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Thomas Chaucer
Thomas Chaucer (c. 136718 November 1434) was an English courtier and politician. The son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his wife Philippa Roet, Thomas was linked socially and by family to senior members of the English nobility, though he was himself a commoner. Elected fifteen times to the Parliament of England, he was Speaker of the House of Commons for five parliaments in the early 15th century. Parental connections Thomas Chaucer was a relative by marriage of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, through his aunt Katherine Swynford. Katherine (born Roet) was the sister of his mother, Philippa Roet. Swynford was first Gaunt's mistress, and then his third wife. Their four children, John Beaufort, Henry Beaufort, Thomas Beaufort and Joan Beaufort, were first cousins to Thomas Chaucer, and all prospered: John's family became Earls and subsequently Dukes of Somerset, Henry a Cardinal, Thomas became Duke of Exeter, Joan became Countess of Westmorland and was gran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial Brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the pavement, and thus forming no obstruction in the space required for the services of the church, they speedily came into general use, and continued to be a favourite style of sepulchral memorial for three centuries. In Europe Besides their great value as historical monuments, monumental brasses are interesting as authentic contemporary evidence of the varieties of armour and costume, or the peculiarities of palaeography and heraldic designs, and they are often the only authoritative records of the intricate details of family history. Although the intrinsic value of the metal has unfortunately contributed to the wholesale spoliation of these interesting monuments, they are still found in remarkable profusion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippa Roet
Philippa de Roet (also known as Philippa Pan or Philippa Chaucer; – c. 1387) was an English courtier, the sister of Katherine Swynford (third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster – a son of King Edward III) and the wife of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Early life Philippa was the daughter of Sir Gilles de Roet, who was a herald and, later, a knight of Hainault and accompanied Queen Philippa to England. He later became the Guienne King of Arms. There is no history of her mother, but it is thought that Philippa had two sisters and a brother: Katherine, Elizabeth, and Walter. Her father went to serve the queen's sister, Marguerite, who was the empress of Germany and the three younger children – Walter, Philippa and Katherine – were left in the care of Queen Philippa. It was her father's relationship with royalty that gave Philippa and her family high status and a reputation among the upper class, who took Philippa in as a 'domicella', or lady-in-waiting. This phase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard III Of England
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. Richard was created Duke of Gloucester in 1461 after the accession to the throne of his older brother Edward IV. This was during the period known as the Wars of the Roses, an era when two branches of the royal family contested the throne; Edward and Richard were Yorkists, and their side of the family faced off against their Lancastrian cousins. In 1472, Richard married Anne Neville, daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and widow of Edward of Westminster, son of Henry VI. He governed northern England during Edward's reign, and played a role in the invasion of Scotland in 1482. When Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named Lord Protector of the realm for Ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward IV Of England
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England fought between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions between 1455 and 1487. Edward inherited the Yorkist claim to the throne at the age of eighteen when his father, Richard, Duke of York, was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460. After defeating Lancastrian armies at Mortimer's Cross and Towton in early 1461, he deposed King Henry VI and took the throne. His marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464 led to conflict with his chief advisor, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known as the "Kingmaker". In 1470, a revolt led by Warwick and Edward's brother George, Duke of Clarence, briefly re-installed Henry VI. Edward fled to Flanders, where he gathered support and invaded England in March 1471; after victories at the ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl Of Westmorland
Earl of Westmorland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created in 1397 for Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Ralph Neville. It was forfeited in 1571 by Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, for leading the Rising of the North. It was revived in 1624 in favour of Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Sir Francis Fane, whose mother, Mary Neville, was a descendant of a younger son of the first Earl. The first Earl of the first creation had already become Baron Neville de Raby, and that was a subsidiary title for his successors. The current Earl holds the subsidiary title Baron Burghersh (1624). 1397 creation Ralph Neville, 4th Baron Neville of Raby, and 1st earl of Westmorland (1364–1425), eldest son of John, 3rd Baron Neville, and his wife Maud Percy (see Neville, ''Family''), was knighted by Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, Thomas of Woodstock, afterwards duke of Gloucester, during the Thomas of Woodstock ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Of Exeter
The title Duke of Exeter was created several times in England in the later Middle Ages. Exeter is the main town of Devon. It was first created for John Holland, the half-brother of King Richard II in 1397. That title was rescinded upon Henry IV's accession to the throne two years later. The title was then granted to the former's half-brother, Thomas Beaufort, 1st Earl of Dorset by his nephew Henry V. Following Beaufort's death without heirs in 1426, the title was restored to the Holland family, which held it until the 3rd Duke was attainted in 1461 as a Lancastrian, dying in 1475. Dukes of Exeter, first creation (1397) *John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (1352–1400), half-brother of Richard II, was executed for treason against his half-brother's cousin and rival Henry IV Bolingbroke, at which point his honours were deprived. Coat of arms *Arms: The arms of England (gules, three lions passant or), within a border azure, charged with fleur-de-lis of the second. *Crest: Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Of Somerset
Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547, in whose name the title is still held. The present dukedom is unique, in that the first holder of the title created it for himself in his capacity of Lord Protector of the Kingdom of England, using a power granted in the will of his brother in law King Henry VIII. The only subsidiary title of the duke of Somerset is Baron Seymour, which is used as a courtesy title by the eldest son and heir of the duke. This courtesy title is the lowest in rank of all heirs to dukedoms in the peerages of the British Isles, yet the holder's precedence is higher than his title suggests, by virtue of the seniority of the Dukedom of Somerset (the only more senior non-royal duke is the Duke of Norfolk). Several other titles have b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Beaufort, Countess Of Westmorland
Joan Beaufort ( 1377 – 13 November 1440) was the youngest of the four legitimised children and only daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (third surviving son of King Edward III), by his mistress, later wife, Katherine de Roet. She married Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and in her widowhood became a powerful landowner in the north of England. Early life The year and place of Joan's birth is unknown. She may have been born at Kettlethorpe in Lincolnshire, the seat of the Swynford family, or at Pleshey in Essex, the home of Joan Fitzalan, Countess of Hereford. The usual date given for Joan's birth is 1379, as wine was ordered by John of Gaunt to be sent with all speed to Kettlethorpe in that year and he dated a couple of documents at that time from Kettlethorpe; thus, Joan's father may have been present for her birth or arrived shortly thereafter. Alison Weir, however, believes 1377 may be more accurate. Joan may have been named after Joan of Kent, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Beaufort, Duke Of Exeter
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter (c. January 137731 December 1426) was an English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, and briefly Chancellor of England. He was the third of the four children born to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford. To overcome their problematic parentage, his parents were married in 1396, and he and his siblings were legitimated in 1390 and again in 1397. He married the daughter of Sir Thomas Neville (died 1387) of Hornby, Margaret Neville (born c. 1384), who bore him one son, Henry Beaufort. However, the child died young. Under Henry IV After the accession of his half-brother Henry IV, Beaufort was made a Knight of the Garter. In the following years he held various military posts: constable of Ludlow (1402), appointed Admiral of the North (1403), appointed captain of Calais (1407), and Admiral of the North and West (1408–1413) he retained the title for life. His most notable action during this decade was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Beaufort
Henry Beaufort (c. 1375 – 11 April 1447) was an English Catholic prelate and statesman who held the offices of Bishop of Lincoln (1398), Bishop of Winchester (1404) and cardinal (1426). He served three times as Lord Chancellor and played an important role in English politics. Beaufort was a member of the royal House of Plantagenet, being the second son of the four legitimised children of John of Gaunt (third son of King Edward III) by his mistress (later wife) Katherine Swynford. Life Beaufort is often claimed to have been born at Beaufort, an English domain in France, but England, John of Gaunt specifically, had already lost that land holding, which had come to him through his grandmother Blanche of Artois. He was educated for a career in the Church. After his parents were married in early 1396, Henry, his two brothers and one sister were declared legitimate by Pope Boniface IX and legitimated by Act of Parliament on 9 February 1397, but they were barred from the success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Beaufort, 1st Earl Of Somerset
John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (c. 1373 – 16 March 1410), known as the Marquess of Somerset and Marquess of Dorset from 1397–99, was an English nobleman and politician. Beaufort was the second son of John of Gaunt (1340–1399; third surviving son of King Edward III), eldest of the four children by his mistress Katherine Swynford, whom he later married in 1396. The Beaufort children were declared legitimate twice by parliament, first during the reign of King Richard II, in 1397, which was confirmed by Henry IV, as well as by Pope Boniface IX in September 1396.Michael K. Jones and Malcolm G. Underwood, ''The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby'', (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 19–20. Early life Beaufort's surname (properly ''de Beaufort'', "from Beaufort") probably reflects his birthplace at his father's castle and manor of Beaufort ("beautiful stronghold") in Champagne, France. The Portcullis heraldic badge of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katherine Swynford
Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403) was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter of a knight from County of Hainaut, Hainaut, Katherine, whose name is also spelled 'Katharine' or 'Catherine', was brought up at the English royal court, later found herself in the service of Blanche of Lancaster, the first wife of John of Gaunt. At that time, she was married to Hugh Swynford (or de Swynford), one of the Duke's knights. After the death of the Duchess, Katherine became the lady-in-waiting of her daughters, and also took care of them. After the death of Hugh Swynford, she became a member of the household of the Duke's new wife, Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster, Constance of Castile, and she was given management of the estates of her deceased husband in Lincolnshire: Coleby, North Kesteven, Coleby and Kettlethorpe, Lincolnshire, Kettlethorpe. She soon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
