John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
Encyclopedia
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG
(20 June 138914 September 1435), also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV
of England
by Mary de Bohun
, and acted as Regent
of France
for his nephew, King Henry VI
.
and Duke of Bedford
in 1414 by his brother, King Henry V
. On 14 June 1423, at Troyes
, he married Anne
, daughter of John the Fearless. After Anne's death in childbirth in Paris in 1432, he married Jacquetta of Luxembourg
. Out of wedlock he had a daughter named Mary Plantagenet, who married Pierre de Montferrand (d. 1454) and had issue.
When Henry V died in 1422, Bedford vied with his younger brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
, for control of the Kingdom. Bedford was declared Regent but focused on the ongoing war in France, while during his absence, Gloucester acted as Lord Protector of England. Bedford defeated the French several times, until the arrival of Joan of Arc
rallied the opposition. In 1431, Bedford had Joan tried and executed at Rouen
, then arranged a coronation for the young Henry VI at Paris
.
Bedford had been Governor in Normandy
between 1422–1432 where the University of Caen was founded under his auspices. He was an extremely important commissioner of illuminated manuscript
s, both from Paris (from the Bedford Master and his workshop) and England. The three most important surviving manuscripts of his are the Bedford Hours
(British Library
Ms Add 18850) and the Salisbury Breviary
(Paris BnF Ms Lat. 17294), which were both made in Paris, and the Bedford Psalter
and Hours of about 1420-23, which is English (BL Ms Add 42131). This last is signed in two places by Herman Scheere. All are lavishly decorated and famous examples of the style of the period.
John died during the Congress of Arras
at his Castle of Joyeux Repos in Rouen
and was buried at Rouen Cathedral
. He had no legitimate surviving issue.
's plays Henry IV, Part 1
and Henry IV, Part 2
as John of Lancaster, and in Henry V
and Henry VI, Part 1
as Duke of Bedford.
Georgette Heyer
's novel My Lord John deals with his life from when he was four to about twenty.
In the Bedford Book of Hours these arms are shown supported by an eagle collared with a crown and a sable yale all on a gold field sewn with gold uprooted tree-stumps. It is possible that the yale was painted in silver which has tarnished black. The shield is surrounded with a pair of banners gules which reverse in argent with the motto repeated four times: A vous entier (To you / yours entire[ly]). This may be a pun on the German Tier, i.e., beast, or on (English) tears —or 'tiers' of meaning, including tierce, referring to himself as third in line to his father's throne and by now rightful King but for the baby Henry VI. The Hours were supposedly produced as a courtship present from John to his wife, Anne, daughter of John the Fearless of Burgundy.
There is a Queen's Arms public house sign from Birmingham which uses these supporters reversed and with an argent yale uncollared on a shield showing the English royal arms at left and to the right six divisions representing Lorraine. John's second wife, Jacquetta of Luxembourg
, cousin to the Emperor (the King of Hungary), was mother to Elizabeth Woodville
who may be this queen. Elizabeth Woodville's right to inherit these armorial supporters would seem dubious if they belong to her mother's first husband or to his first wife. Alternatively, though equally incorrect, the arms may be her mother's used in a flattering conceit.
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...
(20 June 138914 September 1435), also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
by Mary de Bohun
Mary de Bohun
Mary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne.-Early life:...
, and acted as Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of France
France in the Middle Ages
France in the Middle Ages covers an area roughly corresponding to modern day France, from the death of Louis the Pious in 840 to the middle of the 15th century...
for his nephew, King Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
.
Life account
He was created Earl of Kendal, Earl of RichmondEarl of Richmond
The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of England. The earldom of Richmond was held by various Bretons, Normans, the royal families of Plantagenet, Capet, Savoy, Tudor and Stuart.-History:...
and Duke of Bedford
Duke of Bedford
thumb|right|240px|William Russell, 1st Duke of BedfordDuke of Bedford is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time...
in 1414 by his brother, King Henry V
Henry 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....
. On 14 June 1423, at Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, he married Anne
Anne of Burgundy
Anne of Burgundy, Duchess of Bedford was a daughter of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and his wife Margaret of Bavaria.-Marriage:...
, daughter of John the Fearless. After Anne's death in childbirth in Paris in 1432, he married Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta of Luxembourg was the elder daughter of Peter I, Count of St Pol, Conversano and Brienne and his wife Margaret de Baux...
. Out of wedlock he had a daughter named Mary Plantagenet, who married Pierre de Montferrand (d. 1454) and had issue.
When Henry V died in 1422, Bedford vied with his younger brother, 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...
, for control of the Kingdom. Bedford was declared Regent but focused on the ongoing war in France, while during his absence, Gloucester acted as Lord Protector of England. Bedford defeated the French several times, until the arrival of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
rallied the opposition. In 1431, Bedford had Joan tried and executed at 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...
, then arranged a coronation for the young Henry VI at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Bedford had been Governor in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
between 1422–1432 where the University of Caen was founded under his auspices. He was an extremely important commissioner of illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s, both from Paris (from the Bedford Master and his workshop) and England. The three most important surviving manuscripts of his are the Bedford Hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
(British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
Ms Add 18850) and the Salisbury Breviary
Breviary
A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
(Paris BnF Ms Lat. 17294), which were both made in Paris, and the Bedford Psalter
Psalter
A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
and Hours of about 1420-23, which is English (BL Ms Add 42131). This last is signed in two places by Herman Scheere. All are lavishly decorated and famous examples of the style of the period.
John died during the Congress of Arras
Congress of Arras
The Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established in Arras in 1435 between representatives of England, France, and Burgundy. Toward the close of the Hundred Years' War, both the Congress and Treaty of Arras represented diplomatic failures for England and major successes for...
at his Castle of Joyeux Repos in 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...
and was buried at Rouen Cathedral
Rouen Cathedral
Rouen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral in Rouen, in northwestern France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Rouen and Normandy.-History:...
. He had no legitimate surviving issue.
In literature
He appears in William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's plays Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
and Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
as John of Lancaster, and in Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
and Henry VI, Part 1
Henry VI, part 1
Henry VI, Part 1 or The First Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare, and possibly Thomas Nashe, believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
as Duke of Bedford.
Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer was a British historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer...
's novel My Lord John deals with his life from when he was four to about twenty.
Arms
As a son of the sovereign, John bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label of five points per pale ermine and France.In the Bedford Book of Hours these arms are shown supported by an eagle collared with a crown and a sable yale all on a gold field sewn with gold uprooted tree-stumps. It is possible that the yale was painted in silver which has tarnished black. The shield is surrounded with a pair of banners gules which reverse in argent with the motto repeated four times: A vous entier (To you / yours entire[ly]). This may be a pun on the German Tier, i.e., beast, or on (English) tears —or 'tiers' of meaning, including tierce, referring to himself as third in line to his father's throne and by now rightful King but for the baby Henry VI. The Hours were supposedly produced as a courtship present from John to his wife, Anne, daughter of John the Fearless of Burgundy.
There is a Queen's Arms public house sign from Birmingham which uses these supporters reversed and with an argent yale uncollared on a shield showing the English royal arms at left and to the right six divisions representing Lorraine. John's second wife, Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta of Luxembourg was the elder daughter of Peter I, Count of St Pol, Conversano and Brienne and his wife Margaret de Baux...
, cousin to the Emperor (the King of Hungary), was mother to Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
who may be this queen. Elizabeth Woodville's right to inherit these armorial supporters would seem dubious if they belong to her mother's first husband or to his first wife. Alternatively, though equally incorrect, the arms may be her mother's used in a flattering conceit.