Matilda de Braoz

Born around 1155 in France in the family of Bernard de Saint-Valery of Hinton Waldrist, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire ). Her grandfather was Reginald de Saint-Valery (d.1162).

Around 1170/75, ^[1] married William de Braoz, 4th Lord Bramber, 7th Baron Abergavenny , Lord Radnor, Bilt and Brecon, Lord Gower (since 1203); Lord Limerick (from 1201), Lord Whitecastle, Schenfreet and Grosmont; Sheriff of Herefordshire and Justiciar of Gloucestershire (since 1206). Maud supported her husband’s military ambitions, and he placed her at the head of Haye Castle and the surrounding area. She is often referred to in history as the Lady of Hay . In 1198, Maud defended Pines Castle in Elfeyle from a massive attack by the Welsh, led by Gwenwinwyn ap Owain , the ruler of Powys . She successfully restrained Gwenwinwin's forces for three weeks, until English reinforcements arrived. More than three thousand Welsh were killed. Pines Castle was named by the locals Matilda Castle .

Maud and William allegedly had 16 children:

• Matilda (Maud) de Braoz (d. December 21, 1209) ^[2] , married (since 1189) to Grifid ap Rhys II (d. 1201), son of Rhys ap Grifid , King Deheybart ;
• William de Braoz (d. 1210) ^[2] , arrested with his mother in 1210 on the orders of John Bezemzelnoy , and probably died of starvation at Windsor Castle ; was married to Maud de Clair, daughter of Richard de Clair, 3rd Earl of Hartford ;
• Gilles de Braoz (d. November 13, 1215) ^[2] , Bishop of Hereford (since 1200), Baron Abergavenny (since 1215), one of the leaders of the baronial movement against King John Bezzemlenny in 1213-1215;
• Margaret de Braoz (1175/85 — d. After 1255) ^[2] , was married to Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath ;
• Loretta de Braoz (d. After 1266) ^[2] , was married to Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester ;
• Elinor (Annora) de Braoz (d. After January 26, 1241) ^[2] , was married to Hugh de Mortimer;
• Philippe de Braoz ^[2] , was married to Matilda de Pont de l'Arche;
• Reynold (Reginald) de Braoz (d. May 5, 1227/9 June 1228) ^[2] , his first wife was Grace, daughter of William Brewer, the second was Gwladis Dee , daughter of Llewelyn ap Iorvert .

There is no information about other children.

King John (John Landless) called on his nephew Arthur I , the Duke of Brittany , to appear at the court, but received a refusal, attacked the castle in which he was, and captured Arthur. In 1203, Arthur came under the supervision of William de Braoz in Rouen , where he died. Presumably, the king himself killed him, and then the corpse of the young man was thrown into the Seine .

The king intended to hide his involvement in the murder, but in 1208 Maud de Braoz publicly made indiscreet remarks regarding the murder of Arthur, which caused a quarrel between King John and William de Braoz. The king demanded, as a guarantee of fidelity, his wife Maud and his eldest son, William. Maud de Braoz refused, in the presence of the royal officers, saying that "he will not leave his children with the king who killed his nephew."

Later, Maud realized that she had made a big mistake, tried to make amends and sent a herd of four hundred heads of cattle. But the king did not accept an apology and quickly led his troops to the borders of the Welsh lands and seized all the castles that belonged to William de Braoz. Sensing danger, Maud and her eldest son William fled to Ireland , hoping to find shelter in the castle of her daughter Margaret. In 1210, King John sent an expedition to Ireland. Maud and son William fled, but were detained on the coast of County Antrim , while trying to sail to Scotland . For some time they were kept in Carrickfergus Castle, and then, by order of the king, they were transported to England .

At first, Maud and her son William were imprisoned in Windsor Castle , but were soon transferred to Korf Castle in Dorset , where they were placed in a dungeon. Maud and William starved to death. Her husband, William de Braoz, died a year later, in exile in France, where he went under the guise of a beggar in order to avoid the revenge of the king for his alliance with Llewelyn the Great , who helped William in an open rebellion against the king, which was regarded as treason. He was buried in Paris , in the abbey of Saint-Victor . The daughter of Maud de Braoz, Margaret de Lacy, founded a monastery in Herefordshire in memory of her mother. 10 days before his death on October 10, 1216, King John transferred Margaret 3 hectares of land in Herefordshire's royal forest to build a monastery. Mod de Braoz is found in many Welsh myths and legends. There is a legend that says that Maud brought stones in the apron and built Hay Castle with one hand in one night. Also in this legend was a mention of her growth: she was extremely tall and often put on armor leading troops into battle. In modern records, she is described as a very wise, beautiful, brave and energetic woman. She constantly waged war, conquering most of Wales. The persistence with which Maud and her son William met death caused indignation of the English nobility, as a result of which the Magna Carta was created, which King John was forced to sign in 1215. Paragraph 39 states: “Not a single person in the kingdom may be outlawed, expelled, or destroyed in any way. He cannot be persecuted except by the legal sentence of his peers or by the law of the land. ”

Matilda de Braoz is one of the heroines of Barbara Erskine’s novel “The Phantom of Passion”.