coat of arms of Beaufort, earls and dukes of Somerset

Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (1406 – May 22, 1455), sometimes styled 2nd Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485 were a series of dynastic Civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of Lancaster and York The Hundred Years' War (Guerre de Cent Ans was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne vacant with the extinction of the senior

Life

Edmund Beaufort was the fourth son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Margaret Holland. John Beaufort 1st Earl of Somerset (1373 &ndash March 16, 1410) was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster Margaret Beaufort ( née Holland) Countess of Somerset (1385&ndash 30 Dec 1439 was the daughter of Thomas Holland 2nd Earl of Kent His paternal grandparents were John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Katherine Swynford. John of Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster (second creation 1st Duke of Aquitaine (6 March 1340 &ndash 3 February 1399 was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third Katherine Swynford (also spelled Synford) née (de Roet (also spelled (de Rouet or (de Roelt ( 25 November His maternal grandparents were Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and Alice Fitzalan. Thomas Holland 2nd Earl of Kent (1350&ndash April 25, 1397) was an English nobleman and a councillor of his half-brother Richard II. Alice was a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancaster. Richard FitzAlan "Copped Hat" 10th Earl of Arundel (9th Earl of Arundel per Ancestral Roots (c For persons named Eleanor of England see Eleanor of England (disambiguation Eleanor of Lancaster (sometimes called Eleanor

As a young man he was taken prisoner at the Battle of Baugé in 1420 and not released until 1427. The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco - Scots on March 21, 1421 in Baugé, France He became a commander in the English army in France in 1431. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. After his re-capture of Harfleur he was named a Knight of the Garter in 1436. Harfleur is a commune in the Seine-Maritime département of the Haute-Normandie region of northern France. The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients After subsequent success he was created Earl of Dorset (1442) and the next year Marquess of Dorset. The following year, (1444) he succeeded his brother John as 4th Earl of Somerset in 1444. John Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset 3rd Earl of Somerset (baptised March 25, 1404 &ndash May 27, 1444) was an English noble and military commander During the five year truce from 1444 to 1449 he served as Lieutenant of France.

Although head of the greatest family in the land his inheritance was worth only 300 pounds. By contrast his rival, Richard, Duke of York, had a net worth of 5,800 pounds. Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York ( 21 September 1411 &ndash 30 December 1460) was a member of the English royal family who served in senior King Henry's efforts to compensate Somerset with offices worth 3,000 pounds only served to offend many and as his quarrel with York grew more personal the dynastic situation got worse. Another quarrel with Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, over his right to enter the lordships of Glamorgan and Morgannwg, may have forced the leader of the younger Nevilles into York's camp. Richard Neville Jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and Suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury ( 22 November

Somerset's military failures left him vulnerable to criticism from the party led by Richard, Duke of York, and after hostilities began again in 1449 Somerset lost even more territory. Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York ( 21 September 1411 &ndash 30 December 1460) was a member of the English royal family who served in senior By the summer of 1450 the bulk of the English possessions in northern France were in French hands and the focus of the war now turned to Gascony, in the south of France. Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France Here the English were no more successful, losing all by 1453. Somerset's defeat at Castillon in 1453 ended his hopes.

Power had rested with Somerset from 1451 and was virtually monopolized by him until the king went insane and York was named Lord Protector. Lord Protector is a particular British title for Heads of State with two meanings (and full styles at different periods of history He imprisoned Somerset in the Tower of London and his life was probably saved only by the king's seeming recovery early in the New Year of 1455, which recovery forced York to surrender his office. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London

By now York was determined to depose Somerset by one means or another, and in May 1455 raised an army. He confronted Somerset and the king in an engagement known as the First Battle of St Albans which marked the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. The First Battle of St Albans was the first Battle of the Wars of the Roses and was fought on May 22, 1455 in the town of St Albans The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485 were a series of dynastic Civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of Lancaster and York Somerset was killed in a last wild charge from the house where he had been sheltering.

Family

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset married before 1436, Eleanor Beauchamp, widow of Thomas, 8th Lord Ros, daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Thomas, Lord Berkeley. Richard de Beauchamp 13th Earl of Warwick ( 23 January 1382 &ndash 30 April 1439) was an English Medieval nobleman and Eleanor was an older half-sister of Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick and Anne Neville, Countess of Warwick. Henry de Beauchamp 1st Duke of Warwick ( March 21, 1425 &ndash June 11, 1446) was an English nobleman Anne Neville Countess of Warwick née de Beauchamp ( 13 July 1426 - 20 September[[ 492]] was the daughter of Richard de Beauchamp 13th

Their unlicensed marriage was later pardoned on 7 March 1438, and they had the following children:

• Eleanor, who married first James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormonde and secondly Sir Robert Spencer. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus James Butler 1st Earl of Wiltshire and 5th Earl of Ormonde, KG was born on 24 November 1420.
• Elizabeth, died before 1472, married Sir Henry Fitz Lewis.
• Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (1436–1464), his successor
• Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford (bef. Henry Beaufort 3rd Duke of Somerset ( 26 January 1436 – 15 May 1464) was an important Lancastrian military commander during the English Margaret Beaufort (c 1427 — 1474 was a daughter of Edmund Beaufort 1st Duke of Somerset and Eleanor Beauchamp 1439–1474) (not to be confused with her cousin Lady Margaret Beaufort), who first married Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford, son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, by whom she was the mother of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and then married Sir Richard Darell. Lady Margaret Beaufort ( May 31, 1443 &ndash June 29, 1509) of the House of Lancaster was the mother of King Henry VII of Humphrey Stafford (b 1425 - d ? 22 May 1458) generally known by his courtesy title of Earl of Stafford was the son of Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke Humphrey Stafford 1st Duke of Buckingham KG ( 15 August 1402 &ndash 10 July 1460) was best-known as a military commander in the Henry Stafford 2nd Duke of Buckingham ( 4 September 1455 &ndash 2 November 1483) played a major role in Richard III of England 's
• Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset(c. Edmund Beaufort 4th Duke of Somerset (1438? &ndash May 6, 1471) was an English nobleman and military commander during the Wars of the Roses. 1439– 4 May 1471) Captured at the Battle of Tewkesbury and killed shortly afterwards. Background At the time of Tewkesbury the mentally-unstable Lancastrian king Henry VI of England, had just been deposed for a second time by his rival the Yorkist
• Anne Beaufort (c. 1453 – c. 1496), married William Paston, Esq.
• John Beaufort, styled Marquess of Dorset (c. 1455– 4 May 1471); Killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury
• Joan Beaufort died 11 August 1518. Background At the time of Tewkesbury the mentally-unstable Lancastrian king Henry VI of England, had just been deposed for a second time by his rival the Yorkist Wife firstly of Robert St. Lawrence, by whom she had a son, Nicholas St. Lawrence, and secondly Sir Richard Fry.
• Thomas Beaufort (c. 1455 – c. 1463)

References

Tipping, H. A. (1908). "Edmund Beaufort, second Duke of Somerset". Dictionary of National Biography 2. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 38-29.