Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester

Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, 7th Earl of Hertford, 10th Lord of Clare, 5th Lord of Glamorgan was an English nobleman and a military commander in the Scottish Wars. In contrast to most English earls at the time, his main focus lay in the pursuit of war rather than in domestic political strife. He was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, and Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward160I. The older Gilbert died when his son was only four years old, and the younger Gilbert was invested with his earldoms at the young age of sixteen. Almost immediately, he became involved in the defence of the northern border, but later he was drawn into the struggles between Edward160II and some of his barons. He was one of the Lords Ordainers who ordered the expulsion of the kings favourite Piers Gaveston in 1311. When Gaveston was killed on his return in 1312, Gloucester helped negotiate a settlement between the perpetrators and the king.

Gilbert de Clare was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester known as Gilbert the Red who in 1290 married Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward160I. As a condition for the marriage, the earl had to surrender all his lands to the king, only to have them returned jointly to himself and his wife for the lifetime of either. This grant was made on the condition that the lands would pass to the couples joint heirs, but if they were childless to Joans heirs from any later marriages. The younger Gilbert was born the next year, around 10160May 1291, securing the inheritance for the de Clare family, but his father died only four years later, on 7160December 1295, while the boy was still a minor. Because of the joint enfeoffment, Joan kept the custody of the family lands, and did homage to the king on 20160January the next year.

Source: Wikipedia