Later Life and Legacy
She took a vow of chastity after Roger's death, effectively removing herself from the aristocratic marriage market. She enjoyed a long and fruitful widowhood, becoming patroness of many religious houses. Elizabeth is best remembered for having used much of her fortune to found Clare College, Cambridge. The survival of many of her household records has been a boon to medieval scholars, particularly those focusing on medieval women; a study of Elizabeth by Frances Underhill, For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh, is largely based upon these records.
Her eldest daughter, Isabel de Verdun married Henry de Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Groby, and her younger daughter, Elizabeth d'Amory, married John Bardolf, 3rd Lord Bardolf of Wormegay, Knight Banneret (1314–1363). Her son William, 3rd Earl of Ulster married Maud of Lancaster, by whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster. William had been murdered in Ireland in 1333, twenty-seven years before her own death which took place on 4 November 1360.
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