Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk

Alice Chaucer LG
Duchess of Suffolk
Alice de la Pole, detail from her effigy in Ewelme Church, Oxfordshire
Born	c. 1404
Died	1475
Buried	St Mary's Church, Ewelme
Spouse(s)	Sir John Phelip Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Issue	John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk
Father	Thomas Chaucer
Mother	Matilda Burghersh

Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk,

She was born as Alice Chaucer, a daughter of Thomas Chaucer by his wife, Matilda Burghersh. Her grandfather was the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.

Marriages and children

She married three times:

• Firstly, when aged 11, she married Sir John Phelip (c. 1380 – 2 October 1415).^[2] The couple lived briefly at Donnington Castle, but Sir John died within a year. Sir John, also titled Lord Donnington, had married Maud, the widow of Walter Cookesey of Caldwall Castle, Kidderminster in the County of Worcestershire. Sir John lived at Caldwall Castle during his marriage to Maud and upon her death married Alice Chaucer. Sir John, a close personal friend of Henry V, died of dysentery after the successful 22 September 1415 capture of the fortress of Harfleur in Normandy. Sir John is buried at St Mary's Church in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.
• Secondly, after 1421, Alice married Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1388–1428),^[3] one of the most important English commanders during the Hundred Years' War, who died at the Siege of Orléans.
• Thirdly, in 1430, she married
  Cade's Revolt in 1450. He was Constable of Wallingford Castle
  in 1434. By William de la Pole she had a son:
  • John de la Pole (1442–1492) who married Elizabeth of York, making him the brother-in-law of two kings, Edward IV and Richard III. John became 2nd Duke of Suffolk in 1463.

Career

Alice was a lady-in-waiting to Margaret of Anjou in 1445, and a patron of the arts.

Patron of art

She ordered the making of a series of tapestries depicting the life of

Alice Chaucer's library collection was extensive and varied. She owned many French texts, which are believed to be obtained when she went to France with her husband in 1444/5 for an extended time. She also owned many religious service books. Some of the French texts she owned were an original Charlemagne romance published by Caxton, known as The Four Sons of Aymon, Christine de Pizan's, Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, a translation of the De Morali Principis Institutione by Dominican friar Vincent de Beauvais, and John Lydgate's translation of Deguileville's Pèlerinage de la Vie Hamaine. ^[5]

Widowhood

Alice could be both ruthless and acquisitive in pursuit of the inheritance of her son, John de la Pole. In 1437, the Duke constructed the God's House at Ewelme, a reminder of their Catholic devotions. But after her husband's execution she took back many of the Norfolk manors of her friend Margaret Paston, with dubious title deeds. The

In 1450, William de la Pole was impeached by the House of Commons in Parliament, but Henry VI intervened to exile his favourite rather than have him tried by the House of Lords. On his way across the English Channel his vessel was intercepted by The Nicholas of the Tower whose crew subjected him to a mock trial, after which he was beheaded and his body thrown overboard. William's remains were recovered from the beach at Dover, and Alice had her husband buried at the Kingston Charterhouse, founded in 1377 by his grandfather, Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk. After William was killed, his properties, including Wallingford Castle and the Honour of Wallingford and St Valery, passed to Alice. She lent the Crown 3,500 marks whereupon the king spared the family from attainder of title. She survived many challenges to her position, including a state trial in 1451. Whilst she had benefited from Lancastrian connections, she switched to supporting the House of York during the Wars of the Roses. In 1455 she was custodian of the Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter at Wallingford Castle. She was officially castellan at Wallingford until at least 1471 and possibly until her death in 1475. In 1472 Alice became custodian of Margaret of Anjou, her former friend and patron. A wealthy landowner, Alice de la Pole held land in 22 counties, and was a patron of the poet John Lydgate.

Death and burial

She died in 1475 and was buried in St Mary's Church, Ewelme, where survives her elaborate

Her effigy was examined by Queen Victoria's commissioners to discover how a lady should wear the Order of the Garter, which she wears on her left wrist.^[1] The Latin inscription on the monument is: Orate pro Anima Serenissimae Principissae Aliciae Ducissae Suffolciae Huius Ecclesiae Patronae, et Primae Fundatricis Huius Eleemosynariae Quae obit XX Die Mensis Maii Anno 1475^[1] ("Pray ye all for the soul of the Most Serene Princess Alice, Duchess of Suffolk, patron of this church, and first founder of this charity, who died on the 20th day of the month of May in the year 1475"). The title of "Most Serene Princess" she probably acquired by her son's royal marriage.^[1]

On the monument are sixteen heraldic shields, displaying the arms of Chaucer, the

Three of John de la Pole's four sons by Elizabeth of York - Alice's grandsons - pursued the unsuccessful Yorkist claim to the throne against Henry VII.

1. Battle of Stoke
   (1487).
2. Lincoln's younger brother, Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, became the leading Yorkist claimant to Henry VII's throne and was executed in 1513.
3. Richard de la Pole, their youngest brother, continued the Yorkist claim until he was slain at the Battle of Pavia, 1525.

Further reading

• The History of Wallingford, in the County of Berks: 1327 to 1880. Churches and monastic institutions. W. Clowes. 1881.
• Mate, Mavis E. (1999). Women in Medieval English Society. Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-521-58733-4
  .

Alice Chaucer is a main character in several of Margaret Frazer's Dame Frevisse historical mysteries, and is mentioned in several others.^[10]

References