Bohun family

The de Bohun then Bohun family is an English noble family of Norman origin that played a prominent role in English political and military history during the Late Middle Ages.

Humphrey with the Beard (died c. 1113), who founded the English family, held the manor of Bohun (or Bohon) in Normandy – on the Cotentin Peninsula between Coutances and the estuary of the Vire.

[1] This is still reflected in place names such as Saint-André-de-Bohon and Saint-Georges-de-Bohon.

From one son of Humphrey with the same name, the male line continued, becoming Earls of Hereford, Essex and Northampton, using the name Humphrey repeatedly in successive generations.

The male line of another son of Humphrey with the Beard, Richard de Meri, died out in the 12th century, but his heirs in the female line took the surname of Bohun, giving rise to the Bohuns of Midhurst in West Sussex.