Alnwick Castle - Northumberland - 140804

Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG,

Lord Marshal Lord Marshal may refer to one of the following *Lord Marshal of England *Earl Marischal * Lord Marshal (Sweden) (Swedish: ''Lantmarskalk'') was in Sweden before 1866 the presiding officer for the nobles in the Riksdag of the Estates ** That title ...

(10 November 134120 February 1408) was the son of

Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy Henry Percy, 3rd Baron Percy of Alnwick (c. 1321–1368), was the eldest son of Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy (1301–1352), and his wife, Idoine de Clifford (Idonea in Latin and also in English), daughter of Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de ...

, and a descendant of

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ...

. His mother was

Mary of Lancaster Mary of Lancaster, Baroness Percy ( – 1 September 1362), was the youngest surviving child of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster by his wife Maud Chaworth. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Henry III of England. Family Mary was bor ...

, daughter of

Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster ( – 22 September 1345) was a grandson of King Henry III of England (1216–1272) and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II (1307–1327), his first cousin. Origins He was ...

, son of Edmund, Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, who was the son of Henry III.

Life

Henry Percy was originally a follower of

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

, for whom he held high offices in the administration of northern England. At a young age, he was made Warden of the Marches towards Scotland in 1362, with the authority to negotiate with the Scottish government. In February 1367, he was entrusted with the supervision of all castles and fortified places in the Scottish marches. He went on to support King

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

, was formally created an Earl on Richard's coronation in 1377, and was briefly given the title of

Marshal of England Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the ei ...

. Between 1383 and 1384, he was appointed Admiral of the Northern Seas. After Richard elevated his rival

Ralph Neville Ralph Neville (or Ralf NevillClanchy ''From Memory to Written Record'' p. 90 or Ralph de Neville; died 1244) was a medieval clergyman and politician who served as Bishop of Chichester and Lord Chancellor of England. Neville first appears in t ...

to the position of Earl of Westmorland in 1397, Percy and his son, also Henry and known as "Hotspur", supported the rebellion of

Henry Bolingbroke Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...

, who became King as Henry IV. On King Henry IV's coronation, Henry Percy was appointed

Constable of England The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable w ...

and granted the lordship of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. Percy and Hotspur were given the task of subduing the rebellion of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

, but their attempts to make peace with the Welsh rebels did not meet with the king's approval.

Rebellion

In September 1402 the Percys took part in the

Battle of Homildon Hill The Battle of Holmedon Hill or Battle of Homildon Hill was a conflict between English and Scottish armies on 14 September 1402 in Northumberland, England. The battle was recounted in Shakespeare's ''Henry IV, part 1''. Although Humbleton Hil ...

, which led to the capture of many Scots nobles. Henry did not want them to be ransomed, leading to another quarrel. In 1403 the Percys turned against Henry IV in favour of

Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, 7th Earl of Ulster (6 November 139118 January 1425), was an English nobleman and a potential claimant to the throne of England. A great-great-grandson of King Edward III of England, he was heir presumptive ...

, and then conspired with Owain Glyndŵr against Henry. The Percy rebellion failed at the

Battle of Shrewsbury The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle, the first in which English archer ...

, where Hotspur was killed. Since the earl did not directly participate in the rebellion, he was not convicted of treason. However, he lost his office as Constable. In 1405 all three parties signed the

Tripartite Indenture The Tripartite Indenture was an agreement made in February 1405 among Owain Glyndŵr, Edmund Mortimer, and Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, agreeing to divide England and Wales up among them at the expense of Henry IV. Glyndŵr was to b ...

, which divided England up between them. Glyndŵr was to be given

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and a substantial part of the

west of England West of England is a combined authority area in South West England. It is made up of the Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset unitary authorities. The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England Dan ...

, Northumberland was to have received the north of England, as well as

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

, and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...

. The Mortimers were to have received the rest of southern England, below the river Trent.Trevor Royle, ''The Wars of the Roses; England's First Civil War'', Abacus, 2009, p. 95 Later in 1405 Percy supported

Richard le Scrope Richard Scrope may refer to: * Richard Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton (c. 1327–1403), English soldier and courtier, builder of Bolton Castle *Richard Scrope (bishop) (c. 1350–1405), Archbishop of York * Richard Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Bo ...

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

, in another rebellion, after which Percy fled to Scotland, and his estates were confiscated by the king. In 1408 Percy invaded England in rebellion once more and was killed at the

Battle of Bramham Moor The Battle of Bramham Moor on 19 February 1408 was the final battle in the Percy Rebellion of 1402 – 1408, which pitted Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, head of the rich and influential Percy family, against the usurper King of Engl ...

. His severed head was subsequently put on display at London Bridge.

Marriages and issue

In 1358, he married Margaret Neville (12 February 133912 May 1372), daughter of

Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville of Raby (c. 1291 – 5 August 1367) was an English aristocrat, the son of Ralph Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby by Eupheme de Clavering. Neville led the English forces to victory against King David II of ...

, and Alice de Audley. They had four sons ( Harry "Hotspur" Percy, Thomas, Ralph, and Alan) and one daughter (Margaret). Blason Lucy de Cockermouth (selon Gelre)

Blason Lucy de Cockermouth (selon Gelre)

In 1381, he married Maud Lucy (134318 December 1398), daughter of Sir Thomas de Lucy, 2nd Baron Lucy, and Margaret de Multon, and thus sister and heiress of Anthony Lucy, 3rd Baron Lucy (died 1368), of

Cockermouth Castle Cockermouth Castle () is in the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria on a site by the junction of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent. It is a grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. History The first castle on this site was built by the ...

, Cumbria, which estate he inherited on condition that he and his

heirs male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...

should bear the arms of Lucy (''Gules, three lucies hauriant argent'') quarterly with their own.Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons, 'Cockermouth', in Magna Britannia: Volume 4, Cumberland (London, 1816), pp. 40-45 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol4/pp40-45 They had no issue.

In literature and media

Northumberland is a major character in Shakespeare's ''

'', ''

Henry IV, part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'', and '' Henry IV, part 2.'' His position as a character in the Shakespearean canon inspired the character of

Lord Percy Percy This article lists the characters in the four series and three special episodes of the British sitcom ''Blackadder''. ''Blackadder'' was notable for featuring actors playing many repeating characters across different eras of history, with Rowa ...

, heir to the duchy of Northumberland in the historical sitcom ''

The Black Adder ''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC 1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 ...

'', set during the very late Plantagenet era. The novel ''Lion of Alnwick'' by Carol Wensby-Scott is the first volume of the Percy Saga trilogy which retells the story of "the wild and brilliant Percy family" and relates a fictionalised account of the lives of the 1st Earl of Northumberland and his son Henry "Hotspur" Percy. The other novels in the trilogy, ''Lion Dormant'' and ''Lion Invincible'' tell the story of his other descendants and their role in the English War of the Roses. Henry Percy and his son Hotspur are also essential characters in Edith Pargeter's novel, ''A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury'' which recounts the events leading up to the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. He is a major character in ''

My Lord John ''My Lord John'' is an unfinished historical fiction novel by the British author Georgette Heyer, published posthumously in 1975 after her death the previous year. It traces the early lives of the "young lordings" – Harry, Thomas, John, and H ...

'' by

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* Rymer, Thomas ''Foedera'', The Hague, 173

*Beltz, G.F. ''Memorials of the most noble Order of the Garter, from its foundation to the present time'' London 184

* James William Edmund Doyle, Doyle, J.W.E, ''The Official Baronage of England'' London 188

*

Jean Froissart Jean Froissart (Old and Middle French: ''Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthurian ...

, ''Chronicles'' *