Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke

Gilbert Fitz Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke, known as Strongbow (* 1100 in Tonbridge, † January 6, 1148 ) was an Anglo -Norman nobleman.

He was the second son of Gilbert FitzRichard, Lord of Clare ( Clare House ), and his wife Adelisa de Clermont. His brother was Richard de Clare FitzGilbert.

From his paternal uncle, Roger de Clare, he inherited after 1131 the gentlemen Bien Faite and Orbec in Normandy. From his other paternal uncle, Walter ( Gautier ) de Clare, in 1138 he inherited the rule of Nether Gwent with the castle Strigoil in Wales. 1138 appointed him King Stephen of England, Earl of Pembroke, and gave him the castle of Pevensey. Already in 1135 had appointed him to his Marshal King Stephen.

He married in 1130, the former mistress of King Henry I of England, Isabel de Beaumont ( † after 1172 ), daughter of Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, Lord of Beaumont- le -Roger, Earl of Leicester, and his wife Isabel de Vermandois. With her he had a son and a daughter:

• Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known as Strongbow, his heir;
• Basila,

Gilbert was buried in the abbey of Tintern which his uncle Walter founded in 1131.