Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March
Encyclopedia
William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury
William I Montagu, alias de Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 3rd Baron Montacute, King of Mann was an English nobleman and loyal servant of King Edward III....
and Catherine Grandison.
Early life
An infant at the death of his father, Edmund, as a ward of the crown, was placed by Edward III of EnglandEdward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
under the care of William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham was Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of England, founder of Winchester College, New College, Oxford, New College School, Oxford, and builder of a large part of Windsor Castle.-Life:...
and Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel
Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel
Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey was an English nobleman and medieval military leader.- Lineage :...
.
The position of the young earl, powerful on account of his possessions and hereditary influence in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
marches
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
, was rendered still more important by his marriage in 1368 at the age of 16 to the 13 year old Philippa, the only child of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence is a title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the English and British Royal families. The first three creations were in the Peerage of England, the fourth in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the fifth in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The title was first...
, second son of Edward III.
Lionel's wife, Elizabeth, was daughter and heiress of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster
William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster
William de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster and 4th Baron of Connaught , was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland.-Background:...
, and Lionel had himself been created Earl of Ulster before his marriage. Edmund inherited the title Earl of Ulster on Lionel's death.
Therefore, the Earl of March not only represented one of the chief Anglo-Norman lordships in Ireland in right of his wife Philippa, but Philippa's line was also the second most senior line of descent in the succession to the crown, after Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
and his son, King Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
. John of Gaunt, younger brother of Prince Edward, had become the 1st Duke of Lancaster and thus the source of the House of Lancaster's claim to the throne.
This marriage had, therefore, far-reaching consequences in English history, ultimately giving rise to the claim of the House of York
House of York
The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
to the crown of England contested in the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
between the Yorks and the Lancasters; Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
being descended from the second adult son of Edward III as great-great-grandson of Philippa, countess of March, and in the male line from Edmund of Langley, the first Duke of York and the fourth adult son of Edward III.
Edmund Mortimer's son Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March would become heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the English crown during the reign of Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
.
Political Advancement
Mortimer, now styled Earl of March and Ulster, became Marshal of England in 1369, and was employed in various diplomatic missions during the next following years. He was a member of the committee appointed by the PeersPeerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
to confer with the Commons in 1373 — the first instance of such a joint conference since the institution of representative parliaments on the question of granting supplies for John of Gaunt's war in France.
He participated in the opposition to Edward III and the court party, which grew in strength towards the end of the reign, taking the popular side and being prominent in the Good Parliament
Good Parliament
The Good Parliament is the name traditionally given to the English Parliament of 1376. Sitting in London from April 28 to July 10, it was the longest Parliament up until that time....
of 1376 among the lords who supported the Prince of Wales and opposed the Court Party and John of Gaunt. The Speaker of the Commons in this parliament was March's steward, Peter de la Mare
Peter de la Mare
Sir Peter de la Mare was an English politician and Presiding Officer of the House of Commons during the Good Parliament of 1376....
, who firmly withstood John of Gaunt in stating the grievances of the Commons, in supporting the impeachment of several high court officials, and in procuring the banishment of the king's mistress, Alice Perrers
Alice Perrers
Alice Perrers was a royal mistress whose lover and patron was King Edward III of England. She acquired significant land holdings. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Edward's consort, Philippa of Hainault.-Life and Family:...
. March was a member of the administrative council appointed by the same parliament after the death of Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
to attend the king and advise him in all public affairs.
Following the end of the Good Parliament its acts were reversed by John of Gaunt, March's steward was jailed, and March himself was ordered to inspect Calais and other remote royal castles as part of his duty as Marshall of England. March chose instead to resign the post.
Reign of Richard II
On the accession of Richard II, a minor, in 1377, the Earl became a member of the standing council of government; though as father of the heir-presumptive to the crown he wisely abstained from claiming any actually administrative office. The most powerful person in the realm was, however, the king's uncle John of Gaunt, whose jealousy of March led to the acceptance by the latter of the Lieutenancy of Ireland in 1379. March succeeded in asserting his authority in eastern Ulster, but failed to subdue the O'Neills farther west. Proceeding to MunsterMunster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
to put down the turbulency of the chieftains of the south, March died at Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
on 27 December 1381. He was buried in Wigmore Abbey
Wigmore Abbey
Wigmore Abbey was an Augustinian abbey with a grange, from 1179 to 1530, situated about a mile north of the village of Wigmore, Herefordshire, England.Only ruins of the abbey now remain.-History of the abbey:...
, of which he had been a benefactor, and where his wife Philippa was also interred.
Children
The earl had two sons and two daughters:- Lady ElizabethLady Elizabeth MortimerElizabeth Mortimer, Baroness Camoys was an English noblewoman, who, as the granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, was in the line of succession to the English throne. Her first husband was Sir Henry Percy, known to history as "Hotspur"...
married Henry Hotspur Percy, son of the Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 1st Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy and a descendent of Henry III of England. His mother was Mary of Lancaster, daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, son of Edmund, Earl of Leicester and...
. She may have later married Thomas de Camoys, 1st Baron CamoysThomas de Camoys, 1st Baron CamoysThomas de Camoys, 1st Baron Camoys, KG , was an English peer and soldier.De Camoys was the son of Sir John de Camoys. In August 1383 he was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Camoys. He fought in the Hundred Years' War and commanded the left wing of the English Army at the Battle of Agincourt...
. - His eldest son, Sir Roger, succeeded him as 4th Earl of March and Ulster.
- His second son, Sir EdmundEdmund Mortimer, son of the 3rd EarlEdmund Mortimer , was the second son of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March by his wife Philippa Plantagenet, and is the best-known of the various Edmund Mortimers because of his role in the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr...
played an important part, in conjunction with his brother-in-law Hotspur, in the fortunes of Owain GlyndŵrOwain GlyndwrOwain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
. - Lady Philippa married firstly John Hastings, 3rd Earl of PembrokeJohn Hastings, 3rd Earl of PembrokeJohn Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke was the son of John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Anne Manny, 2nd Baroness Manny...
; after his death in 1389, she became the second wife of Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel and 9th Earl of Surrey KG was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.-Lineage:...
; she married thirdly Sir Thomas de Poynings.