Hawise, Countess of Aumale
Hawise, Countess of Aumale was ruling Countess of Aumale, from 1179 until 1194, in co-regency with her husbands. She was an heiress of the highest social standing and the greatest financial holdings, and became Countess of Essex by her marriage to William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex.
Early life
Hawise was the daughter and sole heiress of William le Gros, Count of Aumale and his wife Cicely, daughter and co-heiress of the William fitz Duncan, son of Duncan II of Scotland. Hawise was therefore the great-granddaughter of the King of Alba.She was named after her paternal grandmother, Hawise de Mortimer, daughter of Ranulph de Mortimer.
First marriage
Hawise was Countess in her own right when she married, on 14 January 1180, to William, Earl of Essex. On his death late in 1189 the widowed Hawise was described by the monk and chronicler Richard of Devizes as "a woman who was almost a man, lacking nothing virile except the virile organs." In addition to her inherited lands in Normandy and England, Hawise received in dower one-third of the substantial Mandeville estates, making her a wealthy widow with powerful connections.There were no children from the marriage, "raising concern about the succession to both the earldom of Essex and the patrimony of Aumale". After a widowhood of less than a year, Hawise remarried.
Second marriage
Her second husband was William de Forz of Oleron. He was a landless Poitevin knight and naval commander, but was one of the loyal commanders in the crusading fleet of King Richard I. Hawise protested against the match, which is said to have been forced on her by the king. The countess gave birth to a son and heir, also called William. Her second husband died in 1195 and Hawise became "her son's adviser and stalwart supporter."Issue
- William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle. He married Aveline de Montfichet, by whom he had a son, William de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle, who succeeded to the Earldom.