Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
Encyclopedia
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Count of Aumale, KG
(23 January 1382 – 30 April 1439) was an English
medieval nobleman and military commander.
, the son of Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick
, and Margaret, daughter of William Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby.
Richard was knighted at the coronation of Henry IV of England
. He succeeded to the earldom of Warwick in 1401.
, defending against a Welsh
rebellion led by Owain Glyndŵr
. On 22 July 1403, the day after the Battle of Shrewsbury
, he was made a Knight of the Garter.
In the summer of 1404, he rode into what is today Monmouthshire
at the head of a force. Warwick engaged Welsh forces at the Battle of Mynydd Cwmdu, near Tretower Castle
a few miles northwest of Crickhowell
– nearly capturing Owain Glyndwr himself, taking Owain's banner, forcing the Welsh to flee. They were chased down the valley of the River Usk
where they regrouped and turned the tables on the pursuing English force, attempting an ambush. They chased the English in turn to the town walls of Monmouth
after a skirmish at Craig-y-Dorth, a conical hill near Mitchel Troy.
to the Holy Land
, he was challenged many times to fight in the sporting combat which was then popular. On the return trip he went through Russia and Eastern Europe, not returning to England until 1410.
. The next year he helped put down the Lollard uprising, and then went to Normandy
as Deputy of Calais and represented England at the Council of Constance
.
He spent much of the next decade fighting the French
in the Hundred Years' War
. In 1419, he was created Count of Aumale, part of the King's policy of giving out Norman
titles to his nobles.
. This duty required him to travel back and forth between England and Normandy many times. In 1437, the Royal Council deemed his duty complete, and he was appointed lieutenant of France and Normandy. He remained in France for the remaining two years of his life.
before 5 October 1397, the daughter of Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Lord Berkeley
and the Baroness Margaret de Lisle. Together they had 3 daughters:
Warwick then married Isabel le Despenser
, the daughter of Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester
and Constance of York
. With Isabel, who was also the widow of his cousin Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester
, his children were:
(now Berkshire
), one of his favoured residences, in 1437. Most of his property was entailed, but with a portion of the rest the will established a substantial trust. After his debts were paid the trust endowed the Collegiate Church of St Mary
in Warwick
, and called for the construction of a new chapel there. It also enlarged the endowment of the chantries
at Elmley Castle
and Guy's Cliffe
, and gave a gift to Tewkesbury Abbey
.
Beauchamp died in Rouen
, Normandy, two years later, on 30 April 1439. After the completion of the chapel, his body was transferred there (in 1475), where his magnificent gilt
-bronze
monumental effigy
may still be seen.
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...
(23 January 1382 – 30 April 1439) was an English
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...
medieval nobleman and military commander.
Early Life
He was born at Salwarpe in WorcestershireWorcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, the son of Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, KG was an English medieval nobleman, and one of the primary opponents of Richard II.- Birth and Marriage:...
, and Margaret, daughter of William Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby.
Richard was knighted at the coronation of Henry IV of England
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...
. He succeeded to the earldom of Warwick in 1401.
Welsh Rebellion
Soon after reaching his majority and taking responsibility for the Earldom, he saw military action in WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, defending against a Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
rebellion led by Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
. On 22 July 1403, the day after the Battle of Shrewsbury
Battle of Shrewsbury
The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland....
, he was made a Knight of the Garter.
In the summer of 1404, he rode into what is today Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
at the head of a force. Warwick engaged Welsh forces at the Battle of Mynydd Cwmdu, near Tretower Castle
Tretower Castle
thumb|320px|right|Tretower CastleTretower castle is a castle in the village of Tretower in the county of Powys, Wales.-History:Tretower was founded as a motte and bailey castle. In the 12th century, a shell-keep was added to the motte. By c.1230 a tall cylindrical keep was added to the inside of...
a few miles northwest of Crickhowell
Crickhowell
Crickhowell is a small town in Powys, Mid Wales.-Location:The name Crickhowell is taken from that of the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Crug Hywel above the town, the Welsh language name being anglicised by map-makers and local English-speaking people...
– nearly capturing Owain Glyndwr himself, taking Owain's banner, forcing the Welsh to flee. They were chased down the valley of the River Usk
River Usk
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...
where they regrouped and turned the tables on the pursuing English force, attempting an ambush. They chased the English in turn to the town walls of Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
after a skirmish at Craig-y-Dorth, a conical hill near Mitchel Troy.
Chivalry and Pilgrimage
Warwick acquired quite a reputation for chivalry, and when in 1408 he went on pilgrimagePilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, he was challenged many times to fight in the sporting combat which was then popular. On the return trip he went through Russia and Eastern Europe, not returning to England until 1410.
Soldier of the King
In 1410, he was appointed a member of the royal council and in 1413 was Lord High Steward at the Prince's coronation as Henry V of EnglandHenry 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....
. The next year he helped put down the Lollard uprising, and then went to 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:...
as Deputy of Calais and represented England at the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
.
He spent much of the next decade fighting the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
. In 1419, he was created Count of Aumale, part of the King's policy of giving out Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
titles to his nobles.
Responsibilities
Henry V's will gave Warwick the responsibility for the education of the infant Henry VI of EnglandHenry 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...
. This duty required him to travel back and forth between England and Normandy many times. In 1437, the Royal Council deemed his duty complete, and he was appointed lieutenant of France and Normandy. He remained in France for the remaining two years of his life.
Marriages and children
Warwick first married Elizabeth de BerkeleyElizabeth Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick
Elizabeth Beauchamp , Countess of Warwick was born in Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England to Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley and Margaret de Lisle, Baroness Lisle....
before 5 October 1397, the daughter of Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Lord Berkeley
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley the Magnificent was an English peer born in the Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England to Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley and Elizabeth le Despencer....
and the Baroness Margaret de Lisle. Together they had 3 daughters:
- Margaret BeauchampMargaret BeauchampMargaret Beauchamp, Countess of Shrewsbury was the eldest daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth de Berkeley...
(1404 - 1468), who married John Talbot, 1st Earl of ShrewsburyJohn Talbot, 1st Earl of ShrewsburyJohn Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and 1st Earl of Waterford KG , known as "Old Talbot" was an important English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, as well as the only Lancastrian Constable of France.-Origins:He was descended from Richard Talbot, a tenant in 1086 of Walter Giffard...
, and whose great-grandson John DudleyJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
was created Earl of WarwickEarl of WarwickEarl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
and subsequently Duke of NorthumberlandDuke of NorthumberlandThe Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
; - Eleanor Beauchamp, (b 1407) who married Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de RosThomas de Ros, 9th Baron de RosThomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros of Helmsley was an English nobleman.-Lineage:He was the second son of William de Ros, 7th Baron de Ros and Margaret Fitzalan...
and then married Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of SomersetEdmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of SomersetEdmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, KG , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War...
; - Elizabeth Beauchamp, (b 1417) who married George Neville, 1st Baron Latimer.
Warwick then married Isabel le Despenser
Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick
Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick was the posthumous daughter and eventually the sole heiress of Thomas le Despenser and his wife, Constance of York...
, the daughter of Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester KG was the son of Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despencer, whom he succeeded in 1375.-Royal intrigues:...
and Constance of York
Constance of York
Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester was the only daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York and his wife Isabella of Castile, daughter of Pedro of Castile and Maria de Padilla. On about 7 November 1379, Constance married Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester , who was eventually...
. With Isabel, who was also the widow of his cousin Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester
Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester
Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester, KB was an English peer.The only son of the William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, he succeeded as 2nd Baron Bergavenny upon the death of his father....
, his children were:
- Henry de BeauchampHenry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of WarwickHenry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick was an English nobleman.He was the son of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and Isabel le Despenser...
, (b March 1425) who succeeded his father as Earl of Warwick, and later became Duke of Warwick; - Anne Beauchamp, (b September 1426) who was theoretically Countess of Warwick in her own right (after the death of her infant niece and namesakeAnne de Beauchamp, 15th Countess of WarwickAnne Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick was born in Cardiff, the only child of Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick and Lady Cecily Neville. Her maternal grandparents were Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Alice Montagu, Countess of Salisbury...
), and who married Richard Neville, 16th Earl of WarwickRichard Neville, 16th Earl of WarwickRichard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
.
Death and Burial
Richard de Beauchamp's will was made at Caversham Castle in OxfordshireOxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
(now Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
), one of his favoured residences, in 1437. Most of his property was entailed, but with a portion of the rest the will established a substantial trust. After his debts were paid the trust endowed the Collegiate Church of St Mary
Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick
The Collegiate Church of St Mary is a Church of England parish church in the town of Warwick, England. It lies in the centre of the town just east of the market place. It is a member of the Greater Churches Group....
in Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
, and called for the construction of a new chapel there. It also enlarged the endowment of the chantries
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
at Elmley Castle
Elmley Castle
Elmley Castle is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, in England, United Kingdom. It is located on the north side of Bredon Hill 4 kilometres south east of Pershore in the local government district of Wychavon.- Amenities and history :...
and Guy's Cliffe
Guy's Cliffe
Guy's Cliffe is a hamlet on the River Avon between Warwick and Old Milverton in Warwickshire, England and in the civil parish of Leek Wootton and Guy's Cliffe...
, and gave a gift to Tewkesbury Abbey
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tewkesbury in the English county of Gloucestershire is the second largest parish church in the country and a former Benedictine monastery.-History:...
.
Beauchamp died 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...
, Normandy, two years later, on 30 April 1439. After the completion of the chapel, his body was transferred there (in 1475), where his magnificent gilt
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
-bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
monumental effigy
Church monument
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...
may still be seen.