John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset
Encyclopedia
John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, KG
(1403 – 27 May 1444) was an English noble and military commander.
and Margaret Holland, and succeeded his elder brother Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset
to become the 3rd Earl of Somerset in 1418. He was also the 1st Earl of Kendal.
's 1419 campaigns in France. In 1421 he accompanied the King's younger brother Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
to the fighting in Anjou
. Thomas was killed at the Battle of Baugé
while Somerset and his younger brother were captured. On 25 March 1425, Somerset came into his majority, but the estates of his father had to be managed by his mother for the next thirteen years until he was released from imprisonment.
He remained imprisoned until 1438, and after being ransomed became one of the leading English commanders in France.
and Earl of Kendal, made a Knight of the Garter, and appointed Captain-General of Guyenne
. However he proved a poor commander. He married Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso
in 1439. He presided over a period during which England lost much territory in France. The Regent Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
was unable to control the administration of justice and finance with corresponding lawlessness. At the beginning of Richard, Duke of York
's second protectorate, Gloucester declined the Lieutenant-Governor's post, which was offered instead to Somerset. From this post he drew a salary of 600 pounds and was Lieutenant-General for war even after York's appointment on 2 July 1440.
Somerset was appointed Admiral of the Sea to Lord Talbot's army command. Talbot besieged Harfleur from August 1440, which for five months had been in French hands. Charles VII of France
sent a large army under Richemont. The English dug a double ditch rampart with only 1000 men, while Somerset's squadron prevented a French landing by sea, using archers to pick off the enemy at short range. Frustrated the French withdrew to Paris, lifting the siege. The town surrendered to the English and was re-occupied. York was incensed that John's uncle Cardinal
Henry Beaufort should advise the King to sue for peace. Somerset was political and astute advising King Henry that peace was humanitarian and that the King of France was determined to seize Pontoise
. When York arrived in Normandy in 1441 to campaign, Somerset had resigned. But the fall of Pontoise to the Duke of Orléans in September 1441 weakened English garrisons; and in Gascony the situation was even worse. The Beauforts had sent Sir Edward Hull, who arrived at Bordeaux on 22 October 1442 to inform York that a huge army would arrive commanded by Somerset. York was ordered to fortify Rouen
; just as the King and Dauphin of France were threatening Bordeaux and Aquitaine and seized the town of Dax. Somerset dithered; York was held back as Guienne was being lost.
Meanwhile the Duke of York fighting alongside the tactician Lord Talbot had been appointed Lieutenant for all France. With the Duke of Gloucester's wife charged with treason, Somerset took the opportunity in April 1443 to declare himself Lieutenant of Aquitaine and Captain-General of Guienne. Meanwhile the negotiations Somerset had started as Captain-General of Calais had failed. These two factors turned York against the Beauforts. But the last straw was the payment of £25,000 to Somerset while York remained heavily in debt. Furthermore Guienne was consuming precious resources otherwise destined for Normandy.
In August 1443, Somerset led 7,000 men to Cherbourg, and marched south to Gascony
; the Duke was ill. He blundered into Guerche, a Breton town with which England had signed a Peace Treaty. However Somerset set all prisoners free, accepting money from the Duke of Brittany. Marching aimlessly through Maine, he returned that winter to England. His death in 1444 may have been suicide. His death, and that of his uncle the cardinal, marked the end of Beaufort influence, and left the door open for William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
to dominate government. But the lasting effect of these events was burning resentment between the House of York
and the remaining members of the Beaufort family.
Child of John Beaufort and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso
:
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(1403 – 27 May 1444) was an English noble and military commander.
Family
Baptised on 25 March 1404, he was the second son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of SomersetJohn Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, KG was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, later his wife...
and Margaret Holland, and succeeded his elder brother Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset
Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset was the eldest son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and the grandson of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford....
to become the 3rd Earl of Somerset in 1418. He was also the 1st Earl of Kendal.
French Campaign
The young earl fought in his cousin Henry VHenry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
's 1419 campaigns in France. In 1421 he accompanied the King's younger brother Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, KG , also known as Thomas Plantagenet, was the second son of King Henry IV of England and his first wife, Mary de Bohun. He was born before 25 November 1387 as on that date his father's accounts note a payment made to a woman described as his nurse...
to the fighting in Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
. Thomas was killed at the Battle of Baugé
Battle of Baugé
The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco-Scots on 21 March 1421 in Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War...
while Somerset and his younger brother were captured. On 25 March 1425, Somerset came into his majority, but the estates of his father had to be managed by his mother for the next thirteen years until he was released from imprisonment.
He remained imprisoned until 1438, and after being ransomed became one of the leading English commanders in France.
Duke of Somerset: a soldier
In 1443 he was created Duke of SomersetDuke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset is a title in the peerage of England that has been created several times. Derived from Somerset, 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 and in whose name the title is...
and Earl of Kendal, made a Knight of the Garter, and appointed Captain-General of Guyenne
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne , , ; Occitan Guiana ) is a vaguely defined historic region of south-western France. The Province of Guyenne, sometimes called the Province of Guyenne and Gascony, was a large province of pre-revolutionary France....
. However he proved a poor commander. He married Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso
Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso
Margaret Beauchamp, of Bletso, Bedfordshire, Spelsbury, Oxfordshire and Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire was the daughter of John Beauchamp, of Bletso and Edith Stourton...
in 1439. He presided over a period during which England lost much territory in France. The Regent Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Pembroke, KG , also known as Humphrey Plantagenet, was "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of king Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, brother to king Henry V of England, and uncle to the...
was unable to control the administration of justice and finance with corresponding lawlessness. At the beginning of Richard, Duke of York
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III...
's second protectorate, Gloucester declined the Lieutenant-Governor's post, which was offered instead to Somerset. From this post he drew a salary of 600 pounds and was Lieutenant-General for war even after York's appointment on 2 July 1440.
Somerset was appointed Admiral of the Sea to Lord Talbot's army command. Talbot besieged Harfleur from August 1440, which for five months had been in French hands. Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
sent a large army under Richemont. The English dug a double ditch rampart with only 1000 men, while Somerset's squadron prevented a French landing by sea, using archers to pick off the enemy at short range. Frustrated the French withdrew to Paris, lifting the siege. The town surrendered to the English and was re-occupied. York was incensed that John's uncle Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Henry Beaufort should advise the King to sue for peace. Somerset was political and astute advising King Henry that peace was humanitarian and that the King of France was determined to seize Pontoise
Pontoise
Pontoise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise.-Administration:...
. When York arrived in Normandy in 1441 to campaign, Somerset had resigned. But the fall of Pontoise to the Duke of Orléans in September 1441 weakened English garrisons; and in Gascony the situation was even worse. The Beauforts had sent Sir Edward Hull, who arrived at Bordeaux on 22 October 1442 to inform York that a huge army would arrive commanded by Somerset. York was ordered to fortify Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
; just as the King and Dauphin of France were threatening Bordeaux and Aquitaine and seized the town of Dax. Somerset dithered; York was held back as Guienne was being lost.
Meanwhile the Duke of York fighting alongside the tactician Lord Talbot had been appointed Lieutenant for all France. With the Duke of Gloucester's wife charged with treason, Somerset took the opportunity in April 1443 to declare himself Lieutenant of Aquitaine and Captain-General of Guienne. Meanwhile the negotiations Somerset had started as Captain-General of Calais had failed. These two factors turned York against the Beauforts. But the last straw was the payment of £25,000 to Somerset while York remained heavily in debt. Furthermore Guienne was consuming precious resources otherwise destined for Normandy.
In August 1443, Somerset led 7,000 men to Cherbourg, and marched south to Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
; the Duke was ill. He blundered into Guerche, a Breton town with which England had signed a Peace Treaty. However Somerset set all prisoners free, accepting money from the Duke of Brittany. Marching aimlessly through Maine, he returned that winter to England. His death in 1444 may have been suicide. His death, and that of his uncle the cardinal, marked the end of Beaufort influence, and left the door open for William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, KG , nicknamed Jack Napes , was an important English soldier and commander in the Hundred Years' War, and later Lord Chamberlain of England.He also appears prominently in William Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 1 and Henry VI, part 2 and other...
to dominate government. But the lasting effect of these events was burning resentment between 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...
and the remaining members of the Beaufort family.
Children
Illegitimate children of John Beaufort:- Jacinda (also called Thomasine; c. 1434 – after 1469) married Reginald Grey, 7th Baron Grey de Wilton
- Thomasine Beaufort (bef. 1444 – c. 1494)
- John of Somerset (c. 1444–1453)
Child of John Beaufort and Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso
Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso
Margaret Beauchamp, of Bletso, Bedfordshire, Spelsbury, Oxfordshire and Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire was the daughter of John Beauchamp, of Bletso and Edith Stourton...
:
- Lady Margaret Beaufort (31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509), mother of Henry VIIHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
Ancestry
External links
- A page in his memory including a picture of his grave:http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18690