Henry Grosmont, Earl of Derby and Lincoln, Duke of Lancaster [1] ( 1310 [2] - March 23, 1361 ) - Earl of Derby from 1336, Earl of Lancaster 1345-1351, 1st Duke of Lancaster from 1351, Earl of Leicester from 1351 , a member of the English royal family in the fourteenth century, son of Henry of the Crooked Neck , 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, and Maud Chaworth. He was also an outstanding diplomat, politician and warrior. He became one of the favorite commanders of Edward III in the Hundred Years War and showed himself at the Battle of Oberosha . Cavalier of the Order of the Garter , received the title of Duke in 1351. Grosmont was also the author of Livre de seynts medicines (The Book of Divine Medicines).
| Henry Grosmont | |
|---|---|
| Henry Grosmont | |
 Henry of Grosmont, from the Bruges Garter Book | |
| Date of Birth | 1310 |
| Place of Birth | Grosmont, county Montmouthshire |
| Date of death | March 23, 1361 |
| Place of death | Leicester Castle |
| Affiliation | England |
| Battles / wars | Centennial war |
| Awards and prizes | Order of the Garter |
Content
Biography
Grosmont's uncle - Thomas Lancaster - was the son and heir to Edmund Humpback, brother of Edward I. Thomas inherited the fortune and received a good dowry for his wife Alicia Lacy, however, constant quarrels with the king led to his execution in 1322 [3] . All property and title went to Thomas's younger brother, Henry, nicknamed Crooked Neck . Under the rule of Isabella and Roger Mortimer, he fell out of favor, and by the time Edward III had ascended the throne in 1327 and Henry’s relationship with the crown had improved, he was seriously ill [4] .
Little is known about Grosmont's childhood; he was born in Grosmont, county of Montmutshire, around 1310 [5] . In his memoirs, he says that he was much more successful in martial arts than in the sciences, and learned to read very late [6] . In 1330, Henry was knighted and represented his father in Parliament. The following year, he took part in the royal tournament in Chipside [7] . In 1333, Henry participated in the Scottish campaign of Edward III, but it is not clear to the end whether he participated in the famous Battle of Halidon Hill . In 1336 [5] , after serving in the north, Henry was promoted to lieutenant. The following year, Edward III granted Grosmont the title of Earl of Derby [8] .
With the start of the Hundred Years War in 1337, France attracted Grosmont's attention. He took part in several diplomatic missions and small military campaigns, including the victorious naval battle at Sluis in 1340 [9] . In the same year, he was taken as a hostage in the so-called Lower Countries - the territory of modern Benelux - for the king's debts. In conclusion, Henry stayed until the next year, and he had to pay a significant ransom for himself [10] . Upon his return, he was reinstated as a lieutenant in the north and stayed in Roxburgh until 1342. The next year he spent working on diplomatic missions in the Netherlands , Castile and Avignon [5] .
In 1345, Edward III planned an attack on France from three sides: the Earl of Northampton was supposed to land in Brittany, the king himself - to advance from Flanders, and Grosmont was sent to Aquitaine in order to prepare a campaign in the south [5] . Quickly moving inland, he ran into Count d'Ile near Oberoche on October 21, and won a victory described as “the greatest achievement in the military career of Lancaster” [11] . For the captives was assigned a ransom of 50 thousand pounds [12] . The following year, while Eduard campaigned for Crescy , Grosmont captured Poitiers , just before his return home in 1347. [5]
In 1345, while Grosmont was in France, his father died. Henry has now become Earl of Lancaster, the most powerful and wealthiest in the kingdom. After participating in the battle of Calais (1347), the king made Lancaster the holder of the Order of the Garter in 1348 [13] . A few years later, in 1351, the king showed him even greater mercy, granted the title of Duke of Lancaster. This title was new in England, until that time there was only one title of the duke [14] . In addition, the county of Lancashire was given the status of a palatinate . This gift was very exceptional in English history, because before that there were only two palatinates: Durham and Chester [15] . This was a sign of the king’s greatest disposition towards Henry, but this is not surprising: they were second cousins (through the great-great-grandfather of Henry III ), and almost the same age (Edward was born in 1312). Another factor that may have influenced the king’s decision: Henry didn’t have a male heir, respectively, there was no one to transfer all privileges after Grosmont’s death [5] .
Lancaster spent the 1350s. in campaigns and attempts to conclude a truce with the French, in 1350 he participated in the naval battle at Vinchelsey, where he saved the lives of the Black Prince and John Gaunt . In 1351-52 participated in a crusade to Prussia, where he quarreled with Otton, Duke of Braunschweig. The duel was avoided only thanks to the renewal of the war by the French king John II [16] . Henry continued military campaigns in France. After shevoshe in Normandy in 1346 and the battle of Rennes in 1358, Lancaster participated in the Reims campaign of 1359-60. Then he was one of those who made peace in Brittany , very profitable for England [5] .
Returning to England in November 1360, Henry Grosmont soon became ill and died at Leicester Castle on March 23. Perhaps the cause of his death was the plague, an epidemic that erupted that year in England [17] .
Personal life
Lancaster married Isabella, daughter of Henry Beaumont , in 1330 . They had two daughters, Maud and Blanca . Maud married the Duke of Bavaria, while Blanca married the youngest son of Edward III, John Gaunt . In the end, Gaunt inherited all the titles of Lancaster, but this only happened in 1377. When Gaunt's son, Henry Bolinbrock , usurped the crown in 1399 and became Henry IV, the vast legacy of Lancaster was included in the crown as the duchy of Lancaster [18] . We know more about Henry Lancaster than his contemporaries, thanks to his book Livre de seyntz medicines. This book is deeply personal, and describes his attitude to issues of religion and piety, but also contains historical insets. For example, it mentions that Lancaster, aged 44, suffered from gout. The book consists of seven parts, each of which is devoted to the wound that Henry allegedly has. They symbolize his seven sins. Lancaster confesses these sins in the book, cites various mythical and real medicines in the context of their theological symbolism and encourages the reader to piety [19] .
Chronicler Jean Froissart calls the Duke of Lancaster "a valiant, prudent and dignified man."
Notes
- ↑ In childhood, Henry was called, according to tradition, at the place of his birth - Grosmont. In 1336 he got one of the counties of his father - Derby, and he became Henry, Earl of Derby. With the death of his father in 1345, he became Henry Lancaster - a family name and title (Earl of Lancaster until 1351, Duke of Lancaster after). However, to avoid confusion between him and his father, it is customary to call him Henry Grosmont.
- ↑ According to other versions, he was born in 1306 or 1299.
- ↑ For a comparative biography of Thomas Lancaster, see Maddicott, JR, Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322: A study in the reign of Edward II, 1970.
- ↑ Waugh, Scott L., (Sept. 2004). "Henry of Lancaster, third Earl of Lancaster and third Earl of Leicester (c. 1280-1345)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 WM Ormrod, “Henry of Lancaster”.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 26.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. thirty.
- ↑ McFarlane, KB, “The Nobility of Later Medieval England”, 1973, Art. 158-9.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 34.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 35-7.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 58-9.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 61.
- ↑ McKisack, Art. 252.
- ↑ It was the title of the Duke of Cornwall, the title of Edward the Black Prince granted to him in 1337.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 173-4.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 106-9.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 217-8.
- ↑ Brown, AL and Henry Summerson, "Henry IV (1366-1413)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- ↑ Fowler, Art. 193-6.
Links
- ThePeerage.com
- Britannia.com
- Online version of Livre de seyntz medicines (in Anglo-Norman )