Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter
Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter KG (* 1377 ; † December 31, 1426 ) was the third of the four children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his lover Catherine Swynford . It was legitimized in 1390 and again in 1397.
Live and act
He embarked on a military career and became Knight of the Garter after his half-brother Henry IV ascended the throne . In 1402 he became Constable of Ludlow , 1403 Admiral of the Northern Fleet, 1407 Captain of Calais and 1408 Admiral for life.
On January 31, 1410 he was appointed Lord Chancellor , a position he held until January 5, 1412. King Henry had problems with the clergy during this time. He then turned back to military affairs. In July 1411 he was appointed Earl of Dorset .
When Henry V became king, Thomas Beaufort was made Lieutenant of Aquitaine in 1413 and Captain of Harfleur in 1415 . He spent the next few years as a lieutenant in Normandy there . Eventually he was named Duke of Exeter for life in 1416 . He returned to England in 1417 when the king was staying in Normandy, but faced problems in Scotland.
In 1418 he returned to Normandy with a large army and took part in the sieges of Évreux , Ivry and Rouen . After the fall of Rouen in 1419, he was made captain of the city and conquered several smaller Norman cities. Also in 1419, after a six-month siege, he captured the fortress of Château-Gaillard , which is halfway between Paris and Rouen.
In 1420 he helped draft the Treaty of Troyes before he was captured in 1421 at the Battle of Baugé , in which his nephew Thomas of Lancaster fell.
From 1422, after the death of Henry V, he was one of the men who took over the business of government for King Henry VI , who was not yet of age . led.
He was married to Margaret Neville, daughter of Sir Thomas Neville of Horneby. Their only child, Heinrich Beaufort, died young.
Web links
- GL Harriss, Beaufort, Thomas, duke of Exeter (1377? -1426) , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 seen on October 23, 2011 License required
- Personal data on www.fmg.ac (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 85
- ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 427
- ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 429
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| New title created |
Duke of Exeter 1416-1426 |
Title expired |
| Thomas Arundel |
Lord Chancellor 1410-1412 |
Thomas Arundel |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beaufort, Thomas, 1st Duke of Exeter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Exeter, Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke of |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chancellor of England |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1377 |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 31, 1426 |