Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton

Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton

Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton ( May 1601 - March 19, 1643 ) was an English general, politician and peer .

Life

Spencer Compton was a son of William Compton, 2nd Baron Compton , and attended Queen's College , Cambridge at a young age . In November 1616 he was beaten to Knight of the Bath as Prince of Wales on the occasion of the investiture of Crown Prince Karl, Duke of York .

In 1618 his father was raised to Earl of Northampton , Spencer Compton thus led the courtesy title of Lord Compton . In 1621 he married Mary Beaumont, a cousin of George Villiers , later Duke of Buckingham . There were eight children from the marriage.

Five years later, through Writ of Acceleration, he prematurely inherited the title of 3rd Baron Compton as an independent dignity and, associated with it, a seat in the House of Lords . In 1630 he inherited the dignity of an earl from his father. His marriage opened the English royal family to him and he accompanied the Duke of Buckingham and the Prince of Wales - who became King Charles I in 1625, and in 1623 on their trip to Madrid . The aim of this trip was the wedding preparations of Karl with the sister of the Spanish king. Compton became a close friend of Charles I, with whom he remained closely linked throughout his life.

He gained his first military experience during campaigns in continental Europe. When the English Civil War broke out , Compton became a military leader with the Royalists and, as Commissioner of Array, organized the levy in Warwickshire . In 1643 he became commander of the royalist troops in Warwickshire and Northamptonshire . After the fall of Lichfield , Compton gathered its units in front of the village of Hopton and placed the parliamentarians there under the leadership of Sir John Gell . It came to the battle of Hopton Heath . When the royalists' victory was already certain, Compton was caught by a group of MPs on horseback during a final attack. When he refused to surrender, he was pushed from his horse and beaten to death.

literature

• Martyn Bennett: The English Civil War. A Historical Companion. Stroud 2004, ISBN 0-7524-3186-2 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 160.

predecessor	Office	successor
William Compton	Earl of Northampton 1630-1643	James Compton
William Compton	Baron Compton 1626-1643	James Compton