John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners (1467 – 19 March 1533) was an English soldier, statesman and translator.

Family

John Bourchier, born about 1467, was the only son of Sir Humphrey Bourchier (d.1471 at the

Battle of Barnet The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV. On Sunday 14 April ...

) and Elizabeth Tilney (d.1497), the daughter and sole heir of Sir Frederick Tilney of

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of ...

. Through his father, Bourchier was descended from

King Edward III 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 r ...

; his great-grandmother,

Anne of Gloucester Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford (30 April 1383 – 16 October 1438) was the eldest daughter and eventually sole heiress of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III), by h ...

, was the daughter of

Thomas of Woodstock Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Early life Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodstock ...

, King Edward's youngest son. By his mother's first marriage, Bourchier had two sisters,

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, who married firstly, John Sandys, secondly,

Sir Thomas Bryan Sir Thomas Bryan KS KB (died 14 August 1500) was a British justice of obscure origin. It is suggested by J.H. Baker (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography) that he descended from a John Bryan, fishmonger of London, whose son, also John (d. 14 ...

, and thirdly, David Zouche, and Anne, who married

Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre (1472 – 9 September 1534) was an English peer and soldier, the son of Sir John Fiennes. Career He was born in 1472, the son of Sir John Fiennes (born c.1447, son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Dacre born 1415) ...

of Gilsland. After the death of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, his widow, Elizabeth, married Thomas Howard, then Earl of Surrey, and later 2nd Duke of Norfolk. By his mother's second marriage Bourchier had ten siblings of the half blood,

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...

, Lord Edward Howard,

Lord Edmund Howard Lord Edmund Howard ( – 19 March 1539) was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney. His sister, Elizabeth, was the mother of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and he was the father of th ...

, Sir John Howard, Henry Howard, Charles Howard, Henry Howard (again), Richard Howard, Elizabeth Howard, and Muriel Howard.

Career

After his father was slain fighting on the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

side at the

in 1471, Bourchier became a ward of

John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (c. 142522 August 1485), was an English nobleman, soldier, politician, and the first Howard Duke of Norfolk. He was a close friend and loyal supporter of King Richard III, with whom he was slain at the Battl ...

. As noted above, Bourchier's mother, Elizabeth, had married as her second husband Thomas Howard, the eldest son and heir of Bourchier's guardian by his first wife, Katherine Moleyns. In 1474 Bourchier's grandfather,

John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners, KG (died May 1474) was an English peer. Bourchier was the fourth son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, and his wife Anne of Woodstock, Countess of Buckingham, daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of ...

, died, and Bourchier inherited the title at the age of seven. He was educated at Oxford University and in 1477 created a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

. In 1492 he contracted to serve in the wars overseas and took part in suppressing the Cornish rebellion of 1497 in support of

Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called " Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive ...

. In 1513 he was engaged at the capture of

Thérouanne Thérouanne (; vls, Terenburg; Dutch ''Terwaan'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located west of Aire-sur-la-Lys and south of Saint-Omer, on the D 157 and D 341 road junction. Loca ...

and in 1520 accompanied

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and his entourage of peers and knights to the king's meeting in France with

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...

at the

Field of the Cloth of Gold The Field of the Cloth of Gold (french: Camp du Drap d'Or, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the English ...

. Bourchier held various offices of state under

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, including

Lieutenant of Calais The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castl ...

from 28 November 1520 and

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...

from 14 July 1524. He translated, at the King's desire, ''

Froissart's Chronicles Froissart's ''Chronicles'' (or ''Chroniques'') are a prose history of the Hundred Years' War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart. The ''Chronicles'' open with the events leading up to the deposition of Edward II in 1326, and cover th ...

'' (1523–1525), in such a manner as to make a distinct advance in English historical writing, and the '' Golden Book of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...

'' (1534), as well as ''The History of Arthur of Lytell Brytaine'' (Brittany), and the romance of ''

Huon of Bordeaux Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th-century French epic poem with romance elements. ''Huon of Bordeaux'' The poem tells of Huon, a knight who unwittingly kills Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne. He is given a reprieve from ...

''. Bourchier died at

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

in 1533.

Marriage and issue

Before 13 May 1490 Bourchier married his step-father's half-sister, Katherine Howard, the daughter of

, by his second wife, Margaret Chedworth, daughter of Sir John Chedworth, and by her had a son and three daughters: *Thomas Bourchier, who predeceased his father. *Joan Bourchier (d. 1561), who married Sir Edmund Knyvet (d. 1 May 1539), sergeant porter to

, and was her father's heir, and had: *#John Knyvett, father of

Thomas Knyvett, 4th Baron Berners Thomas Knyvett (or Knyvet), ''de jure'' 4th Baron Berners (1539–c. 1616), was High Sheriff of Norfolk from 1579. Thomas Knyvett was the first son of John Knyvett (1510–1561) and Agnes, daughter of Sir John Harcourt of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfo ...

(1539–1616) *Margaret Bourchier, who predeceased her father. *Mary Bourchier, who married

Alexander Unton Alexander Unton (died 1547) was an English landowner. He was the son of Thomas Unton and Elizabeth Hyde. His home was Wadley House at Faringdon, formerly in Berkshire, and now Oxfordshire. The Untons also held Minster Lovell Hall from the kin ...

of Wadley, but died without issue, predeceasing her father. By a mistress Bourchier had three illegitimate sons and an illegitimate daughter: *Humphrey Bourchier (d. 1540), esquire, who married Elizabeth Bacon, but had no issue. *Sir James Bourchier (d. 1554), who married Mary Bannaster, daughter of Sir Humphrey Bannaster. *George Bourchier *Ursula Bourchier, who married Sir William Sharington.; . After Humphrey Bourchier's death his widow married George Ferrers, esquire.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * *

External links

Ancestry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berners, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron 1467 births 1533 deaths People from Hertfordshire Knights of the Bath Chancellors of the Exchequer of England

John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners (1467 – 19 March 1533) was an English soldier, statesman and translator. Family John Bourchier, born about 1467, was the only son of Sir Humphrey Bourchier (d.1471 at the Battle of Barnet) and Elizabeth Ti ...

15th-century English people 15th-century English writers 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers English translators English male non-fiction writers 16th-century English nobility 2