The House of Braose was a prominent family of Anglo-Norman nobles originating in Briouze, near Argentan, Orne, Normandy. Members of this family played a significant part in the Norman conquest of England and subsequent power struggles in England, Wales and Ireland in the 11th to 14th centuries.
Funerary monument to Thomas de Braose (died 1395), dressed in full armour, his head resting on a helm. The tomb chest is decorated with quatrefoils and shields. South wall of sanctuary, St Mary's Church, Horsham, West Sussex.
Party per pale indented gules and azure
The Anglo-Normans were the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman Conquest, and were primarily a combination of Normans, Frenchmen, Flemings, and Bretons who intermarried with the indigenous Anglo-Saxons and Celtic Britons. A small number of Normans had earlier befriended future Anglo-Saxon king of England, Edward the Confessor, during his exile in his mother's homeland of Normandy in northern France. When he returned to England, some of them went with him; as such, there were Normans already settled in England prior to the conquest. Edward's successor, Harold Godwinson, was defeated by Duke William the Conqueror of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings, leading to William's accession to the English throne.
Examples of Anglo-Norman elite