As the new ancestry of Margaret de Brewes, wife of Sir Thomas de
Monthermer, is traced out, one interesting genealogical puzzle which is
immediately encountered is the identity of Margaret's maternal
grandmother, the mysterious Countess of Loretto, 2nd wife of Sir Roger
de Clifford (died 1285), of Tenbury, Worcestershire.
According to published accounts, Roger de Clifford went to the Holy
Land with Prince Edward of England in 1271. On their return home two
years later in 1273, Roger was present with Philippe, Count of Savoy
and Burgundy, and others, when William, Lord of Toron on the Rhine, did
homage to King Edward I at the castle of St. Georges, near Beaufort in
France. Having lost his wife, Maud, Sir Roger de Clifford "now paid
his addresses" to the Countess of Loretto, "whom he met in this castle
of St. Georges, where he married her, with great solemnity, after
having settled upon her his manor of Weverham in Cheshire." [Reference:
Arthur Clifford, Collectanea Cliffordiana (1817): 176].
That Sir Roger de Clifford's wife held the Italian title of Countess of
Loretto is confirmed by several records, among them Calendar of Close
Rolls, 1272-1279, pp. 450, 518. In the former record she is styled
"Contissa, countess of Lorett[o]" and in the latter record she is
styled "Contesse Loretti."
Hugh Clifford includes a long and somewhat rambling discussion
regarding the Countess of Loretto in his book, House of Clifford:
"At about this time Roger Clifford himself married in France as his
second wife, a mysterious lady variously described as the Countess of
Loretto, Lorette or Lauretania, whom he is said to have married at
Saint-Georges near the castle of Beaufort. There are two possible
theories concerning this lady's identity. She may have been the Dame
de Lorette-sur-Loire, though there is nothing to identify her as such
beyond the fact that the marriage took lace at St. Georges-du-Bois,
near Beaufort-en-Vallee (Maine-et-Loire) not far from Angers. A more
probable candidate is a member of the noble family of
Milly-en-Gatinois. Perenelle de Milly, Countess of Loretto in Italy,
in the early 14th century, was the daughter of Geoffrey de Milly,
Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples during the last couple of decades of
the 13th century. The family had been prominent in Outremer and with
the Templars from the 12th century, and was closely related by blood
and marriage to the families of Joinville and Dampierre. It will be
remembered that Geoffrey de Joinville, Comte de Vaucouleurs, had
married the Cliffords' neighbor Maud de Lacy, and their daughter,
Jeanne de Joinville was the wife of Roger de Mortimer, while two of her
sisters were nuns at Aconbury. Guy de Dampierre, Count of Flanders,
Marquis of Namur, had taken part in the crusade to Tunis in 1270, and
was present at the deathbed of St. Louis. He had 19 children by two
wives, and his third son, Philip de Dampierre, was created Count of
Chieti in the kingdom of Naples. It is probable that Roger de
Clifford's wife was a member of one of these families, and that his
marriage would have strengthened the already existing bonds between the
Cliffords and these powerful French nobles. As to the place of
marriage, Sir Iain Moncreiffe suggests St.-Georges-de-Reneins (Rhone)
not far from Villefranche-sur-Saone, where Edward I and a thousand
picked men fought a strange mele with the Count of Chalons, in response
to the count's challenge received while the crusaders had passed
through Italy. This would certainly be closer to the Milly, Joinvlle
and Dampierre estates that Saint-Georges-du-Bois." END OF QUOTE.
[Reference: Hugh Clifford, The House of Clifford, pp. 47-48].
Regarding Mr. Clifford's first theory regarding the Countess of
Loretto's identity, it is impossible to think that a woman holding the
French manor of de Lorette-sur-Loire would derive an Italian title such
Countess of Loretto from this possession. Why Mr. Clifford would
suggest such a silly notion is beyond me. As to his second theory, Mr.
Clifford is on more solid ground. He notes that there was a certain
Pernel de Milly who was Countess of Loretto in the early 1300's. So,
he has the correct title. He supposes that this woman might have been
Roger de Clifford's 2nd wife. However, his own book shows that Roger
de Clifford's 2nd wife and surviving widow, the Countess of Loretto,
died in 1301. As such, she could hardly be the same woman as Pernel de
Milly who occurs after this date. So then who was Roger de Clifford's
wife?
The solution to this puzzle is actually somewhat simple. Pernel de
Milly's husband, Sir Philippe de Dampierre, was Count of Chieti in
Italy just as Hugh Clifford states. I've found evidence that he was
also known as Count of Loretto. This is proven by four records in the
period, 1304-1305, recorded in the Calendar of Close Rolls, 1302-1307,
pp. 162, 167, 209, 260. Mr. Clifford tells us that Philippe de
Dampierre "was created Count of Chieti in the kingdom of Naples."
However, this is not true. What took place is that Philippe de
Dampierre had an earlier marriage to a woman who was Countess of Chieti
in her own right. Her name was Mahaut (or Maud) de Courtenay, and she
was the daughter and sole heiress of Raoul de Courtenay, Count of
Chieti (died 1271). According to Detlev Schwennicke, Mahaut de
Courtenay was born c. 1254. Her marriage to Philippe de Dampierre
allegedly took place c. 1284 at Wynendale, South Flanders, in modern
Belgium.
From the dates, it seems that Mahaut de Courtenay was nearly 30 at her
marriage to Philippe de Dampierre. This age at marriage is highly
unlikely given that she was an heiress and a member of the important
Courtenay family. If so, it would seem probable that Mahaut de
Courtenay had an earlier marriage than her known marriage to Sir
Philippe de Dampierre. Who then was Mahaut's first husband? It
appears he was Sir Roger de Clifford, of Tenbury, Worcestershire.
While conclusive evidence is still lacking, we know from Detlev
Schwennicke that Mahaut de Courtenay was Countess of Chieti in her own
right. If so, then it seems a good bet that she was also known as
Countess of Loretto, just we know her husband, Philippe de Dampierre,
was known as both Count of Chieti and Count of Loretto. We are told by
Hugh Clifford that Roger de Clifford's wife died in 1301. Detlev
Schwennicke states that Mahaut de Courtenay, wife of Sir Philippe de
Dampierre, died in 1303. The dates are very close. Following Mahaut
de Courtenay's death, Sir Philippe de Dampierre married (2nd) Pernel de
Milly, who Clifford notes was known as Countess of Loretto. Next, we
know that Sir Roger de Clifford died in or about 1285 [Reference: Hugh
Clifford, House of Clifford, pg. 49]. Schwennicke states that Mahaut
de Courtenay married c. 1284 to Philippe de Dampierre. Again, the
dates are very close. Lastly, we know that Roger de Clifford's widow,
the Countess of Loretto, was living abroad from 1293 to at least 1296
[Reference: Ibid.]. If she was re-married to a foreigner, this would
readily account for her absence from England.
So, was Mahaut de Courtenay the 2nd wife of Sir Roger de Clifford? As
best I can tell, yes, she was. However, this matter deserves further
study to make a final determination.
In closing, I wish to thank my friend, Brent Ruesch, who worked on this
genealogical puzzle with me today at the Family History Library here in
Salt Lake City. It's good to have friends, especially when they're as
knowledgeable about genealogical matters as Mr. Ruesch.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Website: http://www.royalancestry.net