Sturminster, Seat of Isabella de Vesci

[Pontifex Maximus]

Isabella de Vesci
Born 1270
Status: Married to John de Vesci (Widow)
Children: None
Titles: Lady-in-Waiting
Seat: Sturminster

Lands

Sturminster: 350

Traits: +2 Charisma, +2 Wealth, +2 Survival
Sanguine:
- Sociable: +1 Charisma, -2% income.

- Upbeat: +1 to surviving non-battle death rolls, -1 to post-battle rolls (captivity, death, wounding).
Phlegmatic:
- Empathic: +2 Charisma, -1 to battle/joust/duel rolls.

Prestige: tbd
+x prestige from lordships
+1 from Gentle Born (born to a Gentleman, Esquire, or Knight)
+2 from Child of a Baron (born to a Baronet, Baron, or Viscount)
+8 Grandparent is a King
+4 Baroness
+4 if Married to a Lord/Baron/Baroness/Viscount/Viscountess suo jure

Biography:
Isabella de Vesci was the daughter of Sir Louis de Brienne and Agnés de Beaumont, Vicomte of Beaumont, probably born during the 1260s. Isabella herself was the granddaughter of John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem, and the great-granddaughter of both Alfonso IX of León and William I of Scotland. Isabella was also, through her Spanish links, a cousin of Edward I's wife, Eleanor of Castile. Isabella was therefore a particularly well-connected member of a noble family that stretched across Europe. Isabella arrived in England in either 1278 or 1279, and married John de Vesci, a prominent noble, in either 1279 or 1280, with Edward I's blessing. The marriage was an advantageous one for John de Vesci, but also strengthened Isabella's English credentials at the Plantagenet court, where John – a close associate of both Henry III and Edward I – was a central figure.

Isabella continued to enjoy royal favor; for her wedding, she was given valuable lands by the king to hold in her own right, for example. When Isabella and her husband travelled to Gascony in 1288, Edward arranged for them to have apartments next to his own royal lodgings and had them specially decorated for Christmas. Isabella was one of the closest friends of the Queen, up until Eleanor's death in 1290. Isabella de Vesci was also made the governor of two royal castles, Scarborough Castle in Yorkshire and Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, her main power base, subject to her remaining single and unmarried. Being granted governorships of castles close to conflict areas was unheard of for a woman of the period, and Edward probably did so on the basis of Isabella's personal loyalty to him. Nonetheless, the actual appointment to Bamburgh was not done entirely regularly – the Great Seal was not applied to the appointment – and this would cause Isabella later problems.

John de Vesci died in 1289, and after Isabella took her brother in law, William de Vesci to court over various of John's lands, she was left a major landowner in England. Isabella's lands stretched from Scotland to Kent, and after William de Vesci's disastrous fall from royal favour in Ireland, Isabella effectively became the most senior member of the Beaumont/Vescy family alliance. In 1300, Isabella's brother, Henry, arrived in England, where Isabella convinced the king to grant him lands formerly owned by her late husband. Isabella was also responsible for organizing the marriage of her brother Henry to the niece of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, in turn ensuring that Henry inherited the earldom and many Scottish properties. In combination, the de Beaumont family also held numerous properties in the disputed kingdom of Scotland, which would come to influence later events.

Family Tree

John de Brienne (d) - Berengaria de León (d) | Louis de Brienne (d) - Agnès de Beaumont (d) | Louis de Beaumont (1270) – Archdeacon of St Martin's Church, North Leverton, Treasurer of Salisbury. Henry de Beaumont, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Buchan and suo jure 1st Baron Beaumont (1275?) - Alice Comyn (1289), Countess of Buchan Isabella de Vesci (1270?) - John de Vesci (d)