Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, 1st Earl of March (25 April 1287 – 29 November 1330), was an English nobleman and powerful marcher lord who gained many estates in the Welsh Marches and Ireland following his advantageous marriage to the wealthy heiress Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville. In November 1316, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1322 for having led the marcher lords in a revolt against King Edward II in what became known as the Despenser War.
He later escaped to France, where he was joined by Edward's wife, Queen Isabella, where they had an affair. After he and Isabella led a successful invasion and rebellion, Edward was deposed; Mortimer allegedly arranged his murder at Berkeley Castle. For three years, Mortimer was de facto ruler of England before being himself overthrown by Isabella and Edward's eldest son, Edward III. Accused of assuming royal power and other crimes, Mortimer was executed by hanging at Tyburn.
Mortimer, grandson of Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, and Maud de Braose, was born at Wigmore Castle, Herefordshire, England, the firstborn of marcher lord Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, and Margaret de Fiennes. Through his mother Margaret, he was a great-grandson of John of Brienne, Emperor of Constantinople and King of Jerusalem. Through his father he was descended from John, King of England.
Edmund Mortimer was a second son, intended for minor orders and a clerical career. But on the deaths of his elder brother Ralph in 1274, and his father in 1304, Edmund was recalled from Oxford University and succeeded to the title. He married in 1301.
Roger was born on 25 April 1287, the Feast of Saint Mark, a day of bad omen. He shared this birthday with King Edward II, which would be relevant later in life.
According to his biographer Ian Mortimer, Roger was possibly sent as a boy to be fostered in the household of his formidable uncle, Roger Mortimer de Chirk. De Chirk had helped Edmund kill Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Wales in 1282 and had then carried Llywelyn's severed head to King Edward I. Ironically, Roger was a cousin of Llywelyn via his great-grandmother, Gwladus Ddu.
Roger attended the coronation of Edward II on 25 February 1308 and carried a table bearing the royal robes in the ceremony's procession.
Like many noble children of his time, Mortimer was betrothed at a young age, to Joan de Geneville (born 1286), the daughter of Sir Peter de Geneville, of Trim Castle and Ludlow. They were married on 20 September 1301 when he was aged fourteen. Their first child was born in 1302.
Through his marriage, Mortimer not only acquired numerous possessions in the Welsh Marches, including the important Ludlow Castle, which became the chief stronghold of the Mortimers, but also extensive estates and influence in Ireland. However, Joan de Geneville was not an "heiress" at the time of her marriage. Her grandfather Geoffrey de Geneville, at the age of eighty in 1308, conveyed most, but not all, of his Irish lordships to Mortimer, and then retired: he finally died in 1314, with Joan succeeding as suo jure 2nd Baroness Geneville. During his lifetime Geoffrey also conveyed much of the remainder of his legacy, such as Kenlys, to his younger son Simon de Geneville, who had meanwhile become Baron of Culmullin through marriage to Joanna FitzLeon. Mortimer, therefore, succeeded to the eastern part of the Lordship of Meath, centred on Trim and its stronghold of Trim Castle. He did not succeed, however, to the Lordship of Fingal.
Military adventures in Ireland and Wales
Mortimer's childhood came to an abrupt end when his father was mortally wounded in a skirmish near Builth in July 1304. Since Mortimer was underage at the death of his father, he was placed by King Edward I under the guardianship of Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall. However, on 22 May 1306, in a lavish ceremony in Westminster Abbey with 259 others, he was knighted by Edward and granted livery of his full inheritance.
His adult life began in earnest in 1308, when 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 Scots. Mortimer was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by Edward II on 23 November 1316. Shortly afterwards, 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 returned to England and Wales in 1318 and was then occupied for some years with baronial disputes on the Welsh border.
Mortimer became disaffected with his king and joined the growing opposition to Edward II and the Despensers. After the younger Despenser was granted lands belonging to him, he and the marchers began conducting devastating raids against Despenser's property in Wales. He supported Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, in refusing to obey the king's summons to appear before him in 1321 as long as "the younger Despencer was in the King's train." Mortimer led a march against London, his men wearing the Mortimer uniform which was green with a yellow sleeve. He was prevented from entering the capital, although his forces put it under siege. These acts of insurrection compelled the Lords Ordainers led by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, to order the king to banish the Despensers in August. When the king led a successful expedition in October against Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere, after she had refused Queen Isabella admittance to Leeds Castle, he used his victory and new popularity among the moderate lords and the people to summon the Despensers back to England. Mortimer, in company with other Marcher Lords, led a rebellion against Edward, which is known as the Despenser War.
In January 1322, Mortimer attacked and burnt Bridgnorth but, being heavily outnumbered, was forced to surrender to the king at Shrewsbury. Mortimer joined Lancaster at the Battle of Boroughbridge in March 1322 and warrants for his arrest were issued in July.
A death sentence was passed upon Mortimer but this was commuted to life imprisonment and he was consigned to the Tower of London. On 1 August 1323, Mortimer, aided by Bishop Adam Orleton of Hereford and Gerald de Alspaye, the sub-lieutenant or valet of the Tower's Constable, drugged the warders during a feast, allowing Mortimer to escape. He attempted to capture Windsor and Wallingford Castles to free imprisoned Contrariants. Mortimer eventually fled to France, pursued by warrants for his capture dead or alive.
In the following year Queen Isabella, anxious to escape from her husband, obtained his consent to her going to France to use her influence with her brother, King Charles IV, in favour of peace. At the French court, the queen found Mortimer, who became her lover soon afterwards. At his instigation, she refused to return to England so long as the Despensers retained power as the king's favourites.
Historians have speculated as to the date at which Mortimer and Isabella actually became lovers. The modern view is that the affair began while both were still in England and that after a disagreement, Isabella abandoned Mortimer to his fate in the Tower. His subsequent escape became one of medieval England's most colourful episodes. However, almost certainly Isabella risked everything by chancing Mortimer's companionship and emotional support when they first met again in Paris four years later (Christmas 1325). King Charles IV's protection of Isabella at the French court from Despenser's would-be assassins played a large part in developing the relationship.
In 1326, Mortimer moved as Prince Edward's guardian to Hainault, but only after a furious dispute with the queen, demanding she remain in France.