Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (1281 – 31 May 1326), The Magnanimous,
feudalbaron of Berkeley, of
Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England, was a
peer. He rebelled against King
Edward II and the
Despencers. His
epithet, and that of each previous and subsequent head of his family, was coined by John Smyth of
Nibley (died 1641), steward of the Berkeley estates, the biographer of the family and author of Lives of the Berkeleys.
He succeeded his father in 1321, but within a few months joined
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster in his
rebellion against the king.[7] He surrendered in February 1322 and the king confiscated his estate.[8] He spent the remainder of his life as a prisoner in
Wallingford Castle.[9]
Marriages and children
He married:
Eve Zouche (d. 1314), daughter of
Eudo Zouche and his wife, Millicent Cantilupe, daughter and eventual co-heiress of
William III Cantilupe in 1289,[10] when they were both children.[1]
Berkeley died a prisoner in
Wallingford Castle on 31 May 1326 and was initially buried there. The following year his son and heir Thomas, having been released from imprisonment himself, removed his father's body to
St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol.[15]
References
^
abSmyth, John (1883). Lives of the Berkeleys. Vol. 1. p. 224.
^
abWells-Furby, Bridget (2004). A Catalogue of the Medieval Muniments at Berkeley Castle. Vol. 17. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. p. xxxvi.