Earls of Pembroke (first creation)

Earls of Pembroke (first creation)
Title	Earl of Pembroke
Creation	First creation (1138)
Monarch	Stephen of England
Peerage	Peerage of England
First holder	Gilbert de Clare
Last holder	William Marshal
Extinction date	1245 (for this creation)
Family seat	Pembroke Castle, Chepstow Castle

Earls of Pembroke (first creation) The first creation of the Earldom of Pembroke (1138) was a feudal title in the Peerage of England associated with the strategic Welsh March and southwestern Welsh lordships. It was granted amid the civil war known as the Anarchy and passed through several prominent Anglo-Norman magnates whose careers intersected with the courts of Stephen and Henry II, campaigns against Deheubarth, and the rise of marcher dynasties.

Origin and Creation of the Title

The earldom was created by Stephen in 1138 to secure loyalty during the succession crisis that followed Henry I's death and the dispute involving Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois. Initial grants to members of the de Clare family such as Gilbert de Clare reflect Stephen's need to bind powerful magnates like Richard FitzGilbert de Clare and their retainers against rival barons and Welsh princes including Gruffydd ap Rhys and Owain Gwynedd (Owain ap Gruffydd). The creation sat within the framework established by earlier earldoms such as Earl of Chester and echoed precedents of marcher autonomy exemplified by Marcher Lords like William Marshal.

Holders and Succession (1138–1245)

Primary holders in this first creation included Gilbert de Clare, followed by successors drawn from the de Clare family and their relations, and culminating in the investiture of William Marshal whose lineage and wardship networks connected him to figures such as Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and alliances with houses like de Clare and Bigod. Succession events intersected with notable personalities including Ranulf de Gernon and Hugh de Lacy. Marriage alliances tied the earldom to families represented by Isabel de Clare and the household politics of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Disputes over inheritance engaged institutions such as Curia Regis and involved adjudication connected to royalist magnates like William de Longchamp.

Political and Military Roles

Bearers of the title exercised martial leadership in campaigns against Welsh dynasts including Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth and engaged in Anglo-Norman interventions linked to events such as the Battle of Lincoln and the Siege of Oxford. As marcher magnates they organized castellary defenses at Pembroke Castle, Cardiff Castle, and Chepstow Castle while coordinating with royal commanders like Robert of Gloucester and officials of Henry II during the Angevin consolidation. Military obligations brought them into the orbit of international actors including Kingdom of France interests and continental barons returning from the Second Crusade; diplomatic contacts involved the Plantagenet kings and papal envoys. The earls served as itinerant justiciars and counselors, appearing in records of the Exchequer and royal councils convened at places such as Runnymede and Westminster.

Landholdings and Economic Base

The economic foundation combined marcher estates in Pembrokeshire and holdings in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset, with manorial revenues derived from demesne agriculture, tolls at ports like Pembroke and market rights in boroughs modeled on Haverfordwest. Castle-wardenship of strategic fortresses—Pembroke Castle, Haverfordwest Castle, and Chepstow Castle—generated feudal dues, castle-court fines, and incomes from knight-service obligations tied to families such as the de Cantilupe and de Braose houses. Trade links reached Irish maritime routes involving Limerick and Anglo-Norman enterprises in Wexford; fiscal relations engaged royal institutions including the Pipe Rolls and exchequer audits conducted under Henry II and Richard I.

Relationships with the Crown and Marcher Lords

The first-creation earls negotiated a complex relationship with monarchs from Stephen through the Plantagenet rulers, alternating between rebellion, negotiated submission, and royal service. They acted as intermediaries between the crown and other marcher lords such as William de Braose and Hugh le Despenser the Elder while sometimes confronting royal agents like Hugh de Puiset. Their autonomy reflected legal ambiguities surrounding marcher jurisdiction, with disputes heard before royal tribunals including the Curia Regis and under statutes such as customary Marcher law precedents. Strategic marriages allied them to continental houses including ties to Counts of Anjou and to Anglo-Norman magnates who influenced royal policy during minority reigns and regency councils.

Legacy and Extinction of the First Creation

The first creation's extinction in the mid-13th century followed complex inheritance patterns, escheat possibilities, and the redistribution of marcher lordships under later monarchs such as Henry III. The extinction affected power balances among marcher dynasties, facilitating the prominence of families like the de Clare and later creations of the earldom in the Peerage of England. Architectural legacies—fortified sites like Pembroke Castle and administrative footprints preserved in Pipe Rolls and charter evidence—remain vital to studies by modern historians referencing sources such as the Annales Cambriae and chronicles of William of Malmesbury and Matthew Paris. The memory of the first-creation earls influenced royal policy toward the Welsh March and the institutional development of marcher lordship into the later medieval period.

Category:Earls and countesses of Pembroke