Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland

Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland KG (born November 10, 1341 - † February 19, 1408 ) was an English nobleman who played an important role at the time of the Lancaster kings and in William Shakespeare's royal dramas Richard II and Henry IV. appears as "Northumberland".

Life

Henry Percy was the eldest son of Henry Percy, 3rd Baron Percy , and Mary of Lancaster (daughter of Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud de Chaworth ). Percy was thus a great-grandson of the English King Henry III. During the reign of King Edward III. he held high administrative positions in northern England. In 1377 he became Marshal of England and Earl of Northumberland . But since Edward's grandson Richard II promoted Percy's rival Ralph Neville , Percy joined Richard's cousin Heinrich Bolingbroke, who assumed power as Henry IV in 1399. As a reward, Percy became Constable of England and King of Mann . But Henry IV failed to keep promises of land and money that he had given Percy. He also held onto Neville. In 1403 the mighty Percy rebelled together with his brother Thomas, 1st Earl of Worcester , and his son Henry Percy , known as Harry Hotspur . But the support of the Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr , on whom the Percys had relied, failed to materialize. Harry Hotspur fell at the Battle of Shrewsbury , Thomas Percy was captured and beheaded as a traitor. Henry Percy, who did not take part in the battle, initially only lost his offices. In 1405 he took part in the rebellion of Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York , against Henry IV. This uprising also failed and Percy fled to Scotland. In 1408 he attempted an invasion and was killed in the Battle of Braham Moor .

Henry Percy's first marriage was Margaret Neville (* 1341; † 1372), an aunt of his rival Ralph Neville. They had three sons: Henry Hotspur, Ralph (* around 1365; † 1397) and Thomas (* 1366; † 1388). The second marriage with Matilda de Lucy, 5th Baroness Lucy (Maud, * around 1359, † 1398), the daughter of Thomas de Lucy, 2nd Baron Lucy , remained childless.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 441

Web links

• Henry de Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, on thepeerage.com , accessed September 10, 2016.
• JMW Bean, Percy, Henry, first earl of Northumberland (1341-1408) , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 seen on March 28, 2012 License required

predecessor	Office	successor
Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk	Lord Marshal of England 1377	John Arundel, 1st Baron Arundel
New title created	Earl of Northumberland 1377-1405	Title forfeited (from 1416: Henry Percy )
Henry Percy	Baron Percy 1377-1405	Title forfeited (from 1416: Henry Percy )
William le Scrope	King of Mann 1399-1405	John I. Stanley