John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel
Encyclopedia
John FitzAlan 1st Baron Arundel (c. 1348 – 16 December 1379) was a Lord Marshal
or Marshal of England.
, Sussex
, England
to Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel
and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster
(Eleanor Plantagenet). His brother was Thomas Arundel
, Archbishop of Canterbury.
John was appointed Lord Marshal of England by Richard II of England
in 1377, and summoned to the House of Lords
on 4 August 1377, by writ directed Johanni de Arundell. He served as Lord Marshal until 1383.
On 26 July 1379 he was given license to crenellate (i.e., permission to fortify) a stone castle on the site of an 11th century earthwork fortress in Surrey. Over the years since then the structure was rebuilt and remodelled and its remains are now known as Betchworth Castle
.
, he defeated the French fleet off the coast of Cornwall
.
, Sir John was compelled to wait for stronger winds. During this wait he decided to take refuge in a nunnery, where his men "took no notice of the sanctity of the place and... violently assaulted and raped" those they found inside. Further to this Sir John "allowed his men to ransack the countryside as they liked and to impoverish the people". When the force eventually set out to sea, carrying with them goods stolen from a nearby church and under a pronouncement of excommunication from the wronged priests, the expedition was caught in a storm. Thomas Walsingham
reports that during the panic of the storm, Sir John murdered those of his men who refused to make for shore for fear of being shipwrecked upon the rocks. Subsequently, after safely arriving on an island off the Irish coast, Sir John and his boat captain were swept back into the sea and drowned.
According to Thomas Walsingham
's story, FitzAlan's men profaned a convent at or near Southampton
, and carried off vi vel sponte many of its occupants. The fleet was then pursued by a violent tempest, when the wretched nuns who had been carried off were thrown overboard to lighten the ships. The vessels were, however, wrecked on the Irish coast, near Scariff according to some authorities, but at Cape Clear Island according to others. Sir John Arundell, together with his esquires, and other men of high birth, were drowned, and twenty-five ships were lost with most of their crews. Froissart's account of the event differs essentially from Walsingham's, in the omission of the story of the desecration of the convent.
, Sussex.
He was also an ancestor of the poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley
.
(Mautravers) (1345 – 10 January 1404/1406), daughter of John Maltravers and Gwenthin. They had at least five children (some references list more):
Lord Marshal
Lord Marshal may refer to one of the following*Lord Marshal of England* Lord Marshal of Sweden*Earl Marischal*Lantmarskalk was the speaker of the Riksdag...
or Marshal of England.
Lineage
He was born in EtchinghamEtchingham
Etchingham is a village and civil parish in the Rother District in East Sussex, southern England. The village is approximately twelve miles north-west of Hastings, on the A265, half a mile west of its junction with the A21....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to 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 :...
and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster
Eleanor of Lancaster
Eleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel was the fifth daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth.-First marriage and issue:...
(Eleanor Plantagenet). His brother was Thomas Arundel
Thomas Arundel
Thomas Arundel was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken opponent of the Lollards.-Family background:...
, Archbishop of Canterbury.
High Office
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...
in 1377, and summoned to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 4 August 1377, by writ directed Johanni de Arundell. He served as Lord Marshal until 1383.
On 26 July 1379 he was given license to crenellate (i.e., permission to fortify) a stone castle on the site of an 11th century earthwork fortress in Surrey. Over the years since then the structure was rebuilt and remodelled and its remains are now known as Betchworth Castle
Betchworth Castle
Betchworth Castle is a ruin of a fortified medieval house, near Brockham, built on a sandstone spur overlooking the western bank of the River Mole, Surrey, UK...
.
Naval Victory
Being in command of a naval expedition in aid to the Duke of BrittanyDuke of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...
, he defeated the French fleet off the coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
Death at Sea
Commanding a force with the purpose of bringing relief to the Duke of BrittanyDuke of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...
, Sir John was compelled to wait for stronger winds. During this wait he decided to take refuge in a nunnery, where his men "took no notice of the sanctity of the place and... violently assaulted and raped" those they found inside. Further to this Sir John "allowed his men to ransack the countryside as they liked and to impoverish the people". When the force eventually set out to sea, carrying with them goods stolen from a nearby church and under a pronouncement of excommunication from the wronged priests, the expedition was caught in a storm. Thomas Walsingham
Thomas Walsingham
- Life :He was probably educated at St Albans Abbey at St Albans, Hertfordshire, and at Oxford.He became a monk at St Albans, where he appears to have passed the whole of his monastic life, excepting a period from 1394 to 1396 during which he was prior of Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk, England, another...
reports that during the panic of the storm, Sir John murdered those of his men who refused to make for shore for fear of being shipwrecked upon the rocks. Subsequently, after safely arriving on an island off the Irish coast, Sir John and his boat captain were swept back into the sea and drowned.
According to Thomas Walsingham
Thomas Walsingham
- Life :He was probably educated at St Albans Abbey at St Albans, Hertfordshire, and at Oxford.He became a monk at St Albans, where he appears to have passed the whole of his monastic life, excepting a period from 1394 to 1396 during which he was prior of Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk, England, another...
's story, FitzAlan's men profaned a convent at or near Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, and carried off vi vel sponte many of its occupants. The fleet was then pursued by a violent tempest, when the wretched nuns who had been carried off were thrown overboard to lighten the ships. The vessels were, however, wrecked on the Irish coast, near Scariff according to some authorities, but at Cape Clear Island according to others. Sir John Arundell, together with his esquires, and other men of high birth, were drowned, and twenty-five ships were lost with most of their crews. Froissart's account of the event differs essentially from Walsingham's, in the omission of the story of the desecration of the convent.
Burial
He was buried in LewesLewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex.
He was also an ancestor of the poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
.
Marriage & Children
On 17 February 1358, John was married to Lady Eleanor MaltraversEleanor Maltravers
Eleanor Maltravers, 2nd Baroness Maltravers suo jure was an English noblewoman and heiress during the reigns of King Edward III of England and his successors....
(Mautravers) (1345 – 10 January 1404/1406), daughter of John Maltravers and Gwenthin. They had at least five children (some references list more):
- Joan FitzAlanJoan FitzalanJoan FitzAlan, Countess of Hereford, Countess of Essex and Countess of Northampton , was the wife of the 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton. She was the mother of Mary de Bohun, the first wife of Henry of Bolingbroke who later reigned as King Henry IV, and Eleanor...
(D' Arundel) (c. 1360 – 1 September 1404. She married first Sir William de Etchingham and secondly William de Brien. - John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron ArundelJohn FitzAlan, 2nd Baron ArundelJohn FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, 3rd Baron Maltravers jure matris ?, also called John de Arundel , of Buckland, Surrey, was the son of John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel and Eleanor Maltravers....
(3 November 1364 – 14 August 1390), who married Elizabeth le DespenserElizabeth le DespenserElizabeth Despenser was an English noblewoman of the late 14th century. She should not be confused with another woman of that name, Elizabeth le Despenser, Baroness Berkeley, the daughter of Eleanor de Clare....
. - Richard FitzAlan (c. 1366 – 3 June 1419).
- Sir William Arundel (c. 1369 – 1400. He was a Knight of the Garter.
- Henry Fitzlangley (c. 1369 – 1428), who married Alice Lnu.
Ancestry
Source
- 'The Chronica Maiora of Thomas Walsingham, 1376-1422', ed. & trans. J. Taylor, W. Childs & L. Watkiss
- Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines 9-33, 21-31, 21-32, 59-34, 212-34