John (Plantagenet) of Gaunt KG (abt. 1340 - 1399)

Born about Mar 1340 in Gent, County of Flanders, France

Ancestors

Husband of Blanche (Plantagenet) of Lancaster — married 13 May 1359 in Queen's Chapel, Reading, Berkshire, England

Husband of Constanza (Castilla) de Castilla y León LG — married 29 Sep 1371 in Roquefort, near Bordeaux, France

Husband of Katherine (Roet) Swynford — married 13 Jan 1396 in Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England

Descendants

Died 3 Feb 1399 at about age 58 in Leicester Castle, Leicester, Leicestershire, England

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Biography

Name and Titles

John (Plantagenet) of Gaunt KG is a member of the House of Lancaster.

Son of Edward III, King of England and Philippa of Hainault. ^{[8] [9]}

Though he is always called "John of Gaunt", it is a name he was never called this in his own lifetime after the age of three when he received his first title. Gaunt is an English version of Ghent where he was born.

Titles of John of Gaunt: ^[1]

Duke of Lancaster - created 13 November 1362. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Earl of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester

Earl of Richmond 1342^{[13] [12]}

Steward of England

lord of the Castle, manor, and honour of Tickhill, Yorkshire

lord of the Castle, manor, and free chace of High Peak, Derbyshire

lord of the manors of Gringley and Wheatley, Nottinghamshire

lord of the manors of Aylsham, Fakenham, :and Wighton, Norfolk, etc.

Captain & Lieutenant in the lordships of Merke, Guisnes, and Calais 1369

Lieutenant Special and Captain-General in France and Aquitaine 1373

Lieutenant and Commander-General in France & Aquitaine 1378

Lieutenant in the Marches toward Scotland 1379

Lieutenant & Vicar-General in the Marches toward Scotland 1381

Lieutenant of the Duchy of Guienne 1388-1394

Warden of Bordeaux 1388-1393

Lieutenant of the Parts of Picardy 1392

Lieutenant in the Marches toward Scotland 1398

Constable of the Principality of Chester 1398

Birth

Born: March 1340 at St. Bavon's Abbey in Ghent, Flanders (now East Flanders, Belgium). ^{[1] [14] [15] [13] [12] [16]}

Marriage and Issue

Married: 1st - Blanche of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grossmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, on 19 May 1359 at Reading Abbey in Reading, Berkshire, England. ^{[1] [7] [11] [17]}

Children of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster:

1. Philippa, Queen of Portugal.
2. Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter. She married 1st John Hastings 2nd John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter; 3rd Sir John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope and Millbrook.
3. Henry IV of England

Married: 2nd - Constance of Castile-León, daughter of Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile and León, before 29 September 1371 at Roquefort near Bordeaux, France. John of Gaunt would assume the title of King of Castile and León in right of his wife. She died 24 March 1394.

Children of John of Gaunt and Constance of Castile:

1. Catherine m. Henry III, King of Castile

Married: 3rd - John of Gaunt had a well-known illicit relationship with Katherine de Roet, a governess of his children which began around 1372. She was the widow of Hugh de Swynford, knt. of Kettlethorpe and Coleby, Lincolnshire (d. 13 November 1371). They had 4 children born out of wedlock. On 13 January 1395/6, they were married at Lincoln Cathedral in Lincoln, Lincolnshore, England. A papal dispensation was received for this marriage on 1 September 1396. Their children were legitimized by parliament on 9 February 1397/8. ^[1]

Children of John of Gaunt and Katherine de Roet:

1. John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset m. Margaret Holland
2. Cardinal Henry Beaufort
3. Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter m. Margaret Neville
4. Joan Beaufort

m.1 Robert Ferrers, 5th Baron Boteler of Wem

m.2 Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland

Occupation

• soldier^[18]

• statesman^[19]

Property

• Savoy Palace on the banks of the Thames.^[7]

Timeline

1367: commanded army division that defeated army of Henry (later Henry II, king of Castile and León) at Nájera.

1370-71: During Hundred Years' War, aided Black Prince against France, and established English rule over most of southern France.

1376: Parliament banished Alice Perrers and curtailed John's powers. But the death of the Black Prince and Parliament's dissolution enabled him to regain power.

1377: after Edward III dies and Richard II succeeds^[20], gives up control of government. Plays peacemaker. Supports king.

1380: lost much of the territory English won.^[21]

1386: invaded Castile. Defeated by John I of Castile and León.

1387: gave up Castile and León^[22]

1390: duke of Aquitaine^[23]

1396: m. mistress Catherine Swynford

1397: Richard legitimizes John and Catherine's children.

1398: Henry of Lancaster exiled.^[24]

03 Feb 1399: dies. Henry Bolingbroke succeeds.

Death and Burial of John of Gaunt

Died: 3 February 1399 at Leicester Castle in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. ^{[12] [14] [15] [16] [25]}

Buried: 15 March 1399 at St Paul's Cathedral in London, England.^{[11] [26]}

From: Royal Tombs of Medieval England. "The fourth son of Edward III and Philipp of Hainault, John of Gaunt married Blanche, daughter and heiress of Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster, in 1360. She died on 12 September 1368 and was buried north of the choir in the cathedral church of St. Paul's London. Gaunt married Constance of Castile two years after Blanche's death. Gaunt died at Leicester Castle on 3 February 1399. The duke's will, dated the day of his death, instructed that his body was not to be embalmed and should remain unburied for forty days. It was to lie overnight at the Carmelite church on Fleet Street before interment near the high altar of St. Paul's beside Blanche. The year before his death, Gaunt had founded a chantry for himself and his third wife, Katherine Swynford, at Lincoln, and his will endowed two further chantries for himself and his first two wives at St. Paul's (Blanche) and the Church of the Annunciation of St. Mary in the Newarke at Leicester (Constance of Castile). Gaunt's body was taken from Leicester to London, stopping at St. Albans where a Requiem Mass was sung in the presence of Henry Beaufort. The duke was duly buried at St. Paul's on Passion Sunday, 16 March 1399, forty days after his death. His tomb was described at the time as 'sepultura incomparabile'. The tombs of the duke and his duchess Blanche both had effigies. The St. Paul's tombs and chantry were destroyed during the Great London Fire of 1666." ^[27]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Richardson, Royal Ancestry, vol. 1 p. 8, 88; Vol. II p. 122; Vol. III p. 491-500.
2. ↑ Cawley, Medieval Lands : John of Gaunt
3. ↑ Cokayne, Complete Peerage, 2nd ed., vol. 7 p. 410-16.
4. ↑ Wikipedia: John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
5. ↑ www.britannia.com
6. ↑ www.thepeerage.com
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Weir, Katherine Swynford. (2008).
8. ↑ Cawley, Medieval Lands : Edward III
9. ↑ Cawley, Medieval Lands : Phillipa of Hainault
10. ↑ Cokayne. Complete Peerage, Lancaster: vol. VII p. 411-416.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} John Cannon & Ralph Griffiths, The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy (University of Oxford, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX26DP, England: Oxford University Press, 2000), Genealogies of Royal Lines
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3} Alison Weir, Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (New York, NY: Randon House Publishing Group, 2010), Pages 35-36, 276
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Norman F. Cantor, The Last Knight, (1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: Simon & Schuster, Inc, 2004) Pages 1, 65, 71, 88, 195.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Allison Weir, The Wars of the Roses ; Ballantine Books, July 1996, Page 24
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Alison Weir, The Princes in the Tower, Ballantine Books, August 1995, Page 260
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Dan Jonew, The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England (New York, NY 10014: Viking Books, A Penguin Random House Company, 2012), Pages 375, 487
17. ↑ Father: Henry, Duke of Lancaster; when Henry died, John became duke; d. dec. 1369^{[citation needed]}
18. ↑ wars: England v France; England v Spain
19. ↑ With Alice Perrers, his father's mistress, John dominated English government. He was opposed by Parliament and by the Black Prince (Encarta).
20. ↑ son of the Black Prince
21. ↑ After illness forced the Black Prince to go home, John took command of the English armies.
22. ↑ when dau m. future Henry III of Castile and León.
23. ↑ made duke by king.
24. ↑ John's son; Henry IV of England.
25. ↑ John Davies. A History of Wales. 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England: Penguin Books, Ltd, 1994, Page 195
26. ↑ William Seymour, Battles in Britain 1066 - 1746 (Cumberland House, Crib Street, Ware, Hertfordshire SG12 9ET England: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1977), Page 107
27. ↑ Duffy, Royal Tombs (2003):158-161

• Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol. IV page 503 Footnote 22

• "Royal Ancestry" 2013 Douglas Richardson Vol. I. page 197

John Of Gaunt, K.G., Duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster, married Katherine De Roet. [In this source he is named in the line of descendant of King William the Conqueror].

Source list:

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, in 5 vols. (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013). See vol. 1 p. 8, 88; Vol. II p. 122; Vol. III p. 491-500.

• Cokayne, George Edward. The Complete Peerage, vol. III: Canonteign-Cutts. (original: 1913; Microprint reprint 14 volumes in 6, Great Britain:Sutton publishing, 2000): vol. VII p. 548.

• Duffy, Mark. Royal Tombs of Medieval England (2003) p. 158-161

• Baines, E. (1836). The History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster. archive.org.

• "John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster," (1993-1997). Microsoft Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corp.

• Richardson, D. (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, (2 ed, Vol.IV, pp.114). Kimball G. Everingham, ed. Salt Lake City: N.p.

• Roberts, G.B. (2008). The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co.

• Weir, Alison. Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess. (London: Vintage Books. E-book, 2008).

• Dan Jonew, The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England (New York, NY 10014: Viking Books, A Penguin Random House Company, 2012), Page 375

• Weis, F.L. (1999). Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, (5th ed).

• John Cannon & Ralph Griffiths, The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy (University of Oxford, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX26DP, England: Oxford University Press, 2000), Genealogies of Royal Lines

• Will. arhive.org. (En Francais).

• Beltz, George. Memorials of the Order of the Garter (William Pickering, London, 1841) Page 132-6

• Burke, Bernard. Royal Descents and Pedigrees of Founders Kin (Harrison, London, 1864) Page 31-43

See also:

• Wikipedia: John_of_Gaunt