John Botetourt, 1st Baron Botetourt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coat of arms of John Botetourt

John Botetourt, 1st Baron Botetourt (* around 1265 - † November 25, 1324 ) was an English nobleman and military man. From a relatively simple background, he rose to an important admiral and an influential baron.

Origin and advancement through service in the royal household

Despite Botetourt's later rise, its exact origin is unclear. For an entry in the Chronicle of Hailes Abbey , he could be an illegitimate son of King Edward I have been. However, this is very unlikely and is not supported by anything. Probably Botetourt was the eldest son of Guy Botetourt († around 1316) and his wife Ada . His parents lived in Little Ellingham in Norfolk , with Roger, Robert, Guy, Ralph and Thomas he had at least five brothers, possibly William was another brother of his. In the 1270s, Botetourt served as a falconer in the royal household. Before Christmas 1284 he was knighted. As a knight of the royal household, he served in Gascogne , which belonged to the English kings in 1286 and 1288 , where Edward I stayed during those years. To this end, he was entrusted with numerous other, different tasks.

Rise to baron and service in the military

As a reward, Botetourt was given various offices in the Welsh Marches , including in January 1291 the office of administrator of St Briavels Castle in Gloucestershire . In 1292 the king, who was otherwise very reluctant to donate land, gave him Drayton in Shropshire . In the following years he was a member of several court committees. Through his marriage Botetourt acquired estates in Bedfordshire , Suffolk , Essex and Worcestershire no later than 1292 . Through his wife's legacy, Botetourt shifted the focus of its activities from the Welsh Marches to East Anglia , especially Essex. In March 1294 he was assigned to oversee Dutch seamen accused of piracy and during the Franco-English War in November 1294 he served as sub-commander of a squadron operating from Great Yarmouth . In July 1295 he was sent to Gascony with minor reinforcements. After his return in March 1297 he was charged with the defense of individual East English ports and finally with the defense of the entire East English coast. In 1298 he rose to the knight banneret of the royal household. Through his services he was able to acquire further property in Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire , so that he was called up by the king himself to serve in the war from the end of the 13th century. Together with his brother Guy he took part in the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 during the Scottish War of Independence . In 1300 he belonged to the army that besieged Caerlaverock Castle . In the next few years he fought, not always successfully, as a military in Scotland. In July 1303, he served as a defender of the Western Scottish Marches , with the assistance of Robert Bruce . After he rebelled against English rule and rose to the rank of King of Scots in March 1306, Botetourt took part in the pursuit of the fugitive Bruce. In the hope of being able to capture Bruce there, he conquered Dunaverty Castle in West Scotland together with John Menteith in September 1306 . Bruce had actually been to the castle before, but fled to the West Scottish islands before the siege began. During the further fight against Bruce he led two Chevauchées to Nithsdale, Scotland, in February and March 1307 . By Writ of Summons he was first appointed to a parliament in 1305 , making him Baron Botetourt , and he was a member of the King's Privy Council .

Opposition stance during the reign of Edward II.

After the death of Edward I in July 1307, Botetourt did not serve his son and successor Edward II with the same loyalty. As early as January 31, 1308, he was one of the five barons who sealed the Boulogne Declaration , which was a veiled test of several magnates against the influence of the royal favorite Piers Gaveston . Thereupon the king released him in March 1308 as constable of St Briavels Castle. In the summer of 1310 Botetourt traveled several times as the barons' envoy to the king in Berwick to mediate in the conflict between the king and the aristocratic opposition. In 1311 he continued to serve as an intermediary, but on June 10, 1312 he was in Deddington , where the Earl of Warwick seized the captured Gaveston, and apparently shortly afterwards he approved the execution of Gavestons by the Earl of Lancaster and other magnates. From August 1312 Botetourt was one of the negotiators of the barons, who negotiated an understanding with the king with the cardinals Arnaud Nouvel and Arnaud of Poitiers and the French prince Louis de Évreux . On December 20, he sealed the agreement in London with the agreement that the cardinals and the representatives of the barons had negotiated. However, due to the disagreement of the barons, negotiations dragged on until October 1313, before Botetourt and other magnates were formally pardoned by the king.

For the next few years, Botetourt served the king loyally. Like other nobles, he concluded an agreement with the king according to which he served a certain number of men-at-arms in return for regular payments in case of war . After the English defeat at Bannockburn in October 1314 he was leader of an embassy negotiating with the Scots at Durham , and in March 1315 he was appointed admiral of the East English fleet. This made him the second English naval commander after William of Leybourne to carry the title of admiral. In this role he succeeded in effectively blocking the Scottish ports, whereupon wheat prices rose sharply in Scotland. Over the next several years he served on several judicial commissions in East Anglia. From August 1, 1318 he was a member of the negotiating delegation that mediated a compromise between the King and the Earl of Lancaster, whereupon the Treaty of Leake was concluded on August 9 . At the end of 1318, the Parliament in York appointed Botetourt as one of the seven other barons who were to belong to the Council of State formed under the Treaty of Leake. However, in 1322 he supported the Earl of Lancaster's rebellion against the king. He took part in the Battle of Boroughbridge in March 1322 , in which royal troops decisively defeated the rebels, and then fled abroad. His eldest son could buy his pardon for a heavy fine.

Marriage, offspring and inheritance

Possibly as early as 1282, at the latest before 1292, Botetourt Maud (around 1269-1328), a daughter of Thomas fitz Otho and his wife Beatrice de Beauchamp married. She inherited a third of the Barony of Bedford from her father in 1285. With her, Botetourt had four sons and three daughters:

  • Thomas Botetourt († July 1322) ⚭ Joan de Somery
  • John Botetourt
  • Otes Botetourt
  • Robert Botetourt
  • Joan Botetourt ⚭ William Latimer, 3rd Baron Latimer
  • Ada Botetourt († 1349) ⚭ (1) Sir John de Saint Philibert, ⚭ (2) Sir Richard Fitz-Simon
  • Elizabeth Botetourt ⚭ Robert de Ufford († 1368)

Since Botestourt's eldest son Thomas had died before him, his eldest son John (around 1317-1339) became heir of the title and its estates in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Huntingdonshire.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 131.
  2. ^ A b Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 153.
  3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 384.
  4. ↑ Michael Prestwich: War, politics, and finance under Edward I . Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa 1972, ISBN 0-87471-116-9 , p. 55.
  5. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 201.
  6. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 232.
  7. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 510.
  8. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 437.
  9. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 73.
  10. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 77.
  11. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 116.
  12. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 128.
  13. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 134.
  14. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 137.
  15. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 152.
  16. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 149.
  17. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 151.
  18. ^ Nicholas Harris Nicolas: A history of the royal navy, from the earliest times to the wars of the french revolution (1847), Volume 1, p. 398.
  19. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 168.
  20. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 92.
  21. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 231.
predecessor Office successor
New title created Baron Botetourt
1305-1324 		John Botetourt
personal data
SURNAME Botetourt, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman and military
DATE OF BIRTH around 1265
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 1324