Henry Percy, 3rd Baron Percy

Henry Percy, 3rd Baron Percy (also Henry de Percy ; * around 1321, † around May 18, 1368 ) was an English magnate . Unlike his father, he had little opportunity to excel in the war against Scotland, instead he fought in the Hundred Years War and served as one of the main English negotiators with Scotland.

Origin and early military career

Henry Percy came from the Percy Anglo-Norman family . He was born the eldest son of Henry Percy, 2nd Baron Percy and his wife Idonea, a daughter of Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford and his wife Maud de Clare . His father was one of the leading British military during the Scottish Wars of Independence, and his son also took part in the campaigns of the English King Edward III. part. However, while his father was fighting on the border with Scotland, Henry took part in the campaigns at the beginning of the Hundred Years War against France. In 1340 he took part in the naval battle of Sluis . In March 1344 he served under Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel , and in 1346 he belonged to the English army, which won a clear victory over the French at the Battle of Crécy in August . In June 1347 and November 1349 he was part of the troops of the Earl of Lancaster in Gascony , and in August 1350 he took part in the naval battle of Winchelsea .

Diplomat in Scotland

After the death of his father in 1352 he inherited his extensive estates in northern and southern England and the title of Baron Percy . At that time, King Edward III persecuted. no longer the goal, Edward Balliol to King of Scotland to make. Instead, he tried to prevent the Scots from forming an alliance with France. Percy was now given the task of protecting the English northern border against Scottish attacks like his father. For this he became one of the keepers of the Scottish Marches in July 1352 . In September 1355 he became administrator of Roxburgh Castle and sheriff of Roxburghshire for two years . On January 30, 1356 he witnessed the transfer of the Scottish claim to the throne from Edward Balliol to Edward III, then he took part in the following English invasion attempt to Scotland. In July 1356 the king reappointed him as a guardian of the Scottish Marches, including he was a member of the English negotiating delegation that ended the second Scottish War of Independence with the Treaty of Berwick concluded in October 1357 .

Participation in the Hundred Years War against France

Percy could take part in the war against France. In September 1355 he served as Marshal of the English troops in Calais , and from 1359 to 1360 he took part in the unsuccessful campaign to Reims , with which Edward III. wanted to conquer the city and be crowned King of France there. On October 24, 1360 Percy was one of the magnates who swore to keep the Peace of Brétigny in Calais . With the conclusion of this peace, Percy no longer had the opportunity to distinguish himself in the fight against France. As one of the leading magnates, he testified on October 19, 1364 in Dover the marriage contract between Edmund, Earl of Cambridge and the Duchess Margaret of Burgundy . However, due to the intervention of the French king, the marriage between an English prince and the heiress of large areas in northeastern France did not materialize.

Family and offspring

In his first marriage Percy married Mary of Lancaster (1320-1362), daughter of Henry of Lancaster, 3rd Earl of Lancaster , and Maud de Chaworth around 1334 at Tutbury Castle . With her he had two sons:

• Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland (1341-1408);
• Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester (1343-1403).

After the death of his first wife's death in 1365 at the latest he married Joan de Orreby, the only daughter and heiress of John de Orreby, 2nd Baron Orreby. With her he had a son, who died as a child before his father, and a daughter:

• Mary Percy († 1394) ⚭ John de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros .

He presumably died in Alnwick Castle and was buried in Alnwick Abbey . His heir became his eldest son, Henry.

Literature and web links

• JMW Bean: Percy, Henry, third Lord Percy (c.1321-1368). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
• Henry de Percy, 3rd Lord Percy on thepeerage.com , accessed February 9, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
Henry Percy	Baron Percy 1352-1368	Henry Percy