John of Gloucester , also John of Pontefract (c. 1468 — c. 1499) is the illegitimate son of King Richard III of England, born when his father was the Duke of Gloucester . In March 1485, John was appointed , who held until the death of his father. He was probably arrested and executed by order of King Henry VII in 1499.
| John of Gloucester | |
|---|---|
| English John of gloucester | |
| Date of Birth | OK. 1468 |
| Place of Birth | Pontefract , Kingdom of England |
| Date of death | OK. 1499 |
| Place of death | Kingdom of England |
| Citizenship |  Kingdom of England |
| Father | Richard III |
Content
Origin
Neither the identity of John's mother nor the date of his birth are known for certain. Catherine, another illegitimate child of Richard III , married William Herbert in 1484; John was knighted in York Cathedral in September 1483 during the festivities dedicated to the proclamation by the Prince of Wales of the half-brother of John Edward [1] - the only legitimate child of Richard III, and in March 1485 he was appointed captain of Calais; therefore, historians and John Ashdown Hill believed that both Catherine and John were born when Richard III himself was still a teenager [2] [3] . The historian believed that after marriage to Anna Neville , Richard, who at that time was about 20 years old, remained faithful to his wife [4] .
Ashdown Hill believed that John was probably conceived during Richard's first independent trip to the eastern counties in the summer of 1467, at the invitation of John Howard , and that the boy, born in 1468, was named after Richard's friend and supporter. Richard himself noted that John was still a minor (under the age of 21) when he was granted a royal patent on his appointment as captain of Calais on March 11, 1485; according to Ashdown Hill, a patent could be issued for John’s 17th birthday [3] .
In the patent for the appointment of Captain Calais, John is referred to as John, the Pontefract bastard ( Eng. John de Pountfreit Bastard ) [5] , which suggests that Richard's bastard was born in Pontefract [6] . Historian suggested that John’s mother might be Alice de Burgh, who began to receive twenty pounds annually when Richard visited Pontefract on March 1, 1474; the payout documents state that the rent was assigned because of “some special reasons and considerations” [6] . Also, Catherine Howte, who was a relative of Queen Elizabeth Woodville , could be John's mother; Rosemary Horrocks and other historians suggest that Catherine was Richard's mistress and possibly the mother of Catherine, Richard's illegitimate daughter. Horrocks notes that Richard granted Catherine Howte an annual five-pound annuity in 1477. [7] Nevertheless, it is not known for certain whether Katherine and John were siblings.
Appointment in Calais and Further Life
It is known that John arrived in Calais in November 1484 and was officially appointed captain of Calais on March 11, 1485. In the letter of appointment, Richard calls John "our dear illegitimate son." The assignment patent gave John all the necessary powers provided for by his position, with the exception of the right to appoint officers, which John could only get at age 21; however, neither Richard's letter nor the patent says how soon John should reach adulthood. An order for the delivery of clothes dated March 9, 1485 was addressed to the "Lord Bastard"; probably it was John who was meant [8] .
After Richard III was killed at the battle of Bosworth , the new king Henry Tudor removed John from the post of captain Calais; John was not subjected to further persecution, in addition, on March 1, 1486 he was assigned an annual payment of twenty pounds [9] .
In his confession, Perkin Warbeck stated that when in 1491 he declared himself Richard Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York , “the son of King Richard III was in the hands of the English king” [10] . In the 17th century, claimed that during the execution of Warbeck and Eduard, Earl of Warwick , in the Tower in 1499, "the ignoble son of King Richard III was transported there and secretly kept there long before his arrest." Buck, who nonetheless doesn’t call John by name, claims that he was executed in order to prevent him from falling into the hands of some Irish who wanted to see him as their leader or prince [11] . However, there is no other data either on the execution or on the future life of John of Gloucester.
Notes
- ↑ Ross, 1981 , pp. 150-151.
- ↑ Baldwin, 2012 , p. 42.
- ↑ 1 2 Ashdown-Hill, 2013 , p. chapter 2 .
- ↑ Kendall, 1955 , p. 387.
- ↑ Horrox, Hammond, 1979 , p. 271.
- ↑ 1 2 Hicks, 2011 , p. 157.
- ↑ Horrox, 1991 , p. 81.
- ↑ Petre, 1985 , pp. 18-19.
- ↑ Campbell, 1873 , p. 328.
- ↑ Kleyn, 2013 , p. 206.
- ↑ Kincaid, 1979 , pp. 170, 212.
Literature
- Ashdown-Hill, John. The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA . - The History Press, 2013 .-- ISBN 0752498665 , 9780752498669.
- Baldwin, David. Richard III . - Amberley, 2012 .-- P. 42. - 288 p. - ISBN 1445601826 , 9781445601823.
- Campbell, William. Materials for a History of the Reign of Henry VII . - Longman, 1873. - T. 1. - P. 328. - 709 p.
- Hicks, Michael. Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III . - The History Press, 2011 .-- P. 157. - 256 p. - ISBN 0752468871 , 9780752468877.
- Horrox, Rosemary. Richard III: A Study of Service . - Cambridge University Press, 1991. - P. 81. - 359 p. - ISBN 0521407265 , 9780521407267.
- British Library Harleian Manuscript 433 / ed. Rosemary Horrox, PW Hammond. - Richard III Society, 1979. - T. I. - P. 271. - ISBN 0904893057 , 9780904893052.
- Kendall, Paul Murray. Richard the Third . - Allen & Unwin, 1955. - P. 387. - 514 p. - ISBN 0393007855 , 9780393007855.
- The History of King Richard the Third by Sir George Buck, Master of the Revels / ed. Arthur Noel Kincaid. - Alan Sutton, 1979.-P. 170, 212.
- DM Kleyn. Richard of England . - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013 .-- P. 206. - 262 p. - ISBN 1483914437 , 9781483914435.
- Petre, James. Richard III: crown and people . - Richard III Society, 1985. - P. 18-19. - 446 p. - ISBN 0904893111 , 9780904893113.
- Ross, Charles Derek. Richard III . - Eyre Methuen, 1981. - P. 150-151. - 265 p. - ISBN 0-413-29530-3 .