Maud FitzJohn, Countess of Warwick

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Maud FitzJohn, Countess of Warwick (c. 1238 – 16/18 April 1301) was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere. Her second husband was William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick, a celebrated soldier. Through her daughter, Isabella, Maud was the maternal grandmother of Hugh the younger Despenser, the unpopular favourite of King Edward II of England, who was executed in 1326.

Maud FitzJohn
Lady Hallamshire
Countess of Warwick
Bornc. 1238
Shere, Surrey, England
Died16/18 April 1301
Noble familyFitzGeoffrey
Spouse(s)Gerald de Furnivalle, Lord Hallamshire
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick
IssueGuy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick
Isabella de Beauchamp
FatherJohn FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere
MotherIsabel Bigod

Family

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Maud was born in Shere, Surrey, England in about 1238, the eldest daughter of John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere, Justiciar of Ireland, and Isabel le Bigod, a descendant of Strongbow and Aoife of Leinster. Maud had two brothers, John FitzJohn and Richard FitzJohn and three younger sisters, Aveline FitzJohn, Joan FitzJohn, and Isabel FitzJohn. She also had a half-brother, Walter de Lacy, and two half-sisters, Margery de Lacy, and Maud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville, from her mother's first marriage to Gilbert de Lacy of Ewyas Lacy. The chronicle of Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire names Matilda uxor Guidono comitis Warwici as the eldest daughter of Johanni Fitz-Geffrey and Isabella Bygod. Her paternal grandparents were Geoffrey Fitzpeter, 1st Earl of Essex and Aveline de Clare, and her maternal grandparents were Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk and Maud Marshal.

 
Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, the only son of Maud FitzJohn. Here he is shown with the decapitated body of Piers Gaveston

Marriages and issue

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Maud married her first husband, Gerald de Furnivall, Lord of Hallamshire on an unknown date, and had Loretta. Sometime after his death in 1261, Maud married her second husband, the celebrated soldier, William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick.[1] Upon their marriage, Maud was styled as Countess of Warwick.

Together William and Maud had at least two children:

Maud died between 16 and 18 April 1301. She was buried at the house of the Friars Minor in Worcester.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Richardson 2011, p. 135.

Bibliography

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  • Richardson, Douglas (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Genealogical Publishing.135