Pembroke, Earls Of
PEMBROKE, EARLS OF. The title of earl of Pembroke has been held successively by several English families, the jurisdiction and dignity of a palatine earldom being originally attached to it. The first creation dates from 1138, when the earldom of Pembroke was conferred by King Stephen on Gilbert de Clare (d. 1148), son of Gilbert Fitz-Richard, who possessed the lordship of Strigul (Estrighoiel, in Domesday Book), the modern Chepstow. After the battle of Lincoln (1141), in which he took part, the earl joined the party of the empress Matilda, and he married Henry I.'s mistress, Isabel, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
