John of Gaunt

Introduction

John of Gaunt was born on 6th March 1340 in Ghent in Flanders and he died in Leicestershire in England on 3rd February 1399. He was the first Duke of Lancaster and Duke of Aquitaine.

He was the third surviving son of Edward III of Windsor, King of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault. During the nonage of his nephew Richard II and the period of political instability John had great influence over the English throne and the whole country. He acted in such a way that nobody thought that John would work against the king. He was always on the king's side.

John was married to three women Blanche of Lancaster in 1359, Constance of Castile in 1371 and Katherine Swynford in 1396. His affair with Katherine Swynford (1350-1403) who he married later is always associated with John of Gaunt as she was a commoner. When they got married the couple had already four illegitimate children who were born under the name of Beaufort. These children were later legitimised by King Richard II and the Pope but excluded from the succession to the throne.

Altogether John of Gaunt had ten children. Among them were Katharine of Lancaster, Henry Beaufort (Henry IV) and Cecily Neville who later gave birth toRichard III.

Family Relations

John of Gaunt is Edward III's son and Richard II's uncle. One of his own sons later becomes Henry IV. His grand-daughter Margarete Beaufort married Edmund Tudor which brought him directly into the Tudor line and the line of succession. John's brother is Prince Edward.

His Life

In 1359 John married his third cousin Blanche of Lancaster. Both were related to Henry III. In 1361 Blanche's father died and it was John who gained half of his land and the title Earl of Lancaster.

John joined his oldest brother Edward the Black Prince in 1366 in Aquitaine. He supported the King Pedro the Cruel of Castile and subsequently fought in the van at Najera in 1367. The success brought Pedro his throne back. In 1369, John was in command of an army which fought France but failed to conquer their enemy. One year later, he went back to France and joined Edward the Black Prince. When Edward fell ill and went home, John of Gaunt became his Lieutenant. He went on waging war at his own cost.

John’s wife Blanche died in 1369 at Bolingbroke Castle from Bubonic Plague while John was away at sea. In 1371, John married the daughter of King Peter of Castile (Pedro the Cruel), Constance of Castile, which gave him claim to the throne in Castile which he always intended to do but never did. He tried so for sixteen years. He thought of reaching his aim – the succession to the throne – with the invasion of France in 1373 but the French were strong enough to resist the attack on Calais, the Champagne, Burgundy and Auvergne, but only a small amount of soldiers finally reached Bordeaux in a shattered state.

John went to Spain in 1386 claiming the throne in Castile again. A crisis arose through Richard’s misrule brought the country nearly to a civil war in 1387. John returned in 1389 and reached a compromise between Richard II and the Lord Appellants which led to a period of stability from then on.

Instead of John, his daughter Katherine of Lancaster who married Henry III of Castile became King and Queen of Castile in 1390.

After Constance of Castile died in 1394, John of Gaunt married Katherine Swynford two years later in 1396. He died from natural causes three years later in 1399 at Leicester Castle. He was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Relationship to Geoffrey Chaucer

John of Gaunt and Geoffrey Chaucer were brothers-in-law as John’s third wife Katherine was sister of Chaucer’s wife Philippa de Roet. Chaucer’s book ‘Book of the Duchess’ which is also known as ‘The Deth of Blaunche’ refers to Blanche of Lancaster, John’s first wife. The poem deals with the Black Knight and the White Lady which is an allegory to John of Gaunt (the Black Knight) and Blanche of Lancaster, Blanche standing for white.

Media

King Richard the Second (1978, directed by David Giles)

Richard II (1997, directed by Deborah Warner)

Richard II (2003, BBC Live recording from the Globe Theatre London)

Further Links

< http://www.britannia.com/bios/royals/jgdklanc.html> (consulted: 28th May 2010)

< http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/john-of-gaunt.htm> (consulted: 28th May 2010)

Further Literature

Empson, Charles William. His Life and Character (1874). IndyPublish 2008.

Seyton, Anya. Katherine. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. 2004.

Shakespeare, William. Richard II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2000.

Weir, Alison. Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess. Vintage Books, 2008.

White, James. The Adventures of John of Gaunt. Duke of Lancaster. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2009.