Hugh Seagrave

Sir Hugh Seagrave (also Segrave ) († February 4, 1387 ) was an English knight, administrator and courtier.

Origins and advancement in the service of Edward of Woodstock

According to his coat of arms, Hugh Seagrave was a younger member or an illegitimate son of the Seagrave family , which had died out in 1353 in the main male line. He may have been the Hugh who served as Squire to Queen Philippa in 1369 and who became Seneschal of the Household of John of Gaunt in Gascony before November 4, 1372 during the Hundred Years War . There is evidence that Hugh Seagrave belonged as a knight to the English delegation that led peace negotiations with Flanders in Calais in March 1371 . On October 8, 1372 he became administrator of the estates of the heir apparent Edward of Woodstock , for which he received an annual fee of £ 100. After the death of the heir to the throne in 1376, he was one of his executors . On July 6, 1376, he was confirmed as administrator of the property of the late heir to the throne in England and Wales and then served his widow Joan of Kent .

Steward of the Household of Richard II.

After the death of King Edward III. in June 1377 Seagrave was Steward of the Household of the young King Richard II. On July 20, 1377 he became a member of the Regency Council, of which he was a member until October 30, 1378. Apparently he took part in the deliberations of the Regency Council almost every day during this time. For this service he continued to receive £ 100 a year, the king then increased this amount by 150 marks . Seagrave was also a member of the English delegation between 1378 and 1380, which led unsuccessful peace negotiations with France. In 1381 he was involved in negotiations about the marriage of Richard II with Anne of Bohemia .

Keeper of the Great Seal and Treasurer

After the Royal Chancellor Simon Sudbury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Hale had been murdered during the Peasants' Revolt on June 14, 1381 , the King presented the Great Seal to Seagrave on June 16, but he was only Keeper of the Great Seal and not Chancellor was appointed. Seagrave advised the abbot of St Albans Abbey, which had been besieged by the rebels , to agree to all of the rebel demands. Seagrave did not want to make honest concessions to the rebels, however, because by that time he already knew that the king was determined to put down the rebellion. Then in July the king came to St Albans and passed harsh sentences on the leaders of the rebels. On August 10th, Seagrave became Treasurer , whereupon he handed over the great seal and resigned from the office of Stewards of the Household. In November he defended during parliament the revocation of the concessions made to the rebels. After Richard Scrope was dismissed as Chancellor, Seagrave was again Keeper of the Great Seal from July 11 to August 20, 1382. In 1385 he was a member of the court that sentenced John Cavendish for defaming Chancellor Michael de la Pole . On January 17, 1386, he resigned from his position as treasurer.

Seagrave may have been married to an Isabel, but she and his children are not mentioned after his death.

Web links

• John L. Leland: Seagrave [Segrave], Sir Hugh (d. 1387). 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

predecessor	Office	successor
Simon Sudbury	Lord Chancellor of England (as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal) 1381	William Courtenay
Robert Hales	Lord High Treasurer 1382-1386	John Fordham