146-554: The House of Beaufort ( / ˈ b oʊ f ər t / BOH -fərt ) is an English noble family which originated in the fourteenth century as the legitimated issue of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , by Katherine Swynford . Gaunt and Swynford had four children: John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (1373–1410); Cardinal Henry Beaufort (1375–1447), Bishop of Winchester; Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter (1377–1426) and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland (1379–1440). When Gaunt finally married Swynford as his third wife in 1396,
292-575: A baton sinister for bastardy. Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester (1629–1700), sixth in descent from Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, assisted in the Restoration of the Monarchy to King Charles II , who in 1682 created him Duke of Beaufort . The title Duke of Somerset was no longer available, having been granted in 1547 by King Edward VI to his uncle Edward Seymour , Lord Protector, which family and title survives today. Thus
438-724: A Burgundian alliance. This set up an internal conflict within the English court, which was not alleviated by the fact that Edward had signed a secret treaty in October with Burgundy, while Warwick was forced to carry on sham negotiations with the French. Later, George Neville was dismissed as chancellor, while Edward refused to contemplate a marriage between Warwick's oldest daughter Isabel , and Edward's brother George, Duke of Clarence . It became increasingly clear that Warwick's position of dominance at court had been taken over by Rivers. In
584-460: A bordure componée Argent and Azure Married to: Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond; 1455–1456. Married to: Sir Henry Stafford; 1462–1471. Married to: Thomas Stanley , Earl of Derby; 1472–1504. Half brother to King Henry VI, legitimated by Parliament in 1453. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, France moderne, 2nd and 3rd England Defeats King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, claims
730-524: A bordure componée Argent and Azure Married to: John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset; 1399–1410 Married to: Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence; 1411–1421 Married to: Sir Oliver St John, of Bletsoe; 1425–1437. Married to: John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset; 1439–1444. Married to: Lionel de Welles , Baron Welles; 1447–1461. Quarterly, France moderne and England, a bordure Azure charged alternatively with fleurs de lys and martlets Or, impaling, Quarterly, 1st and 4th, France moderne, 2nd and 3rd England, within
876-520: A complete victory for the Yorkist forces, and the death of many important men on the opposing side, such as Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland , and Andrew Trollope. Queen Margaret managed to escape to Scotland , with Henry and Prince Edward. Edward IV returned to London for his coronation, while Warwick remained to pacify the north. "They have but two rulers, M. de Warwick and another whose name I have forgotten." —The Governor of Abbeville in
1022-584: A council meeting, and in the meanwhile, Warwick had been unknowingly deceiving the French into believing the king was serious about the marriage proposal. For Edward the marriage may very well have been a love match, but in the long run he sought to build the Woodville family into a powerhouse independent of Warwick's influence. The marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville caused Warwick to lose his power and influence. He accused Elizabeth, and her mother Jacquetta of Luxembourg , of witchcraft to try to restore
1168-515: A grant. He performed military service in the north with his father, and might have taken part in the war against Scotland in 1448–1449. When Richard, Duke of York , unsuccessfully rose up against the king in 1452, both Warwick and his father rallied to the side of King Henry VI. In June 1453, Somerset was granted custody of the lordship of Glamorgan —part of the Despenser heritage held by Warwick until then—and open conflict broke out between
1314-618: A group of royal councillors appointed the Duke of York protector of the realm. York could now count on the support not only of Warwick but also of Warwick's father Salisbury , who had become more deeply involved in disputes with the House of Percy in the north of England. York's first protectorate did not last long. Early in 1455, the king rallied sufficiently to return to power, at least nominally, with Somerset again wielding real power. Warwick returned to his estates, as did York and Salisbury, and
1460-646: A junior branch of the House of Lancaster, would play an important role during the Wars of the Roses during the reign of the incompetent Henry VI. The eventual heiress of the Beaufort family was Lady Margaret Beaufort , only daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset , who married Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and became the mother of King Henry VII , the first Tudor monarch of England. The name Beaufort refers to
1606-457: A label of five points ermine (Richmond) As Duke of Lancaster and Hereford: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, France ancien, 2nd and 3rd England, with a label of five points two of ermine (Richmond) and three Azure flory Or (Lancaster) Quarterly, 1st and 4th, France ancien, 2nd and 3rd England, within a bordure componée Argent and Azure See: House of Beaufort Quarterly, 1st and 4th, France ancien, 2nd and 3rd England, within
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#17327719067801752-559: A letter to Louis XI Warwick's position after the accession of Edward IV was stronger than ever. He had now succeeded to his father's possessions—including his vast network of retainers —and in 1462 he also inherited his mother's lands and the Salisbury title. Altogether, he had an annual income from his lands of over £7,000, far more than any other man in the realm but the king. Edward confirmed Warwick's position as Captain of Calais, and made him High Admiral of England and Steward of
1898-455: A monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year, equivalent in 2023 to c.£170 – 213 million in income value, or £3.5 – 4.4 billion in relation to gdp. Because of his rank, John of Gaunt was one of England's principal military commanders in the 1370s and 1380s, though his enterprises were never rewarded with
2044-452: A part of his garrison to England, where he met up with his father and York in the autumn of 1459. In September 1459 Warwick crossed over to England and made his way north to Ludlow to meet up with York and Salisbury, the latter fresh from his victory over Lancastrians at the Battle of Blore Heath . At nearby Ludford Bridge their forces were scattered by the king's army, partly because of
2190-588: A part of the efforts of Edward III to arrange matches for his sons with wealthy heiresses. Upon the death of his father-in-law, the Duke of Lancaster , in 1361, John received half his lands, the title "Earl of Lancaster", and distinction as the greatest landowner in Northern England as heir of the Palatinate of Lancaster. He also became the 14th Baron of Halton and 11th Lord of Bowland . John inherited
2336-622: A place in the line of succession. Through his daughter Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland , he was an ancestor of the Yorkist kings Edward IV , Edward V and Richard III . Through his great-granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort he was also an ancestor of Henry VII , who married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York , and all subsequent monarchs are descendants of their marriage. Two of John's daughters married into continental royal houses (those of Portugal and Castile). Through them, many royal families of Europe can trace lineage to him. John
2482-454: A result of these failures, and those of other English commanders at this period, John was one of the first important figures in England to conclude that the war with France was unwinnable because of France's greater resources of wealth and manpower. He began to advocate peace negotiations; indeed, as early as 1373, during his great raid through France, he made contact with Guillaume Roger , brother and political adviser of Pope Gregory XI , to let
2628-607: A rudimentary court and chancery at Ourense and received the submission of the Galician nobility and most of the towns of Galicia, though they made their homage to him conditional on his being recognised as king by the rest of Castile. While John of Gaunt had gambled on an early decisive battle, the Castilians were in no hurry to join battle, and he began to experience difficulties keeping his army together and paying it. In November, he met King John I of Portugal at Ponte do Mouro on
2774-541: A superior force and the two armies faced each other across a marsh for several weeks until the English were reinforced by the Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick , at which the French withdrew without offering battle. John and Warwick then decided to strike Harfleur , the base of the French fleet on the Seine . Further reinforced by German mercenaries, they marched on Harfleur, but were delayed by French guerilla operations while
2920-418: A sympathetic view of Warwick, but concluded that he had ultimately fallen victim to his own overreaching ambition. More recent historians, such as Michael Hicks and A. J. Pollard , have tried to see Warwick in light of the standards of his own age, rather than holding him up to contemporary constitutional ideals. The insults Warwick suffered at the hands of King Edward—including Edward's secret marriage, and
3066-534: A time styled himself as King of Castile. When Edward the Black Prince , Gaunt's elder brother and heir-apparent to the ageing Edward III, became incapacitated owing to poor health, Gaunt assumed control of many government functions, and rose to become one of the most powerful political figures in England. He was faced with military difficulties abroad and political divisions at home, and disagreements as to how to deal with these crises led to tensions between Gaunt,
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#17327719067803212-466: A victim of the whims of an ungrateful king. It is generally agreed, however, that in his own time, he enjoyed great popularity in all layers of society, and that he was skilled at appealing to popular sentiments for political support. The Neville family , an ancient Durham family, came to prominence in England's fourteenth-century wars against the Scots . In 1397, King Richard II granted Ralph Neville
3358-436: Is also inferred to directly reference Lancaster. "Chaucer as narrator" openly defies Fortune , proclaiming he has learned who his enemies are through her tyranny and deceit, and declares "my suffisaunce" (15) and that "over himself hath the maystrye" (14). Fortune , in turn, does not understand Chaucer's harsh words to her for she believes she has been kind to him, claims that he does not know what she has in store for him in
3504-917: Is also referred to by Falstaff in Henry IV Part I (in Act 2, scene ii). Hungerford in Berkshire has ancient links to the Duchy, the manor becoming part of John of Gaunt's estate in 1362 before James I passed ownership to two local men in 1612 (which subsequently became Town & Manor of Hungerford Charity). The links are visible today in the Town & Manor-owned John O'Gaunt Inn on Bridge Street, and John O'Gaunt School on Priory Road. Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, 6th Earl of Salisbury KG (22 November 1428 – 14 April 1471), known as Warwick
3650-496: Is assumed that this had been agreed upon between the two in Ireland the previous March. It soon became clear, however, that this regime change was unacceptable to the lords in parliament, and a compromise was agreed. The Act of Accord of 25 October 1460 stated that while Henry VI was allowed to stay on the throne for the remainder of his life, his son Edward, Prince of Wales , was to be disinherited. Instead, York would succeed
3796-656: Is the founder of the royal House of Lancaster , whose members would ascend the throne after his death. His birthplace, Ghent in Flanders, then known in English as Gaunt , was the origin of his name. John's early career was spent in France and Spain fighting in the Hundred Years' War . He made an abortive attempt to enforce a claim to the Crown of Castile that came through his second wife, Constance of Castile , and for
3942-513: The Battle of Nájera (1367), for example, his later military projects proved unsuccessful. When Edward III died in 1377 and John's ten-year-old nephew succeeded as Richard II of England , John's influence strengthened. However, mistrust remained, and some suspected him of wanting to seize the throne himself. John took pains to ensure that he never became associated with the opposition to Richard's kingship. As de facto ruler during Richard's minority, he made unwise decisions on taxation that led to
4088-749: The Black Prince's , "shield for peace" (on which the ostrich feathers were white), and may have been used in jousting . The ostrich feather arms appeared in stained glass above Gaunt's chantry chapel in St Paul's Cathedral. John of Gaunt is a character in William Shakespeare 's play Richard II . Shortly before he dies, he makes a speech that includes the lines (in Act 2, scene i, around line 40) "This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars ... This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England". He
4234-536: The Duchy of Lancaster , along with several other offices. His brothers also benefited: John Neville, Lord Montagu , was made Warden of the East March in 1463, and the next year created Earl of Northumberland . George Neville , Bishop of Exeter , was confirmed in his post as chancellor by King Edward, and in 1465 promoted to the archbishopric of York . By late 1461, risings in the north had been put down, and in
4380-601: The Earls of Northumberland , and Catherine Parr , the last queen of Henry VIII . When the dynastic struggle of the Wars of the Roses broke out in the later fifteenth century, the Beauforts were the chief supporters of Henry VI and the House of Lancaster . Henry VII traced his claim to the English crown through his mother, Margaret Beaufort , granddaughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset , and great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt. The Beauforts suffered heavily in
4526-450: The House of Lancaster , would rule England from 1399 until the time of the Wars of the Roses . Gaunt is also generally believed to have fathered five children outside marriage: one early in life by a lady-in-waiting to his mother ; the others, surnamed Beaufort , by Katherine Swynford , his long-term mistress and third wife. They were later legitimised by royal and papal decrees, but this did not affect Henry IV's bar to their having
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4672-665: The Massif Central , and finally down into Dordogne . Unable to attack any strongly fortified forts and cities, the raiders plundered the countryside, which weakened the French infrastructure, but the military value of the damage was only temporary. Marching in winter across the Limousin plateau, with stragglers being picked off by the French, huge numbers of the army, and even larger numbers of horses, died of cold, disease or starvation. The army reached English-occupied Bordeaux on 24 December 1373, severely weakened in numbers with
4818-695: The Peasants' Revolt in 1381, when the rebels destroyed his home in London, the Savoy Palace . Unlike some of Richard's unpopular advisors, John was away from London at the time of the uprising and thus avoided the direct wrath of the rebels. In 1386 John left England to seek the throne of Castile , claimed in jure uxoris by right of his second wife, Constance of Castile , whom he had married in 1371. However, crisis ensued almost immediately in his absence, and in 1387 King Richard's misrule brought England to
4964-537: The Second Battle of St Albans . He then joined forces with Prince Edward of York , the new Yorkist claimant to the crown, who had just won an important victory at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross . While Queen Margaret was hesitating to make her next move, Warwick and Edward hastened to London. The citizens of the capital were scared by the brutal conduct of the Lancastrian forces, and were sympathetic to
5110-506: The Siege of Limoges (September 1370). He took charge of the siege operations and at one point engaged in hand-to-hand fighting in the undermining tunnels. After this event, the Black Prince gave John the lieutenancy of Aquitaine and sailed for England, leaving John in charge. Though he attempted to defend the duchy against French encroachment for nearly a year, lack of resources and money meant he could do little but husband what small territory
5256-476: The lieutenancy of Ireland , while Gloucester was made Admiral of England and Warden of the West March . Clarence also received the earldoms of Warwick and Salisbury. The earl's land had been forfeited and taken into the king's custody. When Gloucester married Warwick's younger daughter Anne in 1472, who had been recently widowed by the death of Prince Edward, a dispute broke out between the two princes over
5402-566: The Barons . Though Lytton portrayed Warwick as a tragic hero who embodied the ideals of chivalry, he was nevertheless one whose time was past. The late-nineteenth-century military historian Charles Oman acknowledged the earl's ability to appeal to popular sentiments, yet pointed out his deficiencies as a military commander. Oman found Warwick a traditional strategist, "not attaining the heights of military genius displayed by his pupil Edward." Paul Murray Kendall 's popular biography from 1957 took
5548-516: The Beauchamp and Despenser inheritances. A compromise was eventually reached, whereby the land was divided, but Clarence was not pacified. In 1477 he once again plotted against his brother. This time the king could no longer act with lenience, and the next year the Duke of Clarence was executed. "Thou setter-up and plucker-down of kings" — William Shakespeare ; Henry VI Early sources on Richard Neville fall into two categories. The first are
5694-441: The Beaufort family is today represented in the male line by its illegitimate continuation, the House of Somerset , whose senior representative is Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort . The Somerset family has long borne the arms of Beaufort undifferenced, with the baton sinister adopted by Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, discontinued. These included: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, France ancien, 2nd and 3rd England, with
5840-566: The Beauforts were legitimized by Pope Boniface IX and by royal proclamation of the reigning monarch King Richard II the following year. John of Gaunt’s eldest legitimate son by his first wife Blanche of Lancaster was Henry Bolingbroke , who would eventually take the throne from Richard II as King Henry IV in 1399, the year of Gaunt’s death. Henry would be the first of the House of Lancaster (the main line descending from John of Gaunt) to rule England, and would eventually be succeeded by his son Henry V and grandson Henry VI . The Beauforts, as
5986-576: The Commons then refused to authorise any funds for the war, losing the sympathy of the Lords as a result. The death of the Black Prince on 8 June 1376 and the onset of Edward III's last illness at the closing of Parliament on 10 July left John with all the reins of power. He immediately had the ailing king grant pardons to all the officials impeached by the Parliament; Alice Perrers too was reinstated at
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6132-513: The Crown , and his son Bolingbroke, now disinherited, was branded a traitor and exiled. Henry returned from exile shortly after to reclaim his inheritance, and deposed Richard. He reigned as King Henry IV of England (1399–1413), the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the English throne . All English monarchs from Henry IV onwards are descended from John of Gaunt. His direct male line,
6278-558: The English Parliament, and the ruling class, making him an extremely unpopular figure for a time. John exercised great influence over the English throne during the minority of King Richard II (Edward the Black Prince's son) and the ensuing periods of political strife. He mediated between the king and a group of rebellious nobles, which included Gaunt's own son and heir-apparent, Henry Bolingbroke. Following Gaunt's death in 1399, his estates and titles were declared forfeit to
6424-722: The English still controlled, and he resigned the command in September 1371 and returned to England. Just before leaving Aquitaine, he married the Infanta Constance of Castile in September 1371 at Roquefort , near Bordeaux , Guyenne . The following year he took part with his father, Edward III, in an abortive attempt to invade France with a large army, which was frustrated by three months of unfavourable winds. Probably John's most notable feat of arms occurred in August–December 1373, when he attempted to relieve Aquitaine by
6570-489: The House of York. On 4 March the prince was proclaimed King Edward IV by an assembly that gathered quickly. The new king now headed north to consolidate his title, and met with the Lancastrian forces at Towton in Yorkshire. Warwick had suffered an injury to the leg the day before, in the Battle of Ferrybridge , and may have played only a minor part in the battle that followed. The unusually bloody battle resulted in
6716-458: The Kingmaker , was an English nobleman, administrator , landowner of the House of Neville fortune and military commander. The eldest son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury , he became Earl of Warwick through marriage, and was the wealthiest and most powerful English peer of his age, with political connections that went beyond the country's borders. One of the leaders in the Wars of
6862-621: The Lords Appellant, from Richard's wrath; but, in 1398, Richard had Bolingbroke exiled, and on John of Gaunt's death the next year he disinherited Bolingbroke completely, seizing John's vast estates for the Crown. John of Gaunt was a patron and close friend of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer , best known for his work The Canterbury Tales . Near the end of their lives, Lancaster and Chaucer became brothers-in-law. Chaucer married Philippa (Pan) de Roet in 1366, and Lancaster took his mistress of nearly 30 years, Katherine Swynford (de Roet), who
7008-482: The Northumbrian castles held by the Lancastrian rebels in the spring of 1464. This time no clemency was given, and around thirty of the rebel leaders were executed. At the negotiations with the French, Warwick had intimated that King Edward was interested in a marriage arrangement with the French crown, the intended bride being Louis XI 's sister-in-law, Bona , daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy . This marriage
7154-548: The Roses , originally on the Yorkist side but later switching to the Lancastrian side, he was instrumental in the deposition of two kings, which led to his epithet of " Kingmaker ". Through fortunes of marriage and inheritance, Warwick emerged in the 1450s at the centre of English politics. Originally, he was a supporter of King Henry VI ; however, a territorial dispute with Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset , led him to collaborate with Richard, Duke of York , in opposing
7300-630: The Spanish kingdom. From 1372, John gathered around himself a small court of refugee Castilian knights and ladies and set up a Castilian chancery that prepared documents in his name according to the style of Peter of Castile , dated by the Castilian era and signed by himself with the Spanish formula "Yo El Rey" ("I, the King"). He hatched several schemes to make good his claim with an army, but for many years these were still-born owing to lack of finance or
7446-466: The Tower. Then, in the spring of 1466, Warwick was sent to the continent to carry out negotiations with the French and Burgundians. The negotiations centred around a marriage proposal involving Edward's sister Margaret . Warwick increasingly came to favour French diplomatic connections. Meanwhile, Edward's father-in-law, Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers , who had been created treasurer , was in favour of
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#17327719067807592-517: The Wars of the Roses. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and his three elder sons (the 3rd and 4th Dukes and the Earl of Dorset), all lost their lives, leaving no legitimate male heir. The male line was however continued through Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester , the illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset , who adopted the surname "Somerset" and used the arms of Beaufort but with
7738-482: The Warwick title, as Henry's half-sisters were excluded from the succession. By 1445 Richard had become a knight, probably at Margaret of Anjou 's coronation on 30 May that year; also around this time, his illegitimate daughter, Margaret (who married Richard Huddleston on 12 June 1464) was born. He is visible in the historical record of service of King Henry VI in 1449, which makes mention of his services in
7884-422: The abilities of his older brother, but was also jealous and overambitious. In July 1469, the two sailed over to Calais, where George was married to Warwick's daughter, Lady Isabel Neville. From there, they returned to England, where they gathered the men of Kent to join the rebellion in the north. Meanwhile, the king's forces were defeated at the Battle of Edgecote , where William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke ,
8030-469: The age of three. When he became unpopular later in life, a scurrilous rumour circulated, along with lampoons , claiming that he was actually the son of a Ghent butcher . This rumour, which infuriated him, might have been inspired by the fact that Edward III had not been present at his birth. John's first wife, Blanche of Lancaster , was also his third cousin; both were great-great-grandchildren of King Henry III . They married in 1359 at Reading Abbey as
8176-401: The alliance was to restore Henry VI to the throne. Again, Warwick staged an uprising in the north, and with the king away, he and Clarence landed at Dartmouth and Plymouth on 13 September 1470. Among the many who flocked to Warwick's side was his brother Montagu, who had not taken part in the last rebellion, but was disappointed when his loyalty to the king had not been rewarded with
8322-420: The arms of his father-in-law, Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick , who bore his arms quartering Despenser (the arms of his wife Isabel le Despenser ) with an inescutcheon of De Clare, which Warwick showed in the fourth quarter. The second grand quarter showed the arms of Montagu (quartering Monthermer). The third grand quarter showed the arms of Neville differenced – rather honourably augmented – by
8468-551: The army to ride north under French safe conducts. Shortly after the army returned to Portugal, John of Gaunt concluded a secret treaty with John of Trastámara under which he and his wife renounced all claim to the Castilian throne in return for a large annual payment and the marriage of their daughter Catherine to John of Trastámara's son, Henry. John left Portugal for Aquitaine, and he remained in that province until he returned to England in November 1389. This effectively kept him off
8614-407: The attempts to make peace added to his unpopularity at a period when the majority of Englishmen believed victory would be in their grasp if only the French could be defeated decisively as they had been in the 1350s. Another motive was John's conviction that it was only by making peace with France would it be possible to release sufficient manpower to enforce his claim to the throne of Castile . After
8760-490: The autumn of 1467, there were rumours that Warwick was now sympathetic to the Lancastrian cause, but even though he refused to come to court to answer the charges, the king accepted his denial in writing. In July 1468, it was revealed that Warwick's deputy in Calais, John, Lord Wenlock , was involved in a Lancastrian conspiracy, and early in 1469 another Lancastrian plot was uncovered, involving John de Vere, Earl of Oxford . It
8906-565: The brink of civil war. John had to give up on his ambitions in Spain and hurry back to England in 1389. Only John's intervention in the political crisis succeeded in persuading the Lords Appellant and King Richard to compromise to usher in a period of relative stability. During the 1390s, John's reputation of devotion to the well-being of the kingdom was largely restored. John was married three times. His first wife, Blanche of Lancaster,
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#17327719067809052-486: The conflicting claims of war in France or with Scotland. It was only in 1386, after Portugal under its new King John I had entered into a full alliance with England, that he was actually able to land with an army in Spain and mount a campaign for the throne of Castile (that ultimately failed). John sailed from England on 9 July 1386 with a huge Anglo-Portuguese fleet carrying an army of about 5,000 men plus an extensive "royal" household and his wife and daughters. Pausing on
9198-525: The daughter of an ordinary knight (Sir Paon de Roet ), which would produce four children for the couple. All of them were born out of wedlock, but were legitimised upon their parents' eventual marriage. The adulterous relationship endured until 1381, when it was ended out of political necessity. On 13 January 1396, two years after the death of Constance of Castile, Katherine and John of Gaunt married in Lincoln Cathedral . Their children were given
9344-454: The death in 1376 of his older brother Edward of Woodstock (also known as the "Black Prince"), John of Gaunt contrived to protect the religious reformer John Wycliffe , possibly to counteract the growing secular power of the church. However, John's ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. At a time when English forces encountered setbacks in the Hundred Years' War against France, and Edward III's rule
9490-461: The defection of Warwick's Calais contingent under the command of Andrew Trollope . As it turned out, the majority of the soldiers were still reluctant to raise arms against the king. Forced to flee the country, York left for Dublin , Ireland, with his second son Edmund, Earl of Rutland , while Warwick and Salisbury sailed to Calais, accompanied by the Duke's son, Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV). Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset ,
9636-428: The dexter, and those of Castile and León on the sinister. He thus continued to signal his alliance with the Castilian royal house, while abandoning any claim to the throne. There is, however, evidence that he may occasionally have used this second marshalling at earlier dates. In addition to his royal arms, Gaunt bore an alternative coat of Sable, three ostrich feathers ermine . This was the counterpart to his brother,
9782-418: The direct Lancastrian line exterminated, Edward could reign safely until his death in 1483. Warwick had no sons. His offices were divided between King Edward's brothers George, Duke of Clarence (who had married Warwick's daughter Isabel Neville ), and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III (who would marry Warwick's daughter Anne Neville ). Clarence received the chamberlainship of England and
9928-479: The direction of English foreign policy. From then until 1377, he was effectively the head of the English government owing to the illness of his father and elder brother, who were unable to exercise authority. His vast estates made him the richest man in England, and his great wealth, ostentatious display of it, autocratic manner and attitudes, enormous London mansion (the Savoy Palace on the Strand) and association with
10074-510: The dukes of Lancaster, York , and Gloucester , and a portion of line 76, "as three of you or tweyne," to refer to the ordinance of 1390 which specified that no royal gift could be authorised without the consent of at least two of the three dukes. Most conspicuous in this short poem is the number of references to Chaucer's "beste frend". Fortune states three times in her response to the plaintiff, "And also, you still have your best friend alive" (32, 40, 48); she also references his "beste frend" in
10220-481: The enterprise and sailed for home. John's final campaign in France took place in 1378. He planned a 'great expedition' of mounted men in a large armada of ships to land at Brest and take control of Brittany. Not enough ships could be found to transport the horses, and the expedition was tasked with the more limited objective of capturing St. Malo . The English destroyed the shipping in St. Malo harbour and began to assault
10366-538: The envoy when appealing to his "noblesse" to help Chaucer to a higher estate. A fifth reference is made by "Chaucer as narrator" who rails at Fortune that she shall not take his friend from him. While the envoy playfully hints to Lancaster that Chaucer would certainly appreciate a boost to his status or income, the poem Fortune distinctively shows his deep appreciation and affection for John of Gaunt. John of Gaunt died of natural causes on 3 February 1399 at Leicester Castle , with his third wife Katherine by his side. He
10512-541: The estate of Montmorency-Beaufort in Champagne , France, an ancient and seemingly important possession of the House of Lancaster . It is earliest associated with Edmund Crouchback , 1st Earl of Lancaster (the younger son of King Henry III) whose third son John of Lancaster (1286–1317) was " Seigneur de Beaufort ". The estate of Beaufort was eventually inherited, with other vast possessions, by John of Gaunt (third surviving son of King Edward III ) following his marriage to
10658-612: The failed peace process at Bruges combined to make him the most visible target of social resentments. His time at the head of government was marked by the so-called Good Parliament of 1376 and the Bad Parliament of 1377. The first, called to grant massive war taxation to the Crown, turned into a parliamentary revolution, with the Commons (supported to some extent by the Lords) venting their grievances at decades of crippling taxation, misgovernment, and suspected endemic corruption among
10804-549: The failure of his expedition to Saint-Malo in 1378 did nothing for his reputation. By this time, too, some of his possessions were taken from him by the Crown. For example, his ship, the Dieulagarde , was seized and bundled with other royal ships to be sold to pay off the debts of Sir Robert de Crull , who during the latter part of King Edward III 's reign had been the Clerk of the King's Ships , and had advanced monies to pay for
10950-405: The family vault at Bisham Priory near the river Thames in Berkshire. No trace now remains of either the tomb or the church in which it was housed. On 4 May 1471, Edward IV defeated the remaining Lancastrian forces of Queen Margaret and Prince Edward at the Battle of Tewkesbury , where the prince was killed. Soon afterwards, it was reported that King Henry VI had also died in the Tower. With
11096-515: The first Duke of Somerset in 1443. The second son (of John of Gaunt), Henry , became a bishop, Lord Chancellor , and a Cardinal ; the third son, Thomas , became Duke of Exeter ; and the daughter, Joan , married Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland , as his second wife. Joan's many descendants include the Dukes of York, Warwick the "Kingmaker" , the Dukes of Norfolk , the Dukes of Buckingham ,
11242-505: The first poll tax in English history—a viciously regressive measure that bore hardest on the poorest members of society. There was organised opposition to his measures and rioting in London; John of Gaunt's arms were reversed or defaced wherever they were displayed, and protestors pasted up lampoons on his supposedly dubious birth. At one point he was forced to take refuge across the Thames, while his Savoy Palace only just escaped looting. It
11388-538: The first Plantagenet King of England. The Beauforts were a powerful and wealthy family from the start, and rose to greater power after their half-brother became King Henry IV in 1399, having deposed his 1st cousin King Richard II. However, in 1406, Henry IV decided that although the Beauforts were legitimate, their line could not be used to make any claim to the throne. John Beaufort had already been created Earl of Somerset in 1397. His second son John became
11534-466: The future, but most importantly, "And eek thou hast thy beste frend alyve" (32, 40, 48). Chaucer retorts that "My frend maystow nat reven, blind goddesse" (50) and orders her to take away those who merely pretend to be his friends. Fortune turns her attention to three princes whom she implores to relieve Chaucer of his pain and "Preyeth his beste frend of his noblesse/That to som beter estat he may atteyne" (78–79). The three princes are believed to represent
11680-719: The garrison and patrol the English coast. In disregard of royal authority, he then conducted highly successful acts of piracy, against the Castilian fleet in May 1458, and against the Hanseatic fleet a few weeks later. He also used his time on the Continent to establish relations with Charles VII of France and Philip the Good of Burgundy . Developing a solid military reputation and with good international connections, he then brought
11826-481: The garrison and with the royal wool monopoly known as the staple , over payments in arrears, but in July Warwick finally took up his post. After the recent events, Queen Margaret still considered Warwick a threat to the throne, and cut off his supplies. In August 1457, however, a French attack on the English seaport of Sandwich set off fears of a full-scale French invasion. Warwick was again funded to protect
11972-404: The heart of the king's household. John impeached William of Wykeham and other leaders of the reform movement, and secured their conviction on old or trumped-up charges. The parliament of 1377 was John's counter-coup: crucially, the Lords no longer supported the Commons and John was able to have most of the acts of 1376 annulled. He also succeeded in forcing the Commons to agree to the imposition of
12118-431: The heiress Blanche of Lancaster. The House of Beaufort continues to exist in an illegitimate line descended from Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester , the illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset . The senior representative of the House of Beaufort is Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort , who is thus a direct male-line descendant, albeit via a legitimated and an illegitimate line, of King Henry II ,
12264-417: The important lost monuments. Dukes (except Aquitaine ) and Princes of Wales are noted, as are the monarchs' reigns. † =Killed in action; [REDACTED] =Executed See also Family tree of English monarchs As a son of the sovereign, John bore the royal arms of the kingdom ( Quarterly, France Ancient and England ), differenced by a label of three points ermine. As claimant to
12410-563: The journey to use his army to drive off the French forces who were then besieging Brest , he landed at Corunna in northern Spain on 29 July. The Castilian king, John of Trastámara , had expected John would land in Portugal and had concentrated his forces on the Portuguese border. He was wrong-footed by John's decision to invade Galicia , the most distant and disaffected of Castile's kingdoms. From August to October, John of Gaunt set up
12556-512: The kind of dazzling success that had made his elder brother Edward the Black Prince such a charismatic war leader. On the resumption of war with France in 1369, John was sent to Calais with Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and a small English army with which he raided into northern France. On 23 August, he was confronted by a much larger French army under Philip the Bold , Duke of Burgundy. Exercising his first command, John dared not attack such
12702-458: The king's ships. During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, John of Gaunt was far from the centre of events, on the March of Scotland, but he was among those named by the rebels as a traitor to be beheaded as soon as he could be found. The Savoy Palace was systematically destroyed by the mob and burned to the ground. Nominally friendly lords and even his own fortresses closed their gates to him, and John
12848-403: The king, and act as protector. This solution was not ideal to either party, and further conflict was inevitable. On 30 December, at the Battle of Wakefield , York was killed, as were York's second son Edmund, Earl of Rutland , and Warwick's younger brother Thomas . Salisbury was executed a day later. Warwick marched north to confront the enemy, but was defeated and forced to flee at
12994-420: The king, and the death of Somerset. York 's second protectorate that followed was even shorter-lived than the first. At the parliament of February 1456 the king —now under the influence of Queen Margaret —resumed personal government of the realm. By this time Warwick had taken over Salisbury 's role as York's main ally, even appearing at that same parliament to protect York from retributions. This conflict
13140-442: The king. At Northampton , on 10 July, King Henry was taken captive, while Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and others were killed in battle. In September York arrived from Ireland, and at the parliament of October that year, the Duke walked up to the throne and put his hand on it. The act, signifying usurpation, left the assembly in shock. It is unclear whether Warwick had prior knowledge of York's plans, though it
13286-436: The king. From this conflict, he gained the strategically valuable post of Captain of Calais , a position that benefited him greatly in the years to come. The political conflict later turned into full-scale rebellion, where in battle York was slain, as was Warwick's father Salisbury. York's son, however, later triumphed with Warwick's assistance, and was crowned King Edward IV . Edward initially ruled with Warwick's support, but
13432-506: The landward route, leading an army of some 9,000 mounted men from Calais on a great chevauchée from north-eastern to south-western France on a 900-kilometre raid. This four-month ride through enemy territory, evading French armies on the way, was a bold stroke that impressed contemporaries but achieved virtually nothing. Beset on all sides by French ambushes and plagued by disease and starvation, John of Gaunt and his raiders battled their way through Champagne, east of Paris, into Burgundy, across
13578-575: The later Earl of Warwick, was born on 22 November 1428; little is known of his childhood. At the age of eight, in 1436, Richard was married to Lady Anne Beauchamp , daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick , and of his wife Isabel Despenser . This made him heir not only to the earldom of Salisbury, but also to a substantial part of the Montague, Beauchamp, and Despenser inheritance. Circumstances would, however, increase his fortune even further. Beauchamp's son Henry , who had married
13724-577: The long run, however, it proved impossible to rule without the king, and continuing disorder forced Warwick to release King Edward IV in September 1469. A modus vivendi had been achieved between Warwick and the king for some months, but the restoration of Henry Percy to Montagu's earldom of Northumberland prevented any chance of full reconciliation. A trap was set for the king when disturbances in Lincolnshire led him north, where he could be confronted by Warwick's men. Edward, however, discovered
13870-530: The loss of at least one-third of their force in action and another third to disease. Upon arrival in Bordeaux, many more succumbed to the bubonic plague that was raging in the city. Sick, demoralised and mutinous, the army was in no shape to defend Aquitaine, and soldiers began to desert. John had no funds with which to pay them, and despite his entreaties, none were sent from England, so in April 1374, he abandoned
14016-484: The man he helped raise to the throne. The other perspective can be found in Shakespeare 's Henry VI trilogy: a man driven by pride and egotism, who created and deposed kings at will. In time, however, it is the latter view that dominated. The Enlightenment , or Whig historians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, decried anyone who impeded the development towards a centralised, constitutional monarchy ,
14162-420: The narrator relates the tale of "A long castel with walles white/Be Seynt Johan, on a ryche hil" (1318–1319) who is mourning grievously after the death of his love, "And goode faire White she het/That was my lady name ryght" (948–949). The phrase "long castel" is a reference to Lancaster (also called "Loncastel" and "Longcastell"), "walles white" is thought to likely be an oblique reference to Blanche, "Seynt Johan"
14308-623: The other hand, while Warwick could not easily suffer his treatment by the king, it was equally impossible for Edward to accept the earl's presence on the political scene. As long as Warwick remained as powerful and influential as he was, Edward could not fully assert his royal authority, and eventual confrontation became inevitable. However, the memories written in Burgundy had a negative view of him. For example, according to Philippe de Commynes and Olivier de la Marche , Georges Chastellain , who all mention Edward's popularity and character, Warwick
14454-578: The plot when Robert, Lord Welles , was routed at Losecote Field in Rutland in March 1470, and gave away the plan. Warwick soon gave up, and once more fled the country with Clarence. Denied access to Calais, they sought refuge with King Louis XI of France. Louis arranged a reconciliation between Warwick and Margaret of Anjou, and as part of the agreement, Margaret and Henry's son, Edward, Prince of Wales, would marry Warwick's daughter Anne. The objective of
14600-489: The political problems in Gascony and England. For the remainder of his life, John of Gaunt occupied the role of valued counsellor of the king and loyal supporter of the Crown. He did not even protest, it seems, when his younger brother Thomas was murdered at Richard's behest. It may be that he felt he had to maintain this posture of loyalty to protect his son Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV ), who had also been one of
14746-523: The pope know he would be interested in a diplomatic conference under papal auspices. This approach led indirectly to the Anglo-French Congress of Bruges in 1374–77, which resulted in the short-lived Truce of Bruges between the two sides. John was himself a delegate to the various conferences that eventually resulted in the Truce of Leulinghem in 1389. The fact that he became identified with
14892-408: The power that he had lost. This was not enough to cause a complete fallout between the two men, though from this point on Warwick increasingly stayed away from court. The promotion of Warwick's brother George to Archbishop of York shows that the earl was still in favour with the king. In July 1465, when Henry VI was once more captured, it was Warwick who escorted the fallen king to his captivity in
15038-466: The province, but remained in England and mainly ruled through seneschals as an absentee duke. His administration of the province was a disappointment, and his appointment as duke was much resented by the Gascons, since Aquitaine had previously always been held directly by the king of England or his heir; it was not felt to be a fief that a king could bestow on a subordinate. From 1394 through 1395, he
15184-554: The reformation when other stonework in the cathedral was taken down in 1552, the tomb was spared by an command of the council , but was stripped plain. During the period of the Interregnum (1649–1660) it was severely damaged, and perhaps destroyed; anything that survived was lost (with the rest of the cathedral) in the Great Fire of London of 1666. A wall memorial in the crypt of the present cathedral lists Gaunt's as among
15330-433: The refusal of the French diplomatic channel—were significant. His claim to prominence in national affairs was not a product of illusions of grandeur; it was confirmed by the high standing he enjoyed among the princes on the continent. Furthermore, Warwick's cause was not considered unjust by his contemporaries, which can be seen by the earl's popularity exceeding that of the king at the time of his first rebellion in 1469. On
15476-632: The remains of his father and brother at Bisham Priory , and in March he attended parliament at Westminster . That same spring, however, the north rose up in rebellion once more, when Ralph Percy laid siege to Norham Castle . Warwick returned to the north and rescued Norham in July, but the Lancastrians were left in possession of Northumberland , and the government decided on a diplomatic approach instead. Separate truces were negotiated with Scotland and France by late 1463, which allowed Warwick to retake
15622-481: The rest of the Lancaster property when Blanche's sister Maud, Countess of Leicester (married to William V, Count of Hainaut ), died without issue on 10 April 1362. John received the title "Duke of Lancaster" from his father on 13 November 1362. By then well established, he owned at least thirty castles and estates across England and France and maintained a household comparable in scale and organisation to that of
15768-400: The restoration of his earldom. This time the trap set up for the king worked; as Edward hurried south, Montagu's forces approached from the north, and the king found himself surrounded. On 2 October he fled to Flanders , a part of the Duchy of Burgundy . King Henry was now restored, with Warwick acting as the true ruler in his capacity as lieutenant. At a parliament in November, Edward
15914-403: The ruling classes. John was left isolated (even the Black Prince supported the need for reform) and the Commons refused to grant money for the war unless most of the great officers of state were dismissed and the king's mistress Alice Perrers , another focus of popular resentment, was barred from any further association with him. But even after the government acceded to virtually all their demands,
16060-446: The scene while England endured the major political crisis of the conflict between Richard II and the Lords Appellant , who were led by John of Gaunt's younger brother Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester . Only four months after his return to England, in March 1390, Richard II formally invested Gaunt with the Duchy of Aquitaine, thus providing him with the overseas territory he had long desired. However, he did not immediately return to
16206-482: The south side of the Minho river and concluded an agreement with him to make a joint Anglo-Portuguese invasion of central Castile early in 1387. The treaty was sealed by the marriage of John's eldest daughter Philippa to the Portuguese king. A large part of John's army had succumbed to sickness, however, and when the invasion was mounted, they were far outnumbered by their Portuguese allies. The campaign of April–June 1387
16352-555: The summer of 1462, Warwick negotiated a truce with Scotland. In October the same year, Margaret of Anjou invaded England with troops from France, and managed to take the castles of Alnwick and Bamburgh . Warwick had to organise the recapture of the castles, which was accomplished by January 1463. The leaders of the rebellion, including Ralph Percy , were pardoned and left in charge of the retaken castles. At this point, Warwick felt secure enough to travel south; in February he buried
16498-472: The surname " Beaufort " after a former French possession of the duke. The Beaufort children, three sons and a daughter, were legitimised by royal and papal decrees after John and Katherine married. A later proviso that they were specifically barred from inheriting the throne—the phrase excepta regali dignitate ("except royal status")—was inserted with dubious authority by their half-brother Henry IV. However as historian and author Nathen Amin points out there
16644-493: The survivors of the sickly army returned to Calais, where the Earl of Warwick died of the plague. Though it seemed an inglorious conclusion to the campaign, John had forced the French king, Charles V , to abandon his plans to invade England that autumn. In the summer of 1370, John was sent with a small army to Aquitaine to reinforce his ailing elder brother, the Black Prince, and his younger brother Edmund of Langley, Duke of York , Earl of Cambridge. With them, he participated in
16790-510: The sympathetic chronicles of the early Yorkist years, or works based on these, such as the Mirror for Magistrates (1559). The other category originates with chronicles commissioned by Edward IV after Warwick's fall, such as the Historie of the arrivall of Edward IV , and take a more negative view of the earl. The Mirror portrayed Warwick as a great man: beloved by the people, and betrayed by
16936-459: The three started raising troops. Marching towards London, they encountered the king at St Albans , where the two forces clashed. The battle was brief and not particularly bloody, but it was the first instance of armed hostilities between the forces of the Houses of York and Lancaster in the conflict known as the Wars of the Roses . It was also significant because it resulted in the capture of
17082-616: The throne as King Henry VII. See: House of Tudor Married to: King Henry VII ; 1486–1503. Heiress of the House of York. The House of Beaufort adopted various heraldic or quasi-heraldic symbols, badges or cognisances. These included: [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Beaufort ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399)
17228-418: The throne of Castile and León from 1372, he impaled the arms of that kingdom ( Gules, a castle or, quartering Argent, a lion rampant purpure ) with his own. The arms of Castile and León appeared on the dexter side of the shield (the left-hand side as viewed), and the differenced English royal arms on the sinister; but in 1388, when he surrendered his claim, he reversed this marshalling, placing his own arms on
17374-410: The title of Earl of Westmorland . Ralph's son Richard , the later Earl of Warwick's father, was a younger son by a second marriage, and not heir to the earldom. He received a favourable settlement, however, and became jure uxoris ("by right of his wife") Earl of Salisbury through his marriage to Alice , daughter and heiress of Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury . Salisbury's son Richard,
17520-419: The town by land on 14 August, but John was soon hampered by the size of his army, which was unable to forage because French armies under Olivier de Clisson and Bertrand du Guesclin occupied the surrounding countryside, harrying the edges of his force. In September, the siege was simply abandoned and the army returned ingloriously to England. John of Gaunt received most of the blame for the debâcle. Partly as
17666-469: The town prepared for a siege. John invested the town for four days in October, but he was losing so many men to dysentery and bubonic plague that he decided to abandon the siege and return to Calais. During this retreat, the army had to fight its way across the Somme at the ford of Blanchetaque against a French army led by Hugh de Châtillon, who was captured and sold to Edward III. By the middle of November,
17812-490: The two armies met at Barnet . Fog and poor visibility on the field led to confusion, and the Lancastrian army ended up attacking its own men. In the face of defeat Warwick attempted to escape the field, but was struck off his horse and killed. Warwick's body—along with that of his brother Montagu, who had also fallen at Barnet—was displayed in London's St Paul's Cathedral to quell any rumours of their survival. Then they were handed over to Archbishop Neville, to be buried in
17958-518: The two later fell out over foreign policy and the king's choice to marry Elizabeth Woodville . After a failed plot to crown Edward's brother, George, Duke of Clarence , Warwick instead restored Henry VI to the throne . The triumph was short-lived, however: on 14 April 1471, Warwick was defeated by Edward at the Battle of Barnet , and killed. Warwick's historical legacy has been a matter of much dispute. Historical opinion has alternated between seeing him as self-centred and rash, and regarding him as
18104-463: The two men. Then, in the summer of that year, King Henry fell ill. Somerset was a favourite of the king and Queen Margaret , and with the king incapacitated he was virtually in complete control of the government. This put Warwick at a disadvantage in his dispute with Somerset, and drove him into collaboration with York . The political climate, influenced by the military defeat in France , then started turning against Somerset. On 27 March 1454,
18250-457: The way Warwick did in his struggles with Edward. David Hume called Warwick "the greatest, as well as the last, of those mighty barons who formerly overawed the crown, and rendered the people incapable of any regular system of civil government." Later writers were split between admiration for some of Warwick's character traits, and condemnation of his political actions. The romantic novelist Lord Lytton picked up on Hume's theme in his The Last of
18396-446: The younger Richard's sister Cecily , died in 1446. When Henry's daughter Anne died in 1449, Richard also found himself jure uxoris Earl of Warwick. Richard's succession to the estates did not go undisputed, however. A protracted battle over parts of the inheritance ensued, particularly with Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset , who had married a daughter from Richard Beauchamp's first marriage. The dispute centred on land, not on
18542-417: Was attainted of his lands and titles, and Clarence was awarded the Duchy of York . At this point, international affairs intervened. Louis XI declared war on Burgundy, and Charles the Bold responded by granting an expeditionary force to Edward IV, in order to reclaim his throne. On 14 March 1471, Edward landed at Ravenspurn in Yorkshire, with the acquiescence of the Earl of Northumberland. Warwick
18688-424: Was John of Gaunt's name-saint, and "ryche hil" is a reference to Richmond; these thinly veiled references reveal the identity of the grieving black knight of the poem as John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Earl of Richmond. "White" is the English translation of the French word "blanche", implying that the white lady was Blanche of Lancaster. Believed to have been written in the 1390s, Chaucer's short poem Fortune ,
18834-637: Was Philippa Chaucer's sister, as his third wife in 1396. Although Philippa died c. 1387 , the men were bound as brothers and Lancaster's children by Katherine—John, Henry, Thomas and Joan Beaufort —were Chaucer's nephews and niece. Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess , also known as the Deeth of Blaunche the Duchesse , was written in commemoration of Blanche of Lancaster , John of Gaunt's first wife. The poem refers to John and Blanche in allegory as
18980-409: Was also a pivotal period in Warwick's career, as it was resolved by his appointment as Constable of Calais . The post was to provide him with a vital power base in the following years of conflict. The continental town of Calais , conquered from France in 1347, was not only of vital strategic importance, it also held what was England's largest standing army . There were some initial disputes, with
19126-648: Was also his third cousin; both were great-great-grandchildren of King Henry III. They married in 1359 at Reading Abbey. They had seven children; only three survived to adulthood. After Blanche's death in 1368, shortly after the birth of her last child, John married, in 1371, Infanta Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile, giving him a claim to the Crown of Castile. They had one daughter. Constance died in 1394. During his second marriage, some time around 1373 (the approximate birth year of their eldest son, John Beaufort ) John of Gaunt entered into an extra-marital love affair with Katherine Swynford (born de Roet),
19272-422: Was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England , and the father of King Henry IV . Because of Gaunt's royal origin, advantageous marriages, and some generous land grants, he was one of the richest men of his era, and was an influential figure during the reigns of both his father and his nephew, Richard II . As Duke of Lancaster, he
19418-513: Was an ignominious failure. The Castilians refused to offer battle and the Galician-Anglo-Portuguese troops, apart from time-wasting sieges of fortified towns, were reduced to foraging for food in the arid Spanish landscape. They were harried mainly by French mercenaries of the Castilian king. Many hundreds of English, including close friends and retainers of John of Gaunt, died of disease or exhaustion. Many deserted or abandoned
19564-537: Was appointed to replace Warwick as Captain of Calais, but the Yorkists managed to hold on to the garrison. In March 1460 Warwick visited York in Ireland to plan the way ahead, and returned to Calais. Then, on 26 June, he landed at Sandwich with Salisbury and March, and from here the three earls rode north to London. Salisbury was left to besiege the Tower of London , while Warwick took March with him in pursuit of
19710-431: Was becoming clear that the discontent with Edward's reign was widespread, a fact that Warwick could exploit. Warwick now orchestrated a rebellion in Yorkshire while he was away, led by a " Robin of Redesdale ". Part of Warwick's plan was winning over King Edward's younger brother, George Plantagenet, possibly with the prospect of installing him on the throne. The nineteen-year-old George had shown himself to share many of
19856-475: Was becoming unpopular owing to high taxation and his affair with Alice Perrers , political opinion closely associated the Duke of Lancaster with the failing government of the 1370s. Furthermore, while King Edward and the Prince of Wales were popular heroes because of their successes on the battlefield, John of Gaunt had not won equivalent military renown that could have bolstered his reputation. Although he fought in
20002-431: Was buried beside his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster , in the choir of St Paul's Cathedral , adjacent to the high altar. Their magnificent tomb had been designed and executed between 1374 and 1380 by Henry Yevele with the assistance of Thomas Wrek, at a total cost of £592. The two alabaster effigies were notable for having their right hands joined. An adjacent chantry chapel was added between 1399 and 1403. During
20148-439: Was forced to flee into Scotland with a handful of retainers and throw himself on the charity of King Robert II of Scotland until the crisis was over. Upon his marriage to Constance of Castile in 1371, John assumed (officially from 29 January 1372) the title of King of Castile and León in right of his wife , and insisted his fellow English nobles henceforth address him as "my lord of Spain". He impaled his arms with those of
20294-530: Was forced to spend nearly a year in Gascony to shore up his position in the face of threats of secession by the Gascon nobles. He was one of England's principal negotiators in the diplomatic exchanges with France that led to the Truce of Leulinghem in 1396, and he initially agreed to join the French-led Crusade that ended in the disastrous Battle of Nicopolis , but withdrew because of ill-health and
20440-523: Was killed. The other commander, Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Devon , was caught in flight and lynched by a mob. Later, Earl Rivers and his son, John Woodville , were also apprehended and murdered. With his army now defeated, King Edward IV was taken under arrest by George Neville. Warwick then imprisoned the king in Warwick Castle , and in August, the king was taken north to Middleham Castle . In
20586-417: Was no parliamentary ratification of this scribbled in amendment. Further testing and analysis on these three words is required to determine when exactly they were added. There is every possibility they were added as a later proviso during the height of the Wars of the Roses as a means to discredit any heirs of Margaret Beaufort. On his return from France in 1374, John took a more decisive and persistent role in
20732-402: Was not to be, however, because in September 1464, Edward revealed that he was already married, to Elizabeth Woodville . The marriage caused great offence to Warwick: not only due to the fact that his plans had been sabotaged, but also the secrecy with which the king had acted. The marriage—contracted on 1 May of the same year—was not made public before Warwick pressed Edward on the issue at
20878-446: Was rumoured (and believed by many people in England and France) that he intended to seize the throne for himself and supplant the rightful heir, his nephew Richard, the son of the Black Prince, but there seems to have been no truth in this and on the death of Edward III and the accession of the child Richard II, John sought no position of regency for himself and withdrew to his estates. John's personal unpopularity persisted, however, and
21024-483: Was sage and cunning, and much richer than Edward, but he was very hated. In addition, unlike his brother John Nevill and Edward, he was not brave. A Burgundy historian Jean de Wavrin criticized him more bitterly than other Burgundians. Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3 by William Shakespeare The Earl of Warwick's coat of arms was unusually complex for the period, with seven different quarterings in an unusual order. The first grand quarter consists of
21170-421: Was still waiting for Queen Margaret and her son Edward, who were supposed to bring reinforcements from France, but were kept on the continent by bad weather. At this point, Edward received the support of his brother Clarence, who realised that he had been disadvantaged by the new agreement with the Lancastrians. Clarence's defection weakened Warwick, who nevertheless went in pursuit of Edward. On 14 April 1471
21316-522: Was the son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault , and was born in Ghent in Flanders , most likely at Saint Bavo's Abbey , in March 1340. The name by which he has become best known, of Gaunt , was derived from an anglicised form of his birthplace, Ghent. Its use was popularised by Shakespeare in his play Richard II . However, during John's lifetime, he was not referred to as this after
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