Plantagenet Family

PLANTAGENET

1. GEOFFREY I, Count of Gastinois

m. BEATRICE, d. of Alberic II, Count of Macon, and Ermentrude of Roucy

The story of the Plantagenets is a well known part of the history of Britain and France. Only a brief overview of the individuals will be given here as there are numerous volumes written on these folks and far be it from me to be able to add anything to this body of information. Just to know that we are descendants of these movers and shakers of the medieval world should fill us with a bit of awe at what these members of our family accomplished in the distant past. To visit the Tower of London or walk into Westminster Abbey and see the tombs of some of these people and then to realize that they are part of our family... it does boggle the mind.

Issue-

  • 2I. GEOFFREY- m. ERMENGARDE of Anjou


    2I. GEOFFREY (GEOFFREY 1) Count of Gastinois

    m. ERMENGARDE (m.2. Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, mistress of Reinfred de Taillebois, d. 18 Mar. 1076 Fleurey-sur-Ouche, Cote-d'Or), d. of Fulk III, Count of Anjou and Hildegarde of Sundgau.
    d. 1 Apr. 1046

    Geoffrey was count of G�tinais as well as Count of Ch�teau-Landon.

    Issue-

  • I. Hildegarde- m.c.1060 Joscelin I, Lord of Courtenay (d. after 1065), d. after 1060
  • II. Geoffrey- m. Julienne de Langeais (d. after 7 Aug. 1067), d.s.p. c.1096
  • 3III. FULK- b. 1043, m.c.1090 BERTRADE of Montfort, d. 1109

    Ref:

    Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess of Burgundy at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ermengarde_of_Anjou,_Duchess_of_Burgundy


    3I. FULK (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2), Count of Anjou

    b. 1043
    m.1. Hildegarde of Beaugency
    2. before 1070, Ermengarde de Bourbon (annulled 1075)
    3. 1076 Orengarde de Chatellailon (annulled 1080)
    4. 1080 Mantie of Brienne (divorced 1087) c.1090 BERTRADE (abducted by King Philip I of France), d. of Simon I, Baron of Montfort and Agnes of Evreux
    d. 14 Apr. 1109

    Upon the death of Geoffrey Martel, Anjou was left to Geoffrey of Anjou, Fulk's older brother. However, Geoffrey was incompetent and Fulk fought with his brother and captured him in 1067 who was released at the bequest of the church. However, they were fighting with each other again and again Geoffrey was captured and kept in prison. Because of Geoffrey's poor rule and as a consequence of the civil war, substantial territory was lost and Fulk spent much time trying to control his barons and fighting with Normandy over Maine and Brittany.

    In 1096 Fulk wrote a history of Anjou, however, on the first part giving his ancestry has survived.

    Coins from the Reign of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou- c.1100

    Issue- First child by Hildegarde, second by Ermengarde, last by Bertrade

  • I. Ermengarde- m.1. William IX, count of Poitou (annulled 1091), 2. Alan IV, Duke of Brittany (d. 13 Oct. 1119 Redon Abbey), d. 1 June 1146 Jerusalem, bur. Redon Abbey. Ermengarde's irratic behaviour has led Alison Weare to suggest that she was bipolar or perhaps schizophrenic.
  • II. Geoffrey- murdered 19 May 1106 Cande Castle
  • 4III. FULK- b. 1092, m. ERMENGARDE of Maine, d. 1144

    Ref:

    Fulk IV, Count of Anjou at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulk_IV_of_Anjou


    4I. FULK (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3), count of Anjou

    b. 1092 Angers
    m.1. 1110 ERMENGARDE (d. by 1127), d. of Helias of Maine and Maud of Chateau Du Loire
    2. 2 June 1129 Jerusalem, Melisende, daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem
    d. 13 Nov. 1143 Acre

    Fulk became Count of Anjou upon his father's death in 1109. He was an oppenent of King Henry I and a supporter of Louis IV, however, in 1118 King Henry arranged for his son William to marry Fulk's daughter Matilda and Fulk was then allied with Henry's cause. Much later Henry arranged the marriage of his daughter Matilda to Fulk's son Geoffrey of Anjou in 1127. Orderic Vitalis tells us that Fulk went on the Crusade in about 1120 and was involved with the Knights Templar. He was a patron of the Templars and provided maintainance for two knights in the Holy Land for a year after his return in 1121. In 1127 Fulk received the embassadors from King Baldwin II of Jerusalem who had an only daughter who was his heir. Fulk was a widower by that time and as a wealthy crusader with considerable military experience he was the perfect partner for Melisende. Fulk granted Anjou to Geoffrey and left for Jerusalem where he married Melisende. After Baldwin died in 1131, Fulk and Melisende became joint rulers, however, Fulk assumed sole control over the government and excluded Melisende from any role in running the kingdom. He set up his friends from Anjou in positions of power and the other crusader states were worried that he would try to impose control over them. Alice of Antioch, Melisende's sister, who had been exiled by King Baldwin, took control of Antioch again and allied herself with Pons of Tripoli and Joscelin of Edessa to stop Fulk from marching his army north in 1132. Fulk and Pons came to an agreement and Alice was once again cast out of power. Fulk was also antagonistic to Hugh, count of Jaffa, Melisende's cousin who was devoted to the Queen, as well as Fulk's step-son who accused Fulk of being disloyal. Hugh allied himself with the Ascalon Muslims and defeated Fulk's army, however, this was only temporary. The Patriarch stepped in and Fulk agreed to a peace treaty and Hugh went into exile for the next three years. The next part of the saga is that there was an attempt on Hugh's life for which Fulk and his cronies were thought responsible. The Queen's party then staged a palace coup and took over the government and Fulk's supporters "went in terro of their lives". William of Tyre wrote that Fulk "never attempted to take the initiative, even in trivial matters, without [Melisende's] consent." Fulk and Melisende came to terms, however, the Queen remained in control after 1136.

    Fulk turned his attentions and military skills towards protecting the borders, particularly the northern border and was defeated in 1137 at the Battle of Barin by Atabeg Zengi of Mosul. He then allied himself with Mu'in ad-Din Unur, Vizier of Damascus as that territory was also threatened by Atabeg Zengi. Fulk captured the fort of Banias, north of Lake Tiberias and thereby secured the border. He also had the castles of Kerak, Blanche Garde, and Ibelin built on the southern fronteer to protect them from the Fatimids in Egypt who were constantly raiding the kingdom.

    In 1137 and again in 1142 Emporor John Comnenus came to Syria in an attempt to put Byzantine control over all the crusader states. Fulk didn't pay any attention to John and declined an invite to meet with the emperor in Jerusalem.

    While in Acre in 1143 Fulk was killed when his horse stumbled and he fell and Fulk's skull was crushed and as William of Tyre states: "and his brains gushed forth from both ears and nostrils". Fulk died three days later. William of Tyre described Fulk as "a ruddy man, like David... faithful and gentle, affable and kind... an experienced warrior full of patience and wisdom in military affairs". He also stated that Fulk was a capable soldier and able politician, however, he did not adequately attend to the crusader states to the north. Ibn al-Qalanisi stated that "al-Kund Anjur" "was not sound in his judgment nor was he successful in his administration".

    Issue- First four children by Ermengarde, last two by Melisende.

  • 5I. GEOFFREY- b.1113, m. 1127 MATILDA of England (m.1. Henry, Emperor of Germany), d. 1151
  • II. Sibylla- m.1. 1123 William Clito (divorced 1124), 2. 1134 Theirry, Count of Flanders, d. 1165 Abbey of St. Mary & St. Martha, Bethany [al-Eizariya, West Bank]
  • III. Alice/Isabella/Matilda- m. 1119 William Adelin (drowned 25 Nov. 1120), d.c.1154. After William's death Alice became a nun and Abbess of Fontevrault.
  • IV. Elias- m. Philippa, d. of Routrou of Perche, d. 15 Jan. 1151
  • V. Baldwin- m. Sept. 1158 Theodora Komnene, d. 10 Feb. 1163 Beirut
  • VI. Amalric- m.1. 1157 Agnes of Courtenay (annulled, m.2. Hugh of Ibelin), 2. 1167 Maria Comnena, d. 11 July 1174 Jerusalem

    Ref:

    Fulk, King of Jerusalem at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulk_V_of_Anjou


    5I. GEOFFREY (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4)

    b. 24 Aug. 1113
    m. 3 Apr. 1127 MATILDA of England (b. 1104, m.1. Henry V, Emperor of Germany, d. 10 Sept. 1167)- See STANHOPE
    d. 7 Sept. 1151 Ch�teau-du-Loir, bur. Le Mans Cathedral

    Effigy of Geoffrey from his tomb at Le Mans

    Upon Prince William's death in the wreck of the White Ship in 1120 Henry I required his barons to swear allegiance to his daughter Matilda, however, he also cultivated his nephew Stephen as a possible heir. Upon Henry's death Stephen lunged for the throne of England and had himself crowned by Christmas of 1135, before the Empress Matilda could rally the many English nobles who supported her claim, or that of her two year old son Henry. Fortunately for Matilda, Stephen was an inept ruler. Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, took Normandy as his share of the intended partition of English territories and Matilda invaded England itself. With a safe base within the western strongholds of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, Henry I's illegitimate son, Matilda skirmished around the country for nine years, during part of which she held Stephen himself a prisoner. Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and Abbot of Glastonbury, said that the capture represented God's judgement that the king's cause was not just, and Matilda was the true sovereign. However, Matilda quarrelled with the bishop so tactlessly that he said that God was backing Stephen after all. Matilda left England in 1148. In 1149 Matilda's son Henry was given the Dukedom of Normandy by his father Geoffrey and prepared to launch his third invasion of England. At the height of the turmoil Stephen's heir, Eustace, died, and an agreement was reached that Henry should succeed to the throne upon Stephen's death which occurred in the following year, 1154.

    Geoffrey died suddenly in 1151 stricken with a fever after returning from a royal council. He arrived at Ch�teau-du-Loir, collapsed on the couch, made his bequests, and died.

    Issue- First three children by Matilda, last three by mistresses.

  • 6I. HENRY- b. 5 Mar. 1133 Lemans, m. 18 May 1153 ELEANOR of Aquitaine (b. 1123, m.1. Louis VII of France, divorced 1152, d. 3 Mar. 1204), d. 6 July 1189 Chinon
  • II. Geoffrey- b. 1 June 1134 Rouen, d.s.p. 26 July 1158 Nantes
  • III. William- b. 22 July 1136 Argentan, Normandie, d.s.p. 30 Jan. 1163/4 Rouen
  • IV. Hamelin- b.c. 1129, m. Apr. 1164 Isabella de Warenne (m.1. William of Blois), d. 7 May 1202, bur. Lewes Priory, Sussex
  • V. Emme- m. Dafydd ap Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales
  • VI. Mary- Abbess of Shaftesbury

    Ref:

    "Pedigrees of Some of Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol. II, p.203
    "Kings & Queens of England & Scotland"- Allen Andrews, Marshall Cavendish Books Ltd., London, 1983, pp.37-9


    6I. HENRY II, KING OF ENGLAND (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5)

    b. 5 Mar. 1133 Lemans
    m. 18 May 1153 Poitiers, ELEANOR, Duchess of Aquitaine (b. 1123, m.1. Louis VII of France (annulled), d. 3 Mar. 1204), d. of William X, Duke of Aquitaine & Eleanor of Chastellerault
    d. 6 July 1189 Chinon
    bur. Fontevrault Abbey

    Henry saw himself as an Angevin. Anjou (the Loire Valley) started as a small buffer county between the Celts of Brittany and the Romanized Gauls. A short time before Henry's birth at Le Mans, Anjou had incorporated Maine, which occupied a similar position with relation to Normandy as Anjou held against Brittany. This had previously been an area of dispute between the Dukes of Normandy and the Kings of France (who at that time only directly ruled an inland territory around the Seine with some claim to supervision over the foreign policy of Flanders, Champagne and Burgundy). When Louis VII obtained his divorce (annulment on the grounds of consanguinity) against Eleanor and Eleanor promptly married Henry, their combined possessions in France alone exceeded by far the dominions of the King of France. When Henry took over England he was King of countries stretching from the Cheviots to the Pyrenees and bordered the Atlantic for 1,000 miles. It was refered to as the Angevin Empire and was of more consequence at that time that any other state in Europe including the Holy Roman Empire.

    Upon Stephen's death Henry was in Normandy and according to tradition was not king until his coronation at Westminster Abbey on 19 Dec. 1154. Henry immediately showed his strength by ending anarchy by a show of strength against the maverick barons and with the demolition of a thousand unlicensed castles which had been built during the past wars to intimidate the countryside.

    Having established internal security he promoted domestic and foreign trade. Productivity, as measured by the national income, doubled during the course of his reign. To secure a tranquil business climate and its corollary of civil freedom, he revolutionized the administration of the law, presiding often over his own courts and sending his justices out on assize. In effect he was in many cases offering his subjects the alternative of seeking "the King's Justice", which was manifestly fair, rather than the loaded local justice of many existing courts. A knowledgeable lawyer himself, Henry built up the body of English Common Law which carried more weight than the local customs and superstitions which were still observed in the shire and manorial courts. He also began the development of the English jury system. Henry, a foreigner from a southern culture, shaped an acceptable and understandable body of law peculiar to the English ideas of liberty and totally distinct from the Roman, institutional law being developed within Europe. This is surely a testamony to his administrative genius. He also developed a civil service which advanced the business economy of the nation, and introduced an efficient, if painful system of taxation, using his travelling justices to collect the dues. A part of this taxation was directed to defense purposes, the feudal landowners paying scutage towards a paid force of mercenaries rather than binding themselves to attend with men-at-arms during states of emergency, and depart, according to their rights, before the emergency was over.

    Henry's major failure was his attempt to curb the power of the ecclesiastical courts. This was exemplified in his struggle with Thomas a Becket. Becket had been a wild playboy crony of the king's until he became Archbishop of Canterbury when his conversion and egotism developed with a fixation on the maintenance of ecclesiastical privilege. His murder and subsequent canonization clouded Henry's other achievements and did little for God's justice.

    Henry had a tragic private life. Eleanor degenerated into a foolish political intriguer setting her sons against their father for apparently idle reasons. A rebellion in 1173 by the eldest surviving son, Henry, was crushed, and Eleanor was placed under house arrest in Salisbury for 15 years. When young Henry died, his brothers Richard and Geoffrey conspired with the King of France against their father. The youngest brother, John, the spoiled favorite of the family, used his eye for the main chance to support his father until a month before his death, then joined Richard and King Philip Augustus of France, and this unnatural alliance defeated Henry in battle. Henry died deserted, exhausted and broken by grief.

    Map of England

    Tomb of Henry & Eleanor- Fontevrault Abbey

    Issue- First eight children by Eleanor, next by mistress Ida de Tosny, next by an unknown mistress, last child by mistress Nesta, daughter of Iorwerth ab Owain, Lord of Caerleon.

  • I. William- b. 17 Aug. 1153, d.s.p. Apr. 1156 Wallingford Castle
  • II. Henry- b. 28 Feb. 1155, m. 27 Aug. 1172 Winchester Cathedral, Margaret of France, d.s.p. 11 June 1183
  • III. Eleanor- b. 13 Oct. 1162 Domfront Castle, Normandie, m. 17 Sept. 1177 Burgos, King Alfonso VIII of Castile, d. 31 Oct. 1214 Burgos, Castile
  • IV. Richard- b. 8 Sept. 1157 Oxford, m. 12 May 1191 Cyprus, Berengaria of Navarre, d. 6 Apr. 1199 Chalus, Limousin, bur. Fontrevault, his heart bur. at Rouen. Richard the Lion-hearted was King of England from 1189 until 1199.
  • V. Geoffrey- b. 23 Sept. 1158, m. July 1181 Constance of Brittany, d. 19 Aug. 1186 Paris
  • VI. Matilda- b.c.1156, m. 1 Feb. 1168 Minden Cathedral, Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, d. 28 June 1189 Brunswick, Lower Saxony
  • VII. Joan- b. Oct. 1165, m. 13 Feb. 1177 Palermo Cathedral, King William II, of Sicily (d. 1189), d. 4 Sept. 1199 Fontevrault Abbey
  • 7VIII. JOHN- b. 24 Dec. 1167 Oxford, m.1. Hadwisa of Gloucester (divorced 1200), 2. 24 Aug. 1200 ISABELLA of Angouleme (b.1188, d. 31 May 1246) d. 18 Oct. 1216 Newark, bur. Worcester Cathedral
  • IX. William Longespee- b.c.1176, m. Ela, Countess of Salisbury, d. 7 Mar. 1226, bur. Salisbury Cathedral
  • X. Geoffrey- b.c.1152, d. 12 Dec. 1212 Priory of St. Michel, Grandmont. Archbishop of York
  • XI. Morgan- Bishop-elect of Durham

    Ref:

    "Pedigrees of Some of Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol. II, p.203
    "Kings & Queens of England & Scotland"- Allen Andrews, Marshall Cavendish Books Ltd., London, 1983, pp.43-8


    7IX. JOHN, KING OF ENGLAND (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6)

    b. 24 Dec. 1167 Oxford
    m.1. Hadwisa of Gloucester (divorced 1200)
    2. 24 Aug. 1200 ISABELLA (b. 1188, d. of Aymer, Count of Angouleme and Alice of Courtenay, d. 31 May 1246)
    d. 18 Oct. 1216 Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire
    bur. Worcester Cathedral

    Portrait of King John from the "Historia Anglorum"- c.1250

    John was the youngest and most spoiled of nine children called Lackland by his father emphasising that the private inheritable estates of the family had already been divided among his brothers before John was unexpectedly born to the 45 year old Queen. John first let his father down by a brief and ridiculous rule in Ireland and then joined Richard in revolt when Henry was almost on his deathbed. He let down Richard when his brother became king and finally treacherously conspired with the King of France in revolt against him. He seems never to have been punished for anything, only excused as silly young John. John managed to justify his nickname by losing, first by conspiracy and connivance and then through incompetence, the whole of Normandy. Anjou and Maine had already defected on the death of Richard, chosing Arthur of Brittany as their lord. John had Arthur murdered, but could not reclaim the territory. France retaliated by occupying Normandy, Anjou and Maine and threatened Aquitaine. The Pope threatened to make the territorial situation legal and lasting by declaring John deposed and his lands forfeit to the King of France. The Pope was using this tactic to win the struggle between John and himself over the right to appoint the Archbishop of Canterbury. A defeat in Flanders so weakened John's position that his English barons themselves called in the forces of the Dauphin of France. A desultory civil war followed and the bungling John had for all practical purposes lost his crown.

    John signed the Magna Carta under duress. The recalcitrant barons objected to demands for extra dues on lands they held from the king and objected to the king's practice of issuing writs at law which withdrew cases from trial in the baronial courts and sent them before the King's Justices. Magna Carta is a most important document because of the significance of the occasion of an alilance between burghers and barons against the king and because of the significance of phrases enshrining general principles of justice. Had John not signed the Magna Carta a civil war probably would have occured.

    Text of the Magna Carta

    John wilfully divorced his first wife Hadwisa after he happened to see Isabella while on a military campaign in France. She was betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan, but John had enough personal charm to persuade Isabella to break this engagement. John was not such an international ogre that royalty did not want to marry their children to his offspring. All married very well. Isabella finally betrayed John politically before he died. She went to France and as soon as he was dead she married her first love, Hugh de Lusignan. Later she became a nun. John died at Newark of dysentery aggravated by over-indulgence in peaches and new cider.

    King John's Tomb- Worcester Cathedral

    Issue- First five children by Isabella, next by mistress,Adela de Warenne, last 12 by various mistresses.

  • 8I. HENRY- b. 1 Oct. 1207 Winchester, m. 14 Jan. 1237 Canterbuery, ELEANOR of Provence (d. 24 Jan. 1291 Amesbury), d. 16 Nov. 1272 Winchester
  • II. Richard- b. 5 Jan. 1209 Winchester Castle, m.1. 30 Mar. 1231 Fawley, Bucks, Isabel Marshal (m.1. Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, d. 17 Jan. 1240, bur. Beaulieu Abbey), 2. 23 Nov. 1243 Westminster Abbey, Sanchia of Provence (d. 9 Nov. 1261), 3. 16 June 1269 Kaiserslautern, Beatrice of Falkenburg (d. 17 Oct. 1277, bur. Church of the Friars Minor, Oxford), mistress Joan de Valletort, d. 2 Apr. 1272 Berkhampsted Castle, Herts, bur. Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire. Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans
  • III. Joan- b. 22 July 1210, m. 21 June 1221 York Minster, Alexander II, King of Scots, d.s.p. 4 Mar. 1238 Havering-atte-Bower, bur. Tarrant Crawford Abbey, Dorset
  • IV. Isabella- b.c.1214, m. 15 July 1235 Worms Cathedral, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (m.1. Isabella of Jerusalem), d. 1 Dec. 1241 Foggia, Puglia, Italy, bur. Andria Cathedral
  • V. Eleanor- b.c.1215, m.1. 23 Apr. 1224 New Temple Church, London, William le Marshal (d.s.p. 6 Apr. 1231 London), 2. 7 Jan. 1238 King's Chapel, Westminster Palace, Simon De Montfort, d. 13 Apr. 1275 Montargis Abbey
  • VI. Richard- b.c.1190, m. Rohese de Dover (m.2. William de Wilton, d. before 11 Feb. 1261, d. June 1246.
  • VII. Oliver-
  • VIII. John-
  • IX. Geoffrey-
  • X. Henry-
  • XI. Osbert-
  • XII. Gifford-
  • XIII. Eudes-
  • XIV. Bartholomew-
  • XV. Philip-
  • XVI. Joan- b.c.1191, m. Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales, mistress of William de Braose (hanged 2 May 1230), d. 2 Feb. 1237 Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd
  • XVII. Maud-
  • XVIII. Isabel-

    Ref:

    "Pedigrees of Some of Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol. II, p.203
    "Kings & Queens of England & Scotland"- Allen Andrews, Marshall Cavendish Books Ltd., London, 1983, pp.46-8


    8I. HENRY, KING OF ENGLAND (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7)

    b. 1 Oct. 1207 Winchester
    m. 14 Jan. 1235/6 Canterbury, ELEANOR (b.1217, d. of Raymond VII, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy, d. 24 Jan. 1291 Amesbury)
    d. 16 Nov. 1272 Winchester

    Henry had a domestic character and artistic interests... statesmanship was beyond him. His passion for the arts, and his ability to foster them was great. His debts were huge, as he said: "By God's head I owe 300,000 marks". He endowed England with an influx of artists and craftsmen and gave us Westminster Abbey rebuilt as we know it today as the seat of government and as a shrine to Edward the Confessor.

    Politically Henry was a failure. He became king at the age of nine and from that time on he was in the hands of priests who didn't give him any instruction in kingship. In 1268 he resigned Normandy in return for a subsidy from the King of France. Anjou had been lost by his father, and in the course of his reign Henry had to pay homage to the King of France for Guienne, the major part of the duchy of Aquitaine. This change in emphasis from the continent to England itself if viewed as a positive step in the development of England as a country of individual character and customs. However, at the time, England spent much money and warlike energy on attempting to retain, and regain, the old imperialism. Perhaps if they had succeeded there would have been a Franco-British Empire which would have been a pacifying influence in Europe for years... perhaps the Hundred Years War and Waterloo would have been avoided.

    Henry spent much of his time fighting, negotiating and sometimes artistically dawdling with his brother-in-law Louis IX of France. As an absentee tax-gatherer, regulating the collection of dues for the Pope, he did not increase his popularity at home. His expensive administration was even more difficult to take when it was seen to be carried out by the Italians from Rome, Provencals from his wife's family, and young Frenchmen from Poitou who were Henry's half-brothers. The English nobility were excluded from the government and fed up with high taxes for foreign indulgences and ecclesiastical foundations. A revolt was led by Henry's brother-in-law Simon De Montfort who engineered the convention at Oxford called "The Mad Parliament" where armed nobles intimidated the king into governing by a representative Council of State balancing the royal needs and the national interests. Two years of civil war ensued ending with the capture of Henry and his son Edward and the calling of the first true Parliament in London in 1265 made up of bishops, barons, knights, and burghers. Later that year Edward escaped and Simon De Montfort was defeated and killed in the battle of Evesham. Edward launched an effective campaign against the suddenly unorganized rebel barons. After the civil war Henry changed his attitude, trimmed his demands and saw his reign end in unaccustomed stability. He attended the completion of Westminster Abbey, re-interred the body of Edward the Confessor in a new shrine and was himself buried in the Confessor's former coffin in Westminster.

    Henry's motto was "He who does not give what he has, does not receive what he wants". In Dante's "Divine Comedy", Henry is sitting outside the gates of Purgatory as "the king of simple life" along with other European rulers.

    Issue- Richard, John and Henry are not found in any contemporary documents and only known from a 14th century addition made to the "Flores Historiarum".

  • 9I. EDWARD- b. 18 June 1239 Westminster Palace, m.1. Oct. 1254 ELEANOR (b. 1244, d. 28 Nov. 1290 Grantham), d. 7 July 1307 Burgh-on-the-Sands
  • II. Margaret- b. 29 Sept. 1240, m. Alexander III, King of Scotland, d. 26 Feb. 1275
  • III. Beatrice- b. 25 June 1242, m. John II, Duke of Brittany, d. 24 Mar. 1275
  • 13IV. EDMUND- b. 16 Jan. 1244/5 London, m.2. 1276 BLANCHE of Artois (d. 2 May 1302 Paris), d. 5 June 1295 Bayonne, Earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Derby, King of Sicily
  • V. Katherine- b. 25 Nov. 1253, d.s.p. 3 May 1257
  • ?V. Richard- d.s.p.
  • ?VI. John- d.s.p.
  • ?VII. Henry- d.s.p.

    Ref:

    "Pedigrees of Some of Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol. II, p.203
    "Kings & Queens of England & Scotland"- Allen Andrews, Marshall Cavendish Books Ltd., London, 1983, pp.49-52


    9I. EDWARD, KING OF ENGLAND (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8)

    b. 18 June 1239 Westminster Palace
    m.1. Oct. 1254 ELEANOR (b. 1244, d. of Ferdinand III, King of Castile & Leon, d. 28 Nov. 1290 Grantham)
    2. 8 Sept. 1299, MARGARET, (b. 1282, d. 14 Feb. 1317, d. of Philip III of France)
    d. 7 July 1307 Burgh-on-the-Sands

    Portrait of King Edward at Westminster Abbey

    Long before he was 20, Edward was overlord of Ireland and responsible for the good order of Gascony and of Wales where he ruled the Marches as Earl of Chester. In his early days he was predominantly interested in jousting tournaments where many dozens of knights could be killed during a single match.

    At the age of 24 Edward was the leading general on the royalist side of the civil war between the crown and Simon De Montfort. He finally defeated Montfort at Eversham and as High Steward he was virtually his father's Regent after 1268 bringing peace to the country. From 1270 until 1274 he was on the last Crusade followed by a state tour of Europe and a reconquest of Gascony. He succeeded, unchalenged, to the English throne upon his father's death in 1272.

    Groat (4d) of King Edward I

    Edward was a very capable king with an extreme devotion to personal and political integrity. His abiding principle, carved on his tomb in Westminster Abbey, was Pactum Serva, keep your word. Edward spent his reign shaping England into an integrated state of repute within Europe. In his quest to create a unified state he faced difficult local problems which he met by strong and arbitrary means. Edward conquered Wales after a pincer operation from the land and sea and subsequently annexed Wales to the English crown. The last Welsh Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd died in battle and Edward presented to the Welsh people his own son, born in Caernavon, but did not create him Prince of Wales until he was 16. Wales gave England a powerful weapon for future British imperialism, the longbow and the Welsh bowmen. Edward's appreciation of this weapon and the encouragement of its use made the long bow the most accurate and efficient weapon before the development of gunpowder.

    Upon the death of King Alexander III of Scotland in 1287, the throne passed to his daughter Margaret, the Maid of Norway, who was betrothed to Edward's heir Edward II. However, the Maid was shipwrecked off the Orkneys upon her trip to Scotland and a dispute arose concerning the succession. Edward, as overlord, stepped in to arbitrate and awarded the throne to John Balliol, who paid homage along with the Scottish peers. Edward's subsequent colonization of Scotland led to a revolt and in 1296 he deposed Balliol and proclaimed himself King of Scotland and carried off the Stone of Scone and the Great Seal. Sir William Wallace organized another revolt but, was defeated and executed. In 1306 Robert the Bruce was crowned at Scone as King of the Scots. In the ensuing war Edward died at Burgh by the Sands and Scotland remained independent.

    Continuous wars made Edward short on funds for most of his reign. He imposed a number of questionable taxes and borrowed heavily from the Jews. Jews were the only people involved in the banking business due to the church's interdict against ursury. The Jews were also barred from owning property or other productive enterprise. Because of this monopoly and their restricted social function the Jews charged high rates of interest and were involved in the common crime of clipping the coinage (coins had a value corresponding to their weight). Because of Edward's high debt to the Jews he expelled them in 1290. Also, because of this act, he had to call what is known as the first model Parliament in 1295 so he could raise taxes.

    Edward is acknowledged as having enlarged "freedom from fear" by firm extension of pubic order; as having rewritten the land laws in the interest of the tenants and himself (of course); as having reshaped the organization of the law courts; redefined the military obligations of the people with a vied to speedier reaction in emergencies; and as having accepted the broad principle of parliamentary consent to national taxation.

    Edward was devoted to his wife Eleanor who gave him sixteen children. She followed him wherever he went, Rouen, Acre, Bordeaux, Caernavon. After her death he had the "Eleanor Crosses" erected from Grantham to the Old Charing Cross as a visible memorial to her.

    On 2 May 1774 the Society of Antiquaries opened King Edward's tomb at Westminster Abbey and reported that the body was well preserved after 467 years. They measured him and found the king to have been 6' 2", wrapped in waxed linen cloth and wearing royal robes of red and gold with a crimson mantle. He was wearing a gilt crown and on his head and carried a sceptre with enameled oak leaves and a dove.

    Drawing Of King Edward's Body At The Opening His Tomb In 1774

    Death and the Antiquaries

    A curious wish their fancies tickled
    To know how royal folk were pickled

    Of course there were rumors of the Antiquaries trafficking in relics and mementoes... with talk of one of the grave robbers pulling off the king's finger while stealing a ring!

    Issue- first sixteen children by Eleanor, last three by Margaret

  • I. Eleanor- b. 18 June 1269, m. 1293 Henry III, Count of Bar, d. 19 Aug. 1298, bur. Westminster
  • II. Joan- b. Jan. 1265, bur. 7 Sept. 1265
  • III. Henry- b. 6 May 1268, d.s.p. Oct. 1274, bur. Westminster
  • IV. Julian- b. & d. 1280
  • V. Joan of Acre- b. 1272, Acre, m.1. 1290 Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hereford (d. 1295), 2. 1297 Ralph de Monthermer, d. 23 Apr. 1307
  • VI. Alphonso- b. 23 Nov. 1273, d.s.p. 12 Aug. 1284, bur. Westminster
  • VII. Isabel- b. & d. 1255
  • VIII. Margaret- b. 15 Mar. 1275, m. John II of Brabant, d. after 11 Mar. 1333
  • IX. Berengaria- b. 1 May 1276, d. June 1278, bur. Westminster
  • X. Mary- b. 11 Mar. 1279, d. 29 May 1332. A Benedictine Nun at Amesbury, Wiltshire.
  • XI. Alice- b. & d. 1271
  • 10XII. ELIZABETH- b. Aug. 1282, m.1. 1297 John I, Count of Holland, 2. 14 Nov. 1302 HUMPHREY De BOHUN (b. 1272, killed at Boroughbridge 16 Mar. 1321/2), d. 5 May 1316
  • 11XIII. EDWARD- King of England, b. 25 Apr. 1284 Caernarvon, m. Jan. 1308 Isabella, (b. 1292, d. of Philip IV of France, d. 1358), murdered 22 Sept. 1327 Berkeley Castle
  • XIV. Beatrice- b. & d. 1279
  • XV. Blanche-
  • 12XVII. THOMAS- b. 1 June 1300, m.1. ALICE HALYS, 2. Mary Brewes, d. Aug. 1338, bur. Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds
  • XVI. Edmund- b. 1 Aug. 1301, m. Margaret Wake, d. 19 Mar. 1330
  • XVII. Eleanor- b. 6 May 1306, d. 1310

    Ref:

    "Pedigrees of Some of Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol. II, p.203
    "Kings & Queens of England & Scotland"- Allen Andrews, Marshall Cavendish Books Ltd., London, 1983, pp.52-6


    11XIII. EDWARD (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8, EDWARD 9)

    b. 25 Apr. 1284 Caernarvon
    m. Jan. 1308 ISABELLA of FRANCE (b. 1292, d. 1358), d. of King Philip IV of France
    murdered 22 Sept. 1327 Berkeley Castle

    Edward was the fourth son of King Edward I and Eleanor and was born at Caernarfon Castle. Supposedly King Edward presented his son to the Welsh as their future native prince. The Welsh had asked for a prince who spoke Welsh, Edward replied that he would give them a prince who spoke no English at all, which was true as the English aristocrasy spoke Norman French at the time. This story, however, did not appear until the 16th century in a work by David Powell. Edward was the first English prince to be Prince of Wales by an act of Parliament on 7 Feb. 1301 at Lincoln.(1)

    Edward became heir apparent as an infant after the death of his older brother Alphonso. As his father's heir, young Edward was trained in the art of warfare and statecraft beginning in childhood, however he much preferred boating and doing craftwork, things which were considered beneath kings at the time. He took part in several Scots campaigns, but: "all his father's efforts could not prevent his acquiring the habits of extravagance and frivolity which he retained all through his life".(2) King Edward suspected his son's wayward habits were due to his relationship with Piers Gaveston, a Gascon knight, with whom the young Edward probably had a homosexual relationship. King Edward sent Gaveston into exile after the young prince tried to bestow on Piers a title which was reserved for royalty. The King must have regretted the day in 1298 he had chosen Gaveston to be a friend for his son because of his wit, courtesy and abilities. The year prior to his death, King Edward knighted his on at the Feast of Swans where everyone present swore to continue the war with Scotland. When King Edward died on 7 July 1307 he was involved in yet another campaign aginst the Scottish people. One chronicler of the time stated that the king requested his son to "boil his body, extract the bones and carry them with the army until the Scots had been subdued." The new King Edward II ignored the request and had his father buried in Westminster Abbey.(3) The new king immediately recalled Gaveston, made him Earl of Cornwall, gave him the hand of the king's niece, Margaret of Gloucester, and withdrew from the Scottish campaign.

    Edward II appeared to have the physical characteristics of his father, however, he had a total lack of his ambition for the job of monarch. It has been stated that King Edward II was "the first king after the Conquest who was not a man of business".(2) Edward seemed to take interest only in entertainment, athletics, mechanical crafts and in his lover, Piers. He seemed to have little confidence in his abilities and was often manipulated by his favorites at court who had a stronger will than his. This probably had to do with having had an overbearing father.

    Seal of King Edward II

    Six months after his father's death, Edward married Isabella, the daughter of King "Philip the Fair" of France and the sister to three French kings. On 25 February Edward and Isabella were crowned in Westminster Abbey. Their relationship was doomed from the start. Isabella was often neglected by her husband, who spent his time conspiring with his favorites as to how to limit the powers of the nobility in order to consolidate his father's legacy. Almost immediately, she wrote to her father, Philip the Fair, complaining of Edward's behavior.

    The trouble began in 1308 while Edward was off to Boulogne to marry Isabella and left Piers in England to act as regent. The nobility's discontent with the new king's policies was expressed in the Boulogne agreement.(4) Gaveston's power grew and the resentment towards Edward's rule grew leading to a group of the nobility insisting on Piers' banishment from the court which was expressed in the Ordinances of 1311. Gaveston was recalled by Edward, however, he was captured in 1312 by orders from the Earl of Lancaster and his allies.

    Several contemporary sources criticised Edward's infatuation with Piers Gaveston, to the extent that he ignored and humiliated his wife. The Chroniclers called the relationship excessive, immoderate, beyond measure and reason and criticised his desire for wicked and forbidden sex.(5) The Westminster chronicler claimed that Gaveston had led Edward to reject the sweet embraces of his wife. The Meaux Chronicle (written several decades later) complained that Edward took too much delight in sodomy. While such sources do not prove that Edward and Gaveston were lovers, they at least show that some contemporaries and later writers thought strongly that this was the case. Gaveston was considered to be athletic and handsome. He was a bit older than Edward and had been in military service in Flanders before becoming Edward's companion. He had a quick, biting wit, and his fortunes continued to ascend as Edward obtained more honors for him, including the Earldom of Cornwall. Indeed, the relationship between the two was very close, however, was the suggestion of a sexual relationship between them just part of a smear campaign by their enemies? Christopher Marlowe explored their relationship in one of his plays and made an explicit reference to the two of them having a sexual relationship and pointed them out as an example of the fate the comes to a king who allows himself to be influenced by one individual and becomes estranged from his other subjects.(6)

    Gaveston was captured by the Earl of Warwick who had been offended by Gaveston and handed over to two Welshmen who dragged him up Blacklow Hill, one ran him through the heart with his sword and the other lopped off his head. Edward was stricken with grief over the murder of his lover and kept his body near him for several weeks until the church forcibly arranged for his burial.Gaveston's Cross remains at the site of the murder south of Leek Wootton near Warwick.

    Edward's grief over the death of Gaveston was profound. He kept the remains of his body close to him for a number of weeks before the Church forcibly arranged a burial. Edward turned his attention on the destruction of those who had betrayed him. The rebel barons lost steam as with Gaveston dead, they had little need to continue. By middle of July, Aymer de Valence, the Earl of Pembroke, was advising the king to make war on the barons. By that point the rebels were unwilling to risk their lives and entered negotiations in September 1312. In October, the Earls of Lancaster, Warwick, Arundel and Hereford were begging Edward's pardon.

    On the Scottish front from 1307 to 1314 King Robert the Bruce had been reconquering the land Edward I had taken. King Robert became a master of strategy using small forces to trap the English army, took castles by stealth to preserve his troops, and he used the land as a weapon against Edward by attacking quickly and then disappearing into the hills instead of facing the superior numbers of the English. King Robert also succeeded in uniting Scotland against its common enemy and said that he feared more the dead king's bones (Edward I) than his living heir (Edward II).(7) By June 1314, only Stirling Castle and Berwick remained under English control. On 23 June 1314, Edward and his army of 20,000 foot soldiers and 3,000 cavalry faced King Robert and his army of foot soldiers and farmers wielding 14-foot-long pikes. Edward knew he had to keep Stirling Castle if there was to be any chance for English military success. The castle was under a constant state of siege and the English commander, Sir Phillip de Mowbray, had advised Edward that he would surrender the castle to the Scots unless Edward arrived by 24 June 1314, to relieve the siege. Edward could not afford to lose his last forward castle in Scotland so he decided to gamble his entire army to break the siege and force the Scots into a final battle. Edward had made the fatal mistake of thinking his vastly superior numbers alone would provide enough of an advantage to defeat the Scots. Robert knew ahead the actual day that Edward would come north and fight and had the time to choose the field of battle most advantageous to his army and their style of combat. Edward moved forward on the main road to Stirling and Robert placed his army on either side of the road, part in the dense woods and the other on a bend on the river, a spot hard for the invading army to see. Robert ordered his men to dig potholes and cover them with bracken in order to help break any cavalry charge. Edward did not issue his writs of service, calling upon 21,540 men, until 27 May 1314. His army was ill-disciplined and had seen little success in eight years of campaigns. On the eve of battle, he decided to move his entire army at night and placed it in a marshy area, with its cavalry laid out in nine squadrons in front of the foot soldiers. The following battle, the Battle of Bannockburn, is considered by contemporary scholars to be the worst defeat sustained by the English since the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (see article on Robert the Bruce).

    Following Gaveston's murder and the worst English defeat for 250 years, the king began digging himself the final hole by promoting his nephew-by-marriage (who was also Gaveston's brother-in-law), Hugh Despenser the Younger. Again the nobility was indignant at the privileges Edward lavished upon the Despensers especially when the younger Despenser began in 1318 to procure for himself the earldom of Gloucester and its lands. By 1320, the situation in England became unstable. Edward had been challenged by John Deydras, a royal pretender. Although Deydras was executed, the rumours surrounding the case highlighted Edward's unpopularity.(8) The spark that set the whole thing afire was when the Lord de Braose of Gower sold his title to his son-in-law, an action entirely lawful in the Welsh Marches. Despenser demanded the king grant Gower to him instead. The king, against all the laws, confiscated Gower from the purchaser and offered it to Despenser and thereby set off the fury of most of the barons. In 1321, the Earl of Hereford, along with the Earl of Lancaster and others, took up arms against the Despenser family, and the King was forced into an agreement with the barons. On 14 August at Westminster Hall, accompanied by the Earls of Pembroke and Richmond, the king declared the Despenser father and son both banished. Unfortunately the victory of the barons was their undoing. With the removal of the Despensers, many nobles, regardless of previous affiliation, now attempted to move into the vacuum left by the Despencers. Hoping to win Edward's favor, they were willing to aid the king in his revenge against the rebel barons and increase their own wealth and power. In following campaigns, many of the king's opponents were murdered, the Earl of Lancaster being beheaded in the presence of Edward himself. With all opposition crushed, the king and the Despensers were left the unquestioned masters of England. At the York Parliament of 1322, Edward issued a statute which revoked all previous ordinances designed to limit his power and to prevent any further encroachment upon it. The king would no longer be subject to the will of Parliament, and the Lords, Prelates, and Commons were to suffer his will in silence. Opposition to Edward and the Despensers rule continued and in 1324 there was a foiled assassination attempt on their lives, and in early 1325 John of Nottingham was placed on trial for involvement in a plot to kill them with magic.(9)

    A dispute between France and England broke out over Edward's refusal to pay homage to the French king for Gascony. After several bungled attempts to regain the territory, Edward sent Isabella to negotiate peace terms. Isabella arrived in France in March 1325. She was now able to visit her home and family as well as escape the Despensers and the king, all of whom she now detested. On 31 May 1325, Isabella agreed to a peace treaty favouring France and requiring Edward to pay homage in France to her brother, King Charles. Edward decided to send his son to pay homage instead. This proved a gross tactical error, and helped to bring about the ruin of both Edward and the Despensers, as Isabella, now that she had her son with her, declared that she would not return to England until the Despensers were removed.

    When Isabella's retinue, who were loyal to Edward, were ordered back to England by Isabella they brought back the news that Isabella had formed a liaison with Roger Mortimer in Paris and they were now plotting an invasion of England. Edward prepared for the invasion but was betrayed by those close to him. His son refused to leave his mother, claiming he wanted to remain with her during her unease and unhappiness. Edward's half-brother, the Earl of Kent, married Mortimer's cousin, Margaret Wake. Other nobles, such as John de Cromwell and the Earl of Richmond, also chose to remain with Mortimer.

    In September 1326, Mortimer and Isabella invaded England. Edward was amazed by their small numbers of soldiers, and immediately attempted to raise a large army to crush them. However, a large number of men refused to fight Mortimer and the Queen. Henry of Lancaster raised an army, seized a cache of Despenser treasure from Leicester Abbey, and marched south to join Mortimer. The invasion soon had too much support to be stopped. The army the king had ordered failed to emerge and both Edward and the Despensers were left isolated. They abandoned London on 2 October, leaving the city to fall into disorder. On 15 October a London mob seized and beheaded, without trial, John le Marshal, a Londoner accused of being a spy for the Despensers, as well as Edward II's Treasurer, Walter de Stapledon Bishop of Exeter, together with two of the bishop's squires. The king first took refuge in Gloucester, where he arrived on 9 October, and then fled to South Wales in order to make a defence in Despenser's lands.(10) Edward was unable to rally any army, and on 31 October, he was abandoned by his servants, leaving him with only the younger Despenser and a few retainers. On 27 October, the elder Despenser was accused of encouraging the illegal government of his son, enriching himself at the expense of others, despoiling the Church, and taking part in the illegal execution of the Earl of Lancaster. He was hanged and beheaded at the Bristol Gallows. Henry of Lancaster was then sent to Wales in order to fetch the King and the younger Despenser. On 16 November he with Welsh rebels caught Edward, Despenser and their soldiers in the open country near Tonyrefail, where a plaque now commemorates the event. Edward Longshanks' "conquest" of Wales with his Welsh allies had been short lived, the armed Welsh were in permanent rebellion and Wales was in turmoil throughout the 14th century. He and the soldiers were released and Despenser was sent to Isabella at Hereford whilst the king was taken by Lancaster himself to Kenilworth.

    The Execution of Hugh Despencer- Froissart- Bibioltheque Nationale

    Reprisals against Edward's allies began immediately thereafter. The Earl of Arundel, Sir Edmund Fitz Alan, an old enemy of Roger Mortimer, was beheaded on 17 November, together with two of the earl's retainers, John Daniel and Thomas de Micheldever. This was followed by the trial and execution of Despenser on 24 November.(11) Hugh Despenser the Younger was brutally executed and a huge crowd gathered in anticipation at seeing him die. A public spectacle for public entertainment. They dragged him from his horse, stripped him, and scrawled Biblical verses against corruption and arrogance on his skin. They then dragged him into the city, presenting him in the market square to Queen Isabella, Roger Mortimer, and the Lancastrians. He was then condemned to hang as a thief, be castrated, and then to be drawn and quartered as a traitor, his quarters to be dispersed throughout England. Despenser's vassal Simon of Reading was also hanged next to him, on charges of insulting Queen Isabella. (This event was the inspiration for William Wallace's death in the movie "Braveheart"). Edward II's Chancellor, Robert Baldock, was placed under house arrest in London, but a London mob broke into the house, severely beat him, and threw him into Newgate Prison, where he was murdered by some of the inmates.(12)

    With the King imprisoned, Mortimer and the Queen faced the problem of what to do with him. The simplest solution would be execution and his titles would then pass to Edward of Windsor, whom Isabella could control, while it would also prevent the possibility of his being restored. Execution would require the King to be tried and convicted of treason. While most Lords agreed that Edward had failed to show due attention to his country, several Prelates argued that, appointed by God, the King could not be legally deposed or executed. If this happened, they said, God would punish the country. At first, it was decided to have Edward imprisoned for life instead. The fact remained that the legality of power still lay with the King. Isabella had been given the Great Seal, and was using it to rule in the names of the King, herself, and their son, however, these actions were illegal, and could at any moment be challenged. Parliament decided to act as an authority above the King and representatives of the House of Commons were summoned and the debates began. The Archbishop of York, William Melton and others declared themselves fearful of the London mob, loyal to Roger Mortimer. Others wanted the King to speak in Parliament and openly abdicate, rather than be deposed by the Queen and her General. Mortimer responded by commanding the Lord Mayor of London, Richard de Betoyne, to write to Parliament, asking them to go to the Guildhall to swear an oath to protect the Queen and Prince Edward, and to depose the King. Mortimer then called the great lords to a secret meeting that night, at which they gave their unanimous support to the deposition of the King. Eventually Parliament agreed to remove the King. Although Parliament had agreed that the King should no longer rule, they had not deposed him. Rather, their decision made, Edward was asked to accept it.

    On 20 January 1327, Edward was informed at Kenilworth Castle of the charges brought against him: The King was guilty of incompetence; allowing others to govern him to the detriment of the people and Church; not listening to good advice and pursuing occupations unbecoming to a monarch; having lost Scotland and lands in Gascony and Ireland through failure of effective governance; damaging the Church, and imprisoning its representatives; allowing nobles to be killed, disinherited, imprisoned and exiled; failing to ensure fair justice, instead governing for profit and allowing others to do likewise; and of fleeing in the company of a notorious enemy of the realm, leaving it without government, and thereby losing the faith and trust of his people.

    Edward, profoundly shocked by this judgment, wept while listening. He was then offered a choice, he might abdicate in favor of his son or he might resist, and relinquish the throne to one not of royal blood, but experienced in government, this presumably being Roger Mortimer. The King, lamenting that his people had so hated his rule, agreed that if the people would accept his son, he would abdicate in his favor. The lords, through the person of Sir William Trussell, then renounced their homage to him, and the reign of King Edward II ended. The abdication was announced and recorded in London on 24 January 1327, and the following day was proclaimed the first of the reign of Edward III, who at 14, was still controlled by Isabella and Mortimer. Edward II remained imprisoned.

    A poem, the "Lament of Edward II", traditionally credited to Edward, may have been written during his imprisonment:

    OF KING EDWARD, THE SON OF KING EDWARD,
    THE SONG WHICH HE MADE.

    I.

    In winter woe befell me ;
    By cruel Fortune thwarted,
    My life now lies a ruin.
    Full oft have I experienced,
    There's none so fair, so wise,
    So courteous nor so highly famed,
    But, if Fortune cease to favour,
    Will be a fool proclaimed.

    II.

    My clamour rises yet in vain ;
    When favour once is lost,
    Soon does man's love grow cold.
    Too fondly have I trusted,
    And honours done to many
    Who now seek, my destruction ;
    They love me little, pity me less,
    In prison they torment me.

    III.

    Torment me, aye ! most cruelly
    Ev'n though 'twere well deserved.
    Their evil faith in Parliament
    From high has brought me low.
    Lord of Salvation, I me repent ;
    For all my sins forgiveness crave :
    May from the pain the flesh endureth
    The soul receive both joy and mercy.

    IV.

    Mercy, I trow, I needs shall reap
    From precious gifts and kindly deeds
    Which oft upon my friends and kin,
    Within my power I did bestow.
    If I have erred, it grieveth me :
    But to their counsel was I sworn.
    What I have sinned against the faith,
    Alas ! dear Lord, full well Thou knowest.

    V.

    Thou knowest well and openly,
    For nought is there so well concealed
    But is to Thee fully revealed,
    Both good and ill all equally;
    Thereon will rest Thy judgments dread.
    Deal with my sins mercifully !
    But nonetheless Thy will be done,
    For body and soul to Thee I yield.

    VI.

    I yield me all to Jesu,
    Craving His grace and pardon.
    Once was I feared and dreaded,
    But now all men despise me,
    And hail me 'crownless king,
    A laughing stock to all.
    My dearest friends deceived me :
    Too late I see it openly.

    VII.

    And openly have they defied me,
    Those who betrayed me thus ;
    Methought I had their love,
    Now have they all forsaken me.
    For many a jewel and many a gift
    I have now their reward.
    The tears are mine, but theirs the laugh ;
    The game's unfairly dealt.

    VIII.

    They've dealt to me a joyless game.
    And 'mid such grief my heart complains
    Of her whom fondly I believed
    A faithful wife turned to deceit !
    Fair Isabel I dearly loved,
    But now love's spark is dead ;
    And with my love my joy is gone,
    As 'tis from many a heart.

    IX.

    And now 'twere time indeed
    That I in death should sleep,
    Since honours all I've lost
    Beyond recovery.
    And yet why be dismayed ?
    What God hath thus ordained
    Full meekly will I bear,
    And serve Him faithfully.

    X.

    His service be my constant thought.
    Ah ! why was it not ever so ?
    What marvel then that I am sad,
    And earthly grandeur faileth me ?
    O let my contrite heart be near
    To Him who suffered on the cross,
    That truly now I may repent
    Of all the sins that e'er I did.

    XL

    For ever in captivity
    Those felons make me languish,
    Who in their crass insanity
    Three kings have now elected.
    Upon the youngest, in stately pomp,
    A crown of gold they've placed.
    Keep him, Jesu, the Son of Mary,
    From traitors, whom God confound !

    XII.

    May God confound his enemies,
    And make of him a monarch wise,
    Endowed both with might and will
    Fair fame to uphold and chivalry !
    And let them all be brought to shame
    Who seek to harm or injure him !
    And then at last shall be fulfilled
    The inmost wish of all my heart.

    XIII.

    My heart no longer will lament,
    Arid weep o'er earthly honours ;
    But let sweet Jesu, Who redeemed us
    By His most precious blood,
    Moved by the prayers of all the Saints
    Who in His glory share,
    Lead us ere long to that great joy
    Which shall be without end.

    XIV.

    An end I'll make and say no more.
    Hie thee, my song, on wings !
    Go to the Doe beyond Kenire [Kenilworth ?]
    Aiid tell it her in brief.
    That when the stag is roused to wrath
    And turns upon the hounds,
    She may forgo the leech's care,
    Bearing herself so wise.

    XV.

    Both wise and fool I would entreat,
    Make prayers for me, ye all,
    To Mary, the mother all merciful,
    Who bore the almighty Lord,
    That through the joys she had of Him
    She may her Son beseech,
    For all my sins and treacherous deeds
    To grant me mercy yet. (13)

    Berkeley Castle- c.1840

    The government of Isabella and Mortimer was so precarious that they dared not leave the deposed king in the hands of their political enemies. On 3 April, Edward was removed from Kenilworth and entrusted to the custody of two subordinates of Mortimer, then later imprisoned at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire where, it was generally believed, he was murdered by an agent of Isabella and Mortimer on 11 October 1327. The closest chronicler to the scene in time and distance, Adam Murimuth, stated that it was 'popularly rumoured' that he had been suffocated. The Lichfield chronicle, equally reflecting local opinion, stated that he had been strangled. Most chronicles did not offer a cause of death other than natural causes. The popular story that the king was assassinated by having a horn thrust into his anus and a red hot poker inserted that burned out his internal organs has no basis in accounts recorded by Edward's contemporaries (Supposedly this grisly execution was devised to leave no visible mark on the body). Thomas de la Moore's account of Edward's murder was not written until after 1352 and is uncorroborated by other contemporary sources. Not until the relevant sections of the longer Brut chronicle were composed by an anti-Mortimer Lancastrian polemicist in the mid-1430s was the story widely circulated.(14)

    Ian Mortimer has put forward the argument that Edward II was not killed at Berkeley but was still alive at least until 1330.(15)In his biography of Edward III(16) he explores the implications of this, using evidence including the Fieschi Letter, concluding Edward II may have died in Italy around 1341. In her biography of Isabella, Alison Weir also considers the Fieschi Letter narrative, that Edward escaped imprisonment and lived the rest of his life in exile. Other historians, however, including David Carpenter have criticised Mortimer's methodology and disagree with his conclusions:

    "Dead or Alive

    Ian Mortimer says that �no one has yet demonstrated a fault� in his argument for Edward II�s survival (Letters, 5 July). I had thought my review of his book The Perfect King had demonstrated a series of them. I am at a loss to understand why it is illegitimate to consider what possible motive Roger Mortimer had for faking Edward�s death, especially as I was responding to Ian Mortimer�s own suggestion that the aim was in some way to trap Edward III. Ian Mortimer persists in quoting only the second half of Lord Berkeley�s statement to Parliament in 1330. As I said in my review, when the sentence is quoted in full, by far the most natural reading of �he did not know about that death� is that he did not know Edward had been murdered, not that he didn�t know he was dead. Ian Mortimer suggests that the body could not have been identified because its face would have been covered in the embalming process. But Adam Murimouth says that many abbots, priors, knights and burgesses of Bristol and Gloucester viewed the body. The whole point of this exercise was to prove that Edward II was dead. The embalming is irrelevant: the evidence Ian Mortimer himself cites for Richard II shows that it was perfectly possible to remove any cloth covering the face. The problem with the viewing of Edward II was that this proof was only available to a local audience, and there were soon rumours that Edward was still alive. But this does not mean they were true, any more than they were true in the case of Richard II. Mortimer urges anyone with doubts to read his �peer-refereed� article on the subject in English Historical Review. I have an article coming out in EHR myself. I assume this means that the editor and referees think it is worth publishing. I do not assume everyone will agree with my conclusions.

    David Carpenter
    King�s College London" (17)

    "Dead or Alive

    David Carpenter says my work on the fake death of Edward II is �intriguing and ingenious� (LRB, 7 June). However, I will not be flattered into withholding my observation that his review suffers from methodological flaws and an underlying assumption that the evidence for the ex-king�s death has a reliable foundation. Although Edward II is traditionally said to have died in 1327, there are many texts indicating that political leaders believed he was still alive in 1330. For example, those at the Parliament of March 1330 saw the Earl of Kent executed for trying to make Edward II king again. Historians who do not like their professional certainties questioned have simply ignored this evidence, or written it off as the idiocy of the Earl of Kent (even though his career shows he was no idiot).

    I resorted to information science (my original professional discipline) to identify �who knew what and when they knew it�. I proved that the whole idea of Edward II�s �death� in 1327 rests on a single message sent by Lord Berkeley to Edward III, which arrived on the night of 23 September 1327. Three years later Lord Berkeley stated in Parliament that �he did not know about the king�s death until that present moment.� However you interpret this, it is plain that it raises a question about the veracity of that crucial first message. We simply cannot assume, as Carpenter does, that it was true. Texts showing a widespread belief that Edward II was alive in 1330 cannot be ignored.

    No one has yet demonstrated a fault in my argument, yet Carpenter does not believe it. I cannot object to this per se but I do object to his misrepresentation of both my methodology and the evidence. First, he uses guesses as to the protagonists� motives as evidence; this is methodologically prejudicial, like locking up the usual suspects. Second, he states �there is no evidence� for my assertion that the ex-king�s face was obscured during his lying-in-state, even though this was then customary (I cite several sources). Third, he says things are �certain� without a shred of evidence, as when he claims that �many people would certainly have seen the body itself before� the lying-in-state. Who? Where? The body was in Berkeley Castle, under guard, and enveloped in cerecloth. If anyone has any doubts that Edward II was alive and well in 1330, I urge them to read my peer-refereed article in the English Historical Review (Vol. 120, 2005).

    Ian Mortimer
    University of Exeter"(18)

    Effigy on King Edward II's Tomb- Gloucester Cathedral

    Nevertheless a public funeral was held in 1327, attended by Isabella, after which Edward's body was said to be laid in Gloucester Cathedral. An elaborate tomb was set up by his son which attracted pilgrims from far and wide. Following the public announcement of the king's death, the rule of Isabella and Mortimer did not last long. They made peace with the Scots in the Treaty of Northampton, but this move was highly unpopular. Consequently, when Edward III came of age in 1330, he executed Roger Mortimer on fourteen charges of treason, most significantly the murder of Edward II, thus removing any public doubt about his father's survival. Edward III spared his mother and gave her a generous allowance, but ensured that she retired from public life for several years. She died at Hertford on 23 August 1358.

    Issue-

  • 14I. EDWARD- b. 13 Nov. 1312, d. 21 June 1377
  • II. John- b. 15 Aug. 1316 Eltham Palace, d.s.p. 13 Sept. 1336 Perth
  • III. Eleanor- b. 18 June 1318 Woodstock, Oxfordshire, m. May 1332 Reginald "the black", Count of Guelders (d. 12 Oct. 1343), d. 22 Apr. 1355, bur. Deventer Abbey, Salland
  • IV. Joan- b. 5 July 1321, m. 17 July 1328 King David II of Scotland, d. 7 Sept. 1362 Hertford Castle, bur. Grey Friars, London

    Ref:

    (1) Edward I in "The Kings and Queens of England"- Ian Crofton, Quercus, London, 2007- p. 84
    (2) Ibid- article on "King Edward II"
    (3) Crown of a Thousand Years- Mary Clark, M.E. Hudson, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1978- pp. 48
    (4) Boulogne Document (1308)- Ronald Fritze, William Robison in "Historical dictionary of late medieval England, 1272-1485", Greenwood Pub., London, 2002- pp. 68�9
    (5) Flores Historiarum- Henry Luard, Ed., part of "The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland During the Middle Ages", London, 1890
    (6) Article on Edward II in the "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University, 2004
    (7) Isabella and the strange death of Edward II- Paul Doherty, Constable, London, 2003
    (8) Ibid; also Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England- Alison Weir, Pimlico, London, 2006- p. 117
    (9) Isabella and the strange death of Edward II- Paul Doherty, Constable, London, 2003- pp. 80-1
    (10) The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England 1327-1330- Ian Mortimer, Thomas Dunne Books, London, 2004- pp. 154-156
    (11) Ibid- pp. 159-62
    (12) Ibid; see also A Traitor's Death? The Identity of a Drawn, Hanged and Quartered Man from Hulton Abbey, Staffordshire- Mary E. Lewis at: http://reading.academia.edu/MaryLewis/Papers/144764/A_Traitors_Death_The_identity_of_a_drawn_hanged_and_quartered_man_from_Hulton_Abbey_Staffordshire
    (13) An Anglo-Norman Poem by Edward II, King of England- Paul Studer, in "The Modern Language Review", Cambridge University Press- Vol. XVI (1921), pp.44-6
    (14) A Red-Hot Poker? It Was Just a Red Herring- Ian Mortimer in The Times Higher Education, 11 Apr. 2003, at: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=176011
    (15) The Death of Edward II in Berkeley castle- Ian Mortimer in the "English Historical Review"- Vol. CXX (2005), pp. 1175-1224
    (16) The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III- Father of the English Nation- Ian Mortimer, Vintage, London, 2008
    (17) Letter in the London Review of Books- Vol. 29, No. 15, 2 Aug. 2007 at: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n15/letters.html#letter9
    (18) Ibid- No. 13, 5 July 2007 at: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n13/letters#letter3 See David Carpenter's review in the London Review of Books for 7 June 2007 at: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n11/david-carpenter/what-happened-to-edward-ii

    The Baronial Opposition to Edward II: Its Character and Policy, a Study in Administrative History- James Davies, Cass, London, 1918
    King Edward II: Edward of Caernarfon, His Life, His Reign, and Its Aftermath, 1284�1330- Roy Haines, McGill-Queens University Press, Montreal, 2003
    The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- M. McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959
    Thomas of Lancaster, 1307�1322- J. R. Maddicot, Oxford University Press, 1970
    The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272�1377- Michael Prestwich, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980
    Plantagenet England: 1225-1360- Michael Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2007
    Crown and Nobility 1272-1461: Political Conflict in Late Medieval England- Anthony Tuck, Fontana, London, 1985
    Isabella, She-Wolf of France- Alison Weir, Jonathan Cape, 2005


    14I. EDWARD (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8, EDWARD 9, EDWARD 10, EDWARD 11)

    b. 13 Nov. 1312 Windsor Castle
    m. PHILIPPA of HAINAULT
    d. 21 June 1377 Sheen Palace, Richmond

    After his father's abdication, the country was ruled by Roger Mortimer who became increasingly unpopular after the defeat at Stanhope Park and the Treaty of Edinburgh which followed in 1328.(1) Tension increased after Edward and Philippa had a son in 1330. Edward, aided by his friend William Montagu and a small band of trusted men, took Mortimer captive at Nottingham Castle on 19 Oct. 1330 and had him executed.(2)

    Edward III was not happy with the peace agreement made in his name, but the renewal of the war with Scotland originated with a group of English magnates known as The Disinherited, who had lost land in Scotland by the peace treaty. They staged an invasion of Scotland and won a great victory at the Battle of Dupplin Moor in 1332.(3) The Disinherited attempted to make Edward Balliol king of Scotland in David II's place, but Balliol was soon expelled, and forced to seek help from Edward who responded by laying siege to the town of Berwick and defeated a large army at the Battle of Halidon Hill.(4) Edward put Balliol back on the throne, and took a substantial amount of land in southern Scotland.(5) However, forces loyal to King David II gradually regained control of the country. In 1338, Edward was forced to a truce with the Scots.(6) The reason for the change of strategy towards Scotland was the increased tension in the relationship between England and France. As long as Scotland and France were in an alliance, the English were faced with the prospect of fighting a war on two fronts.(7) The French raided English coastal towns which lead to rumours of a full-scale French invasion.(6) In 1337 King Philip VI confiscated Edward's duchy of Aquitaine and Ponthieu. Instead of seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict by paying homage to the French king, the way his father had done, Edward responded by laying claim to the French crown, as the only living male heir of his maternal grandfather, King Philip IV.(8) The French, however, invoked the Salic law of succession, and rejected the claim. Instead they pronounced Philip IV's nephew, Philip VI, the true heir, thereby setting the stage for the Hundred Years' War.(9) Early in the war, Edward's strategy was to build alliances with other Continental princes. In 1338 Emperor Louis IV named Edward vicar-general of the Holy Roman Empire, and promised his support.(10) These measures produced few results with the only major military victory at this point was the English naval victory at Sluys on 24 June 1340, which secured English control of the Channel.(11) The expense of Edward's alliances led to discontent at home. The regency council was frustrated by the mounting national debt, while the king and his commanders on the Continent were angered by the government's failure to provide sufficient funds.(12) Edward returned to England arriving unannounced in London on 30 November 1340.(13) Finding the affairs of the realm in disorder, he purged the royal administration of a great number of ministers and judges.(14) These measures did not bring domestic stability and a stand-off ensued between the king and John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury. Stratford claimed that Edward had violated the laws of the land by arresting royal officers.(15) A certain level of reconciliation was reached at the parliament of April 1341. Here Edward was forced to accept severe limitations to his financial and administrative freedom in return for a grant of taxation.(16) Yet in October the king repudiated this statute, and Archbishop Stratford was politically ostracised. The extraordinary circumstances of the April parliament had forced the king into submission, but under normal circumstances the powers of the king in medieval England were virtually unlimited, a fact that Edward was able to put to good use.(17) The cost of the Hundred Years' War was enormous and the king and his ministers tried different methods of covering expenses. The king had income from crown lands, and could also take out loans from Italian and domestic financiers.(60) To finance war on this scale the king had to resort to taxation of his subjects in the form of levies and customs. The levy was a grant of a proportion of all moveable property, normally a tenth for towns and a fifteenth for farmland. This could produce large amounts of revenue however each levy had to be approved by parliament, and the king had to prove the necessity.(61) The customs revenue provided a welcome supplement as it was a steady and reliable source of income. An "ancient duty" on the export of wool had existed since 1275. King Edward tried to introduce an additional duty on wool, but this "unjust exaction" was soon abandoned.(62) From 1336 on a series of schemes aimed at increasing royal revenues from wool export were introduced. After some initial problems it was agreed through the Ordinance of the Staple of 1353 that the new customs should be approved by parliament, though in reality they became permanent.(63) Through the steady taxation of Edward's reign, parliament (in particular the Commons) gained political influence. A consensus emerged that for a tax to be just the king had to prove its necessity and it had to be granted by the community of the realm (Parliament), and it had to be to the benefit of that community (the People).(64) In addition to imposing taxes, Parliament would also present petitions for redress of grievances to the king, usually concerning misgovernment by royal officials.(65) Through this process the commons, and the people they represented, became increasingly politically aware, and the foundation was laid for the English constitutional monarchy.(66)

    By the 1340's, it was clear that Edward's policy was too costly and yielded too few results. The ensuing years saw more involvement by English armies which also proved fruitless.(18) The change came in July 1346 when Edward staged a major offensive with a force of 15,000 men.(19) His army sacked the city of Caen, and marched across northern France, to meet up with English forces in Flanders. It was not Edward's initial intention to engage the French army, but at Cr�cy, just north of the Somme, he found favorable terrain and decided to fight the army led by King Philip.(20) On 26 August, the English army defeated a far larger French army in the Battle of Cr�cy.(21) On 17 October the English defeated and captured King David of Scotland at the Battle of Neville's Cross.(22) With his northern borders secured, Edward felt free to continue his major offensive against France, laying siege to the town of Calais. The operation was the greatest English venture of the Hundred Years' War, involving an army of 35,000 men.(23) The siege started on 4 September 1346, and lasted until the town surrendered almost a year later on 3 August 1347.(24)

    King Edward III- c.1430

    This victory was cut short in 1348 when the Black Death struck England with full force, killing a third or more of the country's population.(25) This led to a shortage of farm labor, and a rise in wages.(26) To stop the rise in wages the king and parliament responded with the Ordinance of Labourers in 1349 and the Statute of Labourers in 1351 in an attempt to regulate wages.(27) The statute fixed wages at their pre-plague level and checked peasant mobility by asserting that lords had first claim on their men's services. In spite of efforts to uphold the statute, it eventually failed due to competition among landowners for labour.(50) The law has been described as an attempt "to legislate against the law of supply and demand", which made it doomed to fail.(51) Nevertheless, the labor shortage had created a community of interest between the smaller landowners of the House of Commons and the greater landowners of the House of Lords. The resulting measures angered the peasants, leading to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.(52) Fortunately the plague did not lead to a breakdown of government and society, and recovery was remarkably swift.(28) This was due to the competent leadership of royal administrators such as Treasurer William de Shareshull and Chief Justice William Edington.(29) The most significant legal reform at this time was probably that concerning the Justices of the Peace. This began before the reign of Edward III however, by 1350 the justices had been given the power not only to investigate crimes and make arrests, but to try cases including felonies.(56) A fixture in the administration of local English justice had been created.(57)

    England didn't recover enough from the Black Death to restart military operations until the mid 1350's.(30) In 1356, Edward's oldest son, Edward, the Black Prince, won an important victory in the Battle of Poitiers. The greatly outnumbered English forces not only routed the French, but captured the French king, John II.(31) After a succession of victories, the English held great possessions in France, the French king was in English custody, and the French central government had almost totally collapsed.(32) There has been a historical debate as to whether Edward's claim to the French crown originally was genuine, or if it was simply a political ploy meant to put pressure on the French government.(33) Regardless of the original intent, the stated claim now seemed to be within reach. However the campaign in 1359, meant to complete the undertaking, was inconclusive.(34) In 1360, therefore, Edward accepted the Treaty of Br�tigny, whereby he renounced his claims to the French throne, but secured his extended French possessions in full sovereignty.(35)

    Edward's reign coincided with the Babylonian Captivity of the papacy at Avignon. During the French wars opposition emerged in England against perceived injustices by a Pope who was largely controlled by the French crown.(53) Papal taxation of the English Church was suspected of financing the nation's enemies. In addition the practice of the Pope providing benefices for clerics caused resentment in the English population. The statutes of Provisors and Praemunire, of 1350 and 1353 aimed to amend this by banning papal benefices, as well as limiting the power of the papal court over English subjects.(54) The statutes did not, however, sever the ties between the king and the Pope... that would have to wait until a future king wanted a divorce.(55)

    Edward relied on the nobility for the purposes of war and administration. While Edward II had regularly been in conflict with his barons, Edward III successfully created a spirit of camaraderie between himself and his greatest subjects.(67) Both Edward I and Edward II created few new peerages during the sixty years preceding Edward III's reign.(68) Edward III reversed this trend in 1337, as a preparation for the imminent war, when he created six new earls on the same day.(69) Edward also expanded the ranks of the peerage upwards by introducing the new title of duke for his close relatives.(70) Edward also bolstered the sense of community within this group by the creation of the Order of the Garter in 1348. A plan from 1344 to revive the Round Table of King Arthur never came to fruition, but the new order carried connotations from this legend by the circular shape of the garter.(71) Polydore Vergil tells how the young Joan of Kent, Countess of Salisbury, the king's favorite, accidentally dropped her garter at a ball in Calais. King Edward responded to the ridicule of the crowd by tying the garter around his own knee with the words "honi soit qui mal y pense", shame on him who thinks ill of it.(72)

    The war with Scotland and the fear of a French invasion strengthened the sense of national unity, and helped nationalise the aristocracy that had been largely Anglo-French since the Conquest. Since the time of Edward I, popular myth said that the French planned to extinguish the English language, and as his grandfather had done, Edward III made the most of this scare.(73) Because of this the English language experienced a strong revival. In 1362, a Statute of Pleading ordered the English language to be used in law courts,(74) and the year after, Parliament was for the first time opened in English.(75) At the same time, the vernacular saw a revival as a literary language, through the works of William Langland, John Gower and especially The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.(76) Despite all this the statute of 1362 was in fact written in French and had little immediate effect, and parliament was opened in that language as late as 1377.(77) The Order of the Garter, though a distinctly English institution, also included foreign members such as John V, Duke of Brittany and Sir Robert of Namur.(78) Edward III (himself bilingual) thought of himself as legitimate king of both England and France, and could not show preferential treatment for one of his domains over another.

    King Edward III and Edward, The Black Prince- 14th Century

    The day-to-day running of the government had little appeal to Edward so during the 1360's he relied on the help of his subordinates, in particular William Wykeham.(36) Wykeham was made Keeper of the Privy Seal in 1363 and Chancellor in 1367, though because of political difficulties due to his inexperience, Parliament forced him to resign the chancellorship in 1371.(37) Adding to Edward's difficulties were the deaths of his most trusted men, some from the 1361�62 recurrence of the plague. William Montague, Earl of Salisbury, Edward's companion in the 1330 coup, died as early as 1344. William de Clinton, who had also been with the king at Nottingham, died in 1354. One of the earls created in 1337, William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton, died in 1360, and the next year Henry of Grosmont, perhaps the greatest of Edward's captains, succumbed to the Black Death.(38) This left a younger nobility more aligned with the princes than to the king.(39) Edward also began to rely on his sons for military leadership. The king's second son, Lionel of Antwerp, attempted to subdue the largely autonomous Anglo-Irish lords in Ireland. The venture failed, and the only lasting mark he left were the suppressive Statutes of Kilkenny in 1366.(40) In France the decade following the Treaty of Br�tigny was one of relative tranquillity, but on 8 April 1364 King John II died in captivity in England, after unsuccessfully trying to raise his own ransom at home.(41) He was succeeded by Charles V who enlisted the help of the capable Constable Bertrand du Guesclin.(42) In 1369, the French war started again and Edward's younger son John of Gaunt was given the responsibility of a military campaign. The effort failed, and with the Treaty of Bruges in 1375, the great English possessions in France were reduced to only the coastal towns of Calais, Bordeaux and Bayonne.(43)

    Military failures and the associated costs of this constant campaigning led to political discontent at home. The problems came to a head in the Parliament of 1376, the so-called Good Parliament. The Parliament was called to grant taxation, but the House of Commons took the opportunity to address specific grievances. Criticism was directed at some of the king's closest advisors with Chamberlain William Latimer and Steward of the Household John Neville being dismissed from their positions.(44) Edward's mistress, Alice Perrers, who was seen to hold far too much power over the ageing king, was banished from court.(45) But the real adversary of the Commons, supported by powerful men such as Wykeham and Edmund de Mortimer, Earl of March, was John of Gaunt. Both the king and the Black Prince were by this time incapacitated by illness, leaving John of Gaunt in control of government.(46) He was forced to give in to the demands of Parliament, but at its next convocation, in 1377, most of the achievements of the Good Parliament were reversed.(47) It was during the Good Parliament where the Commons for the first time was responsible for precipitating a political crisis.(58) In the process, the procedure of impeachment and the office of the Speaker were created.(59)

    Edward himself, however, did not have much to do with any of this as after 1375 he played a limited role in the affairs of state. About 29 September 1376 he fell ill with a large abscess. After a brief period of recovery in February 1377, the king died of a stroke at Sheen on 21 June.(48) He was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson, King Richard II, son of the Black Prince, since the Black Prince had died on 8 June 1376.(49)

    Tomb of King Edward III- Westminster Abbey

    Edward enjoyed unprecedented popularity in his own lifetime, and even the troubles of his later reign were never blamed directly on the king himself.(79) Edward's contemporary Jean Froissart wrote in his Chronicles that "His like had not been seen since the days of King Arthur".(80) From what is known of Edward's character, he could be impulsive and temperamental, as was seen by his actions against Stratford and the ministers in 1340/41.(81) At the same time, he was well known for his clemency. Mortimer's grandson was not only absolved, but came to play an important part in the French wars, and was made a Knight of the Garter.(82) Both in his religious views and his interests, Edward was a conventional man. His favorite pursuit was the art of war and, in this, he conformed to the medieval notion of good kingship.(83) As a warrior he was so successful that one modern military historian has described him as the greatest general in English history.(84) He seems to have been unusually devoted to his wife, Queen Philippa. Much has been made of Edward's sexual conquests, but there is no evidence of any infidelity on the king's part before Alice Perrers became his lover, and by that time the queen was already terminally ill.(85) This devotion extended to the rest of the family as well. In contrast to so many of his predecessors, Edward never experienced opposition from any of his five adult sons.(86)

    Issue-

  • I. Edward- b. 15 June 1330 Woodstock Palace, m. 10 Oct. 1361 Joan, Countess of Kent, d. 8 June 1376, bur. Canterbury Cathedral
  • II. Isabella- b. 16 June 1332 Woodstock Palace, m. 27 July 1365 Enguerrand VII de Coucy, Earl of Bedford, d. Apr. 1379, bur. Grey Friars Church, London
  • III. Joan- b. 1333, d. of plague 2 Sept. 1348
  • IV. William- b. 16 Feb., d. 8 July 1337
  • V. Lionel- b. 29 Nov. 1338 Antwerp, Belgium, m.1. Elizabeth de Burgh, 2. 28 May 1368 Violante Viscontin (d.s.p.), d. 7 Oct. 1368 Alba, Piedmont, bur. Clare Priory, Suffolk
  • 15VI. JOHN- b. 6 Mar. 1340, m.1. 19 May 1359 Blanche of Lancaster, 2. Infanta Constance of Castile, 3. 1396 KATHERINE SWYNFORD, d. 3 Feb. 1399
  • VII. Edmund- b. 5 June 1341 Kings Langley, Herts, m. Infanta Isabella of Castile, d. 1 Aug. 1402 Kings Langley
  • VIII. Blanche- b.&d. 1342
  • IX. Mary- b. 10 Oct. 1344 Waltham, Hampshire, m. 3 July 1361 John V, Duke of Brittany, d.s.p. 1362, bur. Abingdon Abbey, Berkshire
  • X. Margaret- b. 20 July 1346 Windsor Castle, m. 13 May 1359 John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, d. 1361, bur. Abingdon Abbey
  • XI. William- b. 24 June, d. 5 Sept. 1348
  • XII. Thomas- b. 7 Jan. 1355 Woodstock Palace, m. 1376 Eleanor de Bohun, d. 8 Sept. 1397 Calais

    Ref:

    (1) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- pp. 98-100
    (2) The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation- Ian Mortimer, Jonathan Cape, London, 2006- pp. 67, 81; Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 223-4
    (3) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- p. 244
    (4) Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century: Discipline, Tactics, and Technology- Kelly DeVries, Boydell, Woodbridge, 1996- pp. 114�5
    (5) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 244�5
    (6) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- p. 21
    (7) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- pp. 117�9
    (8) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- pp. 21�2
    (9) Trial by Battle (The Hundred Years War I)- Jonathan Sumption, Faber and Faber, London, 1999- p. 106
    (10) War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327�1360- C.J. Rogers, Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 2000- p. 155
    (11) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- pp. 128�9
    (12) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 273�5
    (13) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 168
    (14) Edward III's removal of his ministers and judges, 1340-1- N.M. Fryde, in the "Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research"- Vol. xlviii, pp. 149�61
    (15) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 275�6
    (16) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- pp. 174�5
    (17) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- p. 29
    (18) The King's Lieutenant: Henry of Grosmont, First Duke of Lancaster, 1310�1361- K.H. Fowler, Elek, London, 1969- pp. 58�9
    (19) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 132
    (20) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 316�8
    (21) Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century: Discipline, Tactics, and Technology- Kelly DeVries, Boydell, Woodbridge, 1996- pp. 155�76
    (22) England in the Reign of Edward III- S.L. Waugh, Cambridge University Press, 1991- p. 17
    (23) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- p. 31
    (24) Trial by Battle (The Hundred Years War I)- Jonathan Sumption, Faber and Faber, London, 1999- pp. 537, 581
    (25) Plague, Population and the English Economy, 1348-1530- John Hatcher, Macmillan, London, 1977- pp. 11�20
    (26) England in the Reign of Edward III- S.L. Waugh, Cambridge University Press, 1991- p. 109
    (27) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 547�8
    (28) Ibid- p. 553
    (29) The English government and the Black Death of 1348-49- Mark Ormrod, in "England in the Fourteenth Century", Woodbridge: Boydell, 1986- pp. 175�88
    (30) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- p. 550
    (31) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 139
    (32) Ibid- pp. 139�40
    (33) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 307�10
    (34) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- p. 326
    (35) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- pp. 39�40
    (36) William Wykeham- Virginia Davis, Hambledon Continuum, 2007
    (37) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- pp. 90�4
    (38) The King's Lieutenant: Henry of Grosmont, First Duke of Lancaster, 1310�1361- K.H. Fowler, Elek, London, 1969- pp. 217�8
    (39) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- pp. 127�8
    (40) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 231
    (41) Crown and Nobility 1272-1461: Political Conflict in Late Medieval England- Anthony Tuck, Fontana, London, 1985- p. 138
    (42) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- p. 27
    (43) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 145
    (44) The Good Parliament- George Holmes, Clarendon Press, 1975- p. 66
    (45) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- pp. 35�7; The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- pp. 387�94
    (46) Shaping the Nation: England 1360-1461- G.L. Harris, Oxford University Press, 2006- p. 440
    (47) Wedgwood, Josiah C. (1930). John of Gaunt and the Packing of Parliament- Josiah C. Wedgwood, in "The English Historical Review"- Vol. XLV (CLXXX), pp. 623�625 (1930)
    (48) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- p. 52
    (49) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- pp. 392, 397
    (50) Ibid- p. 335
    (51) The Ties That Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England- Barbara A. Hanawalt, Oxford University Press, 1989- p. 139
    (52) Parliament and the community of the realm in the fourteenth century- M.C. Prestwich, in "Parliament & Community: Papers Read before the Irish Conference of Historians, Dublin 27�30 May 1981"- Art Cosgrove & J.I. McGuire, Eds., Appletree Press, 1983- p. 20
    (53) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 272
    (54) Ibid- pp. 280�1
    (55) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- pp. 140�3
    (56) The Transformation of the Keepers of the Peace into the Justices of the Peace 1327-1380- B.H. Putnam, in "Transactions of the Royal Historical Society"- Vol. 12 (1929), pp. 19�48
    (57) The Evolution of English Justice- A. Musson & W.A. Omrod, Macmillan, Basingstoke, 1999- pp. 50�4
    (58) The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272�1377- M.C. Prestwich, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980- p. 288
    (59) Historical dictionary of late medieval England, 1272-1485- Ronald H. Fritze & William Baxter Robison, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002- p. 409
    (60) The Governance of Late Medieval England 1272�1461- A.L. Brown, Edward Arnold, London, 1989- pp. 80�4
    (61) Ibid- pp. 70�1
    (62) King, Parliament and Public Finance in Medieval England to 1369- G.L. Harriss, Oxford University Press, 1975- pp. 57, 69
    (63) The Governance of Late Medieval England 1272�1461- A.L. Brown, Edward Arnold, London, 1989- pp. 67�9, 226�8
    (64) King, Parliament and Public Finance in Medieval England to 1369- G.L. Harriss, Oxford University Press, 1975- p. 509
    (65) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 282�3
    (66) King, Parliament and Public Finance in Medieval England to 1369- G.L. Harriss, Oxford University Press, 1975- pp. 509�17
    (67) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- pp. 114�5
    (68) The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages- Christopher Given-Wilson, Routledge, London, 1996 pp. 29�31
    (69) Ibid- pp. 35�6
    (70) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- p. 364
    (71) Crown and Nobility 1272-1461: Political Conflict in Late Medieval England- Anthony Tuck, Fontana, London, 1985- p. 133
    (72) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- pp. 251�2
    (73) The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272�1377- M.C. Prestwich, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980- pp. 209�10
    (74) For the original text, see: "Statute of Pleading (1362)"- Loyola Law School at: http://www.languageandlaw.org
    (75) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 524
    (76) Ibid- pp. 526�32
    (77) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- p. 556
    (78) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 253; Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- p. 554
    (79) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- p. 51
    (80) Ibid- p. 52
    (81) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- p. 289
    (82) The Fourteenth Century: 1307�1399- May McKisack, Oxford University Press, 1959- p. 255
    (83) Edward III- W.M. Ormrod, Tempus, 1990- p. 56; Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005- pp. 290�1
    (84) England's Greatest General- C.J. Rogers, in "The Quarterly Journal of Military History"- Vol. 14 (4), pp. 34�45 (2002)
    (85) The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation- Ian Mortimer, Jonathan Cape, London- pp. 400�1; The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272�1377- M.C. Prestwich, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980- p. 241
    (86) Plantagenet England: 1225�1360- M.C. Prestwich, Oxford University Press, 2005 p. 290


    15VI. JOHN of GAUNT (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8, EDWARD 9, EDWARD 10, EDWARD 11)

    b. 6 Mar. 1340
    m.1. 19 May 1359 Blanche of Lancaster (d. of the plague 12 September 1369, Bolingbroke Castle)
    2. Infanta Constance of Castile( d. 1394)
    3. 13 Jan. 1396 Lincoln Cathedral, KATHERINE SWYNFORD (b. 25 Nov. 1350, m.1. c. 1366 St. Clement Danes Church, the Strand, Hugh Swynford, d. 10 May 1403, bur. Lincoln Cathedral)- d. of Payne de Roet, Guienne King of Arms
    d. 3 Feb. 1399

    John was called "John of Gaunt" because he was born in Ghent, or in English, Gaunt.

    As his first wife, John married his third cousin, Blanche, who was also a great-great-grandchild of King Henry III. They were married in 1359 at Reading Abbey. At the death of his father-in-law in 1361, John received half of Henry's lands, the title Earl of Lancaster, and became the greatest landowner in the north of England, inheriting the Palatinate of Lancaster. He was also the 14th Baron of Halton and 11th Lord of Bowland. John inherited the rest of the estate when Blanche's sister, Maud, Countess of Leicester (married to William V, Count of Hainaut), died on 10 April 1362. John was given the title of "Duke of Lancaster" from his father on 13 Nov. 1362. By that time he owned at least thirty castles and estates across England and France. His household was comparable in scale and organization to that of a king. He owned land in almost every county in England, producing an annual income of between �8,000 and �10,000.(1)

    While King Edward and The Black Prince were popular heroes due to their success on the battlefield, John did not have military renown that would have helped his reputation. Although he fought in the Battle of N�jera, his later military adventures were unsuccessful.

    On the resumption of the French war in 1369, John was sent to Calais with the Earl of Hereford and a small English army and conducted raids into northern France. On 23 Aug. he was confronted by a much larger French army under Philip, Duke of Burgundy. John didn't dare attack such a superior force and the two armies faced each other across a marsh for several weeks until the English were reinforced by the Earl of Warwick and the French withdrew without offering battle. John and Warwick then decided to strike Harfleur, the base of the French fleet on the Seine. Reinforced by German mercenaries, they marched on Harfleur but were delayed by French guerilla operations while the town prepared for a siege. John surrounded the town for four days in October, but he lost so many men to dysentry and bubonic plague that he decided to abandon the siege and returned 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 Ch�tillon, who was captured and sold to Edward III. The survivors of the sickly army returned to Calais, where the Earl of Warwick died of plague by the middle of November. Although the campaign appeared to have been a failure he had forced King Charles V to abandon his plans to invade England that fall.(2)

    In the summer of 1370 John was sent with a small army to Aquitaine to reinforce his ailing brother, the Black Prince, and his younger brother Edmund of Langley, Earl of Cambridge. They then proceeded to sack Limoges, after which the Black Prince surrendered his lordship 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 watch over what little territory the English still held, and he resigned the command in September 1371 and returned to England.(3) On 21 Sept. 1371, before he left Aquitaine, he married Infanta Constance of Castile at Roquefort, near Bordeaux, Guienne. The following year he took part with his father in an abortive attempt to invade France with a large army, which was frustrated by three months of unfavourable winds.

    John's most impressive "victory" (if you can call it that) occurred in August to December 1373, when he tried to relieve Aquitaine leading an army of 9,000 mounted knights from Calais on a great raid through France. This four-month ride through enemy territory, evading French armies on the way, was a bold stroke which impressed contemporaries but achieved very little. Beset on all sides by French ambushes and plagued by disease and starvation, John and his raiders battled their way through Champagne, east of Paris, into Burgundy, across the Massif Central, and finally down into Dordogne. Unable to attack any strongly fortified forts and cities, the raiders plundered the countryside, raiding towns and villages, weakening 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 Dec. 1373, severely weakened in numbers and capacity, having lost at least one-third of their force in action and another third to disease, and many more then succumbed to the black death that was raging in the city. Sick, demoralized 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 the enterprise and sailed for home.(4)

    John's last campaign in France was in 1378 and 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, so the expedition was given the task of capturing St. Malo instead. The English destroyed the shipping in St. Malo harbor and began to attack the town by land on 14 Aug., but John was soon hampered by the size of his army which was unable to forage for supplies because French armies under Olivier de Clisson and Bertrand du Guesclin occupied the surrounding countryside, constantly attacking the edges of his force. In September the siege was abandoned and the army returned to England with John receiving most of the blame for this defeat.(5)

    John of Gaunt- c.1593- Badminton House, Gloucestershire

    Because of all the military set backs John was one of the first to realize that the war with France was unwinnable because of its greater wealth and manpower. He began to advocate for peace negotiations and in 1373, during his great raid through France, he made contact with Guillaume Roger, brother and political adviser of Pope Gregory XI, to let the Pope know he would be interested in a diplomatic conference under papal auspices. This is interesting as after the death of The Black Prince, John tried to protect John Wyclif, the religious reformer to counteract the growing power of the Roman Catholic Church. But, John's and the pope's intervention led indirectly to the Anglo-French Congress of Bruges in 1374-77, which resulted in a short-lived truce between the two sides.(6) John was a delegate to the various conferences that led to the Truce of Leulinghem in 1389. The fact that he became identified with the attempts to make peace added to his unpopularity at a time when the majority of Englishmen believed victory would be in their grasp if the French could be defeated as they had been in the 1350's. Another motive for peace was John's conviction that it was only by making peace with France that it would be possible to release sufficient military forces to make good his claim to the throne of Castile.

    However, John's rise to political power coincided with widespread resentment of the influence he had. At the time when English forces faced setbacks in the war against France, and King Edward III's rule was becoming unpopular due to high taxation and his affair with Alice Perrers, political opinion associated the Duke with the failing government of the 1370s.

    King Edward III died in 1377 and John's nephew succeeded as King Richard II. As the younger brother of Edward, The Black Prince, John had great influence during the minority of his nephew and during the following political difficulties. Some suspected him of wanting to seize the throne himself but John made sure never to become associated with the opposition to King Richard. John sought no position of regency for himself and withdrew to his estates.(7) During Richard's minority, John made unwise decisions on taxation that led to the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 and the rebels destroyed his Savoy Palace in London. Unlike some of King Richard's other unpopular advisors, John was out of London at the time of the revolt and thus avoided the wrath of the rebels.

    After his marriage to Infanta Constance of Castile in 1371, John assumed the title of King of Castile and Leon in right of his wife, and insisted his fellow English nobles address him as 'my lord of Spain.' He impaled his arms with those of the Spanish kingdom. From 1372 John gathered around himself a small court of refugee Castilian knights and ladies and set up a Castilian chancery which prepared documents in his name according to the style of Pedro I of Castile, dated by the Castilian era and signed by himself with the Spanish formula 'Yo El Rey' (I, the King). He had several schemes to make good his claim with an army, but for many years these were aborted due to lack of money or the conflicting claims of war in France or Scotland. In 1386 after Portugal, under its new king John of Avis, had entered into full alliance with England, he was able to land with an army in Spain and mount an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the throne of Castile. 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 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 Trast�mara, had expected John would land in Portugal and had concentrated his forces on the Portuguese border, but John decided to invade Galicia, the most distant and disaffected of Castile's provinces. From August to October, John set up a rudimentary court and chancery at Orense and received the submission of most of the towns of Galicia, though they made their homage to him conditional on his being recognized as king by the rest of Castile. John had gambled on an early decisive battle, however, the Castilians were in no hurry to fight and he began to experience difficulties keeping his army together and paying for it. In November he met Joao I of Portugal at Ponte do Mouro on 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 was incapacitated by illness and when the invasion started they were far outnumbered by their Portuguese allies. The campaign from Apr. to June 1387 was a failure. The Castilians refused to offer battle and the Anglo-Portuguese troops, apart from wasting time besieging 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 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 Trast�mara under which he and his wife renounced all claim to the Castilian throne in return for a large annual payment and the marriage of his daughter Catherine to John of Trast�mara's son Henry.

    While John was off trying to become a Spanish king, England, almost immediately, entered into a crisis and in 1387, King Richard's misrule brought England to the brink of civil war. John returned to England in 1389 and was able to persuade the Lords Appellant and King Richard to compromise which began a period of relative stability. During the 1390s, John's reputation of devotion to the well-being of the kingdom was restored.

    John was a patron of Geoffrey Chaucer, famous author of the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer's Book of the Duchess also called The Deth of Blaunche was written to honor Blanche of Lancaster. The poem refers to John and Blanche as the "Black Knight" and "Lady White". John and Geoffrey were also related as John's third wife, Katherine and Geoffrey's wife, Philippa, were sisters.

    Tombs of Katherine Swynford and her daughter Joan Beaufort- c.1640

    John of Gaunt's heirs include Kings Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI; Queen Philippa of Portugal, wife of John I of Portugal and mother of King Edward of Portugal; Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter, mother of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter; Queen Catherine of Castile, wife of Henry III of Castile and mother of John II of Castile. Descendants of his marriage to Katherine Swynford includes Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester and eventually Cardinal; Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, grandmother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III; John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, the great-grandfather of King Henry VII; and Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots, from whom are descended, beginning in 1437, all subsequent sovereigns of Scotland, and from 1603 on, the sovereigns England, Great Britain and Ireland, and of the United Kingdom to the present. The three preceding houses of English sovereigns from 1399, the Houses of Lancaster, York and Tudor, were descended from John through, Henry Bolingbroke, Joan Beaufort and John Beaufort. AND... of course, he is one of the ancestors of our family!

    John died of natural causes on 3 February 1399 at Leicester Castle, with his third wife Katherine by his side.

    When John died in 1399, his estates were declared forfeit as King Richard II had exiled John's son and heir, Henry Bolingbroke, in 1398 for 10 years for killing another nobleman. Bolingbroke returned from exile to reclaim his inheritance and deposed Richard. Bolingbroke then reigned as King Henry IV of England (1399�1413), the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the throne of England.

    In William Shakespeare's play Richard II, the famous England speech is spoken by the character of John of Gaunt as he lies on his deathbed.

    This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
    This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
    This other Eden, demi-paradise,
    This fortress built by Nature for herself
    Against infection and the hand of war,
    This happy breed of men, this little world,
    This precious stone set in the silver sea,
    Which serves it in the office of a wall,
    Or as a moat defensive to a house,
    Against the envy of less happier lands,
    This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
    This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
    Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth
    Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
    For Christian service and true chivalry,
    As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,
    Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son,
    This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
    Dear for her reputation through the world,
    Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
    Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
    England, bound in with the triumphant sea
    Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
    Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
    With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
    That England, that was wont to conquer others,
    Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
    Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,
    How happy then were my ensuing death!
    �Act II, scene i, 42�54

    John of Gaunt was buried beside his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, in the choir of St Paul's Cathedral. 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.(8)

    Tomb of John O'Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster- St. Paul's Cathedral

    Issue- first child by mistress Marie de St. Hilaire of Hainaut, next seven children by Blanche of Lancaster, next two by Infanta Constance of Castile, last four by Katherine.

  • I. Blanche- m. Sir Thomas Morieux (d. 1387), d.s.p. c.1388
  • II. Philippa- b. 31 Mar. 1359 Leicester Castle, m. 2 Feb. 1387 Cathedral of Oporto, King John I of Portugal (b. 11 Apr. 1358 Lisbon, d. 13 Aug. 1433 Lisbon), d. 19 July 1415 Sacavem, Portugal, bur. Batalha Monastery, Leiria
  • III. John b. 1362, d. 1365
  • IV. Elizabeth- b. 1363, m.1. 24 June 1380 Kenilworth Castle, John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke (annulled 1386), 2. 24 June 1386 Plymouth, John Holland, Duke of Exeter (executed 1400), 3. 1400 Sir John Cornwall, Baron Fanhope & Milbroke, d. 24 Nov. 1426, bur. Burford Church, Salop.
  • V. Edward- b. & d. 1365
  • VI. John- b. 1366, d. 1367
  • VII. Henry- b. 3 Apr. 1366 Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, m.1. 5 Feb. 1381 Rochford Hall, Essex, Mary de Bohun (d. 1394), 2. 7 Feb. 1403 Winchester, Joanna of Navarre (m.1. John V of Brittanyd. 20 Mar. 1413 Westminster, bur. Canterbury Cathedral. Became King Henry IV
  • VIII. Isabel- b. & d. 1368
  • IX. Katherine- b. 31 Mar. 1373 Hertford Castle, m. 17 Sept. 1388 Palencia Cathedral, King Henry III of Castile (d. 1406), d. 2 June 1418 Valladolid, bur. Toledo Cathedral
  • X. John- b. 1374, d. 1375
  • 16XI. JOHN- b.c.1373 Ch�teau de Beaufort, Anjou, m. MARGARET HOLLAND, Countess of Somerset (b.c.1385, m.2. 1411 Thomas, Duke of Clarence (b.c.1387, d. 22 Mar. 1421 Battle of Bauge), d. 31 Dec. 1439 St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey), d. 16 Mar. 1410, St. Katherine's by the Tower, London, bur. St. Michael's Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral
  • XII. Henry- b.c.1375 Chateau de Beaufort, Anjou, d. 11 Apr. 1447 Wolvesey Castle, Winchester, bur. Winchester Cathedral. Bishop of Winchester, later made a Cardinal and Papal Legate.
  • XIII. Thomas- b.c.1377 Chateau de Beaufort, Anjou, m. Margaret Neville of Horneby, d. 31 Dec. 1426
  • XIV. Joan- b.c.1379 Swynford manor, Kettlethorpe, Lincoln, m.1. 1391 Beaufort-en-Vallee, Anjou, Robert Ferrers, Baron Boteler of Wem (d.c.1395), 2. 3 Feb. 1397 Ralph de Neville, Earl of Westmorland (d. 1425), d. 13 Nov. 1440 Howden, Yorkshire, bur. Lincoln Cathedral

    Ref:

    (1) Divided Houses: The Hundred Years War- Jonathan Sumption, Faber & Faber, London, 2009- Vol. III, p. 3
    (2) Ibid- pp. 38-69
    (3) Ibid- pp. 69-108
    (4) Ibid- pp. 187-202
    (5) Ibid- pp. 325-7
    (6) Ibid- pp. 212-3
    (7) Ibid- pp. 213, 283-4
    (8) Une Tres Riche Sepulture: The Tomb and Chantry of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster in Old St Paul's Cathedral, London- Oliver D. Harris, in "Church Monuments"- Vol. XXV, pp. 7-35 (2010)

    John of Gaunt: King of Castile and Leon, Duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster- Sydney Armitage-Smith, Constable, London, 1904- pp. 460-461
    Katherine Swynford the Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess- Alison Weir, London, 2008
    The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant- G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, New Edition, Alan Sutton Pub., Gloucester, 2000- Vol. XII/2, p. 908


    16XI. JOHN (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8, EDWARD 9, EDWARD 10, EDWARD 11, JOHN 12)

    b.c.1373 Ch�teau de Beaufort, Anjou
    m. MARGARET HOLLAND, Countess of Somerset (b.c.1385, m.2. 1411 Thomas, Duke of Clarence (b.c.1387, d. 22 Mar. 1421 Battle of Bauge), d. 31 Dec. 1439 St. Saviour's Abbey, Bermondsey)
    d. 16 Mar. 1410, St. Katherine's by the Tower, London, bur. St. Michael's Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral

    As a young man of 17, John served in the Crusade with Louis II, Duke of Bourbon from May to Sept. 1390. In 1394 he was in Lithuania serving with the Teutonic Knights.(1) After his parent's marriage in 1396 John and his siblings were legitimated by a papal bull. Early the next year, their legitimation was recognized by an act of Parliament, and on 10 Feb. 1397 John was created Earl of Somerset.(2) That summer John was one of the noblemen who helped King Richard II free himself from the power of the Lords Appellant. As a reward on 29 September he was created Marquess of Somerset and Marquess of Dorset, and sometime later that year he was made a Knight of the Garter and appointed Lieutenant of Ireland. Two days before being made a Marquess he married the King's niece, Margaret Holland, sister of 3rd Earl of Kent, another of the counter-appellants. (2) He remained in the King's favor even after his half-brother Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) was banished. In February 1397 he was appointed Admiral of the Irish fleet, as well as constable of Dover and Warden of the Cinque Ports. In May his Admiralty was extended to include the northern fleet.

    After Richard II was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, the new king rescinded the titles that had been given to the counter-appellants, and John became just the Earl of Somerset again. He proved loyal to his half-brother's reign, serving in various military commands and on some important diplomatic missions. He was given the confiscated estates of the Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndwr in 1400, although John could not effectively come into these estates until after 1415. In 1404 he was Constable of England.

    John died in the Hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower and was buried in St Michael's Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral. After his death Margaret married John's nephew, Thomas of Lancaster, son of King Henry IV.

    Tomb of Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, Lady Margaret Holland and John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset- Canterbury Cathedral

    St. Michael's Chapel (Emma Lazarus)

    When the vexed hubbub of our world of gain
    Roars round about me as I walk the street,
    The myriad noise of Traffic, and the beat
    Of Toil's incessant hammer, the fierce strain
    Of struggle hand to hand and brain to brain,
    Ofttimes a sudden dream my sense will cheat,
    The gaudy shops, the sky-piled roofs retreat,
    And all at once I stand enthralled again
    Within a marble minster over-seas.
    I watch the solemn gold-stained gloom that creeps
    To kiss an alabaster tomb, where sleeps
    A lady 'twixt two knights' stone effigies,
    And every day in dusky glory steeps
    Their sculptured slumber of five centuries.

    Of course Emma Lazarus was most famous for her poem "The New Colossus" on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearing to breathe free..."

    Issue-

  • I. Henry- b. 26 Nov. 1401, d.s.p. 25 Nov. 1418 Siege of Rouen
  • II. John- bpt. 25 Mar. 1404, m. Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso, d. 27 May 1444. John's daughter, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was the mother of King Henry VII.
  • 17III. JOAN- b. 1404, m.1. 2 Feb. 1424 Southwark Cathedral, JAMES STEWART, King of Scotland (assassinated 1437), 2. 21 Sept. 1439 JAMES STEWART, the Black Knight of Lorne (b.c.1383, d. after 1451), d. 15 July 1445 Dunbar Castle
  • IV. Thomas- b.c. 1405, d.s.p. 3 Oct. 1431 Siege of Louviers
  • V. Edmund- b. 1406, m. Eleanor Beauchamp (m.1. Thomas de Ros), d. 22 May 1455 Battle of St. Albans
  • VI. Margaret- b. 1409, m. Thomas de Courtenay, Earl of Devon (b.c.1414, d. 3 Feb. 1458 Abingdon Abbey, poisoned by the Prior), d. 1449

    Ref:

    (1) Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster- Alison Weir, Random House, London, 2007- p. 240; The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant- G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, New Edition, Alan Sutton Pub., Gloucester, 2000- Vol. XII, part 1, p.40
    (2) John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset- A.F. Pollard, in the "Dictionary of National Biography", Supplement Vol. 1, 1901 at: http://www.thepeerage.com/e272.htm


    12XVII. THOMAS (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8, EDWARD 9)

    b. 1 June 1300
    m.1. c.1319 ALICE HALYS(d. 1330), d. of Sir Roger De Hales, coroner of Norfolk and Alice Skogan
    2. 28 Mar. 1335 Mary Braose (m.1. Ralph de Cobham)
    ` d. Aug. 1338, bur. Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds

    Thomas was born at the manor of Brotherton and he was named after Thomas a Beckett to whom his mother had prayed during her pregnancy. King Edward supposedly rushed to see his wife and new baby and presented him with two cradles.

    Thomas was supposed to receive the Earldom of Cornwall, however, his brother, King Edward II, gave it to his favorite Piers Gaveston in 1306. Edward did grant him the estates of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk who had died without any heirs in 1306. Thomas was made Lord Marshal of England on 10 Feb. 1316 and he was Keeper of England while his brother was off fighting the Scots.

    Thomas was known for his hot temper. He was one of the victims of Hugh Despenser the younger who stole some of his lands. Thomas then allied himself with Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer when they invaded in 1326 and was one of the judges in the trials against the Despensers. Hugh the younger was strung up, his genitals cut off and thrown into the fire, he was disemboweled, drawn, quartered and beheaded. Nice folks.

    When King Edward III reached his majority Thomas was one of his advisors. As Lord Marshal he commanded the right wing of the army at the Battle of Halidon Hill, 19 July 1333.

    Issue-

  • I. Edward- b.c.1320, d. 1334
  • 12II. MARGARET- b. 1320, m.1. c.1337 JOHN De SEGRAVE (d. 20 Mar. 1353), 2. 1354 Sir Walter Manny (d. 1371), d. 24 Mar. 1398/9, bur. Grey Friars, London
  • III. Alice- m. Edward de Montacute (d. 14 July 1361), d.c.1352

    Ref:

    "Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol.II, p.289


    13IV. EDMUND (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8)

    b. 16 Jan. 1244/5 London
    m.1. 8 Apr. 1269, Lady Aveline de Forz, d.s.p.
    2. 3 Feb. 1276 Paris, BLANCHE of Artois (m.1. Enrique, King of Navarre, d. 2 May 1302 Paris), d. of Robert, Comte d'Artois and Maud of Brabant
    d. 5 June 1295 Bayonne, Aquitaine
    bur. 15 July 1296 Westminster Abbey

    Edmund "Crouchback" was made King of Sicily. by Pope Innocent IV in 1253, however, Conrad IV of Germany was in reality the King of Sicily. He was also made Earl of Chester at this time, however, this was transferred to his brother Edward.

    After the forfeiture of Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester, in 1265, Edmund was granted the earldoms of Leicester and Lancaster as well as the Stewardshire of England and the lands of Nicholas de Segrave. By 1267 he held the lorship of Builth Wells, Skenfrith, Grosmont, White Castle and Monmouth and was also Sheriff of Lancashire.

    In 1271 Edmund and his brother Edward participated in the Ninth Crusade and this is how he received his nickname "Crouchback" or "Crossback" as he was entitled to wear a cross on his back as a crusader.

    After returning from the Crusade he spent most of his time at Grosmont Castle. Edmund died while besieging Bordeaux in June 1296 and died in Bayonne on 5 June.

    Edmund "Crouchback's" Tomb- Westminster Abbey

    Issue-

  • I. Thomas- m. Alice de Lacy, executed 22 Mar. 1321/2 Pontefract
  • 14II. HENRY- b. 1281, m. 1298 MAUD De CHAWORTH (living in 1345), d. 22 Sept. 1345
  • III. John- Lord of Beaufort
  • IV. Mary- d.c.1289

    Ref:

    New Complete Peerage- Vol. VII, pp. 378-87

    "Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol.II, p.286


    14I. HENRY (GEOFFREY 1, GEOFFREY 2, FULK 3, FULK 4, GEOFFREY 5, HENRY 6, JOHN 7, HENRY 8, EDMUND 9)

    b. 1281
    m.1. before 2 Mar. 1296/7, MAUD De CHAWORTH (d. & heir of Sir Patrick Chaworth, Knt., Lord of Kidwelly & Isabel De Beauchamp, d. 3 Dec. 1322)
    2. Alix de Joinville (m.1. Jean, Seigneur d'Arcies-sur-Aube et de Chacenay), d. of Jean, Sieur de Joinville, Seneschal of Champagne
    d. 22 Sept. 1345

    Henry succeeded his brother, Earl Thomas, the rebel of Boroughbridge, who was executed at Pontefract on 22 Mar. 1321/2 and all his land and titles were forfeited. As he didn't participate in Thomas' rebellions against the king, Henry petitioned for his brother's lands and titles and was made the Earl of Leicester 10 May 1324.

    Upon Roger Mortimer's return to England with the Queen in Sept. 1326, Henry joined her party against Edward II which led to the nobility deserting Edward and his much hated advisors Hugh le Despenser and his son, Hugh the younger. Henry pursued Edward and captured him at Neath, Wales and was afterwards responsible for guarding him at Kenilworth Castle. Henry was then appointed cheif advisor to Edward III and captain general of his majesty's forces in the Scottish Marches. In 1327 Edward III returned the earldom of Lancaster to him.

    Issue-

  • I. Henry- b.c.1300, m. Isabella, d. of Henry, Lord Beaumont, d. 23 Mar. 1361 Leicester Castle
  • II. Blanche- b.c.1305, m. Thomas Wake of Liddell
  • III. Maud- b.c.1310, m.1. William de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, 2. Sir Ralph de Ufford, Justiciar of Ireland, d. 5 May 1377 Bruisyard Abbey, Suffolk
  • 15IV. JOAN- m.c. Feb. 1326/7, JOHN De MOWBRAY (b. 29 Nov. 1310 Hovingham, York, d. 4 Oct. 1361 York), d. 7 July 1349
  • V. Isabel- b.c.1317, d. after 1347. Abbess of Amesbury
  • 16VI. ELEANOR- m.1. John, Lord Beaumont (d. May 1342), 2. 5 Feb. 1344/5 RICHARD FITZALAN (b. 1306, d. 24 Jan. 1375/6), d. 11 Jan. 1371/2 Arundel
  • VII. Mary- b.c.1320, m. Henry de Percy (m.2. Joan Orreby), d. 1 Sept. 1362 Alnwick, Northumberland

    Ref:

    New Complete Peerage- Vol. VII, pp.396-401
    Blood Royal: Issue of the Kings and Queens of Medieval England- Thelma Leese, Heritage Books, 2007

    "Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants"- Vol.II, p.286


    Home