John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford

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The Assassination of Rutland by Lord Clifford , historicizing painting by Charles Robert Leslie , 1815

John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford (born April 8, 1435 in Conisborough Castle , England , † March 28, 1461 in Ferrybridge ) was an English nobleman who led the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses .

Life

John Clifford was born on April 8, 1435 at Conisborough Castle in South Yorkshire to Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, and Joan Dacre. He had three younger brothers and five sisters.

John Clifford inherited the title of Baron de Clifford , the Skipton Castle family seat and the office of High Sheriff of Westmorland when his father died in the First Battle of St Albans on May 22, 1455.

During the Wars of the Roses, Clifford led the House of Lancaster at the Battle of Wakefield in a surprise attack on Sandal Castle , with the Lancasters gaining a decisive victory against the House of York . The Yorkists were put to flight, their leader Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York slain on the battlefield, and his son Edmund, Earl of Rutland and son-in-law Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury captured and killed. On the battlefield of Wakefield, Clifford was defeated to a Knight Bachelor .

Clifford is best known for the murder of the Earl of Rutland. Captive sons of nobles were commonly taken hostage at the time. Rutland was only 17 years old, was inexperienced in the military - Wakefield is the only battle he is known to have fought in - and is said to have been wounded and defenseless at the time of his assassination. Rutland's older brother, future King Edward IV , swore vengeance and may have been the one who introduced the term "the butcher" for Clifford.

Clifford fell at the Battle of Ferrybridge on March 28, 1461. On November 4, 1461, his title and family property were posthumously stripped of him. In 1485, after the Wars of the Roses, the property was returned to the family.

Clifford was married to Margaret Bromflete (1443–12 April 1493), daughter of Henry Bromflete, 1st Baron Vescy , with whom he had three sons and a daughter:

  • Henry Clifford , who had the title restored to 10th Baron in 1485;
  • Richard Clifford;
  • Sir Thomas Clifford;
  • Elizabeth Clifford, ⚭ Sir Robert Aske.

In his drama Heinrich VI. tells Shakespeare, with reference to Hall's Chronicle and Holinshed's Chronicles , how Edmund begs for his life after the Battle of Wakefield and is then killed by Clifford. This scene does not correspond to historical truth as Shakespeare incorrectly portrays Edmund as a young child.

Literature and web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 2, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 12.
  2. ↑ Douglas Richardson: Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families . Kimball G. Everingham IV, pp. 98-99
predecessor Office successor
Thomas Clifford Baron de Clifford
1455-1461 		Title forfeited
(from 1485: Henry Clifford )
personal data
SURNAME Clifford, John, 9th Baron de Clifford
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH April 8, 1435
PLACE OF BIRTH Conisborough Castle , England
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1461
Place of death Ferrybridge