Biography of Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons 1340-1397

Adam Murimuth Continuation. In the same year [1333] the king of England celebrated Christmas at Wallingford with the queen, who was pregnant. When the festival ended he left her at Woodstock [Map] to give birth^{ENDNOTE 1}. After the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary [2nd February] he himself travelled to York in order to hold a parliament there, which began on the Monday of the second week of Lent. Edward Balliol, king of Scotland, had been summoned to this parliament but did not come because of enemies lying in wait for him on islands near Scotland. Instead he sent distinguished representatives, namely Henry Beaumont, William Montagu, and certain other knights and barons.

Hoc anno tenuit rex Angliæ Natale Domini apud Walingfordiam, cum regina prægnante, et, finito festo, dimisit eam apud Wodestok ad pariendum. Et ipse, post Purificationem beatæ Mariæ, transtulit se versus Eboracum, ad tenendum parliamentum ibidem, quod die Lunæ in secunda hebdomada Quadragesimæ inchoavit. Ad quod parliamentum vocatus fuit Edwardus rex Scociæ, sed non venit propter insidias inimicorum suorum in insulis juxta Scociam latitantium; propter quod misit excusatores solempnes, scilicet dominos Henricum de Bello monte et Willelmum de Monte acuto et quosdam alios milites seu barones.

Note 1. [his future mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut gave birth to [his future wife] Isabella of Woodstock on 16th June. The year of her birth is given by other sources as 1332. In 1365 she and Enguerrand de Coucy were married. They had two daughters, Marie and Philippa. She died in 1382.

In 1340 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons was born to [his father] Enguerrand 6th Lord de Coucy [aged 27] and [his mother] Catherine Habsburg [aged 20] at Picardy.

In 1349 [his mother] Catherine Habsburg [aged 29] died.

On 28th May 1363 John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington [aged 35] died at Gleaston Castle [Map]. His son Robert [aged 7] succeeded 3rd Baron Harington. Given his young age Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington became a ward of [his future father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 50] who granted his wardship to his daughter [his future wife] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 30] and her husband Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 23].

On 27th July 1365 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 25] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 33] were married at Windsor Castle [Map]. She the daughter of King Edward III of England [aged 52] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 55]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

In 1366 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 26] was created 1st Earl Bedford. [his wife] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 33] by marriage Countess Bedford.

In April 1366 [his daughter] Marie de Coucy Countess Soissons was born to Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 26] and [his wife] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 33] at Coucy Castle. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England. She married November 1384 her third cousin Henry of Bar, son of Robert of Bar 1st Duke of Bar and Marie Valois Duchess Bar, and had issue.

In 1367 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 27] was created 1st Count Soissons. [his wife] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 34] by marriage Countess Soissons.

Before 18th April 1367 [his daughter] Philippa Guines Duchess Ireland was born to Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 27] and [his wife] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 34] at Eltham Palace, Kent [Map]. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England. She married (1) 5th October 1376 her half third cousin once removed Robert de Vere 1st Duke Ireland, son of Thomas de Vere 8th Earl of Oxford and Maud Ufford Countess of Oxford.

In June 1368 [his brother-in-law] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] and Violante Visconti [aged 14] were married in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Milan [Map]. The wedding festivities were lavish and ostentatious. The banquet, held outside, included 30 courses of meat and fish presented fully gilded. Between the courses the guests were given gifts such as suits of armour, bolts of cloth, war horses, arms, and hunting dogs. Among the guests were Geoffrey Chaucer [aged 25], Petrarch, Jean Froissart and John Hawkwood [aged 48]. He the son of [his father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 55] and [his mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 57]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

On 7th October 1368 [his brother-in-law] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] died from poisoning at Alba [Map]. Duke Clarence extinct. His daughter Philippa [aged 13] succeeded 2nd Countess of Ulster. He was buried at the St Pietro Ciel d'Oro Church, Pavia [Map].

There was strong speculation he had been poisoned by his wife's [aged 14] father [aged 48].

On 15th August 1369 [his mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 59] died at Windsor Castle [Map]. Her husband [his father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 56] and youngest son [his brother-in-law] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 14] were present. She was given a state funeral six months later on 9th January 1370 at which she was interred at on the northeast side of the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey [Map]. Her alabaster effigy was executed by sculptor Jean de Liège.

On 21st September 1371 [his brother-in-law] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 31] and Constance of Castile Duchess of Lancaster [aged 17] were married at Roquefort, Landes. She by marriage Duchess Lancaster. His younger brother Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York [aged 30] married Constance's sister in July 1372. An example of Marriage of Two Sets of Siblings. She the illegitmate daughter of Peter "Cruel" I King Castile and Maria Padilla. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 58] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England. They were half third cousin twice removed.

On 11th July 1372 [his brother-in-law] Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York [aged 31] and Isabella of Castile Duchess York [aged 17] were married at Wallingford, Oxfordshire [Map]. She by marriage Countess Cambridge. She being the younger sister of Constance [aged 18] who had married Edmund's older brother John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 32] a year before. An example of Marriage of Two Sets of Siblings. She the illegitmate daughter of Peter "Cruel" I King Castile and Maria Padilla. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 59] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England. They were half third cousin twice removed.

On 16th January 1373 Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton [aged 31] died. He was buried at Waldon Priory and Abbey [Map]. Earl Hereford, Earl Essex, Earl of Northampton extinct. His estates were divided between his two daughters Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester [aged 7], wife of [his brother-in-law] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 18] and Mary Bohun [aged 5], wife of Henry of Bolingbroke [aged 5], the future Henry IV, although the title and estates should have been inherited Gilbert Bohun who was a grandson of Humphrey Bohun 2nd Earl Hereford 1st Earl Essex.

In 1374 [his brother-in-law] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 18] and Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester [aged 8] were married. She the daughter of Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton and Joan Fitzalan Countess Essex, Hereford and Northampton [aged 27]. He the son of [his father-in-law] King Edward III of England [aged 61] and [his mother-in-law] Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England. They were second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

On 5th October 1376 [his son-in-law] Robert de Vere 1st Duke Ireland [aged 14] and Philippa Guines Duchess Ireland [aged 9] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. She the daughter of Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 36] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 44]. He the son of Thomas de Vere 8th Earl of Oxford and Maud Ufford Countess of Oxford [aged 31]. They were half third cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry III of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.

On 26th August 1377 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 37] renounced his title Earl Bedford following the accession of King Richard II of England [aged 10].

After 1380 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 40] and Isabelle of Lorraine were married. She the daughter of John Metz I Duke Lorraine [aged 33] and Sophie Württemberg Duchess Lorraine. They were second cousin once removed.

On 5th October 1382 [his wife] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 50] died.

In November 1384 [his son-in-law] Henry of Bar [aged 20] and Marie de Coucy Countess Soissons [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 44] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons. He the son of Robert of Bar 1st Duke of Bar [aged 39] and Marie Valois Duchess Bar [aged 40]. They were third cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.

In 1386 [his daughter] Isabelle Coucy Countess Nevers was born to Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 46] and [his wife] Isabelle of Lorraine. She married 9th April 1409 her third cousin once removed Philip Valois II Count Nevers, son of Philip "Bold" Valois II Duke Burgundy and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Burgundy, and had issue.

In 1387 [his son-in-law] Robert de Vere 1st Duke Ireland [aged 24] and [his daughter] Philippa Guines Duchess Ireland [aged 19] were divorced.

On 23rd September 1390 [his father-in-law] John Metz I Duke Lorraine [aged 44] died. His son [his brother-in-law] Charles [aged 26] succeeded II Duke Lorraine.

On 6th February 1393 [his brother-in-law] Charles Metz II Duke Lorraine [aged 28] and Margaret Wittelsbach Duchess Lorraine [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Duchess Lorraine. She the daughter of Rupert King Germany [aged 40]. He the son of [his father-in-law] John Metz I Duke Lorraine and Sophie Württemberg Duchess Lorraine. They were fourth cousins.

Froissart Book 4 Chapter 89. 1397. About the time I am now speaking of, that gallant knight and excellent man the lord Enguerrand de Coucy, count de Soissons [aged 57], and a potent lord in France, died at Bursa in Turkey. Sir Robert d'Esne, who had been sent to him by the [his wife] lady de Coucy, had not advanced further than Vienna, on his journey thither, when he was informed of his death. He returned with this news to France, and told it to the family of the lord de Coucy, though not to the widow, before whom he did not appear until the governor of the castle of Saint Gobin was sent to seek the body, have it embalmed, and brought to France. It was conveyed to the abbey of Nogent near to Coucy, and received by the duchess of Bar [aged 52], the bishop of Laon, and many abbots: there the gentle knight was buried, and thus ended the year of grace 1397.

In 1423 [his former wife] Isabelle of Lorraine died.

[his father] Enguerrand 6th Lord de Coucy and [his mother] Catherine Habsburg were married. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Leopold Habsburg I Duke Austria and [his grandmother] Catherine Savoy Duchess Austria.