John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk,
KG,
Earl Marshal
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 eig ...
(12 September 14156 November 1461) was a fifteenth-century English
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
who, despite having a relatively short political career, played a significant role in the early years of 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 English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
. Mowbray was born in 1415, the only son and heir of
John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, 3rd Earl of Nottingham, 8th Baron Mowbray, 9th Baron Segrave KG, Earl Marshal (139219 October 1432) was an English nobleman and soldier. He was a younger son of the first Duke of Norfolk and Lady Elizabeth ...
, and
Katherine Neville. He inherited his titles upon his father's death in 1432. As a
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
he became a
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of King
Henry VI and was placed under the protection of
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...
, alongside whom Mowbray would later campaign in France. He seems to have had an unruly and rebellious youth. Although the details of his misconduct are unknown, they were severe enough for the King to place strictures upon him and separate him from his followers. Mowbray's early career was spent in the military, where he held the wartime office of Earl Marshal. Later he led the defence of England's possessions in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
during the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
. He fought in Calais in 1436, and during 1437–38 served as
warden of the east march on the
Anglo-Scottish border
The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for 96 miles (154 km) between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to ...
, before returning to Calais.
Mowbray's marriage to Eleanor Bourchier in the early 1430s drew him into the highly partisan and complex politics of
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, and he became the bitter rival of
William de la Pole, Earl (later Duke) of Suffolk. Mowbray prosecuted his feuds with vigour, often taking the law into his own hands. This often violent approach drew the disapproving attention of
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
, and he was bound over for massive sums and imprisoned twice in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. His enemies, particularly de la Pole, also resorted to violent tactics. As a result, the local gentry looked to Mowbray for leadership, but often in vain; De la Pole was a powerful local force and a favourite of the King, while Mowbray was neither.
As law and order collapsed in eastern England, national politics became increasingly
factional, with popular revolts against the King's councillors.
Richard, Duke of York, who by the 1450s felt excluded from government, grew belligerent. He rebelled twice, and both times Mowbray defended King Henry. Eventually, Mowbray drifted towards York, with whom he shared enmity towards de la Pole. For much of the decade, Mowbray was able to evade direct involvement in the fractious political climate, and aligned with York early in 1460 until York's death later that year. In March 1461, Mowbray was instrumental in
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
's victory at the
Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...
, bringing reinforcements late in the combat. He was rewarded by the new regime but did not live to enjoy it. He died in November 1461, and was succeeded as
Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
by his only son,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
.
Background and youth
John Mowbray was the only son of
John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, 3rd Earl of Nottingham, 8th Baron Mowbray, 9th Baron Segrave KG, Earl Marshal (139219 October 1432) was an English nobleman and soldier. He was a younger son of the first Duke of Norfolk and Lady Elizabeth ...
, and his wife
Katherine Neville, who was a daughter of
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland Earl Marshal (c. 136421 October 1425), was an English nobleman of the House of Neville.
Origins
Ralph Neville was born about 1364, the son of John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville by his wife Maud Percy (d. ...
, a powerful
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
in
northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. The younger Mowbray was born on 12 September 1415 while his father was in France campaigning with
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
. Mowbray was seventeen at his father's death and still legally a
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
. During his minority, his estates were granted by
Henry VI to
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...
for a
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
of 2000
marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...
(approximately
£1,667). Until his majority, the Mowbray lands were administered by the English
exchequer
In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...
to the benefit of the crown, at a time when the government was in dire need of cash, due to the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
. Mowbray's
wardship
In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court".
Overview
The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient jur ...
, and the right to
arrange his marriage, was sold to
Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford for £2,000. By March 1434, Anne had arranged for Mowbray's marriage to her daughter
Eleanor Bourchier.
As a young adult, Mowbray appears to have been raucous and troublesome, and surrounded himself with equally unruly followers. This seems to have drawn the King's attention: Mowbray had only recently—with the other lords—sworn an oath in parliament not to recruit or welcome villains and wrong-doers into his affinity, nor to maintain them. He was summoned before the King and his council. Mowbray was instructed in how to conduct himself henceforth, and a precise regimen was imposed upon him. Exactly which aspects of Mowbray's behaviour were viewed as problematic is unknown, but since it resulted in unprecedented council-imposed restrictions upon him, his conduct must have been viewed as "abnormal". The ordinances not only dictated the time he should go to bed at night and rise in the morning, but the conditions addressed his demeanour also. His unruly followers were dismissed and replaced with those deemed suitable by Henry VI. Their stated role was to turn Mowbray towards "good reule and good governaunce," and they were not just to guide Mowbray but to report any disobedience of the council's instructions back to that body.
Inheritance
On his father's death in 1432, Mowbray inherited the office of
Earl Marshal
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 eig ...
, but not yet his father's lands or titles. Mowbray's father lacked full control of his estates, as they were
encumbered by two Mowbray
dowager
A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a "dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchy, monarchical and aristocracy, aristocratic Title#Aristocr ...
s, the elder Mowbray's mother Elizabeth Fitzalan (until her death in 1425), and his sister-in-law, Constance Holland. They each held a third of the inheritance as their
dower
Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law.
...
, a situation which repeated itself on the elder Mowbray's death in 1432, leaving Constance and Katherine as the two dowagers. Constance died in 1437, but Mowbray's mother survived until around 1483. Because of this, the historian Rowena Archer—who made one of the few full-length studies of the Mowbray family—described Mowbray as inheriting a "hopeless" and "onerous" legacy. It also had political consequences for the future. As he never held much property in the counties where his inheritance was (only holding, for example, seven of the twenty-six manors held by the Mowbrays in Norfolk and Suffolk), his influence was thus restricted there.
![SC 8-130-6454 Petition of John Mowbray 1433 (recoloured)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/SC_8-130-6454_Petition_of_John_Mowbray_1433_%28recoloured%29.png)
Immediately after his father's death, Mowbray made claim to the earldom of Arundel, setting him against
John, Lord Maltravers, who had also made claim. This was an old dispute. Mowbray's father and
grandfather
Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic ...
had also sought the earldom, blocking
Maltravers' father's claim. Mowbray based his right through his grandmother
Elizabeth Fitzalan, Duchess of Norfolk
Elizabeth de Mowbray, Duchess of Norfolk (née Lady Elizabeth Fitzalan; 1366 – 8 July 1425) was an English noblewoman and the wife of Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk.
Through her eldest daughter, Lady Margaret Mowbray, Elizabeth was an a ...
; Maltravers through his great-grandfather
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 L ...
. In July 1433 Mowbray presented a petition to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
(receiving special permission to attend as a minor). Mowbray—"in a rather remarkable decision," says Archer—lost the case. Maltravers, though, died in May 1435 and so was never summoned to parliament under his new title.
Mowbray's ancestors had been largely
Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
magnates based around
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
estates. Even his father—after he became duke of Norfolk and inherited his mother's East Anglian dower lands—was often an absentee lord. Mowbray's father was thus never able to establish a sizeable (or "particularly coherent") regional following there, and this was the situation Mowbray inherited.
Royal service
In August 1436 Mowbray accompanied the Duke of Gloucester on a campaign to relieve
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 ...
, then under siege by
Philip the Good
Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...
,
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
. The expedition, in which Mowbray provided a contingent, was "one of the largest English armies assembled during the fifteenth century." The campaign was a success, and Burgundy was forced to withdraw. On 13 September that year, Mowbray received
livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
of his inheritance, and immediately began a busy period devoted to royal service. In 1437, possibly because of Gloucester's
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
, Mowbray was appointed
Warden of the Eastern March for a one-year term. He had little experience of the north of England, yet was paid wartime wages of £5,000 to campaign against the Scots.
Mowbray returned to Calais and
Guînes
Guînes (; vls, Giezene, lang; pcd, Guinne) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically it was spelt ''Guisnes''.
On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, complete ...
in 1438, leading an expedition to strengthen their defences as Burgundy still presented a threat. Although he shortly after returned to England, in June 1439 he was again back in Calais, at
Oye, escorting
Archbishop John Kemp's diplomatic mission to the
peace conference
A peace conference is a diplomatic meeting where representatives of certain states, armies, or other warring parties converge to end hostilities and sign a peace treaty.
Significant international peace conferences in the past include the follo ...
. Possibly Mowbray disapproved of royal foreign policy, which was then aimed at making peace with the French.
Feud with William de la Pole
For much of the 1430s, Mowbray had problems in
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, where the bulk of his estates now lay.
William de la Pole
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
become increasingly powerful, both at court and in the region, and was Mowbray's biggest rival. Mowbray had enough political clout in the 1430s to control
parliamentary representation in Suffolk, but the local importance of the duke weakened his grasp. Mowbray clashed with de la Pole, and committed many illegalities doing so. These included damaging property of rivals, assaults, false allegations of outlawry (with confiscation of goods), and even murder.
For Mowbray, East Anglia as the focus of his landed authority was forced upon him since this was where the majority of his estates were located: much of his Lincolnshire inheritance was held by his mother as dower. He was then a newcomer to political society in the region, and had to share influence with others. By the time of his majority, de la Pole—with his links to central government and the King—was an established power in the region. He hindered Mowbray's attempts at regional domination for over a decade, leading to a feud that stretched from the moment Mowbray became Duke of Norfolk to the murder of de la Pole in 1450. The feud was often violent, and lead to fighting between their followers. In 1435,
Robert Wingfield
Sir Robert Wingfield (died 1454), of Letheringham in Suffolk, was an English landowner, administrator and politician.G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Co ...
, Mowbray's steward of Framlingham, led a group of Mowbray retainers who murdered James Andrew, one of de la Pole's men. When local aldermen attempted to arrest Wingfield's party, the latter rained arrow fire upon the aldermen, but Mowbray secured royal pardons for those responsible.
By 1440, de la Pole was a royal favourite. He instigated Mowbray's imprisonment on at least two occasions: in 1440 and in 1448. The first saw him
bound over
In the law of England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court may issue b ...
for the significant amount of £10,000, and confined to living within the royal Household, preventing him from returning to seek revenge in East Anglia. Likewise, apart from an appointment to
commissions of
oyer and terminer
In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...
in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
in 1443 (after the suppression of
Gladman's Insurrection), he received no other significant offices or patronage from the crown. A recent biographer of Mowbray's, the historian Colin Richmond, has described this as Mowbray's "eclipse". Richmond suggests that soon after his last imprisonment in 1449, Mowbray undertook a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to Rome; a licence for him to do so had been granted three years earlier.
De la Pole fought back with what one contemporary labelled "greet hevyng an shoving." He was successful in doing so. Within a couple of years, Mowbray could not protect his retainers as he had previously done. A Paston letter tells how Robert Wingfield, who was involved in a bitter dispute with one Robert Lyston, "procured and exited the wurthi prince the Duke of Norffolk to putte oute ageyn the seid Robert Lyston" from the latter's Suffolk manors. Lyston, with de la Pole's support, repeatedly sued Wingfield until in 1441 Wingfield was imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. In 1440, Mowbray was able to influence the
Exchequer
In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...
to quash Wingfield's fines; but Mowbray's success was fleeting. Mowbray was more successful in his support of
John Fastolf
Sir John Fastolf (6 November 1380 – 5 November 1459) was a late medieval English landowner and knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He has enjoyed a more lasting reputation as the prototype, in some part, of Shakespeare's charac ...
—in one of the latter's many lawsuits 1441, and was able to impose an advantageous settlement (for Fastolf) in
Chancery. Generally, though, says
Helen Castor
Helen Ruth Castor (born 4 August 1968 in Cambridge) is a British historian of the medieval and Tudor period and a BBC broadcaster. She taught history at Cambridge University and is the author of books including ''Blood and Roses'' (2005) and '' ...
, Mowbray's influence "proved woefully inadequate" to protect and defend his retainers and tenants to the degree they could reasonably expect from their lord. It was his supporters' misfortune, one historian has said, that "Norfolk's power never matched the status attributed to him".
Mowbray's personal and political situation did not improve over the following decade. Between 1440 and 1441 he was imprisoned in the Tower following a dispute with
John Heydon, who was close to de la Pole. Mowbray was bound over on 2 July 1440 for the "enormous" sum of 10,000 marks, had to reside in the King's household, while swearing no further harm to Heydon.
Crime and disorder in East Anglia
In 1443 Mowbray and Wingfield fell out over
Hoo manor. Wingfield had received Hoo from Mowbray's father, but Mowbray wanted it returned. The dispute fell into violence;
R. L. Storey described Mowbray's "methods of argument" as exceptionally belligerent. According to Storey the duke "brought a force of men, with cannon and other siege engines, battered Wingfield's house at Letheringham, forced an entry, ransacked the building and removed valuables amounting to nearly £5,000."
![Framlingham_Castle_-_geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Framlingham_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_947522.jpg)
Wingfield deserted Mowbray in light of the continuing attacks over Hoo, and offered a
bounty
Bounty or bounties commonly refers to:
* Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing
Bounty or bounties may also refer to:
Geography
* Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...
of 500 marks for the head of a Mowbray retainer. In November 1443 Mowbray was bound over for £2,000 to keep the peace with Wingfield and instructed to appear before the royal council the following April. The council ordered them to seek
arbitration
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...
. This found against Mowbray, who had to pay Wingfield 3,500 marks as compensation for the damage the duke caused to Letheringham. He also had to recompense Wingfield for Hoo before he could get it back. It was presumably as part of these proceedings that Mowbray suffered his second bout of imprisonment in the Tower, which commenced on 28 August 1444; he was released six days later.
In June 1446 Henry Howard, one of Mowbray's father's retainer, was murdered. He was visiting his sister-in-law (and Mowbray's aunt), Margaret Mowbray, at the time, as her house was only five miles (8.0 km) away. Howard's killers appear to have been retainers of
John, Baron Scrope of Masham; who may have actively abetted the killing. On 18 June 1446 Mowbray oversaw the
presentment
A presentment is the act of presenting to an authority a formal statement of a matter to be dealt with. It can be a formal presentation of a matter such as a complaint, indictment or bill of exchange. In early-medieval England, juries of presentmen ...
of an
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
jury to examine the murder, but the case stalled. Scrope petitioned the King on the basis that Mowbray's proceedings were "inaccurate and inherently malicious," and as a result, the King ordered that proceedings against Scrope's men cease. At least five of the thirteen jurors were Mowbray retainers. This may have been the only occasion on which Mowbray personally sat on a local King's Bench commission as the hearing
J.P.
The arbitration did not resolve their feud, and in 1447 Wingfield returned to the attack. Along with another ex-Mowbray retainer,
William Brandon, he assaulted, robbed and threatened Mowbray's staff. Mowbray—as Justice of the Peace for Suffolk—ordered him to keep the
King's peace but was ignored. Wingfield was then committed to
Melton gaol
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
, but three hours later Brandon broke him out of prison. Mowbray successfully applied to
Chancery for
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
ordering Brandon and Wingfield to not come within 7
mile
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
s (11
km) of Mowbray. This order too was ignored, and they stayed at Letheringham (only five miles from Mowbray's castle at
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4, ...
), and started breaking into Mowbray's retainers' houses in the area. Mowbray requested that a commission of oyer and terminer be organised to investigate Wingfield and Brandon, which was issued in late December 1447.
By the early 1450s, Mowbray believed that East Anglia was his to rule, and described himself as the "princypall rewle and governance throw all this schir" (i.e. that his was the "principal rule and governance through all this shire"). In the late 1440s,
John de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, another enemy of de la Pole, sought Mowbray's "good Lordship". In 1451 Mowbray and de Vere collaborated in the county of Suffolk while investigating suspected participants in
Jack Cade's Rebellion
Jack Cade's Rebellion was a popular revolt in 1450 against the government of England, which took place in the south-east of the country between the months of April and July. It stemmed from local grievances regarding the corruption, maladmini ...
, which had broken out the previous year. The region continued to experience disorder, and Mowbray's men were responsible for much of it. The unrest included the destruction of properties belonging to
Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk
Alice may refer to:
* Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname
Literature
* Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll
* ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
. The Duke of Suffolk himself fell from power and was murdered in April 1450. In the following years, Mowbray's
affinity
Affinity may refer to:
Commerce, finance and law
* Affinity (law), kinship by marriage
* Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique
* Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union
* Affinity Equity Par ...
, according to Richmond, committed "one outrage after another
ndthe duke was either unable to control them, or chose not to do so". Mowbray used any means to defeat his opponents, including charging them with
outlaw
An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
ry in another county without their knowledge, and then seizing their goods as
forfeited to himself.
Mowbray also forced the
gaoler
A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...
of
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
to release a man charged with murder into Mowbray's custody. According to the gaoler's later report, he had done so but only out of "fear and terror" of the Duke of Norfolk. Mowbray spent much of the early 1450s hunting down de la Pole's affinity.
The removal of de la Pole did not advance Mowbray's power in East Anglia. He still had rivals in the region with wealth and court connections. The Earl of Oxford in particular wished to extend his landholdings from Essex into Suffolk, while
Lord Scales had been granted the remnants of de la Pole's affinity by
Queen Margaret. It was this lack of political connections (specifically, his exclusion from the King's council) that lead to his defeat against de la Pole. Mowbray was unsuccessful in influencing local commissions and in nominating parliamentary candidates for shire elections. In any case, the county of Norfolk already possessed a strong and relatively independent layer of wealthy gentry, including the Pastons, the
Howards and those around
John Fastolf
Sir John Fastolf (6 November 1380 – 5 November 1459) was a late medieval English landowner and knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He has enjoyed a more lasting reputation as the prototype, in some part, of Shakespeare's charac ...
. They were eager to augment their positions at the expense of a neighbour, even if a lord.
Later career and political crisis
During the 1450s, English politics become increasingly partisan and factional, with intermittent rises in violence and local disorder. Jack Cade's rebellion in 1450—directly aimed at royal favourites like de la Pole—explicitly named Mowbray as one of the King's "natural counsellors" necessary to reform the realm. Even so, Mowbray was part of a major royal army which eventually defeated the rebels.
During the next crisis—the near-rebellion of
Richard of York
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Planta ...
in Autumn 1450—Mowbray took York's side against the new royal favourite,
Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. York canvassed Mowbray for support, as he was one of the few nobles openly critical of the court. For the former, this was a logical alliance as Mowbray was as bitter an enemy of Somerset as York was. Mowbray gathered his forces at Ipswich on 8 November (having ordered
John Paston to meet him there "with as many clenly people as ye may get"), and may have travelled into London with York, who had also recruited locally. Thus, when he arrived for the parliament it was with a large, heavily armed force. Mowbray was appointed, with the Duke of York and
Earl of Devon
Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...
, to maintain law and order in the City of London for the duration of the parliament, though his retinue caused as much trouble as it prevented. On 1 December, they joined with York's force and attacked Somerset's house in
Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to:
England
* Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol
* Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent
* Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...
. The battle lead to the beleaguered duke seeking refuge in the Tower of London in
for his own protection. Two days later the King and his magnates rode through London with up to 10,000 men; Mowbray rode ahead with a force of 3,000. The display was carefully designed to quell any remnants of support for Cade's rebels.
Mowbray's alliance with York was intermittent. York again rebelled in 1452, confronting a royal army at
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
when Mowbray was with the King. For his service, he received £200 and a gold cup. York may have abandoned the alliance because of his objection to Mowbray's violent behaviour in East Anglia at a time when York was presenting himself as a candidate of law and order. Mowbray's campaign against Somerset, meanwhile, continued unabated. In 1453, with the King incapacitated and York
protector
Protector(s) or The Protector(s) may refer to:
Roles and titles
* Protector (title), a title or part of various historical titles of heads of state and others in authority
** Lord Protector, a title that has been used in British constitutional l ...
, Mowbray presented charges against Somerset in
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, attacking his failure to prevent the loss of the "two so noble Duchies of Normandy and Guyenne" in France. Somerset was imprisoned in the Tower for the next year. In April 1454, Mowbray was asked to join the York's regency
council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
, and although he swore loyalty to York's government, claimed to be too ill to attend.
The King recovered his health early in 1455 and the protectorate came to an end. Somerset was released from the Tower and as a result, according to historian
Ralph Griffiths
Ralph Griffiths (c.1720 – 28 September 1803) was an English journal editor and publisher of Welsh extraction. In 1749, he founded London's first successful literary magazine, the ''Monthly Review'' (1749–1845), and remained its editor un ...
, Mowbray may have ("quite rightly" he says) feared for his own safety.
Wars of the Roses
![London - White Tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/London_-_White_Tower.jpg)
Following the collapse of the 1454–55 protectorate, the Yorkist lords retreated to their estates, and Mowbray distanced himself from factional politics. An uneasy peace existed between the court and the Yorkists until April 1455, when the King summoned a Great Council to meet at
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
the following month. The Duke of York feared that the purpose of this council was to destroy him; several chroniclers of the day suggest that Somerset was poisoning the King's mind against York. The duke and his Neville allies proceeded to raise an army from their northern estates. The King and a small force left London on 20 May; the Yorkists approached from the north with a speed calculated to surprise. In a
pre-emptive strike
A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...
, York and his allies intercepted the King at the
first Battle of St Albans
The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville earls of Salisb ...
. Mowbray managed to avoid involvement in the fighting, even though, as Earl Marshal, his
herald
A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms.
Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...
s were used during negotiations between the two camps. It is uncertain at what point Mowbray joined the battle, or if he even reached the King in time to take part. The fighting lasted only a short time, and though there were very few fatalities among the soldiery, Henry Percy, the 2nd Earl of Northumberland, (father of the 3rd
Earl of Northumberland
The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...
), the Duke of Somerset and
Lord Clifford were killed. They were not the only three of the King's most loyal supporters, but Percy and Somerset at least were bitter enemies of the Nevilles and York.
After the battle, Mowbray threatened to hang the
Royal Standard bearer,
Sir Philip Wentworth, on hearing that Wentworth "cast it down and fled" the battlefield. Whatever part, if any, Mowbray played in the fighting, by now contemporaries viewed him as being sympathetic to York. It is likely that Mowbray was deliberately vacillating. He did not attend York's victory parliament in 1455, and might have gone on pilgrimage: he is known to have walked to
Walsingham
Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Exp ...
in 1456, and over the next two years may have travelled to
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
, Rome or even
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
After four years' peace, the civil war resumed in September 1459 when the Yorkist
Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history, and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury.
Background
The title was first created for Patrick de S ...
fought off a royal ambush at the
Battle of Blore Heath
The Battle of Blore Heath was a battle in the English Wars of the Roses. It was fought on 23 September 1459, at Blore Heath in Staffordshire. Blore Heath is a sparsely populated area of farmland, two miles east of the town of Market Drayton in ...
. Salisbury won that battle but was defeated soon after with the Duke of York at the
Battle of Ludford
The Rout of Ludford Bridge was a largely bloodless confrontation fought in the early years of the Wars of the Roses. It took place on 12 October 1459, and resulted in a setback for the Yorkists. Although this seemed to be a triumph for the riv ...
. The Yorkists escaped into exile. Mowbray had taken neither side, but with the Yorkists exiled, when
a parliament was called at
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, Mowbray attended. Here the Yorkists were
attainted
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary ...
, and on 11 December 1459 Mowbray took an oath of loyalty to keep Henry VI on the throne. He received several royal commissions in the final months of
Lancastrian rule.
The Nevilles and Earl of March spent their exile in Calais, while York and his other son,
Edmund, Earl of Rutland
Edmund, Earl of Rutland (17 May 1443 – 30 December 1460) was the fourth child and second surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. He was a younger brother of Edward, Earl of March, the future King Edward ...
, retired to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. The Nevilles returned to England in June 1460. They were admitted into London, where they could plan an assault on the King's army, then based in Northampton. On 10 July the Yorkist army under Warwick and March defeated the royalist army at the
Battle of Northampton, and once again the King was captured.
Colin Richmond
Colin F. Richmond (born 1937) is a British historian of late medieval England. After degrees from the University of Leicester and the University of Oxford, he spent his entire career teaching at Keele University, rising to become Professor of M ...
describes Mowbray as "more likely to have observed from a safe distance than participated" in it.
York returned from exile in October 1460, and much to the frustration of his allies, made claim to the throne. Mowbray's reaction is uncertain as the chroniclers omit mention of him, but some historians note how Mowbray sided with them during the Yorkists' return from exile. The exact cause of his change of loyalty is unknown. Colin Richmond argues that the Lancastrian defeat at Northampton in June 1460 was fundamental, and Mowbray lost friends and colleagues. It is possible that King Henry's capture there encouraged him to desert the King.
Christine Carpenter puts it down almost solely to Mowbray's failure to improve his position in Norfolk under Henry, while Castor points to the October 1460 Yorkist parliament being the turning point for Mowbray: possibly he believed that the attempted settlement contained in the
Act of Accord
The Act of Accord was an Act of the Parliament of England which was passed on 25 October 1460, three weeks after Richard of York had entered the Council Chamber and laid his hand on the empty throne. Under the Act, King Henry VI of England was to ...
was the best possible outcome.
The King and Queen still had the support of much of the nobility and withdrew to the north to commence a campaign of ravaging York and the Nevilles' estates. This forced York, Salisbury and Rutland, to move north on 9 December to suppress the Lancastrians. Mowbray remained in London with Salisbury's and York's sons, the Earls of
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
and March. York and Salisbury's expedition ended in disaster. Choosing to engage a Lancastrian army outside the duke's castle at
Sandal
Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can some ...
, the Yorkists were crushed at the
Battle of Wakefield
The Battle of Wakefield took place in Sandal Magna near Wakefield in northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the captive King Henry VI of ...
on 30 December. York, Rutland and Salisbury, died in or soon after the battle. The Queen's army made its way south towards London. Mowbray, Warwick and his brother
John Neville, Lord Montagu, marched north to intercept the approaching Lancastrians. Mowbray brought King Henry with them. The armies clashed on 17 February 1461 outside St Albans, where the Yorkists
were defeated. Mowbray and Warwick abandoned the King to his wife and her supporters, and retreated to London before the victorious Lancastrian army could reach the city.
Battle of Towton
![Battle_of_Towton_-_Engagement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Battle_of_Towton_-_Engagement.svg)
The Lancastrian army marched on London, but were refused entry. On 3 March 1461 Mowbray attended a
great council at
Baynard's Castle
Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in the City of London, between where Blackfriars station and St Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard ( 1086), 1st feudal ...
, organised a small group of Yorkist loyalists, and agreed to offer
Edward, Earl of March the throne. The following day—indicating the urgency for resolution felt by the Yorkists by this stage— Mowbray was sent to East Anglia to "prepare for the war on the party of King Edward". The Lancastrian army had returned to the north where, on 29 March 1461, York and Lancaster met at the
Battle of Towton
The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...
. It was to be one of the longest and bloodiest battles fought on British soil, and "fought in bitter Yorkshire weather and no less bitter spirit", according to historian
Charles Ross. On Mowbray's advice, Edward followed the Lancastrian army north with a new army.
Mowbray seems to have recruited successfully; one of the
Paston letters
The ''Paston Letters'' is a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other impor ...
mentions that "every town hath waged and sent forth." He left East Anglia via
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
on 17 March 1461, where Sir John Howard, his cousin and retainer, and his forces joined Mowbray's. Mowbray's army may have constituted elements of the Yorkist
rearguard
A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...
, as such not part of the main army, and were intending to join with it later. He was still not with Warwick's and March's
council of war
A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...
at
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
in late March. There are different explanations for the delay. He may have faced difficulty in
mustering
Muster may refer to:
Military terminology
* Muster (military), a process or event for the accounting for members in a military unit
* Muster list, list of the functions for team members
* A mustering, in military terminology, is a specialised for ...
troops; the army recently raised to fight at St Alban's had been dispersed and this would require re-mustering. It is likely that—since he died only a few months later—Mowbray was too ill to keep up with the main Yorkist force.
At
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...
Mowbray transferred command to Howard, knowing that time was of the essence for the Yorkists and while he was with them, his soldiers could only march as quickly as he could. If Mowbray was ill, then it is unlikely that he fought personally; Boardman observed that "a sick man would never have survived such a strength-sapping ordeal, especially a noble in armour-plate." If his contingent was tasked with bringing up Yorkist artillery, which would have further slowed them down and they may have abandoned armoury en route to increase their speed.
Mowbray arrived late but at a crucial point of the battle. His prolonged absence after a day's bitter fighting must have been a worry for the Yorkists, especially as they may have thought him up to a day's march away. Mowbray's absence presented an acute problem for them;
Philip A. Haigh describes them, by four o'clock in the afternoon, as doomed without him. There must have been much messaging between Edward and Mowbray throughout the day, but
battle fatigue had almost certainly set in on both sides by the time Mowbray's troops arrived on the eastern edge of the
battlefield. A contemporary chronicler described the situation thus
Mowbray launched a decisive attack on the Lancastrian
flank
Flank may refer to:
* Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen
** Flank steak, a cut of beef
** Part of the external anatomy of a horse
* Flank speed, a nautical term
* Flank opening, a chess opening
* A term in Australian rules football
* The si ...
, turning them left. His arrival both reinvigorated the Yorkist army and crushed Lancastrian morale with his surprise attack and led rapidly to a Lancastrian
rout
A rout is a panicked, disorderly and undisciplined retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale (''esprit de corps'').
History
Historically, lightly-equi ...
to give the victory to Edward IV.
Under the Yorkists
![Thetford Priory ruins](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Thetford_Priory_ruins.jpg)
The
Earl Marshal
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 eig ...
s played an important role in coronations. Like his predecessors, as Earl Marshal Mowbray officiated the coronation of Edward IV on 28 June 1461. Within two months he received several lucrative offices. Public order was a problem from the beginning of the King's reign, and East Anglia was no exception. Mobs rampaged during that year's parliamentary elections. Norfolk may have encouraged this; he is certainly a candidate for ordering the murder of
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
Thomas Denys
Sir Thomas Denys ( – 18 February 1561) of Holcombe Burnell, near Exeter, Devon, was a prominent lawyer who served as Sheriff of Devon nine times between 1507/8 to 1553/4 and as MP for Devon. He acquired large estates in Devon at the Dissolut ...
that August.
Even though Mowbray supported the Yorkist regime, he met with strong opposition from the East Anglian
gentry
Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.
Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies
''Gentry'', in its widest ...
in the first year of the reign. This was despite the support of the King, and the backing of John Howard in the shires. Howard was by now one of Mowbray's senior retainers —described as Mowbray's "right well-beloved cousin and servant"— and
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
of Norfolk. By November, however, he had been arrested by the new Yorkist regime.
Death
Mowbray did not live long enough to benefit from the Yorkist victory. He died on 6 November 1461, aged 45, and was buried at
Thetford Priory
Thetford Priory is a Cluniac monastic house in Thetford, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1103 by Roger Bigod of Norfolk, Thetford was one of the most important monasteries of East Anglia.
It should not be confused with the Dominican Friary of Blackf ...
. He was succeeded by his only son,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
. His mother, Katherine Duchess of Norfolk lived until 1483. She had already taken two more husbands during Mowbray's lifetime, and, after Mowbray's death, took a fourth husband, the much younger John Woodville, a younger brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville.
Marriage and issue
Mowbray married Eleanor Bourchier, daughter of
William Bourchier, Count of Eu, and Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Buckingham. Eleanor was the sister of his successor as
Justice in Eyre
In English law, the justices in eyre were the highest magistrates, and presided over the ''court of justice-seat'', a triennial court held to punish offenders against the forest law and enquire into the state of the forest and its officers ('' eyr ...
,
Henry Bourchier. The couple appears to have shared a close bond: while travelling in 1451, Mowbray supposedly dispensed with his retinue to enjoy, according to Colin Richmond, "a private
tryst
Tryst may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* ''Tryst'' (novel), a 1939 novel by Elswyth Thane
* ''Tryst'' (play), a 2006 play by Karoline Leach
* ''Tryst'' (album), a 2019 studio album by Kate Ceberano and Paul Grabowsky
* "Tryst", a song by Joh ...
" with his wife. The couple had one child, also
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, who in 1448 married
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, daughter of
John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. The son was seventeen when his father died in 1461, and inherited the estate four years later.
Character and legacy
Ralph Griffiths has suggested that when Archbishop John Kemp died in 1453, it may have been in part because of the bullying and threats he had been subjected to, most "notably by Norfolk himself". One modern historian has attributed much of Suffolk's success in the region, which antagonised Mowbray, to Mowbray's "crass incompetence" and that he was "ineffectual" in assisting those who expected to rely on the protection of a lord of his stature.
J. R. Lander described Mowbray as a "disreputable thug", while Richmond concludes that he was "cavalier with the rights of others to a safe life and a secure livelihood". Richmond writes that while "many medieval aristocrats were irresponsible men ... Mowbray's individuality lay in the thoroughness of his irresponsibility." In contrast,
Michael Hicks believes that honour was clearly important to Mowbray, as his pursuit of Somerset (for that duke's abject performance in France) shows. Likewise, as Earl Marshal, he must have possessed a firm understanding of
chivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...
and its application, as it was fundamental to the office.
Cultural depictions
Mowbray, as "Duke of Norfolk", is a minor figure in the play ''
King Henry VI, Part 3'' by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. He appears in act I, scene I, and act II, scene II as a supporter of the Duke of York; the first time just after the Battle of St Albans, and is portrayed "conspicuously associated with opposition." This is ahistorical, as Mowbray was still loyal to King Henry at this point. His second appearance in the play is at the Battle of Towton. The play has been adapted for the screen several times. In the 1960
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In 1965 the BBC again adapted the history plays for television, this time based on the 1963 theatre production ''
''. Mowbray appears in the episode "
'', Mowbray does not appear as a character on stage, but the comical figure Blague repeatedly claims that: "I serve the good Duke of Norfolk." Exactly what period the play is set is the subject debate among scholars. Suggestions range from the reign of
reign). The 20th-century Shakespeare scholar
's posthumously published ''History of the Worthies of England'' (1662). If this is the case then the "Duke of Norfolk" referred to in the play would be Mowbray. According to J. M. Bromley, the play evokes "the similarities between poaching and treason", and the anonymous author deliberately links this Duke of Norfolk to both. Rudolph Fiehler noted how Blague's service to the duke was very much based upon the unsavoury characteristics of "cowardice, poaching and thievery". It has further been suggested that his comic catchphrase was deliberately intended to invoke
, one of Shakespeare's best-known characters, for the audience. In Shakespeare's ''
to "Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk", Mowbray's grandfather. Falstaff is commonly considered to be a fictional representation of either Sir
—or possibly an amalgamation of the two—both of whom are variously associated with Mowbray.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norfolk, John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of