Biographies of lesser people starting with L
The people listed on this page currently have less information so do not warrant a page of their own. As this website evolves and more information is added these people will be promoted to individual pages.
Please note: Portraits on this page are not intented to be accurate depictions of the individuals.
Leofric (Bishop of Exeter)
Died: 1072
eofric was the first Bishop of Exeter and in 1050 had sought papal permission from Pope Leo IX to move the see from the small town of Crediton to Exeter itself. This was in the time of Danish raids and Crediton did not have the defensive walls to prevent attacks. On the other hand Exeter was better protected with walls and was a safer location for a major church and its treasures. Leofric was granted the bishopric by Edward the Confessor who had met him while in exile abroard and employed his services. Leofric populated the new cathedral with canons who followed the rule of St. Chrodehgang, the Bishop of Metz. The library of the new cathedral was almost empty when he arrived so Leofric set about obtaining all the books that had been taken from Exeter over time. From his own purse he also supplied money to keep the cathedral running until it was able to fund itself. He died in 1072.Timeline
The See of Devon and Cornwall had been located at Crediton in Devon but in 1050 Edward the Confessor moved the See to Exeter. This moved the cathedral from an obscure location to a more important one. Edward gave the new Bishopric to Leofric.
Leofric (Earl of Mercia)
Died: 1057
eofric rose to power during the reign of Canute and Edward the Confessor. He became the Earl of Mercia and controlled large parts of the Midlands. He supported Edward against the Godwins. He appears to have been quite religious as there are records of him founding abbeys at Coventry and Wenlock. Leofric died in 1057.Timeline
King Canute died at Shaftesbury leaving the rule of the country in dispute between Harthacnut (the son of Emma) and Harold Harefoot (the son of Aelfgifu). The Earls of Northumbria and Mercia supported Harold's claim while Earl Godwin supported Harthacanute's. Canute's body was taken to Winchester to be buried. Harthacnut was in Denmark at the time of his father's death and was unable to travel to England because of invasion threats.
Earl Leofric builds a new Minster on the site of older religious buildings at Much Wenlock.
Leofric and his lady Godgifu found the Abbey on the site of Coventry Cathedral. Godgifu may have been the famous Lady Godiva who rode naked through the streets of Coventry to save the townsfolk from paying high taxes.
Leofwine (Earl of Kent and Essex)
Died: 1066
eofwine was the son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex. He died at the Battle of Hastings.
Family Tree Details
| Father: | Godwin (Earl of Wessex) (b.1000? - d.1053) |
| Mother: | Gytha |
Leofwine (Earl of Kent and Essex) ( - d.1066)
Lionel (of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence)
Born: 28 November 1338 Died: 7 October 1368
on of Edward III.Timeline
Queen Philippa gave birth to another son. The child was born in Antwerp. ¹
Spouses
Children
Siblings
Family Tree Details
+Elizabeth (de Burgh) ( - d.1363)
| = Philippa (daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence)
| +Mortimer, Edmund (3rd Earl of March) ( - d.1381)
| = Mortimer, Roger (4th Earl of March) (b.1374 - d.1398)
| | +Holland, Eleanor (Wife of Roger, Earl of March)
| | = Mortimer, Edmund (5th Earl of March) (b.1391 - d.1425)
| | = Mortimer, Anne (daughter of Roger, Earl of March)
| = Mortimer, Edmund ( - d.1409)
| +Glyndwr, Katherine
+Visconti, Violante
Lionel (of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence) (b.1338 - d.1368)
+Elizabeth (de Burgh) ( - d.1363)
| = Philippa (daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence)
| +Mortimer, Edmund (3rd Earl of March) ( - d.1381)
| = Mortimer, Roger (4th Earl of March) (b.1374 - d.1398)
| | +Holland, Eleanor (Wife of Roger, Earl of March)
| | = Mortimer, Edmund (5th Earl of March) (b.1391 - d.1425)
| | = Mortimer, Anne (daughter of Roger, Earl of March)
| = Mortimer, Edmund ( - d.1409)
| +Glyndwr, Katherine
+Visconti, Violante
Longsword, William
r William Longespee. William was the illegitimate son of Henry II and became the earl of Salisbury after marrying the heiress to the earldom of Salisbury in 1198. William supported king John during his reign, including defeating the French fleet in 1213 preparing to invade.Timeline
Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire was founded by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, the widow of William Longespee, the son of Henry II. ¹
Siblings (incl. half-siblings)
Family Tree Details
Longsword, William
Louis (I, Duke of Orleans)
Died: 1407
ouis was the second son of Charles V, King of France and the younger brother of Charles VI. In 1389 Louis married Valentina Visconti the daughter of Gian Galeazzo, Duke of Milan. An agreement was reached that specified if Gian died without a male heir, the Duchy of Milan would pass to the hiers of Valentina. Gian and his two sons did die without producing any heirs and the Duchy the claimed by Valentina's grandson, King Louis XII, of France in 1498. Duke Louis played an important role in the Hundred Year's War against the English. This was because his elder brother King Charles suffered from bouts of madness and was unable to rule the country. Charles' wife Isabeau formed a regency counsel that ruled France until the King was well again. Another member of the councel was Philip the Bold of Burgundy. When Philip died in 1404, his son John the Fearless succeeded his father and began a power struggle with the Duke and Isabeau. In 1407, Duke Louis was assassinated on the streets of Paris, but John denied having anyting to do with it.
Family Tree Details
Louis (I, Duke of Orleans) ( - d.1407)
Louis (II, the Stammerer)
Born: November 846 Died: April 879
ouis who was physically weak and had a stammer, was the eldest son of Charles the Bald. He became King of Aquitaine in 867 when his elder brother died and then King of West Francia when his father died in 877. He was married twice, first to Ansgard and then to Adelaide of Paris. His marriage to Ansgard, the daughter of Hardouin of Burgundy was performed in secret and when Louis' father the king found out the pair were forbidden to see each other. From this first marriage he had two sons, Louis and Carloman, who became joint rulers of France after the death of their father. King Louis II died in April of 879 while campaigning against Vikings that were attacking France. His reign lasted less than two years and was ineffectual.Timeline
King Louis II the Stammerer was crowned King of West Francia.
Vikings were again pushing into Europe and King Louis II started a campaign against their advance, but he fell ill and died. He was succeeded by his two sons Louis and Carloman who jointly ruled the areas of France.
Family Tree Details
+Ansgard (of Burgundy) ( - d.890)
= Louis (III, King of France 879-882) ( - d.882)
= Carloman (II, King of France 879-884) ( - d.884)
Louis (II, the Stammerer) (b.846 - d.879)
+Ansgard (of Burgundy) ( - d.890)
= Louis (III, King of France 879-882) ( - d.882)
= Carloman (II, King of France 879-884) ( - d.884)
Louis (III, King of France 879-882)
Died: 882
ouis was the eldest son of Louis, the Stammerer. When his father died, Louis and his brother Carloman became joint rulers. While Louis ruled the north of the kingdon, Carloman ruled the south. At the battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu in 881, Louis defeated the Vikings. He died suddenly in the following year leaving Carloman to rule alone.Timeline
Vikings were again pushing into Europe and King Louis II started a campaign against their advance, but he fell ill and died. He was succeeded by his two sons Louis and Carloman who jointly ruled the areas of France.
A battle in which Louis III, King of France defeated the Vikings.
Family Tree Details
Louis (III, King of France 879-882) ( - d.882)
Louis (The Pious)
Born: circa 778 Died: 840
ouis the Pious, also known as the Debonaire, was the son of Charlemagne and succeeded as the ruler of the Franks after Charlemagne's death in 814. Louis was also the King of Aquitaine and had been crowned in Rome in 781. In 816 Louis like his father Charlemagne, was crowned by Pope Stephen IV at Reims Cathedral and proclaimed Emperor. He took control of his father's complete empire as he was the last surviving son. He had several sons and attempted to divide his land between them but the divisions lead to disputes and caused civil wars. His eldest son Lothair was given Bavaria while Pepin was granted Aquitaine. In 830 his sons rebelled against him and removed from from the throne, but where later forced to Louis and return him to power. Louis died in 840 and left his sons to continue the civil wars that marked his reign.Timeline
Charlemagne died due to an illness after living into his early seventies. He was buried in the basilica that he had built in Aachen. Charlemagne was succeeded by Louis the Pious who was his only surviving legitimate son. ¹
Like his father Charlemagne, Louis was crowned by Pope Stephen IV at Reims Cathedral and proclaimed Emperor. He took control of his father's complete empire as he was the last surviving son.
To prevent problems with succession, Louis I, divided his lands between his three sons. Lothair, the eldest, became joint ruler of the empire, while Pepin, the second son, became ruler of Aquitaine, and Louis, the youngest, became ruler of Germany. Unfortunately, the plan to get the brothers to work together failed and it led to revolt and conflict.
Bernard, the king of Italy, and nephew of Louis I, rose up in revolt as he had been overlooked in the division of the empire. His army was weak in comparison to that of Louis and Bernard was captured, Louis could have have Bernard executed, but had him blinded instead. Even so, Bernard died several days later.
Louis' second wife, Judith, gave birth to Louis' fourth son, Charles, in 823. In the agreement set out in 817, Louis' lands were already divided into three for the elder sons. In Worms, Louis rewrote the agreement, dividing the lands into four so that Charles had his share. This led the elder sons to revolt against their father.
The rebellion of his three eldest sons resulted in Louis being removed from the Frankish throne. But the rebellion was short lived and Louis was returned to the throne.
Once again the sons of Louis rose up against their father and he was deposed. With the help of Pope Gregory IV Louis was committed to live in a monastery after confessing to crimes he has been accused of.
Louis the Pious died leaving the Frankish Empire in a state of civil war due to the continuing disputes over land by his sons.
Louis (XII, King of France)
Born: 27 June 1462 Died: 1 January 1515
ouis became King of France when Charles VIII died. Timeline
Charles VIII of France died due to complications that occurred after banging his head on a low doorway as he walked through a dimly lit Amboise Castle. He was succeeded by Louis XII.
After the death of King Charles VIII of France, his successor Louis XII had the marriage to his first wife Joan annulled so that he could marry Anne, the widow of Charles.
After his success at the battle of Novara Louis XII was able to take control of the city of Milan and it's surrounding area. ¹
A peace treaty was negotiated by Thomas Wolsey with France. One of the terms was that Louis XII of France would marry Princess Mary, the younger sister of Henry VIII. Louis died only a few months later.
Wolsey negotiated a peace treaty between England and France whereby King Louis XII married the younger sister Mary of Henry VIII and had to pay Henry pension money owed to him under the treaty of Etaples. Peace should be maintained not less than a year after the first of them should die.
King Louis XII of France died at the age of 52 leaving Mary a widow. His nephew, Francis, became the next king of France.
Family Tree Details
+Joan (of France)
+Anne (of Brittany) (b.1477 - d.1514)
+Mary (Tudor, Queen of France) (b.1495 - d.1533)
Louis (XII, King of France) (b.1462 - d.1515)
+Joan (of France)
+Anne (of Brittany) (b.1477 - d.1514)
+Mary (Tudor, Queen of France) (b.1495 - d.1533)
Lucy, Richard de
onstable of the Tower of London from 1153 and later Justiciar of England.Timeline
Richard de Lucy was appointed the title of Constable at the Tower of London, an extremely important position, by King Stephen.
Lulach (Scottish King)
Died: 1058
cottish king from 1057 until 1058. He was the stepson of Macbeth and became king of the Scots after Macbeth was killed by Malcolm. Lulach was also killed by Malcolm who became the next king. Lulach was known as the 'fool' or the 'simple'.Timeline
Macbeth was killed by Malcolm III, also known as Malcolm Canmore, who later became the King of Scotland. Macbeth was succeeded by his stepson Lulach who was crowned at Scone.
Malcolm had killed Macbeth at Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. Macbeth's stepson Lulach was crowned king and reigned for four months until he too was killed at Strathbogie. Malcolm became King of the Scots and was crowned at Scone. ¹
Selection of references used:
Explore the White Tower
Explore all four floors of the White Tower at the Tower of London using the Unity 3d game engine.
A Medieval Mystery
There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.
1: Location
Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.
2: Alignment
Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.
3: Size
Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?
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