Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk

Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk
Born	c. 1320
Died	24 March 1399(1399-03-24)
Title	Baroness Segrave; Countess of Norfolk (suo jure); Baroness Manny; Duchess of Norfolk (suo jure for life)
Predecessor	Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl
Successor	Thomas Mowbray, 3rd Earl, 1st Duke
Spouse	John de Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave m. 1337; dec. 1353 Walter Manny, 1st Baron Manny m. 1354; dec. 1371
Children	Elizabeth de Segrave, Baroness Mowbray Anne de Segrave, Abbess of Barking Anne Manny, 2nd Baroness Manny, Countess of Pembroke
Parents	Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk Alice Hayles

Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk, 2nd Countess of Norfolk (c. 1320 – 24 March 1399), also known as Lady Manny, was the daughter of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, by his first wife Alice Hayles. She succeeded to the Earldom in 1338, and became Lord Marshal. Her childless brother, Edward, had died in 1334.

First marriage

She married firstly in 1337 to Sir John de Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave by whom she had four children:

1. Edmund de Segrave, died in the cradle.
2. Elizabeth de Segrave (1338–1368), married John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray
3. John de Segrave (13 September 1340 – 1349)
4. Anne de Segrave, Abbess of Barking

In 1338, Margaret inherited the Earldom of Norfolk when her father died, becoming the 2nd Countess of Norfolk. Along with this title came the office of Lord Marshal. To date, she is the only woman to have served in this position (or, as it was called in the future, Earl Marshal).

Second marriage

In 1350, Margaret and John de Segrave began seeking a divorce based on the premise that they were contracted in marriage before she was of age, and that she had never consented to marry him. Furthermore, she had begun a relationship with a knight of great renown, Sir Walter Manny, 1st Baron Manny, as she crossed the channel in October 1350 to meet with him in Calais, without the king's permission. The inquisition regarding this incident shows that Margaret illegally crossed the Channel and met with Manny's servant, who broke his lantern with his foot so she could pass unnoticed.

John de Segrave died in 1353, before their divorce could be finalized; the next year Margaret wed Walter Manny shortly before 30 May 1354, and they had two more children:

1. Thomas Manny, drowned in a well as a boy.
2. Anne Manny, 2nd Baroness Manny, wife of John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

Later life

Sir Walter died in 1371. Margaret never remarried, and as a widow was created Duchess of Norfolk for life in 1397, and her grandson Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk was created duke the same year. Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk, died on March 24, 1399 and was buried in the choir of the Grey Friars, London.

Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk House of Plantagenet Born: c. 1320 Died: 24 March 1399
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Norfolk	Lord Marshal 1338–1377	Succeeded by The Earl of Northumberland
Peerage of England
Preceded by Thomas of Brotherton	Countess of Norfolk suo jure 3rd creation 1338–1399	Succeeded by Thomas de Mowbray
Preceded by ——	Duchess of Norfolk for life suo jure 1397–1399	Succeeded by ——

See also

• Baron Mowbray

Sources

• Complete Peerage, Vol.9, sub. Norfolk
• Calendar Inquisitions Miscellaneous, vol. 3, 1937
• Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers: Letters, 4, 1902
• Segrave, Charles, The Segrave Family: 1066 to 1935