'My Well-Beloved Companion': Men, Women, Marriage and Power in The
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When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES History ‘My Well-Beloved Companion’: Men, Women, Marriage and Power in the Earldom and Duchy of Lancaster, 1265-1399 by Rebecca Holdorph Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2016 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES History Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ‘MY WELL-BELOVED COMPANION’: MEN, WOMEN, MARRIAGE AND POWER IN THE EARLDOM AND DUCHY OF LANCASTER, 1265-1399 Rebecca Elizabeth Holdorph Contemporary debate about what marriage is and who should be allowed to enter into it is often based in assumptions about ‘traditional’ historical marriage. The study of marriage in the Middle Ages is particularly relevant: this period saw the emergence of the establishment of many marriage patterns that exist today. Scholarly work on marriage in the Middle Ages has generally focused on the middle and lower classes. Where it has examined elite society, previous literature has often focused only on landed wealth and politics as motives for marriage. This thesis addresses this gap. By exploring how one aristocratic family created and experienced marriage across five generations, I provide an in-depth examination of elite marriage in the medieval period. To that end, I have focused on three major questions: why did the elite classes marry? What was marriage like and what defined a ‘successful’ marriage? What were marriage’s legacies, in the short and long term? The earldom and duchy of Lancaster provides a strong case study to use in answering these questions. As some of the most influential figures of their day, members of this family – both men and women – appear frequently in historical records. The duchy’s absorption of the crown following Henry IV’s accession in 1399 has meant that extant documentation in The National Archives is unusually rich. In addition to these records, I have analysed other evidence, including literature, chronicles and material evidence. I argue that in this family, marriage was a considerably more complicated than is usually appreciated. Motives for marriage extended beyond the acquisition of land or power. They included specific political ambitions, the need to reinforce a weak line of succession, the desire for security, and even love. Most couples had a decent personal relationship, and some developed deep affection for each other. What was perhaps more important, however, were the relationships – with in-laws, step-families, or rulers – that emerged as a result of marriage. These connections were not a mere by-product of marriage, but rather one of its most important functions. Marriages had important legacies. Memorialisation strategies can reflect the quality of a relationship in life, as well as a family’s needs after a spouse’s death. In the longer term, marriage facilitated the creation of networks or claims that could last for generations. This thesis adds new knowledge on the creation and experience of marriage for the elite classes of late medieval England, as well as the public and private lives of those in elite society. By shedding light on marriage’s past, I contribute to understandings of the present and future of this enduring and universal relationship. Table of Contents Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................................... i List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................................ iii DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................. vii Definitions and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ ix Introduction Marriage .................................................................................................................................................................... 1 The House of Lancaster ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Appendix A: Lancastrian Marriages, 1265-1399 .............................................................................................. 15 Appendix B: Marriages of other children (Lancastrian children in italics) .................................................. 16 Appendix C: Age at First Marriage (36 marriages) .......................................................................................... 19 Appendix D: Women’s Age at First and Last Child (16 women) ................................................................. 19 Appendix E: Time before Remarriage in Men and Women .......................................................................... 20 Chapter One 1.1 Edmund of Lancaster and Blanche of Artois ............................................................................................ 21 1.2 Thomas of Lancaster, Alice de Lacy and the Legacy of Lancastrian Marriage .................................... 34 Appendix 1.A – English earldoms, 1200-1312 ................................................................................................ 62 Appendix 1.B – Property Granted to Alice de Lacy, 1322 ............................................................................ 65 Chapter Two 2.1 Henry of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth ................................................................................................... 78 2.2 Henry of Grosmont and Isabella de Beaumont ........................................................................................ 89 2.3 Henry of Lancaster’s Daughters ................................................................................................................ 100 Appendix 2.A: Remarriage and Widowhood in the House of Lancaster .................................................. 116 Chapter Three 3.1 John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster ................................................................................................. 120 3.2 John of Gaunt and Constance of Castile .................................................................................................. 131 3.3 John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford .................................................................................................. 145 Appendix 3.A: Split of the Lancaster inheritance, 1361 ............................................................................... 166 Appendix 3.B: Expenses Pertaining to a Memorial for Blanche of Lancaster, 1374 ............................... 169 Chapter Four 4.1 Henry of Bolingbroke and Mary de Bohun ............................................................................................. 174 Appendix 4.A Split of the Bohun Inheritance ............................................................................................... 197 Appendix 4.B Men who Served Humphrey de Bohun and Gaunt/an Appellant ................................... 212 Conclusion Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................................... 229 i ii List of Figures Figure 1 House of Lancaster descent ........................................................................................................... 10 Figure 2 Line of Descent, Henry III to Edward III .................................................................................. 21 Figure 3 Entangled European Marriage Alliances, 1200-1308 ................................................................. 25 Figure 4 Henry of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth's property around Wales, c. 1292. ........................ 81 Figure 5 Descent from Henry of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth........................................................... 89 Figure 6 Property of Thomas Wake near the Pickering ..........................................................................102 Figure 7 Eleanor of Lancaster and Richard Fitzalan's tomb in Chichester Cathedral .......................113 Figure 8 Partition of Henry of Grosmont's lands ....................................................................................122 Figure 9 John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster's tomb in Old St Paul's Cathedral ......................125 Figure 11 Drawing of Gaunt's surcoat as it appeared on his effigy, 1658 ............................................126