William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu

William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (2 March 1375 – 28 May 1420), was an English knight created by King Henry V 1st Count of Eu, in Normandy.

Life

William was born 2 March 1375, the son of Sir William Bourchier and Eleanor de Louvain, daughter and heiress of Sir John de Louvain, feudal baron of Little Easton in Essex.[1][2]

Career

William fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In 1417 he was in the retinue of King Henry V during his second expedition to France, and played a significant role in the capture of Normandy. In 1419, William was appointed Captain of Dieppe and was granted powers to receive the submission of the town and Comté of Eu. The French count of Eu had refused to pay homage to King Henry V of England and thus had been held prisoner in England since Agincourt. In June 1419, Henry V awarded six captured French counties to his more significant English supporters, and the County of Eu was granted to William Bourchier, thus making him 1st Count of Eu.[3]

Marriage and children

William married Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford, daughter of the Plantagenet prince Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355–1397).[4] The Wrey baronets, who were the heirs of the Bourchier Earls of Bath, quartered the arms of Wrey with the arms of Bourchier and Bohun, and the Royal Arms of England. They had the following children:

Death and burial

William died at Troyes, France on 28 May 1420 [6] and was buried at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucester.[7]

Ancestry

Ancestors of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu
8. John de Bourchier
4. Robert Bourchier, 1st Baron Bourchier
18. Walter of Colchester
9. Helen Colchester
19. Joan/Helen de Mountchensy
2. Sir William Bourchier
20. Richard de Praers
10. Thomas Prayers
21. Johanna Crewe
5. Margaret Prayers
22. Hugh of Essex
11. Margaret de Essex
23. ??
1. William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu
24. Matthew II de Lovaine
12. Thomas de Louvaine
25. Maud Louvain Poyntz
6. Sir John de Louvaine
26. Robert De Basing
13. Joan de Basing
27. Margery de Basing
3. Alianore de Lovayne
14. Sir Thomas Weston
7. Margaret Weston
15. ??

References

  1. ^ Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p. 130, Little Easton, showing the descent from Godfrey de Louvain (d. 1226), half-brother to the Duke of Brabant, (Sanders, p. 43) to Thomas de Louvain (d. 1345).
  2. ^ "BOURGCHIER, Sir William (C.1374-1420), of Little Easton, Essex. | History of Parliament Online".
  3. ^ Woodger
  4. ^ a b Arkenburg 2001, p. 59.
  5. ^ a b Ashdown-Hill 2019, Family Tree 10.
  6. ^ Woodger
  7. ^ Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, p.355 [1] The de Bohun family were patrons of Llanthony Secunda Priory, near Gloucester Castle, founded by their ancestor Miles of Gloucester in 1136 as a secondary house to Llanthony Priory in Monmouthshire.

Sources