Person Page - 639

     Gerard II de Roussillon Comte de Vienne married Berta (?), daughter of Hugues III 'le Méfiant' (?) Comte de Tours and Ava/Bava (?) Countess Sundgau (Upper Alsace), Countess of Tours.^2,3

Gerard II de Roussillon Comte de Vienne was buried between 11 February 874 and 4 March 874 at Avignon, Departement du Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France (now).¹
Gerard II de Roussillon Comte de Vienne died between 11 February 874 and 4 March 874.¹
      ; Per Med Lands:
     "GERARD [II] (-[11 Feb or 4 Mar] 874, bur Avignon). His parentage is confirmed by his testament under which "Gerardus [comes]" names "coniugis meæ…Berthæ…genitoribus atque parentibus…Luthardi et Grimildis atque…Hugonis et Bavæ…filiis et filiabus ipsorum" and "consanguinitate, affinitate et propinquitate etiam nobis junctis, id est Leufredi et Adalardi Comitum", and which is signed by "Gerardi comitis, Bertæ coniugis…Evæ filiæ ipsorum"[73]. Emperor Lothar confirmed a donation of property "in pago Arduennensi sitam…Villantia" to the abbey of Prüm by "Richardus quondam comes…per Biuinum fratrem suum, et Gerardum et Basinum qui et Tancredus comites" by charter dated 12 Nov 842[74], although it is not known whether this is the same Gerard. However, as both Gerard and the descendants of Bivin were associated with Provence, it is possible that their association started earlier in the Ardennes. Comte de Vienne. Emperor Lothar returned property to the church of Lyon, at the request of “Gerardus…comes atque marchio”, by charter dated to [852][75]. A document issued by Charles II "le Chauve" King of the West Franks dated Nov 853 names "Folcoinus episcopus, Adalgarius, Engilscalcus et Berengarius" as missi in "comitatu Berengarii, Engilscalchi, Gerardi et in comitatibus Reginarii"[76], although it is not known whether this count Gerard is the same as the one named in the other references listed below. "Karoli rex, Hlotharii augusti filius" confirmed the privileges of the church of Villeurbane in favour of the church of Lyon at the request of "comes et parens noster ac nutritor Girardus" by charter dated 10 Oct 856[77]. The precise relationship between Comte Gérard and the Carolingian monarchs has not been established. Charles II "le Chauve" King of the West Franks confirmed the foundation of the monastery "in pago Avalensi in parrochia Augustudunensis civitatis in loco…Virziliacus" by "Gerardus…comes", with the consent of "coniugis sue Berthæ", by charter dated 6 Jan 868[78]. The Chronico Vezeliacensi records that "Comes Girardus fundator hujus loci" died in 847 and was buried "apud Avinionem civitatem suam"[79], although this year is incorrect. The 13th century obituary of the Eglise primatiale de Lyon records the death "III Non" of "Geraldus comes"[80]. The necrology of the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés records the death "IV Non Mar" of "Gerardi comitis"[81].
     "m BERTA, daughter of HUGUES Comte de Tours & his wife Ava --- (-[6 Nov] 877). Pope John VIII recalls "Gerardus comes…cum Berta quondam conjuge sua" as founders of the monastery referred to in his letter[82]. Her parentage is indicated by her husband's testament under which "Gerardus [comes]" names "coniugis meæ…Berthæ…genitoribus atque parentibus…Luthardi et Grimildis atque…Hugonis et Bavæ…filiis et filiabus ipsorum"[83]. Charles II "le Chauve" King of the West Franks confirmed the foundation of the monastery "in pago Avalensi in parrochia Augustudunensis civitatis in loco…Virziliacus" by "Gerardus…comes", with the consent of "coniugis sue Berthæ", by charter dated 6 Jan 868[84]. The Chronico Vezeliacensi records that "Berta comitissa hujus loci fundatrix" died in 844 and was buried "apud Pulterias"[85], although the year is incorrect. The 13th century obituary of the Eglise primatiale de Lyon records the death "VIII Id Nov" of "Berta comitissa"[86]."
Med Lands cites:

     Berthold (?) was born circa 685.

     Berthold II (?) Count in the Breisgau married Bertha de Buren, daughter of Frederick (?) Pfalzgraf of Swabia and NN von Öhningen.³
Berthold II (?) Count in the Breisgau was born in 942.¹
Berthold II (?) Count in the Breisgau died between 1005 and 1006.¹

     Bertha de Buren married Berthold II (?) Count in the Breisgau, son of Berthold I (?) Count in the Breisgau.¹
Bertha de Buren was born circa 980.¹

     NN von Öhningen married Frederick (?) Pfalzgraf of Swabia, son of Count Sieghard (?).²
NN von Öhningen was born circa 982.¹
NN von Öhningen died after 1005.¹

     Frederick (?) Pfalzgraf of Swabia married NN von Öhningen, daughter of Konrad/Cuno (?) Herzog von Schwaben, Graf von Oenningen and Richlind/Reginlint (?) von Schwaben.¹
Frederick (?) Pfalzgraf of Swabia was born circa 962.¹

     Count Sieghard (?) was born circa 930.¹
Count Sieghard (?) died circa 989.¹

     Willa II (?) de Bourgogne was born circa 880.¹ She married Boso/Boson (?) comte d'Arles, Margravio di Toscana, son of Thibaud (?) Comte d'Arles & Vienne and Bertha de Lorraine, in 912
; his 2nd wife.^2,5,6,3,4 Willa II (?) de Bourgogne and Boso/Boson (?) comte d'Arles, Margravio di Toscana were divorced in 936.^6,4
Willa II (?) de Bourgogne died after 936.^1,4
      ; Per Med Lands:
     "BOSO ([885]-after 936). Liudprand names “Boso ex eodem patre regis Hugonis frater”[128]. Gingins-la-Sarra suggests that this text means that Boso was born from a different marriage of his father[129]. However, the wording could just as easily be interpreted as emphasising that Boso and Hugues were born from the same marriage of their mother. Considering the marriage dates of Boso´s daughters, it is unlikely that he was born before his brother Hugues. Comte d'Avignon et Vaisin 911-931. Comte d'Arles 926-931. He was installed by his brother as BOSO Marchese of Tuscany in 931 after Lambert Marchese of Tuscany was deposed and blinded. He rebelled against his brother in 936, encouraged by Willa "uxore sua cupidissima", but was captured and deposed[130].
     "m (separated 936) WILLA, daughter of ---. Willa is named "uxore…Boso Tusciæ provinciæ marchio regis frater" by Liudprand, without giving her origin, when he records the marriage of her daughter Willa in 936[131]. According to Jean-Noël Mathieu, she was Willa, daughter of Rudolf I King of Burgundy & his wife Willa ---, basing this on the fact that she was sent to Burgundy when she was separated from her husband in 936[132], this event being recorded by Liudprand[133], but there are presumably other plausible explanations for her destination."
Med Lands cites:
; Per Genealogy.EU (Bosonides): “C2. Boson, Comte d'Arles (923-934), Marquis of Tuscany (931-936), *885, +936; 1m: NN; 2m: 912 Willa II, dau.of King Rudolf I of Burgundy”.⁷

Reference: Genealogics cites: Caroli Magni Progenies, Neustadt an der Aisch, 1977 , Rösch, Siegfried. 132.³ GAV-29 EDV-30 GKJ-30.

Reference: Weis [1992:128] Line 145-18.⁸ Willa II (?) de Bourgogne was also known as Willa (?) of Tuscany.⁹

; This is the same person as:
”Willa of Burgundy” at Wikipedia,
and as ”Willa II di Borgogna” at Wikipedia (It.)^10,11

; Per Med Lands:
     "[WILLA (-after 936). Willa is named "uxore…Boso Tusciæ provinciæ marchio regis frater" by Liutprand, without giving her origin, when he records the marriage of her daughter Willa in 936[121]. According to Jean-Noël Mathieu, she was the daughter of Rudolf I King of Burgundy, basing this on the fact that she was sent to Burgundy when she was separated from her husband in 936[122], which is recorded by Liutprand[123], but there are presumably other plausible explanations for her destination.
     "m (repudiated 936) BOSO de Vienne, son of THEOTBALD Comte d'Arles & his wife Berta of Lotharingia [Carolingian] ([885]-after 936). Comte d'Avignon et Vaisin 911-931. Comte d'Arles 926-931. Marchese of Tuscany 931.]"
Med Lands cites:

     Bonifacio del Vasto Marchese della Liguria Occidentale, Marchese di Saluzzo was born circa 1060.^1,2 He married Alice (?) de Savoie, daughter of Pietro I (?) Count of Savoy, Aosta & Moriana, Marchese di Torino e Susa and Agnes (?) of Aquitaine, in 1099.^6,2,7
Bonifacio del Vasto Marchese della Liguria Occidentale, Marchese di Saluzzo married Agnes de Vermandois, daughter of Hugues I Magnus de Crepi (?) Duke of France and Burgundy, Count of Amiens, Chaumont, Valois, Vermandois etc. and Adélaïde/Aelis de Vermandois comtesse de Vermandois, Valois et Crépy), in 1111.^1,8,2

Bonifacio del Vasto Marchese della Liguria Occidentale, Marchese di Saluzzo died between 1125 and 1135; Savoy 1 page says d. 1130.^1,2,7
     GAV-25.

; Leo van de pas cites: 1. Europäische Stammtafeln, J.A. Stargardt Verlag Marburg., Detlev Schwennicke, Editor, Reference: II 190
2. Il Piemonte nell'eta sveva Torino, 1968 , F. Cognasso
3. The Plantagenet Ancestry Baltimore, 1975. , Lt.Col. W. H. Turton, Reference: 109.²

; Bonifacio del Vasto, Marchese della Liguria Occidentale ca 1084, *ca 1060, +1125/35; m. Agnes de Vermandois (+after 1125); He was ancestor of di Savona family.⁴

; His will is dated 5 October 1125. His wives and children were detailed in Fedele Savio's 'Il Marchese Bonifacio del Vasto ed Adelaide Contessa di Sicilia regina di Gerusalemme', in Atti della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, Classe di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche 22 (1887) 17-35. With thanks to Peter Stewart.²

     Tetone/Oddone (?) Margrave de Vasto married Berta de Susa, daughter of Manfredo Udalrico II (?) Marchese di Torino, Count of Susa and Bertha d'Este.^5,6,7

Tetone/Oddone (?) Margrave de Vasto died in 1034.
Tetone/Oddone (?) Margrave de Vasto died in 1084.^1,8,7
      ; Oddone /Tete/Teuttone I, +ca 1084, Marchese della Liguria Occidentale ca 1027; m.Berta, dau.of Olderico Manfredi II Marchese di Torino e Susa and Berta d'Este.⁷

; Leo van de pas cites: The Plantagenet Ancestry Baltimore, 1975. , Lt.Col. W. H. Turton, Reference: 109.¹ GAV-26.

     Anselmo II di Saluzzo Marchese della Liguria Occidentale married Adelasia (?), daughter of Alberto Azzo I d'Este Marchese di Liguria and Adela/Adelaida (?).^7,8,9,2

Anselmo II di Saluzzo Marchese della Liguria Occidentale died in 1027.⁶
Anselmo II di Saluzzo Marchese della Liguria Occidentale died before 1055.¹⁰
     GAV-27.

Reference: Genealogics cites: The Plantagenet Ancestry Baltimore, 1975. , Lt.Col. W. H. Turton, Reference: 109; corrections Peter Stewart.¹¹

; Per Med Lands:
     "ANSELMO [II] (-before 7 May 1027). "Heinricus…imperator" confirmed the property of the abbey of Fruttuaria, referring to property donated by "Ugo clericus et mater eius et fratres eius Anselmi marchionis filii et Vuillilemus et Raprandus fratres filii marchionis Oddoni", by charter dated 1014[384]. "Einricus…imperator" acting through "domnus Otto comes palacii et comes eius comitatu Ticinensi" with "…Otbertus et Anselmus germanis marchionibus…" confirmed the property of the convent of San Salvator at Pavia, naming "Berengarius presbiter et Ugo comes germanis, filii bone memorie Sigefredi qui fuit similiter comes", by charter dated 7 May 1014[385]. Marchese [di Tortona].
     "m ADELASIA, daughter of AZZO Marchese & his wife --- (-after 11 May 1055). "Adila comitissa filia quondam Azonis Marchio et relicta quondam Anselmi itemque Marchio et Anselmus et Hugo germanis mater et filii prædicto quondam Anselmi…ex nativitate mea legem vivere Langobardorum…et nos…lege vivere Salica" donated property to the monastery of Santo Pietro di Saviliano by charter dated May 1055[386]. No other suitable "Azonis Marchio" has been identified who could have been Adelasia´s father except for Alberto Azzo [I] Conte di Luni. "Adela comitisa…conius quondam Anselmi marchio…Ugo et Anselmus filii et mundoaldi mei" promised not to disturb the possessions of the monastery of San Marziano by charter dated 11 May 1055[387]. "
Med Lands cites:

; Per Genealogy.EU: "Anselme II, +ca 1027, Marchese della Liguria Occidentale ca 1010."¹

Anselmo II di Saluzzo Marchese della Liguria Occidentale was also known as Anselmo II Marchese di Tortona.² Anselmo II di Saluzzo Marchese della Liguria Occidentale was also known as Anselmo (?) Margrave de Vasto.¹⁰

     Conrad II (?) Count di Ventimglia married Adela (?)^1,2
Conrad II (?) Count di Ventimglia was born circa 960.²
      ; Leo van de pas cites: The Plantagenet Ancestry Baltimore, 1975. , Lt.Col. W. H. Turton, Reference: 109.¹ Conrad II (?) Count di Ventimglia was also known as Konrad II (?) Count di Ventimglia.¹

     Randolf/Ranulph Dacre 1st (last) Lord Dacre of Gilsland (1459) married Eleanor Fitz Hugh, daughter of William Fitz Hugh Knt., 4th Lord Fitz Hugh and Margery de Willoughby de Eresby.^1,4

Randolf/Ranulph Dacre 1st (last) Lord Dacre of Gilsland (1459) died on 29 March 1461 at Battle of Towton Field, Ferrybridge (Towton, Selby District), North Yorkshire, England; killed fighting on the Lancastrian side.¹
      ; RANDOLF DACRE, 1st and last LORD (Baron) DACRE (of Gilsland), so cr (according to later doctrine) by writ 9 Oct 1459; m Eleanor, dau of 5th Lord (Baron) FitzHugh (see WILLOUGHBY DE ERESBY, B), and was k fighting on the Lancastrian side at the Battle of Towton 29 March 1461, when any Barony he held expired; posthumously attainted 1461 or 1462.¹

; Ranulph, a stout adherent of the house of Lancaster, had summons to parliament as a Baron in the 38th Henry VI., but fell at Towtonfield, and was subsequently attainted, when his title and estates became forfeited.²

     Eleanor Fitz Hugh died; young.² She was born circa 1459.²
      ; van de Pas cites: Cahiers de Saint Louis , Dupont, Jacques and Saillot, Jacques, Reference: 929.²

     Anselmo I (?) di Savona, Marchese della Liguria Orientale married Gisela (?) di Vincenza, daughter of Adalberto I (?) di Milano, Marchese e Conte Tuscany.^3,7,1,6,8,9

Anselmo I (?) di Savona, Marchese della Liguria Orientale died between 999 and 1014.^3,1,6
      ; Per Med Lands:
     "ANSELMO, son of ALERAMO Signor del Marchio di Monferrato & his first wife --- (-[999/1014]). "Berengarius et Adelbertus filius eius…Reges" confirmed a donation to the abbey of Grazano by "Aledramus Marchio filius Gulielmi Comitis et Gilberga filius D. Berengarii Regis, et Anselmus seu Oddo germani lege viventes Salica" by charter dated Aug 951[377]. Marchese. "Anselmo Marchio filius bonæ memoriæ Aledrami itemque Marchio et Gisla comitissa jugalibus filiæ Adalberti, similique Marchioque Willielmus et Riprandus germanis filio bonæ memoriæ Oddoni…cum Domini Gaidaldi comes istius comitatus Aquensis" founded the monastery of Santo Quintini di Spigno by charter dated 991[378].
     "m GISELA, daughter of ADALBERTO Marchese & his wife ---. "Anselmo Marchio filius bonæ memoriæ Aledrami itemque Marchio et Gisla comitissa jugalibus filiæ Adalberti, similique Marchioque Willielmus et Riprandus germanis filio bonæ memoriæ Oddoni…Gisla ex natione mea legem…Longobardorum et nunc pro viro legem…Salica…" founded the monastery of Santo Quintini di Spigno by charter dated 991[379]."
Med Lands cites:

; This is the same person as "Anselmo I del Monferrato" at Wikipedia (It.)⁸ GAV-28.

     Gisela (?) di Vincenza married Anselmo I (?) di Savona, Marchese della Liguria Orientale, son of Aleramo I di Savona Marchese de Monferrato, Marchese di Liguria and Piedmont and Adelaide (?).^4,5,1,6,7,3

      ; Per Shamà: "B1. Gisla (vivente nel 991)
     = Anselmo figlio del Marchese Aleramo."³ GAV-28.

     Aleramo I di Savona Marchese de Monferrato, Marchese di Liguria and Piedmont was born circa 915.² He married Adelaide (?)
;
His 1st wife; Med Lands says he had a 1st wife, but doesn't name her.^7,4,5 Aleramo I di Savona Marchese de Monferrato, Marchese di Liguria and Piedmont married Gerberga/Gilberga d'Ivrea, daughter of Berengarius II (?) Ct of Milan, Margrave of Ivrea, King of Italy and Willa III (?) d'Arles, Princess of Tuscany, before July 961
; Genealolgy.EU says m. bef July 961; Med Lands says m. bef Aug 961.^8,1,9,4,5
Aleramo I di Savona Marchese de Monferrato, Marchese di Liguria and Piedmont died in 991 at Asti, Provincia di Asti, Piemonte, Italy (now).^8,1,2,5,10
Aleramo I di Savona Marchese de Monferrato, Marchese di Liguria and Piedmont was buried in 991 at Church of Grazzano Badoglio, Grazzano Badoglio, Provincia di Asti, Piemonte, Italy; From Find A Grave:
     BIRTH     unknownm Italy
     DEATH     unknown, Asti, Provincia di Asti, Piemonte, Italy
     Aleramo was born about 940 and died 991. He was the Marquess of Montferrat and Liguria in Northern Italy until his death. He was son of William I of Montferrat. Aleramo had three sons from his first wife,
     He was buried in Grazzano Badoglio, in the Province of Asti. His tomb, restored in the 16th and 20th centuries, is marked by a mosaic depicting mythological beasts.
     BURIAL     Church of Grazzano Badoglio, Grazzano Badoglio, Provincia di Asti, Piemonte, Italy
     Maintained by: A.D.L
     Originally Created by: Kat
     Added: 1 Feb 2012
     Find a Grave Memorial 84330480.¹⁰
     GAV-30.

; Per Genealogics:
     "Aleramo was the margrave of Monferrato and Liguria (the _marca Aleramica)_ in northern Italy until his death. He was the son of Guillermo I of Monferrato and is mentioned in documents for the first time in 933 when he received a fief near Vercelli from Hugo of Arles, king of Italy. In 955 he was invested with lands in what is now the province of Alessandria. Aleramo was said to have first named the district. Legend has it that Aleramo, after a lengthy ride, had to shoe his horse with a brick: 'Monferrato' would come from the fact that he used a brick (mòn) as a hammer to shoe the horse which lost its shoe (fer) during the ride.
     "In 958 Aleramo was appointed as margrave by Berengar II of Italy, whose daughter Gerberga he had married. Three years later, however, Aleramo supported Emperor Otto I, who gave him further lands in the Langhe and from the Tanaro, the Orba and the Ligurian Sea. The new grants had been favoured by Aelis (Adelheid) of Burgundy, wife of Otto I from 951 and previous wife of Lothar, king of Italy, and also daughter of Rudolf II, king of Burgundy. When Italy came under direct control of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, Aleramo's titles were confirmed by Emperor Otto I.
     "Aleramo had three sons from his first wife, called Adelaide: Guillermo II who died before 967 and was co-ruler with his father, Otto I whose son Guillermo succeeded him in Monferrato, and Anselmo, who succeeded in Liguria.
     "Aleramo died in 991. He was buried in Grazzano Badoglio, in the province of Asti. His tomb, restored in the 16th and 20th centuries, is marked by a mosaic depicting mythological beasts."

; This is the same person as:
"Aleramo, Marquis of Montferrat" at Wikipedia, as
"Alérame de Montferrat" at Wikipédia (Fr.),
and as "Aleramo del Monferrato" at Wikipedia (It.)^11,12,13 Aleramo I di Savona Marchese de Monferrato, Marchese di Liguria and Piedmont was also known as Aleramo di Vado Margrave in Liguria Occidentale.⁸

; Per Genealogy.EU: "Ct Aleramo I di Savona, Marchese di Liguria and Piedmont, sn de Montferrat (954-991), titles confirmed by Emperor Otto I 23.3.967, +991; m.by VII.961 Gerberge of Italy (*945 +986.)¹"

; Per Med Lands:
     "ALERAMO, son of Conte GUGLIELMO & his wife --- (-[967/91]). Conte. "Hugo et Lotharius…Reges" granted property "Forum…supra fluvium Tanari in comitatu Aquensi…et Villa…Roncho" to "fideli nostro Aledramo comiti" by charter dated 6 Feb 938[14]. Marchese, after 938. "Berengarius et Adelbertus filius eius…Reges" confirmed a donation to the abbey of Grazano by "Aledramus Marchio filius Gulielmi Comitis et Gilberga filius D. Berengarii Regis, et Anselmus seu Oddo germani lege viventes Salica", for the soul of "quondam Gulielmi qui fuit filius et filiaster atque germanus noster", by charter dated Aug 951[15]. Emperor Otto I granted land "a flumine Tanari usque ad flumen Urbam et ad litus maris…Dego, Bagnasco, Ballangio, Salocedo, Loceti, Salfole, Miola, Pulchrone, Grualia, Pruneto, Altefino, Curtemilia, Montenesi, Noseto, Maximino, Arche" to "Aleramum Marchionum" by charter dated 23 Mar 967[16]. Benvenuto di San Giorgio states that Aleramo died in 995 and was buried at the abbey of Grazano, but does not cite the corresponding primary source[17].
     "m firstly ---. The primary source which directly confirms this first marriage has not yet been identified. However, the chronology of Aleramo´s known wife Gilberga suggests that she could not have been the mother of his known children.
     "m secondly (before Jul 961) GILBERGA di Ivrea, daughter of BERENGARIO II King of Italy [Ivrea] & his wife Willa d'Arles (945-). "Gislam [et]…Girbergam" are named as daughters of Berengar and Willa by Liutprand[18]. "Berengarius et Adelbertus filius eius…Reges" confirmed a donation to the abbey of Grazano by "Aledramus Marchio filius Gulielmi Comitis et Gilberga filius D. Berengarii Regis, et Anselmus seu Oddo germani lege viventes Salica", for the soul of "quondam Gulielmi qui fuit filius et filiaster atque germanus noster", by charter dated Aug 951[19]. The dating of this charter is dubious, assuming that Gilberga´s date of birth is correct as shown above.
     "Aleramo & his first wife had three children:
Med Lands cites:

; Per Racines et Histoire: "Aleramo 1er di Savona + 991 marquis de Ligurie et de Piémont, 1er seigneur (marquis, marchese) de Montferrat (954/58-991) [ ses titres sont confirmés par l’Empereur Otton 1er 23/03/967 ]
     ép. 1) Adelasia
     ép. 2) dès 07/961 Gerberge d’Italie (alias d’Ivrea, alias Adelasia ?) ° 945 + 986 (fille de Bérenger II, Roi d’Italie 950, marquis d’Ivrée et de Willa d’Arles.)¹⁴" He was Marchese di Liguria in 967.¹² He was Marchese de Montferrato between 954 and 991.^1,11

     Sir Gilbert Gerard of Gerards Bromley was born circa 1519; Genealogics says b. ca 1519; FaG says b. 1523.^1,2 He married Lady Anne Ratcliffe in 1559.^1,3,4

Sir Gilbert Gerard of Gerards Bromley died on 4 February 1593.^5,2
Sir Gilbert Gerard of Gerards Bromley was buried after 4 February 1593 at St. John the Baptist Churchyard, Ashley, Newcastle-Under-Lyme Borough, Staffordshire, England;
From Find a Grave:
Sir Gilbert Gerard
     Reference:
Generalogics cites:

;
From The History of Parliament
Record #1: GERARD, Gilbert (by 1523-93), of Gray's Inn, London.
Constituency     Dates
LIVERPOOL     1545
WIGAN     Mar. 1553
WIGAN     Oct. 1553
STEYNING     Apr. 1554
WIGAN     1555
LANCASHIRE1     1584
Family and Education
     b. by 1523, 1st s. of James Gerard of Astley and Ince, Lancs. by Margaret, da. of John Holcroft of Holcroft, Lancs; bro. of William Gerard I. educ. Camb; G. Inn, adm. 1537, called 1539, ancient 1547. m. Anne, da. and h. of Thomas Ratcliffe of Winmarleigh, Lancs., 3s. inc. Thomas† 4da. Kntd. 5 July, 1579.2
Offices Held
     Autumn reader, G. Inn 1554, jt. (with Nicholas Bacon) treasurer 1556.
     J.p.q. Beds., Bucks., Cambs., Cheshire and Hunts. by 1558/59, Essex, Herts., Kent, Mdx., Surr. and Suss. by 1561, Norf. and Suff. by 1572, Lancs. by 1587; attorney-gen. 1559-81; eccles. commr. by 1564; steward, duchy of Lancaster, Copt Hall and other manors in honor of Clare 1567-91, Rochdale manor by 1567, Amounderness hundred 1578-91, bailiff, West Derby hundred by 1570, v.-chancellor at Lancaster from c.1571; gov. Harrow sch. 1572; custos rot. Mdx. c.1573; master of the rolls 1581-d.3
Biography
     The Gerard family with its many branches in Lancashire furnished some leading figures of the Elizabethan period, but none was more successful than Gilbert Gerard whose ancestors had lived at Ince near Wigan since the end of the 14th century. As his father was almost certainly a younger son, Gerard had little prospect of inheriting the family estates in Lancashire and he trained for the law at Gray’s Inn.4
     Little has come to light about Gerard’s life before the reign of Elizabeth. He first appears in Edmund Plowden’s Commentaries as an advocate in Michaelmas term 1554, and Dugdale relates that in the time of Queen Mary (as by credible tradition I have heard) upon the Lady Elizabeth’s being questioned at the Council table, he was permitted to plead there on her behalf and performed his part so well that he suffered for the same in the Tower of London during the remaining term of Queen Mary’s reign.
     Although he may have spoken on Elizabeth’s behalf—and the favour he received when she became Queen gives colour to the tradition—Gerard was not imprisoned for long, if at all. In October 1554 he was asked to act as a permanent counsel for the city of London, in 1555 he represented Wigan in Parliament, Plowden noted his appearance in court in Michaelmas 1557, and in October 1558 he was ordered to take the coif, the mandate lapsing on Mary’s death. By 1562 he was legal counsel to Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, a service he may well have rendered for some time previously.5
     Gerard’s return to Parliament for Liverpool and Wigan between 1545 and 1555 may have owed something to his connexion with the earl, but his family’s local standing and his growing reputation as a lawyer were perhaps enough in themselves to procure it; he was generally styled ‘of Gray’s Inn’ or ‘learned in the law’. His patron at Steyning for the Parliament of April 1554 was probably the 12th Earl of Arundel, among whose followers was Gerard’s uncle Sir Thomas Holcroft, himself returned for Arundel to this Parliament. Nothing is known of Gerard’s role in the Commons. As a rising lawyer he might be expected to have had bills committed to him, but he is not named in the Journal in this connexion. Nor did his support of Princess Elizabeth seemingly extend to his aligning himself with the parliamentary opposition: his name is not among those of the Members who ‘stood for the true religion’ in Mary’s first Parliament nor on the list of those who followed Sir Anthony Kingston’s lead in her fourth.
     Gerard was to emerge as a prominent legal and political figure under Elizabeth after his appointment as attorney-general in January 1559. Although it must have been a disappointment to him that Thomas Bromley II, the solicitor-general, was appointed lord chancellor over his head, he became master of the rolls in 1581 and for 12 years administered the court of Chancery with meticulous care but without imagination and with insufficient administrative authority. He died on 4 Feb. 1593 and was buried in the church at Ashley, Staffordshire.6
Ref Volumes: 1509-1558
Author: R. J.W. Swales
Notes
1.Did not serve for the full duration of the Parliament.
2.Date of birth estimated from education. DNB; Foss, Judges, v. 492; Ormerod, Cheshire, i. 653.
3.Foss, v. 491-4; SP12/93; APC, ii. 145; Somerville, Duchy, i. 481, 499, 505-6, 602; CPR, 1558-60, p. 58; 1569-72, p. 481; HMC Var. iv. 257.
4.VCH Lancs. iv. 103.
5.City of London RO, Guildhall, rep. 13(1), ff. 209, 215; CPR, 1557-8, pp. 359, 457; Preston RO, Stanley pprs. DDK/6/3, p. 17.
6.W. J. Jones, Eliz. Chancery, 60-61; VCH Lancs. iii. 446; Erdeswick, Staffs. 83.

Record #2: GERARD, Sir Gilbert (d.1593), of Ince, Lancs. and Gerrard's Bromley, Staffs.
Family and Education
     s. of James Gerard of Astley and Ince by Margaret, da. of John Holcroft; bro. of William Gerard II. educ. Camb; G. Inn 1537, called 1539. m. Anne, da. and h. of Thomas Ratcliffe of Winmarleigh, Lancs., 3s. inc. Thomas I 4da. Kntd. 1579.2
Offices Held
     Autumn reader, G. Inn 1554, jt. treasurer 1556; j.p.q. Beds., Bucks., Cambs., Cheshire and Hunts. by 1558, Essex, Herts., Kent, Mdx., Surr. and Suss. by 1561, Norf. and Suff. by 1572, Lancs. by 1587; custos rot. Mdx. c.1573; attorney-gen. 1559-81; eccles. commr. by 1564; steward of Copt Hall and other manors in honour of Clare, duchy of Lancaster 1567-91, steward of Rochdale manor by 1567, bailiff, West Derby hundred by 1570, vice-chancellor at Lancaster from c.1571, steward of Amounderness hundred 1578-91; gov. Harrow sch. 1572; master of the rolls 1581-d.3
Biography
     By the accession of Elizabeth, Gerard was already established as an advocate, influential as a country gentleman, and experienced as a parliamentarian. Appointed attorney-general early in the reign (there is an old story that he defended Elizabeth in Queen Mary’s reign), work of an ecclesiastical nature occupied much of his time, and in this context may be noted his friendship with Archbishop Parker, whom he assisted in introducing reforms into Merton College, Oxford. He was also employed in Ireland where, in 1560, he reformed the procedure of the court of Exchequer and drew up new orders and articles for collecting the Queen’s rent. He was often called upon to settle tricky problems of jurisdiction, as when, with the assistance of Thomas Bromley the solicitor-general, he held that the city and county of Worcester came within the jurisdiction of the council in the marches of Wales. He was actively engaged in the trials consequent upon the northern rebellion and, at the request of the Earl of Sussex, president of the council in the north, sat on the special commission which met principally at York and Durham. Subsequently he helped to draw up the interrogatories and to examine Thomas Bishop, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Lumley, Brian Lassells, the bishop of Ross and Stephen White. In 1572 he seconded Nicholas Barham in prosecuting the Duke of Norfolk and Robert Higford, the Duke’s secretary. Gerard gave advice and assistance to the University of Cambridge, from 1561 acting as their counsel when not himself engaged as justice of assize. In 1571 he was thanked for his services in connexion with the passing of a statute of that year, confirming the university’s charters and privileges.4
     Attorney-general for over 20 years, Gerard was naturally able to feather his nest. His perquisites included the appointment of certain clerks and officers in the Queen’s courts, wardships, a grant of wine without impost, and profitable leases. He was a duchy of Lancaster official of some importance, and it was in Lancashire that his influence was greatest and he possessed most property. He increased his Staffordshire estates and acquired Gerrard’s Bromley—where he built himself a large house—and other lands in the vicinity from Sir Thomas Gerard of Etwall, Derbyshire. He owned other property in Middlesex, Shropshire and Wiltshire, and his position at court brought him the friendship of many distinguished persons. Still, he never reached the top of his profession, and in 1579, Bromley, the solicitor-general, was appointed lord chancellor over his head, Gerard becoming master of the rolls two years later with emoluments between 1582 and 1590 totalling over £1,000 p.a. and reaching a maximum of £1,599 5s.3d. in 1586, derived largely from fines and the initial duty paid on writs and instruments. In addition, he must have profited considerably from the sale of offices. The master of the rolls was the chief administrative officer of Chancery and his patronage included the appointment of the six clerks, the clerks of the petty bag, the examiners and the clerks of the rolls chapel. The sale of a six clerks’ office alone was worth a four-figure sum to the master of the rolls, and it is known that three appointments were made during Gerard’s tenure of office. Lesser Chancery posts in his patronage included the usher, crier and doorkeeper, as well as a host of household functionaries and assistants, of whom his three secretaries were the most important. During his tenure of office the departments under Gerard’s control drifted into a dangerous state of inefficiency and chaos, and eventually, after the death of Lord Chancellor Hatton, Elizabeth appointed two commissions, one of Privy Councillors to seal instruments, and the other of masters and judges headed by Gerard, to hear cases. The two commissions then quarrelled over their respective jurisdictions, while the masters and judges refused to accept Gerard’s authority to hear causes in Chancery. During the final year of Gerard’s life he was incapacitated by ill-health.5
     In accordance with the custom of the time Gerard was, as a law officer, and subsequently as master of the rolls, called to assist in the proceedings of the House of Lords. It is thus anomalous to find him returned to the Commons as knight of the shire for Lancashire in November 1584. However, a by-election was ordered on 7 Jan. 1585 on the ground that ‘he was called to the Upper House as master of the rolls’.6
     Gerard died 4 Feb. 1593, and was buried at Ashley, Staffordshire. His will, made 8 Jan. and proved 6 Apr. of that year, was prefaced by a preamble in which he put his trust in God, since ‘there is nothing in any of my works or deeds whereby I can or may challenge or attain unto everlasting life’. He left plate to his sons-in-law Sir Richard Molyneux, Peter Leigh and Richard Houghton, and to an unmarried daughter, who was also to have £1,000 towards her wedding. The widow was amply provided for and received all her jewels and most of the household stuff. In addition she was to have the use of the property in Middlesex, provided that her eldest son Thomas and his wife wished her to live with them. A number of charitable bequests were made. As executors, he appointed his wife and eldest son Thomas, later 1st Baron Gerard.7
     Though Gerard conformed in religion, he was described in an anonymous letter to Walsingham (29 Dec. 1586) as ‘a protestant at London and a papist in Lancashire ... there is no man that so much shifteth papists from the danger of the law as he doth’. His wife and two of his daughters were Catholics.8
Ref Volumes: 1558-1603
Author: W.J.J.
Notes
1.Did not serve for the full duration of the Parliament.
2.References to Gerard as attorney-general, master of the rolls and land owning country gentleman can be found in the DNB; publication of the Chetham Soc; Lancs. and Cheshire Rec. Soc; Wm. Salt Arch. Soc; VCH Lancs; Strype; APC; CSP Dom; CSP Ire.
3.Somerville, Durchy, i. 416, 481, 499, 505, 506, 602; APC, ii. 145; SP12/93; CPR, 1569-72, p. 481; HMC Var. iv. 257; Foss, Judges, v. 491-4.
4.Lansd. 3, f. 162; 8, f. 79; 77, f. 16; 146, f. 43; CPR, 1558-60, pp. 28, 58, 188-19, 335, 349; 1560-3, pp. 2, 112, 236, 279, 280, 338, 433, 523, 624; CSP Dom. 1547-80, pp. 433, 499; 1581-90, p. 625; Add. 1566-79, pp. 169, 200, 251, 261, 270, 290, 305-6, 400; HMC Hatfield, i. 468, 535, 543-4, 548; ii. 16, 17, 18, 94; C. A. J. Skeel, Council in the Marches of Wales, 132.
5.Lansd. 9, f. 31; 23, f. 152 seq; 66, f. 120 seq; CPR, 1558-60, pp. 58, 430; 1560-3, pp. 290-1, 502; Somerville, i. 481; PCC 30 Nevell; Wm. Salt Arch. Soc. xv. 139, 160, 164, 181, 182; xvi. 102, 112; xvii. 213, 226, 228, 235; CSP Dom. 1566-79, p. 18; Jones thesis, 28-30, 54, 58, 761, 763-6; Hardy, Ld. Chancellors, 63 n. 5.
6.C218/1, mems. 12, 13; LJ, ii. 67, 113, 145; D’Ewes, 321, 322, 324, 345.
7.PCC 30 Novell; Erdeswick’s Surv. Staffs. (1844), p. 118.
8.Harl. 286, art. 60, f. 97; Gillow, Burghley’s Map of Lancs. 168.^6,7 GAV-12. Sir Gilbert Gerard of Gerards Bromley was also known as Sir Gilbert Gerard of Sudbury.⁸

;
Per Wikipedia:
Sir Gilbert Gerard (died 4 February 1593) was a prominent English lawyer, politician and landowner of the Tudor period. He was returned six times as a member of the English parliament for four different constituencies. He was Attorney-General for more than twenty years during the reign of Elizabeth I, as well as vice-chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and later served as Master of the Rolls. He acquired large estates, mainly in Lancashire and Staffordshire.

Background
Gerard was born by 1523,[1] the son of James Gerard of Astley and Ince, Lancashire, who was descended from the Gerards of Bryn, Ashton in Makerfield, Lancashire, and Kingsley, Cheshire. The Gerard family had lived at Ince, near Wigan, since the late 14th century.[2] However, James was probably a younger son, so it was not expected that he or Gilbert would inherit the family estates.[citation needed]

The Gerard family became wealthy and distinguished in the reign of Elizabeth I, although Sir Gilbert was the most successful of them.[1] Owing to repeated use of the same names in the Gerard family, Sir Gilbert's relatives are easily confused. Sir Gilbert was a cousin of the distinguished judge and administrator Sir William Gerard, who ended his career as Lord Chancellor of Ireland.[3] However, he also had a younger brother, William, who served as MP for Preston and Wigan and died in 1584,[4] and a nephew, William III, by that brother, who also served as MP for Wigan and died in 1609.[5] Still more confusing, Sir William, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland had a son called Gilbert, who served as MP for Chester in 1593.[6]

Gilbert's mother was Margaret Holcroft, daughter of John Holcroft of Holcroft, Lancashire. The Holcrofts were another rising landed gentry family. Margaret had two brothers: Sir John Holcroft and Sir Thomas Holcroft. Both distinguished themselves in the Anglo-Scottish Wars, served as MP for Lancashire, and profited from speculation in monastic lands at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, although it was Sir Thomas, the younger brother, who had the more successful and varied career, building up a substantial estate around the estates of the former Vale Royal Abbey.[7] Sir John, heir to the family estates, speculated in wardships,[8] and it was through one of these that Gilbert Gerard's marriage was arranged, to Anne Radcliffe or Ratcliffe. Sir John addressed Gerard as "cousin", a term also used for their relationship by the History of Parliament. "Cousin" was used in the 16th century more widely for blood relatives than in modern English: Sir John and Sir Thomas were Gerard's maternal uncles.[citation needed]

Education
Gerard spent some time at the University of Cambridge but did not graduate, as was typical at the time.[9]

He entered Gray's Inn in 1537, when he was probably still about 16, and was called to the bar in 1539. He seems to have been an outstanding student and was honoured by the Inn several times in later life. In 1554 he was elected Autumn Reader, an important post with both academic and administrative responsibilities, and in 1556 he served as Treasurer.

Allegiance to Gray's Inn became a family tradition and it served as a power base for the family. Gerard installed himself in a room there and was generally styled "of Gray's Inn".[1] His nephew William later moved into the room too and added an office above it for his own use,[5] and Thomas Holcroft, Sir Thomas's son, was also admitted to Gray's Inn in 1588.[10]

Parliamentary career
Gerard's parliamentary career was interwoven with his progress as a lawyer. He was returned to parliament a total of six times, four of them in the reign of Mary.
Gerard was first returned as MP in 1545 for Liverpool. The town belonged to the Duchy of Lancaster, and the most important local magnates were the Earls of Derby and the Molyneux family. 1545 may have been the first year Liverpool had returned members for about a century - certainly the first for which records survive.[11]

By the early years of Elizabeth's reign, the Earls of Derby and the Duchy of Lancashire were effectively selecting one member each, although it was the mayor and burgesses or freemen who nominally elected the members. Even in 1545, it is likely that Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby was a decisive influence in handing a seat to Gerard. The two probably already knew each other: Gerard was the earl's legal counsel by 1562 - perhaps much earlier.[1]

Another influential supporter would have been Gerard's uncle, Sir Thomas Holcroft, who was an official of the Duchy of Lancaster and held the Liverpool fee-farm of the Duchy: he was returned as MP for Lancashire in the same parliament.[11]

Gerard was returned as junior to the other member, Nicholas Cutler, a client of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The influence of the Molyneux family grew subsequently and Sir William Molyneux and his son acquired joint control of the Liverpool fee-farm later in 1545, often coming into confrontation with Derby and the civic officials. This may have played a part in Gerard's move to a safer seat in later elections.

Gerard was elected as MP for Wigan in March and October 1553:[11] the last parliament of Edward VI and the first of Mary's reign. The lord of the manor of Wigan was the rector, and members of the Gerard family had purchased the advowson, making them extremely influential in local government, which was divided between the rector and the civic officials of the borough.

As Wigan was part of the Duchy and the County palatine of Lancaster, duchy officials had considerable influence. The Earl of Derby was also an important figure locally. The senior MP in 1547 and for the next five elections was Alexander Barlow, a member of the Earl's council and soon to be his brother-in-law. All this favoured Gerard, although it is likely his own relatives were his most decisive allies: the High Sheriff of Lancashire, the returning officer, in 1553 was Sir Thomas Gerard, a cousin.

In April 1554, Gerard was returned as MP for Steyning, Sussex. Steyning had belonged to Syon Abbey until the Dissolution of the monasteries but now formed part of the royal honour of Petworth. As steward of the honour, the decisive voice in selecting the members belonged to Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel,[11] a religious conservative who had supported the Somerset faction under Edward VI and was now a key supporter of Queen Mary and Lord Steward of her household. Significantly, he was happy to support Gerard. Sir Thomas Holcroft, Gerard's uncle was returned for the neighbouring constituency of Arundel, where almost all the members in the 16th century were nominated by the earls.[11]

However, for the 1555 election Gerard returned to Wigan, again being returned as junior to Barlow. Gerard seems to have done little as a member of parliament. His name does not appear in the records, even though, as a rising lawyer, he would have been useful in drafting and reviewing bills. It is clear, however, that he broadly supported Mary's regime. If he had not, his name would appear on either the list of those who "stood for the true religion" in 1553–4,[12] or among those who supported Sir Anthony Kingston in the 1555 parliament,[1] or on the list of government opponents kept by William More.[13]

Despite his reputation as a staunch Protestant supporter of Elizabeth, Gerard appears in fact to have been essentially conservative, accepting the existing regime irrespective of religious policy. Elizabeth probably promoted him because of his proven competence as an advocate, not his ideological purity.

Only once more did Gerard secure election to parliament, and that much later in life. On 18 November 1584 he was returned as member for Lancashire. As the county seats were dominated by the Duchy of Lancaster and the Earls of Derby, Gerard would have had a good chance in Lancashire at any time. However, he was by now vice-chancellor of the Duchy, so the result was not in question. He was returned as senior knight of the shire, together with Richard Molyneux. As he was already Master of the Rolls, he was required to attend the House of Lords, although not a peer.

Consequently, he was unable to sit in the House of Commons. In January of the following year he was replaced as MP by Richard Bold, a powerful local landowner whose wife was a known recusant and who had recently been reported to Burghley as a recusant himself.[14]

Legal career
Barrister
Information about Gerard's career before the accession of Elizabeth I is scanty and not always reliable. He was made an Ancient[1] - a barrister qualified to practise independently - in 1547. The first mention of him as an advocate is in Edmund Plowden's Commentaries, relating to Michaelmas term 1554. According to a tradition found in William Dugdale's Baronage of England, Gerard represented Elizabeth when she was examined by the Privy Council:

"In the time of Queen Mary (as by credible tradition I have heard) upon the Lady Elizabeth's being questioned at the Council table, he was permitted to plead there on her behalf and performed his part so well that he suffered for the same in the Tower of London during the remaining term of Queen Mary's reign."[15]
However, this is certainly not entirely true. Gerard cannot have spent much, if any time in prison, as he was appointed permanent counsel by the City of London in October 1554, and represented Wigan in the English parliament for the third time in 1555. Nor can he have incurred the wrath of Mary, as he was made a Serjeant-at-law, one of a small and extremely powerful group of barristers with exclusive rights to work in the Court of Common Pleas towards the end of her reign - an appointment that lapsed on her death. He was made Justice of the Peace in five counties by 1559, many of them probably in Mary's reign: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire and Huntingdonshire. However, it is certainly true that Gerard was much favoured by Elizabeth and one of a small group of lawyers who were quickly installed in important offices to consolidate the new regime.

Attorney-General
Gerard was made Attorney-General on 22 January 1559, a week after Elizabeth's coronation,[15] still a young man for such a senior legal post. He was early deputed to Ireland, where he helped reform the procedure of the Court of Exchequer and drew up new rules for collecting the Queen's rent.[11] He sat as a judge on trials including that of John Hales in 1564.

Much of his work was ecclesiastical and he was appointed to the Ecclesiastical Commission by 1564. In 1567 he helped Matthew Parker, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in reforming Merton College, Oxford. From 1561 he represented the University of Cambridge whenever he was not engaged as a justice, and in 1571 he was thanked by the University for his work in securing the passage of an Act of Parliament confirming its charters and privileges.

Gerard was appointed to key positions in the administration or judiciary all over the country. He was made Justice of the Peace in Norfolk and Suffolk, and later in Lancashire. In 1573 he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Middlesex, the county's senior administrative official.

Gerard was actively involved in defending Elizabeth against plots and revolts. In 1570, he was a member of a commission trying participants in the Rising of the North of the previous year, sitting mainly at York and Durham. In 1571 he assisted in the interrogation and prosecution of participants in the Ridolfi plot.[16] He devised the questions put to the Duke of Norfolk, John Lesley, the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Lumley and others. In the following year he seconded Nicholas Barham in the prosecutions of Norfolk and his secretary, Robert Higford: the only two State Trials of his term of office.[15]

With Thomas Bromley, the Solicitor General from 1569, Gerard had to settle many problems of jurisdiction. One of the most important concerned an attempt in 1576 by Worcester and Worcestershire to shake off the authority of the Council of Wales and the Marches - a bid which Gerard and Bromley turned down. Gerard must have been disappointed that it was Bromley, about a decade younger than himself, who was appointed Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in 1579,[1] although he was rewarded with a knighthood in that year.

However, the post of Attorney General was lucrative. It allowed Gerard to acquire wardships, leases and a grant of wine free of duty, and he exercised considerable patronage. Most importantly, it gave him access to a source of wealth and power through the Duchy of Lancaster, which dominated the north-west of England and had been united with the Crown since 1399. The duchy had considerable holdings outside its natural area of influence, and Gerard began by acquiring in 1567 the stewardship of Copt Hall in the honour of Clare, Suffolk, which had been transferred to the duchy by Queen Mary. In the same year he became steward of Rochdale manor, and over the decades increased his stewardships in Clare and became bailiff of the Lancashire hundreds of West Derby and Amounderness. In 1571 he became vice-chancellor of the duchy. Along with the Chancellor, Ralph Sadler, this gave him great political influence. Gerard and Sadler both used their positions to have their sons returned as MPs for Lancaster.[11]

Master of the Rolls
Gerard was promoted in 1581 to be Master of the Rolls, the chief administrative post in the Court of Chancery and second most senior judge in the land. If the honour was not so great as the Chancellorship, the financial rewards were a great compensation. For example, in 1586, Gerard drew an income of £1,599 5s.3d. from his post, mainly from fines, writs and legal instruments.[11] The posts of the clerks of the petty bag, the examiners and the clerks of the rolls chapel, usher, crier and doorkeeper, his three secretaries and numerous minor posts all fell within his patronage, so he was able to make considerable extra profits from the sale of offices.

As Master of the Rolls, Gerard was still frequently involved in trials.[15] He sat in the case of William Davison, who was the scapegoat for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Davison was standing in for Francis Walsingham as principal secretary to Elizabeth when the warrant for Mary's execution was signed. Elizabeth then decided to have Mary executed secretly, but while she was wavering, Davison was present at a Privy Council meeting in Burghley's rooms when it was decided to send the warrant to Fotheringhay Castle.[17]

Subsequently, Davison alone had to face Elizabeth's wrath. He was sent to the Star Chamber for trial, where Gerard and his fellow judges sentenced him to a fine of 10,000 marks and imprisonment during the Queen's pleasure. In fact, his fine was remitted and he was released after a few months, even receiving his salary while detained. However, the case is regarded as notorious by legal historians and did not reflect well on the judges involved.[15]

While a distinguished judge, Gerard seems to have been a poor administrator. His departments became increasingly chaotic and slipshod in their work. Bromley died in 1587 and was succeeded by the still younger Christopher Hatton, who survived only until 1591. At this point the Queen and her advisors decided to reorganise the legal departments. The issue of instruments was separated off and placed under the authority of a commission of Privy Councillors.[citation needed] Gerard and the other judges were formed into a second commission to hear cases. The commissions then began to dispute the boundaries of their jurisdiction, while Gerard's commission fell into internal dissension, with other judges refusing to accept his authority. The problems were compounded by his descent into illness, which led to his death on 4 February 1593.[citation needed]

Landowner
Although not heir to any of the major groups of Gerard family estates, Sir Gilbert was able to build up a large patrimony of his own. He did this mainly by seizing opportunities that came his way through his professional life or family contacts. Through his wife he acquired the Damhouse at Astley. He also had estates in Middlesex, Shropshire and Wiltshire.[11]

Another major purchase was within the family. His cousin, Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn, was a Catholic and father of the famous Jesuit priest John Gerard. He acquired considerable estates in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, including Etwall through marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of John Port (the younger).[18] He was implicated in a plot to free Mary, Queen of Scots, from Tutbury Castle, close to Etwall. Imprisonment and fines forced him to dispose of some property and he sold to Gilbert Gerard lands around Ashley, Staffordshire. Gilbert built there a very large house, Gerrard's Bromley, which became the seat of his branch of the Gerards.

Marriage and family
Gerard married Ann Radcliffe or Ratcliffe. She was the daughter of Thomas Ratcliffe of Winmarleigh and of Isabel Boteler. As her father died before she reached the age of majority, she became a ward of Sir Thomas Holcroft, Gerard's uncle. She inherited Damhouse in Astley, which was later sold by her son, Thomas. She remained a Catholic throughout her life.[11]

They had two sons:

Thomas, Gilbert's heir, was created the first Baron Gerard of Gerrard's Bromley in 1603.
Ratcliffe married Elizabeth Somerset, a wealthy heiress related to the Earls of Worcester. at an unknown age They had a number of children.
Sir Charles Gerard of Halsall, married Penelope, sister and coheir of Sir Edward Fitton, 2nd and last of the Fitton baronets of Gawsworth, Cheshire. They had at least three sons:[20]
Charles (the eldest), a Cavalier general during the Civil War and a courtier after the Restoration. He was made Baron Gerard of Brandon in 1645 and Earl of Macclesfield in 1679.[20]
Edward Gerard, a colonel of foot who was wounded at the First Battle of Newbury (1643).[21]
Sir Gilbert Gerard, killed in one of the frequent skirmishes that took place in Ludlow between Cavaliers and Roundheads.[22]
Gilbert, a colonel of a Royalist regiment of foot and was appointed Governor of Worcester in December 1642.[23][24][25]
Ratcliffe, twin brother of Gilbert, under whom he served as a lieutenant-colonel.[23][24] He married Jennet, the illegitimate daughter of Devereux Barrett of Tenby, Pembrokeshire.[23] They had several children:[24]
Gilbert (died 1687), served as a Royalist captain in the Civil War, after the restoration sat as MP for Northallerton and was made Baronet of Fiskerton[23]
John (1632–1654) served as an ensign in the Civil War, was executed in for his part in the Gerard's conspiracy
Charles (born 1635)
They also had at least four daughters who survived infancy:

Frances married Richard Molyneux of Croxteth and Sefton, an important Lancashire landowner, who became first of the Molyneux baronets. One of their sons was
Richard Molyneux, 1st Viscount Molyneux
Radclyffe married Sir Thomas Wingfield of Letheringham.[26]
Catherine married Richard Hoghton, a Lancashire landowner who became first of the De Hoghton baronets.
Margaret married Peter Legh of Lyme Park, Cheshire, a client of the Earls of Derby who studied at Gray's Inn, probably under the auspices of Gilbert Gerard.[27]
Death and burial
Gerard's will was made on 8 January 1593 and probate was on 6 April of that year.[11] He died on 4 February 1593,[16] and was buried at Ashley, Staffordshire, on 6 March.[15] The legal historian Edward Foss points out that William Dugdale reported the year of his death as 1592, and this has been repeated in some accounts. In February 1592 (New Style) Gerard was still working, and around that time was put in charge of the new commission to hear cases in Chancery. The confusion was probably the result of the difference between Old Style and New Style dates. The known details are unusually exact, as the parish register recorded the date of death, not just the burial, as was customary.

In his later years, Gerard had come under suspicion for his religious beliefs. An anonymous letter of 1586 to Walsingham denounced him as "a protestant at London and a papist in Lancashire ... there is no man that so much shifteth papists from the danger of the law as he doth". His wife and two of his daughters, at least, were known Catholics. Many of his descendants, like Richard Gerard of Hilderstone who died in Newgate Prison in 1680, were staunchly Catholic. However, this seems not to be true of his heir, Thomas, who gave specific directions to be buried without ceremony - a provision typical of radical Protestants. In the preamble to his will, Gerard himself expressed his trust in Divine grace, as "there is nothing in any of my works or deeds whereby I can or may challenge or attain unto everlasting life".[11] These words closely echo the Protestant teaching embodied in Article 11 of the Thirty-Nine Articles: "We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings." He left plate to his sons-in-law Sir Richard Molyneux, Peter Legh and Richard Hoghton, and to an unmarried daughter, presumably Radclyffe, who was also promised £1,000 towards her wedding. His wife received all her jewels and household equipment, as well as use of his Middlesex house.
Gerard was commemorated by an elaborate memorial in Ashley parish church, which grew and was modified over several generations. The main structure, built under the supervision of Gilbert's son, Thomas, portrays him and Anne, lying in splendour. She has her Talbot dog at her side, while he is in full armour, an uncharacteristic garb for him, with a finely modelled gauntlet at his side. Beneath the Gerards is a cadaver, but, unlike the case of a normal cadaver tomb, it appears to date from an earlier period. The kneeling figure of Thomas Gerard looms over his parents at the head end, vigilant but not in prayer. A smaller kneeling and praying figure, said to be the younger son Ratcliffe, is placed at the feet of the couple. Both kneeling figures are completely free-standing and detached from the main structure, clearly added later and at the sacrifice of part of its moulded edge. The four daughters of Gilbert and Anne, all of whom survived their parents, are portrayed on a separate rear panel. Two more smaller kneeling and praying female figures, free-standing and detached, are placed to the front of the main structure - possibly daughters who predeceased their parents, but more likely of a later generation. The monument is surmounted by a vast, densely decorated alabaster canopy, displaying the armorial bearings of the Gerards and Radcliffes.

The work was claimed by John Betjeman as the largest Elizabethan monument in England, and said to be executed "under the influence" of Joseph Hollemans, completed about 1612.[28] Joseph, also known as Jasper, Hollemans was the son of Garrett Hollemans, a Dutch sculptor who fled to England in the 1580s and worked from Burton upon Trent, centre of alabaster carving in the 16th and 17th centuries.[29] Joseph worked for clients as illustrious as the House of Cavendish and the Spencer family of Althorp. While there is no evidence that he personally carved the memorial, it is in Burton alabaster of his style and period.

Notes
Elizabeth was daughter of Sir Charles Somerset K.B. fifth son, of Henry, Earl of Worcester. [19]
GERARD, Gilbert (by 1523–93), membersofparliamentonline.org. Accessed 14 December 2022.
Victoria County History: Lancashire, Volume 4, Chapter 22 - Ince, s.2 - Manor.
This source also has a line drawing of the Gerard arms.
History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1603: GERARD, William I (d. 1581) Archived 30 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 17 December 2022.
"History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1603 - GERARD, William II (aft.1520–84) - Author: N. M. Fuidge". Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
"History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1603 - GERARD, William III (c.1551–1609) - Author: N.M.S." Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
"History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1603 - GERARD, Gilbert, of Chester. - Author: N.M.S." Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
History of Parliament Online: Members 1509–1558 - HOLCROFT, Sir Thomas (1505/6-58) - Author: R. J.W. Swales
History of Parliament Online: Members 1509–1558 - HOLCROFT, Sir John (by 1498–1560) - Author: Alan Davidson
"Gerard, Gilbert (GRRT537G)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1609 - HOLCROFT, Thomas II (1557–1620) - Author: Patricia Hyde
W.J.J. 1981.
History of Parliament Online: Surveys 1509–1558 - Appendix XI - Author: S.T. Bindoff
History of Parliament Online: Surveys 1509–1558 - Appendix XIII - Author: S.T. Bindoff
Members 1558–1603, historyofparliamentonline.org. Accessed 14 December 2022.
Foss, Edward (1870). Biographia juridica. A biographical dictionary of the judges of England from the Conquest. p. 295.
Brooks, Christopher W. (2004). "Gerard, Sir Gilbert (d. 1593)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.) Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10552. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1603 - DAVISON, William (c. 1541–1608) - Author: N.M.S.
History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1603 - GERARD, Sir Thomas (d.1601) - Author: N. M. Fuidge
Burke & Burke 1838, p. 217.
Hutton 2008.
Burke 1831, p. 220 (footnote).
Lewis 1848, pp. 186–190.
Bolton 1983.
Porter 2004.
Gratton 1984.
Burke & Burke 1838, p. 574 ¶ 2nd to last.
History of Parliament Online: Members 1558–1603 - LEGH, Peter or Piers (c.1563–1636) - Author: N.M.S.
Jenkins, Simon (2009). England's Thousand Best Churches. p. 722. ISBN 978-0-14-103930-5.
Victoria County History: Staffordshire - Volume 9, Burton-upon-Trent - Economic History, s.47 - Alabaster Carving
References
Bolton, P.A. (1983), "Gerard, Gilbert II (d.1687), of Fiskerton, Lincs. and Pall Mall, Westminster.", in Henning, B.D. (ed.), The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690, Boydell and Brewer
Burke, John (1831), A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance. England (2 ed.), Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, p. 220
Burke, John; Burke, Sir John Bernard (1838), A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies, p. 574
Gratton, J.M. (1984), "The Military Career of Richard, Lord Molyneux, C. 1623–54", Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 134
Hutton, Ronald (January 2008) [2004], "Gerard, Charles, first earl of Macclesfield (c.1618–1694)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10550 (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
Lewis, Samuel, ed. (1848), "Ludborough - Lufton", A Topographical Dictionary of England, pp. 186–190
Porter, Stephen (2004), "Gerard, John (1632–1654)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10557 (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
W.J.J. (1981), "Gerard, Sir Gilbert (d.1593), of Ince, Lancs. and Gerrard's Bromley, Staffs.", in Hasler, P.W. (ed.), The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603, Boydell and Brewer, archived from the original on 26 June 2022, retrieved 31 August 2011.⁵ He was attorney-general & Master of the Rolls 1581-1592 between 1581 and 1592.¹

     Oddone/Ottone del Monferrato Marchese del Monferrato married Marie (?)¹

Oddone/Ottone del Monferrato Marchese del Monferrato died before 991.¹
     GAV-29.

     Eudes (?) de Bourgogne died before 10 November 1087.^1,2
     Reference: Genealogics cites: Europäische Stammtafeln, J.A. Stargardt Verlag, Marburg, Schwennicke, Detlev (Ed.) 2:59.³

; Per Med Lands: " EUDES [Othon] de Bourgogne (-before 12 Nov 1087). “Willelmus Burgundiæ comes” donated property to Besançon cathedral, for the souls of “mea...necnon...Fulchonis fratris mei et Ottonis filii mei”, by undated charter[48]."
Med Lands cites: [48] Chifflet Beatrix (1656), p. 204.²

     Guglielmo I Miagro (?) Marchese de Monferrato was born circa 865.¹
Guglielmo I Miagro (?) Marchese de Monferrato died between 924 and 933.¹
      ; Per Racines et Histoire: "Guglielmo Ier Miagro (Guillaume) + entre 924 et 933 conte del Monferrato, Capostipite della dinastia Aleramica Montferrat ép. ?"³ GAV-30.

; This is the same person as:
"William I, Marquis of Montferrat" at Wikipedia, as
"Guillaume Ier de Montferrat" at Wikipédia (Fr.),
and as "Guglielmo I del Monferrato" at Wikipedia (It.)^4,5,6

; Per Med Lands: "GUGLIELMO, son of ---. Comes. Maybe of Frankish origin. 961/967. m ---. The name of Guglielmo's wife is not known."⁷

; Per Genealogics:
     "Guillermo I (floruit 924) stands at the head of the Aleramici family which ruled Monferrato for four centuries. He was the father of the first margrave Aleramo.
     "According to the _Gesta Berengarii Imperatoris,_ Guillermo was a Frank who crossed the Alps leading 300 armed retainers in 888-889 to fight alongside Guido III of Spoleto (the future emperor and king of Italy) against Berengar, margrave of Friaul (the future Emperor Berengar I) for the Iron Crown of Lombardy. He apparently established himself in northwestern Italy, probably supported by Guido, where he eventually received the title of _Comes._ It is also probable that he gave his support to Berengar after Guido's death, for he appears in 921 along with Lambert, archbishop of Milan, and two other counts, Giselbert and Samson, as _dilectissimi fideles_ of the Emperor. The counts were also cited as _illustres comites._ They stood opposed to Adalbert, margrave of Ivrea (future joint-king of Italy) and others in rebellion against Berengar.
     "Guillermo transferred his allegiance again following the death of Berengar. He appears for the last time alive in 924, intervening on behalf of the bishop of Piacenza with Rudolf II, king of Burgundy, a claimant for the Italian crown. Never again does he appear in history and a diploma of his son dating to around 933 fixes his death sometime between those two years (924-933)."¹ Guglielmo I Miagro (?) Marchese de Monferrato was also known as Guglielmo I del Monferrato del Monferrato Marchese del Monferrato.⁶ Guglielmo I Miagro (?) Marchese de Monferrato was also known as Guillermo I de Montferrato.^1,5 He was living between 924 and 925.^2,1 He was Marchese di Liguria between 924 and 933.⁴ He was Marchese de Monferrato between 924 and 933.⁴

     Constanza (?) married Artaldo I de Pallars Conde de Pallars-Subirà, son of Guillermo II (?) Conde de Pailhars-Subira and Estefania (?) de Urgel, before September 1050
;
His 1st wife.¹
      ; Per Med Lands:
     "m firstly (before Sep 1050) CONSTANZA, daughter of ---. "Artaldus maior…comes cum uxori mea Constancia comitissa" donated property to Santa Maria de Gerri by charter dated Sep 1050[158].
Med Lands cites: [158] Santa Maria de Gerri 8, p. 5.¹

     Guglielmo Francesco 'Francigena' (?) Marchese di Parodi died after 1139.¹
      ; Per Med Lands: "GUGLIELMO FRANCESCO detto Francigena (-after 1139). Marchese di Parodi. m ---. The name of Guglielmo Francesco's wife is not known."¹

     Willa de Camerino married Hubert (?) Markgraf of Tuscany, Duke of Spoleto, Marquis de Camerino, son of Hugues (?) Cte d'Arles et de Vienne, Margrave of Provence, King of Italy and Wandelmodis (?), in 936
; her 1st husband.^1,3,4
Willa de Camerino died after 7 January 978.³
     Reference: Genealogics cites: Europäische Stammtafeln, J.A. Stargardt Verlag Marburg., Detlev Schwennicke, Editor, Reference: II 186.⁵ Willa de Camerino was also known as Willa di Spoleto.⁶

     Perengardia (?) married Marchese Oberto Obizzo II (?) Conte di Luni, son of Oberto Obizzo I (?) Marchese in the Eastern March, Conte di Luni and Willa/Guilla di Bonifazio.¹