WILLIAM OF

See also:

• VALENCE

VALENCE (d. 1296)  , brother of Henry III. of England, was a son 'of John's widow, Isabelle of Angouleme, by her second marriage . William came to England with his brothers in 1247, and at once became a court favourite . He married Joan de Munchensi, the heiress to the Pembroke estates, whence he is sons ?times styled earl of Pembroke . In 1258 he was attacked by the baronial opposition and forced to leave England . He returned in 1261, after Henry III. had repudiated the Provisions of Oxford, and fought on the royal side at Lewes (1264) . Escaping from the pursuit of the victorious Montfortians, he later appeared at the head of a small army in Pembrokeshire . This gave the signal for the outbreak of a new civil war which ended with the defeat of Montfort at Evesham (1265) . Valence accompanied Prince Edward to the Holy Land and, in later years, became a trusted agent of the crown, especially in the Welsh wars . The position of his estates made him the natural leader of all expeditions undertaken against Llewelyn from South Wales . He was also employed in Aquitaine . He died at Bayonne in 1296 . Despite his origin he had become, in course of time, a respected leader of the baronage; and as a military commander rose high above the average level .

See R .

Pauli's Geschichte von England, vol. iii . (Hamburg, 1853) W . H . Blaauw, Barons' War (1871) .