Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk

Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (also Countess of Norfolk, Lady Manny and Lady de Segrave, later construct Plantagenet) (c. 1320-March 24, 1399) was Countess of Norfolk from 1338 to 1399. She was the daughter of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, by his first wife Alice Hayles. She became heiress to the Earldom after the death of her childless brother, Edward, in 1334.

She married firstly in 1337 to Sir John de Segrave, 4th Lord 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 (September 13, 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).

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 regaring 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 May 30, 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

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 in 1399 and was buried in the choir of the Grey Friars, London.

Preceded by: Thomas of Brotherton	Lord Marshal 1338–1377	Succeeded by: Henry Percy
Preceded by: Thomas of Brotherton	Countess of Norfolk	Succeeded by: Thomas de 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.