Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March

Coat of arms of the Mortimer family

Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and de jure uxoris Earl of Ulster (born February 1, 1352 - † December 27, 1381 in Cork ) was the son of Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March , and his wife Philippa, daughter of William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury .

Dynastic classification and importance

Edmund was still a child when his father died, so he served as the ward of the crown of Edward III. into the care of William von Wykeham and Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel . Although wealthy through his inheritance, he gained considerable importance through his marriage in 1368 to the 13-year-old Philippa Plantagenet, 5th Countess of Ulster , since his wife was the only child of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence , the second oldest Sons of Edward III, and this marriage gained high dynastic importance. Their descendants would be in third place after Eduard, the black prince , and his son, later Richard II . Edmund's great-great-grandson finally ascended the English throne in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses , citing his origins as Edward IV .

When his father-in-law died, Edmund was also given the title of Earl of Ulster , which Lionel had inherited from his wife Elisabeth as heir to William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster.

Edmund's son Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March , later became the first heir to the throne of England during the reign of Richard II and his continued childlessness.

Political career

Edmund was appointed Marshall of England in 1369 and subsequently performed various diplomatic missions. In 1376 he was one of the key figures in the opposition in the Good Parliament , when there was criticism of spending in the course of the war with France . The first Speaker of Parliament, Sir Peter de la Mare , was the steward of Edmund, who subsequently came into conflict with the third son of Edward III, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster . The resolutions of the Good Parliament were repealed in the same year, Peter de la Mare was imprisoned and Edmund was sent as Marshall of England on an extensive inspection tour to the most remote fortresses of the kingdom.

Edmund avoided an open conflict with John of Gaunt even after Richard II took over the government, although as the father of the now heir to the throne he held a key position on the throne council.

Edmund died in Cork on December 27, 1381 and, like his wife Philippa, was buried in Wigmore Abbey .

progeny

• Elisabeth (1371–1417), ∞ I Sir Henry “Hotspur” Percy , ∞ II Sir Thomas de Camoys, 1st Baron Camoys
• Roger , 4th Earl of March (1374–1398) ∞ Eleanor Holland, daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
• Philippa (1375–1401), ∞ Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel ( House of FitzAlan )
• Edmund (1376–1411) ∞ Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr, daughter of Owain Glyndŵr

Individual evidence

1. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 464
2. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, 437

Web links

• Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March on thepeerage.com , accessed October 6, 2015.

predecessor	Office	successor
Roger Mortimer	Earl of March 1360-1381	Roger Mortimer