Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and ''jure uxoris'' Earl of Ulster (1 February 135227 December 1381) was the son of

Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March Sir Roger de Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, 4th Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, KG (11 November 132826 February 1360) was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was the son of Sir Edmund Mortimer (d. 1331) an ...

, by his wife Philippa, daughter of William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Catherine Grandison.

Early life

An infant at the death of his father, Edmund, as a ward of the crown, was placed by

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

under the care of

William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of wor ...

and Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel. The position of the young earl, powerful on account of his possessions and hereditary influence in the Welsh marches, was rendered still more important by his marriage on 24 August 1369 at the age of 17 to the 14-year-old

Philippa Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or " horses' friend". Common alternative spellings include ''Filippa'' and ''Phillipa''. Less common is ''Filipa'' and even ''Philippe'' (cf. the French spelling of '' Philippa of Guelder ...

, the only child of the late

Lionel of Antwerp Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, (; 29 November 133817 October 1368) was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of the English king Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. He was named after his birthplace, at Antwerp in the Duc ...

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England. The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...

, the second son of Edward III. Lionel's late wife, Elizabeth, had been daughter and heiress of

William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster William de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster and 4th Baron of Connaught (; ; 17 September 1312 – 6 June 1333) was an Irish noble who was Lieutenant of Ireland (1331) and whose murder, aged 20, led to the Burke Civil War. Background The grandso ...

, and Lionel had himself been created Earl of Ulster before his marriage. Edmund inherited the title Earl of Ulster on Lionel's death. Therefore, the Earl of March not only represented one of the chief

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

lordships in Ireland in right of his wife Philippa, but Philippa's line was also the second most senior line of descent in the succession to the crown, after

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

and his son, King

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, younger brother of Prince Edward, had become the 1st

Duke of Lancaster The Dukedom of Lancaster is an English peerage merged into the crown. It was created three times in the Middle Ages, but finally merged in the Crown when Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413. Despite the extinction of the dukedom the title ...

and thus the source of the

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 126 ...

's claim to the throne. This marriage had, therefore, far-reaching consequences in English history, ultimately giving rise to the claim of the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of Yor ...

to the crown of England contested in the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

between the Yorks and the Lancasters;

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

being descended from the second adult son of Edward III as the great-great-grandson of Philippa, countess of March, and in the male line from

Edmund of Langley Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (5 June 1341 – 1 August 1402) was the fourth surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Like many medieval English princes, Edmund gained his nickname from his birthplace: Kings Lang ...

, the first Duke of York and the fourth adult son of Edward III. Edmund Mortimer's son Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March would become

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to the English crown during the reign of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

Political advancement

Mortimer, now styled Earl of March and Ulster, became

Marshal of England Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the ei ...

in 1369, and was employed in various diplomatic missions during the next following years. He was a member of the committee appointed by the Peers to confer with the Commons in 1373the first instance of such a joint conference since the institution of representative parliaments on the question of granting supplies for

's war in France. He participated in the opposition to Edward III and the court party, which grew in strength towards the end of the reign, taking the popular side and being prominent in the

Good Parliament The Good Parliament is the name traditionally given to the English Parliament of 1376. Sitting in London from April 28 to July 10, it was the longest Parliament up until that time. It took place during a time when the English court was perceived ...

of 1376 among the lords who supported the Prince of Wales and opposed the Court Party and John of Gaunt. The

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in this parliament was March's steward,

Peter de la Mare Sir Peter de la Mare (died after 1387) was an English politician and Speaker of the House of Commons during the Good Parliament of 1376. Family His parents were probably Sir Reginald de la Mare (died before 1358), of Yatton and Little Heref ...

, (1294-1387 of Little Hereford, Hereford), who firmly withstood John of Gaunt in stating the grievances of the Commons, in supporting the impeachment of several high court officials, and in procuring the banishment of the king's mistress,

Alice Perrers Alice Perrers, also known as Alice de Windsor (circa 1348 –1400) was an English royal mistress, lover of Edward III, King of England. As a result of his patronage, she became the wealthiest and most influential woman in the country. She ...

. March was a member of the administrative council appointed by the same parliament after the death of

to attend the king and advise him in all public affairs. Following the end of the Good Parliament, its acts were reversed by John of Gaunt, March's steward was jailed, and March himself was ordered to inspect

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

and other remote royal castles as part of his duty as Marshal of England. March chose instead to resign from the post.Tout

Sent to govern Ireland

On the accession of Richard II, a minor, in 1377, the Earl became a member of the standing council of government; though as the husband of the heir-presumptive to the crown he wisely refrained from claiming any actual administrative office. The richest and most powerful person in the realm was, however, the king's uncle

, whose jealousy led March to accept the office of

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

in 1379. March succeeded in asserting his authority in eastern Ulster, but failed to subdue the

O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long r ...

farther west. Proceeding to

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

to put down the turbulent southern chieftains, March was killed at

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

on 27 December 1381. He was buried in

Wigmore Abbey Wigmore Abbey was an abbey of Canons Regular with a Wigmore Abbey Grange, grange, from 1179 to 1530, situated about a mile (2 km) north of the village of Wigmore, Herefordshire, Wigmore, Herefordshire, England: grid reference SO 410713. Onl ...

, of which he had been a benefactor, and where his wife Philippa was also interred.

Children

The earl had two sons and two daughters: * Elizabeth (1371–1417), married Henry "Hotspur" Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, and had issue. She may have later married Thomas de Camoys, 1st Baron Camoys and had issue. *

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

(1374–1398), succeeded him as 4th Earl of March and Ulster; married Alianore Holland and had issue. *

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

(1376–1409), married

Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr (died 1413) was one of the daughters (probably the eldest) of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr, and her marriage to a claimant on the English throne was used by her father to gain support. Biography Catrin is one of ...

and had issue. *Philippa (1375–1401), married firstly John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke; after his death in 1389 she became the second wife of

Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel, 9th Earl of Surrey, KG (1346 – 21 September 1397) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Lineage Born in 1346, he was the son of Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of ...

; she married thirdly Sir Thomas Poynings, 5th Baron St John of Basing.Douglas Richardson, ''Plantagenet Ancestry'', pg 320, 570.

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, Edmund, 3rd Earl of March 1352 births 1381 deaths Mortimer Mortimer Ulster, Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of

Lords Lieutenant of Ireland