Hugo de Mors (Moers/Morse) - Knight of Flanders
For years researchers have wondered where the Morse family of East Anglia came from. It was presumed that they were the descendants of a Hugo de Mors who first appears in the East Anglian records in the year 1358. The Morse Society, the resident expert on Morse family members in America, have tried diligently for years to verify the ancestry. Only now, has an independent researcher been able to establish the lineage; not through English records, but through Flemish and German.
The fourtheenth century was a treacherous century - filled with bad weather, the Black Plague, political unrest, and religious crusades. It was also a time of discoveries and inventions. The fourteenth century saw the invention of the first ever handgun, and playing cards, such as are now digitally replicated on on sites like poker.de, began to be used in Europe for the first time.
Hugo de Mors was born in the city of Moers, in what is today Westfalia, Germany. At that time, it was considered part of Flanders and was governed by King Edward III of England. Hugo came from a long line of Counts, including the last Count von Moers, Herren von Moers, whose coat of arms was issued by the King in the year 1186 A.D.
The original Morse coat of arms, it is very unlike the Moers coat of arms from England, but is indeed, the original that was filed with the Heraldy Office in Westfalia, Germany. The county of Moers became a city in the year 1300 and it was here that Hugo was born.
Hugo was the son of Deitrich the IV, Count of Moers. Unlike England, where the title goes only to the eldest son and the other children are known as Lord and Lady out of courtesy only, German heraldry allows each legitimate child of a count to be called Count or Countess in their own right. When a "Count" married, his wife was known as "Countess." However, when a "Countess" married, she assumed her husband's title.
Hugo was the youngest son and would never inherit due to his very large family. Born during the Great Famine of Europe in the year 1316, he joined King Edward III's retinue when he was but 16 years old, wishing to fight in the crusades and in the company of a King. He participated in the Battles of Crecy and Poitiers and later joined the Teutonic Knights bound for the Holy Land before settling in East Anglia.
Young King Edward III of England was only a few years older than Hugo and was obsessed with the wool industry in hopes that it would make England rich and help pay for his wars; specifically his battle and disagreement with the King of France over the French crown and the ensuing "Hundred Years War." The Moers family was a very wealthy, ancient family in Flanders and was very involved in the wool and sheep business. In 1351, King Edward invited Count Hugo von Moers, along with many other Flemish wooliers to settle in East Anglia. Hugo joined with the other wooliers and resettled for several reasons, one of which was that his own, very large family had been totally descimated by the Black Plague. His families lands were devastated from the war and the wealthy were no longer respected in Flanders after a peasant uprising. He felt his future was in England.
In England, Hugo von Moers was no longer known as "Count." English law did not recognize foreign titles, and because his descendants were not born in Germany, the title was presumed extinct. But still, he was highly respected, very wealthy and considered landed gentry. He settled in the area around Worstead in Suffolk and lived there until 1394 when he returned to Flanders. He died in his native land at Moers Castle in 1395. However, he left behind a son, Dietrich in East Anglia. Two of his grandsons are well known clothiers; Thomas and William Morse from Stratford St. Mary's in Suffolk. Another great-grandson, Wilhemni (William) Mors, moved to Wiltshire and founded the Wiltshire branch of the Morse family at Castle Eaton.
Although Hugo probably felt that the Moers line had died out during the Black Plague, he had no way of knowing that he alone would propagate 100s of thousands of descendants. For more information on the Moers of Flanders and of East Anglia, please visit the following links.
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