Image: Eve de Braose

Description: Wooden effigy in St Mary's Priory Church, Abergavenny. Eva de Briouze (d.1255), the heiress of the lordship of Abergavenny, a great heiress of the de Braose dynasty of Welsh Marcher Lords and wife of William III de Cantilupe (d.1254), 3rd feudal baron of Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire. His father William II de Cantilupe (d.1251) had obtained her wardship and marriage and married her off to his son William III. Thus in right of his wife (jure uxoris) he became feudal baron of Totnes in Devon and Lord of Abergavenny in Wales. His chief residences were at Calne in Wiltshire and Aston Cantlow in Warwickshire, until he inherited Abergavenny Castle and the other vast estates of that lordship. Sir George de Cantilupe (1251-1273), 4th feudal baron of Eaton, Lord of Abergavenny, only son and heir of William III and Eva de Briouze, inherited vast estates aged 3. The custody of his lands was held by the king during his minority (until the age of 21), thus for most of his short life, and the crown bailiffs are described in the Annals of Dunstable as being "very wicked and cruel. They vexed the Abbots of St. Albans and of Woburn very much, and especially us, who were unjustly amerced at 6 marks". He married Margaret de Lacy, and having inherited his vast estates died childless aged only 22. Eva de Briouze displays on a shield covering most of her body (an unusual composition) the arms of Cantilupe (ancient): Gules, three fleurs-de-lys or. This is not as might seem reasonable to assume, the effigy of her daughter Joan de Cantilupe (d.1271), the heiress of the Lordship of Abergavenny, who (according to Monastic Wales: New Approaches edited by Janet Burton, Karen Stöber[1] (Dugdale, Antiquities of Warwickshire, Vol.1, p.183, quoted by DNB)) was buried in the Franciscan Friary at Coventry (w:Greyfriars, Coventry), Warwickshire, together with her husband Henry de Hastings (d.1269) and her son John de Hastings, 1st baron Hastings (d.1313), Lord of Abergavenny. However Joan de Cantilupe's heart was buried in Abergavenny Priory, and "her effigy there shows her holding a heart in the palm of her hand". (Burton & Stöber) This effigy with the Cantilupe shield is also holding a heart, but with both hands (see better image[2]) Is this therefore Joan de Cantilupe?
Title: Eve de Braose
Credit: Own work
Author: Doug Thompson, Steyning
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Attribution Required?: Yes