John of Gaunt, Parts One, Two, and Three

Transcript:

Note this includes parts one, two, and three (download linked)

Thank you all again for understanding the delay with getting this episode out. Not having seen my family for so long it was wonderful to be around them. My sons were a bit confused at having three extra people in our house, but they adjusted and my daughter loved having the extra attention. I am hoping there won’t be many breaks through the rest of this series. 

This is the first episode I’ve written since the death of Queen Elizabeth II of the UK and the Commonwealth on the 8th of September 2022. As many of you know I’m an American by birth, but Australian by choice. This means that while I grew up in a country without a monarchy I have chosen to live in one that is a monarchy. With Elizabeth’s passing, Australia, like Canada, Scotland, England, Wales, New Zealand and countless other Common Wealth countries have a new head of state. King Charles III became king immediately upon his mother’s passing.  There is a growing movement for a republic in Australia and I am a strong supporter of this. I may have a podcast about monarchs, or people who might have been monarchs, but I think we’ve reached a point where we should be able to select our own leaders. I think the Crown Estates should be changed to the State Estates and the monarchy should be slowly phased out. I’m not suggesting a French Revolution style retirement, but a well-planned process to allow the people of the various countries that currently have Charles III as their head of state to decide what type of government they want. I have joked that it would be a fun reality show ‘Reigning in the Monarchy’ or something silly like that, but really, it’s time for those who are royal to become just like the rest of us. I’m sure they’ll do just fine after all, they’re already privileged, and will have no trouble finding work. It is the time now, we need to have this discussion, and not delay. With that, onto today’s episode which is about the man who is deeply linked with monarchy, not just of the UK, but also almost every monarchy in Europe. John of Gaunt is an ancestor of every sitting monarch in Europe except Andorra and the Vatican, I even checked those last two and can’t find evidence that Joan Enric Vives i Sicilia, Emmanuel Macron, or Pope Francis are descended from John of Gaunt, but any genealogist out there who have looked more deeply let me know. 

Throughout my reading for these episodes I went in with one question : why was John of Gaunt so unpopular around the time of his father’s death? Not, why is he perceived that way now (thanks again Shakespeare), but why was he seen that way in his time? John of Gaunt looms large in history, but unlike his much-loved oldest brother he was not respected by many in his time. What was most surprising, as I read was the reason. It appears that he was unpopular because he tried to stand up for what he perceived was his family’s dignity and nobility. It won’t be until the third episode on this subject that I’ll be able to get into the details of this, but keep it in mind throughout the first two episodes. Despite his military wins he would never be the war hero the Black Prince was,,despite being excluded from Richard II’s regency council, he would be blamed for his nephew’s excesses and tyranny. Despite being completely loyal he was accused of wanting to usurp his nephew’s throne. This isn’t too say that some of the charges against him aren’t true. he lived an ostentatious lifestyle while the country was under a great tax burden. His military wins were equaled by his losses. His claim to the throne of Castile, unlike his father’s to France, was seen as a bit of a joke. For the purpose of this series John of Gaunt is rare, a double Passed, a man who had a claim to two thrones, England and Castile, and was king of neither (though, his children and grandchildren would take care of that for him). I try to remember to be sympathetic to each of my subjects while covering them, but always presenting the truth. You’ll remember Robert Curthose, the first subject is written about as a poor leader whose father passed him over in favour of a younger son, but on further research turns out to be a more than acceptable leader, a skilled military commander, and a man able to command loyalty while being deeply pious and attempting to uphold his treaties. I’m finding John of Gaunt to be very similar. a man with many failings, but many strengths, who was loyal to first his father as king and then to his nephew as his king to the detriment of his own son and brother. I’m eternally grateful to John of Gaunt’s most recent biographers Helen Carr, for her book The Red Prince, and Kathryn Warner for her book John of Gaunt. I highly recommend both of these. Helen Carr’s is a narrative format with extensive references. Kathryn Warner’s makes great use of financial records of both John of Gaunt and the royal court in general. 

John of Gaunt was born on the 6th of March, 1340 in Ghent. Three months earlier his father, Edward III had been officially declared king of France in Ghent. Edward III returned to England in February of 1340, a month before his son was born. Philippa of Hainaut, Edward III’s wife and John’s mother, could not travel back to England due to her pregnancy. Edward’s lack of presence would lead to rumours that John of Gaunt was the son of a fish monger, not the king, but this was just gossip and not possibly true. Philippa’s pregnancy was well documented and she would have been attended by plenty of high-ranking women, none of who would have been interested in switching out a royal child for a commoner (this distinction between royalty, nobility, and commoners will come into play multiple times over these three episodes). Ghent at this time was Flanders at the time of John of Gaunt’s birth, but in modern-day Belgium. As the third surviving son of Edward III, he was third in line from birth. He was likely named after his godfather, Duke John III of Brabant, who was a cousin of his father. Their is one other possibility, he could have been named after his late uncle, John of Eltham, Edward III’s beloved brother who had died in 1336. Philippa and John of Gaunt returned to England in November of 1340.

John of Gaunt was only 15 months younger than Lionel of Antwerp and 15 months older than Edmund of Langley. The three spent their childhoods in their mother’s household. As I’ve noted in Lionel’s episode, the family of Edward III and Philippa of Hainaut were very close, loyal, and loving. Their children were expected to be educated, active physically, and pious. It appears that all their children could speak, read, and write English, French, and Latin at the least. John of Gaunt was raised with his near-aged brothers, Lionel’s wife-to-be, Elizabeth de Burgh, and his older sisters, Isabella of Woodstock and Joan of Woodstock. John of Gaunt was made Earl of Richmond in September of 1342. This made him outrank his older brother Lionel for a few years. 

Not long after his 8th birthday, in 1348, John of Gaunt would lose one of his sisters, Joan, to the Plague. I mentioned this in the Black Prince’s episode, but thought I should include more here since John of Gaunt was raised with Joan and her death would greatly impact his future. Joan was travelling to Castile to marry Peter (or Pedro) of Castile, who was the crown price of Castile. She would die on route. Once Peter became king of Castile he earned the soubriquet ‘the Cruel’. While we can’t know if Peter would have treated Joan poorly, but his eventual wife, Blanche of Bourbon, married to secure a French alliance, was abandoned three days after their marriage. Blanche was abandoned, imprisoned to prevent escape or rescue, and eventually murdered. Peter claimed that this marriage was bigamous due to his supposed earlier marriage to his long-time mistress, Maria de Padilla. Maria was the mother of Peter’s legitimate daughters, Constance and Isabella, try to remember their names for episode two. We don’t know how John of Gaunt felt after his sister’s death, but based on his reaction to the deaths of those he loved later in life and his father’s reaction it’s likely he was devastated. Edward III wrote a heartbreaking letter to the Castilian’s after the loss of his daughter, she was greatly missed. Joan’s death didn’t end the Spanish-English alliance immediately, but by 1350 it had broken down and Peter, now king of Castile was in alliance with France. On the 29th of August that year, 10 year old John of Gaunt joined his father and the Black Prince for a sea battle. This is the Battle of Winchelsea mentioned in the Black Prince’s episode, where Henry of Lancaster rescued the Black Prince and John of Gaunt from near-certain death. Kathryn Warner pointed out that Fossiart stated Edward III brought John of Gaunt along because ‘he much loved him.’ Kathryn and I agree that the best way to show that might have been to leave him on land. 

While Henry of Lancaster was huge militarily in the Black Prince’s life, his impact on John of Gaunt’s was more person, as we’ll see soon. Henry and his wife, Isabel, had two daughters, Maud and Blanche. Henry of Lancaster’s father was one of Edward III’s great uncles on his mother’s side and a second cousin on his father’s side. I mentioned in my discussion of Edward III’s entail in Lionel’s episode that the earldom of Lancaster hadn’t always been loyal, but under Henry of Lancaster they would support the crown completely. I will come back to the earldom of Lancaster in this episode, it is incredibly important to John’s story and the story of all future kings of England. 

There is one more person to mention in John of Gaunt’s childhood, his oldest brother, the Black Prince. I’ve noticed in my reading that the two are featured together regularly. It turns out that John of Gaunt may have been his oldest brother’s favourite. Now, I’ll be doing an episode on Edmund of Woodstock, which will probably explain why he wasn’t his oldest brother’s favourite. I can’t seem to find a an explanation as to why Lionel wouldn’t be, but it does appear that John was the favourite of everyone except the people of England. When John of Gaunt left his mother’s care his military training was entrusted to his oldest brother. Not long before his first true military campaign (at least on land), John of Gaunt’s youngest brother, Thomas of Woodstock was born. In August of 1355 John of Gaunt, along with Lionel of Antwerp and Edmund of Langley, joined their father in France for his attempt to bring king John II to battle. I have read suggestions that John of Gaunt had been knighted prior to the Battle of Winchelsea, but it’s more likely that his knighting occurred in 1355, along with his brothers. As you may remember, John II of France could not be convinced to battle which would have been disappointing to Edward III, his three sons, and their soldiers. 

While France wouldn’t provide battle Scotland would. In January of 1356, when John of Gaunt was only 15 Edward III would recapture Berwick, with the help if his three middle sons. John of Gaunt may not have had a huge battle like Crecy to earn his spurs, though the Battle of Winchelsea wasn’t much different in many ways, and this may be part of the reason he wasn’t seen as the military hero. He will have plenty of battles coming up, but first he needed to get married. Yes, like Lionel John of Gaunt was married young, though not as young. Before his wedding he had an affair with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Marie de Saint Hilaire, who gave birth to a daughter, Blanche, in 1359. Yes, he may have named his first child after his future wife. It does appear he took care of his child, as would be expected, and she was married to a man of good standing and station. While many of you will know that most of John of Gaunt’s illegitimate children would be legitimated, Blanche, would not on account of her parents never marrying. 

Edward III and Philippa wanted to arrange good marriages for all their children. Their eldest had two advantages over his younger brothers. First, he would be king, making him one of the most eligible bachelors in Europe, second, he was very wealthy by virtue of his duchy. Their other sons needed to be provided with wealth and if Edward III bestowed too much of his kingdom on any of the spares it could lead to eventual civil war, because nothing else has ever caused that. The easiest way to do this was to marry the, off to wealthy women with no brothers, as they had done with Lionel when he was married to Elizabeth de Burgh. Inheritance was was not unlike royal succession. Everything goes to the oldest son, then his he dies without children to the next son and so  on until there are no sons left. However, if the only heirs are daughters then the holdings are divided equally. Titles could sometimes pass through daughters. John of Gaunt’s marriage was like this, his wife, Blanche of Lancaster was the younger daughter of Henry of Lancaster. Her older sister, Maud, had been married to William I, Duke of Bavaria in 1352. Sadly for Maud her husband was institutionalised not long after their marriage due to insanity and their only child died young. John of Gaunt and Blanche’s marriage was much more successful. Blanche and John of Gaunt were almost exactly two years apart in age (at least according to most accounts, Froissart makes her 13 at the time of her marriage and the birth of her first child, but it’s a highly unlikely age. It might also imply something questionable on the part of Blanche’s mother, her father was likely in France for an extended period of time nine months before this possible date of birth, if you get my meaning). Blanche had been born in March of 1342 and was 17 at the time of her marriage. As I’ve mentioned John of Gaunt and Blanche were both second and third cousins (at least on their fathers’ sides, through their mothers they were also distantly related via Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, don’t think about consanguinity too much), so papal dispensation was required. Blanch and John of Gaunt would have known each other well before their wedding, they didn’t grow up together, but there fathers’ friendship meant they would have spent time together before they married. While their marriage wasn’t a love match, though it appears they did love each other, it wasn’t a hostage marrying their jailer match either, more a financial transaction between friends match. 

The couple were married on the 19th of May 1359, John of Gaunt was 19, Blanche, as I’ve mentioned, was 17. Edward III gave the bride generous gifts, she was after all the daughter of one of his closest friends. John of Gaunt had been created Earl of Richmond in 1342, when he was two. Two years after his marriage, with the death of his father-in-law, Henry of Lancaster, in March of 1361, John would inherit half of Henry’s lands and the title Earl of Lancaster. A year later he would inherit the remainder on the death of his sister in law. Then on the 13th of November 1362 he was created Duke of Lancaster. This was the second creation, but John of Gaunt is still referred to as the first Duke of Lancaster.

I think I should take a moment to explain how titles work for my American listeners who never have to deal with this. First, the rules of the title depend on how the letters patent are written. These letters are, of course, dictated by the sovereign. Most often they are granted to the original holder and the ‘heirs of his body, male.’ Meaning his biological, legitimate sons. There are exceptions to this, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough is one of these. His victories in battle, during the early 1700s in the War of  the Spanish Succession, were regarded as so great that his letters patent were modified, on the early death of his son, who pre-deceased his father, without issue, to allow primogeniture through a female line to prevent the dukedom from going extinct. The exact wording is complicated, but this title can pass through female decedents of the first duke when their brothers or uncles die without issue. Most titles though only go through male-lines and are therefor extinct when there are no further male-line descendants of the original title holder. This is why the Dukes of Clarence I mentioned in Lionel of Antwerps episode were both the first Duke of Clarence, one was the first creation, the other the third (don’t worry, the second will come up soon). So, when John of Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster it was the same title, but a new creation, hence first Duke of Lancaster, second creation. There are times titles are in attender or abeyance for various reasons. The dukedom of Norfolk has gone through this a few times in history. The first creation, beginning with Thomas de Mowbray in 1397, was forfeit between 1399 and 1425, under Richard II before being restored to the first duke’s son. The third creation has had multiple forfeitures, but the current Duke of Norfolk is a male-line descendant of the first duke of Norfolk, third creation. 

Through his marriage John of Gaunt’s lands earned him 8-10,000 pounds annually. It would be in excess of 6 million pounds a year today. He was the wealthiest man in England other than the king (his brothers, Lionel in Ireland, and the Black Prince in Gascony were the wealthiest in their respective areas as well). 

Much of what we know about Blanche as a person comes from a very special source, Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer was a page in Elizabeth de Burgh’s household and joined the royal household through Lionel of Antwerp. Chaucer was even held ransom after the Siege of Riems and Edward III paid his ransom, which would have been more than 12,000 pounds today. Chaucer had many favourable things to say about Blanche, he described her as tall and beautiful, while wealthy she wasn’t spoiled. His first great work was actually written about Blanche, ‘The Book of the Duchess’. John of Gaunt and Blanche would have seven children together, three would survive childhood. Two would become monarchs, Philippa of Lancaster, who was born less than a year after her parent’s marriage, would marry John I of Portugal and Henry Bolingbroke would usurp his cousin Richard II and be crowned Henry IV. Their second daughter, Elizabeth of Lancaster, would, along with her paramour would create one of the better scandals of the 14th century. 

Blanche was very loved by the people of her father’s lands and John of Gaunt spent time building trust with the communities of his new earldoms. Lancaster was more welcoming to him than Leicester. The latter had been inherited from Maud, Blanche’s sister, and there were accusations that he had poisoned her. This is highly unlikely, but whenever someone young died poisoning was often a first suggestion. Sadly for John of Gaunt, and probably Blanche too it does seem she was close to her in-laws, not long after their wedding, two of his sisters died, only his oldest sister, Isabella, was living in 1362. John of Gaunt and Blanche’s main residence in London was the Savoy, a luxurious and beautiful palace on the River Thames in the heart of the city. 

In 1363 John of Gaunt was suggested, by Edward III, to his uncle, King David II of Scotland as a possible heir. David II was childless, and likely unable to have children, a rare instance of medieval infertility being blamed on a man. Edward III was probably hoping to have one of his sons ruling his northern border, instead of one a David II’s much older nephews. At the time of the suggestion David was the widower of Edward III’s sister, Joan of the Tower, but a year later he would marry his long-time mistress, Margaret Drummond. He was probably hoping to have children with her, she had one son from a previous marriage, but it does appear that David was unable to father children (none of his numerous mistresses had children with him either). David had spent the first twelve years of his reign as a minor, under regents, part of it as an exile in the court of the French king. In 1346 he was captured during the Battle of Neville’s Cross, he would be Edward III’s prisoner for the next eleven years (yes, at one point there were three kings living in England, two as hostages). 

In October of 1366 John of Gaunt left England to join his brother, the Black Prince, in Gascony. He would be joining his brother’s army to assist Peter (or Pedro) of Castile in his battle to retake his throne from his bastard (literally) half-brother, Henry Trastamara. John of Gaunt would be joining his brother, the Black Prince and an army of up to 10,000 men to assist Peter of Castile (I’ll stick with his Anglicised name since most of my listeners are native-English speakers).  Peter had promised to pay the Black Prince the costs of this expedition and potential battles. Their cousin, Charles II of Navarre had promised them both passage through his land and his military assistance. As we know, Charles II was one to burn bridges, so while he allowed his cousins’ forces through he managed to get ‘captured’ before any fighting occurred. One really important thing to discuss quickly, this war, while being fought by two Castilian leaders was a bit of a proxy war. Yes, Peter and Henry both wanted to be king, but England and France both wanted their man on the throne, mainly so they could call on their ally for Spanish naval power. 

Travelling through the Pyrenees (the mountain range that made up a great deal of Navarrese territory and divided Castile and Navarre) from Gascony into Castile would have been terrifying most of the year, but especially in February when the Black Prince and John of Gaunt left Gascony, while most of their troops made it over safely the chroniclers describe a crossing I would like to avoid. Luck was on their side (it helps that the Black Prince was there, because luck in military invasions really was his thing), a large part of Henry Trastamara’s troops were comprised of former members of the Black Prince’s armies who were acting as soldiers of fortune throughout France. Due to their love and respect of the Black Prince they wouldn’t fight against him and left Henry Trastamara’s side to fight for him, not Peter, but the Black Prince. 

Prior to the battle the Black Prince had written to Henry Trastamara, asking him to surrender. In his letter the Black Prince referred to Henry as the count of Trastamara, not the King of Castile. While I had mentioned in the Black Prince’s episode that covered this time period he hadn’t really wanted to fight at the start, he was fully committed to seeing this conflict through. Henry Trastamara did attempt to sway the Black Prince in his response by sharing a few of Peter of Castile’s crimes. I shared these in the Black Prince’s episodes, but just to recap: he abandoned his French, possibly bigamously married, wife, Blanche of Bourbon before imprisoning her and likely having her murdered, he had murdered his half-brother, Henry Trastamara’s twin, Fadrique, and probably worse for the deeply Catholic faithful of England, France, and Spain, he had allied with the Emirate of Granada, the Muslim kingdom that ruled a large part of Spain. 

We already know who won the Battle of Najera, because it happened more than 600 years ago and because I told you in the Black Prince’s episode, plus, we all know, the Black Prince doesn’t loose. John of Gaunt did lead the very successful vanguard. John of Gaunt was joined in this action by John Chandos, which is lucky for us because it means his herald recorded Chandos’ recollections of the vanguard. John of Gaunt was ‘full of valour, everyone marvelled, looking at his great prowess’. While the vanguard was important to the battle, it was decided by English longbow-men. The Chandos Herald even describes the arrows as falling ‘thicker than rain falls in winter’. It would have been a decisive victory for Peter of Castile’s side had his brother been killed or captured, but even the Black Prince didn’t have that much luck. Henry Trastmara fled to France under the protection of Charles V. 

Peter of Castile showed his cruel streak almost immediately after the battle. As I’ve mentioned in earlier episodes, chivalry and treating hostages well, both for ransom, and because it was honourable, were very important to Edward III and his sons. Peter of Castile did not hold the same values. He attacked and killed a hostage, Inigo Lopez de Orozco, a former ally of his who had joined Henry Trastamara. John of Gaunt and the Black Prince were appalled by this behaviour. To prevent further murders the Black Prince refused to ransom soldiers to Peter (costing him needed funds), instead he strongly suggested he pardon them. Most of the pardoned soldiers, intelligently, fled to Henry Trastamara, and no one could blame them.

While Peter had promised to pay the Black Prince for this war, even swearing an oath to do, he took his time. Dysentery broke out in the English-Gascon camp. This is when the Black Prince got sick for the first time. John of Gaunt seemed to avoid the illness, but his brother’s illness meant that their army needed to return to Gascony in September of 1367 without their money. 

Peter of Castile would be killed by his brother Henry Trastamara two years later after the Battle of Montiel. Henry stabbed Peter to death in March 1369 when Peter was betrayed after becoming trapped in the castle of Montiel. Peter’s daughters, Constance and Isabella had been sent as hostages to Black Prince’s court in Bordeaux in 1366, when she was twelve. They were kept in Bayonne, under the Black Prince’s protection. According to Peter’s will the husband of his oldest daughter, Constance, was to be king of Castile juri ux oris. I’ll come back to them soon.

Now, this was a long episode and each of John’s three episodes are long, so I hope you enjoyed it. I want to welcome two new patrons: David W and Ashley Goff, thank you for joining us and I’m so happy to have you both with us! Patrons have also been given a new reward: you’ll get to see my history comics a week before they post. They’re often on this day comics, and each post will be titled with the day the comic will be posted. I’m really excited to get feedback on these before posting to the general public. One more thing, please get all questions in for the Q and A at the end of this series. Your questions don’t need to be about the 100 Years’ War, all of history is open. I’ll be here next week with part two!

Part II: John of Gaunt Part Two

Welcome back to part two! Part one saw the childhood and early training of Edward III’s third surviving son, John of Gaunt. We then learned of his and the Black Prince’s victory over Henry Trastamara in Castile. Sadly for them, Henry would escape and eventually win back Castile. I finished with the Black Prince’s illness, lack of payment from Peter of Castile, and Henry Trastamara’s return to Castile.

John of gaunt must have returned to England not long after his return to Gascony. We know this because around September of 1368 Blanche of Lancaster gave birth to the couple’s final child, a short-lived daughter named Isabel (Isabel would have been conceived sometime between December of 1367 and March of 1368 to have survived even a short amount of time after birth). I have found references to him being out of the country, but I cannot seem to find where he was. Sadly, not long after giving birth, on the 12th of September Blanche died, most likely from the thing that has killed many women throughout history, complications from pregnancy or childbirth. Childbirth was truly the big killer of women for much of history, if one made it through childhood they were likely to live a long life if they were male, but, if they were female there was always their twenties and thirties to get through. Prime time for bearing children. Blanche had spent  almost five and a half years of her nine year marriage pregnant. She was only 26 when she died. While their marriage wasn’t a love match it does appear that John of Gaunt and Blanche did fall in love. His writings to her and about her express love. Chaucer’s writings imply that the couple loved each other, and John of Gaunt would mark her death yearly for the rest of his life. 

For John of Gaunt the sad year wasn’t over. In October of 1368 Lionel of Antwerp died in Italy. They may not have been as close as John and the Black Prince were, but it does appear all his siblings were deeply saddened by Lionel’s death.

Not long after these two deaths John of Gaunt’s parents attempted to arrange a second marriage for him. The intended bride was Margaret of Flanders, only surviving child of the Count of Flanders, Louis II. She was instead married to Philip the Bold of Burgundy, the youngest brother of the French king, Charles V. Philip was the youngest son of John II who, at only 14 years old, had stayed with his father at the end of the Battle of Poitier in 1356. They were both taken prisoner at the time, but the young Philip had been released in 1360. Philip’s life and the lives of his descendants are an amazing story that I can’t get sidetracked by at the moment, but I’m considering doing something about them later. The marriage between Margaret and Philip would put an end to English-Flemish cooperation. 

In early August 1369 John of Gaunt left for France and his first battle without his brother’s support. Edward III was set on restarting was with France, which had been in abeyance since 1360 when the Treaty of Bretigny was ratified. I mentioned in the Black Prince’s episodes that Charles V was not the martial king his father had aimed to be. He was more bookish, very well-read, and a careful planner. He honestly would have made a great contract lawyer, which really came in handy for France. According to the Treaty of Bretigny the French had to pay a sum of 3 million ecus or crowns. I haven’t found an exact amount for this, but an online historical currency converter converts this to $584 million today. The treaty also stipulated that England would receive a significant amount of the left of France, without homage, meaning it was Edward III’s territory and he was not a liege of France. Edward III had to agree to relinquish his claim to the French throne and more importantly, remove all English fighters from France. The initial payment of 1 million crowns allowed John II to return to France in 1360 to raise further funds. His second son, Louis of Anjou, was held in King John II’s stead. Louis of Anjou did what all hostages should be expected to do, he escaped in 1363 and John, in an almost idiotic display of chivalry, returned to captivity, where he died in 1364. Edward III took control of his territories in France, but the last two stipulations (renouncing his claim and removing English soldiers) were not followed through with. In fairness, Charles V never finished paying off his father’s ransom, but he could easily make the excuse that since his father was dead there was no one to pay for. Charles was able to use Edward’s failures to remove his former fighters, now roving bands of marauding soldiers ravaging the French countryside, and lack of renunciation to legally restart the war by attacking Gascony. 

At this time John of Gaunt’s brother, the Black Prince, was very unwell and very broke. The campaign that culminated in the Battle of Najera had left him near bankrupt and he had needed to pass an unpopular hearth-tax on his Gascon citizens. Charles V was able to foment discontent among the Gascony nobility. Many did complain to Edward III, who ordered his son to cancel the tax, but this did little to stop the discontent when Charles V was doing all he could to convince nobles to complain. The Black Prince was unable to defend himself, literally in battle, or figuratively in Paris. Lucky for him, John of Gaunt was there to help, remember, this is John’s episode.  

Edward III wasn’t up set about the war restarting. This is the time that men measured their manliness and favour from god by their victories in battle, very different from our evolved sensibilities today. Edward III wanted and excuse to return to war. His oldest son being unwell wasn’t what he had planned. Fortuitously, his brother’s illness was good luck for John of Gaunt, who was appointed as lieutenant in the March of Calais. With 6,000 men he marched south to Picardy. Sadly for him, the French weren’t looking for a fight. It appears they had learned from his brother’s victories and wanted to avoid offering the English battle. Charles V seemed to prefer this strategy, and it wasn’t a bad one. By avoiding battle, securing towns, and keeping civilians and supplied protected in walled towns the English would run out of supplies and be forced to return home. 

For John of Gaunt the timing of this would be sad. In August of 1369 his mother, Philippa of Hainaut died at the age of 56. She had been unwell for a while, suffering from oedema. Her death was a blow to her family and all of England. She had been an incredibly popular queen. After his wife’s death Edward III’s mistress, Alice Perrers, would become a more prominent figure in court, to the king’s detriment. More on that in part three though. John of Gaunt would not be able to return to England until December, he would spend his time before his return attempting to pillage the French countryside until disease raced through his camp. Philippa’s death seemed to exacerbate the Black Prince’s illness. He had begun to rely on his friends, especially John Chandos to run Gascony. Sadly, for them and for us in many ways, Chandos died in a minor skirmish on the 31st of December 1369. With his death John of Gaunt was sent to Gascony  to support his brother. He reached Bordeaux with 1,000 troops in mid-August 1370. The Black Prince and John of Gaunt’s brother, Edmund of Langley had been in Gascony as well, but he wasn’t the man either of his brothers were. The Black Prince was so unwell he needed to be carried in a little to see his brother.

This move, from Calais to Gascony, is why John of Gaunt was at Limoges. While the Black Prince is most associated with it, John of Gaunt actually led the siege. I stated in his episode that the Black Prince was carried in a stretcher, it was actually a littler, the latter being more regal. After Limoges John of Gaunt and his brother returned to Bordeaux to find the Prince’s oldest son, Edward, had died of the plague at only five. With this devastating blow, the Black Prince, sick and heartbroken, handed temporary control of Gascony to John of Gaunt and returned home to England with his wife Joan, and their son Richard. 

Disappointingly for  John of Gaunt Gascony was not easy to govern. Charles V had done a great job turning the wavering nobility away from England. The duchy was also, for lack of a better word, broke. John of Gaunt had promised to stay until the end of summer 1371. John of Gaunt did try to fix up the duchy’s finances, partially to help his brother and father, but also in hopes of invading Castile and being crowned king there. The Gascon barons are the ones who suggested this, via the suggestion of a marriage between John of Gaunt and Constance of Castile. As mentioned earlier Constance and her sister, Isabella had been in Gascony since the death of their father in 1369. At the time Constance and Isabella were orphans (their mother had died in 1361, when Constance was only seven), fleeing their uncle whom they were terrified of and enraged that he had stolen their kingdom. The Black Prince had been keeping them in hopes of one day getting repayment of his campaign to Castile. He left them under John of Gaunt’s protection. Yes, this does make them literal hostages…who will marry their jailers. In 1371 Constance was 17, and whoever married her would have the right to the throne of Castile according to Peter the Cruel’s will. John of Gaunt sent knights to retrieve the sisters. On the 21st of September he quickly married Constance, with none of the pomp normally associated with royal weddings. I can’t find evidence of the couple needing papal dispensation (their closest shared ancestor was six generations back in both John and Constance’s lines, Eleanore, Queen of Castile if anyone is curious, though they were also related in the six degree through Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine), the church only required dispensation at the fourth degree of consanguinity. John was 31 at the time of his second marriage, unlike his first marriage, he and his bride would not have spent time together before their wedding. I do find it disturbing that this was the norm for noble and royal girls during this time, but becoming a queen was an aim for many princesses, it was seen as an honour. In her mind Constance was hoping that her new husband would make her the queen of Castile and kill her treacherous uncle, she likely saw being his wife and having his children a fair trade. 

John and Gaunt had completed his service in Gascony on his brother’s behalf.Due to how broke Gascony was John of Gaunt didn’t have easy access to funds. He was able to secure passage to England on a salt-ship, but once in England Constance had to pawn some of her possession to pay for transportation to London. Upon reaching Westminster his father repaid his costs from is time in Gascony. 

While this marriage was not a love-match, John’s first wasn’t originally either, it does appear that the couple got along well. Constance was 14 years younger than her husband and had a very different upbringing than him. His had been raised in a family that was incredibly close and loving. Her father on the other hand had claimed to have married her mother, but then married again, and had multiple children with various mistresses whom he could haven taken steps to legitimate at any point over her or her sister. John of Gaunt and Constance would have one child survive to adulthood, Cathrine, but there she had multiple other pregnancies, including a second that made it to full-term. Cathrine’s marriage would make them the ancestors of all monarchs of Castile, and therefore Spain from John II until today, and to many other ruling houses in Europe.  There was probably a very good reason that John of Gaunt and Constance never fell in love, he was already in love with someone else, Kathryn Swynford. 

Many of you will have heard that name before. She is the subject of a rather famous novel from Anya Seton, that presents her as the heroine and Constance as the woman blocking her happiness. If this is your introduction to Kathryn and Constance, please remember that they are much more than ever could be presented in a piece of historical fiction. Kathryn had been a servant in Blanche of Lancaster’s household and had been in charge of Blanche and John of Gaunt’s daughters, Philippa and Elizabeth’s education and household management. Kathryn’s father was originally from Hainault and had come over with Philippa of Hainaut’s forces in 1328. Kathryn, then Roet, had married Hugh Swynford in the 1360s. Her exact date of birth isn’t known, but both she and her first husband were of similar age, based on records it’s likely they were both born in the early 1340s (making her a similar age to her second husband, John of Gaunt). Kathryn and Hugh had between two and four children, two are confirmed, the other one-two are strongly suggested. Both of John of Gaunt’s recent biographers agree that his and Kathryn’s romantic and sexual relationship didn’t begin until after the death of Hugh Swynford, in 1371. John of Gaunt swore as much to the pope. John of Gaunt and Kathryn would have four children, who took the surname ‘Beaufort’, one of their father’s properties in France, and possibly the location of the oldest child, John’s birth. Through these children they would be the ancestors of every ruler of England from Edward IV and Scotland from James II (Remember, Gaunt’s other wives also gave him children who would rule Europe). Their first child was born in 1373. John of Gaunt is accused by chroniclers of being brazen with his affair, but his own records seem to indicate that he kept his second family separated from his wife and child, though his children from his marriage to Blanche were close to their (temporarily) illegitimate half-siblings, and they were also close to Constance. It also appears that Constance bore no ill-will towards Kathryn. While it wasn’t a hippie commune or an intentionally poly-amorous relationship it does appear that everyone got along. 

John of Gaunt’s brother, Edmund of Langley married Constance’s sister, Isabel in July of 1373. The age gap between the two was similar to John and Constance and sadly they were even less compatible. I will be covering their marriage and issues in Edmund’s upcoming episode. 

In 1373 John of Gaunt would return to France at his father’s order for another go at engaging Charles V in battle. He landed in Calais in August with the aim of marching to Bordeaux. You may remember the distance from the Back Prince’s episode, but it’s a 900 km march as the crow flies. This is referred to as the Great Chevauche or John of Gaunt’s great chevauche. He left with 9,000 men. Charles V, as he had done previously, avoided battle and as earlier protected his people and supplies behind walls and destroyed anything that couldn’t be protected. It gave the English minimal suppers to forage or raid for. John of Gaunt’s troops were also harassed by French troops who could quickly hide behind walls if needed. With 9,000 men to feed plus their horses John would have needed to be well supplied, but Edward III seemed to expect him to live off the land. John of Gaunt and his men would march from Calais to Reims and Troyes, around Paris, before marching south to Gascony and into Bordeaux in December. The route he and his troops took covered more than 1500 km. Once he and his troops reached Bordeaux, Edward III failed to send his son expected funds. John of Gaunt had lost approximately two-thirds of his men due to hunger, disease, and minor battles. His original plan had been to continue on to Castile to claim that throne with part of his army, but due to his losses he was unable to do so. His attempts to take his wife’s birthright would be thwarted by both his father and eventually his nephew and a son-in-law. John of Gaunt would return to England in April of 1374.

John of Gaunt returned to a country in crisis. The Black Prince’s health had not improved as all had hoped it would. Remember John of Gaunt and the Black Prince were very close, his older brother had taught him almost everything he knew about battle, and had helped raise him. Edward III was still healthy, only 62 years old, but since the death of his wife, Philippa, he had been, well, under the influence of lust. Alice Perrers, whom I mentioned earlier, had been Edward III’s mistress since at least 1364. During his wife’s lifetime he was discreet with his extramarital affair, but her passing seemed to have ended his prudent behaviour. While having a mistress was accepted in upper levels of society it was never appropriate to treat her as a queen, especially in a literal sense. Edward III showered Alice with jewellery and money and paraded her publicly. What’s worse was Alice’s influence over the king, it was abhorred by both the common populace and many of the lords. Classism is to blame, Alice was seen as ‘rising above her station’ by the commons and the lords alike. Alice was also accused of witchcraft, a not uncommon accusation against women who had gained power. It’s easy to think we’re passed this but think of the unkind things said in certain areas of the press with regards to Catherine Middleton, Meghan Markle, Mary Donaldson, or even Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, all middle-class women, prior to or after their marriages to various European princes. One important thing to remember is that Alice had a great deal of influence on Edward III, while it appears that Kathryn and even Constance had little influence on John of Gaunt (save for Constance’s literal claim to the Castilian throne). John did his best to intervene in the situation. He even managed to get Alice married to a middling nobleman as a way to further her distance from his father.

On April 28th of 1376 Parliament met for the first time since November of 1373. These days we’re used to Parliaments meeting regularly, throughout the year, and annually without disruption. While the king or queen in the UK calls parliament (or their representatives in the Commonwealth) it is tradition more than fact. Edward III hadn’t called parliament, despite wanting what it could give him because he was not looking forward to being reprimanded by either his lords or the commons. So, why call parliament at all? Put simply he wanted and needed funds and only parliament could approve of new taxes to give him these. This parliament wasn’t a revolutionary as the barons forcing Magna Carta on King John, but this would be a revolutionary parliament, it’s known to history as the Good Parliament. With Edward III trying to avoid confrontation and the Black Prince too unwell to lead, John of Gaunt was the crown’s choice to preside over Parliament.  

Edward III’s councillors in charge of funds were questioned by the Commons. One, William Latimer, was impeached, the first time the Commons had held a lord to legal account. Alice Perrers was ordered into exile after being tried for corruption. Parliament’s goal was to reform the government, to put in trusted counsellors  for the king. This is where John of Gaunt got himself into trouble. While he was more than happy to send away Alice, the lords didn’t seem to like her much, he didn’t feel that his father’s leadership should be questioned. He thought it was undignified for the king to be treated as though his choices in councillors was incorrect. Parliament was also adamant that Edward III present Richard of Bordeaux, the future Richard III, to them. 

Now, I’m all for Parliaments holding kings, queens, and presidents to account, as I think most of my listeners are, but we’re not a 14th century prince who thinks there’s a certain level of dignity in his and his family’s existence and is not used to being questioned. John of Gaunt did have some interesting revolutionary ideas, and I’ll come to those, but his family’s rights were not where he wanted to see revolution. Also, unlike John of Gaunt, most of us aren’t regularly accused of having evil intentions towards our own family. It was clear to all at this time that the Black Prince was unlikely to succeed his father, he had been unwell for more than half a decade and wasn’t getting any better. While Edward III had been healthy well into his early sixties, he’d recently been showing signs of ill-health. The Commons was, understandably, worried about John of Gaunt, a powerful leader, usurping a young boy. Remember, the last time a grandchild should have succeeded his grandfather his uncle had usurped him (this would be Arthur of Brittany who was usurped by King John). Of all the insults lobbed at John of Gaunt this is the one that would have been the most painful and as it turns out the most false. He was completely loyal to his nephew, to the point of putting his own health and safety at risk regularly and allowing his own son to be exiled. 

I mentioned it earlier, but had the Old English still been in control and the Witan in charge of succession I don’t doubt that John of Gaunt would have been their first choice for king of England. According the their system of succession any Aethling, a legitimate son or brother of a previous king, or sometimes grandson, was eligible to be king. Under this system the eligible men to be king at the time of Edward III’s death would have been: Richard of Bordeaux, John of Gaunt, Henry Bolingbroke, Edmund of Langley, Edward of Norwich, and Thomas of Woodstock. Richard, Henry, and Edward were children, Richard, the oldest was only 10, Henry a few months younger, and Edward was only four. In earlier times this would have prevented any of the three from being crowned king, child kings were not preferred when there was an adult available. Of the three adults, John of Gaunt would have been the most likely choice, prove military leadership and the oldest. Edmund of Langley would have not been the Witan’s choice, he was not known as a great military leader. Finally Thomas, who was only 22 and had minimal military experience at this point. While he would prove himself as a military leader he was just too young at the time. So, in another time line John of Gaunt would have been the shoe-in as king of England, but that wasn’t the timeline he lived in. And instead he was regularly accused of things he never indicated he would do. 

While parliament was sitting the kingdom, Edward III, and John of Gaunt received the worst blow, in June of 1376, at only 45 years old the Black Prince died. You already know this, since you listened to his episodes. His brother’s death would have been a horrible blow, it also meant that the fears of his usurping his nephew in the Commons was made even more real. The Commons demanded that Richard of Bordeaux be presented to them so they could raise him up as his grandfather’s heir. John of Gaunt and his father had sworn to the Black Prince on his death bed that they would respect and support Richard’s rights and inheritance as Edward III’s heir. The Good Parliament was dismissed in July of 1376. Edward III hadn’t gotten tax and it had cost him his lover, the reputation of his son, and some of his own dignity. For John of Gaunt it was worse. I’m going to quote Helen Carr, because she honestly said it perfectly:

‘John of Gaunt never sought to disallow the Commons a voice; in face he endeavoured to head their pleas. However, he would not entertain the notion that someone could rise so far above their birth station as to impose their rule on the king.’

and

‘John of Gaunt’s loyalty to his family, to the dying request of the Black Prince and to the authority of the crown meant sacrificing his reputation to the people…he was able to enhance the love, respect and security of his nephew Richard among the people, but he could never redeem himself.’

Richard of Bordeaux was invested in his father’s titles in November of 1376. In January of 1377 young Richard open a new parliament, this one would be known as the Bad Parliament. John of Gaunt was accused of packing this parliament with his supporters, but modern evidence shows that the Good Parliament actually had more Gaunt supporters. John of Gaunt’s goal with this parliament was to undo everything the last one had done and he did a pretty good job. His main point was to show that royal prerogative couldn’t be questioned. Edward III got his tax at this parliament, and the legal idea that the king could change his mind when promises were made under duress was proven. 

After the Bad Parliament was finally closed John of Gaunt had multiple reasons to celebrate. First, he had gotten what he wanted, even if it cost him the love of the common man, and second his son was being knighted. Edward III was knighting Richard of Bordeaux, Henry Bolingbroke, and (finally) his youngest son, Thomas of Woodstock (of note, Richard of Bordeaux outranked his uncle as Duke of Cornwall, Thomas was not enobled by his father). Sadly, this would be the last thing Edward III would be able to celebrate. On the 21st of June 1377 Edward III died at the age of 64. While he had been healthy for a very long time, his last year had seen him in ill health. He likely had a ministroke in November of 1376 and during his recovery Alice Perrers was allowed to return to the dismay of both the lords and commons. 

1377 was a rough year for John of Gaunt. He was trying to undo the earlier Good Parliament, dealing with the death of his brother and the illness of their father, and John Wycliffe, a religious reformer who had enjoyed Gaunt’s long-term patronage was being charged with speaking against the Church. The 14th century was not a time of religious reform. Of course there were reformers, but nothing like the Protestant Reformation two centuries later, or the earlier various Catholic heresies. Wycliffe was in fact an inspiration for these later reformers. Religious reform within royalty (at least in England) was near non-existent at this time, and John of Gaunt wasn’t a Henry VIII, but he may have been interested in limiting church influence and power within the kingdom. John of Gaunt’s assistance helped get Wycliffe off, for the moment, but this disagreement between John of Gaunt and the Bishop of London would be an ongoing problem for both men. At one point John of Gaunt had to flee his house because of rebels incited by the argument between the two men. He sought refuge with the Black Prince’s widow, Joan of Kent. This is when the rumour of John of Gaunt being a bedpan baby began. 

With the death of his father and the ascension of his nephew John of Gaunt should have been powerful and unchallenged, but the distrust between various factions in court and the church, combined with his unpopularity with the common people of the south of England prevent Gaunt from having much power. The common people of Lancaster and Leicester may have supported him, but the south was not his power base. Gaunt would have influence on his nephew, he was Richard II’s uncle after all, but no offical role outside of being a leading magnate. 

At this point I’ll be taking a break until next week when I’ll finish Gaunt’s story. Unlike many passed and the kings who ruled he does not fade quietly. He was active in England up until the very end, though his influence shrank as Richard II came into his own. Thank you again to my patrons: Mark, Ashley, David, Christa, and Carrie, your support is always appreciated. And, as always, thank you to Phillip for editing this four times, you’re the best! I’ll see you next week. 

Part Three

John of Gaunt, Part three:

Welcome back. I hope you all enjoyed part two. It only covered nine years (from 1368 to 1377), but it was a very busy nine years. This isn’t to say the next 12 years of John of Gaunt’s life won’t be busy, but some will be covered in his younger brother’s episodes, especially Thomas of Woodstock’s episode. 

After his father’s death John of Gaunt was the leading man of the kingdom. The king, Richard II, was a child. John of Gaunt would fulfil his promise to his brother and organise his nephew’s coronation. While only a child, Edward III’s will outlined that Richard II was not to have a regent. He was worried that John of Gaunt’s lack of popularity would destabilise the kingdom and that his other sons were not up for the task. Instead Richard II would be guided by ‘continual councils’, but would sign his own documents. Richard’s first council was made up of nine members, none whom were related to him. These men had been supporters of the Black Prince and were considered wise choices. John of Gaunt, Edmund of Langley, and Thomas of Woodstock were all still involved in their nephew’s life. John of Gaunt and the young king’s mother, Joan of Kent were on good terms and her influence over him would last until her death, even if it wasn’t always strong. As Richard II aged he would begin to be influenced by his friends, who would become his unofficial councillors. Two of these men, Simon de Burley and Rob de Vere were particularly close to the king. 

While Richard II was popular, mainly due to being the son of the beloved Black Prince, his friends and the council became unpopular with the populous, especially in London. By the 1380s Richard II was treated as though he were in his majority even though he was only 13 years old. He was seen as the heir to his great father and the great hope for England. 

In 1378 John of Gaunt was out of England and not able to influence anything in his nephew’s government. He was on his final military campaign in France. His goal was to take St. Malo, a part of the Breton area of NW France. John of Gaunt’s story is one that, in theory at least, should be as celebrated as his oldest brother’s. He used the brilliant tactics he had learned from the Black Prince, he inspired just as much loyalty in his men, but he was 10-15 years too late. He wasn’t fighting the military of John II of France, he was fighting the laws of Charles V. Charles V was no coward, just a man who knew where his strengths were. Charles V could protect his people by hiding them and their supplies behind walls. He didn’t need to risk their lives for his military victories. He used Fabian tactics the way they were meant to be used. Charles V is an often overlooked king, which is sad. For John of Gaunt, Charles V’s self-awareness made his life much harder than his brother’s had been fighting against a king who lived by the rules of chivalry and warfare. Charles V had prepared well for this potential invasion, and John of Gaunt’s trip was a failure. 

Throughout 1379, 80, and 81 John of Gaunt spent a great deal of time near the Scottish border negotiating a truce with the Scottish King, Robert II, and working towards a long-term treaty. 1381 also saw the marriage of John’s oldest son and heir, Henry Bolingbroke to Mary de Bohun. The bride was only 12, so the marriage wouldn’t be consummated for years. Mary was the sister-in-law of Thomas of Woodstock, John’s youngest brother. While their brother, Edmund, would get to go to Portugal to aid the Portuguese against the Castilians John of Gaunt would head to Scotland to continue his negotiations. His May 1381 trip to the border would likely save his life, sadly, his London property would not be so lucky.

Over the summer of 1381 the even we now call the Peasant’s Revolt occurred. The poorest in London (and Kent and Essex) rose up to protest an incredibly harsh poll-tax. This poll-tax was the third such tax in less than three years. It, like the two previous taxes, was regressive and disproportionately affected the poor. Led by Wat Tyler (who would not make it out of this revolt alive), the peasants of south-east poured into the city of London demanding major social changes including reduced taxation and an end to serfdom. They also asked for the king’s ‘wicked advisers’ to be removed, key among these was of course, John of Gaunt. Wicked advisers is one of my favourite phrases used throughout the Plantagenet era. In earlier reigns it had allowed the barons to speak out against the king without committing treason by blaming his poor choices on his advisers. At this point in history though, those same barons were allowed to council the king, however, the common man could not in the same way. In Richard II’s case, blaming his wicked advisers allowed the rebels to not blame their beloved king and to place his uncle under suspicion. The rebels were able to breach parts of the Tower of London. Richard was able, after some work to get the rebels under control. During the revolt, John of Gaunt had been safe near the Scottish border (one of the few times a royal from either side could say this), and Gaunt’s son, Henry Bolingbroke, was safe hiding in a cupboard when the rebels broke into the Tower. There was one major death that would impact John of Gaunt greatly, Simon Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury was brutally beheaded. Sudbury had been a supporter of Gaunt since being appointed Archbishop. He was succeeded by William Courtenay who was a long-time opponent of Gaunt, having regularly spoken out against John Wycliffe. John of Gaunt also lost something he loved greatly during the revolt, his London palace, the Savoy. He had inherited this property from Henry of Lancaster and had made extensive updates and repairs. It was meant to be one of the most beautiful palaces in the city. The rebels destroyed it when gunpowder was accidentally thrown on a bonfire in its great hall. The barrel had been mistaken for a barrel of wine. There were also a great number of documents destroyed during the revolt, this is painful for historians, please don’t burn books and records in riots, thanks. While things did calm in the capital it was still a trying time. 

John of Gaunt learned of the revolt while he was in Scotland. His negotiations had gone well and Robert II and he had signed a truce. While the Scots weren’t originally aware, John of Gaunt was honest with them at the time of signing, telling them that he did not know where he stood with regards to the rebels’ demands or what his nephew’s plans for him were. They could have easily held him hostage to the highest bidder, Gaunt had heard that 10,000 men were moving north to attack him. He had received no word from his nephew and had no idea where he stood. Gaunt was lucky, the Scottish treated him well and allowed him to leave with his men. He headed south intent on reaching his stronghold of Pontefract Castle, but he was stopped well north of it by Henry Percy, the earl of Northumberland. Percy was a first cousin of Gaunt’s first wife, Blanche, and in theory should have been an ally, but he seems to have hoped to win favour with those who stood against Gaunt in court. He, through two retainers, told Gaunt that he wasn’t to go further south. In reasonable fear, John returned north to Scotland. He was met by three of the most powerful earls of the kingdom and placed under their protection. He was well treated and able to bring funds and supplies for himself north. The lack of certainty of his position within his nephew’s kingdom must have been trying. His wife, Constance, had fled through the night for safety in one of his other castles. This period also led to one other major change in John’s life. It appears that he felt the calls for his death were a sign that god had turned against him. He decided he was being punished for his long-time affair with Kathryn. Their youngest child was still a toddler and they were still very much in love with each other, but he decided to end their relationship on religious grounds. While they were no longer romantically involved it does appear that he still took care of her and their children financially. His records show regular payments to her and the delivery a gifts. 

Word finally reached John of Gaunt that his nephew, the king, would see him return to London safely. Richard II even sent Henry Percy to escort his uncle, Percy was not well pleased, but Richard seemed to think it would be good for him to eat a bit of crow. Richard II’s treatment of his uncle, while Gaunt was in Scotland, is rather shocking. Gaunt had shown nothing but loyalty to his nephew, he had been negotiating on Richard’s behalf, his property had been destroyed and his life had been threatened. He had likely only survived due to the kindness of the Scots. This was not the way to treat a loyal family member.

While John of Gaunt remained loyal he and Richard II did not have a positive relationship after this incident. Gaunt was always ready to serve his king though. In 1382 he was sent to meet Anne of Bohemia, Richard II’s betrothed. The couple was married not long after her arrival. Richard II had paid a great deal as a dowery for the young woman, and had gained little in return. While Anne would be a popular queen the decision to spend so much to marry her was negatively perceived by the populace reeling from unfair taxes. Anne brought a retinue with her from Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic), including a lady in waiting, Agnes de Launcekrona who will come into our story soon. 

May of 1384 saw one of Richard II’s early brushes with tyranny. While the Salisbury Parliament was in session Richard threatened to execute his uncle after John of Gaunt was accused of plotting to usurp the throne by a seemingly unstable friar. This plot was fabricated, but it’s understandable to be mad that someone is trying to take your rightful throne. However, multiple people present for the threats pointed out that executing John of Gaunt was unjust without a trial. Thomas of Woodstock, John of Gaunt’s brother and Richard’s uncle did not take his nephew’s threat lightly and promised to kill anyone who claimed Gaunt was a traitor. Thomas seemed to be more ready than either of his surviving brothers to speak out against their nephew, and he was very protective of his family, especially John of Gaunt. The friar who accused Gaunt, John Latimer, was interrogated by Richard II’s older half brother, John Holland, Joan of Kent’s second son from an earlier marriage. Somehow Latimer died in Holland’s custody, possibly killed by Holland out of loyalty to Gaunt. John of Gaunt was able to reason with his nephew and convince him that he was, as always, loyal. Sadly for John, this wouldn’t be the last time he felt his life threatened by his nephew. Not long after this incident rumours began to circulate that Richard’s friends were planning to assassinate Gaunt. Richard denied the plot, but Gaunt, while still loyal, didn’t seem as trusting towards his nephew. 

John of Gaunt was still hoping for a campaign in Spain and in 1386 he would finally get his chance. In August of 1385 Portuguese forces defeated Castilian forces at the Battle of Aljubarrota. The Portuguese were led by John (or Juan) I of Portugal. The Castilians were led by…John (or Juan) I of Castile. Yeah, there are a lot of Johns in this bit, I’ll try to make it easy to keep track of who I’m talking about. John of Portugal was the illegitimate son of Peter I of Portugal and the half brother of the most recent king of Portugal, Ferdinand I. John of Castile was the legitimate son of Henry Trastamara, Constance of Castile’s illegitimate uncle who had killed her father. John of Castile had married Beatrice of Portugal, Ferdinand’s only legitimate child, giving him a claim to the Portuguese throne, not unlike John of Gaunt’s claim to the Castilian throne. 

Prior to leaving for the Iberian peninsula John of Gaunt had to do some housekeeping. His second surviving daughter, Elizabeth, had been married in 1380 to John Hastings, the Earl of Pembroke. She was 17, he was eight, so not a love-match or probably even a knowing-each-other match. Elizabeth was expected to remain a virgin until her marriage were consummated, the canonical age for men, or boys in this case, was 14. I’m sure most of us can remember being hormonal teenagers, and we can all agree that both sexes have similar drives. Had Elizabeth been a boy she could have dealt with her urges by taking a mistress, as long as a man didn’t neglect his wife’s marital rights mistresses were normal and expected. But Elizabeth was a girl and she did not have this luxury. As some point, likely in 1385 or early 1386 she was as they like to say ‘seduced by’ John Holland, Richard II’s older half-brother, yes, the same one who accidentally killed the friar. As often results from seduction Elizabeth fell pregnant and her marriage to Hastings was annulled (poor Hastings would be married again a few years later before dying at only 17). Elizabeth and Holland were quickly married. He may have been a fun affair partner, Holland was known to be charming, but he was also said to have a vicious temper. They would be married until his death and have six children together. Elizabeth would marry again after his death and have two further children. With his daughter’s love-life sorted out John of Gaunt could start his war in Castile. He would be taking his three oldest daughters, Philippa, Elizabeth, and Catherine along with his wife, Constance with him. John Holland and 5,000 soldiers would be joining them.

John of Gaunt should have had an easy time in Castile. His army was much larger and started out better supplied. He would also surprise John of Castile by attacking from northern Spain and not Portugal. He was unlucky because John of Castile had learned well from the French and employed Charles V’s tactics to protect his people and their supplies. John of Gaunt also arrived at the wrong time of the year, summer is not the best time of year to be attacking the Iberian Peninsula. While Gaunt’s initial attacks went well slowly disease spread through his camp and the lack of additional supplies hurt his chances. The Castliians also avoided offering him battle. He decided to formalise his ongoing relationship with Portugal to gain support for his ongoing campaign. This treaty would include a marriage…well, eventually. 

Philppa of Lancaster was John of Gaunt and Blanche’s oldest child she was 26 years old at the start of her father’s campaign. It was an older age for a first-time royal bride, but thankfully she would have a happy marriage. There was one major issue though with her marrying John of Portugal, his oath of celibacy. As a member of the order of the House of Avis he had taken an oath of chastity and had to get papal dispensation in order to marry. It appears John of Gaunt hadn’t been fully informed of this issue before signing their treaty. His membership wasn’t a secret, but he may not have been as forthcoming to his future father-in-law. Philippa and John of Portugal’s marriage would produce children known as the ‘Illustrious Generation’. Their six surviving children would encourage education and exploration throughout the next generation. 

While John of Gaunt’s campaign had started out well, it eventually disintegrated. With disease and discontent raging though his army and issues between Portugese and English trios John of Gaunt and John of Castile finally reached a truce. Thankfully for John he had one daughter left. Cathrine, his only surviving child with Constance was married to John of Castile’s son and heir, Henry, the future Henry III. Together Cathrine and Henry would be the grandparents of Isabella of Castile, giving her a claim to the English throne after the overthrow of her cousin, Henry VI of England, not that she would press it. John of Gaunt may have lost a kingdom, but his daughters would be queens. While, one was kind of a hostage, it does appear that their marriages were well matched. He also got a whole lot of money. John of Castile paid his father-in-law an enormously large bribe not to attack his country again.

From Spain he travelled back to Portugal before going to Gascony. He would remain there until November of 1389. For those of you who know this period well, you will know that this means John of Gaunt was out of England when his youngest brother, Thomas of Woodstock, Richard FitzAlan and Thomas de Beauchamp appealed to the king to impeach five of his counsellors. These three would be joined by Henry Bolingbroke, John of Gaunt’s son, later. These four are known as the Lord’s Appellant. While Richard II would listen to their complaints and dismiss his councillors he would never forgive these four for their lack of faith and what he perceived as their treason. Richard II also realised during this time why he needed John of Gaunt in England. Had Gaunt been there it’s likely the Appellants would have approached him (especially since Henry and Thomas were his family members) and Gaunt could have helped the king save face while sorting out their differences. With his uncle’s return in he was able to rebuild his power base, but he would hold a grudge for a long time. I will address the Lords Appellant further in Thomas of Woodstock’s episode. But there was an insult to the royal family that needs to be discussed. Rob de Vere’s marriage to Philippa de Coucy (a granddaughter of Edward III through his oldest daughter Isabella of England) had been formalised in 1376. The bride was only nine and the groom 14. It was a great match for de Vere and likely helped him become Richard II’s favourite. Eleven years later, in 1387 de Vere repudiated his wife for one of Anne of Bohemia’s ladies, Agnes de Launcekrona. He was able to secure an annulment. As many of you can imagine this was seen as insulting to the royal family and made de Vere unpopular with his former uncles-in-law (though not with his BFF, the king). All three royal uncles, John of Gaunt, Edmund of Langley, and Thomas of Woodstock made their anger clear. De Vere’s own mother sided with his ex-wife and kept Philippa in her household. Philippa was able to get her annulment overturned. 

John of Gaunt’s return to England in November of 1389 was most welcomed by Richard II. When Gaunt travelled into London in early December of that year he was greeted on the road by the king. Richard II was desperate for his uncle’s calming influence, plus he wanted his uncle to solve a problem for him. Richard II no longer wanted to forced to pay homage for Gascony to the French king, it made him subordinate. It had been an ongoing problem for English kings for a while. The solution was simple, Richard II would invest his uncle as the Duke of Aquitane, the first time this title had been bestowed on someone who wasn’t the king of England or his heir. While this would imply that John of Gaunt was Richard II’s heir we know from Lionel of Antwerp’s episode that Richard liked to play politics with appointing and heir and was likely just using his uncle to control the difficult region. 

John of Gaunt would run Gascony through his seneschal, but would return to Gascony in 1394. His timing was pretty bad, in March of that year Constance died, she was 40 at the oldest. He arranged a grand service for her funeral. While he may not have been devastated by her death he treated her well in life and death. He and his oldest son however were devastated months later when Mary de Bohun, Henry Bolingbroke’s wife of 13 years, in childbirth, she was 26. From her and Henry John of Gaunt had four grandsons and two granddaughters. Less than a week after Mary’s death Richard II lost his wife, Anne of Bohemia, to the plague. Anne had been a respected queen and a calming influence on her husband. Her death devastated him. 

A little less than two years after his second wife’s death, John of Gaunt married his third wife on 13th of January 1396. It was a similar pattern seen with his second marriage, coming two years after the death of his first wife. This marriage though was a bit more controversial than the first two and it was a love match. He married the mother of his four youngest children, Kathryn Swynford. Now, he would have had a pragmatic reason to marry his former long-term mistress. It would have allowed their children to be legitimated, which would be approved by the pope in 1396 and by parliament in 1397. When I discuss Margaret Beaufort in this season I’ll discuss this legitimation, it is a little complicated or not complicated at all. In addition to his pragmatic reason it’s likely that John of Gaunt and Kathryn had missed each other’s romantic company. They had lived apart since the Peasant’s Revolt, but still appeared to care for each other. 

While Kathryn Swynford was now the highest ranked woman in England, as long as her husband was in the room, royal protocol is a lot of rules, is appears that his nieces and sister-in-law were not always kind to her. Chroniclers said it was because of her low birth. Remember how much snobbery can be seen in the media about various royal family’s today. Gaunt and Kathryn’s daughter Joan Beaufort, would marry Sir Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland in the year her parent’s married (her first marriage had been to a baron, so this was a step up). Through this marriage Joan would be the mother of Cecily Neville and through her the grandmother of Edward IV and Richard III, making the Wars of the Roses a fight between the descendants of John of Gaunt first and foremost and Edward III second. 

In 1396 John of Gaunt, Richard, and most of the royal family travelled to France to join the king for his marriage to Isabella of Valois, the nine-year old daughter of French king Charles VI, it appears that Charles VI was mentally well at this time, so the wedding went well. Try not to think too much about the 20 year age gap. The marriage was never consummated, it was very much a treaty marriage, and the bride’s parents approved (yes, I am a parent and I judge them pretty harshly, I’m sure it’s great for your daughter to be a queen, but sending your very young daughter off to a foreign country to marry a man she’s only just met sounds like a horrible idea). It does appear that no matter how mean Richard was to the men in his family he was actually very kind the women in his life.

While Richard II should have been celebrating his wedding he was instead planning revenge against the Lords Appellant. He kept these plans secret from John of Gaunt, which makes sense on multiple levels. Two of the Appelants were close family members, and Gaunt was the marshall of England and would be in charge of any treason trials held, so Richard just didn’t hold trials! I do promise I will cover this completely in Thomas of Woodstock’s episode, but I do want to discuss Henry Bolingbroke’s position during this time. In early October 1397 Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray ran into each other on a road in Brentford. Mowbray shared the accusation that the king and is closest retainers were planning to kill Bolingbroke and Mowbray despite pardoning them both earlier. Mowbray said the conspirators planned to kill Bolingbroke’s half-brother, Thomas Beaufort, and may have implied that Richard II would have John of Gaunt killed as well. Gaunt and his oldest son were close, much like his parents Gaunt had made sure his children had a loving upbringing, and even though his children were from four different relationships it appears that he was active in all of their lives. Bolingbroke informed his father as soon as he could after the meeting. John of Gaunt recommended telling the king and in January of 1398 he did so. Mowbray was incensed and lashed out at Bolingbroke, who responded in kind. Through various schemes and plots the two were basically duped by the king into agreeing to a duel. It was planned to take place on the 16th of September 1398. 

There was a great deal of planning and build up for the duel. For John of Gaunt this would have been devastating and challenging. He had been loyal to his nephew for two decades at this point, but he loved his son and heir. Bolingbroke wasn’t just his son, it seems and though they were friends, and Bolingbroke was his future and the father of his beloved grandchildren. 

The morning of the duel everything was ready, the public had gathered to watch, just like a normal tournament. The court had gathered as well. There was a lot going on politically, and Richard II was in it all playing politics. At the last moment Richard II cancelled the duel to the dismay of the spectators and probably Bolingbroke, since he was likely to win. Mowbray was punished with eternal exile, would die in Venice a little more than a year later from the plague. He’ll come up again in Thomas of Woodstock’s episode, sorry for the spoilers. Bolingbroke was ordered to be exiled for 10 years. John of Gaunt begged for his son’s exile to be reduced, Richard II relented, but only to six years. Gaunt encouraged his son to seek assistance from the French, he had been popular in their court. Henry Bolingbroke left England on the 13th of October 1398. He would never see his father agains.

Less than six months later on the 3rd of February 1399 John of Gaunt died at the age of 58. Kathryn Swynford was at his side. The chroniclers at the time forgot to write his cause of death (it must have slipped their minds). Later ones would claim sex or at least venereal disease killed him, remember most chroniclers were members were clergy. Richard II neglected to tell Henry Bolingbroke that his father had died, don’t worry others did tell him. 

In theory John of Gaunt’s estate should have passed directly to Henry Bolingbroke, this is what Gaunt had planned and Richard II had set up when he made Gaunt’s estates and titles Palatines. But, not long after his father’s death Bolingbrokes exile was made permanent and Richard II took his titles and lands. As all of you can imagine, this didn’t sit well with Bolingbroke, his cousin, whom his father had done so much for had pushed things to the point that it was a me versus him battle. This does not end well for Richard II, as most of you will know. By the end of September 1399 he wouldn’t be the king, Henry Bolingbroke would be as Henry IV. Henry Bolingbroke returned to England while Richard II was in Ireland. Bolingbroke had had planned his landing well, starting in the north where his father had been loved and moving south. By the time he reached London he had more than 30,000 men ready to fight for his cause. Richard II was captured and surrendered the kingdom.

So, would John of Gaunt have been a better king than the person who was king instead of him? In England yes, being a better king that Richard II would not have been difficult. In Spain, possibly, Henry Trastamara and his son John seem to have been perfectly adequate rulers for this time. Their treatment of Jews and Muslims was horrible, but sadly the norm for their time and Gaunt probably wouldn’t have done any better. Having John ruling Spain and Richard II ruling England would have isolated the French and may have led to an English take-over of Western Europe. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, it would have been different. Finally, Scotland, where Gaunt was suggested to succeed David II. This would have made his great-grandfather, Edward I’s, dreams come true, but I don’t think the Scottish populous would have approved. Robert II, who did succeed his nephew, David II, pushed for continued Scottish independence, but he wasn’t a great king. John of Gaunt was a great duke and war leader, he probably would have made a good king, and had he been alive during the time of the Old English he likely would have been selected as such. I’ve really enjoyed reading about him and writing this. He’s probably one of the better people to have never been king, but it was not in the cards for him. His son, daughter’s, and grandchildren though would rule most of Europe until this day. 

Sorry for the delay on this series of episodes and thank you for your understanding. Next week I’ll be covering Edmund of Langley, the fourth surviving son of Edward III and where the house of York gets its title, but not its claim. I hope you’ll join me then.