Complete Peerage Addition: Antigone of Gloucester, wife of H

[Douglas Richardson]

Dear Newsgroup:

The authoritative Complete Peerage, 6 (1926): 138-139 (sub Grey of
Powis) has a brief account of the life of Henry Gray, 2nd Count of
Tancarville (died 13 Jan. 1449/50). The editor correctly states that
Henry Gray married "Antigone, illegitimate da. of Humphrey, Duke of
Gloucester." Antigone is of great interest to us, as she is one of
two known illegitimate grand-daughters of King Henry IV of England to
leave modern descendants. For interest's sake, a list of colonial
immigrants who descend from Henry Gray and Antigone of Gloucester is
provided further below.

Antigone of Gloucester's parentage is attested by two separate
visitation sources as follows:

1. H.S.P. 29 (1889): 105 (1623 Vis. Shropshire) (Charleton pedigree:
"Henricus Grey Dom. de Powys et Tylle Comes de Tancarville et
Camerarius Normanniæ = Antigona filia notha Humfridi Ducia Glouc.").

2. W. Harvey et al. Vis. of the North 3 (Surtees Soc. 144) (1930): 53–
54 (Gray pedigree: "Gray dominus de Powys = filia ducis Gloucestrie").

Complete Peerage likewise notes that Henry Gray's marriage was granted
in 1435 to Antigone's father, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.

Interestingly, Complete Peerage appears to have overlooked Antigone of
Gloucester's 2nd marriage to Jean d'Amancier, Esquire of the Horse to
King Charles VII of France. This marriage is indicated in at least
three modern historical works, namely

1. K.H. Vickers, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester (1907): 335–336.

2. E.F. Jacob, The Fifteenth Century (1961): 485–486.

3. Ethel Seaton, Sir Richard Roos c. 1410-1482 Lancastrian Poet
(1961): 149, footnote 2.

The second source above, Jacob, gives no documentation for the
marriage. The first source, Vickers, states the following:

"Antigone survived her husband, and a year after his death we find her
the wife of Jean d'Amancier, Esquire of the Horse to Charles VII of
France." END OF QUOTE.

In a footnote, Vickers states he obtained this information from a list
of letters of legitimisation "printed in Beaucourt, v. 331."

Seaton, the third source says: "Very soon after [Henry Gray] Lord
Powys' death in 1450, as will be seen later, Antigone married Jean
d'Amancier, Master of the Horse to Charles VII, an alliance utterly
alien to her dead father's policy (Beaucourt, Charles VII, V, 331)."
END OF QUOTE.

The source, "Beaucourt" seems to be Histoire de Charles VII., by
Gaston Du Fresne de Beaucourt. Paris, published in 1881-1891. I have
found this work cited in various card catalogues, but unfortunately
neither major library here in Salt Lake City has a copy. I also
checked the gallica website but it did not list the volumes by
Beaucourt among its
holdings.

Thanks to kindness of Martin Hollick, however, I have now obtained a
copy of the page in Beaucourt's book cited by Vickers and Seaton. It
reads as follows (in French, of course):

"Nous rencontrons un certain nombre de lettres de légitimation,
données à Louis Rolin, fils naturel de Nicolas Rolins (november
1449); ... à Antigone, fille naturelle de Humphroy, duc de Glocester,
et femme de Jean d'Amancier, écuyer d'écurie du Roi (june
1451) ..." [Reference: G. du Fresne de Beaucourt, Histoire de Charles
VII 5 (1890): 331].

The original source for this information appears to be "Catalogue des
actes, ms. fr. 4139, f. 71 et suiv."

The "lettre de légitimation" cited for Antigone of Gloucester proves
that she married (2nd) before June 1451 Jean d'Amancier, Esquire of
the Horse to King Charles VII of France.

Elsewhere I find a list of the councillors of King Charles VII
published in the periodical, Francia 10 (1982): 104, et seq. On page
105, the following entry occurs:

"AMANCY (ou Amancier) (Jean d'), conseiller du duc d'Orléans, ép.
Antigone, fille naturelle de Humphrey, duc de Gloucester. Employé
dans plusieurs négociations diplomatiques. A siégé en: 1455." END OF
QUOTE.

This item concerns that Antigone was the wife of Jean d'Amancier, but
it gives the principle spelling of his name as Jean d'Amancy, not
d'Amancier.

Under the name, Jean d'Amancy, I find further particulars regarding
this man at the following internet weblinks:

http://books.google.com/books?id=1M74HT ... aZnAuJVblw

http://haute-savoie.ialpes.com/chateaux/rumilly.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=1eI8AA ... %22&pgis=1

http://books.google.com/books?id=LBAvAA ... +amancy%22

http://books.google.com/books?id=RmIGAA ... +amancy%22

http://books.google.com/books?id=gHINAA ... +amancy%22

http://books.google.com/books?id=sgkKAA ... %22&pgis=1

http://books.google.com/books?id=Nf4sAA ... lr=&pgis=1

http://books.google.com/books?id=8PE7AA ... lr=&pgis=1

From these sources, we learn several new items of interest regarding
Antigone of Gloucester's second husband, Jean d'Amancy (or
d'Amancier):

(1) On 9 November 1452 Jean d'Amancy was granted the castle and ville
of Rumilly-sous-Cornillon in Haute-Savoie by Duke Louis of Savoy. His
descendants kept this castle until 1518. [References: Archives de
l’ancien duché de Savoie: Série S A. Inventaire 1 (1966): 46; Regat &
Aubert, Châteaux de Haute-Savoie (Collection Sites et Villages)
(1994): 152].

(2) In 1452, 1453, and 1454, he was charged with various missions for
the Dukes of Savoy and Burgundy [Reference: Midy, Essai sur l'ordre de
succession des formes politiques (1872): 147].

(2) On 12 Jan. 1454 Jean d'Amancy, esquire, nobleman, was interrogated
at Tours by the Chancellor, Jean Tudert, regarding the affairs of
Savoy [Reference: Favre & Lecestre, Le Jouvencel par Jean de Bueil 2
(1889): 369–377].

(3) Jean d'Amancy was sent to Venice during the second half of March
1459 as ambassador of King Charles VII of France to ascertain the
Venetian position regarding the occupation of Genoa by French troops
and to France's intended support of René's claim to Naples.
[References: P.-M. Perret, Histoire des relations de la France avec
Venise du XIIIe siècle à l'avènement de Charles VIII (1896): 310;
Martin, Merchants & Trade of the Connecticut River Valley, 1750–1820
(Smith College Studies in Hist.) (1939): 260].

Now that it has been established that Antigone of Gloucester's 2nd
husband was Jean d'Amancy, I imagine further particulars can be found
on this couple in French sources.

Comments are invited, indeed welcome. Please cite your sources, and
provide weblinks if you have them. Otherwise you'll probably just be
ignored.

Again, special thanks go to Martin Hollick for his assistance in this
matter.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
List of 17th Century colonial Immigrants descended from Henry Gray,
2nd Count of Tancarville, and his wife, Antigone of Gloucester:

1. Rowland Ellis.

2. Nathaniel Littleton.

3. Thomas Lloyd.