John Scudamore (politician, around 1380)

Sir John Scudamore (also John Skydemore ) (* around 1380, † after 1436) was an English nobleman, military man and politician. He was the son-in-law of the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndŵr and had a long career as a soldier and as a public official.

origin

Scudamore's origins are unclear, but the center of his extensive holdings was near Kentchurch in Herefordshire, not far from the border with Monmouthshire in Welsh . He probably came from a gentry family , which has been recorded in the area of ​​the Welsh Marches since the early 12th century and probably a son of Sir John Skydemore from Kentchurch and Alice, a daughter of Sir Walter Bredwardine from Herefordshire.

Follower of the Barons Talbot

It is believed that Scudamore began his career in the service of Gilbert Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot , who promised him a lifetime payment of £ 2 in 1387. Gilbert's son Richard Talbot promised him an additional £ 3 a year. After the death of Richard Talbot, King Richard II appointed Scudamore Constable of Goodrich Castle in 1396 while Richard Talbot's son Gilbert was a minor . When Gilbert Talbot came of age in 1403, Scudamore likely remained his henchman and served him in 1411 as a steward of Archenfield . In addition, Scudamore William Beauchamp, Lord of Abergavenny , served in 1393 and 1398 as steward of the city of Abergavenny . In 1395 Scudamore had married Alys, a daughter of the Welsh nobleman Owain Glyndŵr.

Supporter of King Richard II.

In September 1396 Scudamore entered the service of King Richard II as King's Esquire and represented Herefordshire in 1397 as Knight of the Shire in the House of Commons . In November 1398 he was on the council of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter , the king's half-brother. In October 1397 and July 1398 Scudamore occupied lands by Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester , one of the Lord Appellants , in the western Midlands , Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.

During the Owain Glyndŵr Rebellion, Scudamore successfully defended Carreg Cennen Castle from the rebels in 1403

Administrator of King Henry IV in South Wales

Although he had thus clearly stood on the side of the king during the tyranny of Richard II, Scudamore retained his position even after the fall of Richard II and the accession of Henry IV. Presumably he had a good relationship with Henry IV ever since had served him in 1393 and 1394 as assistant steward of Breconshire . In the autumn of 1400 Scudamore accompanied Henry IV on his campaign to Scotland. On May 28, 1401, as King's esquire, he received an annual salary of 20 marks . Two days later, the King appointed him lifelong steward of his Welsh reign, Kidwelly, and in October 1401, commandant of Carreg Cennen Castle in South Wales. At this point, his father-in-law Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion was widening, leaving Scudamore in a difficult position. Despite his family ties to Glyndŵr, Scudamore remained a loyal supporter of the king. When the rebels overran Carmarthenshire in July 1403 and attacked Kidwelly Castle in August , Scudamore retreated to Carreg Cennen Castle. On July 4th, he met his father-in-law at Dryslwyn Castle to seek safe conduct for his wife and their mother, Glyndŵr's daughter and wife. Glyndŵr refused this request. Then Scudamore Carreg Cennen Castle was able to successfully defend against the attacks of the rebels. His relative Philip Scudamore , on the other hand, joined the rebellion, which, together with his relationship with Glyndŵr, led to an indictment against Scudamore of stolen goods and aiding the rebels in August 1405. However, the charges were clearly dismissed and Scudamore retained his positions. In September 1404 he had already become constable of Grosmont Castle and was able to repel an attack by the rebels here too. In gratitude, the king appointed him lifelong constable of the royal Carmarthen castle on April 22, 1405 . In October 1405 he took part in a campaign by Sir Richard Arundell against the rebels in South Wales and was made a Knight Bachelor . In November 1408 he was granted a lifelong right to use land in Carmarthenshire that the king had confiscated from rebels. However, his administration was not without controversy. In September 1413 he was accused by several citizens of Glyndr of abuse of power, corruption and embezzlement of taxes. In October 1413, he survived an attempted murder by Henry Dwnn , a former supporter of Glyndŵr, in an ambush near Carmarthen.

According to tradition, after the failure of the rebellion in 1413, Owain Glynd aufr spent the last years of his life incognito on Monnington Straddle , an estate in Scudamore, where he died around 1416.

The ruins of Grosmont Castle, which Scudamore defended against the rebels in 1404

Country nobles in Herefordshire and fighting in France

In addition to his varied offices in South Wales, Scudamore did not neglect his position in his native Herefordshire. In 1405 Sir John Chandos enfeoffed him with Wellington and Fownhope . In 1409 he was sheriff of Herefordshire and after his tenure in 1410 again Knight of the Shire for Herefordshire in parliament, as well as in the two parliaments of 1414. After he had given up his office as steward of Kidwelly in 1415, he broke in July 1415 with four Men-at-arms and twelve archers went to France to take part in King Henry V's campaign. He took part in the siege of Harfleur and then remained under Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Dorset as captain of the crew in the conquered city. After Beaufort lost all horses in a raid in Normandy in March 1416, in which Scudamore was believed to have taken part, he was sent to England to ask for reinforcements and supplies. Presumably he returned to Harfleur afterwards before returning to England in the autumn of 1418. In 1422 he was named again as the commander of the port of Harfleur.

In England he began a feud with Malcolm Walwyn over Longford near Leominster , whose owner Thomas Walwyn had died in 1415. Scudamore occupied the estate by force in 1418, but the king finally forgave it to John Merbury in July 1419 . At the same time, Scudamore began an argument with Robert Brut , a cousin of his son's father-in-law. Scudamore's son John had married Margaret, the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Brut , but Robert Brut claimed part of the inheritance for himself. The dispute was dealt with from 1422 before the royal court, which initially also handed over the disputed property to John Merbury for administration, before they were finally awarded to Scudamore's son after 1423. In the parliaments of 1419, May 1421 and 1423 Scudamore was again Knight of the Shire for Herefordshire. He presumably took part in the campaign of Henry V in France with his son from April 1422, but they probably returned to south Wales after the king's death in August.

Minion of the Duke of Gloucester

In February 1423 Scudamore was confirmed as constable of Carmarthen Castle and in June he was again steward of the Duchy of Lancaster for Kidwelly. Between 1424 and 1426 he was sheriff of Carmarthenshire, and in August 1425 was additionally steward of Monmouth and the three castles White Castle , Grosmont and Skenfrith . He was thus one of the most influential officials in South Wales, and this position he probably owed to his good relations with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester , the Lord Protector of England. In 1429 he was enfeoffed with Dryslwyn Castle and in 1430 he and his son-in-law Gruffudd Dwnn became administrators of lands in Carmarthenshire. In April 1431 he was assistant legal counsel for South Wales. That year he was again Sheriff of Herefordshire. At the beginning of 1433 Gruffudd ap Nicolas became his representative as steward of Kidwelly . In 1426, 1429 and 1433 Scudamore was again MP for Herefordshire.

Loss of office and death

In 1433 his career came to an abrupt end. After the start of the rebellion of his father-in-law Owain Glyndŵr, his property had been awarded to John Beaufort in 1400 , but he was unable to take possession of them during the rebellion. His son and heir, John Beaufort, was captured by the French in 1421 and was not released again until 1438. This allowed Scudamore to take possession of his father-in-law's lands. In 1430 he wanted to contest the ostracism of his father-in-law posthumously and officially claimed the transfer of Glyndyfrdwy and Sycharth . This provoked resistance from Beaufort's brother Edmund Beaufort in Parliament of 1433 . In a first petition Beaufort denied Scudamore's claims, and in a second he invoked a law passed by Owain Glyndŵr during the 1402 rebellion, prohibiting an Englishman married to a Welsh woman from holding public office. Beaufort's uncle Cardinal Henry Beaufort supported his nephew so that these requests were granted. On August 8, 1433 Scudamore, whose wife Alys was Welsh, lost all his public offices, on August 12 he was removed from his offices in the Duchy of Lancaster. Edmund Beaufort was entrusted to his offices of Duchy of Lancaster. Since Beaufort, as a high-ranking nobleman and a military man, rarely stayed in Wales, his representative Gruffudd ap Nicolas became one of the most powerful officials in Wales. Scudamore, however, is mentioned in 1436 in the retinue of Richard of York , an opponent of Beaufort.

Family and offspring

From his marriage to Alys, the daughter of Owain Glyndŵr and Margaret Hanmer, he had at least two children:

• John Scudamore
• Joan ⚭ Gruffudd Dwnn

Web links

• Charles Kightly: SKYDEMORE, John (d.1434 / 5), of Kentchurch, Herefs. (History of Parliament online)
• Thomas Jones Pierce: SCUDAMORE family, of Herefordshire (Welsh Biography Online)

Individual evidence

1. ^ David Walker: Medieval Wales . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990, ISBN 0-521-31153-5 , p. 178.
2. ↑ Ralph Alan Griffiths: King and Country. England and Wales in the fifteenth century . Hambledon, London 1989, ISBN 1-85285-018-3 , p. 189.
3. ↑ Ralph Alan Griffiths: The Reign of King Henry VI. The exercice of royal authority, 1422-1461 . University of California Press, Berkeley 1981, ISBN 0-520-04372-3 , p. 97.
4. ↑ Malcolm Mercer: Medieval Gentry. Power, Leadership and Choice During the Wars of the Roses . Continuum, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-4411-8031-5 , p. 41.
5. ^ Francis Jones: Historic Carmarthenshire Homes, and Their Families . Brawdy, Dinas (Newport), 1997, ISBN 0-9528344-1-3 , p. 145