William de Braose 4th Lord of Bramber
d. 1211
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William de Braose, fourth lord of Bramber, rose higher in King John's favour than any baron in England and fell further than any man of his age: the king turned on him utterly, hunted him to death in French exile in 1211, and starved his wife Maud and their eldest son to death in the dungeons of Corfe. The horror of it was remembered in the Great Charter's clauses against arbitrary destruction; kings, men said afterward, should not be able to do that. This line descends through his son Reginald, who lived to see Runnymede answer his mother's death.
Research notes
WILLIAM de BRAOSE, 4th Lord of BRAMBER (c.1144-1211), d. in exile; m. Maud de St Valery (starved at Corfe by King John, 1210 - among the grievances behind Magna Carta); father of Reginald (our line). DOCUMENTED FLOOR; the elder Braoses to Domesday note-only. Standard well-documented medieval genealogy per the cited authorities; contested rungs note-only, not hardened.