John of Gaunt

The English soldier-statesman John of Gaunt (1340-1399), 5th Duke of Lancaster, played an active part in military and political affairs.

Born in March 1340, John of Gaunt was the fourth son of Edward III and received his name from his birthplace, Ghent. He was created Earl of Richmond in September 1342. Trained in military skills, at the age of 19 he took part in an expedition to France, and on May 19, 1359, he married Blanche, younger daughter and coheiress of Henry of Lancaster. Through this marriage he was created Earl of Derby in April 1362 and in November Duke of Lancaster.

For the next years Lancaster was active in various military campaigns, serving under his brother Edward the Black Prince in Spain in 1367, as captain of Calais 2 years later, and in 1371 as lieutenant of Aquitaine. After the death of his first wife in September 1369, he married Constance of Castile in 1372, surrendered his title of Earl of Richmond, and assumed the title of king of Castile.

Upon his return to England Lancaster took an active part in politics as head of the court party that was opposed by the "Good Parliament" of 1376. At the same time he supported John Wyclif and protected him from the Londoners at the Council of London the following year. With the accession of Richard II in 1377, Lancaster had great influence at court, advising on the French war, serving on the Scottish border and making a truce there in 1380, and serving on several commissions the following year to deal with the rebellion of 1381 and the reform of the royal household.

Lancaster continued to serve Richard II in other roles: negotiating peace with France and dealing with the Scottish border. But in 1385 he fought with the King and, though reconciled, continued to serve as a mediator between the King and his opponents. In 1388 he was made lieutenant of Guienne and in 1390 Duke of Aquitaine, but he failed to have the latter claim recognized. After he married his daughter Catherine to Henry of Castile, he gave up the claims to the kingship of that country, and after effecting a reconciliation between the Duke of Gloucester and Richard, Lancaster retired from active politics. With the death of his second wife, in 1396 he married Catherine Swynford. He died in early February, 1399.

After Lancaster's death Richard seized his estates, which caused Lancaster's son, Henry of Bolingbroke, to claim the throne as Henry IV. The children of his last marriage, known as the Beauforts by patent in 1397, were the line through which Henry Tudor (Henry VII) claimed the throne.

Further Reading

The standard biography of John of Gaunt is Sydney Armitage-Smith, John of Gaunt (1905; repr. 1964). Information on the period can be found in Sir James H. Ramsay, Genesis of Lancaster (1913), and May McKisack, The Fourteenth Century (1959). □

John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt =Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (1361) and duke (1362) of Lancaster. The Lancaster holdings made him the wealthiest and one of the most influential nobles in England. He served under his brother, Edward the Black Prince , in the Hundred Years War and went (1367) on his campaign to aid Peter the Cruel of Castile. After the death of Blanche he married (1371) Peter's daughter, Constance, and thus gained a claim to the Castilian throne. When the Black Prince became ill during the French campaign of 1370–71, John took chief command. In 1373 he led his army from Calais to Bordeaux, but the expedition accomplished little. After a truce was reached (1375) he returned to England, where he allied himself with the corrupt court party led by Alice Perrers, mistress of the aging Edward III. For a short time John of Gaunt in effect ruled England. His party was temporarily dislodged from power by the Good Parliament of 1376, but John was soon able to restore his friends and assembled a hand-picked Parliament in 1377. Hostility to the strong clerical party, led by William of Wykeham , caused him to support the movement of John Wyclif . After the accession (1377) of his nephew, Richard II , John remained the most powerful figure in the government, but he devoted himself primarily to military matters. In 1386, allied with John I of Portugal, who married one of his daughters, he led an expedition to make good his Castilian claims against John I of Castile. John of Gaunt finally agreed to peace in 1388, transferred his claims to his daughter by Constance of Castile, and married her to the future Henry III of Castile. He returned to England in 1389, was made duke of Aquitaine, and helped to restore peace between Richard II and the hostile barons led by Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester . In 1396, John of Gaunt married Catherine Swynford, many years his mistress, and had his children by her, under the name of Beaufort, declared legitimate. He died soon after the king had exiled his eldest son, the duke of Hereford (later Henry IV , first of the royal line of Lancaster). John is also remembered as the patron of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

Bibliography: See biography by S. Armitage-Smith (1904, repr. 1964); J. R. Hulbert, Chaucer's Official Life (1912, repr. 1970).

John of Gaunt (1340–99) English noble, Duke of Lancaster (1362–99), fourth son of Edward III and father of Henry IV. In 1359 he acquired the Lancastrian estates through marriage to Blanche. John fought under his brother, Edward the Black Prince, in the Hundred Years' War. His second marriage to Constance, daughter of Peter of Castile, gained him a claim to the throne of Castile. John was effective ruler of England during the senility of his father and the minority of Richard II. He supported the religious reforms of John Wycliffe

John of Gaunt (1340–99), duke of Lancaster, the fourth son of Edward III and father of Henry IV, named from his birthplace Ghent (Gaunt). He was the dominant figure in English politics during much of the reign of Richard II, the employer of Wyclif, and the patron of Chaucer. He is a major figure in Shakespeare's Richard II.

John of Gaunt see John of Gaunt .

Gaunt, John of, see John of Gaunt.