Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Margaret de Quincy
Countess of Lincoln suo jure Countess of Pembroke
Spouse(s)	John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke
Issue
Maud de Lacy Edmund de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract
Noble family	de Quincy
Father	Robert de Quincy
Mother	Hawise of Chester Countess of Lincoln suo jure
Born	c. 1206 England
Died	March 1266 Hampstead
Burial	Church of The Hospitallers, Clerkenwell

Margaret de Quincy (born around 1206 – died March 1266) was a very rich and important English noblewoman. She inherited the title of Countess of Lincoln and lands in Bolingbroke from her mother, Hawise of Chester. This meant she was a countess suo jure, which is Latin for "in her own right." She also received land and money from her first husband's family after he died. Later, she gained even more land from the large Earldom of Pembroke after her second husband passed away.

Margaret's first husband was John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln. They had two children together. John became the 2nd Earl of Lincoln because he married Margaret. People have called Margaret "one of the two most important women of the mid-13th century."

Her Family Background

Margaret was born around 1206. She was the only child of Robert de Quincy and Hawise of Chester. Her mother, Hawise, was one of the heirs of her uncle, Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester. Hawise became the Countess of Chester in her own right in April 1231. This happened when her brother gave up the title to her.

Margaret's grandfather, Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester, was one of the 25 nobles who promised to make King John follow the Magna Carta. Because of this, the Church removed him from the Christian community in December 1215. Two years later, Margaret's father died. He had accidentally taken poisoned medicine prepared by a monk.

Margaret's Life and Titles

On November 23, 1232, Margaret and her husband, John de Lacy, were officially given the titles of Countess and Earl of Lincoln by King Henry III. Before this, in April 1231, Margaret's uncle, Ranulf de Blondeville, had given the Earldom of Lincoln to her mother, Hawise. He did this while he was still alive, with the King's permission.

Her uncle gave her mother the title with a special document, which King Henry III approved. Hawise officially became the 1st Countess of Lincoln in her own right on October 27, 1232, the day after her uncle died.

Hawise then got permission from King Henry III to give the Earldom of Lincoln to Margaret and her husband, John. Less than a month later, Margaret and John de Lacy were officially given the titles. Margaret became the 2nd Countess of Lincoln suo jure (in her own right). John de Lacy became the 2nd Earl of Lincoln because he was her husband.

In 1238, Margaret and John paid King Henry a large sum of money, 5,000 pounds. This was so the King would agree to their daughter Maud marrying Richard de Clare, a powerful Earl.

Controlling Her Lands

On July 22, 1240, Margaret's first husband, John de Lacy, died. Their only son, Edmund de Lacy, was still young. So, Margaret managed the family's lands and titles for him. Edmund was being raised at the court of King Henry III.

In 1243, Margaret inherited the manor of Grantchester when her mother, Hawise, died. Edmund was allowed to take over his titles and lands when he turned 18. He was also Margaret's heir for the Earldom of Lincoln and her other large estates. This included the one-third share of the Earldom of Pembroke that she inherited from her second husband in 1248. However, Edmund died before his mother, so he never became Earl of Lincoln himself.

As the widowed Countess of Lincoln, Margaret met many important people in Lincolnshire. One of them was Robert Grosseteste, the Bishop of Lincoln. He was a very smart person in England at that time. He respected Margaret's position as Countess of Lincoln. He even wrote a book about managing estates and households, called Les Reules Seynt Robert, and dedicated it to her.

Margaret died in 1266. She left her lands to her grandson, Henry de Lacy, who later became the Earl of Lincoln.

Marriages and Children

Before June 21, 1221, Margaret married her first husband, John de Lacy. This marriage was important because it brought Margaret's rich inheritance from Lincoln and Bolingbroke to the de Lacy family. John had been married before, but he had no children with his first wife. Margaret and John had two children:

• Maud de Lacy (born January 25, 1223 – died between 1287 and March 10, 1289). She married Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford in 1238. They had seven children.
• Edmund de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract (died June 2, 1258). He married Alasia of Saluzzo in 1247. They had three children, including Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln.

Margaret married her second husband, Walter Marshal, on January 6, 1242. He was the 5th Earl of Pembroke. This marriage, like those of his four brothers, did not result in any children. So, when Walter died on November 24, 1245, Margaret inherited one-third of the Earldom of Pembroke. She also received lands and power in Kildare.

Her share of the Pembroke Earldom was larger than what any of the other heirs received. This led to disagreements with her own daughter, Maud. Maud's husband was also an heir to the Pembroke earldom through his mother. Because of these arguments with her daughter, Margaret preferred her grandson, Henry de Lacy. Henry would become the 3rd Earl of Lincoln when he turned 21 in 1272. Margaret and her Italian daughter-in-law, Alasia of Saluzzo, shared the responsibility of caring for Henry. Their relationship seemed to be friendly.

Death and What She Left Behind

Margaret was very careful in managing her properties and the people who lived on her lands. She was kind to her son's children, her neighbors, and her tenants. In 1251, she received two special permissions from the Pope. One was to set up a portable altar, and the other was to hear mass in a Cistercian monastery.

Margaret died in March 1266 in Hampstead. Her death was recorded in historical records of Worcester and Winchester. She was buried in the Church of the Hospitallers in Clerkenwell.

Margaret was known as "one of the two most important female figures of the mid-13th century." The other was Ela, Countess of Salisbury.