Category: 14th Century - Meandering Through Time

Birth of Robert de Vere

22/11/2019

On the 22nd November in 1392 Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, a favourite of Richard II, died near Louvain in Belgium. He had received the Earldom of Oxford when he was nine years old, was knighted along with the king, Richard's uncle Thomas of Woodstock and Henry of Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV.

Robert de Vere benefited greatly from his friendship with the king, he was given his own rooms in Richard's castles, granted estates, gifts and other nobles' inheritances. He was also given the title Marquess of Dublin, yet he never set foot in Ireland. However, he is mostly remembered for his opposition to the Lords Appellant, a group of nobles who sort to bring the king to task over his reliance on his favourites, at Radcote Bridge.

Robert de Veres forces were soon surrounded and after a short clash of weapons, de Vere was quick to realise the danger of his position and abandoned his men, leaving many of them to the mercy of their enemy and made his cowardly escape by crossing the river, supposedly in disguise, and headed to the Netherlands. A year later, in what has come to be known as the Merciless Parliament he was found guilty of treason and a death sentence was passed in his absence.

Robert de Vere spent the rest of his life in exile, thus avoiding the executioner's blade. His death left Richard II bereft. Three years later, on the anniversary of his death, the king had de Vere's embalmed body brought back to England for burial in the Priory at Earl's Colne, in Essex.

Rene of Anjou

16/1/2019

On this day in 1409 the birth of Rene of Anjou at Angers Castle in Anjou. Rene was a French noble of the family of Valois and Anjou. Known as Good King Rene simply because he inherited the crowns of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem, he controlled large areas of land, he was therefore, an important figure during the last years of Hundred Years War.

Rene was the father of Margaret of Anjou Queen of Henry VI. Rene played his part in the negotiations with the English at Tours in 1444 and the marriage of Margaret to Henry - the fall out of which (the loss of French territories of Maine and Anjou, that had formed part of the marriage contract) as you will know, was far-reaching.

A wonderful description of Rene is given by Conn Iggulden in his book Stormbird, the first of his Wars of the Roses series (read it if you haven't already, its a must) The description comes from the mouth of the teenage Margaret.

"He was just a great white slug of a man. His face was unnaturally pale, perhaps from his years languishing in prison. His eyes were grey and cold, half hidden by heavy, unwrinkied lower lids, so that he always seemed to be peering over them. He had clearly not starved in prison."

I would not be surprised if Conn Iggulden took his inspiration from the Matheron Diptych that it is pictured here. The painting, by French artist Nicolas Froment was given to Jean Matheron, statesman and later a French ambassador, by Rene himself. He is depicted with his second wife Jeanne de Laval it is held in the Louvre in Paris.

John of Gaunt

6/3/2017

On the 6th March in 1340 John of Gaunt was born at the Abbey of St Bavon in Ghent in modern day Belgium. He was the son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, and at the height of his career he was the most powerful man in the kingdom. He became Duke of Lancaster on the death of Henry of Grosmont in 1361.

He was married three times, firstly in 1359 to Blanche of Lancaster, the daughter of the aforementioned Henry of Grosmont, secondly in 1371 to Constance of Castile, and thirdly in 1396 to Kathryn Swynsford.

Gaunt's marriage to Blanche of Lancaster resulted in the birth of Henry of Bolingbroke, later Henry IV. Henry of course would force the abdication of his cousin Richard II, and in doing so usurp the throne in 1399. Gaunt's marriage to Constance of Castile is written about less, but it is played out in the descent of the kings of Castile. During his marriage to Constance, by whom he had a daughter Catherine, Gaunt would spend twenty year attempting to claim the throne of Castile, he would ultimately succeed if only via the marriage of Catherine to Henry a prince of Castle, who would become king in 1390.

It is Gaunt's relationship, and eventual marriage to Kathryn Swynsford that he is mostly remembered. This relationship resulted in four children who would bear the name of Beaufort. These children and their descendants would be prominent players in the Wars of the Roses.

The Second Battle of St Albans

17/2/2017

17th February 1461

With his father and brothers deaths at Wakefield avenged, Edward, Earl of March's forces made their way to join the forces of Richard Neville in an attempt to prevent Margaret of Anjou claiming back her husband and London itself.

With hindsight, Warwick should not have taken Henry VI along with him on his march northwards, he should have left him in London guarded by William Bonville and Thomas Kyriell, the two men who were responsible for him at St Alban’s, but he didn’t. The reason for this, it has been suggested, was that Warwick was overly confident, and considered himself invincible, perhaps he even thought that the meeting between his forces and that of Margaret's was a forgone conclusion, a win for the Yorkist.

Warwick was hoping to block Margaret’s way along the northern route to St Albans, but this backfired and her troops approached by the north west route. The clash of York and Lancaster took place on the 17th of February 1461, at St Albans, but this time, unlike the previous battle, the result was not a victory for York but a Lancastrian victory. By the end of the day and dusk had settled, Richard Neville’s Yorkist force had been defeated, the king was lost and both Bonville and Kyriell had lost their heads in what Cornish antiquarian, A L Rowse, calls the blooding of Edward of Lancaster, the Prince of Wales.

Groby Old Hall, home of Sir John Grey, at Groby, Leicestershire

Including Bonville and Kyriell, lying among those who perished at St Albans was Robert Poynings and John Grey of Groby in Leicestershire. It was John's son Richard who would be executed at Pontifract in 1483, and his widow, Elizabeth, would make an adventurous marriage that would bring this family more wealth and power than they ever dreamed of, but it will also bring the Yorkist dynasty to its knees.

Lionel of Antwerp

28/11/2016

Lionel of Antwerp, the first Duke of Clarence, was born in Antwerp on the 29th November 1338. He was the second surviving son of Edward III and brother to Edward the Black Prince.

The duke had been betrothed as a child to Elizabeth de Burgh, and the couple were eventually married in 1352, a marriage
that lasted eleven years and ended with her death at the age of thirty one. He married secondly Violante, the daughter of Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Pavia. Violante brought to the marriage two million gold florins, numerous towns and castles in Piedmont, an area that borders France and Switzerland, just below the Alps. The couple were married in Milan in 1368, but it was during the marriage festivities that the duke became ill and died the same day, the 7th October of 1368. Lionel was initially buried at Pavia, but according to his wishes he was later interred with his first wife at Clare Priory, in Suffolk.

All three of Violante Visconti's husbands died an unnatural death, two were murdered, the cause of Lionel's death is stated
to be food poisoning, but there are those who considered his death suspicious.

It was through Lionel's family line, via his granddaughter Anne Mortimer that The House of York based its claim to the
English throne.

Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland

10/11/2016

Henry Percy, first Earl of Northumberland was, according to Shakespeare:

"the ladder upon which the mounting Bolingbroke ascends the throne.”

This statement reflects the rise of the Percy family during the reign of Richard II and the subsequent usurpation of the throne by Henry Bolingbroke.

Henry Percy was born on the 10th November 1341/2. The first two decades of Percy's life were unremarkable, however the twenty years following his father's death lead Percy to great heights of power and influence, not only in his own stamping ground but in the country as a whole. Henry Percy headed a family that included his sons Henry 'Hotspur' and Thomas, all three were guardians of the English boarder with Scotland. As Lords of the North, and as the previous statement states, they were involved in the future Henry IV taking the crown of England. However, siding with Henry had its problems, and the Percy's would soon regret helping Bolingbroke take his seat on the throne of England.

We cannot think of the Percy family without considering the part they played in the Wars of the Roses. Many believe that the First Battle of St Albans, in 1455, was as much about the ongoing squabble between the Percy's and their nemesis the Neville's, as it was about the wider squabble, that of the House of York and Lancaster. It cannot be doubted that this battle, for the individual members of these two northern families, was very personal, each trying to destroy the other under the guise of a greater cause.

The origins of Percy/Neville squabble had it roots in land, or the loss of it, bitterness turned to anger, discussion to litigation, skirmishes into outright warfare that initiated the

'the beginning of the greatest sorrows in England."

Henry Percy died a traitor at Bramham Moor, the last battle of the Percy's rebellion, on the 19 February 1408 and as was the norm for a traitor, his head was decapitated and sent to London, placed for all to see on London Bridge, it was reunited with his quartered remains and eventually buried in York Minster.

They say that truth is better than fiction.

6/8/2015

Yesterday my research took me to Wales, via books and the internet sadly, to the castle of Pen-Pont that once stood on the bank of the River Usk. My interest in Wales is concerned with the Vaughan family of Tretower, I found some interesting stuff while I was rifling through some of my notes and it links nicely with my blog, "Vengeance in Mine" which I posted here on my website a while ago.

Here is what I found.......

Alice Bredwardine (the Bredwardine's were the ancestors of the Vaughans) was the mother of Sir John Scudamore who had secretly married the daughter of Owen Glyndwr.

The story goes that John and Alice had hidden Glyndwr after which he was never heard of again.
Interestingly, the Glyndwr legend is not unlike that of Cornwall's King Arthur, where it is said that he will one day appear to save his native Cornwall, Glynwr too is set to re appear to save his beloved Wales.

A statute had been passed which forbade any Englishman with an alliance with Glendwr from holding any office, so Scudamore was stripped of his titles. The Scudamore’s son, was Henry, it was this Henry who was captured after Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, along with John Throckmorton and Owen Tudor, although he and Throckmorton may have escaped execution at Hereford, Owen Tudor, was not so lucky, his executioner was Roger Vaughan, the great great grandson of the Bredwardines (not Alice's line I must point out.)

They say that truth (if this story is true) is better than fiction....I have to agree with that!

Here is a link to my blog if you wish to read where Henry Scudamore, Owen Tudor and Roger Vaughan fit in.

http://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/blogs-on-the-wars-of-the-roses-1376-to-1478/vengeance-is-mine

The Transi Tomb

23/6/2015

The Tomb of Alice de la Pole

This magnificent transi tomb at St Mary's Church, Ewelme in the county of Oxfordshire, belongs to Alice de la Pole.

In two parts, the top section is solid and entirely made of alabaster, it is thought to be unique. Lying on top of the tomb, whose decorated sides are covered with angels holding emblazoned shields, is the life like image of the duchess, whose long face is beautifully carved, her coronated head lies under an ornate canopy. The cushion on which her head lies is supported by tiny angels who are placed there to aid Alice's soul to heaven.

After the Black Death in 1348 and its four recurrences between 1361 and 1393, people came to realise that death took what it wanted when it wanted, rich or poor, young or old. In recognition of this people of Alice's class took steps to remind others of transiency of life and therefore she is saying 'as I am now so will you be.' Alice's emaciated body is hidden and difficult to see, unlike her grand clothing in life, she is partially wrapped in a loose shroud.

There are many tombs such as these around the country, one of the first is at Lincoln Cathedral. Alice's however, is the only intact effigy of a woman carved in alabaster in the country. Alice was a Chaucer by birth, the granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer and wife of William de la Pole.

William de la Pole was an English commander and is remembered and blamed for the loss of French territories of Maine and Anjou, these lands formed part of the marriage contract of Henry VI to Margaret of Anjou that Pole had arranged. Pole was blamed for much, a scapegoat, who was exiled and murdered on route to Calais.

Surviving the aftermath of the death of her husband, Alice was certainly a force to be reckoned with, she proved more than capable of taking care of herself and the interests of her son John de la Pole.

Alice is thought to have died on the 20th May in 1475, however it is suggested that it may have been in the June of that year.