Richard was the son of Gilbert, Count of Brionne in Normandy[3] (Fitz was a variant spelling of the Norman filz, French fils, signifying "son of"). Gilbert was a guardian of the young duke William and when Gilbert was killed by Ralph de Wacy in 1040, his two older sons Richard and Gilbert fled to Flanders.[4] On his later return to Normandy Richard was rewarded with the lordship of Bienfaite and Orbec in Normandy.[4] In 1066, Richard came into England with his kinsman William the Conqueror, and received from him great advancement in honour and possessions.[3]
The Dictionary of National Biography and other sources are vague and sometimes contradictory about when the name de Clare came into common usage, but what we do know is that Richard fitz Gilbert (of Tonbridge), the earliest identifiable progenitor of the family, is once referred to as Richard of Clare in the Suffolk return of the Domesday Book.[5]
Rewards
He was rewarded with 176 manors in England, including the right to build castles at Clare in Suffolk, caput of his feudal barony, and at Tonbridge in Kent.[6] Some contemporaneous and later sources called him Earl of Clare, though many modern sources view the title as a "styled title".
He served as Joint Chief Justiciar in William's absence, and played a major part in suppressing the revolt of 1075.
He retired to a monastery in 1088, passing his possessions in England to his son Gilbert fitz Richard and his land in Normandy to his son Roger Fitz Richard.[7] He was buried in St. Neot's Priory in 1091. His widow was still living in 1113.
