John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset
John Beaufort | |
|---|---|
| 1st Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby | |
| Father | John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset |
| Mother | Margaret Holland |
Chest tomb and effigies of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and his wife in Wimborne Minster, Dorset
John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, 3rd Earl of Somerset, KG (25 March 1404 – 30 May 1444) was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was the maternal grandfather of Henry VII.
Origins
Born on 25 March 1404, he was the second son of
Richard II
.
Career
In 1418 he became 3rd Earl of Somerset, having succeeded his elder brother Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset (1401–1418), who died unmarried, aged 17, whilst fighting for the Lancastrian cause at the Siege of Rouen in France, under the command of their uncle Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter (1377–1426).
French campaign and imprisonment
He fought in the 1419 French campaigns of his cousin King Henry V. In 1421 he accompanied his step-father Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence (the king's younger brother) on a campaign in Anjou, France. Thomas was killed at the Battle of Baugé (22 March 1421), while Somerset and his younger brother were captured and imprisoned for 17 years. On 25 March 1425 Somerset came into his majority, but his paternal estates had to be managed by his mother for the next thirteen years of his imprisonment. He remained imprisoned until 1438 and having been ransomed, became one of the leading English commanders in France.[1]
Created Duke of Somerset
St. George's Chapel, Windsor. It is the earliest garter plate with supporters.[2] The badge of an ostrich feather, here shown as a pair, is blazoned: A feather the pen componée argent and azure, as the Beaufort bordure. The sinister
supporter is a Beaufort Yale.In 1443 John was created
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, regent for the young King Henry VI, was unable to control the administration of justice and finance, which led to widespread lawlessness. At the beginning of the second lieutenantcy of Richard, Duke of York
, Gloucester declined the office of Lieutenant-Governor, which was then accepted by Somerset, who drew from it a salary of 600 pounds.
He was appointed Admiral of the Sea to the army commander
Cardinal Henry Beaufort advised the king to sue for peace. Somerset advised King Henry that peace was humanitarian and that the king of France was determined to seize Pontoise.[4] When York arrived in Normandy in 1441 to the campaign, Somerset had resigned. But the fall of Pontoise to Charles, Duke of Orléans in September 1441 weakened English garrisons and in Gascony the situation was even worse.[5] The Beauforts sent Sir Edward Hull, who arrived at Bordeaux on 22 October 1442, to inform York that a huge army would arrive commanded by Somerset. York was ordered to fortify Rouen; just as the king and Dauphin of France were threatening Bordeaux and Aquitaine and seized the town of Dax Somerset dithered; York was held back as Guyenne
was being lost.
Meanwhile, the
Lieutenant of Aquitaine and Captain-General of Guyenne. By then, the negotiations Somerset had started as Captain-General of Calais had failed. These two factors turned York against the Beauforts. But the last straw was the payment of £25,000 to Somerset while York remained heavily in debt. Furthermore, Guyenne was consuming precious resources otherwise destined for Normandy.[6]
Death and burial
In August 1443 Somerset led 7,000 men to Cherbourg and marched south to Gascony; the duke was ill. He blundered into Guerche, a Breton town with which England had signed a peace treaty. But Somerset set all prisoners free, accepting money from the Duke of Brittany. Marching aimlessly through Maine, he returned that winter to England.[7] His death in 1444,[8] possibly by suicide, and that of his uncle the Cardinal, marked the end of Beaufort influence and left the door open for William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, to dominate the government.[9] The lasting effect of these events was burning resentment between the House of York and the remaining members of the Beaufort family.
Marriage and issue
In 1439 he married
Stourton, Wiltshire
. By his wife he had an only daughter and sole heiress:
- Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), who married Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (1430–1456) by whom she was the mother of King Henry VII, the first of the Tudor dynasty.
Succession
As he died without male issue his dukedom went extinct but his earldom passed to his younger brother Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (1406–1455). As Edmund was later granted the title Duke of Somerset, he is often called 2nd Duke of Somerset though he did not inherit the title from his brother.
Illegitimate issue
His illegitimate issue included:
- Tacine of Somerset, who, being foreign-born, was made a denizen of England 20 June 1443. She married (before 29 September 1447) Reynold (or Reginald) Grey, 7th Lord Grey of Wilton by whom she had one son:
- John Grey, 8th Lord Grey of Wilton;
- John of Somerset (c. 1444–1453)
Titles and styles
- 1st Duke of Somerset (28 August 1443 – 27 May 1444)[10]
- 1st Earl of Kendal (28 August 1443 – 27 May 1444)[10]
- 3rd Earl of Somerset (25 November 1418 – 27 May 1444)[11]
Ancestry and family tree
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References
- ^ Harriss 1988, p. xx.
- ^ Planché, J.R. (1852). Pursuivant of Arms. p. xx.
- ^ Burne 2005, p. 422.
- ^ Burne 2005, p. 426.
- ^ Jacob 1961, p. 470.
- ^ Jacob 1961, p. 468.
- ^ Burne 2005, p. 435–6.
- ^ Harriss 2004, p. xx.
- ^ Burne 2005, p. 438.
- ^ a b Cokayne 1953, p. 47.
- ^ Cokayne 1953, p. 45.
- ^ a b c d Brown 2004.
- ^ Marshall 2003, p. 50.
- ^ Weir 2008, pp. 94, 125.
- ^ Weir 2008, p. 232.
- ^ a b c Weir 2008, p. 93.
- ^ Weir 2007, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Weir 2008, p. 125.
- ^ a b c Weir 2008, p. 77.
- ^ a b Weir 2008, p. 92.
- ^ a b Browning 1898, p. 288.
- ^ a b Weir 2008, pp. 94–95.
- ^ a b Weir 2008, pp. 97, 104.
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-19861-412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Browning, Charles Henry (1898). The Magna Carta Barons and Their American Descendants. London: Genealogical Publishing Company.
- Burne, Alfred Higgins (2005). The Hundred Years War. London: Folio Society.
- Cokayne, George Edward (1953). G.H. White (ed.). The Complete Peerage. Vol. 12 (2nd ed.). London: St. Catherine Press.
- ISBN 978-0-19861-412-8. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 978-0-19821-714-5.
- Marshall, Rosalind Kay (2003). Scottish Queens, 1034–1714. Tuckwell Press. ISBN 978-1-86232-271-4.
- ISBN 978-0-34545-323-5.
- Weir, Alison (2008). Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: ISBN 978-0-09953-973-5.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-52004-372-5.
- Harriss, Gerald Leslie (1988). Cardinal Beaufort: A Study of Lancastrian Ascendancy and Decline. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19820-135-9.
- Jones, Michael K. (1981). "John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and the French Expedition of 1443". In ISBN 978-0-39102-096-2.
- Jones, Michael K. (1982). The Beaufort family and the war in France, 1421–1450 (PDF) (PhD). OCLC 71194555.
External links
- "Duke of Somerset". Shakespeare and History.com.