Humphrey de Bohun , 4th Earl of Hereford Humphrey ( VII ) de Bohun , 4th Earl of Hereford ( 1276 – 16 March 1322 ) was a member of a powerful Anglo - Norman family of the Welsh Marches and was one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II ' s excesses . Family background . Humphrey de Bohun ' s birth year is uncertain although several contemporary sources indicate that it was 1276 . His father was Humphrey de Bohun , 3rd Earl of Hereford and his mother was Maud de Fiennes , daughter of Enguerrand II de Fiennes , chevalier , seigneur of Fiennes . He was born at Pleshey Castle , Essex . Humphrey ( VII ) de Bohun succeeded his father as Earl of Hereford and Earl of Essex , and Constable of England ( later called Lord High Constable ) . Humphrey held the title of Bearer of the Swan Badge , a heraldic device passed down in the Bohun family . This device did not appear on their coat of arms , ( az , a bend ar cotised or , between 6 lioncels or ) nor their crest ( gu , doubled erm , a lion gardant crowned ) , but it does appear on Humphrey ' s personal seal ( " illustration " ) . Scotland . Humphrey was one of several earls and barons under Edward I who laid siege to Caerlaverock Castle in Scotland in 1300 and later took part in many campaigns in Scotland . He also loved tourneying and gained a reputation as an " elegant " fop . In one of the campaigns in Scotland Humphrey evidently grew bored and departed for England to take part in a tournament along with Piers Gaveston and other young barons and knights . On return all of them fell under Edward I ' s wrath for desertion , but were forgiven . It is probable that Gaveston ' s friend , Edward ( the future Edward II ) had given them permission to depart . Later Humphrey became one of Gaveston ' s and Edward II ' s bitterest opponents . He would also have been associating with young Robert Bruce during the early campaigns in Scotland , since Bruce , like many other Scots and Border men , moved back and forth from English allegiance to Scottish . Robert Bruce , King Robert I of Scotland , is closely connected to the Bohuns . Between the time that he swore his last fealty to Edward I in 1302 and his defection four years later , Bruce stayed for the most part in Annandale , rebuilding his castle of Lochmaben in stone , making use of its natural moat . Rebelling and taking the crown of Scotland in February , 1306 , Bruce was forced to fight a war against England which went poorly for him at first , while Edward I still lived . After nearly all his family were killed or captured he had to flee to the isle of Rathlin , Ireland . His properties in England and Scotland were confiscated . Humphrey de Bohun received many of Robert Bruce ' s forfeited properties . It is unknown whether Humphrey was a long - time friend or enemy of Robert Bruce , but they were nearly the same age and the lands of the two families in Essex and Middlesex lay very close to each other . After Bruce ' s self - exile , Humphrey took Lochmaben , and Edward I awarded him Annandale and the castle . During this period of chaos , when Bruce ' s queen , Elizabeth de Burgh , daughter of the Earl of Ulster , was captured by Edward I and taken prisoner , Hereford and his wife Elizabeth became her custodians . She was exchanged for Humphrey after Bannockburn in 1314 . Lochmaben was from time to time retaken by the Scots but remained in the Bohun family for many years , in the hands of Humphrey ' s son William , Earl of Northampton , who held and defended it until his death in 1360 . Battle of Bannockburn . At the Battle of Bannockburn ( 23 – 24 June 1314 ) , Humphrey de Bohun should have been given command of the army because that was his responsibility as Constable of England . However , since the execution of Piers Gaveston in 1312 Humphrey had been out of favour with Edward II , who gave the Constableship for the 1314 campaign to the youthful and inexperienced Earl of Gloucester , Gilbert de Clare . Nevertheless , on the first day , de Bohun insisted on being one of the first to lead the cavalry charge . In the melee and cavalry rout between the Bannock Burn and the Scots ' camp he was not injured although his rash young nephew Henry de Bohun , who could have been no older than about 22 , charged alone at Robert Bruce and was killed by Bruce ' s axe . On the second day Gloucester was killed at the start of battle . Hereford fought throughout the day , leading a large company of Welsh and English knights and archers . The archers might have had success at breaking up the Scots " schiltrons " until they were overrun by the Scots cavalry . 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 . However , all the refugees who entered the castle were taken prisoner by its formerly pro - English governor Walter fitz Gilbert who , like many Lowland knights , declared for Bruce as soon as word came of the Scottish King ' s victory . Humphrey de Bohun was ransomed by Edward II , his brother - in - law , on the pleading of his wife Elizabeth . This was one of the most interesting ransoms in English history . The Earl was traded for Bruce ' s queen , Elizabeth de Burgh and daughter , Marjorie Bruce , two bishops amongst other important Scots captives in England . Isabella MacDuff , Countess of Buchan , who had crowned Robert Bruce in 1306 and for years had been locked in a cage outside Berwick , was not included ; presumably she had died in captivity . Ordainer . Like his father , grandfather , and great - great - grandfather , this Humphrey de Bohun was careful to insist that the king obey Magna Carta and other baronially - established safeguards against monarchic tyranny . He was a leader of the reform movements that promulgated the Ordinances of 1311 and fought to insure their execution . The subsequent revival of royal authority and the growing ascendancy of the Despensers ( Hugh the elder and younger ) led de Bohun and other barons to rebel against the king again in 1322 . De Bohun had special reason for opposing the Despensers , for he had lost some of his estates in the Welsh Marches to their rapacity and he felt they had besmirched his honour . In 1316 De Bohun had been ordered to lead the suppression of the revolt of Llywelyn Bren in Glamorgan which he did successfully . When Llewelyn surrendered to him the Earl promised to intercede for him and fought to have him pardoned . Instead Hugh the younger Despenser had Llewelyn executed without a proper trial . Hereford and the other marcher lords used Llywelyn Bren ' s death as a symbol of Despenser tyranny . Death at Boroughbridge . The rebel forces were halted by loyalist troops at the wooden bridge at Boroughbridge , Yorkshire , where Humphrey de Bohun , leading an attempt to storm the bridge , met his death on 16 March 1322 . Although the details have been called into question by a few historians , his death may have been particularly gory . As recounted by Ian Mortimer : Humphrey de Bohun may have contributed to the failure of the reformers ' aims . There is evidence that he suffered for some years , especially after his countess ' s death in 1316 , from clinical depression . Marriage and children . His marriage to Elizabeth of Rhuddlan ( Elizabeth Plantagenet ) , daughter of King Edward I of England and his first Queen consort Eleanor of Castile , on 14 November 1302 , at Westminster gained him the lands of Berkshire . Elizabeth had an unknown number of children , probably ten , by Humphrey de Bohun . Until the earl ' s death the boys of the family , and possibly the girls , were given a classical education under the tutelage of a Sicilian Greek , Master " Digines " ( Diogenes ) , who may have been Humphrey de Bohun ' s boyhood tutor . He was evidently well - educated , a book collector and scholar , interests his son Humphrey and daughter Margaret ( Courtenay ) inherited . Mary or Margaret ( the first - born Margaret ) and the first - born Humphrey were lost in infancy and are buried in the same sarcophagus in Westminster Abbey . Since fraternal twins were known in the Castilian royal family of Elizabeth Bohun , who gave birth to a pair who lived to manhood , Mary ( Margaret ? ) and Humphrey , see next names , may have been twins , but that is uncertain . The name of a possible lost third child , if any , is unknown — and unlikely .