Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March

Being an infant at the death of his father, Edmund Mortimer, he was placed by Edward I under the guardianship of Piers Gaveston, and was knighted by Edward in 1306; Mortimer's mother was a relative of Edward's consort, Eleanor of Castile. Through his marriage with Joan de Geneville, Roger not only acquired increased possessions on the Welsh marches, including the important castle of Ludlow, which became the chief stronghold of the Mortimers, but also extensive estates and influence in Ireland. In 1308 he went to Ireland in person, to enforce his authority. This brought him into conflict with the De Lacys, who turned for support to Edward Bruce, brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland. Mortimer was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland by Edward II. in 1316, at the head of a large army, he drove Bruce to Carrickfergus and the De Lacys into Connaught, wreaking vengeance on their adherents whenever they were to be found.

He was then occupied for some years with baronial disputes on the Welsh border until about 1318, when he joined the growing opposition to Edward II. and his favourites, the Despensers; and he supported Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, in refusing to obey the king’s summons to appear before him in 1321.

Forced to surrender to the king at Shrewsbury in January 1322, Mortimer was consigned to the Tower of London, but escaped to France in August 1324. In the following year Isabella, wife of Edward II, anxious to escape from her husband, obtained his consent to her going to France to use her influence with her brother, KingCharles IV, in favour of peace. At the French court the queen found Roger Mortimer; she became his mistress soon afterwards, and at his instigation refused to return to England so long as the Despensers retained power as the king’s favourites.

The scandal of Isabella’s relations with Mortimer compelled them both to withdraw from the French court to Flanders, where they obtained assistance for an invasion of England. Landing in England in September 1326, they were joined by Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Leicester; London rose in support of the queen, and Edward took flight to the west, pursued by Mortimer and Isabella.

After wandering helplessly for some weeks in Wales, the king was taken prisoner on 16 November, and was compelled to abdicate in favour of his son. Though the latter was crowned as Edward III in January 1327, the country was ruled by Mortimer and Isabella, who are believed to have arranged the murder of Edward II in the following September at Berkeley Castle.

Rich estates and offices of profit and power were now heaped on Mortimer, and in September 1328 he was created Earl of March. However, he was no more competent than the Despensers to conduct the government of the country. The jealousy and anger of Lancaster had been aroused by Mortimer's rise, and Lancaster prevailed upon the young king, Edward III, to assert his independence. At a parliament held at Nottingham in October 1330 a plot was successfully carried out by which March was arrested in the castle. In spite of Isabella’s entreaty to her son to “have pity on the gentle Mortimer,” was conveyed to the Tower. Accused of assuming royal power and of various other high misdemeanours, he was condemned without trial and hanged at Tyburn on 29 November, 1330, his vast estates being forfeited to the crown. March’s wife, by whom he had four sons and eleven daughters, survived till 1356. The daughters all married into powerful families, chiefly of Marcher houses. His eldest son, Edmund, was father of another Roger Mortimer, who was restored to his grandfather’s title.

Preceded by: New Creation	Earl of March	Followed by: Roger Mortimer
Preceded by: Edmund Mortimer	Baron Wigmore

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