Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster | |
---|---|
Eleanor Cobham (m. 1428–1431, ann. c. 1441) | |
Issue | Arthur of Gloucester (illegitimate); Antigone, Countess of Tankerville (illegitimate) |
House | Lancaster |
Father | Henry IV of England |
Mother | Mary de Bohun |
Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 1390 – 23 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier and literary patron.[1] He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of England, the brother of Henry V, and the uncle of Henry VI. Gloucester fought in the Hundred Years' War and acted as Lord Protector of England during the minority of his nephew. A controversial figure, he has been characterised as reckless, unprincipled, and fractious, but is also noted for his intellectual activity and for being the first significant English patron of humanism,[2] in the context of the Renaissance.
Unlike his brothers, Humphrey was given no major military command by his father, instead receiving an intellectual upbringing. Created
A staunch opponent of concessions in the French conflict, and a proponent of offensive warfare, Gloucester increasingly lost favour among the political community, and King Henry VI himself after the end of his minority, following a series of setbacks on the war in France. The trial in 1441 of
Humphrey was the exemplar of the romantic chivalric persona. Mettled and courageous,[5] he was a foil for the countess Jacqueline of Hainaut, his first wife. His learned, widely read, scholarly approach to the early renaissance cultural expansion demonstrated the quintessential well-rounded princely character. He was a paragon for Eton College and an exemplar for the University of Oxford, accomplished, diplomatic, with political cunning.
Despite the errors in both his public and private life, and the mischief he caused in politics, Gloucester is also at times praised as a patron of learning and a benefactor to the University of Oxford. He was popular among the literary figures of his age for his scholarly activity, and with the common people for his advocacy of a spirited foreign policy. For these causes, he was known as the "good Duke Humphrey".[4]
Diplomatic and military career
The place of his birth is unknown, but he was named after his maternal grandfather, Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. He was the youngest in a powerful quadrumvirate of brothers, who were very close companions; on 20 March 1413, Henry and Humphrey had been at their dying father's bedside.[6] Thomas, John and Humphrey had all been knighted in 1399. They joined the Order of the Garter together in 1400.
During the reign of Henry IV, Humphrey received a scholar's education, while his elder brothers fought on the Welsh and Scottish borders. Following his father's death he was created Duke of Gloucester in 1414, and Chamberlain of England, and he took his seat in Parliament. He became a member of the Privy Council in 1415. Before embarking for France, the army camped at Southampton, where the Earl of Cambridge failed in an assassination plot to kill the king. Humphrey and his brother, the Duke of Clarence, led an Inquiry of Lords to try Cambridge and Scrope for high treason on 5 August.
During Henry V's campaigns in France, Humphrey gained a reputation as a successful commander. His knowledge of siege warfare, gained from his classical studies, contributed to the fall of
The Treaty of "eternal friendship" signed at Canterbury on 15 August served only to anticipate renewed hostility from France.[9]
Upon the death of his brother in 1422, Humphrey became
Humphrey was consistently popular with the citizens of London and the Commons. He also had a widespread reputation as a patron of learning and the arts. His popularity with the people and his ability to keep the peace earned him the appointment of Chief Justice of South Wales. However, his unpopular marriage to
Marriages
He married twice but left no surviving legitimate progeny.
First marriage: Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut and Holland
In about 1423 he married Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut and Holland (died 1436), daughter of William VI, Count of Hainaut. Through this marriage Gloucester assumed the title "Count of Holland, Zeeland and Hainault", and briefly fought to retain these titles when they were contested by Jacqueline's cousin Philip the Good (see: War of Succession in Holland). They had a stillborn child in 1424.[12] The marriage was annulled in 1428, and Jacqueline died (disinherited) in 1436.
Second marriage: Eleanor Cobham
In 1428 Humphrey married, secondly, Eleanor Cobham, his mistress, who in 1441 was tried and convicted of practising witchcraft against the king in an attempt to retain power for her husband. She was condemned to public penance followed by exile and life imprisonment. The marriage was without progeny.
Children
By mistresses unknown Humphrey had two illegitimate children.[13][14] Eleanor Cobham was possibly the mother of one or both,[15] before their marriage. Due to their illegitimacy, they were unable to succeed to their father's titles. The illegitimate children were:
- Arthur Plantagenet (died after 1447)
- Antigone Plantagenet, who married firstly Henry Grey, 2nd Earl of Tankerville, Lord of Powys (c. 1419–1450) and secondly John d'Amancier.[10]
Legacy
After inheriting the manor of
Duke Humphrey was also a patron of literature, notably of the poet John Lydgate and of John Capgrave. He corresponded with many leading Italian humanists and commissioned translations of Greek classics into Latin. His friendship with Zano Castiglione, Bishop of Bayeux, led to many further connections on the Continent, including Leonardo Bruni, Pietro Candido Decembrio and Tito Livio Frulovisi. Duke Humphrey also patronised the Abbey of St Albans.
Duke Humphrey's Walk was the name of an aisle in
In literature
In Shakespeare's History plays, the portrayal of Humphrey is notable for being one of the most unambiguously sympathetic: in the War of the Roses Tetralogy, he is one of only a handful of historical personages to be portrayed in a uniformly positive light. He appears as a minor character in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, but as a major character in two others: his conflict with Cardinal Beaufort is portrayed in Henry VI, Part 1, and his disgrace and death following his wife's alleged sorcery is depicted in Henry VI, Part 2. Shakespeare portrays Humphrey's death as a murder, ordered by William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Queen Margaret of Anjou.
The 1723 play Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester by Ambrose Philips revolves around the life of Gloucester. In the original Drury Lane production he was played by Barton Booth.
Margaret Frazer's 2003 historical mystery, The Bastard's Tale, revolves around the events surrounding Gloucester's arrest and death.[20]
Titles, honours and arms
- Duke of Gloucester; created in 1414 (second creation).
- Earl of Pembroke; created in 1414 (fifth creation). The title was subsequently made hereditary, but defaulted to William de la Pole.
- Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, 1415.
Ancestry
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References
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14155. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Britannica (20 July 1998). "Humphrey Plantagenet, duke of Gloucester". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ Low, S.; Pulling, F., eds. (1910). "Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of". The Dictionary of English History. Cassell. p. 506
- ^ a b Low & Pulling 1910, p. 506.
- , pp. 31–33
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4481-0377-5. [page needed]
- ^ Burne 2002, p. 284.
- ^ Even if the story was apocryphal, it is still almost certain that there were negotiations preceding the landing, which did not happen immediately, see [N.Simms – The Visit of King Sigismund to England, 1416 http://www.epa.uz.ua/00000/00010/00022/pdf/HSR_1990_2_021-029.pdf]
- ^ Burne 2002, p. 287.
- ^ OCLC 1211527. [page needed]
- ^ Burne 2002, p. 439.
- ISBN 978-0-09-953973-5. p. 128
- ISBN 978-0-8063-1759-5. pp. 492–3
- ^ Burke, B. (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (new ed.). London: Harrison. p. 250
- ^ Weir, A. (1999). Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy. The Bodley Head. p. 125
- ISBN 978-0-349-11230-5. pp. 8–9, 171
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 129.
- ^ Hazlitt, W. (1905). Faiths and Folklores. Vol. 1. Reeves and Turner ; Scribner. p. 196
- ^ Freemasonry Today, Issue 43, Winter 2007/8
- ^ "Dame Frevisse (Margaret Frazer)".
Further reading
- Davis, J. (1973). Lucy, Mary P. (ed.). Duke Humphrey: a Sidelight on Lancastrian England. Stockwell. ISBN 978-0-722-30462-4.
- Hollman, Gemma (2019). Royal Witches: From Joan of Navarre to Elizabeth Woodville. Cheltenham: The History Press.
- Millard, Frank (2009). Humphrey Duke of Gloucester: Politics and Reputation. VDM Verlag. ISBN 978-3-639-19157-8.
- Petrina, Alessandra (19 February 2004). Cultural Politics in Fifteenth-Century England: The Case of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Brill's Studies in Intellectual History. Vol. 124. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-13713-4.
- Saygin, Susanne (30 October 2001). Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390–1447) and the Italian Humanists. Brill's Studies in Intellectual History. Vol. 105. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-12015-0.
- Tout, T. (1891). Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 28. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- ISBN 978-0-521-42039-6.