Category: Biographies

Biography: King Henry VI

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220px-King_Henry_VI_from_NPG_(2)(Born December 6, 1421- Died May 21, 1471). Son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois. Married to Margaret of Anjou. He had one son Edward of Westminster. Henry VI was a weak ruler who, combined with his bouts of mental illness and no desire to rule, led England to lose its lands in France and brought England into a 30 year civil war known as the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VI was the only child of Henry V and his wife Catherine of Valois. He was born on December 6, 1421 and became king of England at the tender age of nine months when his father died on August 31, 1422. Six weeks later, he became king of France after his grandfather Charles VI died, which was agreed upon with the Treaty of Troyes. A regency council was called and Henry’s uncle John, duke of Bedford, became his first regent, and was charged with taking care of the French, led by the king that the French declared, Charles VI’s son Charles VII. Both Charles VII and John duke of Bedford kept the Hundred Years’ War dragging on. The English captured Orleans in 1427, but in May 1429, a young Joan of Arc led a siege on Orleans, which the French was able to reconquer. This led to French nationalism which allowed the French to drive the English out of the Loire Valley and Charles VII was officially crowned king of France in June 1429.

This made Bedford nervous so he quickly had Henry VI crowned king of England in November 1429 and crowned king of France in 1431.  He was the first English king who was also the king of France, but it did not last long. With the newly founded French nationalism, the English were losing their French lands that Henry V had conquered left and right. This made Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, an ally of the English, nervous, and so he signed the Treaty of Arras with Charles VII in 1435, which recognized Charles VII as the King of France. The Hundred Years’ War would continue for another 18 years until John Talbot, the earl of Shrewsbury was defeated at Castillon in 1453. The English lost all of their French territories, except for Calais.

John, duke of Bedford, was regent until his death in 1435. After Bedford died, Humphrey, duke of Gloucester became the protector, but he did not have the same control of the government that Bedford did. In 1437, Henry declared himself of age before his 16th birthday. Henry was a weak ruler who was not interested in ruling at all, so he allowed some of the least scrupulous people to control the government. One of these men was William de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, who became the king’s steward in 1435. William was a peacemaker at heart, which led to the loss of France; his opponent at court was Humphrey of Gloucester, who wanted the war with France to continue. Suffolk was able to negotiate the marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou in 1444, in exchange for Henry surrendering Maine to the French.  The couple was married on April 23, 1445. This was not a popular decision and Henry’s life was threatened so Margaret, Suffolk and Henry left London. Margaret and Suffolk convinced the king that Gloucester was plotting an uprising so Henry had him arrested and confined at Bury St. Edmunds in February 1447, where he would die a week later. The people were not satisfied with this and Suffolk decided to switch from peacemaker to warmonger and invaded Brittany in 1449. This brought Normandy into the middle of the Hundred Years’ War and Brittany was conquered by the French in 1450. This was the last mistake by Suffolk, who was arrested and banished, but his ship was intercepted at Dover and Suffolk was killed.

Suffolk’s allies were scapegoats for everything that was going wrong in France, which led to the revolution led by John Cade in May 1450. It was similar to the Peasants’ Revolt, however Henry VI was no Richard II and the revolt lasted for two months, until John Cade’s death. The purpose of this revolt was to purge the government, but the king did not live up to their expectations. Instead he polarized the government even further when he appointed Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset as his closest adviser. Somerset was a failure in France and he gained some notable enemies at court, especially Richard, duke of York, who was banished  to Ireland in 1447 for supporting Gloucester, but returned to England and to court in August 1450, demanding his place in the Council.

Somerset’s and York’s  rivalry simmered for several years, until  August 1453, when Henry VI had his first bout with mental illness. We are not sure what he suffered from but for weeks, he was unresponsive to everything. Some believe it was triggered by the loss of France. It affected him so much that he did not even acknowledge his only son Edward, believing that his son was born of the Holy Ghost. During this time, Richard Duke of York was made Lord Protector  in 1454 and had Somerset arrested. When Henry recovered, he restored Somerset and had York dismissed. This was the last straw for York. York and Somerset met on the battlefield at St. Albans on May 22, 1455, where Somerset was killed. This should have been the end of the conflict, however it was only just the beginning.

Henry was going to reconcile with York but another bout of mental illness hit Henry in November 1455 and York was made Lord Protector again; he was dismissed in February 1456. It was then that Margaret of Anjou took up her husband’s cause. She encouraged the new duke of Somerset Henry Beaufort to fight against York. The battlelines were being drawn. The Yorkists were led by Richard duke of York, Richard Neville earl of Salisbury and his son Richard Neville earl of Warwick. The Lancastrians were under Henry VI, but led by Margaret of Anjou, Somerset, and Henry Percy, third earl of Northumberland. In 1459, at the battle of Ludlow, the Lancastrians won and sent the Yorkists into hiding; however the Yorkists came back with a vengeance at the battle of Northampton. In September 1460, Richard duke of York officially placed his claim to the throne to Parliament. In order to avoid more conflict, York was declared the heir to the throne, in place of Prince Edward.

Henry VI seemed to be okay with this arrangement, but Margaret was not about to let this insult stand. On December 30, 1460 at the battle of Wakefield, York was killed. Margaret continued her march to London when in 1461, she met with Warwick and defeated him at the second battle of St. Albans. Warwick fled and raised another army with York’s son Edward and marched into London on March 1461. Then, in the bloodiest battle of the Wars of the Roses, Towton, the Lancastrian forces were defeated and Edward became Edward IV. Henry and Margaret fled to Scotland to seek aid from King James III. In exchange for the aid, Henry gave the Scots Berwick. After a few years, Henry was seen as an embarrassment to the Scots and so they returned him to northern England, where he was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London by English forces in July 1465.

It looked like Henry’s days were numbered, but then on October 3, 1470, he was removed from the Tower and made king yet again. What had happened was that the earl of Warwick switched sides and fought for Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. Warwick even had his daughter married to Henry’s son Edward to show his allegiance. However, Edward IV came back in April 1471 and killed Warwick and recaptured Henry VI. On May 4, 1471, Margaret’s forces faced off against Edward IV at the battle of Tewkesbury. It was a devastating loss for the Lancastrians as Prince Edward was killed and Margaret was imprisoned in the Tower. On May 21, 1471, King Henry VI was murdered. It is unknown who killed him, but many suspect that it was under the orders of  King Edward IV.

Biography: Margaret Beaufort

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(Born May 31, 1443- Died June 29, 1509). Daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somersetdownload (2) and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe. Married to John de la Pole 2nd Duke of Suffolk, Edmund Tudor 1st Earl of Richmond, Sir Henry Stafford, and Thomas Stanley 1st Earl of Derby. Mother of Henry Tudor, later known as Henry VII. Margaret was the mother of the Tudor Dynasty. She never gave up on her son Henry Tudor.

Margaret Beaufort was born on May 31, 1443 to John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe. She had seven half-siblings from her mother’s first marriage to Sir Oliver St John. Her father was the  second son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, the first son of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Margaret’s father went to France to fight for King Henry VI, but it went badly, and he either died from illness or committed suicide on May 27, 1444, leaving Margaret his sole heiress.

Under a deal that her father made with Henry VI, the king took wardship of Margaret, but the king broke that deal and passed on the wardship to William de la Pole 1st Duke of Suffolk. At this time, Margaret remained in her mother’s house to receive her education. On January 28, 1450, William de la Pole, who was not popular at all with Parliament, was ordered to be arrested. Between January 28 and February 7, 1450, Margaret and John de la Pole, the eldest son of William de la Pole, were married, yet they never lived together. With this marriage, William de la Pole was seen as reaching too far since Margaret was a potential heir for the throne and was charged with treason. William de la Pole was murdered on May 2, 1450. Margaret never recognized this marriage as she was under twelve when she was married.

In 1453, Margaret and her mother were called to court when Henry VI granted the wardship of Margaret to his half brothers Edmund and Jasper Tudor. With her first marriage annulled, it paved the way for the marriage between Margaret and Edmund. Margaret was 12 and Edmund was 24 at the time of the wedding on November 1, 1455. The marriage was consummated and soon Margaret was pregnant. Unfortunately, Edmund would never meet his son as he died on November 1, 1456 of the plague. Margaret gave birth to her only son Henry Tudor on January 28, 1457 at the age of 13. It was a difficult birth and Margaret was never to have another child after Henry.

Being a single mother and a young widow, Margaret knew that she had to marry again to make sure that she could financially survive. She arranged her own marriage and after the required one year of mourning was over, Margaret married Sir Henry Stafford on January 3, 1458. From what we can tell, it sounds like a happy marriage between Margaret and Sir Henry Stafford. When Henry was two years old, his uncle Jasper was granted wardship over him and so Margaret and Henry were seperated. After the Battle of Towton, Jasper fled to Scotland to help Margaret of Anjou, Edward Duke of York became Edward IV, and Henry Tudor was stripped of his lands and put in the custody of William Herbert. At this time, Margaret was able to keep in contact with her son.

In 1469, the House of Lancaster came back into power, but only for a short amount of time as the House of York came back into power. At the Battle of Barnet on April 14, 1471, Sir Henry Stafford was injured  fighting for the Yorkists and he would die from his wounds on October 4, 1471. Margaret was a widow again at the age of 28. Henry and Jasper fled the country for their own protection, leaving Margaret alone and in need of another husband and protector.

In June 1472, Margaret married her fourth and final husband Thomas, Lord Stanley. This was a marriage of convenience as Margaret was able to enter the court of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville in order to gain favor and secure her son’s return to England. Before this could happen, Edward IV died on April 9, 1483. The crown passed on to the king’s eldest son Edward V, but Edward and his brother Richard went to the tower for their own protection, never to be seen again. Their uncle Richard III became king, and even though Margaret carried the train at Queen Anne’s coronation, Richard stripped Margaret of all of her titles and land. During this time Margaret was plotting with Elizabeth Woodville to arrange a marriage between Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York.

In 1483, Henry and Jasper failed to invade England. Richard found out that Margaret was part of this plot and she was charged with high treason, but instead of being executed, she was placed under house arrest. Margaret’s life changed for the better when her son was able to defeat Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485, with the help of Margaret’s husband Thomas, Lord Stanley, and became King Henry VII.  Thomas, Lord Stanley was made Earl of Derby and Margaret was made Countess of Richmond and Derby. Margaret was able to see her son once again after 14 years apart. Margaret became the King Mother and was the second most important woman at court, next to Queen Elizabeth of York, who married Henry VII on January 18, 1486. Margaret was there to help with the births of her grandchildren, and the deaths of a few including Arthur Prince of Wales, who died on April 2, 1502.

Elizabeth of York would die on February 11, 1503, leaving Margaret’s son a widower. Thomas, Lord Stanley would die in 1504, and although she spent most of her son’s reign styling herself as a widow in order to have control over her own properties and finances, it still must have been a hard loss for Margaret. Margaret’s beloved son Henry VII died on April 21, 1509, and she took his death the hardest. Margaret Beaufort was able to see her grandson Henry VIII’s coronation on June 23, 1509, but then she died only six days later on June 29, 1509.

Biography: Jasper Tudor

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410px-Arms_of_Jasper_Tudor,_Duke_of_Bedford.svg(Born November 1431- Died December 21, 1495). Son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois. Married to Catherine Woodville. Jasper was really one of the unsung heroes of the Wars of the Roses. He never gave up on fighting for the cause he believed in and he did his best to keep his nephew Henry Tudor safe.

Jasper Tudor was the second son born to Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois born in 1431. He was the brother of Edmund Tudor and half- brother of King Henry VI. After his mother’s death on January 3, 1437, Jasper and Edmund were sent to Barking Abbey where they were raised and educated by Katherine de la Pole from July 1437 until March 1442. Around that time, their half-brother Henry VI allowed for Edmund and Jasper to live at court, where they received the military training that would be essential for their survival later in life. In 1449, Jasper was knighted and in 1452, he was created the earl of Pembroke.

Jasper worked hard to stop the fighting between the Yorks and the Lancasters while he was still living in the courts. Jasper’s brother Edmund took in a young Margaret Beaufort as his ward and he later married her on November 1, 1455. The following year, on November 3, 1456, Edmund died of the plague, leaving his young and pregnant widow in Jasper’s custody. Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond was born on January 28, 1457.  Jasper was also responsible for maintaining the Lancastrian ties in Western Wales between 1456 and 1459. In 1460, Jasper was able to capture the Duke of York’s North Welsh stronghold of Denbigh Castle.

Jasper and his father Owen Tudor raised an army in Wales for Henry VI and met against the Yorkist forces at the battle of  Mortimer’s Cross on February 2, 1461. It was an utter defeat for the Lancastrians. Owen Tudor was taken into custody and executed while Jasper escaped first into Ireland and then into Scotland.  Jasper then went to France where he was welcomed by King Louis XI in 1462. He stayed in France for 6 years, until he returned to Wales in 1468, when he lost his title of earl of Pembroke and Pembroke Castle to William Herbert.

Jasper did regain the earldom of Pembroke when Henry VI was restored to the throne, but in 1471, he fled to the continent yet again once Edward IV was crowned king. Jasper  and Henry tried to gather more support for the Lancastrian cause but they got caught in a bad storm in the English Channel while escaping from Tenby. They landed in Brittany where they sought the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, which he did give to them.The Lancastrians along with Jasper and Henry, were housed at  the Château de Suscinio in Sarzeau. Edward IV tried his best to apprehend Jasper and Henry but he failed to do so.

In October 1483, Jasper and Henry tried to go back to England, but it failed and they were forced to return to Brittany. When the Duke of Brittany got very ill in 1484, his treasurer Pierre Landais made a deal with Richard III to give over Jasper and Henry in exchange for 3,000 English archers to defend a French attack. A bishop in Flanders John Morton heard about the deal and warned Jasper and Henry just before Landais could reach them. Jasper and Henry fled into France where King Charles VIII allowed them to stay until Duke Francis II felt better.

Jasper and Henry made their way back to England in August 1485, where they faced off against Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. Richard III was defeated and Henry became Henry VII. Jasper’s titles and properties were all returned to him and he was made a Knight of the Garter as well as Duke of Bedford. On November 7, 1485, Jasper married Catherine Woodville, the sister of Queen Elizabeth Woodville. They had no children. Jasper would die on December 21, 1495 at Thornbury Castle at the age of 64.

Biography: Owen Tudor

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Full name: Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudur. (Born around 1400- Died February 2, 1461) Son of Maredudd ap Tudur and Margaret ferch Dafydd. Husband of Catherine of Valois.  Father of 4-6 children, including Edmund and Jasper Tudor.

Owen Tudor was the son of Maredudd ap Tudur and Margaret ferch Dafydd. We do not know much about his early life. Owen’s father and his uncles were involved in the rebellion of Owain Glyn Dwr, the last Welsh Prince of Wales, against the English. This rebellion was suppressed and Welshmen moved into England to find work. In 1421, he found work with Sir Walter Hungerford, the steward of King Henry V. In 1422, King Henry V would die from dysentery, leaving behind his 21 year old wife Catherine of Valois and their baby son, who was now King Henry VI. It was during this time that  it is said that Owen came to work in Catherine’s household.

Parliament passed a bill that stated that the dowager queen could not marry again unless she had the king’s permission. If she did marry without permission, her husband would lose everything, but their children would remain legitimate. It is said that the couple was married between 1428 and 1429. In May 1432, Owen Tudor was given the same rights as an English gentleman. The couple had at least 4 children; Edmund born in 1430, Jasper born in 1431, a son who is rumored to have become a monk, and a daughter who either died young or became a nun.

Catherine would enter Bermondsey Abbey to receive medical attention, where she died on January 3, 1437. Edmund and Jasper were sent to the Abbess of Barking to receive  their education while Owen dealt with the king’s Regency council. Owen was nervous about the council and so he sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey; when he did arrive at the council, he was cleared of all charges and was allowed to return to Wales. However, he was captured by Lord Beaumont and sent to Newgate Prison.

In 1438, he managed to escape with the help of a priest and a servant; he was recaptured and held at Windsor Castle under the guardianship of Edmund Beaufort. In 1439, King Henry VI pardoned Owen Tudor, restored all of his lands, provided him a position at court, and made the Keeper of the King’s Parks in Denbigh. In 1442, Henry VI welcomed his half- brothers Edmund and Jasper to court with open arms. In November 1452, Edmund became the earl of Richmond and Jasper became the earl of Pembroke. On November 3, 1456, Edmund Tudor died from the plague, leaving his young son and wife in the capable hands of his brother Jasper Tudor.  Owen and Jasper would serve Henry VI by capturing Yorkist supporters for the king and in return gaining their estates, including John, Lord Clinton in 1459; that same year, Owen had a son with an unknown mistress named Sir David Owen, born at Pembroke Castle.

Owen joined his son Jasper’s army to raise an army in Wales in January 1461. On February 2, 1461, their army faced off against the Yorkist army at the battle of Mortimer’s Cross. It was a devastating loss for the Lancasterian cause. Jasper Tudor escaped, but Owen was captured and beheaded under the orders of Edward Earl of March, later Edward IV, at Hereford.

Biography: Catherine of Valois

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Catherine_of_France(Born October 27, 1401- Died January 3, 1437). Daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria. Married to Henry V of England and Owen Tudor. Mother of Henry VI, Edmund Tudor and Jasper Tudor.

Catherine of Valois was the tenth child of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria. Her father suffered from mental illness and some believe that Catherine and her siblings were neglected by their parents. When Catherine was young, she was sent to the convent in Poissy to receive a religious education. From a young age, Catherine was on the marriage market. Her first potential groom was the son of Henry IV, the prince of Wales, but the king died before the negotiations could really get started. In 1414, a young Henry V re-opened the negotiations. In May 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was signed between England and France that made Henry V and his descendants the next heirs to the French throne. In order to cement this alliance, Henry V married Catherine of Valois on February 21, 1421.

Henry V went back to France to campaign a few months later, leaving a pregnant Catherine of Valois behind. Henry VI was born on December 6, 1421. Henry V would die from dysentery that he had contracted during the siege of Meaux on August 31, 1422. A few months later, Catherine’s father Charles VI died, leaving Catherine’s baby son both the king of England and France and it left Catherine a dowager queen at the age of 21.

Since Catherine was still young, there was a strong concern that she would marry again, especially to Edmund Beaufort, her late husband’s cousin. That is why Humphrey duke of Gloucester, the Lord Protector and Parliament passed a bill in 1427-1428 that the queen could not get remarried without the king’s consent of her husband would lose everything, except their children would remain legitimate.

Catherine met and fell in love with a Welshman named Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudur, also known as  Owen Tudor. Not much is known about his early life but in 1421, he was in service of Henry V’s steward Sir Walter Hungerford. He then became a member of Catherine’s household as either keeper of Catherine’s household or wardrobe. Sometime between 1428 and 1429, the couple is said to have gotten married, but there is no evidence to support this claim. In May 1432, Parliament granted Owen Tudor the rights of an Englishman. The couple had at least 4 children, at most 6; Edmund, Jasper, Owen, and a daughter Margaret who became a nun and died young. All of their children were born outside of court.

Catherine entered Bermondsey Abbey, possibly seeking a cure from an illness. Three days later, on January 3, 1437, she died. Catherine is buried at Westminster Abbey in Henry V’s Chantry Chapel. Catherine of Valois was the mother of Henry VI, Edmund and Jasper Tudor, as well as the grandmother of Henry Tudor, the first monarch of the Tudor Dynasty.

Biography: King Henry V

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mw03074(Born September 16, 1387- Died August 31, 1422). Son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun. Married to Katherine of Valois. He only had one son Henry VI.

Henry V was a soldier from birth. He did so much for his country, yet he died too soon, leaving his kingdom in the incapable hands of his baby son Henry VI.

At the age of fifteen, Henry V fought alongside his father against the Welsh rebels under Owain Glyn Dwr and the English rebels under Edmund Mortimer and Henry “Hotspur” Percy. Henry’s relationship with his father in the later years of Henry IV’s life was not great. The two argued about many issues, but it was mostly about the English involvement in France. Henry IV wanted to press his claim to the French throne while France was in the midst of a civil war between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs; Henry IV supported the Armagnacs while Henry V supported the Burgundians. This issue would never be resolved between them as Henry IV would die in 1413 and Henry V became king.

As king, Henry V desired to regain the lands in France that he believed was rightfully his, but unlike his father, he was able to get the full support of Parliament to do so. Henry V tried to negotiate with the French to regain all of the old Angevin Empire,  but when that failed, he invaded on August 11, 1415. On October 25, 1415, the Battle of Agincourt took place. Even though the French had the English outnumbered, the English had longbowmen. The French lost some 6,000 men whereas the English only lost 400 men.

Agincourt was a tremendous victory for the English, but the French refused to fall. Henry V gained support from Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor and John, duke of Burgundy and started a new campaign in August 1417. In the spring of 1419, Normandy fell to Henry V. In May 1420, Henry V signed the Treaty of Troyes with the Burgundians which recognized him and his heirs  as heir to the French throne. In order to cement this new alliance, he married the daughter of the French King Katherine of Valois.

Everything seemed right in Henry’s kingdom, but he still wanted to gain more French land. In 1421, he went back to France and was able to gain control of the Dauphin’s stronghold of Meaux in May 1422. Unfortunately, in the winter of 142, Henry V fell ill from dysentery and died on August 31, 1422. He left his kingdom in the hands of his infant son Henry VI. Even though Henry V’s reign was one of the shortest of any English king since the Norman Conquest, it was one of the most successful. England was in a position of power on the world stage thanks to the actions of Henry V.

Biography: King Henry IV (aka Henry Bolingbroke)

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(Born April 3, 1367- Died March 20, 1413). Son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of mw03072Lancaster. Married to Mary de Bohun and Joan of Navarre. He had 7 children with Mary, including the future Henry V. He was the 1st king from the house of Lancaster.

Henry was the son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster and was born at Bolingbroke Castle on April 3, 1367. Early in his life, he became one of the Lords Appellant who were opposed to the rule of Richard II. He stepped down from this role in 1389 and in 1390, went on his first adventure, journeying with the Teutonic Knights to Lithuania. Two years later, he went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. During this time, he visited numerous courts in Europe and was held in high regards. He was a handsome young man, but it was early in life where Henry’s ill health that plagued him during his reign started to appear.

Henry was a good person to help the king, however the only one who failed to realize this was Richard II. He banished Henry in 1398 for ten years, but when John of Gaunt died the following year and Henry became the next Duke of Lancaster, Richard II took all of his lands and banished him forever. This was the last straw for Henry. While Richard was occupied with unrest in Ireland, Henry took his chance and invaded England, forcing Richard to abdicate. The next one in line to the throne was Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, but he was only eight years old, so Parliament agreed that Henry would be a better choice to be king. His reign as Henry IV began on September 30, 1399.

However, not everyone was happy with Henry as king. Henry IV’s first rebellion that he had to deal with was by the earls of Kent, Salisbury and Huntingdon, just a month after he became king. Henry took care of this rebellion quickly and violently. It is also believed that this was around the same time that Henry ordered the death of Richard II. A few months after the first rebellion, Henry IV had to deal with a second rebellion in Wales, where Owain Glyn Dwr was declared Prince of Wales in September 1400. This revolt was quickly put down, but Owain evaded capture for several years, leading to guerrilla style warfare.

Owain’s supporters grew not only amongst Welsh barons, but English ones as well, including the Mortimers who were upset that Henry was king and not Edmund, who was Owain’s son in law after he married Owain’s daughter. Another supporter was Henry “Hotspur” Percy, the son of the earl of Northumberland who believed that he did not get the recognition that he deserved after he fought against the Scots. These forces came together and fought against Henry at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21, 1403, where Henry defeated Hotspur easily and killed him. Henry was not going to let the rebel army get away and by 1408, they were all but eliminated.

Two years before this, in 1406, Henry IV took James I of Scotland hostage and his young heir was sent to France. James was in the English court for 17 years as a hostage and for that time, the relationships between England, Scotland and France were good. Things were looking up for Henry IV, except for his health. Starting in 1406, his health was in decline and there was a serious concern for his life. He tried to govern, but he became more reliant on his Parliament. In 1409, Henry’s son Prince Henry was made chancellor over Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury. Arundel returned in 1411 when Henry and his council were debating if he should step down in favor of Prince Henry, which Henry refused to do. Henry died in 1413 from some sort of wasting disease at the age of 45. His son Prince Henry would succeed him as Henry V.

Biography: King Richard II

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mw05302(Born January 6, 1367- Died on or about February 14, 1400). Son of Edward the Black Prince and Joan 4th Countess of Kent. Married to Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois. He had no children.

Richard II was the second son of Edward the Black Prince, but when his older brother Edward died when Richard was three, Richard became second in line to the throne after his father. When Edward the Black Prince and Edward III died, Richard II became king at the tender age of 10. There was no formal regent that could help guide Richard II, but his uncle John of Gaunt did the best that he could, taking a more active political role.

Richard II and his government decided to start taxing the people with poll taxes to pay for the wars in France and the campaigns in Scotland. At first, they were tolerated, but then the people got mad. In June 1381, a man named Wat Tyler had enough and killed a tax collector and raised a force of around 100,000 to march against the king. When the two forces finally met, Wat Tyler was killed by the Lord Mayor of London William Walworth. Richard at the age of 14 stopped the Peasants’ Revolt by promising the people reforms that he, in the end,  did not fulfill the reforms.

He was the champion of England, but inside his court, things were more divisive. Richard II had two very close advisors, Robert de Vere earl of Oxford and Michael de la Pole. He granted favors upon the two men, causing anger in the court. Richard also sought military glory in Scotland, which ended up being a disaster. To top it all off in 1386, Richard made Robert de Vere duke of Ireland and Michael de la Pole was made a chancellor, without consulting Parliament first. This was the last straw for those who opposed Richard II. They decided to act. Five of his strongest opponents; Thomas duke of Gloucester,  the earl of Arundel, Thomas Beauchamp, the earl of Warwick, Thomas Mowbray, and Henry Bolingbroke the son of John of Gaunt, became known as the Lords Appellant. They took over the country and they tried to convince Richard to give up his courtiers.

He did comply for a little while, until he became of age. His first wife Anne of Bohemia died in 1394 from the plague, leaving Richard heartbroken. He married his second wife Isabella of Valois as part of a peace treaty with France, strengthening his position in his own country. He went after the Lords Appellant. Most of them were killed, except for Mowbray and Henry Bolingbroke. Mowbray was exiled for life while Henry was exiled for ten years. During his reign “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer was published and literature was on the rise.

In 1399, John of Gaunt died and instead of pardoning his son Henry Bolingbroke, Richard banished him for life. Richard left later that same year to quell the unrest in Ireland and Henry Bolingbroke took his chance to invade. Richard’s support dwindled and on August 19, 1399, Richard II forfeited to Henry and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. The next in line for the throne, since Richard II had no children, was Edmund Mortimer earl of March, who was only 8 years old at the time. Parliament did not want a similar situation than the one that they were in, so they forced Richard II to abdicate and on September 29, 1399, Henry Bolingbroke became Henry IV. Richard II was moved to Pontefract Castle and on or around February 14, 1400, he died. Some believe that he starved to death as there was no evidence of a physical murder.

With Richard II’s abdication and Henry IV’s accession came the rise of the House of Lancaster.

 

Biography: Katherine Swynford

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(Born November  25, 1350 – Died May 10, 1403). Daughter of Payne de Roet. Sister of Philippa Chaucer, the wife of Geoffrey Chaucer. Married to Hugh Swynford and John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Mother of the Beauforts as well as 3 children with Hugh Swynford.

Katherine was probably born on or around November 25, 1350 to Payne de Roet, a herald and later a knight. We don’t know much about her early life.  Katherine was appointed governess to watch over the children of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster in 1365. In 1367, she married Hugh Swynford, a knight, and they had 3 children; Blanche, Thomas and Margaret Swynford.

Hugh Swynford and Blanche of Lancaster would both die in 1371, the same year that rumors began that Katherine and John were having an affair. John quickly silenced those rumors by marrying Constance of Castile later the same year. In 1372 Katherine’s position in John’s household got better and by 1373, their first child John, was born. They would have 4 children; John, Henry, Thomas and Joan.They would adopt the last name Beaufort in honor of their father’s lost of his lordship of Anjou.

During the 1380’s, Katherine left court so John could repair his reputation after the Peasants’ Revolt. When Constance died in 1394, everything changed for the couple. They were married in 1396 and their children became legitimate, however they were banned from the line of succession for the throne of England. John would die on February 3, 1399, leaving Katherine a widow yet again. Katherine would die on May 10, 1403.

Her children with John of Gaunt, the Beauforts and their children, would change English history forever.

Biography: John of Gaunt

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gaunt(Born March 6, 1340- Died March 15, 1399). Son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault.  He had three wives, Blanche of Lancaster, Constance of Castile, and Katherine Swynford. He was the 1st Duke of Lancaster, the Duke of Aquitaine, King of Castile, and one of the wealthiest men of his time. His children would become the House of Lancaster, the Beauforts, the monarchs of Portugal and Castile, and the Hapsburgs.

 

John of Gaunt was the third surviving son of Edward III. He wasn’t supposed to be as wealthy or influential as he became but he achieved prestige by marrying well. With his first marriage to Blanche of Lancaster, John of Gaunt was able to become the first Duke of Lancaster. Blanche of Lancaster would die in 1369 and John would marry Constance of Castile in 1371. She was next in line for the throne of Castile and for years John fought for her crown against the Spanish. The problem was that they were also fighting the French as the Hundred Years’ War was just starting.   After his brother Edward The Black Prince’s death in 1376, John took John Wycliffe under his protection as he now had more of a political influence.

When Edward III died, John of Gaunt’s nephew Richard II became king and John was his right hand man. There was a lot of mistrust with the nobility and the common folk which lead to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, which was quickly and brutally taken care of. John went  back to Castile try to take the throne, but as soon as he left, England almost fell into civil war because of how poorly Richard II ruled. John gave up his claim to the Castilian throne to help bring England back to some stability.

 

He would also help sponsor  Geoffrey Chaucer, who was his brother in law since Chaucer married the sister of John’s third wife and long time mistress, Katherine Swynford. John and Katherine met while he was married to Constance and had 4 children out of wedlock. After they were married in 1396, their children were made legitimate and given the name “Beaufort”. There was one catch, they were not allowed to inherit the throne, although their half- brother Henry IV allowed them to have some royal status. John of Gaunt died  of natural causes on March 15, 1399 with Katherine Swynford by her side. He would later be buried by his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster.