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John of Gaunt

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John of Gaunt (b.1340, d.1399), Duke of Lancaster, is one of the iconic historical figures of the 14th century, his influence extending into Britain’s early modern period. Though his name connotes a lean physical appearance, historians believe it is derived from his birthplace, Ghent, spelled Gaunt in Middle English (John of Gaunt). Shakespeare, however, portrays Gaunt as an old, thin man in Richard II, thus popularizing the perception of Gaunt as physically emaciated (Shakespeare 2.1.757–767).1 Alison Weir contributes to the convenient association of Gaunt’s name as a moniker for his physical appearance by describing him in Wars of the Roses as a tall, lean man (Weir 25). The associations of his name with supposed physical characteristics should not, however, overshadow the immense power Gaunt wielded in late medieval Britain, since his life was defined by political intrigue, wealth, and romance.
The political machinations surrounding Gaunt were put into motion with his birth. He was the third surviving son of Edward III and thus was an English prince as well as Earl of Richmond (Empson 13). He was knighted when he was just under sixteen years of age (Empson 14) and soon thereafter set off to the northern provinces of France to defend his father’s kingdom in battle, the first of many forays into French territory due to Edward’s enmity with John, King of France (Empson 16). In 1366, Gaunt left England for Bordeaux with an army of reinforcements consisting of 400 men-at-arms and 400 archers, fighting with his brother Prince Edward, The Black Prince, to assist Pedro, King of Castile (Empson 20). Their victory for King Pedro turned out to be a debacle, however, because Pedro refused to pay the English soldiers the money he had promised (Empson 22). Gaunt was still fighting France alongside his brother three years later when his beloved wife, Blanche, died. Gaunt then married Constance of Castile, the daughter of Pedro, in 1371 as a strategic political move to position himself as King of Castile, a claim that proved disastrous to [the] English since he continually wished to make expeditions to gain what he held to be his rights (Empson 24). These expeditions provoked the ire of the reigning monarch of Castile, Enrique of Transtamare, who then allied himself more closely with the King of France in revenge. Gaunt’s subsequent attempts to weaken France’s position as an adversary of England were largely unsuccessful (Empson 26).
Gaunt’s royal entanglements continued when his nephew, Richard II, became king of England in 1377 at ten years of age. Gaunt attempted to influence the unpopular king, mediating several outbreaks of hostility between Richard II and the followers of Thomas Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, who was Gaunt’s younger brother (John of Gaunt). John and Blanche’s oldest son, Henry Bolingbroke, deposed Richard II in 1399, asserting himself as King Henry IV—an action which made John of Gaunt a close relative of three Lancastrian monarchs: Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI (John of Gaunt).2
In addition to the legacy of nobility he inherited as both prince and earl, Gaunt also benefited materially from his marriage with Blanche, acquiring from her the duchy of Lancaster and its considerable holdings (John of Gaunt). Gaunt owned enormous estates scattered throughout England and France, thirty castles, and numerous manors (Weir 25).3 The Register also delineates an extensive retinue including treasurers (both for the household and for battles), attorneys, physicians, clerks, falconers, huntsmen, armourers, cooks, minstrels, and carpenters, all supervised by the Duke’s council, and by his auditors, who went on circuit throughout these vast and scattered possessions (John of Gaunt’s Register).
Kenilworth Castle and the Savoy Palace were two of his favourite residences, Savoy arguably the most ostentatious. Rivalling Westminster Palace, it had a magnificent banqueting hall with huge windows and opulent gardens along the banks of the Thames (Howes 126). Gaunt commonly hosted kings and other nobility at the Savoy. Seen as symbolic of the oppression of the poor by the wealthy nobility, the palace was mostly destroyed during the Peasant’s Revolt in 1381 (Weir 25). Ironically, its three-foot-ten-inch-thick stone walls served as the frame of a hospital for indigent people, built under the order of Henry VII in 1509 (Way 46).
In civilian life, Gaunt was a devoted patron of the arts and a close friend of Geoffrey Chaucer, to whom he paid an annuity (Strohm 34). When Blanche died, Gauntʼs intense mourning was likely the inspiration for Chaucer’s poem The Boke of Duchesse (Timbs 45). Gaunt’s legendary love, however, was Katherine Swynford—his mistress for around 25 years and eventual third wife (Weir 26). Swynford was the sister of Philippa le Picard, who was not only the pantrywoman to Blanche but also later became the wife of Geoffrey Chaucer (Weir 26). Swynford and Gaunt first met when she was a governess to his daughters (Weir 26). Much speculation exists concerning exactly when Gaunt and Swynford began their affair, but it was certainly going on when Gaunt married [his second wife] Constance (Weir 27). John of Gaunt ended his affair with Swynford for a time after Savoy Palace burned during the Peasant’s Revolt, since he believed the castle’s destruction to be evidence of God’s displeasure with their relationship (Weir 27). The Katherine Swynford Society, however, allows for the possibility that Gaunt and Swynford became more discrete about their relationship, while continuing the affair (Lady Katherine, Duchess of Lancaster). The pair finally married in 1396, and King Richard II legitimized their four children in 1397 (Burton).4 Their oldest son, John Beaufort, was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty (Lady Katherine, Duchess of Lancaster). Their second son, Henry, was a Catholic priest who eventually became a cardinal and one of the more influential men in the kingdom (Weir 27). Their third son, Thomas, was the Duke of Exeter and Earl of Dorset. Their daughter, Joan, was the Countess of Westmorland (Empson 69).
John of Gaunt died in 1399 at Leicester Castle. He was buried beside his first wife, Blanche, in St. Paul’s Cathedral (Lady Katherine, Duchess of Lancaster). Their tomb was likely destroyed along with St. Paul’s by the Great Fire of London in 1666 (Lady Katherine, Duchess of Lancaster).

Notes

  1. See Richard II: JOHN OF GAUNT. O how that name befits my composition! Old Gaunt indeed, and gaunt in being old: Within me grief hath kept a tedious fast; And who abstains from meat that is not gaunt? For sleeping England long time have I watch’d; Watching breeds leanness, leanness is all gaunt: The pleasure that some fathers feed upon, is my strict fast; I mean, my children’s looks; And therein fasting, hast thou made me gaunt: Gaunt am I for the grave, gaunt as a grave, Whose hollow womb inherits nought but bones (2.1.757–767). (JJ)↑
  2. Bolingbroke’s ascension to the throne of England as Henry IV helped lay the foundations for the later Wars of the Roses, though it was not the only cause of the conflict (Lady Katherine, Duchess of Lancaster). (JJ)↑
  3. John of Gaunt’s Register lists the counties in which he held estates, including but not limited to Kent, Sussex, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucester, Hereford, Monmouth, Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, Derby, and Warwick (John of Gaunt’s Register). (JJ)↑
  4. Swynford was about forty-six years old when she and Gaunt were married (Weir 26). (JJ)↑

References

  • Citation

    Burton, Edwin. Henry Beaufort Plantagenet. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Remediated by New Advent.

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    Empson, Charles William. John of Gaunt, His Life and Character. London: Ladies’ Printing P, 1874. Remediated by Google Books.

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    Howes, Laura L. Chaucer’s Forests, Parks, and Groves. The Chaucer Review 49.1 (2014): 125–133.

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  • Citation

    John, of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, 1340–1399. John of Gaunt’s Register, Ed. for the Royal Historical Society From the Original Ms. At the Public Record Office. London: Offices of the Society, 1911. Web.

    This item is cited in the following documents:

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    John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-of-Gaunt-duke-of-Lancaster.

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    Lady Katherine, Duchess of Lancaster. The Katherine Swynford Society Blog. http://katherineswynfordsociety.blogspot.com/.

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    Shakespeare, William. Richard II. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. 5th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2004. 740–83.

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    Strohm, Paul. Social Chaucer. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1989. Print.

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    Timbs, John. Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales: Their Legendary Lore, and Popular History. Frederick Warne, 1870. Print.

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    Way, Thomas R. Ancient Royal Palaces in and Near London. London: John Lane, 1902. Print.

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  • Citation

    Weir, Alison. The War of the Roses. New York: Random House, 1995. Print.

    This item is cited in the following documents:

Cite this page

MLA citation

Jackson, Jana, and Kate LeBere. John of Gaunt. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 30 Jun. 2021, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/GAUN2.htm.

Chicago citation

Jackson, Jana, and Kate LeBere. John of Gaunt. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Accessed June 30, 2021. mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/GAUN2.htm.

APA citation

Jackson, J., & LeBere, K. 2021. John of Gaunt. In J. Jenstad (Ed), The Map of Early Modern London (Edition 6.6). Victoria: University of Victoria. Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/editions/6.6/GAUN2.htm.

RIS file (for RefMan, RefWorks, EndNote etc.)

Provider: University of Victoria
Database: The Map of Early Modern London
Content: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

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PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/06/30
CY  - Victoria
PB  - University of Victoria
LA  - English
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/GAUN2.htm
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/xml/standalone/GAUN2.xml
ER  -

TEI citation

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