John of Gaunt
English prince, military leader and statesman; founder of the House of Lancaster.
Said variously to be attributed to Lucas Cornelisz de Kock (1495–1552) (who however died 41 years before the painting is said (by Oliver Harris, 2010) to have b · via Wikipedia: John of Gaunt · Public domain
He was the fourth son of King Edward III and father of King Henry IV, and became one of the richest men of his era through royal origin, marriages and land grants.[1] He founded the royal House of Lancaster, whose members ascended the throne after his death.[1]
Quick Facts
- Reign
- 2 March 1390 – 3 February 1399
- Predecessor
- Richard II
- Born
- 6 March 1340
- Birthplace
- Saint Bavo's Abbey, Ghent, Flanders
- Died
- 3 February 1399 (aged 58)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
John was born in Ghent, Flanders, most likely at Saint Bavo's Abbey, in March 1340.[2] He received the title "Duke of Lancaster" from his father on 13 November 1362.[3] When his elder brother Edward the Black Prince became incapacitated, John assumed control of many government functions.[4] During the Hundred Years' War, John's initial military activities involved combat in both France and Spain.[4]
Overseas military setbacks and domestic political conflicts created a period where John was widely disliked.[4] While Richard II was a minor, John held significant sway over the throne and acted as a go-between for the king and rebellious aristocrats.[5] A large network of followers, called the Lancastrian affinity, was developed by John and served as the foundation for his political authority.[6] Every English monarch starting with Henry IV is a descendant of John of Gaunt.[6]
What the cited sources add
The History of Government Blog notes that John of Gaunt had a legitimate claim to the throne of Castile through his wife Constance, daughter of Peter the Cruel.[7] The same source states that John's expedition to Castile was ultimately fruitless and he sued for peace with John I of Castile in exchange for a generous pension.[7] The blog adds that the marriage of Philippa, daughter of the duke of Lancaster, to John I of Portugal in 1387 added a crucial dynastic element to the alliance.[7] A BBC article explains that John of Gaunt hoped to use John Wycliffe's radical preaching as a means of coercing the clergy into paying higher taxes.[8]
According to the same BBC source, John of Gaunt used the last Parliament of Edward III's reign to institute the most regressive tax ever witnessed in later medieval England.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "John of Gaunt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Death of John of Gaunt, Richard Cavendish explains the life and death of Henry IV's father, on February 3rd, 1399; John of Gaunt: Son of One King, Father of Another, Kathryn Warner, Amberley Publishing, 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John of Gaunt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Goodman, "John of Gaunt: The Exercise of Princely Power in Fourteenth-Century Europe", Routledge, 2013, p. 28–29; Brown, "A New Companion to Chaucer", Wiley, 2019, p. 153; "John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster", Britannica.com, 21 March 1999; Sumption, "The Hundred Years War 3: Divided Houses", Faber & Faber, 19 March 2009, p. 274 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John of Gaunt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sumption 2009, p. 3; Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present, www.measuringworth.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John of Gaunt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Goodman, "John of Gaunt: The Exercise of Princely Power in Fourteenth-Century Europe", Routledge, 2013, p. 287–305; "History's unparalleled alliance: the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Windsor, 9th May 1386", History of Government Blog, 9 May 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John of Gaunt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster", Britannica.com, 21 March 1999; "Richard II: September 1397", British History Online, 2005 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John of Gaunt" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walker, "The Lancastrian Affinity 1361–1399", 1990; Given-Wilson, "Remembering the Reign of Henry IV", Yale University Press, 7 June 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "History's unparalleled alliance: the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Windsor, 9th May 1386", History of Government Blog, 9 May 2016. facts only, no text reused. history.blog.gov.uk
- "British History in depth: Black Death: Political and Social Changes", BBC, 17 February 2011. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article John of Gaunt (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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