Henry "The Surety" de Bohun
1st Earl of Hereford and
hereditary Constable of England from 1199 to 1220

Born bef.1177 in Warwick, Warwickshire, England
Died June 1, 1220 while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Buried in the chapter-house of Llanthony Abbey in Gloucestershire

Married

Matilda Fitz-Geoffrey de Mandville abt.1197 in Essex, England

Children Henry and Matilda:

Siblings of Henry de Bohun:

Maud de Bohun

      patgreatgrandfather
    Humphrey de Bohun patgreatgrandmother
      greatgrandfather
  Humphrey de Bohun fathersmother greatgrandmother
Henry de Bohun      
  Margaret of Scotland, Countess of Hereford Henry of Scotland David of Scotland
      Maud of Northumberland
    Ada Warren William de Warren
      Isabel de Vermandois


Notes:

In 1200 King John created Henry de Bohun Earl of Hereford and granted the right to hold a market and a fair in Trowbridge - right between the new church Henry had built and the castle gates. One of the first such charters granted. (Trowbridge being the land given to Henry's grandfather Humphrey de Bohun as dowry upon his (forced) marriage with Maud, daughter of Edward of Salisbury. He built the castle. The town had, apparently grown quite a bit.)

He went to Scotland to conduct his uncle, King William (the Lion) to Lincoln to do homage to King John in November of that same year.

Henry supported King John when Normandy was reclaimed by France in 1204.

However, King John supported his half brother's wife, Ela, Countess of Salisbury's desire to (re)claim Trowbridge. King John came to visit in 1212 and 1215. This may have had something to do with Henry's decision to become one of the leaders in the revolt of the barons against King John. As a component of the Magna Carta peace negotiations, Trowbridge was restored to the de Bohuns.

When the revolt restarted, King John had Pope Innocent III excommunicate* all of the barons, including Henry de Bohun.

"While under excommunication, persons could not act as judge, juror, witness, or attorney. They could not be guardians, executors, or parties to contract. After death, they received no Christian burial, and if, by chance, they were buried in consecrated ground, the church had their bodies disinterred and destroyed." From article: The Medieval Papacy

King John died on 19 October 1216 but, having been excommunicated, Henry de Bohun did not ally himself with the new king, Henry III, but was one of the commanders in the army of Louis le Dauphin, at the battle of Lincoln.

He was taken prisoner by William Marshall at the Battle of Lincoln on 20 May 1217. After this defeat he and other Magna Charta barons went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (as penance?) in Jun, 1220 where he died.

Incidentally, after Henry de Bohun’s death in 1220, Trowbridge manor became the property of Ela, Countess of Salisbury.

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