Joan de Munchensi

[1] Though she tried to maintain cordial relations with her cousins and coheirs, sharing the common interest of retaining their inherited Marshal lands, her marriage was resented among many of the English nobility, who were dividing into two hostile factions.

[1] When the Parliament of Oxford in 1258 exiled her husband and his brothers and seized her properties without compensation, she apparently confronted Hugh Bigod in public to demand payment.

[1] After de Montfort was killed at Evesham in 1265 and royal power was re-asserted by Prince, later King, Edward, her lands were restored and the influence and standing of her family increased.

She improved her three great castles of Goodrich, Pembroke and Ferrycarig and during her husband's many absences abroad, on royal business and on crusade with Prince Edward, ran her widespread estates.

[1] She was also active in arranging marriages for her four surviving children, showing a clear preference for spouses who would continue the Marshal bloodline and keep the heirs connected.

In 1299 King Edward had sent her there to visit them, at a time when it was hoped that her son-in-law, John Comyn, would join the English party in opposition to Robert Bruce.