Squires, Knights, Barons, Kings: War and Politics in Fifteenth Century England

© Copyright 2009 Wm. E. Baumgaertner.

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Contents

PREFACE

Thomas de Mowbray, first Duke of Norfolk Friend and Pawn of a Vindictive King

John Montagu, third Earl of Salisbury Favorite of Richard II

John de Holland, Duke of Exeter Valorous and Violent King’s Half-Brother

Henry IV The Lancastrian Usurper

Sir Henry Percy Fearless, Implusive Hotspur

Henry de Percy, first Earl of Northumberland Founder of a Dynasty

Ralph de Neville, first Earl of Westmorland Great Neville Patriarch

Owain Glyn Dwr Last Welsh Prince of Wales

Henry V The Warrior-King

Thomas Fitzalan, eleventh Earl of Arundel Companion-in-Arms of Prince Henry

Richard Plantagenet of Conisburgh Weak and Ungrateful

Edward Plantagenet of Norwich The Cat with Many Lives

Thomas Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence The King’s Right-Hand

Thomas Beaufort, first Duke of Exeter Lancastrian Security

Sir Thomas Erpingham The Old Lancastrian War-Horse

Thomas Montagu,fourth Earl of Salisbury Best English General of the 100 Years War

Thomas Chaucer, Esquire Five-Times Speaker of the House

John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford The Great Francophile

Sir John Fastolf The Soldier-Entrepreneur

Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick Son of Chivalry, Father of Courtesy

John Beaufort, first Duke of Somerset Under an Ill-Omened Star

Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester The Good Duke Humphrey

Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester The Power Behind the Throne

John Holland, Duke of Exeter Valiant Warrior and King’s Cousin

William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk The Power Behind the Throne

Thomas, seventh Baron de Scales Dedicated Professional Warrior

John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury The English Achilles

Henry VI The Reluctant Monarch

Edmund Beaufort, second Duke of Somerset Enemy of the House of York

Henry de Percy, second Earl of Northumberland Re-Builder of a Dynasty

Edmund Tudor, first Earl of Richmond Father of a Dynasty

Humphrey de Staffordfirst Duke of Buckingham The Would-Be Conciliator

Thomas Percy, Baron Egremont Noble Ruffian

Richard de Neville, Earl of Salisbury Yorkist Stalwart

Richard Plantagenet, third Duke of York The Man Who Would be King

Margaret of Anjou The Lancastrian Champion

John de Mowbray, third Duke of Norfolk A Cautious Man in a Divided Realm

Henry Percy, third Earl of Northumberland Lancastrian Northern Border Warrior

James Butler, first Earl of Wiltshire Anglo-Irish Lancastrian

William de Neville, Earl of Kent Warrior and General

Richard de Neville, Earl of Warwick The Maker of Kings

Edward IV The Fair Yorkist King

Henry Beaufort, third Duke of Somerset Lancastrian Military Commander

William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke First Welshman given an English Earldom

Richard de Wydville, Earl Rivers Valiant Warrior and Champion of the Jousts

John de Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester Scholar, Humanist, and Butcher of England

John Neville, Marquis of Montagu Hesitant Trimmer and Reluctant Traitor

Henry Holland, second Duke of Exeter Cruel, Violent, and Capricious

George Neville, Archbishop of York Ecclesiastic Aristocrat

Sir John Fortescue Lancastrian Jurist and Author

George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence The Wayward Yorkist

William, first Baron Hastings King’s Comrade

Anthony Wydville, second Earl Rivers Scholar, Warrior and Champion

Elizabeth Wydville, Queen of England The Grasping Queen

Edward V The Boy-King

Henry de Staffordsecond Duke of Buckingham Pretentious and Untrue

John Howard, Duke of Norfolk Yorkist Stalwart and Keeper of the Seas

Richard III The Yorkist Usurper

Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke Guardian of the Tudor Line

Henry VII The Tudor Usurper

John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln The Last Yorkist Challenger

Henry Percy, fourth Earl of Northumberland Latent Lancastrian

John de Vere,thirteenth Earl of Oxford Lancastrian Loyalist, Pirate, and General

Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk Royal Stalwart and Renowned General

APPENDICES

Appendix A List of Abbreviations

Appendix B Glossary of Titles and Offices

Appendix C Definition of Select Heraldic Terms

Appendix D Brief Time-Line of Fifteenth Century England

Bibliography

DEDICATION

To the Memory of

Gloria Dolores Kennedy Abel Baumgaertner

who appreciated such thingsand

To

Merle White Herrin

who enjoys the unfolding of history

PREFACE

I began research for a novel about Fifteenth Century England, focusing on the Wars of the Roses, in 2001. The pursuit of research, in the due course of time, became an end unto itself, and the novel lay half-forgotten.

As fifteenth century England began to reveal it secrets to me, I became intrigued with its castles, its battles, and its pre-occupation with war, especially against France and Scotland. The aristocratic titles, the curious offices, the romantic heraldic arms and armor, all weaved a mesmerizing spell around me, which both charmed and intrigued me.

As I researched more, I began slowly to understand something of the personalities; of the desire for wealth and glory that successful military feats brought; of the compulsion to protect one’s name, title, honor, and lineage; of the dynastic aspirations that enticed even the most unlikely; of the unrelenting quest for security, land, and control; and of the gut-wrenching fear of losing power. In the process, I learned of the hundreds that contributed meaningfully to the history of fifteenth century England. Not just the kings and princes and dukes, nor just the archbishops and earls and barons, but the lesser folk, the yeomen, the esquires, and the knights. Many played significant roles in molding English history.

Many who have a passing interest in English history have heard of the Lancastrian Usurper, Henry IV; the great warrior-king, Henry V; and the monkish monarch, Henry VI. Some have also heard of the fair Yorkist king, Edward IV; his fated son, Edward V (the Prince in the Tower); the Yorkist Usurper, Richard III; and the Tudor Usurper, Henry VII. Most have heard of the Kingmaker, even if they forget that he was Sir Richard de Neville, Earl of Warwick. But what about the other key individuals of fifteenth century England?

Who was Little Fauconberg? Who was Hotspur, and how did he get his nickname? Who were the Beauforts, illegitimate descendents of Edward III (through his son, John of Gaunt), and how did they impact the history of England so significantly? Who was the Butcher of England and how did such an erudite and sophisticated man earn such an inglorious title? Why was Sir Richard de Beauchamp, also an Earl of Warwick, called the Father of Courtesy and the Son of Chivalry? What brought the educated and wealthy Owain Glyn Dwr, the last Welsh Prince of Wales, to the point of rebellion? Was Queen Margaret the she-wolf of Anjou, or just a fiercely devoted wife and mother? Was Sir Richard Plantagenet, third Duke of York, the guardian of good government, or a self-serving, aristocratic snob bent on snatching the throne of England? Who was the English Achilles, how did he earn such a sobriquet, and how did his end mark the ending of the Hundred Years War? Who were the Nevilles and the Percys, and how did a minor family feud start the Wars of the Roses? Who were some of the other squires, knights, barons and earls that contributed so much to the history of fifteenth century England, but who seem mostly forgotten today?

This book seeks to shed some light on a few score of these. Thus it contains a brief biography of many of the more important personages, regardless of aristocratic rank. It further seeks to identify parents, spouses, children, and familial relationships, titles and offices, family coats-of-arms, and where readily available, family badges, livery, and battle pennons, banners, and standards. To further enrich the background, some supplemental sections have been added. These include a glossary of titles and offices, definition of selected heraldic terms, and a brief timeline of fifteenth century England.

The lives of the English Kings and Queens have been touched upon somewhat lightly. This is because so much has already been written about them. Their lives have been presented here more to provide context than for any other purpose. More attention has been focused on the nobility and the knights and esquires, as much less seems to have been written about most of them.

Sources of Information

The bibliography indicates the sources used to gather the information contained herein. But it is worth pointing out here those primary sources that were used to generate the vast majority of the material contained in this document.

HERALDRY came from a number of sources: (1) Burke’s Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, 104th Edition, Peter Townsend, 1967 (referred to as BURKE); (2) A General and Heraldic Dictionary of Peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland-Extinct, Dormant and in Abeyance, Sir John Burke, 1831 (referred to as BURKE 1831); (3) The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; Comprising a Registry of Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time, Sir Bernard Burke, 1842 (referred to as BURKE, THE GENERAL ARMORY); (4) The Art of Heraldry, an Encyclopaedia of Armory, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, 1976 (referred to as FOX-DAVIES); (5) Basic Heraldry, Stephen Friar and John Ferguson, 1999 (referred to as FRIAR & FERGUSON); (6) English Heraldry, Charles Boutell, 1907 (referred to as BOUTELL); (7) Heraldry and Armor of the Middle Ages, Marvin H. Pakula, 1972; (8) Historic Heraldry of Britain, Anthony R. Wagner, 1939; (9) Medieval Heraldry, Terence Wise, Richard Hook color plates, William Walker line drawings, 1988 (referred to as WISE 99); (10) Concise Encyclopedia of Heraldry, Guy Cadogan Rothery, 1995 (referred to as ROTHERY); and (11) Heraldic Banners of the Wars of the Roses, Thomas Coveney, et al, 1997 (referred to as COVENEY).

The subjects of Badges, Livery, and Standards come from a number of sources. The most important are: (1) WISE 99 (see above); (2) FOX-DAVIES (see above); (3) FRIAR & FREGUSON (see above); (4) BOUTELL (see above); (5) ROTHERY (see above); (6)The Wars of the Roses: Men-at-Arms Series No. 145, Martin Windrow, editor, text by Terence Wise, color plates by G. A. Embleton, 1983 (referred to as WISE 145); and (7) Standards, Badges & Livery of the Wars of the Roses, Pat McGill and Jonathan Jones, 1992 (referred to as MCGILL).

Information about the Historical Context of the participants, and about Individual Contributions to the history of the period, including actions, dates, relationships, etc., was found in: (1) BURKE (see above); (2) BURKE, 1831 (see above); (3) The English Achilles, The Life and Campaigns of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, Hugh Talbot, 1981; (4) Warwick the Kingmaker, Charles W. Oman, 1893; (5) Warwick the Kingmaker, Paul Murray Kendall, 1957; (6) Crown and Nobility, 1450-1509, J.R. Lander, 1976 [referred to as LANDER]; (7) The Wars of the Roses, edited by Elizabeth Hallam, 1988; (8) Britain’s Kings & Queens, Michael St. John Parker, 1999; (9) Agincourt 1415: Triumph Against the Odds, Matthew Bennett, 1994; (10) The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens, Mike Ashley, 1999 [referred to as ASHLEY]; (11) The Concise Guide to Kings & Queens-A Thousand Years of European Monarchy, Peter Gibson, 1992 [referred to as GIBSON]; (12) The Hundred Years War, the English in France, 1337-1453, Desmond Seward, 1978 [referred to as SEWARD, 100]; (13) The Wars of the Roses (Through the Lives of Five Men and Women of the Fifteenth Century), Desmond Seward, 1995 [referred to as SEWARD, ROSES]; (14) Who’s Who in British History, Late Medieval England, 1272-1485, Michael A. Hicks, 2001 [referred to as HICKS]; (15) The Reign of Henry VI, R.A. Griffiths, 1998 [referred to as GRIFFITHS]; (16) The End of the House of Lancaster, R. L. Storey, 1999 (referred to as STOREY); (17) Edward IV, Charles Ross, 1974 [referred to as ROSS E IV]; (18) Richard III and Buckingham’s Rebellion, Louise Gill, 1999; (19) Wales and the Wars of the Roses, Howell T. Evans, 1998 (c.1915) [referred to as EVANS]; (20) England in the Fifteenth Century, Collected Essays, K.B. McFarlane, 1981 (referred to as MCFARLANE), who supplied some particularly useful information on Members of Parliament; (21) John Talbot & The War in France: 1427-1453, A.J. Pollard, 1983, 2005 (referred to as POLLARD-TALBOT); and (22) Is Paris Lost? The English Occupation 1422-1436, Raymond, Reagan Butler, 2003.

Information about Titles and Offices, and related dates, as well as birth dates and death dates, comes primarily from: (1) BURKE (see above); (2)

BURKE, 1831 (see above); (3) A Directory of British Peerages, Francis L. Leeson, 1986, which was used to document and/or confirm the beginning, duration, and end point of titles, and confirm the families to which they belonged at any point in time; (4) LANDER (see above); (5) ASHLEY (see above); and especially (6) GRIFFITHS (see above). Other equally valuable sources of titles and offices are: (7) Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and the Wars of the Roses-A Source Book, Keith Dockray, 2000; (8) Edward IV: a Source Book, Keith Dockray, 1999; (9) Richard III, a Source Book, Keith Dockray, 1997; (10) Handbook of British Chronology, Sir F. Maurice Powicke and E.B. Fryde, 1961; (11) HICKS (see above); (12) STOREY (see above); (13) ROSS E IV (see above); (14) EVANS (see above); (15) POLLARD-TALBOT (see above), (16) COVENEY (see above); (17) The Castle Community-English and Welsh Castle Personnel, 1272-1422, John Rickard [referred to as RICKARD]; (18) The Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Leslie Stephens and Sidney Lee (1885-1900) (referred to as DNB); and (19) the online encyclopedia, en.wikipedia.org. Other information was also available over the internet (see the bibliography).

of special note are the DNB, and the online encyclopedia, en.wikipedia.org. The former was used with some care, as this early edition of DNB is replete with incorrect dates, and occasional misinformation. The latter (wikipedia), although short on detail, is a rich, colorful, expansive document that was quite helpful with individuals, titles, offices, and dates. Additional information identifying individual contributions and familial relationships was also found in other on-line sources (see the bibliography).

In Appreciation

I would like to express my appreciation to all those who gave me encouragement through all the long years of research, which led to this work, and its companion, A Timeline of Fifteenth Century England (Trafford Publishing), as well as the other works still in development. I’d especially like to thank my wife, Kathy H. Baumgaertner, whose patience was only exceeded by my passion for fifteenth century England. I’d also like to thank Eugene R. Baumgaertner, Joan A. Kaiser, John E. Morris, Meghan M. Bandelin, Marsha Anderson Bomar, John M. Karnowski, Randall C. Parker, Judith V. Hook, Stacey L. Hook, Bonita B. Mesler, Robyn B. Bell, Ann B. Court, Susan B. Buck, Les Leigh D. Golson, and to all the others who have given me encouragement, and humored me in my obsession.

SQUIRES, KNIGHTS,

BARONS, KINGS

War and Politics

In Fifteenth Century England

Thomas de Mowbray, first Duke of Norfolk Friend and Pawn of a Vindictive King 

Thomas de Mowbray (22MR 1366-22SE 1399), Sir Thomas de Mowbray, Knight of the Garter (invested before OC 1383), sixth Baron Mowbray (10FE 1383-1399), seventh Baron Segrave (10FE 1383-1399), second Earl of Nottingham (12FE 1383-22SE 1399), eighth Earl of Norfolk (may have been styled 1383-29SE 1397, succeeded 24MR 1399-22SE1399), first Duke of Norfolk (29SE 1397-24MR 1399), Marshal of England (1386-1397), Commissioner to Treat with the Scots (MY 1389, JE 1390), Warden of the Eastern Marches Towards Scotland (1JE 1389-1391), Captain of Berwick Castle (1 JE 1389-1391), Captain of Roxburgh Castle (1 JE 1389-1391), Captain of Calais (1391-1392, renewed NO 1392-1398), Lieutenant of Picardy, Flanders, and Artois (NO 1392-1398), Chief Justice of North Wales (MR 1394-1398), Chief Justice of Chester and Flint (MY 1394-1397) (for life) (1397-1398), Commissioner to Treat with the French (1395-1396), Earl Marshal of England (1397-1398), Diplomat (1397), Constable of Lewes Castle (Sussex) (26JL 1397-28SE 1398).

Thomas de Mowbray was the second son of John de Mowbray (d.9OC 1368), fourth Baron Mowbray, and Elizabeth de Segrave (1338-1375) (the only daughter of John, sixth Baron de Segrave (d.1353) and Margaret Plantagenet, Countess (and later Duchess) of Norfolk (d.1399). (His mother was a grand-daughter of Edward I, and a daughter of Thomas Plantagenet of Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk, and Alice Halys.) The Mowbrays descended from Nigil de Albini, the brother of William de Albini, from whom the ancient Earls of Arundel derived. The Albinis, who were maternally of the House of Mowbray, came to England with the Conqueror, and received vast holdings after the victory at Hastings (1066). Nigil’s grants lay in the counties of Bucks, Bedford, Warwick, and Leicester.

Thomas de Mowbray first married (about 15MR 1383) Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John, Baron Strange of Blackmere. She died 23AU 1383 without issue. He secondly married (about 1385) Elizabeth (c.1366-8JL 1425), daughter of Richard Fitzalan, tenth Earl of Arundel (and sister and co-heir of Thomas Fitzalan, eleventh Earl of Arundel; and widow of William Montagu, eldest son of the Earl of Salisbury) and Elizabeth Bohun (daughter of William de Bohun and Elizabeth Badlesmere). Elizabeth Fitzalan was appointed a Lady of the Garter in 1386. Thomas and Elizabeth Fitzalan had two sons, Thomas and John, and two daughters, Margaret (who married Sir Robert Howard), and Isabel (d.1452) (whose second husband was Sir James, sixth Baron Berkeley (1394-1463), known as James the Just).

Thomas de Mowbray was literate, appreciated music, and was pious. He was also reportedly a chivalrous knight. He was raised with the young king, Richard II. This literal affinity to his sovereign brought him quick advantage, especially when he came of age, including the return of the earldom, and marriage to an elderly (and short-lived) heiress (Elizabeth le Strange of Blackmere). He acquired his baronies in February 1383, upon the death of his elder brother, John-who had also been a good friend of the young Richard II. Some of that high regard may have rubbed off on the younger Mowbray. Within days of inheriting his baronies, he acquired the Earldom of Nottingham (lost upon his brother’s death). Before October 1383, he was also vested as a Knight of the Garter. And as if to confirm his award, in late October 1383, he was summoned to Parliament as the Earl of Nottingham.

The Earl of Nottingham may have participated in the March 1384 expedition against the Scots. If he did, he was a young man of eighteen. He certainly was a member of the expedition against the Scots led by Richard II himself, in the summer of 1386, when he was created Earl Marshall of England (on account of his descent from Sir Thomas Plantagenet de Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk).

During the war with France, Nottingham was given a naval command under his father-in-law, Sir Richard Fitzalan, tenth Earl of Arundel. He participated in the naval victory of March 24, 1387, achieved by the Earl of Arundel against the combined forces of the French, Flemish, and Spanish. When Mowbray and his father-in-law returned to England, they received an unexpectedly cool reception by the King, and Richard’s favorite, Sir Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, Duke of Ireland, would not even speak to them. Perhaps Mowbray’s unlicensed marriage to Elizabeth Fitzalan at Arundel Castle, and his unsuccessful rivalry with the King’s favorite, led to his fall in the King’s esteem. The Earls of Nottingham and Arundel retired to their respective estates, perhaps to see how matters would resolve themselves. The King’s change in attitude towards him may have led Mowbray to ultimately join with the original Lords Appellant in 1387, as they tried to control both the King and his favorites.

Mowbray was not part of the main triumvirate-Sir Thomas Plantagenet of Woodstock, first Duke of Gloucester (the King’s uncle, and the youngest son of Edward III); Sir Richard Fitzalan, tenth Earl of Arundel; and Sir Thomas de Beauchamp, fourth Earl of Warwick. He was not part of the original rebellion at Court in October 1387, nor in the armed confrontation of November, when the triumvirate extorted a promise from Richard II that his advisors would be impeached before Parliament. However, by December Mowbray was involved, and joined in the defeat of the Duke of Ireland at Radcot Bridge on December 20, 1387 (although it was claimed that he did not actually arrive in time to join in the fighting). He certainly participated in the Merciless Parliament of early 1388, which humiliated Richard, and punished many of the King’s closest companions.

When Richard II came of age in May 1389, all five of the Lords Appellant were removed from the Privy Council. Yet Mowbray Earl of Nottingham quickly returned to favor. Richard II gave him the long overdue livery of his lands, and since he held so much land in the North, appointed him as a Commissioner to treat with the Scots. He was appointed Warden of the Eastern Marches towards Scotland in June 1389, as well as Captain of Berwick and Roxburgh Castles. Trying to reconcile with both Mowbray, and the fifth Lord Appellant, Sir Henry Plantagenet of Bolingbroke, Earl of Hereford, Richard II had both back on the Privy Council by September 1389.

In 1391, Sir Thomas de Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham’s northern awards were exchanged with the Earl of Northumberland for the Captaincy of Calais. In November 1392, the Captaincy of Calais was renewed for six years, and Nottingham was appointed King’s Lieutenant of Picardy, Flanders, and Artois. In March 1394 he supplanted Gloucester as Chief Justice of North Wales, and in May 1394, he was also appointed Chief Justice of Chester and Flint. In September 1394, the Earl of Nottingham accompanied Richard II on his expedition to Ireland.

Sir Thomas de Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, was part of a commission that included Sir Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland (son of the Duke of York), and Sir William le Scrope, that was sent to France in 1396 to arrange both a long peace with France, and the marriage between Richard II and Isabel, the eldest daughter of Charles VI, King of France. The agreement was signed on March 9, 1396, and Mowbray, as Earl Marshal, married the seven year old princess as proxy for Richard II. The two monarchs later met in state on October 27, 1396, and Richard II met his wife, soon known as the Little Queen, the following day. Lavish wedding celebrations were held in Calais as part of this meeting.

During Parliament in January 1397, Sir Thomas de Mowbray obtained a royal charter confirming the hereditary right of his male heirs to the Office of Marshal of England, and further, the office was confirmed as Earl Marshal. (This honor included the right of each to bear a golden truncheon, bearing the arms of the king at one end, and their own arms at the other.) Also, since he was in such high regard with Richard II, and due to his descent from Edward I through Thomas Plantagenet, he was permitted to bear in his arms a golden leopard (the royal leopards were considered equivalent to, and later translated to lions) with a white label (denoting the first born son of the king). This was subsequently changed to a golden leopard (later a lion) with a silver coronet about its neck (replacing the white label). About this same time, he was appointed Justice of North Wales, as well as of Chester and Flint for life.

From February until late June, 1397, Sir Thomas de Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, was on a diplomatic mission in Europe, along with Sir Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland, and Bishop Thomas Merke. He returned to England in time to assist Richard II when the King, a vindictive man who had been biding his time, finally took his revenge upon the three most-senior of the so-called original Five Lords Appellant: Sir Thomas Plantagenet of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; Sir Richard Fitzalan, tenth Earl of Arundel; and Sir Thomas de Beauchamp, fourth Earl of Warwick.

Apparently Mowbray was one of a group of young courtiers who on July 8 and 9 petitioned the King to arrest the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earls of Arundel and Warwick (in the process becoming a member of the new Lords Appellant). Mowbray was present when Richard II personally arrested Gloucester, and the Duke was placed in Mowbray’s custody, and was sent to be held at Calais. On August 5, this same group of courtiers agreed to accuse the three former Lords Appellant of treason when Parliament met at Westminster in September. On September 21, a Friday, Mowbray and his fellow-appellants (the new Lords Appellant) repeated their charges of treason in Parliament, condemning the three senior original Lords Appellant for attempting to deprive the King of his royal authority back in 1387 and 1388. On that very day, Sir Richard Fitzalan, tenth Earl of Arundel, was quickly tried, condemned, and taken out to Tower Hill to be executed. Thus, the King’s revenge included the destruction of Mowbray’s father-in-law Arundel, which Mowbray seemed willing to do, and whom Mowbray allegedly escorted to his execution.

On the same September 21, the King issued a writ requiring that the Earl of Nottingham, as Captain of Calais, produce the Duke of Gloucester, so that the Duke could answer to the charges of treason in Parliament. Parliament was adjourned until Monday, September 24, too soon for the Duke of Gloucester to have been brought back from Calais. Instead, Mowbray read a statement saying that he could not produce Gloucester, as the Duke had died at Calais while in his custody. The following day a confession was produced, purportedly written by the Duke of Gloucester on September 8, and was read in Parliament. Gloucester was then condemned and found guilty of treason posthumously.

Many of these matters in September 1397 were highly suspicious in nature. Gloucester apparently died on September 8th or 9th. There is some evidence that Sir Thomas de Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, was in Calais in early September, and under the later Lancastrian regime was himself accused posthumously of participating in, or at least facilitating, the murder of the Duke of Gloucester (at Richard II’s behest).

Sir Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, was also implicated in the plot against the king, but was exiled to the Isle of Man instead of being executed (however, all of his lands were forfeited to the Crown). Meanwhile, the compliant Commons in Parliament stated to the King that both of the junior Lords Appellant, the Earl of Nottingham and the Earl of

Derby & Northampton, had been innocent of malice back in 1388, and Richard II himself attested to their loyalty to the King.

Although the King seemed content to wreck his revenge upon the senior three of the Lords Appellant, he acted differently towards the two junior members, Mowbray and Sir Henry Plantagenet of Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby & Northampton. These two he seemed to conciliate, and indeed, reward. Thus we see that as a consequence of his services to Richard II, Sir Thomas de Mowbray was granted, on September 28 1397 (a week after Arundel’s death), most of the lands of the Earl of Arundel in Sussex and Surrey, and seventeen of the Earl of Warwick’s manors in the midlands. The very next day, on September 29, 1397, he was created Duke of Norfolk. On the same day, Sir Henry Plantagenet of Bolingbroke was created Duke of Hereford. Other fellow-appellants were also rewarded by the King that day, among them Sir John de Holland, who was created Duke of Exeter; Sir Thomas de Holland, who was created Duke of Surrey; Sir John Beaufort, who was created Marquis of Somerset; Sir Ralph de Neville, who was created Earl of Westmorland; Sir Thomas Percy, who was created Earl of Worcester; and Sir William le Scrope, who was created Earl of Wiltshire.

The new Duke of Norfolk had come a long way in the preceding fifteen years. Once just the Earl of Nottingham, he was now both a Duke and the Earl Marshal of England, as well as significantly wealthier than before. Unfortunately, all of this royal attention couldn’t help but breed jealousy in some of the King’s closest advisors, notably Sir William le Scrope, the new Earl of Wiltshire, Sir Thomas de Holland, the new Duke of Surrey, and Sir John de Montagu, Earl of Salisbury. These men reminded the King that the Duke of Norfolk was one of the original Lords Appellant, and thus they insisted that Mowbray could not, even now, be trusted.

Rumors of a possible plot against the Duke of Norfolk, as a former Lord Appellant, eventually reached Mowbray’s ears. In December 1397, as he was riding from Brentford to London with his fellow Lord Appellant, Sir Henry Plantagenet of Bolingbroke, now Duke of Hereford, he confided his fears. He may have done more than let known his concerns, and may have suggested that he and Bolingbroke take action to protect themselves. Bolingbroke confided the conversation to his father, Sir John Plantagenet of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (the King’s uncle). Gaunt, fearing a possible plot against his son, spoke with Richard II about this matter. Richard in turn questioned Norfolk, who denied the whole affair.

The Duke of Norfolk was summoned to the Shrewsbury Parliament on January 30, 1398, to provide answers to these unresolved matters, but he failed to appear. At this Parliament, the Duke of Hereford (who had previously given Richard II a written account of his version of events, and whom the King had already granted a full pardon of any treason he might have been guilty of in the past) presented charges against the Duke of

Norfolk. On February 4, the King ordered his Sheriffs to find the Duke of Norfolk. Norfolk was located on February 23 at his castle at Oswestry, not all that far from Shrewsbury, where he again denied all of the charges. Next, Richard II and the Privy Council met at Bristol to discuss the matter further, and it was decided to submit the matter to a Court of Chivalry at Windsor. The Court of Chivalry met on April 28, and decided that the matter between Mowbray and Bolingbroke could best be handled by a Trial by Combat (that is, God would settle the matter of guilt), to be scheduled at Coventry. (It can be speculated that the vindictive Richard II knew that surely one of the two would die in the combat, and realized that here was a way to eliminate a fourth Lord Appellant.)

On September 16, 1398, the lists were set at Gosford Green, outside of the city of Coventry, with Richard II and his Court present. Both contestants appeared magnificently arrayed, Norfolk in fine German armor, and Hereford in spectacular Italian armor that was a present from the Duke of Milan. Just before the beginning of the contest, as the charges were being sounded, Richard II interposed. He and his council deliberated. It seems that Mowbray had confessed to some of the charges at Windsor that he had denied at Oswestry, so his guilt no longer had to be established. At the advice of his Council, Richard prohibited the conflict and banished both men (Norfolk to Germany, Bohemia or Hungary, and no where else, for life, and Hereford to France, for ten years). Norfolk and Hereford were forbidden to communicate with each other. Norfolk was deprived of his offices, but allowed to keep his titles. His Captaincy of Calais was given to Sir John de Holland, Duke of Exeter. His office of Earl Marshall was given the very next day to Sir Thomas de Holland, Duke of Surrey. He was also deprived of his most recent acquisitions from the Earls of Arundel and Warwick, while the remainder of his properties were confiscated by the Crown on additional trumped up charges. He was allowed a sum of £1,000 per year for his maintenance.

Having put his affairs in order, the Duke of Norfolk sailed in mid-October from near Lowestoft to Dordrecht, taking with him an entourage of forty retainers and servants, along with his personal jewels, plate, and armor. His travels through Europe eventually took him to Venice, where in February 1399, he was granted the loan of a ship with which to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It is not known for certain if he ever actually went to the Holy Land, although some evidence exists that he did. He was back in Venice later that year when he contracted the plague, and died on September 22, 1399 (barely more than a week before Richard II himself was deposed by Sir Henry Plantagenet of Bolingbroke, now the temporarily disinherited Duke of Lancaster). Sir Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, was buried at the Basilica of San Marco in Venice.

Based upon the evidence, it is difficult to decipher the character of Sir Thomas de Mowbray. He can easily be viewed as too egocentrically motivated, a willing accomplice of the vindictive Richard II, and perhaps even a real villain in his treatment of Sir Thomas Plantagenet of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. As the Dictionary of National Biography notes, ... at best he was no better than the rest of the little knot of selfish, ambitious nobles, mostly of the blood royal, into which the older baronage had now shrunk, and whose quarrels already preluded their extinction at each other’s hands in the Wars of the Roses.

Family / Personal Arms: gules, a lion rampant argent (a white lion rampant on a field of red) (see Jamieson, p.10) (see Friar & Ferguson, p.64, plate 1) (see Wurts, p.1124); gules, a lion rampant or ( a gold lion rampant, on a field of red) (John, 1461) (see Fox-Davies, p.127). Gules, three lions passant guardant in a pale or (three gold lions placed vertically, passant guardant (walking past in profile, with the right front paw held up, full faced, with tail held over the back) all on a red field) (Thomas, 1400; John, 1432; John, 1461) (see Fox-Davies, p.347).

Badges: a white lion (both Johns) (Wise 99, p.24) (see drawing, Wise 145, p.33); an erect ostrich feather (John the elder) (Wise 145, p.30); a mulberry tree, and also a branch of the mulberry with leaves and fruit (Rothery, p.124).

Livery: azure and tawney (blue and orange, or perhaps tan) (Wise 99, p.24) (Wise 145, p.30).

Standard: the cross of St. George in the hoist, followed by a field of azure over tawney, a bordure compony of azure and tawney, prominently shown a lion rampant argent and a mulberry tree fruited proper, also with a scattering of ostrich feathers argent, with the motto sable in bends argent Sola Nobilitat Virtus (conjectural: McGill, p. 20, see also plate 7).

John Montagu, third Earl of Salisbury Favorite of Richard II 

John Montagu (c. 1350/51-ex.7/8JA 1400), Sir John Montagu (1369), Knight of the Garter (app.c.1397), fourth Baron Monthermer (1395-1400), fifth Baron Montagu (1397-1400), third Earl of Salisbury (1397-1400), Knight of the King’s Body (1383), Earl Marshal of England (SE 1398), Ambassador to France (DE 1398), Constable of Tonbridge Castle (Kent) (22MR 1399-1400).

The Montagus (or Montacutes) were a family of warriors that descended from Drogo de Montacute, who came across with the Conqueror, and who received lands in Somerset. They were directly related to Simon de Montacute (d.1317), first Baron Montacute. Simon fought against the Welsh, the Scots, and the French, and served as Admiral of the Fleet, and was a loyal vassal of Edward I.

John Montagu was the son of Sir John Montagu (d.1390) and Margaret de Monthermer (d.1395), daughter of Thomas (d.1340), second Baron Monthermer. He was the grandson of William Montagu (before 21 FE 1302-30JA 1344), first Earl of Salisbury (and Captain of Calais). He was also the nephew of William Montagu (19JE 1328-3JE 1397), second Earl of Salisbury. He married Mary (or Maud) Franceys (Francis) (d.1424), daughter of Sir Adam Franceys (Francis), Knight, and former Mayor of London (his wife was twice widowed, including widow of Sir Alan Buxhill, KG, and grocer John Aubrey). Mary (or Maud) was appointed a Lady of the Garter in 1408.

John Montagu was the first earl to marry into the mercantile class, although he was not yet an earl when married (and not necessarily expected to become one), and was in desperate need of a source of income. He and Maud had two sons, Thomas (his successor) and Richard (who died without issue), and three daughters: Margaret (who secondly married William, sixth Baron Ferrers); Anne (who first married Sir John Hankford, and who thirdly married John Holland, Duke of Exeter, his second wife); and Elizabeth (who married Robert, sixth Baron Willoughby de Eresby).

John Montagu was as skilled in the martial arts as his illustrious predecessors. He was the sixth generation of his family to give loyal service to the crown, and one of the few genuine friends that Richard II had, motivated more by love of sovereign than by self-interest. He was a poet, a writer of ballads, songs, rondels, and lays. He also protected Lollard heretics from persecution, associated with other Lollard knights, and was very likely a Lollard himself. He distinguished himself in the wars with France in 1369, when he was only eighteen, capturing and ransoming a number of prominent individuals. He was knighted that year by the Earl of Cambridge before Bourdeille, and distinguished himself in the taking of that town. During his father’s Stewardship, he became a member of the royal household, and by 1383 a Knight of the King’s Body (a royal bodyguard). He was summoned to Parliament in 1391 as Baron Montagu. He went on crusade in Prussia against the Slavs in 1391-92, lead by Sir Henry of Bolingbroke (later Duke of Hereford, still later Henry IV). In 1394, Bolingbroke, upon the death of his wife, Mary de Bohun, entrusted his heir, Henry of Monmouth (later Henry V), to the care of Sir John, Baron Montagu’s parents, Sir John Montagu and his wife, Lady Margaret de Monthermer. Lady Margaret cared for Henry of Monmouth at a family household in Brecknock, near Monmouth, in Wales, until her death in 1395. Upon the death of his mother in 1395, Montagu inherited the Barony and estates of Monthermer and received livery of those lands.

Sir John Montagu held a command in Ireland while Richard II was visiting there in 1394-1395. While Richard was still in Ireland, Montagu and several other lords presented a bill in Parliament that advocated a position held by the Lollards (deemed an attack upon the Church). When Richard returned to England, he berated Montagu and the others for having supported such a position.

Sir John Montagu, Baron of Montagu & Monthermer, advocated Richard II’s peace initiative with France, and supported his proposed marriage with Isabella de Valois, the daughter of Charles VI. He went to France with Richard when the latter married the French King’s daughter. This association won him favor from the King, and he became a prominent member of the Court Party. While in France he met and encouraged Christine de Pisan (a highly-regarded Italian poet, who wrote in French, and greatly influenced fifteenth century Enlish poetry), and took back to England a collection of her poems. The following year Pisan sent her son to be educated in Montagu’s household.

Upon the death of his uncle Earl William Montagu in 1397, Sir John did homage and received the lands and titles of the Barony of Montagu, and of the Earldom of Salisbury. Also about this time he was appointed a Knight of the Garter. Although popular with the King, he was not so with the commons, especially with London, which opposed the King’s peace initiative with France.

As a favorite of Richard II, in 1397 Sir John Montagu, third Earl of Salisbury, was used by that monarch to impeach the first three of the so-called Five Lords Appellant: Sir Thomas Plantagenet of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; Sir Thomas de Beauchamp, fourth Earl of Warwick; and Sir Richard Fitzalan, tenth Earl of Arundel. Salisbury successfully persuaded Richard II not to execute Warwick along with Gloucester and Arundel. As a reward for his services, he was none-the-less granted some of the estates of the attainted Warwick.

In September 1398, Salisbury was constituted temporarily as Marshal of England for three years, while Sir Thomas Holland, Duke of Surrey was in Ireland. In December of 1398, Salisbury was appointed an ambassador to France, and much against his will was directed by Richard II to convince Charles VI to prohibit the marriage between the exiled Sir Henry Plantagenet of Bolingbroke and the daughter of the Duke of Berry. Salisbury was successful in this, to the great displeasure of Bolingbroke.

On his return to England, Salisbury angered Bolingbroke further as he was one of a number of lords that agreed to repeal the patent that allowed Sir Henry of Bolingbroke control over the lands that he had inherited from his father, Sir John Plantagenet of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Later that year, 1399, when Sir Henry of Bolingbroke, now Duke of Lancaster, invaded England and sought to overthrow Richard II, the Earl of Salisbury remained one of Richard Il’s few trustworthy supporters. He had accompanied the King to Ireland in May. Sent back to North Wales, Salisbury raised an army of Welshmen and Cheshiremen to support Richard II against Sir Henry of Bolingbroke. When this army and Richard’s own army brought back from Ireland deserted, Salisbury advised Richard to flee to Bordeaux. Richard declined, and was convinced by Sir Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland to meet with Bolingbroke. Richard met with Sir Henry of Bolingbroke at Flint, accompanied by Salisbury. Salisbury was imprisoned for a short while by Bolingbroke. Even so, Bolingbroke held him in sufficient regard to let him keep his titles and honors.

The Earl of Salisbury attended the October 1399 Parliament in which Richard II was deposed, and Sir Henry of Bolingbroke proclaimed King Henry IV. On October 10, the Commons petitioned that Richard’s evil councillors (which included the Earl of Salisbury and the Holland brothers, and other of the 1397 Lords Appellant) be arrested. Sir Thomas, fourth Baron Morley, accused Salisbury of complicity in the deaths of Gloucester and Arundel, and challenged him to trial by combat. Salisbury accepted, and meanwhile was placed in the Tower with his fellow Appellants. On November 3, sentence was pronounced upon his fellow Appellants, but Salisbury was exempted, as he had yet to prove his innocense or guilt by combat with Baron Morley. Although the Londoners demanded Salisbury’s execution, he was freed from the Tower through the intercession of Henry IV’s sister Elizabeth, Countess of Huntingdon (wife of Sir John de Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, former Duke of Exeter). Sir Thomas Holland, third Earl of Kent (former Duke of Surrey), became surety for Salisbury’s good conduct.

On December 17, 1399, Sir John Montagu, Earl of Salisbury, met with Sir John de Holland, Earl of Huntingdon (former Duke of Exeter); his nephew Sir Thomas Holland, third Earl of Kent (former Duke of Surrey, and Earl of Warwick); Thomas Despencer, second Baron De Spencer, Earl of Gloucester; Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland (son of Edward

Plantagenet, Duke of York); and Ralph, Baron Lumley, at the abbot’s house at Westminster, and entered into a conspiracy to unseat Henry IV, in favor of the Hollands’ half-brother, Richard II. On January 4, 1400, they met at Kinston. They journeyed to Windsor Castle disguised as Christmas players, allegedly for the purpose of murdering Henry IV and his sons at the jousts planned for the Twelfth Day of Christmas. Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland, forewarned Henry, who had hastily returned to London.

With the plot discovered, the conspirators fled. The Earl of Huntingdon fled east, towards London. The rest rode to Reading, visited Queen Isabella de Valois at Sonning, and tried unsuccessfully to raise the people into rebellion against Henry IV. Next they decided to retreat to the Welsh borderlands, and Salisbury led a group of their forces to Woodstock, where he was joined by the Earl of Kent. Pressing onward, they arrived on the night of the 6th at Cirencester in Gloucester. At Cirencester the populace became alarmed, as the conspirators had arrived in the middle of the night with a large group of soldiers. A battle ensued, which raged from midnight to three o’clock in the morning. Then Kent, Salisbury, and Lumley surrendered, hoping to be able to speak with the King before being put to death. They were housed in the abbey, under the charge of Thomas, fifth Baron Berkeley. Unfortunately for them, that afternoon a priest of their party set fire to the town to help facilitate their escape. The townspeople became so incensed over this that the prisoners were brought out of the abbey in which they were being kept, and Kent, Salisbury, and Lumley were beheaded (January 7/8, 1400). Salisbury’s head was sent to the King at Oxford, and was then sent to London and placed on London Bridge. His body was buried at Cirencester Abbey. Later his widow was able to petition Henry V to have the body removed from Cirencester and re-buried at Bisham Priory, Berkshire (where he had been a hereditary patron).

Sir John Montagu, third Earl of Salisbury, was subsequently attainted, and all his titles and honors forfeited (including five castles). However, Henry IV took compassion upon his widow and children, and restored some of the late Earl’s manors in Devonshire for their support.

Family / Personal Arms: argent, three fusils conjoined in a fess gules (three red fusils (vertically elongated diamonds) joined horizontally tip-to-tip to form a bar across the center of the shield, on a field of white) (William, 1344) (Burke, 1831, p.362) (see Fox-Davies, p.102). Quarterly, 1 and 4, argent, three fusils conjoined in a fess gules (for Montagu), 2 and 3, or, an eagle displayed wings inverted vert (for Monthermer) (a shield divided into quarters, the first and fourth quarter, three red fusils (vertically elongated diamonds) joined horizontally tip-to-tip to form a bar across the center of the shield, on a field of white; and in the second and third quarters, a green eagle, with wings spread, feathers pointed downward, on a field of gold) (Thomas, 1415) (Bennett, p.33).

John de Holland, Duke of Exeter 

Valorous and Violent King’s Half-Brother 

John de Holland (c.1352-ex.5/16JA 1400), Sir John de Holland, Knight of the Garter (invested1381), Earl of Huntingdon (2JE 1387-1400), Duke of Exeter. (29SE 1397-deprived 3NO 1399), Chief Justice of Chester (6MY 1381), Constable of Tintagel Castle (for life) (6JA 1389-1400), Great Chamberlain of England (for life) (1389-1400), Admiral of the King’s Western Fleet (1389-1400), Governor (Constable) of the Castle, Town, and Bastile of Brest, Brittany (1389-1400), Constable of Berkhamsted Castle (24JA 1391-MR 1397), Constable of Rockingham Castle (for life) (19AP 1391-1400), Constable of Conwy Castle (3SE 1394-25FE 1398), Constable of Harestan (Horeston) Castle (29SE 1391-1400), Warden of the Western Marches Towards Scotland and Constable of Carlisle Castle (1395), Captain of Calais (1398-1400), Constable of Blaen Llyfni (Blenleveny), Builith, Caerleon, Cefnllys (Kevenethes), Dinas, Llangibby (Tregruk), New Radnor, Trelleck (Trillach), and Usk Castles (during the minority of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March) (11AU 1398-1400), Privy Council Member.

The Hollands were a family of some antiquity residing in county Lancaster. There were several branches by the fifteenth century, one the Barons Holland, Wake, and Woodstock, Earls of Kent and Warwick, Duke of Surrey, and the other the Earls of Huntingdon, Dukes of Exeter.

John de Holland was the third son of Sir Thomas de Holland (d.1360), first Earl of Kent, and (m.1349) the heiress Joanne (1328-1385), the Fair Maid of Kent (the only daughter of Sir Edmund Plantagenet of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, (a son of Edward I), and Margaret, daughter of Sir John, Baron Wake)). (Joanne, his mother, was appointed a Lady of the Garter in 1378. She secondly married Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, making John a half-brother of Richard II.) John was the younger brother of Sir Thomas de Holland, second Earl of Kent. John married the Lady Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter of Sir John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Blanche of Lancaster, and had three sons (Richard, John, and Edward) and a daughter (Constance). By his marriage, he was also a brother-in-law to Henry IV. (His wife, Elizabeth, was also appointed a Lady of the Garter in 1378. As his widow, she later married Sir John Cornwall, Baron Fanhope & Milbroke.)

John de Holland had great personnel strength, was a master of weaponry, and became famous for his knightly prowess. He was also undisciplined, occasionally cruel, and wreckless. Being so closely related to several monarchs, he was involved in public activities throughout his life. His close relationship to the Royal family both propelled him publicly, and protected him against his indiscretions. He was vested as a Knight of the Garter in 1381. He held numerous high offices, including Justice of Chester (also 1381), and upon his half-brother Richard Il’s majority, he was appointed Admiral of the King’s Western Fleet and Governor of the Castle, Town, and Bastile of Brest, Brittany (1389), Great Chamberlain of

England (for life) (1389-1400), Constable of Tintagel Castle (1389-1400), and a member of the Royal Council. He was a Lord Appellant in 1397, and that year made Duke of Exeter. He was also awarded Warden of the Western Marches towards Scotland in 1397, and the Captaincy of Calais in 1398. At this time, upon the fall of the Earl of Arundel, he also received the Honor of Arundel, and the Castles of Reigate and Lewes.

In 1381, during the rising of the poor and disenfranchised, Sir John de Holland was with Richard II in the Tower of London, and like his brother Thomas de Holland, he did not go out with the King to Mile End. The following December, he was one of a group of notables appointed to meet the King’s intended, Anne of Bohemia, in Calais, and escort her back to England.

In 1385, Sir John de Holland murdered Sir Ralph Stafford, the heir of Sir Hugh, second Earl of Stafford. Both Holland and Stafford were accompanying the King on his way to Scotland. Near York, an archer of Sir Ralph Stafford got into an argument with an esquire of Sir John de Holland, which ended with the archer killing the esquire. All the following day, tensions ran high between the two retinues. On the evening of the following day, Sir Ralph Stafford rode to Holland’s encampment, to try to appease him for the outrage. At the same time, Sir John de Holland rode out to visit Stafford to demand an explanation. They passed each other in the dark. Holland asked who was passing him by. Sir Ralph answered Stafford. Sir John drew his sword, identified himself, and ran his sword through Stafford’s body. Sir Hugh Stafford, Earl of Stafford, was outraged, and demanded vengeance. Sir Ralph’s death also infuriated Richard II, who on September 14, 1385, confiscated Holland’s lands, threatened him with death, and drove him into sanctuary at the house of St. John of Beverley. Contemporary chroniclers reported that their mother begged Richard II to forgive Sir John for the crime, and when she was refused, that she died of grief. Sir John was later absolved (about February 1386) upon promising to build three chantries for the preservation of the soul of his victim.

About the same time, some have reported that Sir John de Holland had earlier seduced Elizabeth of Lancaster (daughter of Sir John Plantagenet of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster), who was already betrothed to another. Whether this was true and he was forced to marry Elizabeth of Lancaster, or whether it was not and he willingly married her, none-the-less, in 1386, after he was absolved by Richard II of the murder of Sir Ralph Stafford, he did marry her. This latter had the beneficial effect of securing for him the patronage of Sir John of Gaunt (the King’s uncle). This likely secured for him his Constabulary in Spain in the 1386 expedition, and may have helped his elevation to the Earldom of Huntingdon in 1387. He received a large grant of lands from the King when he married Elizabeth of Lancaster, and he received another large grant when he was elevated to the Earldom. He took Elizabeth Plantagenet with him when he went to

Spain. Throughout the campaign in Spain, he performed many acts of valor upon the battlefield, and showed consummate skill in tilting.

Sir John de Holland returned from Spain in 1387, and by June had been elevated to the Earldom of Huntingdon. In early 1389, he was appointed the Constable of Tintagel Castle. Soon he was also appointed Chamberlain of England for life, followed by Admiral of the Western Fleet and Constable of Brest. In 1390, he crossed the Channel to Calais to distinguish himself in a tournament, and upon returning to England, did likewise in a tournament at Smithfield. In 1392 he accompanied his father-in-law, Sir John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, on a mission to France. His internationalism was further reinforced by his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1394, his attempt to support the Hungarians against the Turks, and his proposed crusade against the Schismatics in 1397 as Gonfaloniere (standard bearer) of the Church. In 1397, he also took an active part in support of Richard II against two former Lords Appellant, Sir Thomas Plantagenet of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and Sir Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, both of whom were eventually executed. As a reward, he was elevated Duke of Exeter, and received much of the Arundel land and wealth, including wardship over Arundel’s heir, Thomas Fitzalan (whom he treated like a slave).

In 1399, he served in Richard Il’s invasion of Ireland. So he too was caught unprepared for the return of the Duke of Lancaster’s heir, Sir Henry of Bolingbroke. He returned to Pembroke, and counseled the King to take refuge in Conwy Castle. Meanwhile, he led a delegation to Sir Henry of Bolingbroke, to discuss how peace could be returned to the realm. Bolingbroke listened to Holland’s message, and then had him detained. Thus he was unable help prevent the deposition of Richard II by Sir Henry of Bolingbroke (who would thus become Henry IV). At a subsequent Parliament, he was implicated in the deaths of the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Arundel, and along with his fellow Lords Appellant, lost all of his awards received since the deaths of Gloucester and Arundel (1397).

In December 1399, Sir John de Holland, Earl of Huntingdon (former Duke of Exeter), was involved in a conspiracy along with his fellow Lords Appellant, his nephew Sir Thomas Holland, third Earl of Kent (former Duke of Surrey), Sir Thomas le Dispenser, and John Montagu, Earl of Salisbury, to unseat Henry IV, in favor of the Hollands’ half-brother, Richard II. The consequences of this fateful plan are described above (see Montagu, Earl of Salisbury).

However, another account has Sir John de Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, lying low but staying close to London to watch events unfurl. When he realized that the cause was lost, he fled through Essex, but was captured near Pleshy by Joan de Fitzalan de Bohun, Countess of Hereford, who had him beheaded (January 16, 1400) in the presence of her nephew, Sir

Thomas Fitzalan, the heir to the Earl of Arundel. His head was placed on a pike for a period, but at the request of his widow, was eventually buried with his body at the church at Pleshy. Sir John de Holland was later attainted, and forfeited eight castles in the process. Eventually most of his lands and honors were returned to his heirs.

Family / Personal Arms: HUNTINGDON & EXETER: gules, three lions passant guardant in a pale or, within a bordure France (fleur-de-lis) (three gold lions placed vertically, passant guardant (walking past in profile, with the right front paw held up, full faced, with tail held over the back) all on a red field, within a border representing the French monarchy, that is a band of fleur-de-lis) (John, 1400; John; Henry, 1455) (see Fox-Davies, p.347).

Badges: (1) a fire-beacon on a mound, with a ladder on the left (see drawing, Wise 145, p.33); (2) a fetlock (Norris, p.310); (3) a hart couchant argent crowned about the neck and chained or (McGill, p.21).

Livery: vert (green) (Gravett/McBride, plate B).

Standard: Henry (1453): the cross of St. George in the hoist, followed by a field of argent over bloody, a bordure compony argent and bloody, prominently shown a beacon (the firey cresset) emitting flames or on a mound vert, also with a scattering of wheat ears or, with the motto sable on bends argent Et Vitam Impenedere Vero (conjectural, McGill, p.21, see also plate 9).

Henry IV The 

Lancastrian Usurper 

Henry Plantagenet of Bolingbroke (c.30MY 1366-20MR 1413), King of England, from September 30, 1399 (crowned at Westminster Abbey October 13, 1399) to March 20, 1413; 32 years old when he became king, just shy of 46 when he died. He was also formerly the Earl of Derby (from 1377); Earl of Northampton and Earl of Hereford (from 1384); Duke of Hereford (29SE 1397); Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester, and Earl of Lincoln (from 1399); and a Knight of the Garter (inv.1377). He was Steward of England for a short while in 1399.

Henry of Bolingbroke was born in Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, in April or May 1366, the eldest son of Sir John Plantagenet of Gaunt (1340

- 1399), Duke of Lancaster, and his first wife (m.1359), Blanche of Lancaster (1345-1369) (daughter of Henry of Grosmont (d.1361), Duke of Lancaster). Henry of Bolingbroke’s father, Sir John of Gaunt, was the third-born son of Edward Ill of England, and Philippa of Hainault, daughter of William, Count of Hainault & Holland.

Henry of Bolingbroke was a skilled warrior, but not a very successful monarch. He grew up expecting to be the greatest among the King’s subjects, but certainly never the King himself. He was educated and trained to be perhaps the richest and most magnificent Duke of Lancaster, was a distinguished soldier and an intellectual, but he was not truly prepared to be King. Fate was to direct his life where he didn’t expect.

In 1377 he was both vested as a Knight of the Garter, and created the Earl of Derby. In 1380, he married at Rochford, Mary de Bohun (1369/70

- 4JL 1394), a co-heiress of the Bohun Earldoms of Essex, Hereford, and Northampton (she was the daughter of Humphrey de Bohun (1342-1373), seventh Earl of Hereford, sixth Earl of Essex, and second Earl of Northampton, and Joan de Fitzalan, daughter of Richard Fitzalan, ninth Earl of Arundel). Thus, even in his father’s lifetime (and without his father’s inheritance), he had established himself as a powerful and wealthy peer. Also, he first jousted during the 1381-82 season-when he was barely sixteen. Four years later, in 1386, he was winning tournaments. By 1390, he had established an international reputation at the jousts of St. Inglevert at Calais.

Sir Henry of Bolingbroke had four sons and two daughters. They were (1) Henry of Monmouth (his heir) (1387-1422), later Prince of Wales and King of England; (2) Thomas, later Duke of Clarence (1388-1421); (3) John, later Duke of Bedford (1389-1435); (4) Humphrey, later Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447); (5) Blanche, later Electress Palatine (1392-1409); and (6) Philippa, later Queen of Denmark (1393-1430).

During the period 1387 to 1390, he also established himself as a leader of the opposition party, and was one of the original Lords Appellant (along with the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earls of Arundel, Warwick, and Nottingham/Norfolk) who opposed the King’s favorite,