson, Sir Winston Churchill, George Washington, Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary Boleyn.

References

  1. ^ The Complete Peerage

2. ^ The Complete Peerage.
3. ^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Champagne Nobility, Seigneurs de Joinville
4. ^ Thomas B. Costain "The Three Edwards",p196
5. ^ Costain,p.197
6. ^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands,England, Earls-creations 1207-1466
7. ^ thePeerage.com.
8. ^ Costain,pgs236-7.
9. ^ Costain,pgs 274-5
Sources

   * Thomas B.Costain "The Three Edwards", Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, 1958

* Charles Cawley, "Medieval Lands", Champagne Nobility, Seigneurs de Joinville
* The Complete Peerage.
* "thePeerage.com entry". http://www.thepeerage.com/p10297.htm#i102965. Retrieved on 2008-06-12.
A very interesting blog entry about Joan de Geneville by Alianore, an historian who maintains the blog on Edward II at: http://edwardthesecond.blogspot.com/2007/04/birthday-wishes-mortime...

In September 1301, fourteen-year-old Roger Mortimer married Joan de Geneville, aged fifteen, maybe sixteen - she was born on 2 February 1286, or possibly 1285. Joan was the eldest of three daughters. Her father Piers died in 1292, and her grandfather Geoffrey de Geneville, anxious to avoid the break-up of his estates, placed her sisters Beatrice and Maud at Aconbury Priory. [The law of primogeniture, 'the eldest son inherits', did not apply to women, so in the absence of a male heir, sisters inherited equal portions of land. Placing women in convents was the only way they could be disinherited at this time.] The Geneville inheritance comprised vast estates in England, Wales and Ireland.

Joan also inherited lands in France from her mother Jeanne de Lusignan, or Jeanne de la Marche (died 1323), who was the daughter of Hugh XII de Lusignan, Count of La Marche and grandson of Isabelle d'Angoulême, widow of King John and Edward II's great-grandmother.

Geoffrey de Geneville, Joan's grandfather, was a French baron of Champagne who inherited estates in England, Wales and Ireland around 1250. Geoffrey was another loyal supporter of the Lord Edward in the Barons' Wars, and acted as Justiciar of Ireland and as a mediator between Edward I and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. He died in 1314, in his eighties. Joan de Geneville's paternal grandmother was Maud de Lacy (died 1304), granddaughter of the earl of Norfolk and also granddaughter and co-heiress of Walter de Lacy.

For twenty years, Roger and Joan enjoyed a close and successful relationship. Twelve children survived into adulthood, four sons and eight daughters, and Joan accompanied Roger to Ireland during his successful career there as King's Lieutenant and Justiciar. All that changed in early 1322, when Roger submitted to Edward II during the king's successful campaign against the Marchers, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Joan herself was imprisoned in Hampshire; three of her elder daughters and three of her sons were also imprisoned, in convents (the girls) and castles (the boys).

In February 1323, Queen Isabella and Eleanor de Clare both petitioned Edward II in an apparently unsuccessful attempt to improve Joan's living conditions. Isabella referred to Joan as 'our dear and well-beloved cousin'. One the men-at-arms acompanying Joan during her imprisonment was William Ockley, later one of Edward II's jailers at Berkeley Castle - proof that what goes around comes around, I suppose.

[Edward II's harsh and unnecessarily vindictive treatment of the wives and children of his enemies is, for me, by far the most unpleasant aspect of his reign, and impossible to justify. As Edward had never before shown cruelty to women, you could argue that the women's treatment was an initiative of the Despensers, but Edward certainly condoned it, and as the king, has to be held responsible. The fact that some of the women he allowed to be so badly mistreated were close members of his family - e.g., his nieces Margaret and Elizabeth de Clare - makes his behaviour even more reprehensible.]

Roger Mortimer and Joan de Geneville didn't see each other again for nearly five years. When exactly they did see each other again is unclear, but may have been in November 1326, when Roger visited his manor of Pembridge, where he and Joan had married twenty-five years earlier. By this time, Roger had been the lover of Queen Isabella for a year or so. What they had to say to each other can of course never be known. How Joan, now forty years old, felt about having to watch her husband conduct an affair with the Queen of England is equally unknowable.

Poor Joan's existence is often ignored by historians and novelists, who focus more or less exclusively on Edward II and Isabella's dysfunctional relationship and ignore the woman who bore Roger Mortimer twelve children, and who was, from the limited evidence available, his supportive and loyal partner for many years. The modern trend of lauding Isabella's 'courage' and 'empowerment' in 'getting out of a bad marriage' doesn't sound quite so impressive when you remember that she deprived Joan of her husband. Somehow, though, Joan de Geneville has always struck me as a dignified woman who would have made the best of the difficult situation.

Whether Joan ever visited Edward III's court, where her husband held power, is unknown. Roger occasionally travelled to the Marches unaccompanied by Isabella or the court, which may have been visits to Joan. In early June 1328, after the wedding of two of their daughters, Roger and Isabella stayed with Joan at Ludlow Castle, which was part of Joan's inheritance from her grandfather. As Isabella was the (dowager) Queen, Joan would have been forced to give precedence to her husband's mistress in her own castle. I'd love to write a fictional scene about that - and I'd give a great deal to know where Roger slept that night!

1328 was an eventful year for the Mortimers - two daughters married, two sons died (John and Roger), and they became grandparents, when Elizabeth Badlesmere, wife of their eldest son Edmund, gave birth to yet another Roger (1328-1360). Edmund had been born in 1302 or 1303, when Roger was only fifteen or sixteen.

It's also possible that their eldest daughter Margaret made them grandparents in the late 1320s - her eldest surviving son Maurice Berkeley was probably born in 1330, but she also had a daughter Joan, who may have been older.

In December 1328, Roger paid for nine chaplains to sing daily masses for the souls of Roger himself, Edward III, Queens Isabella and Philippa, Joan, and their children. In August 1329, two more of Roger and Joan's daughters were married at Wigmore, where Roger held a great Round Table tournament. Presumably Joan was present, with Isabella and Edward III. It's just possible that Queen Isabella was pregnant by Roger at this time, which is pretty intriguing.

After Roger's execution in 1330, Joan's lands were taken into royal hands, and some were not restored until 1336, when she was finally granted a full pardon. This seems to suggest that Edward III was not entirely convinced of her innocence, which he surely would have been if she'd had no contact with Roger during the 'Isabella Years'. It also suggests that Roger and Joan had maintained some kind of relationship - which is, to me, far more interesting than the usual portrayal of Joan as colourless, sexless, unnecessary, abandoned in favour of a younger and far more beautiful woman.

In 1332, Joan petitioned Edward III to have Roger's body removed from the Greyfriars church at Coventry, presumably to be re-buried at Wigmore. This also suggests that she still retained much affection for her husband. She never re-married, or entered a convent.

Joan de Geneville survived Roger by more than a quarter of a century and died at the age of seventy or seventy-one, on 19 October 1356. Her husband's mistress Queen Isabella outlived her by a mere twenty-two months. In 1354, Edward III had reversed all the charges against Roger, so Joan died as the Dowager Countess of March, with her twenty-eight-year-old grandson Roger Mortimer high in the King's favour, and the second Earl of March.

Shortly before she died, Joan may have heard the news that another of her grandsons, twenty-six-year-old Maurice Berkeley - son of Lord Berkeley and Joan's eldest daughter Margaret Mortimer - had distinguished himself at the Battle of Poitiers on 19 September, but had been badly wounded and taken prisoner.

At the time of her death, Joan was the grandmother of the Earls of Pembroke and March, and the mother-in-law of the Earl of Warwick and Lords Berkeley, Charlton and Braose. She had lived long enough to be a great-grandmother several times over:

- Her eldest great-grandchild, Sir John Tuchet, may have been born as early as 1347, but certainly by 1350 - he was the grandson of Joan's daughter Joan and her husband James Audley.

- Edmund Mortimer, later the third Earl of March, son of Roger Mortimer and Philippa Montacute, was born in 1352. Edmund was to marry Edward II's great-granddaughter, Philippa of Clarence.

- Thomas Berkeley, son of Maurice Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth Despenser - daughter of Hugh the Younger - was born in 1353. One or more of Maurice and Elizabeth's three daughters Katherine, Agnes and Elizabeth may have been older than their brother Thomas, but their dates of birth are not recorded. Near the end of the fourteenth century, Thomas Berkeley's daughter Elizabeth, great-great-granddaughter of Roger Mortimer and Joan de Geneville and great-granddaughter of Hugh Despenser the Younger, married the Earl of Warwick, another great-grandson of Roger and Joan.

Only four of Joan's twelve children outlived her: Beatrice Lady Braose, Agnes Countess of Pembroke, Katherine Countess of Warwick, and Geoffrey, who inherited Joan's French lands. (The date of death of Joan's daughter Maud, Lady Charlton, is not known, but she was still alive in 1345.)

Joan de Geneville, Lady Mortimer and Countess of March, great heiress, 1286-1356: a woman with a fascinating life and a fascinating family, who deserves to be remembered as far more than a colourless, abandoned nonentity.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_de_Geneville,_2nd_Baroness_Geneville

Joan's numerous direct descendants include the current British Royal Family, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; she was also the ancestress of Sir Winston Churchill, George Washington, Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary Boleyn.


http://www.thepeerage.com/p10297.htm#i102965

Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville1

F, #102965

Last Edited=8 Feb 2007

    Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville is the daughter of Sir Piers de Geneville.1 She married Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, son of Edmund de Mortimer, 1st Lord Mortimer.

Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville gained the title of Baroness Geneville, suo jure.2
Children of Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville and Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March

Katherine Mortimer+ d. 4 Aug 1369

Beatrice de Mortimer+ d. 16 Oct 13833

Agnes Mortimer+ 4

Joan Mortimer+ d. bt 1337 - 13515

Maud de Mortimer+ 6

Margaret Mortimer+ b. a 1307, d. 5 May 13371

Sir Edmund de Mortimer+ b. c 1310, d. 1332

Citations

[S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 130. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.

[S2] Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 87. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage, Volume XIV.

[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 85. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.

[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume I, page 24.

[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume I, page 339.

[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume III, page 161.


Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville

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Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville, Countess of March (2 February 1286-19 October 1356) was a wealthy English heiress and the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, lover of Isabella of France, Queen-Consort of King Edward II of England. She acceeded to the title Baroness Geneville suo jure on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Geoffrey De Geneville, 1st Lord Geneville.[1]

Contents [hide]

1 Family and lineage

2 Marriage

3 List of children

4 Mortimer and Queen Isabella

5 Death

6 References

7 Sources

Family and lineage

Joan was born on 2 February 1286 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.[2] She was the only child of Piers de Geneville, of Trim and Ludlow, and Jeanne of Lusignan. Her paternal grandparents were Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Lord Geneville and Maud de Lacy. Her maternal grandparents were Hugh XII of Lusignan, Seigneur de Lusignan, Couhe, et de Peyrat, Count of La Marche and of Angouleme, and Jeanne, Dame de Fougères. When her father died in Ireland shortly before June 1292, Joan became one of the wealthiest and most eligible heiresses in the Welsh Marches, with estates that included the town and castle of Ludlow, and much land in Shropshire,as well as a generous portion of County Meath in Ireland.[3]. She was due to inherit these upon the death of her grandfather in 1314, but in 1308, Lord Geneville conveyed most of his Irish estates to Roger Mortimer.

Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. the birthplace of Joan de Geneville

Marriage

In 1301, Joan married Roger Mortimer, (25 April 1287- 29 November 1330). He was the son of Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore and Margaret de Fiennes. He was on the Council of Ordainers, which was commissioned with the purpose to restrict the power of King Edward II and reform his household.[4] Roger and Joan had twelve children.[5][6]

Effigies of Joan's daughter, Katherine Mortimer and her husband Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. St. Mary's Church, Warwick

[edit] List of children

Margaret Mortimer (1307-5 May 1337). Married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley. Had issue

Katherine Mortimer (1314-died 4 August 1369). Married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. Had fifteen children, including Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, who married Lady Joan FitzAlan. Anne Boleyn was one of their numerous descendants.

Beatrice Mortimer (died 16 October 1383). Married first Edward, 2nd Earl of Norfolk, and secondly, Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose. Had issue by her second husband

Sir Edmund Mortimer (1310- 16 December 1331). Married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, by whom he had two sons, Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, and John, who died young

Roger Mortimer. Married Joan Le Botiller

Geoffrey Mortimer. Died after 1330

John Mortimer. Killed in a tournament after 1328

Agnes Mortimer. Married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Had issue

Joan Mortimer ( born 1312-died between 1337-1351). Married James Audley,2nd Baron Audley. Had issue

Maud Mortimer. Married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys. Had issue

Isabella Mortimer (1313-after 1327).

Blanche Mortimer (c.1321-1347). Married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison. Had issue

Mortimer and Queen Isabella

In 1308, Mortimer was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where he fought against the Scots Army under Edward Bruce, younger brother of Robert the Bruce, (who hoped to make Edward king of Ireland), and Bruce's Norman- Irish allies, the de Lacy's. After driving the Scots north to Carrickfergus,and dispersing the de Lacys, he returned to England. Until 1318, he occupied himself with baronial disputes on the Welsh border. However, due to the growing influence of Hugh Despenser, the Elder, and Hugh Despenser, the Younger, over the King, Roger Mortimer began to rebel against his monarch and supported Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and other Marcher lords. The King quelled the rebellion and as a result, Mortimer was duly imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1322. He managed to escape to France, where he later became the lover of Queen Isabella, who was now estranged from her husband, and seeking help from her brother King Charles IV. The scandal of their love affair forced them to leave the French Court for Flanders, where they obtained help for an invasion of England. In September 1326, Mortimer and Isabella landed in England, where they joined forces with Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster. On 16 November, King Edward was taken prisoner and eventually murdered at Berkeley Castle, presumably on orders by Mortimer.[7] From 1327 to 1330, Mortimer and Isabella jointly held the Office of Regent for her son, King Edward III who was duly crowned following his father's death. Mortimer was made constable of Wallingford Castle; in September 1328, Mortimer was created Earl of March. He and the Queen were the de facto rulers of England. Hostility against the power Mortimer wielded over the kingdom and the young King Edward III, increased; his former friend Henry of Lancaster encouraged the King to assert his authority to oust Mortimer. When Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent, brother of the late King, anger and outrage engulfed the country. The King deposed his mother and her lover; Roger Mortimer was seized, arrested, and on 29 November 1330, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn.[8]

Death

Following her husband's execution, as the wife of a traitor, Joan was imprisoned in Hampshire and her children taken into custody. Her lands were only restored to her in 1336 after King Edward granted her a full pardon for her husband's crimes. Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville, the widowed Countess of March, died on 19 October 1356 at the age of 70. She was buried at Wigmore Abbey beside her husband. The Abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and only the ruins remain to this day.

Joan is the ancestress of the British Royal Family, Sarah Ferguson, Sir Winston Churchill, George Washington, Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary Boleyn.

References

^ The Complete Peerage

^ The Complete Peerage.

^ Thomas B. Costain "The Three Edwards",p196

^ Costain,p.197

^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands,England, Earls-creations 1207-1466

^ thePeerage.com.

^ Costain,pgs236-7.

^ Costain,pgs 274-5

Sources

Thomas B.Costain "The Three Edwards", Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, 1958

The Complete Peerage.

"thePeerage.com entry". Retrieved on 2008-06-12.



Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, Countess of March (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356), was one of the wealthiest heiresses in the Welsh Marches and County Meath, Ireland. She was the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, lover of Isabella of France, Queen consort of King Edward II of England. She succeeded to the title of suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville.

Family and lineage

Joan was born on 2 February 1286 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. She was the eldest child of Sir Piers de Geneville, of Trim Castle and Ludlow, and Jeanne of Lusignan. She had two younger sisters, Matilda and Beatrice who both became nuns at Aconbury Priory.She also had two half-sisters from her mother's first marriage to Bernard IV, Sire d'Albret. They were Mathe, Dame d'Albret (died 1283), and Isabelle, Dame d'Albret (died 1 December 1294), wife of Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac.

Her paternal grandparents were Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, Seigneur de Vaucouleurs, 1st Baron Geneville, Justiciar of Ireland (c.1226- 21 October 1314) and Maud de Lacy (1230- 11 April 1304), daughter of Gilbert de Lacy (c.1202- 25 December 1230) and Isabel Bigod (c.1212- 1250). Her maternal grandparents were Hugh XII of Lusignan, Seigneur de Lusignan, Couhe, et de Peyrat, Count of La Marche and of Angouleme, and Jeanne de Fougères, Dame de Fougères. Her maternal aunt was Yolanda of Lusignan, the suo jure Countess of La Marche.

When her father died in Ireland shortly before June 1292, Joan became one of the wealthiest and most eligible heiresses in the Welsh Marches, with estates that included the town and castle of Ludlow, and much land in Shropshire,as well as a generous portion of County Meath in Ireland.. She was due to inherit these upon the death of her grandfather, but in 1308, Baron Geneville conveyed most of his Irish estates to Joan and her husband Roger Mortimer. They took seizen of Meath at the end of the year. The baron died on 21 October 1314 at the House of the Friars Preachers at Trim, and Joan subsequently succeeded him, becoming the suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville.

Marriage and children

In 1301, Joan married Roger Mortimer, (25 April 1287- 29 November 1330), the son of Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore and Margaret de Fiennes. He was on the Council of Ordainers, which was commissioned with the purpose to restrict the power of King Edward II and reform his household.

Together Roger and Joan had twelve children:

  1. Margaret Mortimer (1307-5 May 1337), married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley, by whom she had issue.
  2. Katherine Mortimer (1314-died 4 August 1369), married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick by whom she had fifteen children, including Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, who married Lady Joan FitzAlan. Anne Boleyn was one of their numerous descendants.
  3. Beatrice Mortimer (died 16 October 1383), married firstly Edward of Norfolk, and secondly, Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose. She had issue by her second husband.
  4. Sir Edmund Mortimer (1310- 16 December 1331), married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, by whom he had two sons, Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, and John, who died young.
  5. Roger Mortimer, married Joan Le Botiller
  6. Geoffrey Mortimer (died after 1330)
  7. John Mortimer. He was killed in a tournament after 1328.
  8. Agnes Mortimer, married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke by whom she had issue.
  9. Joan Mortimer ( born 1312-died between 1337-1351), married James Audley,2nd Baron Audley by whom she had issue.
  10. Maud Mortimer, married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys by whom she had issue.
  11. Isabella Mortimer (1313-after 1327).
  12. Blanche Mortimer (c.1321-1347), married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison by whom she had issue

Alternate Spellings of Maiden Name:

  • Geneville
  • Joinville

Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville Countess of March Baroness Mortimer Spouse(s) Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March Issue Margaret Mortimer Sir Edmund Mortimer Roger Mortimer Geoffrey Mortimer, Lord of Towyth John Mortimer Katherine Mortimer Joan Mortimer Agnes Mortimer Isabella Mortimer Beatrice Mortimer Maud Mortimer Blanche Mortimer Noble family Geneville Lusignan Father Sir Piers de Geneville of Trim Castle and Ludlow Mother Jeanne of Lusignan Born 2 February 1286 Ludlow Castle, Shropshire, England Died 19 October 1356 (aged 70)

Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, Countess of March, Baroness Mortimer (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356) was one of the wealthiest heiresses in the Welsh Marches and County Meath, Ireland. She was the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, lover of Isabella of France, Queen consort of King Edward II of England. She succeeded to the title of suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville.[1]

She is also known as Jeanne de Joinville.

Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, the birthplace of Joan de Geneville. Joan was born on 2 February 1286 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.[2] She was the eldest child of Sir Piers de Geneville, of Trim Castle and Ludlow, whose father Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville, was Justiciar of Ireland. Her mother Jeanne of Lusignan was daughter of Hugh XII of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and of Angoulême, and sister of Yolanda of Lusignan, the suo jure Countess of La Marche. Joan had two younger sisters, Matilda and Beatrice who both became nuns at Aconbury Priory.[3] She also had two half-sisters from her mother's first marriage to Bernard Ezi III, Lord of Albret: Mathe, Dame d'Albret (died 1283), and Isabelle, Dame d'Albret (died 1 December 1294), wife of Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac.

When her father died in Ireland shortly before June 1292, Joan became one of the wealthiest and most eligible heiresses in the Welsh Marches, with estates that included the town and castle of Ludlow, the lordship of Ewyas Lacy, the manors of Wolferlow, Stanton Lacy, and Mansell Lacy in Shropshire and Herefordshire as well as a sizeable portion of County Meath in Ireland.[4][5] She was due to inherit these upon the death of her grandfather, but in 1308, Baron Geneville conveyed most of the Irish estates which had belonged to his late wife Maud de Lacy to Joan and her husband Roger Mortimer. They both went to Ireland where they took seizen of Meath on 28 October of that same year. The baron died on 21 October 1314 at the House of the Friars Preachers at Trim, and Joan subsequently succeeded him, becoming the suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville.

[edit] MarriageJoan married Roger Mortimer, eldest son of Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore and Margaret de Fiennes on 20 September 1301 at the manor of Pembridge. Marriage to Joan was highly beneficial to Mortimer as it brought him much influence and prestige in addition to the rich estates he gained through their matrimonial alliance.[6] Three years later in 1304 he succeeded as Baron Mortimer, making Joan Baroness Mortimer. He was knighted on Whitsunday 22 May 1306 by King Edward I. The knighting ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey and was known as the Feast of the Swan as all those present made their personal vows upon two swans.[7] Two hundred and fifty-nine other young men received knighthoods along with Mortimer including the Prince of Wales who would shortly afterwards succeed his father as Edward II. Following the ceremony was a magnificent banquet held at the Great Hall of Westminster.[8]

Upon taking seizen of her Irish lands in 1308, Joan and Mortimer travelled back and forth between their estates in Ireland and those in the Welsh Marches.

[edit] IssueTogether Joan and Mortimer had twelve children:[9][10]

Effigies of Joan's daughter, Katherine Mortimer and her husband Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. St. Mary's Church, WarwickMargaret Mortimer (2 May 1304- 5 May 1337), married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley, by whom she had issue. Sir Edmund Mortimer (died 16 December 1331), married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, daughter of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere and Margaret de Clare, by whom he had two sons, Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March and John, who died young. Roger Mortimer, married Joan Le Botiller Geoffrey Mortimer, Lord of Towyth (died 1372/5 May 1376), married Jeanne de Lezay, by whom he had issue. John Mortimer. He was killed in a tournament at Shrewsbury sometime after 1328. Katherine Mortimer (1314- 4 August 1369), married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick by whom she had fifteen children, including Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, who married Lady Joan FitzAlan. Anne Boleyn was one of their numerous descendants. Joan Mortimer (died between 1337–1351), married James Audley, 2nd Baron Audley, by whom she had issue. Agnes Mortimer, married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke, by whom she had issue Isabella Mortimer (died after 1327) Beatrice Mortimer (died 16 October 1383), married firstly Edward of Norfolk, and secondly, Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose. She had issue by her second husband. Maud Mortimer (died after August 1345), married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys by whom she had issue. Blanche Mortimer (c.1321- 1347), married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison by whom she had issue. [edit] Mortimer's affair with Queen Isabella Joan's husband Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March is allegedly depicted in the foreground with Queen Isabella in this 14th-century manuscript illustrationMortimer was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on 23 November 1316 and left for Ireland with a large force in February 1317.[11] While there, he fought against the Scots Army led by Edward Bruce, the younger brother of Robert the Bruce (who hoped to make Edward king of Ireland), and Bruce's Norman-Irish allies, the de Lacy's. Joan accompanied her husband to Ireland. They returned to England in 1318 after Mortimer had driven the Scots north to Carrickfergus, and dispersed the de Lacys, who were Joan's relatives. For the next few years, Mortimer occupied himself with baronial disputes on the Welsh border; nevertheless, on account of the increasing influence of Hugh Despenser, the Elder, and Hugh Despenser the Younger over King Edward II, Roger Mortimer became strongly disaffected with his monarch, especially after the younger Despenser had been granted lands which rightfully belonged to Mortimer.[12]

In October 1321 King Edward and his troops besieged Leeds Castle, after the governor' s wife, Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere, refused Queen Isabella admittance and subsequently ordered her archers to fire upon Isabella and her escort after the latter attempted to gain entry to the castle. Elizabeth, the third Badlesmere daughter, was married to Joan and Mortimer's eldest son, Edmund. King Edward exploited his new popularity in the wake of his military victory at Leeds to recall to England the Despensers, whom the Lords Ordainers, led by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, had forced him to banish in August 1321.[13] The Marcher lords, already in a state of insurrection for some time prior to the Despensers' banishment,[14] immediately rose up against the King in full force, with Mortimer leading the confederation alongside Ordainer Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford.[15] The King quelled the rebellion, which is also known as the Despenser War; Mortimer and his uncle Roger Mortimer de Chirk both surrendered to him at Shrewsbury on 22 January 1322. Mortimer and his uncle were dispatched as prisoners to the Tower of London,[16] where they were kept in damp, unhealthy quarters. This was likely a factor in Roger Mortimer de Chirk's death in 1326. Joan's husband had fared better; by drugging the constable and the Tower guards, he managed to escape to France on 1 August 1323.[17] It was there that he later became the lover of Queen Isabella, who was estranged from the King as a result of the Despensers' absolute control over him. She had been sent to France on a peace mission by Edward but used the occasion to seek help from her brother, Charles IV to oust the Despensers.[18] The scandal of their love affair forced them to leave the French court for Flanders, where they obtained help for an invasion of England.[19] While the couple were still in France, King Edward had retaliated against Mortimer by taking Joan and all of their children into custody, and "treating them with severity".[20]

Mortimer and Isabella landed in England in September 1326, and they joined forces with Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster. On 16 November, King Edward was taken prisoner and eventually murdered at Berkeley Castle, presumably by Mortimer's hired assassins.[21] From 1327 to 1330, Mortimer and Isabella jointly held the Office of Regent for her son, King Edward III who was duly crowned following his father's death. Mortimer was made constable of Wallingford Castle; in September 1328, Mortimer was created Earl of March. This made Joan henceforth, the Countess of March; although it is not known what she thought about her husband's illegal assumption of power and flagrant affair with the Queen.

Mortimer and Queen Isabella were the de facto rulers of England. Hostility against the power Mortimer wielded over the kingdom and the young King Edward III, increased; his former friend Henry of Lancaster encouraged the King to assert his authority to oust Mortimer. When Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent, half-brother of the late King Edward, anger and outrage engulfed the country. The King deposed his mother and her lover; Roger Mortimer was seized, arrested, and on 29 November 1330, hanged at Tyburn, London.[22]

Following her husband's execution, Joan, as the wife of a traitor, was imprisoned in Hampshire and her children once more taken into custody. In 1331, she received an allowance for household expenses, however, her lands were only restored to her in 1336 after King Edward III granted her a full pardon for her husband's crimes. The following year 1337, the King restored the Liberty of Trim to her.

[edit] DeathJoan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville, the widowed Countess of March, died on 19 October 1356 at the age of seventy. She was buried in Wigmore Abbey beside her husband, whose body had been returned to her by Edward III as she had requested. Her tomb no longer exists as the abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and only the ruins remain to this day.

Joan's numerous direct descendants include the current British Royal Family, and Sarah, Duchess of York; she was also the ancestress of Sir Winston Churchill, George Washington, Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary Boleyn.



Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, Countess of March, Baroness Mortimer (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356), also known as Jeanne de Joinville, was the daughter of Sir Piers de Geneville and Joan of Lusignan. She inherited the estates of her grandparents, Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville, and Maud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville. She was one of the wealthiest heiresses in the Welsh Marches and County Meath, Ireland. She was the wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, the de facto ruler of England from 1327 to 1330. She succeeded as suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville on 21 October 1314 upon the death of her grandfather, Geoffrey de Geneville.[1][2]

As a result of her husband's insurrection against King Edward II of England, she was imprisoned in Skipton Castle for two years. Following the execution of her husband in 1330 for usurping power in England, Joan was once more taken into custody. In 1336, her lands were restored to her after she received a full pardon for her late husband's crimes from Edward II's son and successor, Edward III of England.

Joan was born on 2 February 1286 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.[3] She was the eldest child of Sir Piers de Geneville, of Trim Castle and Ludlow, whose father Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville, was Justiciar of Ireland. Her mother Jeanne of Lusignan was part of one of the most illustrious French families, daughter of Hugh XII of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and of Angoulême, and sister of Yolanda of Lusignan, the suo jure Countess of La Marche. Joan had two younger sisters, Matilda and Beatrice who both became nuns at Aconbury Priory.[4] She also had two half-sisters from her mother's first marriage to Bernard Ezi III, Lord of Albret: Mathe, Dame d'Albret (died 1283), and Isabelle, Dame d'Albret (died 1 December 1294), wife of Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac.

When her father died in Ireland shortly before June 1292, Joan became one of the wealthiest and most eligible heiresses in the Welsh Marches, with estates that included the town and castle of Ludlow, the lordship of Ewyas Lacy, the manors of Wolferlow, Stanton Lacy, and Mansell Lacy in Shropshire and Herefordshire as well as a sizeable portion of County Meath in Ireland.[5][6] She was due to inherit these upon the death of her grandfather, but in 1308, Baron Geneville conveyed most of the Irish estates which had belonged to his late wife Maud de Lacy to Joan and her husband Roger Mortimer. They both went to Ireland where they took seizen of Meath on 28 October of that same year. The baron died on 21 October 1314 at the House of the Friars Preachers at Trim, and Joan subsequently succeeded him, becoming the suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville

Joan married Roger Mortimer, eldest son of Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore, and Margaret de Fiennes on 20 September 1301 at the manor of Pembridge.[7] Marriage to Joan was highly beneficial to Mortimer as it brought him much influence and prestige in addition to the rich estates he gained through their matrimonial alliance.[8][9] Three years later in 1304 he succeeded as Baron Mortimer, making Joan Baroness Mortimer. He was knighted on Whitsunday 22 May 1306 by King Edward I. The knighting ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey and was known as the Feast of the Swan as all those present made their personal vows upon two swans.[10] Two hundred and fifty-nine other young men received knighthoods along with Mortimer including the Prince of Wales who would shortly afterwards succeed his father as Edward II. Following the ceremony was a magnificent banquet held at the Great Hall of Westminster.[11]

Upon taking seizen of her Irish lands in 1308, Joan and Mortimer travelled back and forth between their estates in Ireland and those in the Welsh Marches. Given that Joan opted to accompany her husband to Ireland rather than remain at home, and that she produced 12 surviving children over a period of just 17 years led Roger Mortimer's biographer Ian Mortimer to suggest they enjoyed a closer and more affectionate relationship than was typical of noble couples in the 14th-century. He described their union as having been " a mutually beneficial secure medieval partnership

Together Joan and Mortimer had twelve surviving children:[12][13][14]

Effigies of Joan's daughter, Katherine Mortimer and her husband Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. St. Mary's Church, WarwickMargaret Mortimer (2 May 1304- 5 May 1337), married Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley, by whom she had issue. Sir Edmund Mortimer (died 16 December 1331), married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, daughter of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere, and Margaret de Clare, by whom he had two sons, Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, and John, who died young. Roger Mortimer, married Joan Le Botiller Geoffrey Mortimer, Lord of Towyth (died 1372/5 May 1376), married Jeanne de Lezay, by whom he had issue. John Mortimer. He was killed in a tournament at Shrewsbury sometime after 1328. Katherine Mortimer (1314- 4 August 1369), married Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, by whom she had fifteen children, including Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, who married Lady Joan FitzAlan. Joan Mortimer (died between 1337–1351), married James Audley, 2nd Baron Audley, by whom she had issue. Agnes Mortimer, married Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke, by whom she had issue Isabella Mortimer (died after 1327) Beatrice Mortimer (died 16 October 1383), married firstly Edward of Norfolk, and secondly, Thomas de Braose, 1st Baron Braose. She had issue by her second husband. Maud Mortimer (died after August 1345), married John de Charlton, Lord of Powys, by whom she had issue. Blanche Mortimer (c.1321- 1347), married Peter de Grandison, 2nd Baron Grandison, by whom she had issue

Mortimer was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on 23 November 1316 and left for Ireland with a large force in February 1317.[15] While there, he fought against the Scots Army led by Edward Bruce, the younger brother of Robert the Bruce (who hoped to make Edward king of Ireland), and Bruce's Norman-Irish allies, the de Lacy's. Joan accompanied her husband to Ireland. They returned to England in 1318 after Mortimer had driven the Scots north to Carrickfergus, and dispersed the de Lacys, who were Joan's relatives. For the next few years, Mortimer occupied himself with baronial disputes on the Welsh border; nevertheless, on account of the increasing influence of Hugh Despenser, the Elder, and Hugh Despenser the Younger over King Edward II, Roger Mortimer became strongly disaffected with his monarch, especially after the younger Despenser had been granted lands which rightfully belonged to Mortimer.[16]

In October 1321 King Edward and his troops besieged Leeds Castle, after the governor's wife, Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere, refused Queen Isabella admittance and subsequently ordered her archers to fire upon Isabella and her escort after the latter attempted to gain entry to the castle. Elizabeth, the third Badlesmere daughter, was married to Joan and Mortimer's eldest son, Edmund. King Edward exploited his new popularity in the wake of his military victory at Leeds to recall to England the Despensers, whom the Lords Ordainers, led by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, had forced him to banish in August 1321.[17] The Marcher lords, already in a state of insurrection for some time prior to the Despensers' banishment,[n 1] immediately rose up against the King in full force, with Mortimer leading the confederation alongside Ordainer Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford.[18] The King quelled the rebellion, which is also known as the Despenser War; Mortimer and his uncle Roger Mortimer de Chirk both surrendered to him at Shrewsbury on 22 January 1322. Mortimer and his uncle were dispatched as prisoners to the Tower of London,[16] where they were kept in damp, unhealthy quarters. This was likely a factor in Roger Mortimer de Chirk's death in 1326. Joan's husband had fared better; by drugging the constable and the Tower guards, he managed to escape to France on 1 August 1323.[19] It was there that he later became the lover of Queen Isabella, who was estranged from the King as a result of the Despensers' absolute control over him. She had been sent to France on a peace mission by Edward but used the occasion to seek help from her brother, Charles IV to oust the Despensers.[20] The scandal of their love affair forced them to leave the French court for Flanders, where they obtained help for an invasion of England

While the couple were still in France, King Edward had retaliated against Mortimer by taking Joan and all of their children into custody, and "treating them with severity".[22] In April 1324 Joan was removed from Hampshire where she had been confined in a lodging under house arrest and sent to Skipton Castle in Yorkshire; there she was imprisoned in a cell and endured considerable suffering and hardship.[23] Most of her household had been dismissed and she was permitted a small number of attendants to serve her. She was granted just one mark per day for her necessities, and out of this sum she had to feed her servants.[24] She was additionally allowed ten marks per annum at Easter and Michaelmas for new clothes.[25] Her daughters suffered worse privations having been locked up inside various religious houses with even less money at their disposal.[24] Joan was transferred from Skipton to Pontefract Castle in July 1326 Mortimer and Isabella landed in England two months later in September 1326, and they joined forces with Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster. On 16 November, King Edward was taken prisoner and eventually murdered at Berkeley Castle, presumably by Mortimer's hired assassins.[27] From 1327 to 1330, Mortimer and Isabella jointly held the Office of Regent for her son, King Edward III who was duly crowned following his father's death. Mortimer was made constable of Wallingford Castle; in September 1328, Mortimer was created Earl of March. This made Joan henceforth, the Countess of March; although it is not known what she thought about her husband's illegal assumption of power and flagrant affair with the Queen. What has been established is that Joan was never an active participant in her husband's insurrection against King Edward.[28]

Mortimer and Queen Isabella were the de facto rulers of England. Hostility against the power Mortimer wielded over the kingdom and the young King Edward III, increased; his former friend Henry of Lancaster encouraged the King to assert his authority to oust Mortimer. When Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund, Earl of Kent, half-brother of the late King Edward, anger and outrage engulfed the country. The King deposed his mother and her lover; Roger Mortimer was seized, arrested, and on 29 November 1330, hanged at Tyburn, London.[29]

Following her husband's execution, Joan – as the wife of a traitor – was imprisoned again, this time in Hampshire where years before she had been placed under house arrest; her children were also taken into custody. In 1331, she was given an allowance for household expenses; however, her lands were only restored to her in 1336 after King Edward III granted her a full pardon for her late husband's crimes. In 1347 she received back the Liberty of Trim.

Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville, the widowed Countess of March, died on 19 October 1356 at the age of seventy. She was buried in Wigmore Abbey beside her husband, whose body had been returned to her by Edward III as she had requested. Her tomb no longer exists as the abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and only the ruins remain to this day.

Lady Geneville's numerous direct descendants include the current British Royal Family, Sir Winston Churchill, and the 1st American President George Washington.
www.findagrave.com

Joan Geneville
BIRTH 2 Feb 1285
Ludlow, Shropshire Unitary Authority, Shropshire, England
DEATH 19 Oct 1356 (aged 71)
England
BURIAL
Wigmore Abbey
Wigmore, Herefordshire Unitary Authority, Herefordshire, England
MEMORIAL ID 57615348

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Joan, 2nd Baroness Geneville's Timeline

1285
February 2, 1285
Ludlow, Shropshire, England
1306
1306
Wigmore, Herefordshire, England
1307
1307
Wigmore,Herefordshire,England
1308
1308
Ludlow, Wigmore, Herefordshire, England (United Kingdom)
1309
1309
Wigmore, Herefordshire, , England
1310
1310
Wigmore, Herefordshire, England
1310
Wigmore, Hertfordshire, England, UK
1312
1312
Wigmore, Herefordshire, England, UK
1313
1313
Wigmore, Herefordshire, England