John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey
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John de Warenne (1231?- September 27, 1304), 7th Earl of Surrey or Warenne, was prominent during the reigns of Henry III and Edward I. During his long life he fought in the Barons' War and in Edward I's wars in Scotland.
He was the son of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey or Warenne, and Maud (or Matilda) Marshal. His mother was the daughter of William Marshal and widow of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk. Thus Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, was his elder half-brother.
Warenne was a boy when his father died, and for the rest of his minority Peter of Savoy was the guardian of his estates. In 1247 he married Henry III's half-sister Alice de Lusignan. This marriage was to create resentment amongst the English nobility, who did not like seeing a wealthy English nobleman marrying a penniless outsider.
During the following years Warenne was closely associated with the court faction centering on his in-laws. In 1254 he accompanied the king's son Edward (the future Edward I) on Edward's journey to Spain to marry Eleanor of Castile.
During the conflicts between Henry III and his barons Warenne started as a strong supporter of the king, switched to support for Simon de Montfort, and then returned to the royalist party. He opposed the initial baronial reform plan of May 1258, but along with other opponents capitulated and took the oath of the Provisions of Oxford.
By 1260 Warenne had joined the party of Simon de Montfort, but switched back to the king's side in 1263. After the Battle of Lewes, which was fought near his castle at Lewes, he fled to the Continent, where he remained for about a year. He returned to fight in the campaign which culminated in the Battle of Evesham and the siege of Kenilworth Castle.
Warenne served in Edward I's Welsh campaigns in 1277, 1282, and 1283. In 1282 he received the lordships of Bromfield and Yale in Wales. A good part of the following years were spent in Scotland. He was one of the negotiators for the 1289 treaty of Salisbury and for the 1290 treaty of Brigham, and accompanied the king on Edward's great 1296 invasion of Scotland.
On August 22, 1296 the king appointed him "warden of the kingdom and land of Scotland". However he returned to England a few months later claiming that the Scottish climate was bad for his health. The following spring saw the rebellion of William Wallace, and after much delay Warenne led an army northward, where they were defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
Nevertheless the king appointed Warenne captain of the next campaign against the Scots in early 1298. He raised the siege of Roxburgh and re-took the castle at Berwick. The king himself took the field later that year, and Warenne was one of the commanders at the Battle of Falkirk.
Warenne and Alice de Lusignan had three children:
- Alice, who married Henry Percy and was the mother of Henry Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick;
- Isabella, who married John Balliol and was the mother of Edward Balliol;
- William, who married Joanna, daughter of Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, and was accidentally killed at a tournament on December 15, 1286; his son John succeeded his grandfather as earl of Surrey.