Sir Hugh Courtenay of Boconnoc (1421 –1471)
The Courtenays were of French origin,
descending from Athon/Athos de Courtenay who fortified the town of Courtenay in Gatenois/Gatinais about 1010. Reginald de Courtenay crossed from France to England in 1152, and through marriage his descendants built land, power and titles in Devon. There were quite a number of Hugh Courtenays over the years: possibly averaging at least one per generation.This Hugh was descended from the Earls of Devon, but was not an earl himself. Yet his uncle, cousins, and later his son, were earls at various times, due to deaths and forfeitures that were a staple of the turbulent times.
He was born in either 1421 or 1425 (the year his father died). His father was Sir Hugh Courtenay of Haccombe [and Boconnoc], the grandson of Sir Hugh Courtenay 11th Earl, and brother of Edward, the 12th, "Blind Earl". His mother was Maud/Mathilda Beaumont, daughter of Eleanor Plangagenet and Sir John Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. This Hugh married Margaret Carminow, the daughter of the Sheriff of Cornwall,
about 1444 at the family seat of Boconnoc, Cornwall; they had about six children. He inherited the Boconnoc estate (Bochenod in the 1086 Domesday Book) through his grandmother’s family, the Dawnays.The period of the War(s) of The Roses [battle of Tewkesbury depicted above] ran throughout Hugh’s life, from 1399 to 1485. It had come on the heels of the Hundred Years War with France, and started with the death of a king (Richard III) with no heir. Factions variously aligned with the Dukes of York and Lancaster, both descended from Edward III. It was not so much war as alternating periods of turmoil and lull, with first one side then the other gaining the ascendancy of the throne. It was periodically flared by usurptions, grievances, temporary madness (Henry VI), and so on. In 1485, Henry Tudor was found to be last man standing and became Henry VII.
Allegiances changed often during the period; the Courtenays were in fact split between the sides, although largely Lancastrian like Hugh. Preceding Tewkesbury, Thomas Courtenay, 16th Earl was killed by Yorkists (1462); Thomas’ brother Henry then met that fate in 1466.
It's hard to get much idea of Hugh's character separate from the times that forged him. At one point, after his kinsman Thomas, 15th Earl (father of the 16th) had a long-running dispute with a foe, Hugh had joined with Thomas to wreak vengeance, sieging property and ransacking valuables in Exeter, Devon. However, this action doesn't appear much out of keeping with the norm in these lawless times.
In 1471, forces of Edward of York (the future King Edward IV) had King Henry VI imprisoned in London, keeping him alive to weaken the figurative strength of the king's wife and son, who were loose. The Queen’s army, with 
the young prince, landed on the south coast and marched to Exeter. There they were joined by Hugh and Sir John Arundel, who between them had mustered troops from Devon and Cornwall. The Queen, pursued by Edward northwest, was trying to cross the Severn river to meet Jasper Tudor’s reinforcements in Wales. But they were caught in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire on Saturday, 4th May. The Lancastrian forces experienced a crushing defeat.
“Her son Prince Edward was killed. Somerset was captured, along with [others including] Sir Hugh Courteney [sic]: all were courtmartialled… at Tewkesbury. Besides the prince, the earl of Devonshire [Thomas & Henry’s brother John, along with others] were killed in action... Henry VI was put to death in the Tower by Edward's order..." [4, p569].
There appears to have been another John Courtenay at the battle, but on the winning side; he was subsequently made a Banneret.
Two days after the battle, on the 6th of May 1471, Hugh was beheaded at Tewkesbury, then buried at Ashwater.
In final count, the earldom was forfeited and restored several times before peace came with the Tudors. Hugh's son Edward finally caught the prize; he was the brother of my 17th-generation ancestor Elizabeth Courtenay.
My grandmother, Gwendolen Rowling, was of Cornish descent via the surnames Williams, Bennetts, Vivian, and Trethurffe through to Elizabeth Courtenay.
Sources
1: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org)
2. Cornish Links (http://www.cornish-links.co.uk/boconnoc.htm)
3. The Wars Of The Roses, Robin Neillands, 1992, Cassell UK
4. The Oxford History of England The Fifteenth Century 1399-1485, E F Jacob, Oxford Univ Press
5. Family tree collated for Gwendolen Rowling
posted by S Simmonds | 5:54 pm
13 Comments:
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Hello Stephen,
I am curious to know what your grandmother Gwendolen Rowling may have learned about her grandmother Elizabeth Drown's ancestors? My great-great-grandfather Richard Drown, 1840-1884, was Elizabeth's older brother. Richard migrated from England to the United States in 1864. Would you please contact me? Thanks.
Spencer Drown
Seattle, USA
sdrown@gmail.com
To S Simmonds The Courtenay earls of Devon are hard to follow! Hugh 1st earl died 1340, Hugh 2nd earl died 1377, Edward
3rd earl the blind died 1419, his brother Hugh was 4th earl died 1422 aged 33 years, his son Thomas was 5th earl died 1458, his son was also Thomas the 6th earl executed after Towton 1461 and attainted, the brother of the 6th earl was Henry HungDQ Jan 1469 for conspiracy with Warwick, the 7 th earl John son of 6th succeeded at Re-adeption, killed in action at Tewkesbury 1471. Your Sir Hugh was brother of the 5th earl died 1458, Sir Hugh joined Queen Margaret Anjou at Exeter, went north_EAST to Tewkesbury. He may have been taken in the Abbey and executed 2 days later with Edmund duke of Beaufort and the Prior of St Johns, Sir John Langstrother.
I am interested in your Courtenay family, as I am looking for information about an Isabel or Elizabeth Courtenay who married John Newburgh of Tonerspuddle, Dorset. Some believe that she was the daughter of William Courtenay, but the historians at Powderham Castle have no record of either person connected to the Powderham line. Would you happen to have more information about Hugh's children? They are not mentioned on this post.
My web site is worldwidenewburghproject.com. You can find an email addy for me on my web site.
More information about Hugh's children? Easy. Although at the time I wrote this, there wasn't much around on this Hugh, if you wait long enough it ends up on Wikipedia. And so it did. Anything further than that, would really need some dates. There are so many Courtenays that are Hughs and Elizabeths that it's just not funny.
Thanks very much. It seems Hugh did have a couple of daughters named Elizabeth and Isabel, but the husbands don't jive with the Newburghs. However, the Newburghs are blood cousins to the Beaumonts, so I had some hope of solving my mystery. And the band plays on. :-)
Unfortunately the line connection of the Vivian's of Tolgarrick are not related to those Vyvyans in Trelowarren as proposed and therefore the ancestors of those of Trelowarren such as the de Courtenay's will not have a documented relationship via this family.
There is sufficient evidence that disproves the connection of Roger Vivian of Tolgarrick. The "official peerage" was written by a Vivian Descendant of Tolgarrick who very incorrectly assumed that both Roger's (his ancestor and Roger Vyvyan of Trelowarren) were one in the same when evidence shows they lived very different lives. The connection to the de Courtenay's and Royalty comes from ancestors of Hannibal Vyvyan of Trelowarren, but does not apply to the descendant Vivians of Tolgarrick.
Roger Vyvyan of Trelowarren was last a resident in London having died abroad and in reading his Will there ironically is no mention of a widow or six children in Camborne, however it does mention his siblings of Trelowarren instead. He did not seem to be married with no mention in his Will.
The following evidence confirms your lineage goes to a John Vivian, Yeoman of Camborne and his wife Elinor as parents for Roger of Tolgarrick and Yeoman in Camborne who married Ellen Bennett in 1623:
Cornwall Record Office Ref. No. PD/7/5:
Pendarves family of Pendarves, Camborne.
Deed, Tolgarrick, Camborne.
10th May 1623
Parties 1) Roger Vivian, yeoman of Camborne and Elinor Vivian, widow, late the wife of John Vivian of Camborne and mother of the said Roger Vivian. 2) Alexander Thomas alias Pendarves, gentleman of Camborne.* Consideration: £80 Messuages, lands and tenements commonly called and known by the name of Tolgarracke (Tolgarrrick) in Camborne. Witnessed by John Arundell, Peter Tom? Richard Pendarves, Laurence Call, Thomas Eva and Henry Caunter.
* (Compiler's note): Alexander Thomas alias Pendarves, gentleman was brother of Roger Vivian's grandmother Elizabeth Pendarves.
Corwall Record Office Ref. No. PD/7/7:
Pendarves family of Pendarves, Camborne
Deeds, Tolgarrick, Camborne
Final concord, Tolgarrick, Camborne
Octave of the purification 1629
Parties: 1) Richard Pendarves, gentleman and Richard Veale , clerk,
Querent 2) Roger Vivian, deforciant. Consideration: £60 sterling. Three messuages, three gardens, 26 acres of land, 10 acres of downs and heath, 6 acres of moor and common pasture in Tolgarrick, Penzance, Camborne and Illogan.
Tolgarrick Farm was held by the Vivian family for over 250 years. Francis Vivian, Agent to the foundry at Tuckingmill was living there on the 1841, 1851 and 1861 Census for Camborne.
In March 1642 at Camborne Roger Vivian signed The Oath of Protestation ( Oath of loyalty, ostensibly to the King, but in fact to Parliament, initiated in the House of Commons in May 1641.)
His brother Henry Vivian also signed at the same time.
The other convincing point is Haniball Vyvyan of Trelowarren never had a son named Henry.
Hi there,
First time of posting. My interest is the Elizabeth Courtenay who married Sir John Trethurffe and also apparently) John Pye of Lansreath. John Pye and Elizabeth had a son - Walter Pye of the Mynde, Herefordshire (b. 1495).
However, something doesn't seem right with this and I have a suspicion that they may be different Elizabeth Courtenays??
Can anyone help?
Kandi K
Hi Kandi,
I absolutely acknowledge that there are a number of different Elizabeth Courtenays.
In investigating the comment above yours (which is generally accepted to be true), I found rather a confusion of such Elizabeths from the same era.
My original information gives that neither parties in this Elizabeth's marriage died before 1510, and so given the rarity of divorce, I would suggest yours is a different Elizabeth.
It always pays to square your information with the latest in online sources, however, which I haven't done scrupulously for this one. Yet.
Thank you for responding so quickly.
There certainly does seem to be a plethora of Elizabeth Courtenays.
Should any other information come to light, please do let me know.
I solved the Isabel/Elizabeth Courtenay question.
Isabel (Elisabeth) was the daughter of William Courtenay of Powderham and Cecily Cheyne, daughter of John Cheyne of Pinhoe. Cicely married William Courtenay c. 1476. They had eleven children, one of whom was named Elisabeth aka Isabel.
Isabel was b. c. 1485, d. 20 January 1509. She was married three times, and had only one known child by her second husband Thomas Mallet. When her forename was in question, her nativity was uncovered by comparing lands that she held in dower from her first two husbands some of which was inherited from her parents.
Proof of Isabel/Elizabeth’s nativity comes from the jointure she held of Tothill and Castle Cary with her third husband William Willoughby. At her death he was seised of parts of Enmore, which belonged to Isabel’s second husband Thomas Mallet’s family but were passed to her through her son Baldwyn Mallet’s feoffees. (PROB: 11/17/317, WARD2/59/221/12, Somerset Medieval Wills, Weaver, 1903, p. 10.)
Isabel’s marriages were:
(1) John Newburgh Esq. d. 1496 Tonerspuddle, Dorset, son of John Newburgh Esquire, Lord of E. Lulworth, Dorset.
(2) Thomas Mallet, d. 1501 Enmore, Somerset. She had one son named Baldywn Mallet who inherited Enmore, Somerset when his elder half-brother died. Thomas stipulated Isabel should not remarry after his death; however, she did not honor his request. He named her as his executrix and left her the manor at Sutton Malet for her life. Isabel was his second or third wife.
(3) Sir William Willoughby outlived Isabel. His will was instructive regarding Isabel’s prior marriages. At his death, William held Tothill which was inherited by Isabel’s mother Cicely, who received it from her great grandmother Cicely Stretch Cheyne.
Mallet properties were also identified which she held in jointure with Willoughby until her death. The properties fell to him as her heir. William and Isabel held Tothill and Castle Cary in jointure. At his own death, he was seised of parts of Enmore, which belonged to Isabel’s second husband Thomas Mallet’s family. The Enmore land was granted through feoffees in 1506 to Isabel who held them in jointure with William.
(C/142/25/137/001; PROB: 11/17/317; WARD2/59/221/12; Somerset Medieval Wills, Weaver, 1903, p. 10. History of Parliament.)
Sue,
Thanks for that. Points to note:
1) Yes, Elizabeth and Isabel are cognate names - I've seen them used interchangeably in centuries before that era. That increases the number of doppelgangers.
2) Certainly in trees handed down like mine, there will be some incorrectness. Anonymous' 2019 post above demonstrates I need to chop out some of my tree, although I found in my case the Courtenays come back in earlier. But it looks like the Elizabeth on my tree is not directly related to me.
3) I'm not sure whether the above helps either Kandi's or my tree.
a) Kandi: Elizabeth Courtenay marries Sir John Trethurffe _then_ John Pye before 1495
b) "mine": Elizabeth Courtenay (daughter of Sir Hugh) b1447, m.John Trethurff 1461(!), both die 1510(!)
c) Sue: Isabel Courtenay (daughter of William) b1485, husband Newburgh d.1496(!), husband Mallet d.1501, she d.1509
4) I note a Baldwin Mallet in my tree, with no parents listed. Same as Sue's Baldwin? Possible.
5) Clearly, more research needed.
Thank you both.
More and more I think that an Elizabeth Courtenay may well have married John Pye, but she is not the same one married to John Trethurffe. This makes my tree less complicated.
I await further posts with great interest.
As ever,
Kandi
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