Thomas de Courtenay, 5th/13th Earl of Devon

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Thomas Courtenay
5th or 13th Earl of Devon[2]
Arms of the Courtenay earls of Devon: Or, three torteaux a label azure
Tenure16 June 1422 – 3 February 1458
Other titles6th Lord Courtenay
Baron of Okehampton
Born3 May 1414
Devon, England
Died3 February 1458 (aged 43)
Abingdon Abbey, Oxfordshire, England
ResidenceOkehampton Castle
Tiverton Castle
Colcombe Castle
LocalityDevon, Cornwall
Net worth£1,516 (1422)[3]
Wars and battlesHundred Years' War
Bonville–Courtenay feud
• Battle of Clyst Heath
Wars of the Roses
• 1st Battle of St Albans (WIA)
OfficesSteward of the duchy of   Cornwall
Spouse(s)Margaret Beaufort
Hugh de Courtenay, 12th Earl of Devon
MotherAnne Talbot
Ruins of Tiverton Castle, seat of the Earls of Devon

Thomas de Courtenay, 5th/13th Earl of Devon (3 May 1414 – 3 February 1458) was a nobleman from South West England. His seat was at Colcombe Castle near Colyton, and later at the principal historic family seat of Tiverton Castle, after his mother's death. The Courtenay family had historically been an important one in the region, and the dominant force in the counties of Devon and Cornwall. However, the rise in power and influence of several gentry families and other political players, in the years leading up to Thomas' accession to the earldom, threatened the traditional dominance of the earls of Devon in the area. Much of his life was spent in armed territorial struggle against his near-neighbour, Sir William Bonville of Shute, at a time when central control over the provinces was weak. This feud forms part of the breakdown in law and order in England that led to the Wars of the Roses.

Courtenay was for a time engaged in overseas service during the

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York. When York sought the support of Courtenay's arch-enemy Bonville, Courtenay fell out of favour with him. When the Wars of the Roses broke out, he was in the party of the queen, Margaret of Anjou, and was one of the Lancastrian commanders at the First Battle of St Albans
, where he was wounded.

Courtenay was said to have promoted a reconciliation between the Lancastrian and Yorkist parties, but he died suddenly in 1458. The Wars of the Roses later led to the deaths and executions of all three of Courtenay's sons,

Thomas, Henry and John, and to the eventual attainder of his titles and forfeiture of his lands. The earldom was, however, revived in 1485 for his distant cousin, Sir Edward Courtenay
, third in descent from his great-uncle.

Youth

Courtenay was born on 3 May 1414,

ward of the all-powerful Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter.[6]

According to Cokayne, Courtenay was knighted on 19 May 1426 by King

Notre Dame in Paris.[6]

Majority

It appears that no inquisition of proof of age, customary for a

tenant in chief, was taken for his father. Based on his family's history and standing and on his own position as the leading landowner of the county, probably expected to take his place as the leader of Devon society. However, his mother's longevity meant that her dower portion, including Tiverton Castle, and the other Courtenay estates which had been alienated under his father's will were not in his hands and the young Courtenay was forced to live at Colcombe Castle, near Colyton, very close to his enemy William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville, at Shute.[8]
His income of £1,500 p.a. was lower than that of most nobles of comparable rank.

Career

Struggle with Bonville

Main article: Bonville–Courtenay feud
Arms of Bonville: Sable, six mullets argent pierced gules[9]

The new earl found the political situation in Devonshire increasingly stacked against his own interests as a coalition of the greater

recognisance for good behaviour, probably remitted by the influence of father-in-law, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset.[16][17]

Royal appointments

Commissions

His advantageous marriage to Margaret Beaufort brought him links to the "court party", and Courtenay began to be selected by the king to serve on Westcountry commissions and was granted an annuity of £100 for his services.[18]

Other

1445 marked a fleeting high point in Courtenay's fortunes, with his appointment as High Steward of England at Queen Margaret's coronation on 25 May.[19] Only the year before, March 1444, Bonville had identified himself with Suffolk, at Margaret's betrothal in Rouen.

Abandonment of Beauforts

The deaths of his brother-in-law

Cardinal Beaufort, second son of John of Gaunt, in 1447, removed Beaufort leadership of the 'court' party, leaving William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, as the most influential figure in national politics.[20] While there is no evidence of direct antagonism between Courtenay and the Duke of Suffolk, the latter appeared to favour the Bonvilles. Sir William Bonville enjoyed links with Suffolk and married his daughter to William Tailboys, one of the Duke's closest associates. Perhaps the most dramatic illustration of this favour was Bonville's elevation to the peerage, presumably at the direction of Suffolk, as Baron Bonville of Chewton Mendip in 1449.[21]

Switch to Yorkist party

This promotion of his enemy Bonville may have prompted Devon to oppose the 'Court party' and to serve with his friend

Thames. It is hardly surprising that Devon began to become associated with York, who had assumed the leadership of the "opposition" party. The parlous state of national politics (whether the king was a vindictive factionalist or an inane non-entity is largely irrelevant in this context) combined with what seems like a reckless and violent element in Courtenay's own character, led to a further campaign of violence against Bonville and the Suffolk-aligned James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond and Earl of Wiltshire. Courtenay and his troops attempted to capture Butler near Bath in Wiltshire before returning to besiege Bonville in Taunton Castle. The arrival of York (whether to suppress or aid the disturbances is uncertain) caused the two sides to make peace which, unsurprisingly, had no real meaning.[22] York then embarked on his abortive attempt to take control of the royal government by force, his only allies being Courtenay and his sometime-associate, Edward Brooke, 6th Baron Cobham
.

In the West Country, Courtenay hounded Bonville without mercy, and pursued him to Taunton Castle and laid siege to it.

Royal Proclamation on 17 February to bring Courtenay and Lord Cobham to London.[24]

Treason charge

Courtenay was charged with treason and briefly imprisoned in Wallingford Castle,[25] before appearing on trial before the House of Lords. His disgrace and political isolation allowed his Devonshire rivals to consolidate their positions, further undermining his decreased standing in the county.[26] Bonville acquired all royal commissions in the south-west.

Resurgence of York

King Henry VI's madness and York's appointment as Protector in 1453/4 resulted in a partial rally in Courtenay's fortunes, including his re-appointment to commissions of the peace in the south-western counties, the key barometer of the local balance of power.[27] He was a member of the Royal Council until April 1454.[28] Courtenay was bound over to keep the peace with a fine of 1,000 marks, but ignored its restrictions. Threatened by the council on 3 June, he was forced on 24 July to make a new bond.[29]

Abandonment by York

This was, however, the end of Courtenay's links with York, whose increasingly tight links with the Neville earls of Salisbury and Warwick led to an alignment with Bonville away from Courtenay. This culminated in the marriage of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington, Bonville's grandson, to Salisbury's daughter, Katherine. Courtenay did not endear himself to Somerset either, as he and his sons repeatedly disrupted the sessions of the commissioners of the peace in Exeter during 1454/5, which did not assist Protector Somerset in promoting his role as the guardian of law and order. Courtenay was present at the First Battle of St Albans, and was wounded.[29] York, however, still considered him at least neutral as the duke's letters addressed to the King on the eve of battle were delivered to the king via the apparently still trusted hands of Courtenay.[30]

Final assault on Bonville

Perhaps inspired by the way the Nevilles and York had forcefully ended their respective feuds with the

Powderham. Dozens of men violated consecrated ground and Radford's valuables were extracted from the cathedral and his house in Exeter was also robbed. Village-dwellers with Bonville connections were assaulted by Devon's men. Powderham Castle, home to the earl's estranged cousin, Sir Philip Courtenay (d. 1463), an ally of Bonville, was besieged on 15 November 1455, the earl's weaponry now including a serpentine cannon. Bonville attempted to relieve the castle but was repulsed as the Earl threatened to batter down its walls.[35] Finally battle was joined directly between Bonville and Courtenay at the Battle of Clyst Heath, at Clyst Bridge, just southeast of Exeter on 15 December 1455. While it seems that Bonville was put to flight, the number of dead or wounded is entirely unknown. Two days later Thomas Carrew with 500 of Courtenay's retainers pillaged Shute, seizing a bounty of looted goods. Courtenay and his men left Exeter on 21 December 1455 and shortly afterwards submitted to York at Shaftesbury in Dorset. Early in December 1455, the King had dismissed Devon from the Commission of Peace, and citizens of Exeter had been instructed not to help his army of "misrule" in any way.[36]

Aftermath of Clyst Heath

Devon was

oyer et terminer. They rejected Courtenay's petition to have Bonville's sheriffdom of Devon removed.[37] Two years later his sons, Thomas and Henry Courtenay, were absolved of the murder of Nicholas Radford.[38]

Courtenay was restored to the bench of JPs and was made Keeper of the Park of Clarendon in February 1457,[39] and Keeper of Clarendon Forest in Wiltshire on 17 July 1457.[4]

Marriage and issue

England)) all within a bordure compony argent and azure[40] for difference

At some time after 1421, Thomas de Courtenay married

Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland, and of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Thomas and Margaret had three sons and six daughters:[41]

Monument to Margaret Beaufort

Effigy of an unknown female, possibly Margaret Beaufort, Church of St Andrew, Colyton, Devon

An effigy identified by tradition as "little choke-a-bone", Margaret Courtenay (d. 1512), an infant daughter of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (1475–1511) by his wife Princess Catherine of York (d. 1527), the sixth daughter of King Edward IV (1461–1483)[42] exists in Colyton Church in Devon. The Courtenay residence of Colcombe Castle was in the parish of Colyton. However, modern authorities[46] have suggested, on the basis of the monument's heraldry, the effigy to be Margaret Beaufort (c. 1409 – 1449), the wife of Thomas de Courtenay, 5th Earl of Devon (1414–1458).

The effigy is only about three feet in length, much smaller than usual for an adult. The face and head were renewed in 1907,[47] and are said to have been based on the sculptor's own infant daughter. A 19th-century brass tablet above is inscribed: "Margaret, daughter of William Courtenay Earl of Devon and the Princess Katharine youngest daughter of Edward IVth King of England, died at Colcombe choked by a fish-bone AD MDXII and was buried under the window in the north transept of this church".

Heraldry

Arrangement of heraldic escutcheons above female effigy in Colyton Church. left arms of Courtenay (without border[48]); centre: arms of Courtenay (without border) impaling royal arms of England (with border); right: royal arms of England (with border). The interpretation of the existence or otherwise of a heraldic bordure is significant to the correct identification of the effigy.[49]

Three sculpted heraldic shields of arms exist above the effigy, showing the arms of Courtenay, Courtenay

compony argent and azure.[50]
The relief sculpture does indeed show a border, albeit a thin one and not compony, around the royal arms, with such border omitted from the Courtenay arms.

Death

Courtenay received a summons to appear with

chronicler asserted that he had been poisoned by the Prior on the queen's orders, which is perhaps unlikely considering the earl's alliance with the queen. In his will, the earl requested burial in the Courtenay Chantry Chapel of Exeter Cathedral. The will was proved at Lambeth on 21 February 1458, and an inquisition post mortem was taken in 1467.[45]

The earl was succeeded by his eldest son,

Thomas Courtenay, 14th Earl of Devon,[52] who was beheaded at York on 3 April 1461 after the Battle of Towton, and attainted by Parliament in November 1461, whereby the earldom was forfeited.[51]

Footnotes

  1. Debrett's Peerage (Debrett 1968
    , p. 353) however gives the ordinal numbers as if a new earldom had been created.
  2. ^ The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay Earls of Devon depends on whether the earldom is deemed a new creation by the letters patent granted on 22 February 1335, or whether it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family. Authorities differ in their opinions,[1] and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist and are given here.
  3. ^ Cherry 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Cokayne 1916, p. 326.
  5. ^ Nathan 1957, p. 152.
  6. ^ a b Griffiths 1981a, p. 15.
  7. ^ Griffiths 1981a.
  8. ^ Cherry 1981.
  9. ^ Burke 1884, p. 99.
  10. ^ Hughes, Bland & Isaacson 1907, pp. 314, 448.
  11. brigands
    with Thomas Carminow, after a long dispute with the Earl.
  12. ^ Hughes, Bland & Isaacson 1907, pp. 133, 532.
  13. ^ The "Arbitration" was published on 1 April 1442.
  14. ^ Nicolas 1835, pp. 165–66, 173–75.
  15. ^ Nicolas 1835, p. 240.
  16. ^ Nicolas 1835, p. 408.
  17. ^ Stamp 1937, p. 396.
  18. ^ Nicolas 1837, p. 315.
  19. ^ Bland & Isaacson 1908, p. 355.
  20. ^ Watts 1996 and Griffiths 1981a for differing views on the relationship between Suffolk and Henry VI.
  21. ^ Flower 1947, p. 107.
  22. ^ Cherry 1981, p. 281.
  23. ^ Storey 1999, p. 84.
  24. ^ Lord Cobham had been dispossessed by the Earl of Wiltshire, a creation of Henry VI.ibid, 98
  25. ^ Harriss 1965, p. 216.
  26. ^ Cherry 1981, p. 285–86.
  27. ^ Cherry 1981, p. 290.
  28. ^ Storey 1999, p. 165; Nicolas 1837, pp. 189–193.
  29. ^ a b Storey 1999, p. 166.
  30. ^ Cherry 1981, p. 297.
  31. ^ "apprentice of the law" Radford was a well-known local dignitary, an old man at the time; Bland & Isaacson 1909, pp. 269, 281
  32. ^ Gairdner 1897, p. 351.
  33. ^ Storey 1999, pp. 168–70.
  34. ^ Storey 1999, p. 167; Estates of the Percy family, 89–96
  35. ^ Cherry 1981, p. 311.
  36. ^ Storey 1999, p. 173.
  37. ^ Rotuli, op cit., 332
  38. ^ Bland & Isaacson 1910, pp. 308, 393, 398.
  39. ^ History of Commons, 1422–1508, vol. II
  40. ^ Debrett 1968, p. 125.
  41. ^ Richardson IV 2011, pp. 38–43.
  42. ^ a b c Vivian 1895, p. 245.
  43. ^ a b Weir 1999, p. 106.
  44. ^ Debrett 1968, p. 353, incorrectly named as "Hugh, attainted and beheaded 1466"
  45. ^ a b c d Cokayne 1916, p. 327.
  46. ^ a b Barron 1911, p. 325; Pevsner & Cherry 2004, p. 280; Hoskins 1959, p. 373.
  47. ^ Barron 1911, p. 325.
  48. ^ Raised horizontal line on top of shield is part of the label, a differencing charge shown in the Courtenay arms.
  49. ^ Barron 1911.
  50. ^ Barron 1911, p. 325: "The effigy of this granddaughter of John of Gaunt, with the shields of Courtenay and Beaufort" (...).
  51. ^ a b Cokayne 1916, p. 327; Richardson IV 2011, p. 40.
  52. ^ Richardson I 2011, p. 547.

References

Selected reading

External links
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Hugh de Courtenay
 Earl of Devon
1422–1458 		Succeeded by

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