The de Bohun then Bohun family is an
English noble family of
Norman origin that played a prominent role in English political and military history during the
Late Middle Ages. The swan used by the family and their descendants as a heraldic badge came to be called the
Bohun swan.
Humphrey with the Beard (died c. 1113), who founded the English family, held the manor of Bohun (or Bohon) in
Normandy – on the
Cotentin Peninsula between
Coutances and the estuary of the
Vire.[1] This is still reflected in place names such as
Saint-André-de-Bohon and
Saint-Georges-de-Bohon. From one son of Humphrey with the same name, the male line continued, becoming Earls of Hereford, Essex and Northampton, using the name Humphrey repeatedly in successive generations. The male line of another son of Humphrey with the Beard, Richard de Meri, died out in the 12th century, but his heirs in the female line took the surname of Bohun, giving rise to the Bohuns of
Midhurst in
West Sussex.[2]
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton (Humphrey IX, 1342–1373), an English noble during the reign of King Edward III
Eleanor de Bohun (c. 1366 – 1399); elder daughter and co-heiress
Mary de Bohun (c. 1368 – 1394); younger daughter, the first wife of King Henry IV of England and mother of King Henry V