William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
This William was known as “The Ogre of Abergavenny”, who famously murdered a handful of Welsh princes.
In 1175, William De Braose was instructed by the current King Henry II, to ban any Welsh Men from carrying weapons, so long as Wales was under his rule. William invited the Prince and Chieftains of Gwent to a feast in Abergavenny Castle to give them the news. The guests politely left their weapons outside, a common practice at the time, but their merrymaking was brought to a swift halt when William made his announcement. His Welsh guests were quick to rise to their feet in protest, only to be horribly butchered by William De Braose’s men. William not only killed those in attendance at the feast, but also hunted down and murdered their relatives, some of whom were as young as seven.
King Henry had only wanted William to relay a message to the Welsh Chieftains, but the Ogre of Abergavenny had his own way of doing things, and decided that massacring the chiefs, their wives, and their children, was a more efficent tactic.
Henry wasn’t too fond of William, after that.
In the days following, William was less of a blood-crazed madman, and spent some time building churches to atone for his sins.
A tad too little too late.
At this point Bramber Castle was still in the possession of the Ogre of Abergavenny, but William, falling out of favour with King John I, was suspected of disloyalty. The castle was seized, along with Lady de Braose and her two sons, all of whom were starved to death in Windsor Castle.
Its this harsh treatment that ultimately resulted in the Barons revolt and the signing of the Magna Carta. William himself ran to Ireland, where he was hunted by King John, before returning to Wales of all places, and helping the then Welsh Prince, Llywelyn the Great, in his rebellion against King John I.
He eventually fled to France dressed as a beggar, where he died in 1211, in Corbeil.