Not a Good Way to Die

Humphrey de Bohun

1276-1322

This poor Blewitt-Courtenay ancestor--Humphrey de Bohun--led a battle charge in 1322 against Edward II at the Scottish border. He was impaled with a pike from under a bridge as he crossed and died of his wounds. His wife was Elizabeth Plantagenet, the daughter of King Edward I.

Most of this information comes from wikipedia and findagrave

Humphrey de Bohun was the 4th Earl of Hereford. Born the son of Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford and Maud de Fiennes. Shown are the ruins of Pleshey Castle, his birthplace.

In November 1302 he married King Edward I's daughter, Elizabeth Plantagenet, with whom he had at least eleven children. He held the office of Lord High Constable. He took part in the king's Scottish campaigns in the early 1300s.

Robert the Bruce

After the flight of Robert Bruce, de Bohun received many of Bruce's confiscated properties. During the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, his brash 22 year-old cousin Henry de Bohun charged the Bruce and was killed.

An iconic description of his cousin's death is contained in Scotland's Story by H. E. Marshall:

"Riding in the vanguard of heavy calvary, de Bohun caught sight of the Scottish king who was mounted on a small palfrey armed only with a battle-axe. De Bohun lowered his lance and charged, but Bruce stood his ground, riding on towards the English knight. The two men sped towards each other. At the last moment Bruce manoeuvred his mount nimbly to one side, stood up in his stirrups and hit de Bohun so hard with his axe that it cut through both Sir Henry's helmet and skull and into his brain. Despite the great risk the King had taken, he merely expressed regret that he had broken the shaft of his favourite axe."

When the battle was lost, Bohun retreated with the Earl of Angus and several other barons, knights and men to Bothwell Castle, seeking a safe haven. Bohen was taken and held for ransom, eventually being exchanged for Bruce's wife and daughter. Photo shows the Bothwell Castle ruins today.

He numbered among the peers who opposed Edward II's excesses and banished the royal favorite, Piers Gaveston. In 1316 he successfully led the suppression of the revolt of Llywelyn Bren.

Against the King

By 1322, however, he had joined others against his brother-in-law, King Edward II, and on the 16th of March, as the rebels approached Boroughbridge in Yorkshire, de Bohun led an attempt to storm the bridge held by royal pike men. The Earl, however, was run through by pike men secreted beneath the bridge and died, his gruesome death breaking the advance, and spelling failure for the rebels.

More about Humphrey--including a more detailed description of his death--on his wikipedia page.

Humphrey de Bohun was an 8X great-grandfather to Richard Edwards I. See the previous post "Bastard Son of the King".

Painted effigy of Humphrey de Bohun in Hereford Cathedral, near the eastern border of Wales.