John Beaumont, 1st Viscount Beaumont

John Beaumont, 1st Viscount Beaumont KG (* around 1409 ; † 1460 in Northampton ) was an English nobleman and the first person to be awarded the title Viscount .

Life

John Beaumont inherited his father Henry Beaumont, 5th Baron Beaumont , at the age of four. He grew up at Folkingham Castle in Lincolnshire .

After he came of age, he received from the Crown the seat he was entitled to in the English House of Lords and attended the meetings of the House of Lords from February 25, 1431 to September 26, 1439. A loyal supporter of the Lancaster party, he distinguished himself as a courtier both in the Wars of the Roses and at the court of the Lancaster kings. As early as May 19, 1426, he was made Knight of the Bath . The king rewarded him richly for his loyalty to the House of Lancaster and his services: by patent of July 27, 1436 he was made Count (Comte) of Boulogne in France; soon afterwards he received the title of Viscount , never before granted in England, and became the 1st Viscount Beaumont by patent on February 12, 1440. This patent also stipulated that he should have priority over all barons of the empire. Later, around 1444/45, this priority was extended in such a way that it should also have precedence over all later Viscounts and over the heirs of the Earls. Even before that, King Henry VI. on January 18, 1440 he was given The Feudal Viscountcy of Beaumont in France , which his ancestors from the French house of the Counts of Brienne had held (see Baron Beaumont ). In 1441 he was also awarded the Order of the Garter . He also held several high political offices in England: He was Constable of England from 1445 to 1451 and from July 8, 1450 Lord Great Chamberlain .

On July 10, 1460, he finally died for the Lancaster cause: he fell at the Battle of Northampton .

Marriages and offspring

John Beaumont was married twice: His first marriage was between July 24, 1425 and July 3, 1436 with Elisabeth, the heiress of Sir William Phelip, KG, who died before October 30, 1441. The marriage had three children.

• Joan Beaumont († August 5, 1466), ⚭ I) John Lovel, 8th Baron Lovel , ⚭ II) Sir William Stanley
• Henry Beaumont (* before 1438; † between August 10, 1441 and 1460)
• William Beaumont, 2nd Viscount Beaumont (23 April 1438 - 19 December 1507)

After 1442 he married Katherine Neville , daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland , who survived him and after 1464 married Sir John Woodville , who along with his father, Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers , on August 12th Was beheaded in 1469.

literature

• George Edward Cokayne , GH White: The Complete Peerage . 2nd edition. Volume XII, 1982

Web links

• John de Beaumont, 1st Viscount Beaumont on thepeerage.com , accessed August 12, 2015.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} George Edward Cokayne , GH White: The Complete Peerage . 2nd edition. Volume XII, 1982, pp. 61-63

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Viscount Beaumont 1440-1460	William Beaumont
Henry Beaumont	Baron Beaumont 1413-1460	William Beaumont